My Sister’s Crown by Vesna.
Thank goodness for Vesna. In a pitiful national final, My Sister’s Crown stood out a mile. The awful studio failed to show any of the participating entries off to their full potential. Understandably, not every broadcaster has the budget, but in that case, I’d rather vote on videos than see substandard presentations like these. The artists deserve better.
The band were sensible to get this video out before the show and let this be the first time we heard and saw them. It’s fantastic; playful and provocative and deploys some striking visuals and design. I’d love to see some of the themes translate to the stage in Liverpool.
The song champions sisterhood. It’s a defiant fuck you to the patriarchy. The addition of lyrics in Ukrainian (as well as Czech, Bulgarian and English) add extra poignancy and will resonate with women across and beyond Slavic nations, offering solidarity and overt support for Ukrainian women displaced and otherwise affected by war. It’s such a strong statement drawing on Slavic pop sounds that are music to my ear.
This is easily among my favourites this year. Since it was selected, we’ve had several strong female performers with great songs and strong messages added to the line up, and it’s tempting to think of this as having fallen back slightly in the field. But it’s one of the songs I’m looking forward to the most, and I have confidence its message can be played out majestically live.
My marks: DOUZE POINTS!