Remember the days when Ireland ruled the roost at Eurovision? In the words of Mary Hopkin, ‘we were young and sure to have our way’. In recent years, the RTÉ bar has lowered to the point where just making the final is considered an achievement.
Nostalgia is very much the Wild Youth vibe for Liverpool. ‘We are one’ is a song that will almost surely go down well in the hall, combining vintage U2 with old-school Coldplay, a big old chanty chorus and plenty of gee-tar. If only the verses could match the power and cohesion of the chorus, ‘We Are One’ might not sound so much like two songs.
It’s a classic ‘radio friendly’ song – very much Radio 2, and that’s rarely the recipe for Eurovision success. There are plenty of other male (or mostly male) rock-lite songs this year – perhaps trying for the Liverpool vibe. I’m not sure this stands out enough.
It’s competent, but nothing special. It might just make the final, but that’s where I expect the story to end.
PS: I wanted to know why they’re wearing offcuts of boob tube in the video too, so consulted the official press release. They symbolise the themes of unity present throughout the song — the people we share the planet with aren’t all that different. coughBullshitCough.
4 Points