Joci Pápai is the proud owner of a man bun and the right to sing for Hungary at the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest.
Earlier tonight, he won the A Dal (Hungarian national selection) with a song called Origo. The winning song was decided by a combination of jury and public votes. Joci topped the table with both.
Joci is 35 years old and comes from Tata in Hungary. His public debut came in 2005 when he took part in the TV talent show Megasztár. He didn’t win, but it gave him the taste for music. He went on to enjoy chart success in Hungary.
I’m going to stick my neck out here and say I can’t see this one winning.
https://youtu.be/2stjsoO0NfM
When I heard Jamala, I thought it was the musical equivalent of someone letting air slowly out of a balloon. I still do. But of course, she had a fabulous media team (and a back story) – and both factors count in talent shows these days.
Maybe Joci can harness the same forces – let’s face it, Hungarian politics are hardly in a beautiful place.
One thing though that (unlike with horse racing) rarely do two Eurovision winners come from the same stable.
Personally, I think this is a stinker of a song, but each to their own.