May 9, 2013

377/917 Micha Marah: Hey Nana (Belgium 1979)

The next song was hinted to me by a Eurovision blogger and enthousiast Tobias Larsson (check his blog Tobson in euroland). According to him the 377th Eurosong is positive and forgotten pearl performed by a shining artist, who would have deserved happier Eurovision experience. I agree and want to add to Tobias' description that if Micha Marah so much hated the song she performed, she manages to hide it beautifully.


It isn't just once when a singer has been sent to the Eurovision Song Contest to sing a song that he/she hates from the bottom of his/her heart. It is then up to the professionalism of the artist to not let the audience spot the animosity. Can you tell that f.eg. Mary Hopkin detested her 1970 entry Knock knock who's there? I don't.

You definitely cannot see any aversion in the sparkling eyes of Micha Marah when she sings Hey Nana. The peppy performance of this cheery song is bettered by the beautiful orchestral arrangement and the good job done by the Israeli tv orchestra. The audience is entertained but the jurors were not convinced enough to give points to the pretty set. Only five points and shared last place was all that Micha Marah took home from Jerusalem.

After the bad result Micha Marah was allowed to move on and forget the song he detested completely. The only recorded version of the song was done by the composer Charles Dumolin. The blunt synthesizer backed recording lacks everything that made the Eurovision version likeable. No strings, no excitement and worst of all, no Ms Marah to give the final glitter to the song. But who needs the recording when there is a perfect live version to watch and listen to?

My points 4/5.

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