792/917 Mélanie Cohl: Dis oui (Belgium 1998)

The 792th eurosong brought on stage a french singing girl with a baby face and voice of a teenager. For some reason it always reminds me of some entries sung in french of the 1960's.

I am not quite sure what in Dis oui makes me think of the entries from 30 years ago. It sounds quite contemporary for 1998 and the singer, 16 year old Mélanie Cohl is dressed very unlike the young vedettes of the 1960's. Still her young face, innocent performance and the song itself remind me of for example the Monegasque entry from 1965, the Swiss entries from both 1966 and 1967 and the Luxembourg entry from 1971, which all were sung by a newcomer artists (in French) aged just under or slightly over 20 years of age.

The young age of Mélanie Cohl (her real name being Mélanie Picron) is present in her performance on Birmingham stage in both good and bad. Her performance certainly is fresh and to some extent she seems to enjoy being on stage. On the other hand her inexperience is both shown and heard which, to me, is a little uneasy to watch.

I liked the 1998 Belgian entry very much 16 years ago, but it hasn't aged that well over the years. Despite of her 6th place in the final results, the representation in Eurovision didn't grant young mademoiselle Picron a steady career in the francophone, or even Belgian showbusiness. She made one album, sang on couple of Disney movies but then concentrated on other matters in life. According to some sources she took her chance at the French version of "The Voice" as late as in 2013, but without success.

My points 3/5.

284/917 Jacques Hustin: Fleur de liberté (Belgium 1974)

All the songs from the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest have been overshadowed by a Swedish group that won the contest that year and became one of the biggest music and show business phonomena in the world. However, the contest included many other notable entries, among the Eurosong 284 which the random number generator draw for me this time.

Jacques Hustin had been a household name in Belgium since the mid 1960's and was confident enough to present this pleasent song on the Eurovision stage in 1974. With his charming trembling voice and well planned stage act (including the very 1970's outfit) he managed to please many in the audience. The song was well arranged with prominent use of strings and the flute.

The 1974 was not, unfortunately, the year for single male performers. The top places in the result list were filled with groups (Abba, Mouth & McNeal) and established female artists (Gigliola Cinquetti, Olivia Newton-John and Ireen Sheer), and Belgium had to settle for ninth place.

Jacques Hustin continued his career until the late 1980's, when he concentrated on his other career as a painter.

Fleur de liberté is an eurosong that one does not hear often. But whenever I hear it it makes me smile and long for the 1970's Eurovision Song Contests.

My points 4/5.

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.