Tim: Off to Iceland this week, whose final was really very disappointing indeed, with two exceptions – the victor, María Ólafsdóttir with her song Unbroken, and this, whose title translates to Million Moments.
Tom: That is a Good Drumbeat.
Tim: Indeed it is, and that bumpy beaty ride is all about spending every single one of those million moments we get with the proverbial ‘you’, naturally. A number of high points here, not least of which is the simplicity of it – piano melody that barely varies from one single one-bar loop, primary drum beat that is literally just one beat over and over again – that makes it very easy to remember, enjoy and join in with.
Tom: It does, and on the Eurovision stage that may well have helped it — but it did mean that even at three minutes it overstayed its welcome for me. Yes, there’s some additional twiddly bits on that piano, and a different chord going into the chorus, but a bit more variation would have been welcome, particularly with that staccato delivery.
Tim: See, that staccato delivery of it is my favourite thing about this: strictly syllable by syllable, beat by beat, so if you arm yourself with a copy of the lyrics you can very easily chant along with it (or the slightly bassier studio version), bash your fists around and work yourself up into quite the lather. Great track.
Tom: Agreed: despite my reservations, this would have done well. Add some pyrotechnics and Eurovision production values, and I reckon this could have done well.