Saturday Reject: Etzia – Up

“Huh. That’s strange.”

Tim: Oh, this had so much potential. Knocked out in the first round of Melodifestivalen, yet rejected, I can only imagine, for something utterly bizarre. Once again, just a link:

Etzia – Up

Tom: Not again! Just like last week, Tim; this is retro, and I don’t mean that in a Stranger Things way, I mean it in a… well, in a roller disco way, given that staging.

Tim: Oh it is, yes, and I don’t for a moment claim this is a modern track, or even at all should be a winner. The reason I mention it, though, is that there are a couple of notes in there that, when I was watching, sounded decidedly flat. I thought “oh, balls, she’s messed that up, but let’s hope she’s forgiven”. But then I checked the studio version, and she performed them flawlessly – they’re just written that way, and it sounds so weird.

Tom: Huh. That’s strange — although to be honest, the whole thing sounds weird, Tim. It’s not unpleasant, of course, and it’s not even mediocre — it’s a good track, it’s just unsuited for the audience.

Tim: Of course, there may be other reasons – the key change, however great, may have put voters off, or they may genuinely have preferred the novelty old man act (which will never grace these pages) that came above it. But still, it’s a bizarre choice to make for that melody.