I really like their voices ... and that's a really good song ...

Good Stuff.......I love country music.

In the past, the ESC songs had to be in the native language of the respective country, but that regulation was dropped at some point (late 90s?), and pop music sung in German mostly sounds bad even for many Germans...

I don't know. Are my missing something? I listened to it three times and found nothing remarkable about the song. I listened to it THREE times because I was trying to find something redeeming, but it left me "unmoved."

I listen to a lot of Country........a lot! There have been really great tunes out there Country ballads, rock, Country swing, even Hillbilly. IMO, they don't write really great C&W songs these days relative to what was done in the past.

I think if you benchmark this song against past hits, to me it doesn't say anything.

But I have listened to Eurovision stuff here and there. My favorites from what I've heard for good melody lines are...

Save Your Kisses For Me (Brotherhood of Man) (1976?) followed by Come What May (Vicki Leandros)

When it comes to Country, they don't write songs like they did in the old days. Look at the Freddy Fender song "Before the Next Teardrop Falls".......they still play it today. And it's got a melody line that you can hum over and over again.

Then there's Hank Williams, Jr. .....put out some really great stuff...."Born to Boogie" etc. And "If The House is Rockin'" by Leroy Parnell and "covered" by Stevie Ray.

Sorry to go against the grain. I'm not, in the least, saying it's a bad song. I'm just stating my own particular opinion. I don't see anything in the tune that merits sending it to Eurovision this year!

Unless.......the "bar has been lowered" there too....just like everywhere these days, not just in music. I just don't hear a lot that "knocks my socks off" anymore.

I assess the ESC as absolutely irrelevant as a contest for good popular music. It definitely does not reflect anything of the really good songs made in Europe. The rankings of the songs are always ridiculous to me. The eastern European countries mostly give the most votes to their direct neighbor countries. Western European countries have mostly been trailing behind no matter how good or bad the song was. I'm not impressed by the "winner" songs of the past years at all (including the German winning song 'Satellite'). I've rarely seen any of the really good German bands attempting to perform at the ESC at all.

Just to give an example: Bonnie Tyler's performance may not have been the best at the ESC, but to me the song itself "Believe in me" has been one of the best compositions presented there throughout the past years. No wonder, it was composed by Desmond Child. But where did she end up? At the very bottom of the ranks. I can't take the ESC serious...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-agn-ERgTXA

Mark ... In many cases, regarding many subjects, I think what happens is that we tend to compare with what is going on today ... yes, maybe this song doesn't rate with the 'classics' of yesteryear, but compared to what is being played on the radio today, I thought it was a pretty good song ... and there was just 'something' about her voice that clicked with me ...
I have listened to C/W at different times all my life, and today, due to a lack of much else, it is what is played on our radios more often than any other music ... you are absolutely correct that 'they don't write them like they used to' ... most of today's country songs have themes like 'I haven't seen you in three whole days, so tonight I'm sleeping with someone else', or 'I saw her at the bar and the next thing I knew I was in bed with her' ...
So yes, the bar has been lowered, and sometimes I wonder if it even exists anymore ...
But I DID like her voice ...

Tony.....I've got to hand it to you. That was funny.......as in . . FUNNY!! . . .

I think I agree with that 100% from what I've heard lately. I think...I THINK...that they were all winners back in the 70's and 80's. I don't go out of my way to listen to them these days.

Didn't the Dutch win in the early 70's with Puppet on a String by Sandy Shaw? Now there was a song! Made you feel happy listening to it, the way music should make you feel! It's a little "dated" by today's standards, but, still.....the "melody lingers on!"

I'm of the same opinion about the San Remo Music Festival. The best song I ever heard from there was: Il Cuore E' Uno Zingaro (sung by Nicola Di Bari), but that goes way back. And I think around the same time Jose Feliciano entered it with Che Sara (not the Doris Day one). That song was so popular he did it in different languages for different countries. An incredibly beautiful tune. I don't remember though if they took home awards for those songs?

Thanks for your opinions on the ESC. It seems to be politically motivated these days?

I've been exposed to both European and American music. To me, the big difference is........European stuff I refer to as "feel good music".....and the American muck now is, as Tony said...who's bedding down with who and the reasons why!

Mark