It’s that time again when we look back at the previous month’s new music from former and current Eurovision artists, plus those from National Finals who tried to get to the Contest too.
Our team at ESCBubble have been through every song released in February and have narrowed down over 50 releases to select the ten they liked the best!
Let’s find out which ten made the list…..
10. Netta – Ricki Lake (Israel 2018)
First up is the song finishing in 10th place – your 2018 Eurovision winner from Israel, Netta Barzali. A short snappy number with a message about American hyper-consumerism, she delivers an equally impactful video featuring Netta bathing in a bath of doughnuts. The lyrics include this killer line in the chorus:
I’m not gonna teach you how to bake a cake
I don’t need your problems, I’m not Ricki Lake
Netta gave her own view of the song’s meaning:
I was fascinated by all the colourful characters she featured in her show. It was a glimpse into the ultimate America at its best and worst. Ricki Lake for me was always how the misfit became America’s sweetheart, and this song and video are my cheesy, messy and greasy homage to her.
Netta
“More deep beats and infectious rhythms from 2018’s ESC winner. Maybe not as immediate as Toy’s follow up, ‘Bassa Sababa’, but at 2:10 it’s no chore to listen to” – Anne
9. Kim Begovic – Calling Me (Slovenia NF 2019)
Next up is the new single from Kim Begovic, who finished 8th in the 2019 Slovenian national final ‘EMA‘ with her entry ‘Rhythm Back To You’. This is a brooding but impactful piece of midtempo pop where she is able to show a real versatility compared to her EMA entry. The song is written by a mixture of Swedish and Irish songwriters – Aidan O’Connor, Adriana Pupavac, Andreas Björkman, John Åhlin, plus Kim herself!
“This sultry yet catchy number became one of my most listened to songs in February. Kim gives a lot of sass in the video and the tune stayed with me for days on end. At three minutes long you can’t help but wonder how this would have done in EMA 2020!” – Nick
8. Helena Paparizou & Sakis Rouvas – Etsi Ine I Fasi (Greece 2001/04/05/09)
Two of Greece’s biggest established artists, both with outstanding Eurovision merits: both of them have a third place to their name and one of them even a win! He brought his country the second podium place in 3 years with “Shake It!” (the first one was actually hers!) and she herself brought the Greeks their first victory with “My Number One“!
In 2006 they shone on the Eurovision stage separately, he hosted and sang and she delivered a fiery interval act with her international hit ‘Mambo’! This passionate midtempo ballad shows off both their vocal talent whilst really capturing a mood of passion and emotion through the beautiful Greek language.
“That they’re professionals is shown in their long-awaited collaboration, the song Έτσι Είναι Η Φάση (Etsi Ine I Fasi), where their seasoned voices ooze pathos and, even if you don’t understand the language, evoke feelings of sorrow and sadness in the listener. They have you submerged in emotions during the entire length of the song!” – Nathan
7. Sick Individuals feat. Tim Schou – I Could Use A Friend (Denmark 2011)
Tim Schou of A Friend In London fame makes a second appearance in our Top 10, two months in a row! Last month he had an acoustic song but now it’s gone full electronic backing. Having teamed up with ‘SICK INDIVIDUALS’, his vocals add to the cool nature of the song and the song includes a pretty awesome drop in the chorus too. This would be a great addition to any dancefloor filler playlist. Meanwhile the lyrics aren’t necessarily in line with the atmosphere of the song – focusing on loneliness.
I’m coming home,
Stepping out of the plane,
I come alone,
And I got news I’d like to share with somebody.
“Tim Schou goes from high to high with yet another amazing release. The song just has such a super fresh sound and that drop is fantastic! Tim’s voice really works with these types of songs and hopefully it is a genre that he will continue to explore in the future.” – David
6. Måns Zelmerlöw & Dami Im – Walk With Me (Sweden 2015, Australia 2016)
Last year, Sweden’s 2015 winner Måns Zelmerlöw released the duet “Walk With Me” with this years Melodifestivalen runner-up Dotter. However, last month Måns re-released the track with 2016’s Australian runner-up Dami Im exclusively ahead of their performance at Eurovision – Australia Decides, the Australian national selection show.
The track is a fantastic pop ballad and Dami’s powerful vocals definitely add something new to the performance, whilst Måns is as charismatic as usual. Make sure to check out the live performance below, and of course Dami Im used the interview after the performance to announce her plans to compete at Eurovision again in 2021.
“Walk With Me is a very good, and very well produced pop song. The voices of Måns and Dami seem to match perfectly in this duet, and I have been listening to it since Australia Decides. Hope that if Dami actually enters the selection next year, she’ll come up with something at least as good as this song.” – Ervin
5. Leon of Athens feat. Katerine Duska – Communication (Greece 2018)
Greece’s 2019 entrant Katerine Duska is back and teams up with Leon of Athens for a second time (you can check out their first collaboration ‘ANEMOS’ here). Leon is a young singer-songwriter who was born in London but raised in Athens. His unique Anglo-Greek twist on music is a great fit on this enjoyable uptempo track with Katerine, which you could definitely imagine hearing on the radio across Europe.
“Katerine Duska continues her collaborations with Leon Of Athens, following up the stunning ANEMOS with their new single Communication. It has the same songwriting team as Better Love, with David Sneddon again involved. This is another great pop song, with a catchy chorus and lyric. Katerine also has new solo music on the near horizon..” – Joe
4. Hurricane feat. King Melody – Guallame El Pantalon (Serbia 2020)
The Serbian three piece girl band of Sanja Vučić, Ivana Nikolić and Ksenija Knežević recently stormed to victory in the Serbian National Final – ‘Beovizija 2020‘ with their turbo charged pop banger ‘Hasta La Vista’. Not resting on their laurels they’ve teamed up for another reggaeton bop with King Melody from Sierra Leone.
“Hurricane are presenting to us a song which could be easily placed in Latin America instead of Serbia, with the sweet mixture of Spanish and English lyrics “Guallame El Pantalon” is the song which is close to the upbeat music they produce and immediately makes you hit the dance floor and sway your hips in the bachata rhythm.” – Nikola
3. KEiiNO feat Charlotte Qamaniq – Black Leather (Norway 2019)
After winning the televote last year, KEiiNO have been releasing a steady stream of great songs like “Praying“, “Dancing In The Smoke” and their latest release “Black Leather” is no different. They show us a darker, more sexual side to the group with a very sexy music video.
As you can see above, their outfits for the video are incredible. All three are practically oozing with sex appeal so it’s no surprise that the song features the iconic line, “You come in here looking like a snack”. The song doesn’t have Fred feature as much as their other songs, however you can still see him vibing along with the pop song.
“Really experimental and catchy song. Something I’d definitely put on before a night out!” – Matt
2. Aminata – Nejauc man prātu (Latvia 2015)
With “Nejauc man prātu” we see Aminata move in to a totally new genre to her. The song tells the story of a girl who misses the attention of her boyfriend with his on/off ways! Speaking about the song Aminata said;
“It turned out to be a really cool, easy and creative adventure, so I’m really excited about this collaboration! It’s a new experience for me, and it’s also a new sound.”
Aminata
It’s also worth mentioning that Aminata will of course be back at Eurovision this year, as the songwriter for Samanta Tina’s “Still Breathing” which will represent Latvia at this years contest.
“This is a really slick modern pop track, I love the use of the Latvian language here sliced over the production which is modern but has great 80’s synth pop inspired tinges. Its a toe-tapper and shows off Aminita being a powerful woman in control, she also looks amazing in the music video.” – Kyle
And the Bubble team’s favourite song last month was….
1. Blanche – Empire (Belgium 2017)
A song the vast majority of the team loved last month and topping the chart is ‘Empire’ by Blanche. She continues to blossom as an artist in both her musicality and the image she presents, she really has used Eurovision as a great platform. ‘Empire’ is very Blanche and has that vulnerability mixed with a strong melodious pop sound she triumphs at. She describes the song in the following way on her Instagram:
“In my opinion, Blanche is one of the most underrated artist after Eurovision, she always has served us quality songs and this time she’s back with this new single called “Empire”. The whole song presents a story and the visual are great too! In this track she kinda reminds me a bit of Emma Bale, a bit of her vibe, but Blanche remains true to her indie-pop music style.” – Marco
We hope you enjoyed the February New Music chart and hope you agreed with our favourite song of the month by Blanche!
To save you the bother of having to listen to the songs individually we have wrapped them all up into both a Spotify and YouTube playlist for your pleasure below:
Let us know whether you agree with our team’s choices this month and we’ll see you again next month when we pick our top 10 from March!
