2014

 

• Hosted in: Malta

• Won by: Italy - Tu primo grande amore by Vincenzo Cantiello

“Rise like a phoenix” was the song that led Conchita Wurst and Austria to win the adult contest earlier that year, but it’s not just Conchita. This year we’re happy to announce that the Junior Eurovision Song Contest is finally, after so many years of lopsided Eastern participation, healing. After one of the smallest JESCs in history took place, the field is now back to 16, and the “three” is now joined by one of the big five members for the first time in a long, long while: Italy. In addition, a warm welcome back to our inaugural winners Croatia, making 2014 the first time one of the members of the original “big three” – Croatia, UK and Spain – participated since all the way back in 2007. Alongside the presence of Serbia AND Montenegro, separate countries but even they wouldn’t mind. The result is a quite even field here, so we’re slowly but surely going to have a quite pan-European affair in a few years’ time.

How many pianos is too many pianos? I don’t know actually but I think it’s less than 2. Bulgaria’s Krisia performed “Planet of the Children”, supposedly a mature-feeling ballad about environmental protection alongside Hasan and Ibrahim each playing their pianos. Two pianos, one girl huh? You guys might be enjoying this! The audience did, as they gave Bulgaria 2nd place. Not bad for a country that is 2nd to perform. San Marino meanwhile have a pop song performed by girls in different colored skirts… all about being heartbroken. That didn’t work well. D for you- I mean 15th place. Sorry reviewing those entries are like grading exams.

If you tell anyone that Croatia are going to be last place in a decade’s time, moments after the country won the 2003 contest, they would slam you in the face. I’m sorry but that’s exactly what happened. Croatia send in Josie with her song about technology. It was dreadful. The song was off, the vocals were horrible, and her dancing wasn’t even good. That was not the correct way to do the robot.

Alongside the sympathy 12 points the EBU gave to every country, Croatia gained… 1 more point. From San Marino. Becoming one of, if not THE worst performing entry in JESC history. A loss so horrible that Croatia would not participate in the contest since, even when other members of the original big three are present. Fittingly, Josie’s song was named… “Game over”. The country would eventually, probably regretfully, return in 2025.

We now go to the JESC’s now veterans, Armenia, while they didn’t give us the usual weird stuff (cough cough Compass Band 2012 cough cough), they still able to give us all the weird stuff enough to have a mention. Betty got us the “People of the Sun”, a vibrant and catchy upbeat tune with dynamic staging; described as a “wild ride” blending youthful energy and theatrical flair, with Betty herself being accompanied by three ribbon dancers. How does that relate to the sun? Not that it mattered since they finished 3rd.

Our hosts did really decent, too! Malta gave us “Diamonds” from Federica Falzon, with powerful operatic-pop vocals and a camera angle that remind you of a certain bearded lady… Malta finished 4th, missing the podium by a mere 30 points. Russia has a charming, melodic ballad with a simple yet emotionally impactful delivery that resonated with fans, finishing 5th, the highest scoring entry to end up with a double-digit score, while fellow Belarus has a crisp, polished performance in their signature style, finishing 6th.

Since Croatia’s win 2003, which is obviously the first contest, no country have ever nailed victory on their first try. However, when Italy came, oh, they really came. Vincenzo Cantiello performed Tu Primo Grande Amore – “You, first great love”, presumably a tribute to Dino Jelusick after 11 years, being “You are my first love”. And oh boy, it hit everyone REAL HARD. It was a soaring Italian-language ballad showcasing Vincenzo’s strong vocals, dramatic emotions, and minimalist stage setting that emphasized his performance alone. While during the voting procedure some countries are still able to catch up, the voting was practically over before it really was, Italy’s win was only guaranteed just after Malta’s points were announced. Becoming the second winner in a row to not being an ex-Soviet country, and the first Western European winner since Ralf Mackenbach (yes, we still remember you) back in 2009. With the contest all set and done, we’re packing our bags to Italy, right? RIGHT?!

Presentation and format

This year’s contest was the first time an all-female cast hosted the contest since Andreea Marin and Ioana Ivan (yes we still remember you) all the way back in 2006. In fact this is the first ever contest to have a solo host, Moira Delia, who have previously hosted Malta’s national selection for the adult contest, the bizarrely named Malta Eurovision Song Contest. Despite the fact that the contest was held at a former shipbuilding shed in Marsa, executive supervisor Yakovlev said that this year would not have a host city, rather a host island. Hence why we got into this situation.

This year’s trophy, as seen with Gaia Cauchi in the screenshots, is again a physical version of the theme art, inspired by the Maltese cross, with each of its coloured segments represented a feature of Malta: Sand, Sea, Stone, Grass, Sky, Dusk and Sunset. That very same symbol doubles as an airplane, and as a card for the spokesperson to read points. Speaking of, because of the increased number of the participants, spokespeople now return to announce some of the points, this time adopting the procedure seen at the adult contest since 2006 – with the spokepersons announcing only the 8, 10, and 12 points while the other points are added to the scoreboard instantly as they speak. Finally, time is saved!

The organizers also opened a poll for international viewers, which, while does not have any influence the outcome of the contest, is a stepping stone for ROTW involvement in Eurovision. This year’s slogan is, like the adult contest that year, a hashtag, #together. Despite a new generic logo was introduced for the adult contest in July that year, the standard logo for this year, which has been stuck since 2009, remained unchanged for the final time.

The postcards now feature people doing extreme sports in Malta’s most famous places, though most of them are in the SmartCity Malta complex. Italy’s was not one of them, instead it has people breakdancing in a hall. The practice of performers presenting themselves and their song, as this has been the case since 2004 with the sole exception being 2011 up until this point, is now omitted for good. (Until it returned in 2015, anyway...)