Every once in a while specific people need a reminder that the general public doesn’t share the same demographics with the 24/7 fandom or the Twitter community. Also, the fandom’s #1 pick not winning doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. You don’t have to take stats class to know that.
Poland had that situation during its national selection: Prior to the national final, Poland was number one in the betting odds to win Eurovision 2016, dependent on 24-year-old Margaret winning with “Cool Me Down”, composed by the team that wrote Aysel & Arash’s “Always” along with Linnea Deb (who co-composed “You” and “Heroes”). The fandom kept heaping praise on the song, that it was modern and radio friendly, that Warsaw would host 2017, etc.
And then she didn’t win.
Neither did 1994 runner-up Edyta Gorniak
Since the international fandom is not the same as the Polish televoting audience, and extreme Polish Eurovision fans do not make up 100% of the Polish televoting audience, the winner ended up being Michał Szpak with “Color of Your Life,” a.k.a. a younger version of Weird Al Yankovic singing a Disney ballad. Or as some people say, a person trying to go for the Conchita “beard and long hair” votes (and we all remember how that went in 2015…)
I was kind of surprised that Poland selected a song so similar to last year’s entry (a sweet-ish ballad). It’s got a bit more power (which my anatomy prof who doesn’t care for ESC would explain because he’s got more lung capacity from standing up vs sitting down), and it’s not the disaster people keep saying it is. Granted, it does sound like a Disney ballad, like someone would decide to troll viewers with this song instead of “I See the Light” in Tangled. The refrain’s really easy to remember too—it’s just aaaaaaah for half the song.
ESC probably won’t go to Warsaw next year, but we can guarantee that Michał Szpak will enjoy his time in Stockholm as a Eurovision fan, and I don’t think he’ll view it as that big of a disaster if he doesn’t qualify. (And given what’s in semi 2, no one really knows what’s going to happen anyways..)
Its a terrible, awful song. Horridly putrid. Sickening really.
If you don’t like it, no problem. I’m not telling anyone they have to like the song.