As anticipated, Israel has released a new version of Dana International's self-penned entry for Eurovision, "Ding Dong".
I was never fully sold on "Ding Dong" to begin with. It paled in comparison to "Diva" and the rest of Dana's solid catalog of work. Unfortunately, this new version doesn't inspire me to change my mind. It will most likely be a hit at the Euroclub, but I'm underwhelmed as I listen to it at home. It feels like the producer decided to throw every audio trick in the book at it, and it makes it feel somewhat dated.
On the bright side, though, Dana and the rest of the Israeli delegation has decided to put one major decision in the hands of her fans: her onstage ensemble. She has picked a series of off-the-runway designs from renowned couturier Jean Paul Gaultier, and the public is invited to choose their favorite. (The site is in Hebrew, but it's still pretty intuitive. Just scroll down to see the eight options, and vote for the one that flips your switch! I was a fan of the green woven number, personally...) Fans might remember that Dana has worn Gaultier designs earlier in her Eurovison career; she famously delayed her victory reprise in 1998 as she changed into a fabulous feathered number:
No matter how the song turns out, Dana will definitely bring a great show to the ESC this year, and letting the audience determine a major factor in the performance just goes to show how much the fans matter to the artists that perform at Eurovision. Todah, Dana!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
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#1: Unflattering, ugly, and overall just wrong for the song.
ReplyDelete#2: Looks OK, I suppose. Given that Rihanna wore it already, though, it might not go over that well. I hear Kelly Rowland wore Elena Paparizou's Roberto Cavalli dress to the Grammy's earlier that year, but firstly, Elena wore it better, since I always assumed it was made specially for Elena, and her Final performance was less about the dress, even if the dress certainly added to it (brilliant complement to her skin-tone).
#3: "Look out below! My skirt is about to eat you!" Is the skirt supposed to be up like that all the time? I would like to see it down if possible. I doubt I would love it even then, but just to see...
#4: Apparently the most popular choice at the moment. The styling is distracting, so I hope she does not imitate the runway version if she picks this. Not quite to my taste, but I can see Dana in this, and would hope she is styled appropriately and tastefully in it, so she does not look outright like an amphibian.
#5: To me, it just looks like woven lettuce, that will expire in a few days if not refrigerated. I guess this is a step up from that infamous "meat-dress" by you-know-who!
#6: The design elements look really cool in theory, but for some reason, as it is, it is not really working for me, at least how I see it on the runway.
#7: Could work, but not in this colour for Dana's colouring, even if the colour really is beautiful. I also do not see this quite working as stage-wear, even with the edgy bodice.
#8: My preference. I like to think that simplicity makes a statement. The colour is beautiful, too.
I think Eurovision needs more runway-shoppers like her!
After spending time thinking about the revamp, I just cannot get behind it. Instead of a revamp, it sounds like an outright remix; it does not sound like a first version of anything, the way that most successful songs do. In fact, have any of the winning songs in, well, ever, been revamped?
I am not against revamping, but one should display restraint in such matters. This is not my idea of a quintessential "mess" (Azerbaijan 2008 is), but I can understand it being used to describe this song as it is. I think there is much to love about the song, like the melody, and the bilingual lyrics, but this remix does not play up any of those aspects, and it is overdesigned. There are too many design elements that do not have a cohesive point.
I really hope Dana knows what she is doing, and she gives a good show.
-Finland