Does Joost Klein stand a chance of winning the Song Contest? ‘‘He should make Top 10’’
Last night, Joost Klein presented his song for the Eurovision Song Contest: Europapa. UvA’s Ashley Burgoyne researches what makes a song catchy. He discusses with us the chances of the Dutch entry every year. ‘‘Not sing-along enough for top five’’.
And, is Europapa a bit catchy?
‘‘The happy hardcore style of this song uses a lot of repetition in itself, which always helps for the catchiness of a song. Yet, according to my research, it is also important that it is a sing-along. I can see people at the live performance going all the way to sing along with ‘‘Euro-pa-pa, euro-pa-pa’’, but not sustaining the singing the whole track.’’
‘‘In fact, my measurements show that for a catchy song, it is often important that the vocals rise above the music. In Europapa, there is always a synth at the same height as Joost’s voice. In the case of Duncan Laurence’s chorus Arcade, which of course won the song contest in 2019, on the contrary, there was little accompaniment and therefore clear vocals. According to the readings, that makes a song catchy faster.’’
So which Eurovision song is a good example of scientifically catchy?
‘‘If you listen back to it again, Israel’s Netta’s Toy, the 2018 ‘‘chicken song’’, is actually quite catchy. Parts of the song may be inimitable, especially the chicken sounds, but the hook comes back very clearly every time. I personally always call a perfectly catchy song to be Wannabe by the Spice Girls. There’s really everything in there: repetition, clear vocals and a very recognisable, recurring hook.’’
So does Europapa fit within the style of a Song Contest winner?
‘‘People should remember that Eurovision is a TV show. 80 percent is about the show. Joost Klein himself has said that he cannot sing well, but I think he severely underestimates his own voice. Moreover, I think he knows very well what the Song Contest is about and he has the potential to turn his show into an impressive theatre piece.’’
‘‘Last year there were mainly very musical songs, it was little camp and mostly ballads. This year is very different right from the start, with more funny entries, like also Windows95man from Finland. Thereby, Dutch, German, all those languages help Europapa in the funny message Joost wants to put down. I mean: is it in Dutch or is it in European?’’
And the annual question: will the Netherlands win?
‘‘I don’t think so. Top 5 is already going to be difficult, it’s not sing-along enough for that. And anyway, who wins from the top 5 is completely incalculable. The national juries are usually not too keen on ‘‘cheerful’’ or funny songs. I think Joost is simultaneously making fun of the song contest and also taking it extremely seriously. With that, he will actually get a lot of votes from the audience. But Windows95man is also funny, so he will have to compete with that. I think Top 10 is reachable for Joost.’’
