Eurovision 2014 - 06/08/10 May 2014

Hmmm. I can't decide if it's a genuinely strong contender with a good chance of winning, or a laboured cliché of all the Eastern bloc Eurovision entries that were so typical at the turn of the millennium.

"Power to the People!" with fists punching the air - yes, if this had been the entry from, say, Lithuania in 1999, it might have cut the mustard. But the UK's entry in 2014? I worry that the average Euro-voter is a bit weary and desensitised to this genre of tub thumping, semi-political cries for love and freedom. It might flag up as a cynical parody on even the weakest of European irony radars.

Since the brilliant winning entries of Norway and Germany in 2009/2010 respectively, I think the collective taste has shifted significantly towards quirky but high quality melodies, with less emphasis on the lyrics or their meaning.

However, the way the BBC have played it with the unveiling of this artist and track has been brilliant; it had a slight "underground" feel with a subtext of "we've discovered the next Duffy/Adele". All bluff of course, but that's how the game works - the perceived coolness of the artist is key. And it shows they're finally taking the Eurovision seriously. If we're ever going to stand a chance of winning, it needs the BBC to give our entry the "cool" treatment in a Radio One kind of way, rather than treating it as one big soppy bit of fun.

Ultimately, whether we win or not, I think it's a step forward to use artists that are breaking through rather than has-beens.

Just heard it on the Radio.

Works well in audio only, suspect the audio balance on last night's video wasn't the best, much better as just played. She's just been interviewed by Ken Bruce. Seems the staging for Copenhagen is still being discussed. Probably, just her and the backing singers, owing to the 6 performer rule. No room for the band as shown on the RB preview.

I envision loads of thumpy lights and pyrotechnics. That "Power To The People" hook has been evidently designed with the arena in mind.

Hmm... (sorry, I've just realised I've started my post like yours ) sort of.

I've been saying for some time that we had to take the song away from Radio 2 and the older mindset. The idea of getting a veteran act past their best to represent us clearly hasn't worked, and many of the other songs presented have been way too old-fashioned.

Thing is though, I don't think it's cool we need. Eurovision is not cool. It's never been cool. It's all about cheesy and good pop songs. So I don't think we've found the right answer yet, albeit that this year's entry is way better than previous years.

I agree with other posters that it sounds a little dated and that the video from last night was not a good representation of the song. I haven't heard the recorded version yet, that may be better, but it concerns me that a live performance under very controlled circumstances wasn't brilliant when she'll have to do it live in front of squillions of people.

The problem, as I see it, we have in this country is we're more interested in being cool and doing a Dennis Waterman (having to write the song and sing the song) than producing great pop. That's fine if you've got an indie mentality and that's what you like, but it's not going to win Eurovision. Get some fantastic songwriters in there, get a really good performer and you've got more of a chance.

However, to stop my relentless stream of negativity, this is definitely a step in the right direction. I just hope that when we don't win we don't go into another huffy "well everyone just hates us then" mode and actually accept we will not have provided the best song of the contest. The right mentality means we can take this improvement and build on it.

Totally agree with the above post. I'm completely fed up with the political argument. This song is edging towards where we need to be but you can tell that penny pinching and BBC apathy have prevented it from becoming a winner. The BBC also needs to seriously think about how it will be choreographed. Its now just as important as the song.

Here's Ruth Lorenzo's song for Spain if you've not heard it, unusually for Spain it's Spanglish as opposed to pure Spanish - clearly being done with the expatriate and British audiences in mind. Will be surprised if our Douze Points doesn't go here...

Now I understand why Simon Cowell wanted her to sing in Spanish!

In this feature on the BBC website it seems the producer of the track is Swedish, Anders Hansson, who has produced stuff by Agnes amongst others.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26431800

I see it's had airplay on both Radio 2 and Radio 1 today. Let's hope Radio 1, Capital and Heart all get behind it.

Why? We can't vote for it, and it matters not one jot if the people of the UK like the song. The effort in publicising the track needs to be done on the continent, not here.

It's important though that this year's contest rates well on BBC One, as it'll encourage them to stick with this approach. I also think extensive radio play in this country will help shift the perceptions of Eurovision. Terry Wogan gave it a terrible rep, and we've got to shake it off. Somehow.

Both are important. We need it to be heard in the UK as Molly is effectively unknown. The more people who are aware of the track and her participation, and who care about her result, the more who will watch. Ratings for this year's Eurovision will be important, as there is a view that entering a known act (Bonnie, Engelbert, Blue etc.) brings a bigger audience to the final (particularly as the UK has bucked the ratings trend in recent years) If Molly doesn't impact ratings, it may been seen as a vindication of the new approach. That's important.

However the BBC will also want the approach to be seen as a success not just in domestic ratings terms, but within the contest. Making sure the track, and Molly, is publicised around Europe (and the wider Eurovision area) is also going to be important.

Interesting times. I really hope this works well for the BBC. It's good that they've tried a different approach, and have used an existing BBC platform.

Let's face it - we're never going to get a high budget selection show like Melodifestivalen or Melodi Grand Prix (particularly a one-off show like Denmark's). There isn't the appetite at BBC One to commission it.