Eurovision 2019 spotlight: Czech Republic's Lake Malawi with "Friend of a Friend"...

As we roll down the countries and songs competing in this year's Eurovision Song Contest being held in Tel Aviv, Israel, this year, I'm spotlighting the artist and the history of each country in the annual event. You can catch up on the whole series so far by clicking here. And on we go!

The Czech Republic has been in Eurovision since 2007, only entering eight times so far, and only reaching the finals in two out of the previous seven tries. Last year, however, they had their best showing when the adorable Mikolas Josef placed sixth in the finals with the bouncy Jason Derulo-style pop with "Lie To Me" (even after injuring himself in rehearsals). This year, the country brings a trio of fresh-faced young men as the band Lake Malawi was chosen in a national contest that scored with online votes from both the local and international public as well as a music jury.

Czech Republic - "Friend Of A Friend" by Lake Malawi

The pop/rock trio from the city of Třinec on the country's eastern border with Poland, Lake Malawi features singer Albert Černý along with Jeroným Šubrt and Antonín Hrabal. "Friend Of A Friend", written by Albert along with Jan Steinsdoerfer and Maciej Mikolaj Trybulec, is so white-boy funk that it makes Maroon 5 sound like James Brown. That said, the song is way catchy in a dorkish Steely Dan kind of way, with a video replicating Instagram for the ladies. Very current sound, for 1982 (which may be why a part of me likes it more than I should...).

This is a difficult one. On one hand, the song is so pleasant to listen to, with the rubbery bass and the early 80s-style synth lines throughout the song, and a chorus that's obviously easy to sing along to. But it also is pretty static, with no real "peak" to climb to here, it may come off as a bit background amongst the more memorable songs at the end of the first semi. But with neighboring Poland and Hungary to give them votes, and a radio-friendly sound juries will like, this probably will be the squeaker to make it into the finals. (Rating: 6/10)

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As one of the former Eastern Bloc countries that didn't start competing until years after Czechoslovakia broke into two, the Czech Republic has only been in seven previous Eurovision years, and only made the finals in two of them. Last year, the charming Mikolas Josef claimed their best showing hitting #6 with "Lie To Me", and probably would've done better without the accident that stunted some of his dancing...

I love that song, but my personal favorite of Czech Republic didn't make the final criminally, with Martina Bárta with "My Turn" in 2017...