Eurovision 2019 spotlight: Hungary's Joci Pápai with "Az én apám"...

I'm continuing with my spotlight on the countries and songs competing in this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. If you've missed anything in the series, you can see all the posts by clicking here. And on we go...

In this year's competition there are five singers that have appeared in previous years as solo singers or part of a group. One of those five is from Hungary, as Joci Pápai comes back after winning the national selection TV show A Dal, which has chosen the act for Eurovision since 2012. Pápai was on the annual show in 2017, and his gypsy ballad "Origo" came in at a respectable eighth place. In 2018, the heavy metal band AWS was a EuroFan favorite with their raucous "Viszlát nyár" ("Summer, Gone") and made the final but ended up down in 21st place. This time, Joci gets sentimental about his father in "Az én apám".

Hungary - "Az én apám" from Joci Pápai

Pápai, a singer of Hungarian and Romani roots, comes from the town of Tata on the country's northern border with Slovakia. He's been recording professionally for a while, releasing an album in 2005, and appearing on various single collaborations since. "Az én apám" ("My Father") was written by Joci with Ferenc Molnár Caramel (with whom he's recorded before). As opposed to the haunting dervish of "Origo", the original of this number rolls much slower, almost like a dirge, as Joci goes through memories of his childhood. It doesn't really own a proper chorus, but the revamp, which substitutes the dirge-like moaning with whistling after the first verse, then adds both together afterwards, which does manage to lighten it up a little, but the song still remains a dark peace for a "daddy song"...

This one has its work cut out for it - the dark and gloomy nature of the song may be part of the reason the song itself has been getting near the bottom of the Euronerd polling tallies, but the stage performance is really where I think it will shine, and the added whistles do great help. But can lightning strike twice? I definitely don't see this as a winner, but with the right performance it can defy a lot of expectations. Papai has proved himself a charismatic live act two years ago, but this song is more personal and direct, and being in Hungarian, while helping with the juries, may offput people who simply don't know what this is about. Like the Czech Republic yesterday, this is a borderline qualifier. (Rating: 5.5/10)

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After the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, Hungary started to compete in Eurovision in 1994 (after a year where they didn't qualify). But that first year ended up with their best showing to date with singer Frederika Bayer and "Kinek mondjam el vétkeimet?" ("To Whom Can I Tell My Sins"). You can tell this country is dark from the very start. The song came in at fourth place that year...

But my personal fave so far came in 2011 when Kati Wolf delivered the dramatic Eurocheese I craved with "What About My Dreams", which came in 22nd in the final (and that ring though)...