Review: “Unser Lied für Liverpool” (Germany)

Doron Lahav

3 years ago

Germany will select an artist and a song for Eurovision 2023 via “Unser Lied für Liverpool” – national selection for Eurovision 2023

“Unser Lied für Liverpool” (Eng: our song for Liverpool) will be held on Friday, the 3rd of March 2023 at 22:20 CET.
The host will be the beloved Barbara Schöneberger

The results will be determined by a 50% international jury, and a 50% public vote.
A total of eight international juries will vote, with each jury consisting of five people.
The public vote has opened and is available here

TRONG – Dare To Be Different
René Miller – Concrete Heart
Anica Russo – Once Upon A Dream
Lonely Spring – Misfit
Will Church – Hold On
Patty Gurdy – Melodies Of Hope
Ikke Hüftgold – Lied mit gutem Text
Frida Gold – Alle Frauen in mir sind müde
Lord Of The Lost – Blood And Glitter

In this article, I will give my personal review of the songs:

#1. TRONG – Dare To Be Different

It is a dance pop song, with some Asian music influences.
One of the song writers is Elsie Bay (who participated in the Norwegian selection for Eurovision 2022 and 2023)
The song opens with traditional Asian string elements.
The first verse relies on a mid-tempo beat, and he uses some manners.
The pre-chorus is faster and more melodical. as we can hear some keyboards playing in the background.
The chorus is similar to the first verse. The melody gives us a vibe of the 1990’s music, we can hear some wind instruments and keyboards playing.
The second verse is performed as a spoken word / speaking singing. In some senses, it feels a little bit effortless. We can heat some backing vocals in the background.
The pre-chorus is similar to the first one.
The second chorus relies on more studio effects, especially regarding the backing vocals.
The bridge of the song starts with an instrumental part, composed of the traditional string elements,
Finally, we got another chorus, this time with guitar playing.
Overall, a decent effort that translates into a radio-friendly song. It isn’t hard to guess what the performance will look like, as we have the video-clip.
Even though the introduction was promising, the song remained a little flat.

#2.René Miller – Concrete Heart

It is a pop-rock singer-songwriter song.
The song starts with an electric guitar playing.
René opens the song with his pleasant voice.
The first verse relies on guitar stringing and percussion elements.
The pre-chorus is slower and suggests a new direction for the melody. The guitar’s sounds are “deeper”.
In the chorus, he moves to a much more powerful singing. You can observe some furiousity in his singing. The melody is based on keyboards and guitar playing.
The second verse relies on simple singing, with some percussion elements in the background.
As we move forward to the chorus, we can hear more of his voice. Once again he uses some long notes in a husky and stable voice.
The bridge is the chorus itself that is performed with some support of fading backing vocals.
Thereafter, we get the chorus in a different tempo, this time we can hear a slow drum playing as well.
The song ends with the last line of the chorus and stops with the sound of heart beats.
Can I say this song is a life changer? Probably not. But René Miller success in translating emotions into his vocal performance. We can agree that he knows how to tell a story. Musically, the production isn’t linear and it can be observed by the diversity of the melody. Well done!

#3. Anica Russo – Once Upon A Dream

It is an indie power ballad with a cinematic production.
The first verse is slow and based on the keyboard playing alongside guitar background music and percussion beat. Anica sings the first verse with an accurate mid-tone voice.
In the beginning of the song, the keyboard playing comes with a low frequency and is quite calm. As the song progresses, it becomes more intensive and powerful.
The second verse suggests a similar structure. The production is more acoustic. From time to time, we can hear string elements like guitar and violin.
The first chorus starts with drum playing and an outcry. She showcases her wonderful voice as backing vocals support her. The chorus is short but effective. The amplitude of the melody changes as well. The last part of the chorus includes some long notes. The chorus is finalized with some humming.
The chorus outro is performed powerfully with drums in the background.
The third verse relies on a faster melody. We can hear a modulation and this is the peak point of the song.
The song ends with keyboard playing and soft singing.
The structure of the song isn’t clear, in the sense that it doesn’t try to converge to any pattern.
It is a song of the kind that, with thoughtful staging, can be much more elevated.
There’s something about her singing and non standard melody which convinces me.
The song is catchy and I consider it “ear candy” from the first note. Well done!

#4. Lonely Spring – Misfit

It is a rock pop song.
The song starts with a simple guitar stringing. The members of the band sing together and sound like a “choir”. The first part of the song isn’t the first verse, but the chorus.
The first verse is more melodical, as the melody is based on guitar and drums playing. This part is performed by a singer with a mid-low tone of voice. He is supported by some male backing vocalists.
Thereafter, we get again the chorus (same one from the introduction) . This time, we can hear more of drum playing, and the outro is played on electric guitar.
The second chorus is performed by another vocalist with a thinner and smokey tone of voice. Later on, he is joined by the first vocalist.
The chorus sounds the same, but this time with a greater presence of electric guitar.
The bridge is faster and sounds like a typical rock boyband.
The song closes with acapella singing.
When I heard for the first time, I was almost sure we had the technology to go back in time and the year is 2007.
Overall, no surprises here. The song developed quite predictably, and that’s why I lost interest in the middle. It seems like the chorus was the main part of the song, and they just decided to repeat over until they had a song which isn’t too short.

#5. Will Church – Hold On

It is an emotional singer-songwriter ballad.
The song starts with humming by a vocalist that sounds perfect.
The melody is based on keyboard and guitar playing.
The “ahaha” singing is recorded as a loop that comes back from time to time.
The first verse is slow and performed quite professionally.
The pre-chorus is more “virtuous”, and Will shows more of his vocal abilities. He sings it with a higher tone of voice. The melody is based on guitar playing.
The chorus starts with some trilling. The melody is quite basic, but his magical voice elevates it.
The second chorus is faster. The melody is based on acoustic guitar and drums. We can hear some backing singing as well.
The pre-chorus has the same structure as previously, but this time it is performed with some more air.
The second chorus is more like a “hymn”, he sounds even better. It features braver singing in the sense of a high tone of voice.
The song ends out of the blue. I think it lacks one final part which will be performed with a more powerful/huskier singing.
Overall, Will is an excellent singer. His voice fits the song. I feel like there is a true connection between him and the message of the song. However, I wanted it to explode earlier and bigger.

#6. Patty Gurdy – Melodies Of Hope

It is a folk song.
The singer’s stage name, Patty Gurdy, is rooted in the name of the instrument she plays in.
The melody is mainly based on the unique string instrument hurdy-gurdy. The instrument produces sound by hand-crank-turned, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to those of a violin.
The song starts with a short instrumental part, composed by the hurdy-gurdy. Thereafter, she enters with a soft and pleasant voice, with some inner echo. The melody also features a drum beat.
The chorus has a more promising and uplifting scent. She sings it with a higher tone of voice. Something feels more hopeful and less stressful about this part. We can hear some backing vocals as well. The chorus is finalized with a hurdy-gurdy riff.
The second verse is a bit faster, we can hear keyboards playing as the rhythm starts being more powerful. This part if quite short
The second chorus is quite similar to the first one . The melody is based on the mentioned pop beat.
The bridge starts acoustically, with a keyboard and guitar playing. Her singing is softer. Thereafter, we get the last chorus. This time, with a greater presence of hurdy-gurdy
The song celebrates the power of music by helping us forget about the daily troubles and recover from the past.
Patty suggests a combination of charisma, standout melody and good vocal abilities. That’s why the song is memorable and effective. My only criticism is that the lyrics are sosmeitmes to basic

#7.Ikke Hüftgold – Lied mit gutem Text

It is an entertaining schlager song.
The first verse’s melody is based on keyboard playing. Ikke opens the song with a low husky tone of voice. The first verse is performed in a speaking/reciting form.
The chorus is more rhythmic, as it relies on a fast beat. In its beginning, we can hear him shouting, and later he is joined by some backing vocals.
The second verse is longer. The melody of this part is also based on guitar playing.
The chorus is more “festive” and easy to sing along with.
Thereafter, we get an instrumental part with out of tune flute playing.
Towards the end, we get another instrumental part, composed of string instruments.
Overall, these have been the longest 2:56 minutes of my life.
Something about this song seems cheap or even shallow. It is kind of childish and makes me think like the singer aimed approaching to “easiest mutual core to achieve”.
I can see it getting a lot of support from the German public, but it won’t be something that I’d send to Eurovision.

#8. Frida Gold – Alle Frauen in mir sind müde

It is an emotional bilingual ballad.
The song starts with a short instrumental part, composed of Latin guitar stringing.
The first verse is slow. Frida sings it with a mid-tone voice, her voice is deep and stable. The melody is quite simple and production free, mainly based on the guitar playing.
The chorus is a bit faster, and there she sings more powerfully with a higher tone of voice. The melody is also based on cello playing, This adds an orchestral dimension to the song.
The second verse has the same form of the first verse, but it is significantly shorter.
The second chorus gives the cello a wider place. The singing is a little bit more intense, but still faithful to the melody.
The third verse is performed in a higher tone of voice. This time the melody is richer, and we can even hear violin playing.
The third chorus features some backing vocals and humming.
The last third of the song is performed in English. This part starts in the middle of the chorus.
The bridge of the song gives a statement. of a woman that is tired of the ongoing race of life. She is proud to be a woman, but she wants to remind us that she is a human after all.
A short instrumental part leads us to singing in the German language again.
The song ends out of the blue.
The song has a unique flow, it is simple but still convincing and sophisticated.
First of all, getting a well performed song in your native language is exciting. But it isn’t only about the language here, the traditional folk elements stand out. This song is significantly from the others in the line-up. The same will apply if it is chosen for Eurovision.
Taking such an important topic and mixing it together with some originality always makes me appreciate the song.
At certain points, it reminded me of the magical Norwegian song for Eurovision 1993.

Bonus: Longer version with video-clip

#9. Lord Of The Lost – Blood And Glitter

It is a glam rock song with some synth rock elements.
The song starts with reciting part of the chorus. The melody of this part is based on simple guitar and keyboard playing.
Thereafter, the leas singer moves to a loud growling, with drums and keyboard playing.
The first verse is quite slow and performed in a low tone of voice. The drums playing is getting more powerful, and we can hear some electric elements.
The pre-chorus is composed of fast singing.
The chorus is catchier. The first half is based on keyboard playing. Later on, we can hear electric guitar with some electronic effects. Towards the end the lead singer roars.
The second verse starts calmer. But shortly after, we get an additional chorus with some synth production.
Once again, some powerful roars and the song is finalized with a long instrumental part composed of bass and electric guitar.
As for the lyrics of the song, I can see an “underground” message. The theme is quite dark with evocative imagery and allusions to death, regret, but also unity (“we are all from the same blood”).
The song sounds like an old fashioned rock song from the 1980’s. There’s something too repetitive about its structure. At least half could have been cut off, and the message will remain the same.
Growling is a legit element of glam rock, but sometimes it is just too much.

Personal Ranking

Anica Russo – Once Upon A Dream
Frida Gold – Alle Frauen in mir sind müde
René Miller – Concrete Heart
Patty Gurdy – Melodies Of Hope
Will Church – Hold On
TRONG – Dare To Be Different
Lonely Spring – Misfit
Lord Of The Lost – Blood And Glitter
Ikke Hüftgold – Lied mit gutem Text

Prediction

This selection can end unpredictably.
I have got a feeling Germany will choose a song which isn’t radio-friendly, for example Lord Of The Lost.
It is possible that the public will crown Ikke. However, I believe the international jurt will go after other choices.

Germany will compete in the grand final of Eurovision 2023.
Don’t forget to visit our full guide to Eurovision 2023: Our Eurovision 2023 homepage