Eurovision 2019 is just around the corner, and tonight, Hungary kicked off their traditional national selection “A Dal” to choose their representative for the grand contest. In the next few weeks, we will find out who will get the chance to sing their heart out in Tel-Aviv.
The first heat of “A Dal” had a lot in store for us to be excited about. Many contestants were familiar to anyone who has watched Hungary’s national selection show in the previous years, and there were surprisingly talented newcomers, who really smashed it on the stage, but now only six acts out of them could advance to the semi-finals.
Again, the presenter is a well-known singer, Alfréd Gábor Fehérvári, aka Freddie, who stole our heart in 2016 with his hit “Pioneer”. He is strengthened on the stage by the beautiful Bogi Dallos, who was a finalist in “A Dal 2014” with “We All”.
In the jury, next to Lilla Vincze, Miklós Both, Misi Mezo and Feró Nagy, the audience can also take part by sending an SMS with a number from 1 to 10 during each of the performances.
Now, let us lead you into the phenomenal show of the first heat!
The show started with a special video, in which all the selected 30 artists sang a Hungarian legendary song “Fújom a dalt” by Ferenc Demjén. It was nice seeing all of them, and we felt that we are now ready to see who will compete in Eurovision.
And just after this beginning, we thought we have already found the winner of this year’s competition when this young talent stepped on the stage with a self-written song about letting go. Gergo Szekér was born in Slovakia but grew up in Hungary, and for a long time, he didn’t know where he belonged. Hungary got to know him in the eighth series of X-Factor, and now he was one of the jury’s favorites, getting a total of 41 points for “Madár, repülj!”. Feró Nagy even said he could become Hungary’s representative. Well, we’re sure he’s put his heart and soul into the song, namely, it’s about a very painful topic – losing a mother and letting her go.
We won’t let Gergo go – he advanced to the semi-finals.
“It’s always good in the kitchen, because the fridge is always lit” – this is how the next semi-finalist, Konyha band (“Kitchen” in Hungarian) was formed. And tonight they lit up the stage with “Százszor visszajátszott”, that means “replayed a hundred times”, and will be perhaps replayed a lot more than that.
Sadly though, we had to say goodbye to László Váray, his pop-jazz song and his phenomenal guitarlele. No, you didn’t read it wrong – even he couldn’t tell if his instrument was a guitar or a ukulele, but we can’t blame him, because he is “Someone Who Lives Like This”. Someone, who knows he can no longer change things that we destroy but these make the Earth so beautiful. Listen to the lyrics, because it’s message is important to everyone.
Another newcomer to the show was the 17 years old Barni Hamar with “Wasted”. The young boy was just six when he started singing, but only after he got a guitar, started taking it more seriously. He surely has a bright future ahead, as he has what it takes to become successful in this industry. Except for now in “A Dal”.
No matter what happened, Frida Kahlo would be super proud of Rozina Pátkai and her song “Frida”. The singer came to the stage with a huge musical experience: she performed on the New York Jazz Festival, winning America’s heart in 2014. However, she seemed a little bit insecure on the stage, as the jury stated, too. Something went wrong with the performance, which we really liked by the way. Rozina has a pure talent in singing, and could have made it to the finals. Perhaps next time.
Nomad was also our hope, and the only band representing rock this year blowed up this stage for the first time after hundresd of gigs around the country with “A remény hídjai”. Are they going to do it again in the semi-final, too? We pray for this!
Olivér Berkes was familiar to our eyes. He stepped on the “A Dal” stage for the third time now. In 2016, we saw him next to Andi Tóth with “Seven Seas”, then in 2017, with Zävodi and their “Háttérzaj”. This is the first time, though, that he came solo, and it was a milestone in his career, because “Világítótorony” was also composed by him. It’s a beautiful song, even if now it couldn’t bring him the expected success.
We could see another familiar face, as Gergo Oláh competed for the fourth time tonight. After he won the X-Factor in 2012, he first appeared in the national selection show in 2015 with “A tükör elott”, then in 2016 with “Gyoz a jó”, and in 2017, he returned with a band. It seems like this year starts good for him, as he got 41 points, getting straight to the semi-finals. For him, music is a miracle, and he believes he must respect this miracle by filling it with valuable message and feelings. This is how “Hozzád bújnék” was made.
Yet another well-known singer returned this year – we warned you we were overwhelmed with comebacks. Tímea Antal came this time with his musician husband, Gergo Demko and filled the stage with lots of Hungarian folk motifs. For their song, “Kedves Világ!” the married couple got 39 points, and they made it to the next round.
The last performer was DENIZ, whose rap stole the heart of Hungary. The message of “Ide várnak vissza” is that they are proud to be Hungarians, and no matter what, Budapest will always stay in their heart, and will make them come home. The audience gave them the biggest point today, which was 9.
That’s it: Hungary’s national selection show officially kicked off today, and we are eagerly looking forward to the next heat, which is due next Saturday.
Stay with us, because “A Dal 2019” story is to be continued.
Did you like the first show of “A Dal 2019”? Do you already know who will represent Hungary on Eurovision? Make sure to leave a comment below or tweet us @CelebMix!