Happiness and drama – Hungary finally chose their representative for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest after six weeks of excitement. Turns out, the winner of “A Dal 2017” Joci Pápai will make his ESC comeback with his passionate “Az én apám”.
We have followed the Hungarian national selection show, and couldn’t hide how much we have waited for the final, which, we can tell, was eventually the strongest for years. After Petruska was disqualified because of plagiarism, the 7 acts for the final were joined by the most successful singer chosen by the jury. Thus, the eight performers competing for the right to fly Hungary’s flag to Tel-Aviv were: The Middletonz, Gergo Oláh, Bogi Nagy, Fatal Error, Joci Pápai, Gergo Szekér, Acoustic Planet and Bence Vavra.
The long-awaited show kicked off with a medley of the presenters former “A Dal” entries, Freddie‘s “Pioneer” for 2016 and Bogi‘s “We All” which made it to the final top 4 in 2014. This performance was really a surprise that made us happy, because the whistling part of “Pioneer” still rings to our ears since 2016.
Then, the show continued with The Middletonz and their “Roses”. The duo ended on the top of many Eurovision fans’ list, so they were really promising, and we could bet on their victory last night. They brought huge energy to the stage with every performance, and it’s very respectable that they became so successful with their very first song. According to András Kállay-Saunders, they believed in this tune, and they thought if they could represent Hungary this year, they would’ve won it. We wouldn’t have argued about that, but the jury knocked them out before the final televote.
The second act stepping on the stage was Gergo Oláh with “Hozzád bújnék”. Gergo replaced the disqualified Petruska in the final, which made his chances perhaps a little bit low, but his song supports a great cause and talks about an important issue – orphans and finding a family, which made his performance heartbreaking. Though he couldn’t make it to the top 4, the world was given a message. “There are no coincidences, this song should do something good.”
The 16 years old Bogi Nagy had to grow up very quickly, leaving her home and family behind. “Holnap” is about this hard decision, it’s beautiful and even made this young lady cry. “I had to become stronger because they always made fun of me being so sensitive. Now I think that someone who cries is not weak. Someone who cries is strong enough to show their feelings.” Bogi enchanted the jury, the audience and also us at CelebMix in every show, so we were not surprised she got into the top 4. This is already a fantastic achievement at such a young age. Good luck in your further career, Bogi, you got a bright future ahead.
Fatal Error burned down the stage in the previous rounds with “Kulcs” (Key), and they did it again, with much more energy in the final. It seems like the rock band has locked Hungary’s heart as they qualified to the final thanks to the televoters. According to their frontman, for them, what happened in the semi-final was a dream come true, so they were not disappointed they couldn’t make it to the top 4. They also thanked the audience for their support before the song ended, but we guess, sending a rock song for two years in a row is too much for the Hungarian jury.
The eighth series of X-Factor Hungary didn’t bring the expected – and deserved success to the talented Gergo Szekér, but now he had a huge chance of representing his country at Eurovision, namely, the “A Dal” jury has told him multiple times that “Madár, repülj!” (Bird, fly!) might be the song of the year. Gergo’s bird also flew into our hearts, as it’s so journey-like, and the visual for his performance was the most beautiful.We are sad the jury didn’t give him more points.
“We don’t write our songs with pen and paper – we write with our heart. That is why every single moment on the stage is a gift for us” – said Acoustic Planet in their mini-video before their creative performance. With giving only themselves in a fresh, song “Nyári zápor”, they won the jury’s vote and got into the top 4.
According to Bence Vavra, he only competes with himself – he only wants to be satisfied, and if he is, then he feels like he already won. This was the first time that the singer made it to the final of “A Dal”. With his amazing voice, his energy and this powerful tune “Szótlanság”, he absolutely deservedly got into the top 4.
Funnily enough, in 2017, we wouldn’t root for Joci Pápai‘s “Origo”, but this year’s different. The singer returned with an emotional, passionate song “Az én apám” and won our hearts with his honesty. In the second semi-final, he said that “A Dal” stage was his church, where the miracle happens. On the stage, there is no time or space for him, he only lives in the moment. And that moment won him the whole show. In the third heat of the selection, he said that “Az én apám” is probably the most important song of his life. Two years ago, his life changed on the same stage, where last night tears of joy ran down his cheek. Now he will return to Eurovision in Tel-Aviv, representing his country once again – maybe in a hussar dress?
I’d like to thank my father, who is the greatest person!
You can take a listen to the winner song below:
That’s it. The story of “A Dal 2019” has ended, and now we just have to count down the days until Eurovision. Not long now! Are you excited?