Anyway I figured Bazar would get a game in this tournament. This is the only one by her I know thanks to the PSBs Back To Mine and you can see why they’d be down with it. Fantastico.

Romania coming right back at Italy however. Perhaps another hi-octan score draw is on the cards.

Big voiced Italian pop divas are two a penny, possibly because opera is so ingrained in the culture, but once you get past a certain point (ie about 1988) the music is slush of the highest order. This song feels like an apex, of sorts.

Here is the video for Electrochoc, which I also considered using, purely for the kittenish jump in her in voice and is already one of my favourite vocal performances.

“Ti Sento” could have been released this year and wouldn’t have been out of place.

Italy stuns me. Starts with nice spare synthetic xylophone lushness (I know that “spare lushness” is an oxymoron, but this track seems to be layering on deliberately thin-sounding decoration, style on a shoestring, flaunted). I quite like this as a groove track set to synth scenery. So at first I was taken aback when the singer bared her full bosom and aimed it skyward; but ultimately this is successful: a thick rocketship propels to the heavens, while plastic foliage back on Earth remains a touchstone.

Against this the Rumanians lay down an excellent crop of Eurodisco sugar beats (what I’d call “Italodisco” rhythm if I’d mastered the use of the term “Italodisco,” which I don’t think I have). Warm and winning and unpretentious pop-boys gambol easily atop this. Quite nice, and I ought to think twice before I vote for the opponent. Yet vote for the opponent I will.