EUROVISION 2019 REVIEW: NORTH MACEDONIA - Tamara Todevska - Proud

Time for the next review!

Today, we turn to North Macedonia. Tamara Todevska returns after representing the country in 2008, this time with 'Proud'. Can she bring North Macedonia back into the final for the first time since 2012?

Here are my thoughts:

What I Like: Okay, so 'Proud' has got elements that should make it an incredible entry. I'm so glad that Tamara is the one performing this as I have full faith in her live vocal and performance and believe she can turn a stone into a diamond. Her voice is beautiful and is from the Balkan ballad school of drama and passion. I also think the message they tried to go for is nice, note 'tried to', and the production is really gorgeous, the way the strings shine as we go into the chorus sounds sinister but beautiful.

What I Don't Like: Now... where to begin. I might get ranty here, but know it comes from a place of love as over the years I've rooted for North Macedonia probably more than any other country because I long for the day they qualify once again. But they've really shot themselves in the foot with this one. Everything about 'Proud' is so cliche that it renders the message of the song pointless and dilutes any real impact the song tries to have. The music video shows a diverse group of women being 'proud' of who they are, which would be fantastic, but they've went and shot the music video in a drab studio with a plain grey background where the women are constricted to black and white outfits and make-up to fit the vision of the director. Its almost as if they are trying to create this message of 'letting go' while putting them in such a confined environment and telling them what to wear and act like which looks so ridiculous when paired with the lyrical aspects to the entry. North Macedonia have been daring and sent songs that have pushed the song contest forward in recent years, and because they didn't get the results they wanted it feels like they've took several huge steps back with this one. I don't really need to say that songs like 'Proud' where women are celebrated and the message of gender equality is presented are of course still hugely important, but we're in 2019 and there are other acts and previous entries that have celebrated female empowerment in a more creative and authentic way (Armenia being a good example from this year), and it feels like this is too far behind to even catch up. Am I right in saying this or am I completely overthinking everything here? It feels like North Macedonia are once again falling into their habits of executing their entries in the completely wrong way, and it angers me that nobody took a step back and thought about how this could have been presented better.

Prediction: Well you won't be surprised to see that I think this is a non-qualifier. Seeing where its placed in the running order suggests to me that this is going to have next to no staging sandwiched between The Netherlands and Azerbaijan and make very little impact. I can already vision the staging where Tamara stands in front of 5 backing singers with a black backdrop and those same outfits from the video and it's giving me nightmares.

Final Score: 4/10

Summary: A well performed entry with a nice production, but with a messy unimaginative execution that leaves me feeling cold. Sadly I'm not as Proud (lol geddit) of North Macedonia this year compared to previous years.

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