Before the start of Eurovision-2019, less than a month remains: the first semi-final will be held on May 14 in Israel. Sergey Lazarev, who has already represented the country in this music competition in 2016, will speak at the competition from Russia. The draw determined him in the second semi-final, scheduled for May 16.
On the eve of the competition Sergey Lazarev and Philip Kirkorov (he took part in the creation of the song Scream, with which the artist will perform in Tel Aviv, and is also responsible for the preparation of the number) gave a press conference in Moscow. They spoke about the creation of the video, appreciated how much politics can affect the outcome of the vote, and also praised Israel for preparing the event.
About the song
The words of the song Scream were written by an American performer and Grammy nominee nominee Sheron Vaughn, and the music was composed by Philip Kirkorov in collaboration with the Greek composer Dimitris Kontopoulos.
Lazarev and Kirkorov noted that this time the song will be very different in concept from You Are the Only One. If in 2016 the emphasis was placed on the dance element, a memorable melody, then this time the composition was non-standard.
“I understood perfectly well that this is not a radio hit, that this is not a gum song that clings. She has a very unusual structure. It does not have the usual structure: couplet-chorus-couplet. The melody is not simple, it is incredibly difficult to sing: the song has a very wide range, ”Lazarev shared his opinion.
He confirmed the words of his colleague and Kirkorov: “Vocally, this is a test, torture. When we chose the tonality, Sergey insisted that it be as high as possible. ”
Lazarev also said that he had already performed Scream during a tour of Europe, and in each city the audience warmly received the song.
About contest policy
Kirkorov and Lazarev admitted that because of the current rules, according to which the winner is chosen not only by audience voting, but also by the decision of the jury, questions arise regarding the objectivity of the competition. However, they expressed the hope that political considerations would not affect the outcome of the competition.
“The Eurovision Song Contest is a rather complicated system of relations between countries, politics and music. This is a very complex constructor. Going a second time is a tremendous responsibility and a huge risk, ”says Kirkorov.
- Philip Kirkorov
- RIA News
- © Vladimir Trefilov
According to him, if in 2016 the contest acted according to the old rules, when only the opinion of the audience was taken into account, then Lazarev would have won already then.
“But the jury vote has joined. How they agree, how the artist is evaluated, remains on the conscience of the company that broadcasts the competition in this country, ”the producer said.
“If you look at how they voted for Polina Gagarina in Lithuania, you will see that they put her in 26th place. Sergei Lazarev jury in Lithuania put in 25th place. In the final, to put such artists on such places is not clear than a reasonable prejudice, - said Kirkorov. - It is necessary to understand that Sergey’s mission is more complicated than ever. By and large, the attitude towards us has changed little. There are situations that we can not influence. We believe this is a song contest. ”
At the same time, Sergey Lazarev noted that he is ready for possible pressure during his speech, but he hopes that “politics does not solve everything”.
“In 2016, we were frightened that they would boo me, as it was with our performers in 2014 and 2015. I was mentally prepared for this. But, going to the first rehearsal with the audience, I heard people chanting my name. We were the leaders of the bookmakers, we received increased attention, everyone understood that there would be something incredible. And we were supported by ordinary viewers. This instilled confidence and understanding that politics does not solve everything, ”the singer said.
About the clip
The video was filmed by director Konstantin Cherepkov, with whom Lazarev was already working on the video for the song You Are the Only One.
“For me, this song is a conversation with myself, inner experiences, fears, many of them come from childhood. In the clip, we see an island. This is the place that everyone has in his head where we come to talk with ourselves. We return to past experiences, we struggle with fears. About this is our clip, ”said Lazarev.
He called the music video "a wonderfully done work, unusual and theatrical." According to him, on the set used cardboard scenery, without any computer graphics. In turn, Kirkorov called the visual style of the video minimalistic.
- Philip Kirkorov and Sergey Lazarev
- RIA News
- © Vladimir Trefilov
It was originally planned that the role of the boy - the lyrical hero of Lazarev in childhood - would be played by his son Nikita. However, the authors later abandoned this idea and called for an older actor who already has experience in this field. Last but not least, this decision was made because of the difficult process of filming, which lasted almost 20 hours. In addition, according to Lazarev, thus wanted to avoid accusations of speculation on the topic of childhood.
The authors stressed that the clip is very popular on the Internet. On the day of its publication on Youtube, it was viewed 1.5 million times. At the moment, the video has gained almost five million views.
About the decision to go to Eurovision for the second time
Lazarev admitted that he did not immediately agree to speak again at a music show: he had long doubted and consulted with colleagues. At the same time, he asked not to consider his trip to Israel as an attempt to take revenge for 2016.
“Many people say that I am going for revenge to prove something. This is not a rematch. Revenge is when something bad happened to you, and only wonderful things happened to me in 2016. Now I am going to the contest in order to plunge into this atmosphere again and try to present my country’s honor in a wonderful team as worthily as possible, ”the singer said.
At the same time, he agreed that rerun is a risk.
“I, of course, risk. I feel an additional responsibility. And then it was like that. I wouldn’t have been me if I hadn’t accepted this offer, ”Lazarev said.
About surprises
Lazarev and Kirkorov also positively assessed the preparations for Eurovision-2019.
“Israel is preparing very well. As soon as they won the last time, from the next day they began to prepare for the competition: platforms, concert halls, hotels. At the final evening Madonna will perform. The event is coming on a large scale, ”said Kirkorov.