In Tako Gachechiladze, we have yet another returning artist for 2017. You may recognise the Georgian singer from the controversial banned song from 2009 ‘We Don’t Wanna Put In’. She’ll be going one step further and actually getting to perform on the Eurovision stage on 2017 when she performs ‘Keep The Faith’.
Unfortunately ‘Keep the Faith’ doesn’t have the same impact as ‘We Don’t Wanna Put In’. Her first Eurovision attempt clearly stands out for its tongue in cheek criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Instead ‘Keep the Faith’ is a boring ballad that lacks energy, poise and fails to catch the eye.
Tako’s vocal is on point and the song allows her to showcase her vocal abilities especially at the escalation of the song in the last 30 seconds with a powerful key change. Beyond that there is not much else to applaud. With its brass band and message of believing in yourself, the song is an attempt to recreate ‘Rise Like a Phoenix’ only without any of the charm that Conchita brought to that performance. As such we aren’t left wanting second helpings of Tako and I really can’t see Georgia making it to the final.
My Ranking: 37th
My Prediction: 17th in Semi Final 1 (Will not progress to the Final)