Blog post 2

 This is a performance review for Blanka's performance of "Solo," which was performed in the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest grand final. The music style is considered a vibe and upbeat music that has very strong dynamic rhythms and beats to get listeners to dance or move along. The music genre of this kind of music is considered dance-pop or electropop, in this case the music is more tend to be electropop because of the strong sense of instruments. To evaluate this performance, I used three different approaches to experience the performance. The approaches are: Listen to the backing track alone with lyrics but no image and vocal; Visualize only without audio; Watch the whole performance with audio and image. The approach of backing track can better identify the instruments that the performance is used, the approach of visualization can better focus on the image-wise like the stage design, the big screen, and LED light, etc. While the approach of watching the whole performance is putting everything together and making more sense. This approach will be sequenced last, because it makes it harder to catch things and details from visualized or sound-wise. 

To start with the first approach, which is listen to the backing track alone with lyrics but no image and vocal. Throughout the whole performance, I heard four instruments that they used and I recognized. The instruments are possibly piano, beat making pad or DJ, electric guitar, and a very crisp sound like hi hat that occurs a few times. There is also a big possibility that all of the instruments that I mentioned above are all made in an electronic sound pad. All instruments are used evenly frequently, which is normally how the instrument's style sounds like in electropop or electronic music. This is a common feature of electronic music, which is to maintain the frequent use of all instruments to continue to capture the ears of the audience. And generally the output of instrumental music is more than the output of vocal music, because instrumental music is the main soul of this kind of music and the guarantee to keep the audience on vibe. Even without the addition of vocal music and only the output of instrumental music, its accompaniment melody is still very catchy. Its melody coupled with the beat is very dynamic, which reminds me of the same dynamic feeling in disco. Not only that, its dynamic beat and melody also remind me of the enthusiasm of Latin Spanish songs. Its melody and beat remind me of two similar songs, Despacito and Blinding Lights. What these three songs have in common is that their melody and beat are very catchy and have strong equal energy output.

Next, going to the approach of visualizing only. There are so many elements I catched in this approach. Its stage design is very colorful and fantastic, with almost all colors involved. At the beginning, the whole place was purple. At this time, the camera used a worm-eye view to record Blanka singing and four other backup dancers dancing with her. Then the angle returned to normal and the camera pan to the left of the stage, with Blanka and the backup dancers' eyes following the camera. After an obvious edited pink transition smoke, the camera kept recording Blanka and the backup dancers with zoom in and zoom out. The big screen at the back is also changing colors all the time. The screen suddenly went black and then returned to normal. The camera zoomed out, and Blanka began to do some simple dances with the backup dancers. The big screen at the back also showed some animations of hands making the same gestures as them. Then the camera shows each backup dancer dancing for a second or two, while the big screen shows a starry animation. After another pink transition smoke, Blanka suddenly appears in another location and the costume changes to orange-red (originally half purple and half orange). 

Blanka turned around and transformed into a flock of birds with colorful feathers. Blanka reappeared in her original position and her clothes were changed back. The camera began to record Blanka again with zoom in and zoom out. At this time, the screen showed the simple animation of a flock of birds flying and a sunset on the beach. After another pink transition smoke, Blanka suddenly appears in another location and the costume changes to orange-red (originally half purple and half orange). Blanka turned around and transformed into a flock of birds with colorful feathers. Blanka reappeared in her original position and her clothes were changed back. The camera began to record Blanka again with zoom in and zoom out. At this time, the screen showed the simple animation of a flock of birds flying and a sunset on the beach. After another puff of smoke, Blkanka began to walk towards the front of the stage. At this time, some small fireworks began to erupt from the edge of the stage. After Blanka walked to the front of the stage, special effects of flames suddenly appeared in the entire place. Blanka started to show off the dance, dancing briefly for ten seconds before the backup dancers joined in. Then there was a transition to a ball of flames, and the camera showed Blanka again. Blanka and the backup dancers walked back to the center of the stage to continue the performance. At the end of the performance, the word Solo was displayed on the big screen. 

This experience made me pay more attention to the use of color on stage. The richness of its colors combined with the animation is the only one that I have ever seen used so extensively on many stages. Its colors are all bright colors, and the costumes of Blanka and her dance partners also chose bright colors to match. I became curious about the relationship of color in this show. Among all the big-screen animations, beach animations also appear frequently. When I was experimenting with the audioless approach, I never knew what this had to do with performance. Until the full experience, I felt that the energy of the performers and the animation echoed each other. The bright colors, the sunset on the beach, the passion and beauty of the performers. Perhaps this is what the author wants to express about the national identities of Poland.

Finally, the experience of the last approach is mostly similar to the approach of image only. But with the addition of audio, everything fell into place. Compared to the experience without audio, this complete experience made me feel the complete release of the performer's energy and enthusiasm. The audio-less experience only allowed me to see the beauty and charm of the surface. The language of its lyrics is all in English, and the lyrics style uses simple-level words. It is also catchy when sung, which can greatly improve the popularity of this song. The form of lyric paragraphs is the common ABAB form, and the subsequent choruses are repeated. "According to Blanka, the song is about a relationship that is one-sided and a "sham", where one loses "their head for someone" yet the other person in the relationship is "playing [with them]." The song represents her belief that "sometimes it's worth being alone and that's OK... we can get to know ourselves better and see that the other person may not be the best for us." (Wikipedia, 2024) In terms of vocals, this song doesn't have any particularly outstanding technical highlights. But her timbre is in a beautiful tone . I think Blanka’s singing style is more like the Latin American style. For example, shakira. In terms of appearance and style, it is American fashion. Overall, this performance is very enjoyable to watch. I think the general large-scale performance stage will shape its viewing experience in three aspects. They have vocal difficulty, live appeal, and stage design. Here, I think the stage design is the best in this performance. 

Reference:

Wikimedia Foundation. (2024, February 22). Solo (Blanka song). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solo_(Blanka_song)#:~:text=%22Solo%22%20is%20a%20song%20by,finished%2019th%20with%2093%20points.