Hello welcome to my series of quick takes designed to get you ready for Eurovision 2019. Just some quick thoughts / my take on each of the 41 songs this year. The countries are in alphabetical order so without further ado: Czech Republic.

Country: Czech Republic
Singer: Lake Malawi
Song: Friend of a Friend
Personal Score: 8 out of 41
My Prediction: Q

There is something strangely charming about this song even though it’s also got the Czech Republic’s new MO of “greatest f*ckboi nation of all time” written all over it. Following in Mikolas’ footsteps was always going to be difficult as he’d been the front runner for some of the betting leading up to Eurovision but this song fits in pretty nicely. This rides the line between an upbeat emo song and today’s easy listening indie sound. The earnest delivery of what are simultaneously cheesy and cringey lyrics sells this for me. I actually didn’t care for this song at all until I saw it live at the Ukraine National Final wherein the easy going feel of the band and how excited they were to be on stage kind of ended up selling me. The song is a bit one note but that helps because it’s strong hook and easy to guess lyrics make it a complete ear worm and there’s almost nothing better than saying the “I’m only a friend” part. I can see this easily paired with a cheerful colorful staging (I envision something like Iceland 2014 ‘s “No Prejudice“) than it’ll likely make it to the final based on its easy listening vibes which should be popular with young and old.