Now several months on from Eurovision 2024 we’ve all had a chance to mull over the results of the contest. The Eurovision 2024 final saw some very dramatic results, but 11 acts did not get a chance to see that. We thought we’d have a deep dive into these acts and give you our opinion on What Went Wrong. Today we’re going to discuss Poland’s Luna.
Today Euan, Angus, and Shiloh discuss what they think went wrong with Luna’s performance.
Who is Luna?
Luna, is the stage name for Aleksandra Katarzyna Wielgomas, she first started releasing music in 2018 under the stage name Ola Wielgomas. In 2018 Aleksandra released her first single “Na wzgórzach niepokoju”. The idea for the stage name Luna first came about in 2020 when she released the single also entitled “Luna”. Aleksandra says it came about as she feels a connection with space and nighttime.
Since 2021 Luna has released many singles alongside an EP entitled “Caught in the Night”. Later in 2022 Lunar went on to release her first studio album entitled “Nocne zmory”. Prior to releasing “The Tower”, Luna’s most well known single was her song “Lekko” which has already received over 100 thousand views on YouTube.
Luna will be participating at Eurovision 2024 with “The Tower” which was written by Luna herself, as well as writers Paul Dixon and Max Cooke, Paul also produced the track.
What are the issues with the selection
Euan – While I must admit that I did prefer Tu bije serce Europy! Wybieramy hit na Eurowizję! because it produced two absolute bangers, I wasn’t particularly sad with the announcement that Poland was doing an internal selection. However I do think there were issues with expectation management. Virtually every song listed as a potential entry was better than ‘The Tower’. If you’re going to have a selection so public then give the general public no say then you’re going to massively negatively affect the perception of the chosen song. Which was evident here with most
Angus – I absolutely refuse to defend anything about TbsE!WhnE!, except for Ahlena’s magnificent, world conquering hit “Booty”, and therefore I am very happy that Poland went internal. It’s cool to see such an open internal selection, but I don’t think this particular experiment bears repeating. The narrative about Luna and “The Tower” wasn’t all that positive following its announcement, and despite me really enjoying this track I fear it never managed to shake that general perception.
Shiloh – This whole “releasing the shortlisted entries before selecting them” thing, I just don’t think it did much of a favor. It caused a portion of the public–how significant, I can’t say–to turn on the song very quickly, not because of its own qualities but because it wasn’t something else.
Was the song and act good enough to be in Eurovision
Euan – To put it bluntly; no. While Luna is a great singer and has a fun stage presence, the song was just lacking in every way. A mid tempo song like this was always going to struggle, but there was nothing here to really compensate. The hook was just completely lacking, and the tune dull. It was completely forgettable and there was just nothing here.
Angus – Luna was and remains absolutely Eurovision ready, both as a singer and a songwriter. The song itself however is a bit undercooked. It doesn’t quite grab the listener at first and feels much more like a strong album cut or that fourth single of an album that keeps showing up in playlists years later. That is to say, I think the song has a lot going for it, but it struggled to connect with viewers during the one performance they ended up getting.
Shiloh – This one is complicated. I love the song, and I think it was good and well-written. Is it a Eurovision song? No. I said this back when it was released, but it was always going to be hard to pull off live–this kind of music is really best enjoyed in studio.
Did the staging compliment the song and stand out
Euan – Good god where to even begin here. I will defend Polish staging choices until I’m blue in the face, but what the hell were they thinking. The vibes were entirely out of touch with Luna and the song itself. The song may have been lacking in some regards, there was definitely the opportunity to elevate it. The over the top kitschy staging overshadowed Luna too much to the point that you didn’t really focus on the song at all. Also what the damn hell was the horse.
Angus – The staging felt very MTV VMAs, with props, wild outfits, a overdone theme, and just a everything-and-the-kitchen-sink quality to it all. Kitsch, as Euan says. I expected it to resonate with viewers, even if I thought it was way too much. Turns out the general response ended up being the same as I felt, which is a shame for the song. I don’t think this truly is a case of the “before you go on stage, take one thing off” syndrome however. The theme and story (if one dare call it that) of the staging is so overcooked that even a minor change would require a full overhaul. Simplicity on stage with some intense use of the LEDs inspired by the music video probably would have served this song much better.
Shiloh – Well, it certainly stood out… did it compliment the song, no, absolutely not. They needed to dial it back soooooooo much. I don’t have anything to say that the other two haven’t already said here.
Could this song have qualified if changes were made
Euan – I honestly don’t think any changes that could have been made with this song would have seen the Poland make it to the final. This year was just too strong, and Luna just could not stand out. Which is really sad because the list of potential songs had so many absolute guarantees of qualification.
Angus – Poland was a bit in their lonesome during the semi, finishing some points behind 11th but a healthy distance ahead of 13th. A complete overhaul of the staging might have saved this song, but I think that the 12 point gap to 10th place would’ve been insurmountable no matter what the Polish delegation and Luna did at the contest itself. The only potential way to get a qualification out of this was some more rewrites of the song, and that is always fraught with danger as well.
Shiloh – I do think that had the staging actually been good–not “not bad”, but good–yes, she could have qualified. This song needed refined elegance and Poland gave us high school theatre. Give me goth, a long dress or maybe a really good suit, a chandelier and a tower that didn’t look like it was made out of cardboard.
What are our outlooks for future contests
Euan – Like always I’m extremely optimistic with Poland in Eurovision. The country does have wobbles, but still manages to remain one of the most interesting countries. I just think that TVP needs to go back to a national final format.
Angus – Poland’s results will bounce back and they will have a midtable final result next year or the year after that. Whether the music will be to my taste is a completely different matter, but between historical results in ESC and JESC plus the general quality of the Polish music scene I see no reason to doubt future success.
Shiloh – I just think Poland struggles so much with staging–the weird outfits, the weird color schemes, the digital overlays they’ve become so famous for. In honesty, I’m not sure how Blanka got so good of a result; Poland needs to learn how to stage well before they can achieve any real Eurovision success.
Poland’s Eurovision Journey
In 1994, Poland made their debut at the Eurovision Song Contest represented by Edyta Górniak with the song “To nie ja!” and placed 2nd, Poland’s best result at the contest to date. Since then, Poland has participated 26 times, qualifying for the Grand Final 16 times.
Poland selected Luna and “The Tower” to represent them at Eurovision 2024. She received 35 points in the televote, placing twelfth in the first semifinal.
What do think about our thoughts? Do you think Poland could have qualified? Let us know in the comments or on social media! Be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads and Bluesky as we prepare for Eurovision 2024!
Source: That Eurovision Site
Image Credit: Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU
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