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: Romnia.

Country: Portugal
Singer: Ester Peony
Song: On A Sunday
Personal Score: 5 out of 41
My Prediction: Q

This song was not even in the running for me going into the Romania National final but Ester completely blew me away with her slightly revamped southern Gothic inspired folk scorn vocals that night and I think this is a fantastic addition to Eurovision this year.

There is something so magical and memorable about this simple little song that makes it more than just your average song. Something is Ester’s strong commitment to the vibe of the song, or the twang, or just the simple and effective lyrics it all comes together to form something that is both over the top dramatic but also so easily relatable. Anyone who has come out of a bad relationship can find themselves in this song where it feels like its equal parts lament and anger at something just not working out. There’s plenty of places where vocals get played with but easily the stand out line is “loving you is a hard price to pay” and Ester nails it with a nice tinge of regret in her voice. If she preforms anywhere near as well as she did at the national final I see this as a crowd favorite and it should win some moderate love from the jury as well, enough for maybe a top 10 if the staging is just right. Romania is back baby!