Look, it wouldn’t be a modern Eurovision contest without a girlbop, okay? By “girlbop,” I mean:
- up tempo banger performed by a woman (although sometimes a girl) in which
- the vibe is more important than the lyrical content
- there’s space for a dance break
- some vocal gymnastics are performed
According to my calculations, there are three songs this year that fit that definition – Georgia, Cyprus, and Malta.*
And hands down, Malta is the ne plus ultra of this year’s girlbops.
I watched the Maltese selection process, and was aware of this song, and thought it was an worthy winner, but nothing *that* special. (Greta Tude, you will ALWAYS be The Topic.) It was pleasant but generic.
Well, let me take back everything slightly arch I’ve said about Swedish songwriters this year, because Joy and Linnea Deb, John Emil Johansson and Matthew James Borg did something to this song in the revamp to change it from pleasant to WOW.
What they did was turn up the vocals, so they aren’t lost in the mix of drums and beats below. The “ooh-oohs” of Loop were always there, but now Sarah hits the Valley Girl enunciations of “oh my God” and “blah-blah-blah” a little harder. When she lets out that “whoow!” of breath right before and after her big vocal moment, we feel it.
These moments of pauses and breaths let us feel like Bonnici is truly WORKING her way through the song. She’s convinces us that she’s not just singing, but rather experiencing the rollercoaster of emotion that she’s singing about – every ram pam pam and head spinning moment. And because we believe those vocals, her dance breaks take on a more believable quality – she is not just throwing in some moves for the audience, but because she really does want to impress the boy who’s got her on loop.
Yes, I did just type that. Look, I understand that this is a slut bop. The purpose for its existence is to get horny and intoxicated people grinding up on each other on the dance floor. But the sheer fact that I am even thinking about ascribing a deeper meaning to these dance breaks means that something is working in this song!
In the end, all I can say is – Sarah Bonnici, you got me on loop. I don’t drink and I find clubs intoxicating, but believe me when I say that I have danced my little heart out to this song in the privacy of my own home. I can’t wait to be blown away by your dance moves in Malmo.
* Look, we also have other songs this year sung by women that are also bops – Greece, Spain, Armenia – but they are not GIRLBOPS because they aren’t carefree summer songs designed for the sole purpose of a club remix. Greece is about showcase thousands of years of culture, Spain is about reclaiming a slur used against women, and Armenia is about dancing in the middle of the day with fruit randomly plucked from a vendor’s cart in the village (he’s going to be big mad, but don’t worry, he’ll calm down once you soothe his chickens with some flute noises.)
dudepoints.fun 