Russia Entry: Tolmachevy Sisters - Shine
Back to my Eurovision Special, I'm so close to finishing off my favourites from Eurovision 2014, before having to launch into my Eurovision 2015 Special. This was Russia's Entrant in the 2014 contest and they came seventh place with 89 points. The performance on the Eurovision stage was memorable because it consisted of a seesaw. The Tolmachevy Sisters received a lot of boos after their performance, but that was mainly because they were representing Russia, and the points and placement proved that the Eurovision Song Contest has nothing to do with politics, otherwise this great sweet song would not have ranked so well. The Tolmachevy Sisters contrast in this video with a black and white filter which gives a classy look for this sweet "Shine" song.
The Tolmachevy Sisters consist of Anastasiya Tolmachevy and Maria Andreyevna Tolmachevy. This isn't the first Eurovision contest they have competed in. They previously represented Russia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2006, where they won with their song "Vesenniy Jazz". Eight years later and they represented Russia again in the Eurovision Song Contest and came seventh. They were chosen through internal selection. The girls released an album after they won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2006, but since the 2014 Eurovision Contest, they haven't released anything new internationally. This song was written by Philipp Kirkorov, Dimitris Kontopoulous, John Ballard, Ralph Charlie and Gerard James Borg.
This was directed by Aslan Ahmadov. It is a full-on performance piece. Contrast is used effectively in this black and white video, it helps to distinguish who is who, although we're not told ourselves. It feels classy and has an oldness quality to it.
They use the two separate colours, black and white, dramatically. They kind of separate the sisters, which can be both detrimental and helpful.
The girls are relaxed, they clearly love this song and they love to perform it. They scenes they are in adds a quality to the video, but not much else.
The performance is lacking compared to their Grand Final stage performance. It's entertaining to an extent but seems too old-fashioned, there's hardly anything new and current. The video doesn't exactly show the girls personalities, and then there's nothing to relate to the song. A clear narrative would've worked better than a lifeless performance piece. At times the sisters look lost and confused as to what to do, yet they still attempt to perform.
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