1 Day, 1 Song: Ne Ver’, Ne Boysia (2003)

Every day, we share with you a favorite or a favorite. Today I take you to 2003 with the duo tATu (RUSSIA) who finished 3rd in this competition.

I already knew this duo because I had heard two of their songs and I already didn’t like them very much, but then I was speechless when I understood that they were going to get on the podium.

There’s no point in lying: my ears suffered torture throughout the duration of this song, especially during the endlessly repetitive chorus: the two performers competed with false notes, neither of them trying to catch up with the other. Already the basic song is not great, even in terms of the music which remains cold and without relief, vocally, it is a disaster, at least on a personal level. In the verses, you barely hear them and in the chorus, it’s not even singing anymore; it’s screaming at the top of your lungs and the intonations aren’t even placed in the right places, which gives a very uneven and unbalanced performance at all levels. Let’s not look for a vocal harmony between the two singers either, there is none. In summary, three very very long minutes whose only positive point is the “semblance” of complicity between the two singers.

21 years later, I still ask myself the question: why this third place? It was not obtained at random, I am aware of that but I still do not see the criteria used to arrive at such a result which is very much overestimated in my opinion.

Now it’s up to you to tell me if this song also evokes a memory for you, or on the contrary leaves you completely indifferent. But first, I leave it to two fellow editors to give their opinion on this song.

Let’s start with Michaël’s rather nuanced one:

“I had heard songs by this duo in my childhood without knowing who they were, and it was only later that I discovered who they were (Gomenasai is one of my favorite songs!) and their participation in the competition. I love Ne Ver Ne Boysia, but I have to admit that their live performance is a little painful, off-key, and at times you wonder what’s happening on stage. (They apparently missed rehearsals). It’s still acceptable, but it’s good that someone else won that year anyway, so that the victory is not immediately given to the most popular artist…”

Let’s continue with Rémi’s much more laudatory opinion:

“The participation of the Russian duo was controversial on many fronts at the time, but ultimately nothing happened on the evening of Eurovision, where the two girls even failed to give Russia its first victory in the competition …Which would have gone perfectly well that year! If it is not with Ne ver’, ne boysia that tATu broke through in Europe, it is an energetic pop title perfectly in tune with the times that Lena and Julia then offered us, which was far from to still be the case in Eurovision from the 90s to 2000s. Translated into English, Ne ver’, ne boysia could perfectly have been broadcast on the radio, certainly without reaching the success of the cult All The Things She Said, but like Not Gonna Get Us.”

It’s your turn to express yourself below in the comments section; Tune in on Thursday for a new headline song, a lyrical Swedish song from the mid-60s.

Photographic credits: Maraaya (EAQ visual)