Quick: name a charismatic Belgian. If you’re struggling to answer, then you understand the dilemma of 23-year old Tom Dice. The young Belgian certainly has talent: his voice soars on his Eurovision entry Me and My Guitar. But talent alone does not a Eurovision star make. Dice lacks the arrogance, flamboyance and showmanship that characterize Eurovision’s most successful entries. Last year’s winner, for instance, played the fiddle while muscular folk dancers turned somersaults and performed mountain dances in tank tops. Try beating that with an acoustic ballad.
In any case, Me and My Guitar romanticizes a struggling artist torn between two paths: the risky one that could lead to stardom or poverty, and the traditional one that results in a secure, if unfulfilling, desk job. The lyrics paint the picture of a brazen young man fighting the convention of his peers: “People always say/ ‘Tom this has gone too far’/ But I’m not afraid to chase my dreams/ Just me and my guitar.”
That kind of passion is admirable, but Dice struggles to give it resonance. He lacks stage presence and frequently comes off flat—dare I say boring? And while mellow can sometimes translate as cool, you get the sense that the most daring thing Dice has ever done is walk past a Victoria’s Secret boutique.
Close your eyes, though, and you’ll appreciate Dice’s stellar vocals. Unlike a number of Eurovision contestants, he understands pitch and interpretation, and sounds as good live as he does in his digitally enhanced preview video. In that video, set somewhere in the United States, Dice pawns his guitar and then wanders around a city, a desert, a field and a beach singing about his dreams; curiously, he strums the same guitar he just sold. His acoustic sound is among the most mainstream at Eurovision this year and you could seriously mistake him for Tracy Chapman if he weren’t white and male.
As Dice prepares to compete in the world’s largest singing competition, his lyrics about the struggling artist seem apt: “Tell me they’ll play my songs/ Tell me they’ll sing the words I say/ When darkness falls/ All of the stars will see/ Just me and my guitar.”
Prediction
For weeks bookies have had Tom down to finish third in the first semi-final behind Greece and Slovakia. That’s a well-deserved position that reflects his mainstream sound and solid vocals. After a five-year absence, Belgium will finally qualify for the Eurovision final.
Unfortunately for Tom, this year’s line-up includes an unusually high number of ballads. Over the course of a two-hour show, that’s going to render them all less memorable. On a good night, Belgium can count on finishing between 10th and 15th position in the final.
Ovi is the best singer. Doesn’t mater if a guy is handsome, the best is if he know to do someting in a very good way. Ovi know that. Ovi sing with the best singer in Romania, Paula Seling. They are the best. Over all, Ovi is handsome too, but more than all, he is the best singer !!! Who vote singers only because they are handsome, is stupid. Vote the voice not the muscles!
G S H you fail.. maybe you don’t like his music, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good. Go listen some lousy music F..
He is fugly and boring. He will probably qualify at the semis (only just) and then bomb in the finals.