When I think of the word “milky”, I think of chilled dairy products, packed full of vitamins and minerals that do my body good. Sadly, there is nothing nourishing about MILKI — Alexander Rybak’s girl group, formed especially for Belarus’ EuroFest. They take their name from the Belarusian word “milka”, which means “cute” or “loved one”. Yes, they’ve got the look. Yes, they’ve got the talent and prowess of Eurovision winner Alexander — the Belarusian-born, Norwegian songwriter who still holds the record for the highest number of points ever received at Eurovision. There’s just one thing missing: a decent song.
Today Alexander uploaded MILKI’s number “Accent” to YouTube with the message,”Instead of hiding our accent, let’s sing about it!” It’s a good starting point. Depending on your interpretation, it smacks of patriotism and romance. It plays on nationalist fervor (“I Love Belarus”, anyone?). And it also speaks of self-worth and self-affirmation: why should you change your accent for a man or anyone else? The lyrics are frothy and fun and, if you’re willing to tease it out, the narrative does make a bit of sense: “You had a choice, babe, I can be yours ’till the end of time. But if you wanna be with me, there’s one thing you need to know. I will do anything you want, but you will never change my soul…. La, la, la, la, My accent is the same.”
Despite these redeeming qualities, this song ultimately feels like a hot mess. It takes several Eurovision tropes — electronic accordion, “la la la la”s, thick accents, attractive women brought together for their looks rather than their voices — and mashes them all together. At times I hear flashes of Ivi Adamou, the Buranovskiye Babushki, Cleo & Donatan and, of course, Alexander Rybak. They’re all great on their own, but not all at once.
To read a dissenting opinion, click here.
I am the only one that LOVES this song? It’s fantastic! Way better than fairytale! I hope they send this to Vienna, and it finishes at least in top 15!
“My la la la la. My la la la la. My la la la la. My accent is the same.” Couldn’t Alexander think of any lyrics here? This is terrible. So light weight & fluffy. Urgh, I don’t need songs like this. To compare this to Cheesecake is so insulting. Teo’s song was a hundred times better than this trash.
Do not send this do-do to Vienna.
Thiefo, there is two of us. I liked Fairytale the first time, but after that I could not stand it. I kind of understand why it won, but not that it got so many points. But nice to see that I’m not the only one that does not that love that song to bits.
The lyrics don’t make sense… don’t they mean “my accent will be the same,” not “my accent is the same”? It’s the same as what? Also, “I will do anything you want” – I guess taking lessons to reduce the prominence of one’s accent isn’t an option?
Nitpicking aside, this is about as catchy as I’d expect from Rybak. Can someone translate the lyrics that aren’t in English, please?
@Omar: Yes, definitely k-pop, but without the unnecessary autotune.
Totally agree with Sopon, is way better than cheesecake!
The chorus reminds me a little bit of K-pop, and I think with good dance moves, sexy girls and fun stage it can get a nice position in Eurovision!
If Chessecake could place mid-table, this could place in the top 10!
So, there are five girls. The big question will of course be: Will Alexander Rybak play the violin on stage in Vienna? 🙂
The Belarusian parts sound nice but the English parts are horrible. I’m 99% sure this’ll get sent to Vienna but it’ll easily lose out in the semi-finals. Weird how Belarus only qualifies when Nordic countries host.
I have never been a fan of Rybak, still up to this day it puzzles me how Fairytale got that many points in 2009, I really don’t like that song that much… but I’m aware I’m the minority there. Anyway, I’m bringing this up because since then, everything else I hear from Rybak is the same, just average for my taste, this song is no exception. However I second what others have said, this would be fun to see in the Eurovision stage, could be the My Slowianie of 2015… though I would prefer a completely different song for Belarus.
This would be fun on stage.
or Moje 3 + Timoteij
Buranovskiye Babushki + Blue
It’s catchy and would be fun in the live show…and I can definitely smell a major club remix coming.
How dreadful.
Very catchy song… has the trademarks of Alexander Rybak…
If it made it through to the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest, I would think it would qualify from its relevant semi final but mid to low in the Grand Final…
But who knows… we could all be heading to Minsk in 2016
I actually love it! It’s camp and catchy with a humerous undertone.