Why the UK sending The Bare Necessities to Eurovision could be a stroke of genius
Electro Velvet's song sounds just like the Jungle Book classic - but familiar tunes have done well in the past, says Sarah Doran
It wouldn't be the Eurovision Song Contest without a game of "where have I heard that before?". Year in, year out I find myself on the sofa humming along to a tune whilst desperately trying to think which former chart topping chorus it sounds a lot like.
That's why I'm slightly sad that the UK's only gone and saved me the bother by sending a song that sounds so similar (in my head, at least) to a classic that I'll have no challenge on the big night.
If you haven't heard the UK's entry for this year's Eurovision Song Contest yet it's well worth a listen, for curiosity's sake at least. Singing duo Electro Velvet made their TV debut after The Voice on Saturday night and their rather unconventional song, Still in Love With You, inspired quite the reaction on Twitter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6r1tUhl1cQ
Scatman goes to Downton Abbey in the quite frankly bonkers offering, which features a fair bit of dancing and a lot of glow in the dark paint.
Were the UK Eurovision powers that be so busy thinking about the bare necessities of staging a memorable performance that they failed to notice the song sounded quite similar to the iconic Jungle Book tune?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ogQ0uge06o
Play them alongside one another and I'm sure you'll agree with me. The Bare Necessities stays with you, no?
Maybe that will actually work in Still In Love With You's favour when it comes to the voting though. It makes sense that familiar tunes have a head start so perhaps it's no surprise that they've done fairly well in recent years.
Take Soluna Somay for example. Back in 2013 she represented Denmark with Should Have Known Better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5X2r_t-KBk
Now, if we didn't know better we'd say it was a dead ringer for a Seal tune, but perhaps we're just a little Crazy?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A-hqZf7xQs
And you can't forget Ireland's Mickey Joe Hart. The Eurovision record holders had one of their most successful finals since their 90s hat trick of wins back in 2003 with We've Got The World.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZ9jfwOcmro
The song just so happened to sound rather similar to Denmark's Olsen Brothers' 2000 song contest winner, Fly On The Wings of Love.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ojQuViUsY
Even at Eurovision, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And an excellent way to try and get a few points on the board, obviously. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) never seems too worried about it either.
Will Electro Velvet's tune help Europe forget about its worries and its strife? Or will they go down in history as another prickly pair?
That's all down to the voters, who may yet decide whether UK viewers are still in love with the EBU.
Read More: Here's what Twitter thinks of Electro Velvet's Eurovision entry
Read More: Everything you need to know about UK Eurovision 2015 entry Electro Velvet
