Latvia 2023: Sudden Lights with 'Aija'

Latvia have selected for 2023 with Aija coming through Supernova:

Having not watched anything around Supernova this was the most off my radar entry entry selected this past saturday. Expectations were low for Latvia but I'm a fan of this and it improves as it goes. There's a lot of pacing changes for a 3 minute song but it just about works for me and it does hold my attention.

I'm not in much doubt however that this is going to struggle and looks unlikely to make the final. Firstly - this does lack memorability and a first half running order is much more damaging for this than our previous review of Croatia. Secondly, the semi final has a high bar. And thirdly, this is Latvia, a country with one of the worst qualification records. They also have poor voting power in general but are even isolated from all of their baltic neighbours this year, with no jury help.

The semi final draw could not be any worse for them and any NQ feels more a case of wrong place/wrong time rather than entering a complete dud.

Personal Rating: 8/10

Competitve Rating: 3/10

Early Prediction: Semi One 11th-15th