24. Danny Saucedo - In the Club (2011)
Finalist – 2nd place
“I too prefer just about anything on the Saucedo's debut album to that premature ejaculation of a 'song'”
Man in a Hamster Wheel, 05/02/2011
I’m sorry but
D-Sauce seems to have taken his repeated inability to reach Eurovision to heart, doesn’t he? Subtle clues like screaming tantrums and members of Loreen’s extended family naturally dying of sudden-onset multiple stab wounds have led me to the conclusion that Danny feels somewhat aggrieved at forever being the bridesmaid. I don’t want to kick him while he’s down but as far as I’m concerned he hasn’t deserved to get anywhere close to the win with anything other than In the Club.
This is Melodifestivalen’s dalliance with EDM perfected. Thirteen years on and ‘In the Club’ is STILL the benchmark for how it’s done. The lyrics are cliché at best, cringy at worst (and soz, but ‘I put my favourite song on repeat’ would have worked far better than the clunky fuckery of ‘put on my favourite song on repeat’), but that’s just the early-2010s for you.
The song itself is undeniable; I was going to wax lyrical about the banger chorus before I realised there really isn’t one – it’s just the same three words repeated over and again – but that doesn’t lessen the overall impact AT ALL. This could easily have taken the path of least resistance and still qualified, but the build to the final chorus is just a superfluous cherry on the cake – this turns into an absolute BARNSTORMER before it bows out; the spoken word bit into the long note is expertly done – this is slickly crafted dance pop which understands the brief and gives far more than it needed to. Danny is also a cracking performer, oozing with charisma and wearing a smug smirk which actually lends itself well to the song. ‘In the Club’ is about going out on the lash and swimming in fanny, after all; why shouldn’t he look a bit cocky?
If I was to be uncharitable, I’d say Danny has spent the last thirteen years trying to chase the organic high he achieved with his solo debut. Amazing just isn’t that good, Dandi Dansa is an atrocity and Happy That You Found Me, while excellent, is a decade too late. I think the moment may have passed for Dandi Dan, but he achieved something spectacular on his first go that will surely be enshrined as a true classic of the contest.
BRB, just off to put on my favourite song on repeat.