Opinion Eurovision

Song Review: Loïc Nottet – Bright Million Eyes

It took him a while, but Loïc Nottet made a long-awaited comeback with his single Million Eyes.

He did not set off as a favorite in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 when he represented Belgium in Vienna. Nevertheless he shunned everyone with his onstage performance of Rhythm Inside. I even had hopes that he might bring the Contest to Belgium, but fighting Måns Zelmerlöw and Il Volo was a tough task. Still Loïc managed to bring Belgium just above the so much-hyped Australia. All in all, a valuable 4th position that he worked for like a seasoned professional, despite his young age.

That was in May last year. Only now we can enjoy a new single by the Belgian artist. Soft pace goes far, says the proverb. In Loïc’s case, that it correct. Million Eyes is a fine track that starts with quite a slow and self-contained mood which pumps up to a wilder yet graceful tone at the refrain. The interpreter’s voice goes from mesmerizing gentle intonations to chilling peaks that, together with the taunting melody, enchant the listener. It is a track that might not cling to your head like those summer tunes, but it will certainly haunt and chase you. What you feel when you listen to the song is a disconcerting sensation, bewildering; as much as the song itself is. And despite all that you will still like it.

Loïc Nottet - Loïc's Facebook page
Loïc Nottet – Loïc’s Facebook page

The music video is quite in line with the onstage performance of Rhythm Inside in terms of minimalism. Intriguing minimalism is the description that the New York-based magazine The Fader used a year ago. Million Eyes goes one… No, two steps further when it comes to intriguing. The lights, the dance, the background, the shades, the whole piece is a soul-stirring black and white painting. Remember those paintings that seem to move thanks to the master’s ability? Well, Million Eyes could as well be described as a movie that is painted on a canvas whose colors are black, white, Loïc, shadows and water in a balanced combination. So minimalistic and yet so mighty…

The dance routine that Loïc Nottet executes is singled out from the whole. The whirls, the leaps, the way he ducks to the beat of the tune are right what this song needed for its music video. It gets unsettling at certain moments, like when he crawls back on water, and sublimely beautiful when he sprays water while whirling around wildly.

Too bad this song was not Belgium’s entry last year. Too bad for me and Belgium. Lucky you, Måns Zelmerlöw!

Please, enjoy it as much as I still do.

Have a good one!

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