Russia hopes other conestants will 'dream on' when they see Dayana Kirillova!

The first selected entrant in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2013, is Dayana Kirillova of Russia!

Dayana Kirillova is the first act to be selected to compete in Kyiv (Ukraine) on November 30th!

Dayana Kirillova was first place, out of 18 acts in her national selection, which took place in the State Kremlin Palace in Russia. Dayana performed her song 'Mechtay' translating to 'Dream on', which won her the ticket to Kyiv.

As with every performance, I will pick it apart and evaluate the song, costume, choreography, staging etc. Then I will give it a rate out of ten, on how I think it will do in the final.



'Mechtay' (or 'dream on') has a quite catchy rhythm. However, I don't feel the song will have quite the same reaction as 'Sensatsiya' (Sensational) which was performed by Lerika last year in Amsterdam (Netherlands) and that only placed 4th over all.





Dayana's Vocals are strong, and she manages to maintain a strong sound throughout. She is obviously a highly trained singer, which is a great skill to have at only age 11. The verses of the song have actually stuck in my head more than the chorus, which is interesting as its normally the other way around, although the chorus is very catchy.


Dayana's make-up and costume were vaguely similar to Lerika's last year also. Dayana wore a Silver leather (or faux leather) jacket, a white top with a silver sequined star in the centre, a blue puff-ball skirt accented in silver and by the looks of it in the video, silver ballet pumps. Her make-up was pretty much non-excitant but she may have been wearing abit of mascara and lip-gloss. Her hair was loosely braided into a long side ponytail which draped over her right shoulder.

The staging was rather weird in my personal opinion. Well, I do not speak any Russian but Dayana entered on a boat. I do not feel this went with the song. Although upon reflection, it could just be a play on the idea of 'dreaming'. If I was to stage this, keeping the boat I would have Dayana wearing bright clothes to fit with the theme. I feel the song is a happy song and should be shown using bright colours to allow the audience to feel the emotion of the smiley Dayana!

If I had to rate Dayana's chances out of ten, I would go for about 5 or 6. This is because I feel the performance is at the standard Russia always have their performances. Sometimes having a ridiculously high standard can be off putting. But this also shows the rest of Europe that Russia know how to put on a show!

I personally feel that the Russians are entering songs that sound like they have already won. I do not know how to explain this in writing, but if you listen to both the 2012 and 2013 entries, they sound like they are singing the song after being awarded the first place prize. Not that this is a negative, but when voting other counties may feel threatened by this, and give less points. But this is only my opinion.

Russia have only won the contest once in 2006. The Tolmachevy Twins sung their song 'Vesenniy Jazz' which came first place at the contest in Bucharest (Romania). This song was simple, but brilliant and is one of my favourites from all of the years (2003-2012). The staging, costumes and choreography all fit brilliantly with the song! This also was, as I like to phrase it, 'the underdog' of the competition as it just sounded like a regular song, not a 'winning' song. It was overall True brilliance.


One thing I like about the Russian entrants over the years, is the fact the natural make-up allows them to look like children. This is the case in a lot of countries now, but as the contestants get older they tend to wear a bit more make-up which I feel is acceptable.

I wish Dayana the best of luck in Kyiv! I think she will be an interesting performance to watch! If you want to watch Dayana's performance of 'Mechtay' click the link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPesJC3J4gQ

Whats your opinion on Russia's Entry? Agree or disagree with me? Leave a comment! I would love to hear from you!