On the Stage: "Time" by O. Torvald

 

    Eurovision has always been a platform for countries to spread a message each year, and display the identity of their country to the world. For my analysis I will be looking at Ukraine’s performance in 2017: “Time” (2017) by the pop-rock group O. Torvald. Ukraine was the host country in 2017, following the win of “1944” by Jamala (Eurovision TV). I find “Time” to be an interesting choice by Ukraine because it differs so much from “1944” in all aspects from genre, visuals, language, and messages.

    In my last blog post I discussed the national identity of Ukraine. While in recent years tensions have been high with Russia around the dispute of Crimea, Ukraine has solidified what their national identity means as a country. Ukraine in recent years has taken pride in speaking Ukrainian, and has not allowed Russian to become an official language, although it is spoken by almost 30% of the population (Ukrainian Profile Timeline, 2020). Ukraine has also attempted to separate itself from Russia and make their own sense of national pride by encouraging citizens to build a great country for future generations. Ukraine also takes pride in their amazing cities, and Eurovision in 2017 presented the perfect opportunity to show off their capital city of Kyiv and the nation as a whole. The band members of O. Torvald is a perfect choice for showing national pride and identity for Ukraine. Although they all come from different backgrounds, and some were not raised in the country of Ukraine, they are proud to call themselves Ukrainian and embrace their heritage.

    O.Torvald’s performance of “Time” (2017) opens with the three band members on the front of the stage, and a huge geometric head in the back. There are spotlights beaming down on them, and the screen on the floor is blue with smaller, lighter blue lines rippling towards the back of the stage, and then up the giant head and onto the wall. The band members wear simple gray circular patterned vests that show off their tattoo sleeves paired with black or gray pants. When the camera pans out to show the whole stage, we can see the supporting band members positioned at the back of the stage. There appears to be a keyboardist, guitarist, and back up singer, wearing the same outfits as the band members. The camera work during the performance follows a similar pattern of panning to the audience, sweeping across the stage, and then focusing on Zhenia Halych, the lead singer. In some frames Halych points to the camera or makes eye contact, as he is singing to the audience. During the first verse of the song, the lighting becomes dim, and as O. Torvald explodes into the loud and dramatic chorus, the lights rise as the spotlights flash around in dark blue on the stage and onto the audience.

    As the song slows down after the chorus, the lights dim and Zhenia Halych, the lead singer of O. Torvald, reaches his arms out to both sides. The guitarist strums through this pause accompanied by a drum beat as Zhenia Halych raises his fist to the sky. The drumming becomes a quicker tempo, and the back screen starts projecting patterns and short words from the lyrics on the back screen and giant head. As the drumming becomes so intense, all three members resume playing their guitars, the camera zooms out to show the audience, and the spotlights fly around the arena in white, dark blue, and light blue. As they begin to sing the chorus again, the giant head’s eyes turn blue and start projecting a spotlight almost like a beacon out onto the audience. During the last chorus, all the lights change to a yellow color scheme and flash around the stage, while the head’s eyes continue to project blue and move around in a circular motion, and then eventually turn to match the yellow colored lights. O. Torvald’s performance ends as the camera starts by showing the giant head and slowly panning out from a birds eye view. At this point, the lights have become simple. Each band member has a spotlight on them, with yellow and blue lights pointing at the roof and the rest of the stage dark. On the screen floor, we see what is supposed to be the giant head’s shoulders, which are also in a geometric pattern.

    O. Torvald’s “Time” (2017) has very simple lyrics that are easy to remember. The chorus is very repetitive “time to look/ time to see/ time to find” (O. Torvald) and so on with different “time” statements. The song’s lyrics appear to be talking to someone telling them to take a deep breath, calm down and observe what is around them. The song ends by saying “I can make a promise/ it’s our time to shine” (O. Torvald). Although there is not much imagery or metaphors to these lyrics, O. Torvald’s performance uses gimmicks that are popular in many Eurovision performances. The use of the giant head is an example of this, as it is positioned in the middle of the stage and is seen in almost every camera angle chosen. This is memorable for the audience, and it is not a stagnant prop. The giant, geometric head has lights (like the eyes beaming blue and yellow lights at the end of the song), symbols, and words flash on it during the performance that excite the audience and keep them engaged with the performance. It is confusing exactly how the giant head connects to the message of the song, but since “Time” (2017) is a song written as if it is talking to the general public, maybe it is meant to represent everyday people. Since the lyrics are so simple, O. Torvald’s performance is not focused on so much the lyrics, but the props and lighting on stage to make “Time” memorable.

       Ukraine’s decision for O. Torvald's performance of “Time” (2017) was interesting and unique from any other performance in the past. “Time” was the only rock song to be sung at Eurovision in 2017, which may have been an attempt by Ukraine to stand out from the competition, but “Time” also did not do very well, coming in 24th place. Ukraine’s song was chosen by the general public through a vote, and tied for first place with TAYANNA’s pop song “I Love You” (Vasilyev 2017). Ukraine picked a song drastically different from “1944” which led them to victory in 2016 Eurovision TV). Unlike the dramatic and emotional song by Jamala, “Time” focused more on gimmicks and simplistic lyrics that lacked a deeper meaning or a connection to the national identity of the country.

    Personally I think it was a strange choice for Ukraine to choose a song with little underlying messages or connection to Ukraine’s national identity. O. Torvald’s simple lyrics and big performance failed to impress the audience as well as the judging panel. The performance also did not reflect any aspects of Ukraine’s national identity, except for the yellow and blue color scheme, which are the national colors of Ukraine. At the end of the performance as the lights are pointing to the sky, they appear to make the Ukrainian flag. The lyrics sound somewhat depressing saying “There’s no common ground/ There’s no compromise” (O. Torvald) before diving into the repetitive chorus. Although rock is a very popular and growing genre in Ukraine, the lack of positive messages and neutrality in “Time” (2017) does little to represent the country fairly. Ukraine has faced many hardships surrounding the issues in Crimea and Russia in the past decade, and a song about finding it near impossible to find solutions to violence does not seem applicable to the messages Ukraine has been trying to spread to their citizens or to neighboring nations.

    Surprisingly, “Time” (2017) is exclusively sung in English. This does not help the song stand out from any other Western rock song, and I do not think it is a coincidence that the previous Ukrainian winning songs have included Ukrainian or Crimean in their performances. In a time where Ukraine has been struggling to find a sense of national pride, their song choice does little to build up the country and unite the people that call Ukraine home. I think “Time”’s lack of genuine drama and emotions disappointed the audience after the stellar win by Jamala in 2016. “Time” is a difficult song for the audience to find relatable because of the unspecific lyrics and few memorable takeaways. Nothing about the performance ties into the national identity of Ukraine, and at best is remembered as “the one with the giant head” from 2017 Eurovision. (1441 words)

References:

O. Torvald "Time" [Ukraine]/ Eurovision 2017 - Finale. (2016). Daily Motion. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5m6qkg.

Ukraine profile- Timeline. (2020, March 5). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-18010123. 

Vasilyev, M. (2017, February 25). Ukraine: O. Torvald will sing "Time" at Eurovision 2017. Wiwibloggs. https://wiwibloggs.com/2017/02/25/ukraine-will-sing-eurovision-2017/177369/.