ESC+Plus has talked to Mrs Columbo, semifinalists of this year’s Hungarian national selection for Eurovision. The band will perform «Frozen King» in the A DAL’s second semifinal set to take place on February 11th.
ESC+Plus: Hello! First of all, thank you so much for your time and congratulations on having been selected to take part in the Hungarian national selection for Eurovision 2017!
Can you tell us about you, your musical career and important achievements?
Mrs Columbo: Mrs Columbo was formed in 2008. We played refined jazzy covers of popular hits from all around the world. Our first album (re)Make-up has been awarded with the Fonogram prize as the jazz album of the year in 2013. Since we took part this year in “A Dal”, the hungarian pre-selection of the Eurovision Song Contest, we have two new members in the band, Katalin Héjja on the piano, and László Heigl on bass. And we also changed the genre of our music from jazz to pop-electro. Last year we met our music producer, Dániel Somogyvári, who created this modern electronic scoring for our song Frozen King. Working with him is so much fun, so inspiring, he’s now like the fifth member of the band.
ESC+Plus: What impelled you to take part in “A DAL 2017”?
Mrs Columbo: 2017 is a new beginning for the band, and participating in “A Dal” is a huge opportunity for us, to show ourselves in front of a bigger audience, and get more fans, cause this contest is quite popular in Hungary. Actually this is almost the only forum in our music industry to make an appropriate entry for a new tune.
ESC+Plus: How did you feel when you knew you had qualified for the next phase of the competition? Did you expect it?
Mrs Columbo: We were surprised by the tiebreaker, but the jury saved us, so we’re grateful and proud, that we’re still in the competition, and still working on how to make the performance more fascinating.
ESC+Plus: What would it mean to you to represent Hungary?
Mrs Columbo: It would be an honour, but first we’ve got to get to the finals.
ESC+Plus: Can you tell us about your song? What is the story behind the lyrics?
Mrs Columbo: Our song “Frozen King” is about when you lost someone, who was precious to you, and you feel sad and depressed, time is the only anodyne for sorrow. But after a while you can help yourself, you have to open up your heart, and let someone new in. Maybe there’s someone, who’s waiting for you to give you pure love. And we all know, love is the most beautiful thing, that can happen to you in your life. This is a positive message, and we think people can easily empathize with it.
ESC+Plus: Why do you think your song has to be selected for Kiev? What are you strengths to reach the top in the competition?
Mrs Columbo: We know that we didn’t write the “typical Eurovision song”, but we believe in it. We are not the same. Everybody must be her or himself. That’s why we have to stick to our musical direction whether if anybody likes it or not. How could they get to know us? This is the only way, and this is our goal, too. There’s only one Mrs Columbo!
ESC+Plus: Will you change anything of your stage performance or you prefer to keep it same?
Mrs Columbo: Not really! Everything is on purpose, but there are a few moments to improvise. The look and the whole show is very significant, but for us it’s more important to get the audience into the abyss of our message.
ESC+Plus: Do you usually watch Eurovision? What is your favorite song in the history of the competition?
Mrs Columbo: Anouk: Birds
ESC+Plus: If you could choose a Eurovision former participant to sing along with, who would it be?
Mrs Columbo: Who else: ABBA!
ESC+Plus: Finally, can you send a message for our readers and Eurovision fans?
Mrs Columbo: We’re different souls with different memories. But we’re all humans, and all of us can face the situation of loosing someone precious. Our song, “Frozen King” could be a healing for the desperate and the leftovers. We believe that music can make the world a better place.