28 October 2016

Dami Im has released her first single since finishing second at the Eurovision Song Contest in May, and the damn thing has been stuck in my head for the past two days: “Looking for love… I’m looking, I’m looking for love…”. Oh wait, it’s Fighting For Love! It doesn’t matter. I fabricate lyrics in my mind when listening to foreign language songs, so why not English songs too? Looking for love, or fighting for love – why are there always these extremes anyway? Where’s the “content in a stable relationship”, damn it!

Philosophising over, Fighting For Love is by DNA, the same team behind Dami’s Eurovision song, Sound Of Silence. You can hear the similarities, particularly with the simple and repetitive choruses. I noticed this, too, on Delta Goodrem’s recent album Wings Of The Wild, note particularly the hit single, Wings, and it’s amazing how DNA continually get away with it. Somehow they do, and it’s because the entire package of the song is so damn good, including stellar production values. FFL is no different, and with that addictive chorus, I’m really grooving out to the electronic sound. Dami’s vocals are superb too, especially when she’s hitting the rawer part of her register.

Fighting For Love is much better than Sound Of Silence – a song I always felt was designed more to showcase Dami live. I’ve grown more fond of it since Eurovision, possibly because it recalls such great memories. Anyway, both songs portend well for her new album, and if it’s as half as good as her last one, Heart Beats, it will be superb. Most important of all, Dami’s success and her excellent new single are validation for Eurovision itself. Australia’s participation has forced the public to look past frocks, frills and wind machines to see Eurovision really is about the music. It’s long been a serious stage for serious artists, and Dami Im is unequivocal proof of that.

Enjoy!

News report and interview about Fighting For Love