After several attempts, the Czech Republic finally qualified for the grand final last year with a high quality ballad sung by Gabriela Gunčíková. While it did OK with juries, got no points from the public vote, which only goes to show that good songs often score much worse than they deserve. Can Germany-based jazz singer Martina Bárta score them another place in the final?

Martina comes across as a very pleasant and laid back young lady (something I’ve noticed about the last 3 Czech entries, they’ve all been lovely people) and this is a very pleasant, laid pack and understated song. Her voice is quite distinctive from most of the other entries, and the song is an oasis of calm among the louder and more heavily produced songs.

That said, I’m afraid that this will struggle to qualify unless juries vote for it in force – it will likely get lost among the bigger names and bigger songs in the semi-final, and there is no real history of neighbourly voting for the Czech Republic. A shame, as I think it would add nicely to the mix in the grand final and a reward for country that’s persevering regardless of results.

Mum’s reaction: “Nothing special”

Official music video:

Live at London Eurovision Preview Party:

Czech Republic at the Eurovision Song Contest:

First entered: 2007

Appearances (excluding this year): 5

Best result: 25th in 2016

Last year’s result: 25th