# 26 Invincible

I look at this video of Carola singing "Invincible" for Sweden in 2006 and think only one thing. Let's throw as much as we possibly can at the lighting budget and pour the rest into the rental of the wind machine assuming, of course, there's something left over from the costume work.

It should come as no surprise that this particular song actually makes my skin crawl.

Don't get me wrong. It's punchy. Carola (Eurovision stalwart and one time winner for Sweden) gives a very polished performance and proves beyond any doubt that her singing abilities are totally reliable. She owns the stage and more importantly shows how comfortable she feels singing in such large arenas. Carola is made for television.

But that's also my problem with it. The song, the performance and the act feels packaged. It feels like the same kind of factory driven output I detect when I pick up a packet of supposedly "freshly made in the capital" sandwiches. It's like the people behind the thing know exactly the recipe for what the niche audience wants - ie tub-thumping, anthemic choruses delivered by a relative Queen of Eurovision - and delivers it time and time again.

Carola is lovely - the hour I spent with her in her hotel room accompanied by her entourage was an absolute joy. She was interested in answering my questions and what ever preconceptions I might have had regarding her personal beliefs and how they fitted in with her love of Eurovision seemed irrelevant at the end of the interview she participated in.

Still, I can't bear listening to this song. It's horribly cliched, more so than many other Eurovision songs.