Tonight was an exceptionally busy one in Eurovision circles; between two semifinals and a trio of National Finals, fans had their work cut out for them!  The first of the Finals to determine its winner was Hungary, which returned to a National Selection format for the first time since 2008.  After the eight competing songs were narrowed down to four via a televote, the professional jury took the reins and picked a winner from that lucky quartet.

With two votes from the four-member jury panel, the victory went to electro-rock band Compact Disco, with their anthemic track “Sound of Our Hearts” (official video posted below):

Compact Disco have been playing and recording since 2008, and have released a pair of albums: 2009’s “Stereoid” and 2011’s “II”, both to critical acclaim.  They’ve been nominated for numerous Fonogram Awards (the Hungarian equivalent of a Grammy, Brit, or Juno), and took home the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Hungarian Act in 2011 (although they were beaten out for the award for Best European Act by Lena Meyer-Landrut, who Eurofans know all too well).

I, for one, really enjoy this song.  It might not have gone over as well live as it does on a studio track, but I have a feeling that a song like this would be better-presented on a large stage, rather than in a small television studio.  Stacking it up next to the other rock track that we’ve got in the competition already (Sinplus’s “Unbreakable“, from Switzerland), I think this one makes more of a lasting impact, both musically and emotionally, even if Sinplus is more instantly catchy.  If Belarus picks Litesound’s “We Are the Heroes” this week, however, both entries might have a run for their money…but that’s an entry for another day, my friends.