Last night the Wiwi Jury—our in-house panel of music un-professionals—packed up our butterfly nets and caught a bus to San Marino to review Valentina Monetta’s Eurovision 2013 song. Did a beautiful butterfly emerge from the “Crisalide”? Or were we left looking at some nasty larva? Read on to find out…

Wiwi: When Valentina Monetta walked on stage at Eurovision in Concert, she was like a tigress stalking her prey. Given the beauty of “Crisalide”, she deserves to pounce the competition. Valentina is no longer the amateur dancing around a computer while entreating us to click on her Facebook profile. She’s now a lean mean singing machine with the confidence of a Mariah and the vocals of a Whitney. By singing about a butterfly chrysalis she touches on birth and death, and the importance of filling the space between the two with love and self-belief. “You’ll be flying/ On the wings of confidence,” she says. “Just stop crying/ And the future will make sense/ Start emerging from your chrysalis/ Find the kind of freedom that you miss.” By the time the song morphs from emotional ballad to disco floor-stomper, Valentina’s transformation is complete, and Wiwi is wetting himself with excitement. Beep Bop Girl is dead. Valentina has arrived.

Score: 10/10

Valentina Monetta IKEA LampVebooboo: Last year Wiwi and I were pretty much the only people in the press room chasing Valentina around. We were obsessed with her, obsessed with her English skills and above all else obsessed with her song. But she was the laughing stock of the press centre, and of the greater Eurovision community. She was the only act on SVT’s Eurovision preview show to receive a 0, and she huffed and puffed her way to the Baku airport after flopping out in her semi-final. But what a difference a year can make. From tight, trashy track suit to elegant gown. From fake Mac to IKEA lamp. From overly sexual pop song to moving ballad. Yes, people, Valentina is back, but she ain’t a girl no more. She a woman! This song is so moving, and along with France and the Netherlands is my favourite ballad this year. I particularly love the tempo change, showing us all that Valentina may be a woman, but she remembers her youthful roots. I don’t think she can win, but I’d be shocked if she didn’t make the Final, and that alone will be such a pleasure to see. By the way, rumour has it that IKEA is sponsoring her stage performance, so bring along sunglasses!

Score: 8.5/10

HK Dick: Wow, what a difference a year makes. Cometh the hour, cometh the woman to surely take San Marino to its first final. In a total transformation, Valentina has moved on from last year’s trite song and now brings a great piece of adult pop to the table. She also defies Eurovision convention by delivering a song that’s two minutes ballad and one minute disco. The ballad segment is strong enough on its own but to then end with 60 seconds of dance magic…genius! I can’t wait for the full dance remixes.

Score: 8.5/10

Valentina Monetta San marinco Lyrics Eurovision 2013Bogdan: As the first notes of the song poured into my speakers, I was, like, “No, not another ballad, Valentina!” Then she started singing in Italian and I was, like, “OK. Good thinking”. Then came the dance part, which is supposed to be the butterfly of the chrysalis that is the rest of the song… It’s a nice surprise, an interesting twist, and the end result is pleasant to the ears. However, it sounds old-fashioned (I don’t find the “I Will Survive” comparisons flattering in 2013 – plus, they are vastly exaggerated) and, just because it’s an improvement over last year’s entry, “Crisalide” is not the masterpiece that many make it out to be.

Score: 7/10

Mr Häggkvist: I was so upset back in February when it was announced that Valentina Monetta would again be the Sammarinese artist at Eurovision. But she shut my mouth when I heard her song. I don’t think many people thought she could sing after her “Social Network Song“, but “Crisalide” is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard in the history of this contest, and if this doesn’t make it to the final, I don’t really care. This is the type of music that will stay in my mind for years. This is beyond Eurovision. It isn’t the typical cliché or the happy, entertaining song that we are bored of seeing at Eurovision every year. This will be a classic.

Score: 10/10

Valentina Monetta San MarinoAlexander: Alongside Montenegro, San Marino definitely has one of the most unexpected and surprisingly good entries! It’s hard to believe that this is from both the same singer and composer as last year’s “Social Network Song”. I really hope this qualifies to the final, as “Crisalide” is an excellent ballad. I adore how the song builds up and expresses great emotion and meaning throughout. San Marino is probably going to outshine Italy in Malmö this year…which is funny, because San Marino’s population is only a little more than the Malmö Arena’s seating capacity. 😉

Score: 8/10

Deban: If you didn’t get it right the first time, then try again. This is exactly what Ralph Siegel and Valentina Monetta are trying to achieve here. I love the first half of this entry, but things descend rapidly with the key change. This unfortunate plummet impacts negatively on Monetta’s choreography. She starts off being a sophisticated swan, and 02.40 minutes into the song she morphs into a head-bopping urban Princess. It’s hard to draw any comparisons with “The Social Network”, as this is a clear departure. Nonetheless, I must admit that San Marino’s two-year hype eludes me. Still, Valentina Monetta deserves praise for her continued determination, transformation and artistry.

Score: 6/10

Wiwi Jury Verdict: 8.29/10

Wiwi Jury Final Ranking: #2 out of 39 contestants

You can see the latest reviews and standings on the Wiwi Jury pageYou can also listen to all 39 entries on our contestants page

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Leon
Leon
11 years ago

Highly overrated. Can you really imagine this winning and the majority of punters trying to sing it?

Momo
Momo
11 years ago

Go Valentina! Laaaav eet!

Fay is Dutch
Fay is Dutch
11 years ago

IF SAN MARINO DOESNT QUALIFY I WILL CATCH ALL THE BUTTERFLYS AND KILL THEM… And throw the remains at the audience

Rafa
Rafa
11 years ago

3 words: Gay, GAY, Gay!

Samo
11 years ago

Valentina’s Backyard 2014 Eurovision here we come!

Alex
Alex
11 years ago

But if it weren’t Valentina, it wouldn’t be the same song. The main strength of the strong is in how she delivers it. She doesn’t even make use of backup vocals on the recording – it’s all her, and she does an incredible job with it. Another vocalist might not deliver the same amount of personality to this composition. It’s like Euphoria without Loreen – what’s the point?

Mr. M
Mr. M
11 years ago

I totally agree with Harriet here. If this song wasn’t performed by Valentina or if it was Valentina’s first ESC appearance then I’m sure Crisalide would be judged differently. Most hardcore ESC fans are biased when they think this song is the best one in the contest this year just because they are comparing it to last year San Marino’s dreadful entry and thinking “well, that girl actually can sing a bit better” or “look at how much she has improved in comparison to last year'”. This song is just NOT that great. I can see this one failing to… Read more »

Bahar
Bahar
11 years ago

Song which is NOT going to annoy after few times listening 🙂 lovely language and music 🙂 sounds great 🙂 one of my favourites after my Farid 😛 ))))

Trevor
Trevor
11 years ago

One thing, or the other. Or both. Or none of the above. Not sure which half I prefer – the second, I think. Great power but, although I am not acquainted with her earlier entry, I wonder if her rave reviews are more to do with her measure of improvement than the overal fantastic-ness of the song.

Kristi
Kristi
11 years ago

We are waiting for Ukraine! Please

Harriet Krohn
Harriet Krohn
11 years ago

I’d love to see the reviews for this song if it was Valentina’s first appearance at Eurovision, not her second after that Facebook hilarity. NO WAY would this song get rated this highly. For me, this song is neither here nor there – can’t even decide what it wants to be, ballad or dance thingie. You might all say that the genius of the song, and you’re of course entitled to that opinion, but to me it’s just annoying – because the ballad part is alright. But then it turns into something as Siegel as Siegel can. I really can’t… Read more »

Vlad
Vlad
11 years ago

A lovely song. Hope it will at least make it to the final, but also believe it deserves more:)

redarrow
11 years ago

agree with alex 100%

Alex
Alex
11 years ago

I agree that it’s a big improvement than last year but personally I don’t see this in top 10.

Z24
Z24
11 years ago

I think this is one of the contenders to win it all. It has everything in the right places to do so. For people that complain about the upbeat part, here’s two things. One, it’s the essence of the song itself, to change and to grow it says. Second, without it, it might be another case of “that very sweet song composed well that didn’t get to the final. A signal that Eurovision’s a sham that doesn’t respect a bealtufil song once it’s in it”. No, it’s a signal that people including those complaining simply forgot about it because there… Read more »

Alex
Alex
11 years ago

Please. There’s nothing dated and very little generic about this song, and there’s no reason it shouldn’t appeal to a broader audience than just the hardcore fans. Everybody likes a bit of Donna Summer every now and then, though he or she may not admit it, and shades of Donna Summer certainly appear here (regardless of how different the vocal styles are between Valentina and Donna). I’ve disagreed with the jury on many of these songs, but here’s one where I have to agree. Best entry in the contest. A whole lot of passion rolled into three minutes. Valentina for… Read more »

Metze
Metze
11 years ago

All aboard the hype-train 😉

San Marino will no doubt prove the fanwank of the year – their dated generic 70’s gay-disco tune won’t be loved by anyone outside the OGAE demographic.

Stephanie
Stephanie
11 years ago

The dark horse with red hair! Good luck Valentina!