Last night the Wiwi Jury—our in-house panel of musical unprofessionals—headed to Tallinn and gathered around a table of rye bread, pork, potatoes and dairy products. After chowing down we got on with the important task of reviewing Tanja’s Eurovision 2014 song “Amazing”. Did it live up to its name? Or did we suggest a few alternative titles like “Boring”, “Monotonous” and “Lifeless”? Read on to find out. . .

Angus: So there are just a few similarities to ‘Euphoria’ here…the fringe…the crazy dancing…and of course the fact “Amazing” is a dance song. But is that anything to complain about? Last year Cascada committed outright theft. “Amazing” simply parallels the things that earned Loreen the most sets of douze points EVER back in 2012. I’m entranced by the interpretative dance element and think that a dance song is an astute choice this year. The bridge of the song makes it for me – it’s all kinds of beautiful and it’ll be a crime if Estonia doesn’t make the final again – if not the Top 10!

Score: 8/10

Anthony: Despite losing first choice favourite Sandra Nurmsalu very early on during the Eesti Laul final, I’m seriously impressed at Tanja’s “Amazing” ability to sing and dance at the same time. However, Eurovision fans are already annoying me by triggering endless accusations between “Amazing” and Loreen’s “Euphoria”. If I had a Danish Kroner for every time I hear that comparison, I would be living in a mansion right now. It’s only the choreography that is considered similar, although the music video from P!nk’s “Try” bears a stronger resemblance. If you listen to this entry blindfolded, it sounds nothing like Thomas G:son’s masterpiece. Should history repeat itself this year, I’ll be more than happy to accept Tanja as the winner.

Score: 8.5/10

Estonia, Tanja, 3

Deban: The choreography is a sloppy copy of Loreen’s “Euphoria”, and it’s very distracting to boot. Unlike “Euphoria”, which gave a fresh spin to the Eurodance genre, “Amazing” is frozen in time and doesn’t quite live up to it’s ambitious title. Still, let’s give credit its due. Tanja’s voice holds every note in studio quality.

Score 4/10

 

Billy: Well this is weird. “Amazing” starts off sounding like a summer hit. But then the music slows and Tanja suddenly seems to be presenting a ballad in super slow motion. The modern choreography is irrelevant to the rhythm of the song. It’s ballad, pop and electro mixed together—and for me the mix does not work. We’ve seen many similar songs in the contest, and most of them failed. Good luck with the couplets and the backing vocals!

Score: 2/10

Bogdan: Eesti Laul, you did again. After leaving Winny Puuh at home last year, you’re sending Tanja over my gurl Sandra this year. But I guess I understand how Tanja stole the show. The performance of “Amazing” is one of the most memorable of all the 2014 NF’s, in spite of the quality of the song itself, which is okay at best. The bold choreography and Tanja’s amazing vocals made her entry stand out. And since Eurovision has long stopped being a song contest, I believe “Amazing” has the potential to wow once more in Copenhagen. It will wow, but it won’t win.

Score: 7/10

Katie: When Tanja performed “Amazing” live, I’m not going to lie – it did look like a budget copy of “Euphoria”. And the music video made me slightly uncomfortable. Too many PDAs! That being said, it’s the best song Estonia has offered in a while and I like the fact that they’re sending an English song for a change. Annoyingly, though, we return to the Euphoria 2.0-ness when it goes dark and all the flashy lights come on during the chorus. Come on Tanja, we all want to be like Loreen, but really? This much? I’d bet anyone £10 that she’ll do that dance on stage in Copenhagen, too. Despite the lack of originality and that god awful plastic “leather“ jacket, it is a good song, with a good beat, and it would be nice if it made the Eurovision final.

Score: 6/10

Estonia, Tanja, 2

Padraig: I’ll concede that I was initially a little peeved when Tanja beat the enchanting Sandra Nurmsalu to the Eesti Laul title. But once my indignation receded, I began to appreciate “Amazing” in its own right. The song may be a tad generic (cc Loreen, Cascada) and lyrically questionable (what does “stay amazing lie” even mean?), but it makes for a diverting change amidst the plague of ballads at this year’s contest. My main concern is all the dancing. Whilst visually impressive, there is a high risk that it could result in a Tooji 2.0 situation. I suspect those backing singers are going to have their work cut out.

Score: 6/10

Vebooboo: Robin Stjernberg would be proud — though our favourite chub-turned-stud may have flopped at Eurovision last year, clearly his love for modern dance has infected nearby Estonia.  Tanja’s lyrics don’t make sense…”Stay amazing lie, I don’t, don’t want another to make me high”.  She asks if we hear her screaming, but more importantly I ask if anyone can understand what the hell she’s whispering at the beginning of the song.  Girl be breathing into that microphone way too hard! Lyrics aside, mad props to Tanja for being the first contestant ever to jointly enter the Eurovision Dance Contest and Eurovision Song Contest with one number (lol).  And even bigger applause goes to Tanja for selecting a super cute back-up dancer to bust her moves on the stage with. Y’all know by now I love me a good upbeat number. This one is average, but Tanja gets an A for effort.

Score: 5.5/10

Estonia, Tanja, 1

Patrick: Since I first heard it I have been in love with it. I had big doubts about whether Tanja could cut it live, but she did. I can’t see “Euphoria 2.0.” Just because she has a great dance performance and she doesn’t wear shoes does not make her a cover of Loreen. The song is powerful, energetic and catchy. A few people are thinking Tanja won’t qualify to the final but for me she’s a dark horse in the competition. One of my favourites! Totally “Amazing”!

Score: 9/10

Wiwi: Your comments about Euphoria 2.0. bore me. The last time I checked Loreen was not an extra in Cirque du Soleil, and her back-up dancer wasn’t nearly as hot. The song is fine: average to above average. The performance, however, is amazing. I do worry that Tanja’s dancer will dislocate her hip when Tanja extends horizontally at 2:30. But given the impression this performance makes, it’s worth the risk. Eurovision is about making an impression and being remembered. This ticks the box. One final note: the breathiness of the opening smacks of a phone sex operator. It’d be great to tone that down ahead of Copenhagen.

Score: 6.5/10

All 19 members of our jury rate each song. However, we only have room to share 10 written reviews. Here are the remaining nine scores.

Francheska: 8/10

James L: 8/10

Mario: 9/10

Maxim Montana: 3/10

Mike: 7.5/10

Ramadan: 4/10

Sami: 6/10

William C.: 6.7/10

Zach: 6/10

The highest and lowest scores are removed before calculating the final score. We have dropped a low of 2 and a high of 9.

The Wiwi Jury Verdict: 6.45/10

You can check out our latest Eurovision 2014 reviews and rankings on the Wiwi Jury page. You can keep up-to-date on the latest Eurovision news and gossip by following the team on Twitter @wiwibloggs and by liking our Facebook page.

32 Comments
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Dan
Dan
9 years ago

This song isn’t terrible, just…blah. It feels like I’ve heard it a million times before… Whoever came up with that tilting move should get all the credit – it’s the thing that will get this entry into the final (as a previous commentator already stated and I fully agree)! And yes, it’s a very bad year lyric-wise….

Nathan
Nathan
9 years ago

This feeling ibsiddddddddde: I’m going to be a dragon slayer. Any Wiwijury giving this song below a 7 should be slapped. This song while is titled Amazing, is not THAT amazing. It will wow, but will not win. But we are comparing apples with oranges. Clearly we are watching a live performance versus pre-recorded stuff which makes it hard to compare objectively. While I would prefer personally to have two or three more back up dancers, preferably shirtless gymnasts like the French entry a few years back, for once, I’ll resort to my gay porn than to watch this song… Read more »

Leon
Leon
9 years ago

Forget what’s gone on before regarding alleged copying – is anything we see totally original ? I watched this several times and listened to the song without visuals. She’s good, it’s catchy, however, the choreography gets in the way and does not complement the product in a meaningful way. 7/10

MoMo
MoMo
9 years ago

Defo not amazing for me.

Ps: wow, 19 members? I’m struggling to read more than 4 reviews for a song to be honest.

CookyMonzta
CookyMonzta
9 years ago

I take it that Vebooboo recognizes the same similarity that I recognized the sooner I heard this song: It is reminiscent of last year’s Swedish entry, Robin Stjernberg’s “You”. I still can’t figure where Loreen fits into this.

HKDick
HKDick
9 years ago

Although Amazing isn’t the most amazing song ever written it’s still a great pop tune and livens up an otherwise potentially dreary contest. 8/10 (and it sounds nothing like Euphoria)

Alex
Alex
9 years ago

I don’t know where all the fascination for “Amazing” comes from. It’s one of the most gimmicky performances since Mika Newton’s “Angel,” and a mediocre song to boot. Unintentionally funny (especially the part in the image at the top and the 720’s they pull during the second chorus – what is this, the Summer Olympics???) but I’m not exactly rooting for this one.

Sofie
Sofie
9 years ago

“Stay amazing lie”? The lyrics don’t make any sense at all. It’s an average song that we all have heard a zillion times before and I hope it won’t qualify. 1/10.

raisa
raisa
9 years ago

veryyyyyyyyyyyyyy boring 0.5/10

Vladimir
Vladimir
9 years ago

Winners:
1999 – Sweden
2000 – Denmark
2001 – Estonia

2012 – Sweden
2013 – Denmark
2014 – ?:-)

dowager97
dowager97
9 years ago

Aw, this song is really growing on me now. I hope it qualifies just to keep a bit of variety in the grand final.

ESCaddict
ESCaddict
9 years ago

Why do so many ESC morons compare songs to Euphoria & Loreen? Euphoria was not the first song with that sound. Check out Cascada songs released before Euphoria. You could accuse Loreen of copying Cascada. Do I need to mention Don’t You Worry Child? It may surprise some people that Loreen was not the first to dance on stage with a guy too. It is a very common occurrence. So to recap, there was nothing new about Euphoria. It was, & still is, a great song but let’s keep it in perspective. It is a sad reflection on anyone who… Read more »

GrWillSmashAgain
GrWillSmashAgain
9 years ago

Wiwi jury needs to review the greek entry asap!!!!!!!!!!!!

SpirK
SpirK
9 years ago

Well let’s face it, the lyrics are tragic.
I don’t want another to make me high/ I want want you to be amazing lie
Say what? Well it did remind euphoria to me also although this one is really less impressive and very uninteresting. But, she has a great voice and I’m amazed how she can sing and dance and do it both so well 😉

SJ
SJ
9 years ago

her performance is similar with singer Pink not Loreen

SJ
SJ
9 years ago

my mistake Marija Naumova gave first victory for Latvia in 2002

Z24
Z24
9 years ago

Why remove high-low scores in the average calculations?

The song is subpar musically and lyircally, but the show is indeed amazing, the singing-dancing will definetly catch people’s eyes. Overall nice entry from Estonia

Pastora Soler haha
Pastora Soler haha
9 years ago

I think she is very underrated (like Slovenia)

The song is catchy and maybe the coreography reminds you to Loreen and Euphoria, but she’s amazing singing PERFECT doing that!

Just stunning.

Dhani
9 years ago

It sucks. But of course it will qualify ´And then something 100 times better will stay in the semi, like Montenegro or San Marino.

And yes, it is Eurphoria 2.0.

eurana
eurana
9 years ago

One of the best stages this year, great singer and dancer. Coreography excellent. I ca not see anything wrong in Amazing.
9/10

Timselvision
Timselvision
9 years ago

“Stay amazing lie” can be read as -> “Could you please stay, amazing lie?” This “amazing lie” could be the boy with who she´s doing “Euphoria-tricks” 😛 My opinion about this song is very diverse. It was my #2 in the Eesi Laul contest – my #1 was Sandra, and still is, and I´m convinced that if Sandra will do the second chance contest Estonia might win. This song, however, is good too. It´s a great song, a bit out-dated, but nice. It makes me kinda wanna dance and it´s catchy. It could do well if the live performance will… Read more »

sopon
sopon
9 years ago

Pretty much agreed: subpar song with awesome staging. I see it just barely qualifying. I am partly in agreement and partly in disagreement about Katie’s comment of Estonia sending an English song this year. It would have worked out better last year, where there were more non-English songs. I always feel as if Estonia should stick to Estonian, as it is so beautiful (my favorite of any European language). Their Estonian-language songs usually work out very well for them (with the exception of 1994 and 2013), while their English songs don’t do as well (except from 1999-2002). But this song… Read more »

Easpag
Easpag
9 years ago

I’m not a big fan. I don’t want it to qualify, but it probably will.

Also, this scoring system is great. The larger amount of ratings is good, and excluding the outliers is a fantastic idea. Props to whichever one of you thought of it.

Mex
Mex
9 years ago

Your comments made me smile. Yes, you do state that you are “in-house panel of musical unprofessionals” and Padraig & Vebooboo do everything to defend that. 🙂

”Stay amazing lie; I don’t, don’t want another to make me high” is great lyrics, by the way. Do you really didn’t get that? 🙂

Ahhhh…

SJ
SJ
9 years ago

Song from Sweden 1985 and song from Denmark 1986 is for me very similar and simillar stage performance and all gets many points. Sweden finished on 3 rd place in 1985, and Denmark finished on 6 place in 1986.
We have simmilar song Denmark 2000 and Ireland 2003 , one song won and Ireland 2003 is one of bettter Ireland place from 2000 to 2013.

SJ
SJ
9 years ago

I think Estonia is most underrated on betting odds. Marija Naumova gave Latvia first victory in 2012 and maybe Tanja Mihhailova will give second victory for Estonia. Naumova , Mihhailova

Armond
Armond
9 years ago

My score would be 7/10

Armond
Armond
9 years ago

This is a song that has grown on me since Eesti Laul 2014. I love it. I don’t care about the plagiarism accusations. It won’t win though.

Gerard P
Gerard P
9 years ago

HAHAHA. This song is so bad. Why do so many Eurovision fans love it? 1/10 — and that’s being generous.

Thiefo
Thiefo
9 years ago

Another disappointed Sandra fan here! But I also confess I made my peace with Estonia since Eesti Laul and since then I got to appreciate Tanja’s song as well. I think the dance is by far better than the song, but since nowadays the key to success (usually, obviously with its exceptions) at Eurovision is a combination of the song itself and the performance, I guess it will do well and we’ll get to see this in the final. Not my absolute top favourite, but I still enjoy it. I’m still curious though, what makes Tanja think lies are so… Read more »

Dan
Dan
9 years ago

This is bad….

Dervish
Dervish
9 years ago

Boring song. Amazing staging. Will it be enough for Top 10? I don’t know. But nice effort from Estonia. 6.5 /10