Germany, Elaiza, 3

A few nights ago the Wiwi Jury—our in-house panel of musical unprofessionals—headed to Monster Ronson’s Ichiban Karaoke palace in Berlin. After we had warmed up our vocal chords we sat down to review Elaiza’s Eurovision 2014 song “Is it Right”. Did they turn up the heat and light our fire? Or were we more impressed by our own karaoke? Read on to find out…

http://youtu.be/j4jRCm31E0g

Padraig: “Is it r-r-r-i-i-i-ght?” Ela sings again and again…and again. Well, since she asked – no, it’s wrong, wrong, WRONG! The very fact that the Germans’ chose this is mind boggling. In doing so not only did they snub at least 3 better songs, but they’ve also wrecked their brilliant post 2009 back catalogue. “Is it Right” is pleasantly inoffensive – aka dull and forgettable. The protagonist’s indecisiveness is just irritating, after 3 minutes I couldn’t give a damn whether she’s right or wrong. Instead of going on a musical journey, I find myself plodding through a load of repetition and accordions. I’m with Madeline Juno on this one – Germany have made an “error, error, error”.

Score: 5/10

James L: I think Germany’s insanely complicated selection process this year just might have found them a winner! No who am I kidding – Elaiza was clearly the strongest in the wildcard round, and they outshined many of their competitors in the main final, but they risk blending into the background with this one. It’s got all the ingredients – a folksy flair, live instruments, young likeable and spunky-yet-wholesome singers, a catchy chorus… but where’s the ZING that sends it straight to the heart of every European? It’s a nice song, but I can’t imagine anyone wildly voting for it.

Score: 7/10

Germany, Elaiza, 1

Vebooboo: A lot of people are hating on this song, but I just love something about the quality of Elaiza’s voice. And unlike so many other songs this year, the song actually builds in a logical fashion, climaxing at the end like a good bedroom session. The song isn’t stellar, though, and I don’t foresee this finishing in the Top 10.

Score: 6/10

Angus: So at first with this I was all “Ja natürlich!”  But over time some of the charm has been eroded away amongst the competition and I’m beginning to revise it downward in my estimations. Fortunately most of Europe will only hear it for the first time and this is ear wormy enough to lock itself in. Roman Lob was hardly exciting in 2012 with ‘Standing Still’ and ‘Is It Right’, given the right slot, could catapult up the leader board. Ela can also sing which is a lot more than can be said for Cascada last year…

Score: 7.5/10

elaiza winner unser song danemark

Wiwi: Elaiza work magic on stage: They manage to make a three-minute song feel like an enternity. Forty-five seconds into it Elaiza say they can’t go on. Neither can I. The accordions feel sluggish. Rather than taking sleeping pills I’m just gonna kick it with deeze ladies. A wildcard entry to the German final, they milked their underdog status all the way to a win against more established German acts. Unfortunately Europeans won’t care that they are relatively unknown at home. I gave Iceland a 3, and I prefer that to this, so it’s a sad 2.5 from me.

Score: 2.5

Bogdan: I still can’t get my head around what happened in Germany. Out of so many great songs (I personally rooted for Oceana’s “Thank You”), they chose Elaiza’s, which is an okay choice, but so wrong compared to what it could have been, and definitely my least favourite of the Big 5 this year. This way, Germany will probably land on the bottom right side of the scoreboard on the 10th of May. As I said, it’s an okay song, but it’s not enough, and I’m not blown away by their live performance at USFD either. Terrible. So my answer to Elaiza’s question would be a resounding “Nein.”

Score: 3/10

elaiza wildcard user song danemark

Deban: The sound is a tad vintage, but the band’s vibe is refreshingly cool. The acoustic version really showcases the strength of Ela’s voice. However, there is a danger with this track. Unlike ‘Start A Fire’ which resonates with every listen, ‘Is It Right’ isn’t the track you’d want to put on repeat.

Score: 5.5/10

Billy: I like her amazing voice and the style of the song, the group atmosphere and the variety of musical instruments! Yet somehow this is still just a little boring. Even though I would have preferred Oceana to go to Denmark, I think Elaiza have great stage presence. Yes, “Is It Right” is a tad repetitive. But I can’t ignore the climax where we feel the full power of her voice. Yasssss!

Score: 6.5/10

Germany, Elaiza, 2

Katie: Oh Goodness me. What on earth do we have here? It sounds very traditional at the beginning but judging by the singer’s spiky hair and brightly coloured outfits, it won’t be very traditional. So nothing really happens until the chorus, and the dynamics of this song are best described with the analogy of a ticking time bomb. Tick, tick, tick, BOOM! Crazy chorus. Only after a few seconds, we’re back to the repetitive “Is it right? Is it right?”. Am I the only one that’s still not sure what “it” is? I can’t listen to the song in full without getting bored after two minutes… Nothing exciting happens!

Score: 4/10

Mike: My first reaction to this song was that Germany doesn’t take Eurovision seriously anymore. Perhaps we shouldn’t have cast their dear Cascada in the gutter last year? But this song has grown on me. It’s actually something different and makes me feel like I am dancing in a circle around a gypsy bride and groom and waving with white tissues! Even so, European voters won’t remember this when the voting starts…

Score: 7/10

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.

Anthony: 7/10

Mario: 6/10

Maxim Montana: 5/10

Francheska: 3/10

Zach: 5.5/10

Patrick: 8/10

Ramadan: 4/10

Sami: 5/10

William: 7.1/10

The highest and lowest scores are dropped before calculating the average. We have dropped a low of 2.5 and a high of 9. 

The Wiwi Jury Verdict: 5.56/10

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.

36 Comments
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Leon
Leon
9 years ago

Nothing to write home about. 3/10

MoMo
MoMo
9 years ago

Sounds like a bad remix. Vocals and instrumentals don’t flow welll.

I don’t like this song at all.

Nil point

Karl
Karl
9 years ago

This is how I felt when the results came in:
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Doug_Walker_Facepalm_3_2625.png

I was angrily disappointed that Unheilig didn’t won.

Paul
Paul
9 years ago

It’s a grower , good luck Germany

Alex
Alex
9 years ago

@David: There’s nothing wrong with accordions, dammit!

The live performance video is underwhelming, but what the lead singer needs to do is simply hold her notes longer.

Easpag
Easpag
9 years ago

I have a feeling Madeline will be entered into the OGAE Second chance contest, though. Her songs are too good not to.

Deven O'Kearney
9 years ago

This is a good song. I like the typical German instrumentation in this song. But yeah, Germany needs to go for something more captivating. It will struggle against stronger entries in Western Europe, such as Denmark, Spain, Sweden and Ireland. It might garner a few votes from allies such as Austria and Denmark. But apart from that, I don’t know where the votes are going to come from anyway.

Marcelo N
9 years ago

@ Padraig – You’re right; my bad for not editing! SHE was not good live. Error was my favourite and I’d heard it live elsewhere. Thanks for the attention 😉

Ryanireland
Ryanireland
9 years ago

I’m a little disappointed by the German entry this year. 🙁 cant see it getting any higher than between 15th to 20th on a good night. Loved Lena loved roman and cascada, just going down hill a little for the Germans. Maybe they don’t want to win anytime soon

Padraig Muldoon
Admin
9 years ago

@Marcelo N when exactly did you hear the live version of Error? She never got to perform it during USFD due to the overly complex system 😐

Marcelo N
9 years ago

@ Easpag – You hit the nail on its head: If you can’t sing live, you don’t deserve it. I luurved “Error”, but it was not well done. Sorry. Period. This other song, on the other hand, came up from nowhere, got its place and deserves to be where it is. And it is fresh, sounds good and has every deserving ingredient to be there representing their country. In addition, she can sing live and has a mesmerizing something in her voice. What else? Ah, yes: it sounds repetitive? Have you stopped to think what it is about? A man… Read more »

CookyMonzta
CookyMonzta
9 years ago

I’d bet the bookies were expecting Madeline Juno to win Unser Song. I figured her a sure bet for top 5 overall at ESC, and I hope she tries again next year. With Elaiza, it’s a toss-up for them to squeeze into the top 10. The lead singer reminds me of Gwen Stefani.

Tha
Tha
9 years ago

In the first time I heard it, I didn’t liked this song.
But now is one of my favorites.
It’s different and catchy. Not a winner, but I hope a nice placer to her.
I’m loving those folk songs of this year!

Easpag
Easpag
9 years ago

@Padraig and Z24 I agree, either of Madeline Juno’s songs would’ve been challengers for the title, but she was the worst singer live on the night. If you can’t sing live, you don’t deserve it. I desperately wanted Like Lovers Do to win, but she absolutely butchered it. Elaiza was the best choice then.

Nathan
Nathan
9 years ago

I love the accordion. The only instrument missing from this artistic arrangement is a banjo.

Z24
Z24
9 years ago

Is very inoffensive. I don’t dislike it, but it won’t make waves in the contest. Only slightly better than Roman Lob.

And BTW, Like Lovers Do was the song that should’ve been sent.

Julian
Julian
9 years ago

Unheilig would’ve been a better choice. Not a winner but a solid act nevertheless.

Padraig Muldoon
Admin
9 years ago

As I alluded to in my review, I really think Germany should have sent Madeline Juno and “Error”. That would have been a potential winner, this will be lucky if it breaks the top 20.

EnaKoritsi
EnaKoritsi
9 years ago

Yeah, I also prefer Unheilig over this.

YoungsterJoey
YoungsterJoey
9 years ago

Germany’s entry is by far one of my favorites this year. Some Bitter Betty’s up in here. The song is very different to the now traditional/typical pop song that appears on the ESC. Who plays an accordion nowadays? This offers something different. Although the song selection process in Germany was perhaps a bit too much, I’m happy with the result.

Easpag
Easpag
9 years ago

Waitwaitwait, you wanted Unheilig to win? Unheilig was the worst act in USFD. How he didn’t go out in the first round amazed me.

Dan RO
Dan RO
9 years ago

I see some people say that the chorus is when it all happens. Frankly, who has the patience and nerves to listen until then?! Not me, I’m afraid!

ayayaya
ayayaya
9 years ago

I love this song and I don’t think it will get last. Also, I was glad Germany picked this because it’s a song I like but not a threat for winning.

David Thielen
9 years ago

Never ever enter a song that has an accordion. Ever!

frio
frio
9 years ago

Maybe they do the trick again and win eurovision by surprise. Who knows?

vangelis vt
vangelis vt
9 years ago

Germany wasted a definite ESC winner…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv_jovyLnKg

vangelis vt
vangelis vt
9 years ago

Unheilig, Unheilig, Unheilig

Timselvision
Timselvision
9 years ago

Yeah, my #37 this year! 😀 Last place for Germany in the final. Awefull, boring song and I can´t even manage to listen it to the end of it. That actually never happens with ESC songs, except when I give them the last / second last place. And that´s Germany this year. And nope, I´ve got nothing against Germany. German is my favorite language after English, and Bratwurst my favorite food (after chili con carne) and I was really disappointed that Unheilig or Santiago didn´t won… These two would have been in my top 10. This song doesn´t even manage… Read more »

Thiefo
9 years ago

I kinda like the traditional sound of it, and I love the main vocalist’s voice, maybe with another song I would appreciate it a lot more. It’s an ok song, I don’t think it would do very well but I don’t think is that bad either. But yeah, it also beats me how this could win USFD, I surely didn’t see that coming, such a fairytale ending for them.

Easpag
Easpag
9 years ago

I really like it. My favourite of the Big 5, 4th favourite overall.

Woz
Woz
9 years ago

Sorry, I meant “It has a current sound, a nice voice and a memorable chorus. I wouldn’t vote for it but I don’t find it worse than Satellite”

Am I the only one who finds anoying to being able to edit nor delete my own posts?

flower crown
flower crown
9 years ago

Bring back Dschinghis Khan

Woz
Woz
9 years ago

It has a current sound, a nice voice and a memorable chorus. I wouldn’t vote for it for I don’t find it worse than Satellite.

Jericho
Jericho
9 years ago

Zzzz zzzz dull dull dull

Dhani
9 years ago

i think this is a serious contender for the last place

beccaboo1212
9 years ago

It’s an OK song. “Glorious” was better.