In anticipation of Romania’s Selectia Nationala, the Wiwi Jury is reviewing each of the 12 competing songs. The fourth song to face the panel is “Still Alive”, by Ovidiu Anton. Did we enjoy this song? Or were we grateful that we were still alive after listening to this? Read on to find out.

David: Really good voice. Not Cezar level, but damn good. But the music, there’s the problem. The music is a bit too heavy handed at times and is not scored that well. The entry is as good as its weakest part and the music holds him back. The words of the song, and how he carries it are good. With better music, this could be much better. With all that said though, this is going on my playlist.

Score: 9/10

Deban: Ovidiu comes across as authentic. He masters his acoustic craft beautifully. “Still Alive” is a breath of fresh air. It’s a solid, radio-friendly, rock-influenced pop tune that could easily translate into a qualifying Eurovision entry.

Score: 7/10

Francheska: What is this feeling deep inside me? Do I actually like a cheesy ballad? OH GOOD LORD NO. Jokes aside, this is oddly pleasant. It makes me want to ice skate carelessly, fly, and have a big smile on my face. Ovidiu may not have powerhouse vocals, but he’s consistent, and the instrumentals and backing vocals are surprisingly nice. It reminds me of “Secrets” by OneRepublic (a song I’d never thought I’d compare to a Eurovision song). TVR may actually not disappoint us this year!

Score: 10/10

Iñaki: Another of those ballads with a slight heavy touch that I love. It’s not that bad, but it could improve if they add emotional and powerful staging. The bad thing about the song is that it brings nothing new to the hackneyed world of ballads in Eurovision. In addition, Ovidiu’s falsetto sounds anything but heavy, quite similar to Anna Vissi in the higher notes. It is undoubtedly one of the best songs in this preselection.

Score: 7/10

1332326731_ovidiu_anton_2Josh: I usually rely on Romania to bring something unique and interesting to Eurovision, and they always manage to succeed even with the strangest of acts (Cezar). The song is just a bit dull for me and feels quite safe for Romania. There is no denying the fact that Anton has a great voice and his English annunciation is really brilliant, but this song is just dull.

Score: 6/10

Kristin: It’s like Jon Bon Jovi took Valium and started jamming on his guitar! And that is a good thing, y’all. Ovidiu’s voice dazzled me from the beginning, and the song has serious potential with that dangerous hook. I like… I like very, very much. 

Score: 9.5/10

Louis: This is one of those songs that can put you into your own carefree world and let you forget about everything. Very tranquil (even with the rock like passages), it has me rocking to the beat with a smile on my face.

Score: 8/10

Luis: Forgettable. It feels like the lyrics were a mashup of other forgettable and pointless songs like this one. I don’t really get why is he trying to act like a rocker with his voice at the end, it doesn’t fit the song at all. Next!

Score: 2/10

Max: Before listening to this, I wasn’t expecting much from it, but I’m glad to say I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, it may be the sort of slow rock ballad we’ve heard many times before, but it has such meaningful lyrics that aren’t typically cheesy. The passion in Ovidiu’s vocals is strong and although the chances of this winning are low, my opinion is high.

Score: 7.5/10

Patrick: What a great strong voice and what a lovely sound. He reminds me of Chris Grech from Malta! The song itself is a good composion who could do really well in the NF and even in Vienna. Strong vocals, strong melody – everything is strong. Wow, I’m surprised!

Score: 8/10ovidiu-anton-paraseste-trupa-pasager-644x416

Robyn: For such a bold declaration (he’s not dead – yet), the song is surprisingly boring. A big problem is that the peak emotional parts of the song are riddled with lyrical cliches. When Ovidiu declares that he feels like he can “touch the sky”, the cliched language strips the lyrics of the intended emotional weight.

Score: 4/10

Sami: The song is quite boring, even his voice is nice. I don’t think this would be memorable enough to do well in the contest, even if his performance was good.

Score: 4/10

Sopon: Wow! Way too much cheese here! Ovidiu has a great voice, sort of like a Romanian Dennis DeYoung, but this song is not doing him any favors. He’s simply passing on the trip to Vienna.

Score: 5/10

The highest and lowest scores have been removed before calculating the final scores to avoid bias. We have removed a high of 10 and a low of 2.

The Wiwi Jury Verdict: 6.8/10

You can read all of our reviews and rankings for Selectia Nationala 2015 by clicking here. You can also keep up with the latest Eurovision news and gossip by following the team from wiwibloggs.com on Twitter @wiwibloggs and by liking our Facebook page.

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Thiefo
Thiefo
9 years ago

I remember I heard the song for the first time and my thought was “Didn’t know Jon Bon Jovi was trying to represent Romania” specially during that part towards the end “I’m still aliiiiiiiiiive yayaaaaaay”.

beccaboo1212
9 years ago

This is a really good song 🙂
6.5/10

Ian
Ian
9 years ago

Eurovision has too many ballads right now, I doubt a power ballad would be enough of a change up.

Mario -The Vision of Gay Love
Mario -The Vision of Gay Love
9 years ago

Ok its descent song… 🙂 It might has rock colour & im not fan of rock music which is not my cup of tea but this sounds pleasantly to my ears.. 🙂
5,5 / 10 Good effort! 🙂
This dude seems like a gay bear type by the way.. hehe 😉 <3