Wiwi Jury: The Netherlands’ Shalisa with “Million Lights”

Earlier this afternoon the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — travelled to Amsterdam to indulge in some stroopwafels and poffertjes at the Van Gogh Museum. With our postcard reproductions in hand, we all tuned in to Shalisa‘s JESC 2015 track “Million Lights”. Did we light a million lights for Shalisa, or was this a total blackout? Read on to find out…

THE NETHERLANDS’ JUNIOR EUROVISION 2015 Song

‘MILLION LIGHTS’ REVIEWS – THE NETHERLANDS AT JESC 2015

Angus: The smoke. The lights. The piano. J’ADORE. The Netherlands have traded in last year’s clubland banger for a stripped back, electro-piano ballad — and it works! People were yelling hard for Katrina, but she was ratchet — Amsterdam have it down this year and they can smash this on stage. Ballad werk honey, ballad werk.

Score: 9.5/10

Jason: I think that “Million Lights” has quite an anthemic feel — it would be perfect for a Disney blockbuster. Everything about this entry is polished, perhaps a little bit too much. I think that the choreography should be toned down just a touch. Also it would be more dynamic if Shalisa stood up and really let loose to kill that big note and work the stage a little bit. With a few minor tweaks, this could be great!

Score: 8/10

Renske: Shalisa has the whole package for Junior Eurovision: a good song, a good voice, a story and an act. Plus she’s a really good stage performer. But perhaps that’s the pitfall too? Sometimes bringing too much to the stage can distract the audience from her lovely song and voice. In any event, a very secure and stable act — well done!

Score: 8.5/10

Edd: This one starts off a little dull, but Shalisa slowly pulls you in deeper and deeper, and by the end you’ve been lifted into a magical galaxy. Incredible vocals and perfect staging. It’s not so catchy, but with the audience holding up their lights this should come across epic on the big stage.

Score: 7.5/10

Robyn: Shalisa has a strong, soulful voice and she really shines with “Million Lights”. The song is more subtle than others this year and it doesn’t have the same show-stopping qualities as some of the more extravagant numbers, but it’s nice to have some contrast. And when Shalisa hits that big note — just watch out!

Score: 6/10

William: Miss Shalisa Keys has a soulful voice and she seems to feel every single note of her song — just like her American soul counterpart. Unfortunately I think the song lacks the spark to match Shalisa’s talent. The Dutch language can at times sound harsh to foreigners, and this is particularly exposed on a dreamy ballad like this one. Regardless, Shalisa is a star in the making and I love the anthemic oh-oh-oh of the bridge. PS: Please no interperative dancing in Sofia!

Score: 4.5/10

Deban: Shalisa’s song title reminds me of Polina Gagarina’s hit. Unfortunately, it’s less Polina and more Molly Sterling. This song is a downer! The choreography is distracting, and it’s obvious she’s not playing the piano. It’s a pity. Shalisa has enough raw talent to give a show-stopping performance, but she’s saddled with a team lacking in creativity.

Score: 5.5/10

Our jury consists of 21 people, but we only have room for 7 written reviews. Here are the remaining 14 scores.

Antranig: 5.5/10

Bernardo: 7.5/10

Diego: 8/10

George: 8.5/10

Josh: 7/10

Liam: 7/10

Luis: 7.5/10

Marek: 8/10

Mario: 8/10

Rezo: 6/10

Sinan: 7/10

Sopon: 6/10

William C: 7.5/10

Zakaria: 8/10

The highest and lowest scores are dropped prior to calculating the average score. This is to remove outliers and reduce potential bias. We have removed a low of 4.5 and a high of 9.5.

WIWI JURY SCORE: 7.26/10

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