Kisses group picture sneak peak Netherlands Junior Eurovision 2016

Today the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — travelled to Amsterdam to hit up the shops on Leidseplein and eat our body weight in pommes frites with mayonnaise. After we burnt all our euros, we sat down and reviewed “Kisses and Dancin'” from Kisses — The Netherlands’ Junior Eurovision 2016 act. Did they make us want to get up and dance? Read on to find out…

The Netherlands’ Junior Eurovision 2016 song

“Kisses and Dancin'” reviews – Kisses

Deban: Blastastic! “Kisses and Dancin'” is exactly what the doctor ordered for Junior Eurovision. This europop number is modern, upbeat, sassy and age-appropriate. Ringing out the dirge, and giving me a beat — Kisses slay! Completely unfazed by the trend of little girls singing power ballads at JESC, the Netherlands are cutting another tasty slice of dance-pop that will undoubtedly be a club banger for years to come.

Score: 9/10

William: This skews more teen than pre-teen — which may explain why it’s one of my favourites. The catchy chorus loops in your head on first listen and the happy instrumentation and production mean you can’t help but smile. Kymora, Stefania and Sterre are living this song and I want to clap and sing along. Now get up and move yo body!

Score: 8.5/10

Renske: I feel so much energy! These girls love to sing, dance and entertain — and their joy is contagious. “Kisses and Dancin'” makes me want to jump around like a fool, reminding me that child-friendly songs at Junior Eurovision are actually fun. As an upbeat song it will stand out from the many ballads, giving it a favourable chance in the end.

Score: 8.5/10

Antony: Three words: Dutch Spice Girls. I like the way that the group was constructed to represent different people from the Dutch demographic. The song is upbeat and has a cute message that should appeal to children and adults alike. And the music video is one of the best produced this year!

Score: 8/10

Bernardo: I struggle to enjoy the Dutch language. However, the Kisses’ harmonies are EVERYTHING. Strong and powerful vocals plus a kid-friendly tune and a good production? It’s the perfect combination to succeed at Junior Eurovision. If the staging lifts this song even more, it’s a serious contender for the trophy.

Score: 7.5/10

Chris: Kisses are three great solo artists who have come together to form an equally talented band. They nail their harmonies throughout “Kisses and Dancin'” and it’s clear that the three girls really enjoy the song. It’s really strong for the first 90 seconds or so — but then it gets a tad too repetitive. If the girls can deliver a great stage show — and I wouldn’t be surprised by that — then they could still score well.

Score: 6.5/10

Kisses

Jason: Kisses are bringing the party to Malta with their retro-funk inspired “Kisses and Dancin'”. This marks a welcome break from the many ballads and more serious numbers in the contest, and will likely help the Netherlands stand out. Although this style of music is not my cup of tea, I can still appreciate the professionalism of this entry and the amazing chemistry between the group members.

Score: 6/10

Jordi: Shalisa’s piano ballad “Million Lights” was all about emotion, but this is all about getting your groove on. Kymora, Stefania and Sterre bring colour and joy with with this teen-friendly hit. While it won’t be to everyone’s taste, plenty of teens and adults will relate to the song. The song oozes a festive vibe. I can’t wait to put on my dancing shoes and get footloose!

Score: 8/10

Josh: This is catchy, fun and memorable! For a couple of weeks now I have found myself walking around my house singing, “Wooaahhh, kisses and dancin’. Clap clap!” I love how quintessentially Dutch the film clip is, having each girl filmed in a red, white and blue room, and I love their energy. If they can execute a great dance performance along with a strong vocal, there’s no reason why this can’t do well in Malta.

Score: 7.5/10

Robyn: “Kisses and Dancin'” is a throwback to the early 1980s disco pop, and is surprisingly simple and repetitive. It’s an odd choice for such a lively young trio. Kisses can’t be faulted — they are three talented young singers, and if the music video is anything to go by, they have great chemistry (#girlpower). But the song… it just doesn’t serve Kisses well nor make the most of their talents.

Score: 5/10

rsz_kisses-jesc-netherlands

Our jury for 2016 consists of twenty-one jurors, but we only have room for ten reviews. The remaining eleven scores are listed below.

Andy: 6.5/10

Antranig: 5.5/10

Dayana: 10/10

Edd: 8/10

Luis: 9/10

Marek: 5/10

Mario: 9.5/10

Matt: 9.5/10

Rezo: 8/10

Stanislav: 7/10

Zakaria: 7/10

The highest and lowest scores are removed prior to calculating the average score. This is to remove outliers and potential bias. We have removed a low of 5 and a high of 10.

Wiwi jury score: 7.61/10

Read all of our Junior Eurovision 2016 rankings and reviews

Follow our Junior Eurovision coverage

17 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Erin
Erin
7 years ago

@Eva – I tend to agree. The song is very lightweight, frivolous and vapid. It’s unfortunate because the girls sound harmonious and vocally confident, but it’s such a generic dance-pop song in the end that is even cheapened by the title Kisses and dancin’. It might as well be ‘Kisses and Hersheys’ with all that saccharine going on…

Eva M.
Eva M.
7 years ago

I really like the girls and I think that with the right song they could have aimed very high. However, this is the kind of simple and superficial song I would usually not bother to to listen a second time… I also truly admire how some countries are making an effort to say something meaningful in the JESC entries and I think that elevates the competition and encourages the best in the kids.

Graph
Graph
7 years ago

I don’t like to say negative things about JESC entries. But since this song is doing really well on YouTube tops and got high marks from the Wiwi Jury, I feel that I can be honest without hurting anyone’s feelings.

I can’t stand this song. It’s just not my style at all. But a lot of people like it, so it’s a successful entry!

HĂ©ctor
HĂ©ctor
7 years ago

One of the worst entries this year, I can’t stand it. I don’t really see it placing well.
3,5/10

(J)ESC Fanatic
(J)ESC Fanatic
7 years ago

P.S.: Love your choreography, girls! I hope you bring it in Malta. 🙂

(J)ESC Fanatic
(J)ESC Fanatic
7 years ago

When I first heard the snippet I thought it was just a nice kid-friendly pop song. But once the full version came out I fell in love with it! It’s just so catchy and easy on the ear! I always find myself singing along to it. I would love it to do well but I don’t think the juries will be particularly impressed.

Score: 8/10
Rank: 5th/15

Blake
Blake
7 years ago

@Poli(na) : I don’t understand what you mean

Poli(na) Genova
Poli(na) Genova
7 years ago

@Blake: When you have 17 participants a top 10 isn’t something to be really proud of.

Blake
Blake
7 years ago

* not higher than the seventh place

Blake
Blake
7 years ago

I think these girls could easily finish in the top 10 of this 2016 JESC’s edition. But not more than the seventh place and only with a good staging and their enegic and funny dance =) ‘Kissin’ and dances’ looks like Whitney’s ‘I wanna dance with somebody’ and I love it ! The Netherlands are good this year, cuz last year they were pathetic.

I’ll give to the country a 7/10. I love the country but i’m not sooo generous =) lmao

dutchie
dutchie
7 years ago

The bass player steals the show on this one… just brilliant. Other than that, it’s a nice upbeat track with completely nonsensical lyrics, but like they sing in the bridge, ‘denk er niet te veel bij na’, i.e. ‘don’t think too much about it’.

HubertZnajomski
7 years ago

I like this song very much. It’s so strong and powerful. I like to listen to it

VictorKiriakis
VictorKiriakis
7 years ago

Who’s next to be reviewed? Do you have a list or something?

DenizNL
DenizNL
7 years ago

9/10. Not patriotic, it’s just a great and happy song.

Roelof Meesters
Roelof Meesters
7 years ago

OMG OMG OMG!!! This is my country, and i was really excited for this song 🙂 While i don’t know these girls, the Dutch JESC Youtube channel Juniorsongfestival.nl shows their personality and chemistry very well. The bridge is AMAZING and i dance along whit these girls all the time 🙂 This is an amzing song, and with the right staging, this might be the dark horse…

9/10
Rank: 2/15

bartosz
bartosz
7 years ago

@Avocado
Actually Cyprus was ranked 6,89 and currently is at the bottom of the wiwi jury ranking

Avocado
Avocado
7 years ago

Y”all give 8 to Cyprus and 7,6 to Holland. Really guys? :/