A Dal: Wiwi Jury reviews Gina Kanizsa and Mrs. Columbo

The second heat of the Hungarian national selection A Dal is behind us, which means that we have another six semi-finalists. So now it’s time for the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — to review them and see who should follow in Freddie’s footsteps at Eurovision. Next up are Gina Kanizsa with “Fall Like Rain” and Mrs. Columbo with “Frozen King”.

Gina Kanizsa – “Fall Like Rain”

“Fall Like Rain” reviews

Robyn: I’m a sucker for jazz piano and interpretive dance, so I am loving this. I don’t think it would do all that well at Eurovision, mainly because Gina has quite a light voice which somehow sits strangely with the music. But I’m very happy for “Fall Like Rain” to be part of A Dal 2017.

Score: 6.5/10

Sami: It sounds more like a Christmas song than Eurovision entry. I could hear this on The Snowman (the animated short film with “Walking in the Air”). Gina is one of the best singers in A Dal this year and luckily she doesn’t come off too shouty. This is not my kind of music at all, but I don’t mind listening to it once or twice.

Score: 5/10

Luis: “Fall Like Rain” comes across as a super gentle act… and that’s it. I like this the way I like a jazz jam. And guess what, a jazz jam is not the best idea for Eurovision. I’m taking this act more like a little gift for my ears, amongst all the regular shouty ballads we have in the national finals.

Score: 6/10

Antranig: This has an enchanting piano opening and Gina’s vulnerable vocals add the right emotion to the song. However, is this anything we haven’t heard before from a Eurovision ballad? Definitely not. There’s nothing drawing me back to the song and I find myself forgetting the melody before I finish this review. It needs to be memorable and this doesn’t come close.

Score: 3.5/10

William: The first problem: Gina doesn’t seem comfortable in this register. The second: The song is dire, dated and more suited for Broadway than Eurovision. The third: The stunning rain sequence is ruined by a woman dressed as a bird in a cheap tin-foil cape. This doesn’t work for me on any level.

Score: 2/10

Chris: The more I listen to this song, the more I dislike it. I never thought I’d hear a Hersi’s “One Night’s Anger”-cum-Broadway number, but lo and behold, A Dal delivers. Gina’s vocals aren’t suited particularly to this song, with the final note being a particular struggle.

Score: 4/10

In the Hungary Wiwi Jury, we have 17 jurors but only room for six reviews. The rest of our scores can be found below:

Before calculating the average score, the highest and lowest scores are dropped. This is to remove outliers and reduce potential bias. We have removed a low of 0.5 and a high of 8.

Wiwi Jury verdict: 4.75/10

Mrs. Columbo – “Frozen King”

“Frozen King” reviews

Natalie: This one has me very excited. I love its originality, and I can tell that a lot of thought went into it – it’s lively and tells a story. But I still feel a bit more could have been done to enhance its power. At the end, I feel like it dragged a little bit…but I still want to see this one go places.

Score: 8/10

Zakaria: For a second there I thought I was reviewing Eesti Laul. Besides the weird title, “Frozen King” is a very original song and Mrs Columbo can really deliver. However, I find the song very flat and kind of uninspiring which leads me to get bored by the end. I don’t believe this has the potential to compete at Eurovision.

Score: 5/10

William: I don’t know who Mr Columbo is, but he’s very lucky to be with such a daring and different lady! Her unique perspective on fashion — nice sports bra! — comes through in the contemporary, avant-garde sound which mixes electro with dub-step. I’m not feeling the lyrics, and the song starts to drag toward the end, but this wins me over with its originality.

Score: 7.5/10

Robyn: “Frozen King” is really enjoyable to listen to, modern without being a slave to trends. But once it’s over, it immediately vanishes from memory. It’s a song that would be heavily reliant on staging to make an impact. As it is, it’s good but not good enough… yet. But there is one thing I want to remember. This amazing lyric: “I’m still here offering my hands. Will you accept them? They are warm and nice.”

Score: 7/10

Chris: There’s something that interests me in “Frozen King”. I genuinely had to listen to it again straightaway after I first listened. It’s a hard song to access, perhaps due to the lead singer being slightly cold — but her demeanour matches the song’s icy message. I’d like a bit more of a kick in the chorus for it to be a real contender, but if Hungary want to work with this then they could keep their final streak running.

Score: 6.5/10

Josh: The foundations for “Frozen King” are there, but if this entry wants to advance further in A Dal 2017 then adjustments need to be made. The lead singer has one of the better voices in this semi-final, but she looks bored on stage and her Nina Kraljic-esque cape swallows her up. In other words – give her a new wardrobe and some go-go juice!

Score: 6/10

In the Hungary Wiwi Jury, we have 17 jurors but only room for six reviews. The rest of our scores can be found below:

Before calculating the average score, the highest and lowest scores are dropped. This is to remove outliers and reduce potential bias. We have removed a low of 5 and a high of 9.

Wiwi Jury verdict: 6.78/10

See our list of A Dal rankings here

Read more Hungary Eurovision news here