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:
Bernardo: 5/10
Dayana: 6/10
Erdi: 5/10
Forrest: 4/10
Jordi: 6/10
Jason: 2.5/10
Josh: 2.5/10
Jovana: 6.5/10
Mikhail: 7.5/10
Natalie: 8/10
Sinan: 4/10
Zakaria: 0.5/10
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:
Antranig: 9/10
Bernardo: 5/10
Dayana: 7/10
Erdi: 6/10
Forrest: 5/10
Jason: 7/10
Jordi: 7/10
Jovana: 8.5/10
Luis: 7/10
Mikhail: 6.5/10
Sami: 7/10
Sinan: 7.5/10
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.
Kedves Gina!
Remek volt az el?adott m?! Csak annyit szeretnék hozzáf?zni a zsüri véleményéhez: ez egy dalköltemény volt! Ezért volt benne annyi szín, annyi kép líraiság és hang. Bátran használtad a hangokat, akárcsak egy költ?. Gratulálok, az alkotás filozófiája is jó volt, csak így tovább!
Üdv: Szalkó József coach
I was not so sure about Gina Kanizsa’s song based on the studio version but when I saw her live performance, I was so impressed. Great voice and the song really works with the staging. Definitely comes across well and I was not surprised that she won her heat.
I do not like anything about the Mrs Columbo song though. I just don’t get it. It sounds as if it has been written by a five year old.
I don’t like these songs that much.
Gina’s song is so boring and uneventful… how did she and András even win their semi?!
Why are they called Mrs Columbo, is it because of the tv series ”Columbo” (with Peter Falk), where he speaks very often about his wife, but we never see her?
please pick Mrs. Columbo for Kiyv <3
I loove Mrs Columbo song! <3