The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — continues to review the 18 songs competing in Hungary’s national final A Dal 2018. Next we listen to SativuS with “Lusta lány” and Yesyes with “I Let You Run Away”. To these songs make us want to say yesyes or nono? Read on to find out!

SativuS – “Lusta lány”

“Lusta lány” reviews

Antranig: If the song wasn’t in Hungarian, it would sound like something Portugal would send to Eurovision at the turn of the last decade. Perhaps that’s a good reason to send them to Lisbon. The song takes you on a journey with the assistance of the staging but it feels as though it never reaches its destination. SativuS brings a lot of energy but “Lusta lány” is not memorable enough to win A Dal.

Score: 5.5/10

Barnabas: They are the group who dare to rather focus on humour and irony than some cliché topics like love or peace. And they serve it with their unique mix of hip-hop and Hungarian folk music. The Hungarian viewers connected with it very easily – someone I wouldn’t say about the international audience. Anyways, they’re not a joke act anymore!

Score: 7/10

Luis: Here’s a nice little song with a bit of fun and quirky staging. This shouldn’t represent Hungary in Lisbon, but it works amazingly as a radio tune and it would be a very welcome addition to the A Dal final line up. SativuS’ vocalist has a really cool voice and the final 30 seconds with that Balkan feel are amazing. I’d download this but wouldn’t put it on the Eurovision 2018 playlist.

Score: 7/10

Natalie: Lots of guys chanting Hungarian over a relaxed production. If you’re into that, then you’re in for a treat here. No joke, it’s a beautiful language, but perhaps not when it’s breathed right into your ears. It feels like they just delivered a complicated lecture and added a few instruments behind it. The production isn’t exactly stunning either, even when it goes a bit weird towards the end all I got was sensory overload. The five-second violin solo was the best bit but not enough to make me want to listen to this again.

Score: 3/10

Robyn: This isn’t going to win A Dal, but it’s a nice song to have in the mix. SativuS deliver a chilled out reggae-inspired tune, with the lead singer’s drawl perfectly suiting that relaxed style. “Lusta lány” has fun bouncing around a few different styles, perfectly suited to the melodiousness of the Hungarian language.

Score: 6.5/10

Sebastian: “Lusta lány” is a pleasant reggae-inspired song, which unfortunately doesn’t take the listener anywhere aurally. This makes the three minutes feel really, really long. Their entry is appreciated as a valid entry into a diverse Hungarian national final, but that’s exactly where they should stay. No ticket for Lisbon, please.

Score: 5/10

In the A Dal Wiwi Jury, we have 9 jurors but only room for 6 reviews. The rest of our scores can be found below:

Bogdan: 3.5/10

Jonathan: 3.5/10

Lukas: 3.5/10

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 3 and a high of 7.

WIWI JURY VERDICT: 4.93/10

Yesyes – “I Let You Run Away”

“I Let You Run Away” reviews

Antranig: “I Let You Run Away” is a solid entry that has all the ingredients to do well for Hungary. The live vocals need some work because they are shaky at times. The accordion solo is definitely a memorable highlight of the performance and gives the song a unique touch. In terms of staging, it could benefit from an interpretive dancer on the side, particularly on the larger Eurovision stage. If they can iron out the kinks, it’s a yesyes from me.

Score: 7.5/10

Barnabas: This is the time when the fan favourite disappointed me live, as despite the good staging and stage presence, those high notes still seem very forced and they’re not on point, sadly. Anyways, if there is a song “made for Eurovision”, then this is it.

Score: 7/10

Luis: Well, this entry is a boxful of surprises. Within the first 30 seconds, right where you were waiting for another man sobbing over lost love, yesyes hits you with the most powerful chorus in A Dal. Then he keeps on nailing the high notes over a dubsteppy base and he plays the accordion. This is what I call keeping the interest. But below the surprises, the song is actually a decent ballad which should only go to Eurovision in case there was nothing better. It’s not the case. To go to Eurovision, he needs a song that transforms him into YASYAS.

Score: 6.5/10

Natalie: Oh, the power and the boldness! They really went crazy with the production here, and while it does fill your ears a bit too much, it totally slays. Strangely, those electro beats even add a bit of passion here, which is amazing for a song like this. It’s not just a killer chorus, it actually has personality. There’s just so much to love here, so many elements and originality that mixes so brilliantly. It can seem messy, but the brashness and the energy in it – I’m sold.

Score: 9/10

Robyn: Prior to watching this video, I did not know that electronic accordions exist. But they do and they are amazing. The accordion solo is an unexpected delight of the “I Let You Run Away” performance. It’s a hectic song, perhaps trying to cram in a little too much when it shouldn’t be afraid to take it slow at times. I have no doubt this will be a strong contender to win, but I’m not sure it’s the best entry for Hungary this year.

Score: 7/10

Sebastian: This is, by far the standout act for A Dal 2018. It does channel an Alan Walker sound that is perhaps a couple of years old, but “I Let You Run Away” is delivered so flawlessly with a perfect combination of staging, vocals and attitude. The electric accordion gives it that memorability that just heightens the epicness of this entry? Yesyes for Lisbon? YESYESYES!

Score: 9.5/10

In the A Dal Wiwi Jury, we have 9 jurors but only room for 6 reviews. The rest of our scores can be found below:

Bogdan: 4.5/10

Jonathan: 5.5/10

Lukas: 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 4.5 and a high of 9.5.

WIWI JURY VERDICT: 7.14/10

SEE OUR LIST OF A DAL 2018 RANKINGS

READ MORE HUNGARY EUROVISION NEWS

4 Comments
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AngieP
AngieP
6 years ago

SativuS: His song is just ok, nothing special.
5/10

“I Let You Run Away”: one of my favourites. Great beat, great performance, strong chorus. That’s pretty good.
7.5/10

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
6 years ago

Lusta lány: Hated it. Have no idea how this qualified ahead of Peet Project. Is it supposed to be funny? There’s not a lot of like about it musically and the staging is annoying.

I Let You Run Away: Adam does a much better job with this than he did with Together. I mean, both are really good songs but he is not the best vocalist. This disguises a lot of that and is a really good listen.

Weißbrot
Weißbrot
6 years ago

I like ”I let you run away”, but Hungary….Please…. You have other great Songs. Choose Horvath Tamas or AWS… Or Leander kills, or Danielfy Gergely. Eventhough I have 4 Songs, that I like more, I’d still give it 7.75/10, which Shows how good a dal can be.

Kris
Kris
6 years ago

Lusta lany: 5/10
I let you run away: one of songs that has a lot of international support too and I agree… Its a great song in the genre and its got a lot of power and sounds current too! One of my favs in A Dal 7.5/10