Albania and Romania have released the final versions of their Eurovision entries today and now it’s time for the Czech Republic. ESCZ 2020 winner Benny Cristo has dropped the final version of his song “Kemama” after travelling to Kenya to revamp it.
The song’s synthpop sound is still there, but the biggest change is the introduction of Kenyan-style electric guitar. The guitar flows and meanders around the song, bringing an organic component to the electronic foundation.
The song’s percussion has also been beefed up a little, with stronger drums leading into the chorus.
The revamp was recorded at Supersonic Africa studios in Nairobi, and indeed Supersonic now gets a shoutout at the beginning of the song, along with Benny Cristo and Toronto-based producers The Glowsticks.
Reaction to the “Kemama” revamp
The new version of “Kemama” is sparking mixed results from the Eurovision fandom. Some love the song even more, while others find the new guitar sound to be distracting.
I love revamped KEMAMA come ooon
— Lana ?? ?? (@LanaaESC) March 10, 2020
Kemama is playing in the next room over but you’re forced to sit and listen politely to some guitar bro
— Adam ???????? (@wegottheflow) March 10, 2020
Former Czech Head of Delegation Jan Frost Bors didn’t hold back with his opinions of the song. On Twitter, he wondered “not a beautiful mess… wtf is that?”. He also explained, “5 very intensive working years to get CZ to the top… I feel… well, that escalated quickly”.
not a beautiful mess… wtf is that?
— Jan Frost Bors (@Frostwii) March 10, 2020
However, when it comes to Benny Cristo’s Eurovision performance, most semi-final viewers will be hearing the song for the first time and won’t have the national final version to compare it with. If the new version of “Kemama” works on the Ahoy Arena stage, that’s all that matters.
In early February, Benny Cristo teased the revamp of “Kemama”, promising the song “will get a hell of a revamp”.
He also explained that doing the revamp in Kenya “will be just as important for the song as it will be for the message behind it.”
What do you think of the revamp of “Kemama”? Can it take the Czech Republic to the Eurovision grand final? Tell us your thoughts below!
Before this, the song was in my top 10. Now the instrumental in the choruses is extremely distracting and stands a much less chance of qualifying
I still dont like it
I don’t usually go fof this type if music but I like Benny’s song. The revamped version is bad and sounds old fashioned- it’s almost like a different song because the cool, chilled vibes are not there anymore! The original version definitely sounds fresher.
ghastly . Bottom 3
I like it, good luck
This one looks more like a demo than the original version. Seems they were just adding sounds over it, without actually trying to add any production value.
And wonder why they fired Jan Frost Bors (or he left?). He was doing such a great job in bringing Czech Republic to the top.
One of the most underrated entries this year. It´s very refreshing and contemporary – even more than Germany and Malta.
Yes, but before the revamp. Not anymore.
AHAHAH is this a joke?
Really? The Czech team flew all the way to Nairobi and came back with this?????? I loved it before but it feels like I’m listening to Kemama and another song…
I’m from Czech Republic and I hope we will end DEAD LAST with this.
The revamp is awful.
We lost [any other Czech NF song] for this.
This might be an amazing track for Fifa 21 menu, but I see it struggle in Eurovision.
I’m not particularly against the song, it has a good vibe and a good hook, but it feels like….way to overtuned.
this revamp made a listenable but meh song unbearable
I’ve always like the song and still do, but the guitar is just way too loud and overpowering – you can’t really deny that. No idea how it will sound live, but I would tell them to seriously consider toning it down so we can hear his vocals and the beat more. Because it’s so overpowering, it distracts from the rest of the song and makes it sound way too messy – like some other people have said: It’s like two different songs are playing at the same time. Again, not sure how it will sound live so will have… Read more »
I totally love the revamped version of Kemama. I like both versions to be honest.
I have almost forgotten about Czech Republic this year. You just remind me of We All Poop and Black and White Hole.
I agree with everyone on here, there’s too much noise, though I admit I like the pitch change he does towards the end. Bt that’s all I like. This song is nothing but crazy noise. Albania’s revamp is highly disappointing too. 🙁
I really liked the song before the revamp… But the electric guitar is overpowering Benny’s vocal and is almost non necessary on several part of the song. There’s too much happening in the same moment. It’s MEH.
So disappointed. The song was pretty much perfect before.
Yo what the fack…
I was never one of the fans that gave this song a hard time because it wasn’t my favorite song to win for the Czech Republic, but this revamp Just ruins it. That loud guitar just overpowers everything, even Benny’s vocals! I hope it’s just a mixing issue, but that is not an acceptable quality to submit. I hope the live performance is better, But I’m not gonna put Czech Republic on my list of possible qualifiers at this time.
Not that bad
Still don’t like it
Kind of a reverse effect up in here. The people who didn’t like it then, still don’t like it now, but the people who liked it then, don’t like it now. For real though, I always thought the song was basic and lacked some instrumentation, but then they literally threw the whole kitchen sink at it, just a bunch of random guitar noises that overpowers the song, the mixing is terrible, the autotune is unnecessary… They messed it up big time
Oh no….I think I liked it more before the revamp. 🙁 For me it just went from decent to not good…
I still like it, the guitar adds something that was missing before 🙂
It’s still a bad revamp tho
Worse thing is the old kemama still lurks underneath all the added noise and production. They should’ve looked to Albania 2019 (not 2020 hell no) for tips on how to add dynamism to a song without just tacking things on.
Still horrible, and DEFINITELY a non-qualifyer
The revamp we really didn’t need. Why though?
The song was good as it was? It basically ruined for me now.
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it and sometimes less is more.
Best of luck CZ you’re probably going to need it.
Yep they will need a lot of good staging to save this song.
the guitar is REALLY disturbing, i hope the original version stays on spotify bc i’ll be using that
Yeah i am dissapointed, but Mayve live – it will be cool
For me, I think both versions are cool in their own way. I definitely agree on lowering down the guitar riff, but it still adds flavour to the whole thing, plus that key change in the end(yes). I just hope the more vocal online negativity doesn’t drown Benny at all. I still generally like this song, other songs may be in my top 10-15 already but I’m still supporting this out of principle (as this was my third favourite in the NS)
It’s a big NO for me. The original song wasn’t that bad, but the revamp is awful
I totally agree. That smooth jazz guitar in it sounds out of place. The original was MUCH better.
Sounds like I played it with some random solo at the same time .-. Wtf
They wanted to revamp the song. Instead they just overproduced it.
Perhaps it will sound better live
I’m crossing everything in my body at this point
I think it would be really good IF
THE GUITAR WASN’T SO DAMN LOUD
And we could actually hear his voice.
I’m from the Czech republic and I’m disappointed af!
Describe the revamped version in 1 word:
{O}vErrrP*R*O*du0_0uC€D
I literally never thought a song could be so overproduced it sounds amateur but here we go
Wow! I really understand what feeling they want to give in this song now. It speaks a much clearer language. Before it was a bit blurry. I liked it a bit, but now I really get the song as a whole. Thank you for the major improvement. Top 10 this year
Guys guys guys! Everybody needs to chill out! As a Czech person, I’m not worried at all! There’s still a chance for us.
They might cancel Eurovision due to coronavirus.
I think the guitars add some flavvour. I’m in favour of this revamp. I’ve got to say this song has been growing on me. Let’s see how it performs on stage. It really needs a cool, colourful, feel good, laid back performance to make it work. In the first verse the music is too loud in comparison to his voice though.
I prefer the original version, but this will be completely different live anyway, so…
stream KEMAMA for clean dishes and ironed clothes 😀 😀 😀
Sometimes less is more…
Did it improve? Yes and no – I think the first half sounds worse, but the second half is way better, so… I think the biggest problem is the mixing, but tbh that can be easily corrected during the live performance.
The revamp did not move the needle. This is the wrong song for Eurovision. Anyone of the other songs in the final would have been better. This is the greatest crime of ESC20, such a weak song chosen by Czech Republic when there was such a good field to choose from. I guess he has local star power which really does not reflect on this forgettable 3 mins.
I mean.. I wouldn’t even mind the guitar if it WEREN’T SO LOUD!! And you can barely hear Ben’s voice! It’s a sound mixing problem. How could they release it like this!!? On a better note, I still have faith he’s gonna deliver a hell of a performance live. As long as it sounds good in Rotterdam this can still go to the final. I am Czech by the way so I am biased but I also know that he is a professional and a great performer, he’s had a long and successful career here. I’m not so bothered by… Read more »
Omg it s ucks! They drained all energy and beat from first version, why they did this? My favorites Romania and now this ruined with unnecessary rewamps ugh…
This is how you ruin what was originally a very good song. It has lost momentum, the guitars don’t match the original style of the song – almost as if two different songs were running simultaneously. Moreover, it sounds more like a remix than a revamp. I’m really sorry but I am no fan of this revamp although I respect all the hard work it must have been. Sometimes even the best intentions lead to bad decisions – to put it mildly.
I think they changed more than they should and I hope this won’t backfire. They fixed the minor issue I had with it by adding stronger percussion to the bridge, now the energy keeps flowing during it. I would stop there, but repeating the chorus with Benny singing it in a different manner helps fighting some people’s complaints that the song was repetitive. So, I’m cool with it. What I don’t like is how they made the guitar an almost full-time element, without noticing how it got the track polluted at some moments.
Why is this added guitar mixed so poorly? 🙁 it eats up all the frequencies and the volume is just obnoxious
Is the Czech revamp the new Albanian revamp? A few people already said it, but it genuinely sounds like two songs playing at the same time. Awful – and feels kinda lazy.
lol one is my first and the other almost my last so I’m gonna say no.
They sucked all the life out of it
Literally