The Wiwi Jury — our in-house team of music unprofessionals — is reviewing and rating the 39 competing songs in Eurovision 2021. Next we turn to Austria where Vincent Bueno has “Amen”. Were we feeling his message? Read on to find out!
Vincent Bueno – “Amen”
“Amen” reviews
Deban: Gripping, atmospheric and driven by a lead vocal that’s totally in control, Vincent Bueno’s “Amen” is a dark lament signalling the end of a broken relationship. This mid-tempo ballad is paired with metaphoric visuals, compelling lyrics and an artist who’s experienced real-life trauma. However, despite the track’s numerous strengths, its sound design is a major letdown. The mixing and mastering of “Amen” is reminiscent of OneRepublic’s production. With an arresting song title and a meaningful concept that responds positively to many art forms, it is disappointing to end up with a final mix that sounds pretty damn basic.
Score: 6.5
Jordi: Vincent Bueno’s “Amen” has power, but not enough hook. In contrast to his last year’s offering, this is another feel. It’s more stripped, dense, emotional and less upbeat. His vocal delivery is again undeniably precise and outstanding. While all these are assets, those are combined in a formula that lacks grip. The song unfolds predictably until reaching a rewarding momentum. But, until that moment occurs, audiences might have lost interest. This is not a bad song, but Bueno has a talent that this song does not pay tribute to. Marvin Dietmann is on his team, so I’m leaving my door open in case there’s a miracle.
Score: 6.5
Kristín: “Amen” takes a little while to sink in, but once it does, there is no going back. Vincent brought a straight-up dance banger last year, but now he’s calmer and perhaps a little more sincere. This song is one of those songs that fly under the radar, and maybe, just maybe it will fly too low and simply crash. I hope not, for this is a beautiful melody, which leaves you a little bit emotional, with Vincent’s gorgeous vocals as the icing on the cake. There is no way of predicting what will be Austria’s fate this year, for Eurovision is unpredictable. “Amen” could very well flop beyond reality, but it could also pull a serious “Michał Szpak” and quietly slide into the top ten, waving goodbye to its competitors. No way of knowing, but for now, it’s a mesmerising song, jam-packed with soul and emotions and deserves much more love from the masses.
Score: 7
Natalie: I can respect Vincent’s vocal talents as much as anyone, but I find this song so repetitive and uninteresting. It doesn’t go anywhere, it doesn’t offer anything fresh or compelling, and his repeated lines “Is this what you wanted?” just come across as whining to me in the end. Like… I kinda don’t see why I’m supposed to care? I kinda just want to move to the next song? There are quite a few male-fronted ballads this year, and of them all, this one is one of my least favourite.
Score: 2
Tom: “Amen” is infinitely better than last year’s entry “Alive”. The second half of this song builds to such a wonderful crescendo that is so satisfying. The only problem is, I’m not sure the audience will stay with Vincent long enough to hear it. I understand sometimes an artist wants to build a song in an upward trajectory, but the first verse and the chorus go at too much of a slow pace that it just doesn’t grab me enough to want to listen to the rest. However, if the juries and the audience stay with Vincent long enough, he will win them over. “Amen” is also semi-final two, so there is a prayer’s chance of qualification.
Score: 6.5
Vincent Bueno – “Amen” rankings
In the Wiwi Jury we have 24 jurors but only have room for five reviews. The remaining scores are below:
| Antranig: 4.5
Calvin: 3.5 Diego: 5.5 Erdi: 2 Esma: 7.5 Jonathan: 6.5 Josh: 5.5 Julian: 3 Lauren: 6.5 Lucy: 4.5 |
Luis: 2
Oliver: 4.5 Pablo: 3 Renske: 7 Robyn: 6.5 Ron: 5 Sebastian: 5 Tobias: 2 William: 6 |
We have removed the highest and lowest scores prior to calculating the average. This is to remove outliers and potential bias. We have removed a low of 2 and a high of 7.5.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 4.89/10
What do you think of this song? Share your own score and review below!
Wiwi Juries’ current TOP 19 Cyprus (7.45) Finland (7.34) Ukraine (7.32) Russia (7.18) Sweden (7.14) Croatia (6.75) Azerbaijan (6.57) Israel (6.45) Latvia (6.34) Belgium (6.16) (=) Czech Republic (6.16) Serbia (6.09) Albania (5.89) (=) Norway (5.89) Spain (5.34) Germany (5.14) Estonia (5.07) Austria (4.89) Slovenia (4.84) My personal TOP 19 Ukraine (My 7th) Belgium (My 10th) Finland (My 11th) Estonia (My 12th) Russia (My 13th) Serbia (My 14th) Cyprus (My 17th) Czech Republic (My 18th) Albania (My 25th) Azerbaijan (My 26th) Israel (My 27th) Austria (My 28th) Croatia (My 29th) Sweden (My 31st) Germany (My 34th) Latvia (My 35th) Slovenia… Read more »
It’s not aas bad as some say but it definitely doesn’t stand out in aspect. That leaves this entry in the middle of the road, which won’t grab attention or votes. It is smooth and pleasant and I can listen to it but I don’t really want to put it on repeat. It’s just there, but it’s not competitive. I don’t really think Austria is qualifying this year either. 6/10 Austria is in my 24th place. 6. Spain (7.5) 7. Finland (7.5) 8. Sweden (7.25) 12. Czech Republic (7.25) 15. Ukraine (7) 17. Belgium (6.75) 18. Cyprus (6.75) 19. Norway… Read more »
In my surprise i really like this entry (6,5),
The juries could love this but the televote will hurt it and maybe that’s why it won’t qualify……I don’t know i really want to see what will happen in Rotterdam in 18th of May.
I so appreciate this song for avoiding stereotypes like “suffer sad hurt.”… Songs about relationships will always be aroud. Deal with it. Dark horse.
37th place on my list. I find the lyrics awful. The song is clearly about the end of a relationship, and with this in mind, the song’s point of view is whining and self-centered. The repetition of the rhetorical question, ‘is this what you wanted?’, strikes me as bizarrely bitter. I see fans are reaching for alternative reptitions, that the song is about god, or about internal struggles perhaps, but it could be about the arrival of aliens to planet Earth or the crucification of Jesus Christ and the song would still stink. Vincent has a beautiful singing voice so… Read more »
The whole purpose of these posts is to discuss the songs and where we’d place it. That’s literally what everyone is doing here. Well, apart from you, Didi. Focus on the music and keep it civil.
Are you the new Belarusian entrant?
I tend to forget that this song even exists. I agree with those who say that it lack a hook. It sounds quite repetitive, too. But who knows, maybe live performance will be interesting.
I personally find it repetitive and not very pleasant musically, but it’s not offensively bad. As far as Amens go, this one is in the first place for me this year.
is it fun to have your primary personality traits be 1, introducing yourself, and 2, hating Switzerland?? because surely there is more to life than that
This is a 7,5 for me. Go Vincent Go in the Final
@Robyn Gallagher. I think the average is 4.95 instead of 4.89 (I have calculated it because I like numbers?)
Yes, but recently wiwibloggers have become less strict, so it’s less likely for a song to get an average verdict lower than 5
Deban and William Reaction is Professional
“Is that what you wanted?” 😉
Even semi-shirtless pic can’t save this song. 2/10
You are so stupid…
There is nothing groundbreaking about this entry, but I still quite like it. If Vincent gives this a good live performance, he might be one of the lucky ones to qualify from a weak semi. 5,5/10
A very good Song , a very good Singer,emotional and deep
33rd: Austria. Like some other songs this year, this song is just there, doing its business quietly and without a lot of attention before leaving as quietly as it came. And leave it shall, as I fully expect this to be the lowest in the 2nd semi’s televote. Vincent’s Amen I consider to be marginally better than Ana’s, if only for the opening ‘Amen, I guess’, which captivated me from the first moment (though her vocal is leaps and bounds ahead of Vincent’s). The captivation ended quickly however, with the only other thing that sparked my interest being the second… Read more »
AUSTRIA – I appreciate Vincent’s effort in changing the pace while feeling equally committed to the project. The problem is the song itself, which manages to ignite some sparks, both in the musical and the lyrical department, only for them to burn out before making any real flames. It has a good hook in the chorus, but it soon gets too repetitive and a bit flat. It tackles an interesting idea of a man upset at God because someone he loved died, but that premise remains vague for the interpretation. The literal meaning of the song is probably a break-up,… Read more »
Frustrating indeed. Poor Vincent.
I feel like I am the only one defending this entry, which is a rather perverse situation for me given how much I hated Alive last year, but I do think this entry is layered. The literal meaning is that he has been buried by a funeral. The basic metaphor is that this “death” is a relationship. But it could quite easily be interpreted in other ways – the death of faith, the death of a personality trait (ie, regret, not knowing why a certain part of you did what you did), a “death” in the sense of a recognition… Read more »
I like this alternative interpretation, I just the literal one I have problems with. I believe that most metaphors work best if the literal meaning is at least solid too. (There are probably outliers here too, though). I am interested in how it will be staged, thus perhaps flashing out other aspects, if they were intended. I am sorry if I sound negative. I don’t hate it. I gave it a 4, which kinda weak, but not abysmal. It’s not the worst song since Celebrate, or anything like that. I fully respect your opinion, and I am glad that you… Read more »
“Love lies bleeding” in Vincent’s hands, yet instead of the frenetic and grievous aura of Elton’s “funeral for a friend”, what we’ve got is a ballad chock-full of bitterness and aggravation. As we’ve all come to know, break-ups tend to generate a lot of fringe feelings. “Amen”, however, crosses the line between mourning and manipulation. The repeated line “is this what you wanted?”, or accusations such as “you didn’t even try to save us” to me sound like a desperate attempt at guilt-tripping the other person. Same goes with the death metaphor, conveyed so tactlessly and brutally it leaves a… Read more »
If you imagine he’s talking to God, the lyrics make much more sense.
Also, it’s entirely feasible he could be talking to himself, about his own personality faults.
If you’ve stopped believing in a God, why would you be talking to it? It’s not there to talk to.
Very few people move instantly between one minute believing in God and then the next minute not believing in God. A lot of people, especially those brought up with a faith, go on a journey. And it is not always linear, there is lots of soul searching, questioning, going back and forth. This song’s narrative seems to fit that very well. And I am not sure why you would want to deny other people’s experience of the song? You don’t see that meaning, which is fine, but why would you negate someone else seeing that meaning? You might not see… Read more »
Yeah, I can see that, if the point of view of the song is someone in the process of questioning their faith – I don’t agree with the interpretation but it’s of course valid what you said makes sense.
I’m definitely not denying your experience or interpretation. Questioning something isn’t to negate or deny something – a question can be to probe, to explore, to discuss, to understand. A thoughtful question isn’t adversarial, it’s engagement.
The problem for me is that the lyrics suggest someone talking about the end of something, rather than a process of ending – which is why I can’t really get behind the interpretation that the song is about a god, but I’d say what you said at least makes sense of the song…
Fair enough, it was just you were talking about aliens and stuff and it didn’t come across like you were up for a sensible debate. I can imagine someone saying this to God when they’ve come to the conclusion on its non-existence, but still feeling melancholic about that and a little bit angry – a whole mixture of emotions when you invest heavily in something only to be let down – I think a faith in God is like an earthly relationship in a way (without the sex, although having said that Madonna went down that route with Like A… Read more »
The reference to aliens was meant to be humorous 🙂
It’s obvious that I don’t like the song, but if you get something from it I’m glad.
As with anything, even if your song only touches one person, that’s still one person and sometimes only one person is completely enough.
I mean I suppose you’re right in a way, he could have been abducted by aliens and is feeling a bit miffed that they left him!
Quite possibly! “Is this what you wanted? [after you abucted me to your spaceship and probed me, which I enjoyed and now miss!]”
It’s by all means a valid and interesting interpretation, Kosey. See, this is the problem with vague lyrics – you could replace “you” with practically anything, and it would still make sense. Interpreting “Amen” as a breakup song was my first instinct, since it’s much more common to hear love songs at Eurovision than songs adressed to God. We could also talk about death of the author and authorial intent, but I think that’s a discussion for another time.
It’s an interesting discussion. I absolutely love a song yet to be reviewed called “You” and one of the reasons I love it is because of its simple universality which allows the reader to engage in the song in the way they deem appropriate. Of course, some will just read it as simple. I prefer the ambiguous side of life, it rarely is black and white as much as we try to make it so, and therefore I like entries which allow the listener space to put themselves into it. I am not a massive fan of the battering ram… Read more »
Not bad at all ! +1
I actually like how “Amen” starts. It feels intimate, sincere, Vincent is bringing me closer and for some good 35 seconds it’s like I’m listening to a classic song from different (and easier) times. But then the chorus kicks in and all the enchantment is broken. Suddenly, he starts sounding needy and whiny with all the “is this what you wanted?”. From the 2nd verse on, all I can hear is a rant of resentment. It may work with the juries, because he sings it well, but even his vocals aren’t that impressive to me. 4.5
I’m sorry Austria, but this is my toilet break during the show. I appreciate Vincent’s vocals and I quite enjoyed his song last year, so I know he’s capable of better. But this song is just there, I hate to say it but it’s a quite boring song that doesn’t go anywhere. I do like the video though, nice shots over the rooftops of Vienna, but songwise it’s a no from me. Sorry Austria – 4/10
Lol probably more entertaining tbh
Aw poor Vinny lol
Atleast his voice sounds good unlike that stupid White voice
omg we GET it you don’t like shum
4.89 is far to kind for this dreary coma inducing crap, mind you all contests need a toilet break this will be the semi finals one.
Austria 5,5/10 – a “maybe Q”
Woah the score really is low. Still, I think Austria has good things going for it, but it also has major weaknesses. The one thing that will determine which way it will swing towards in May will be the staging, so finger’s crossed for Austria I suppose
This semi-shirtless pic is so 00’s (not in a good way). Serving Dima Blian ’08 and Oscar Loya ’09 realness.
34) Austria –
I don’t really have much to say on this one, but it’s a pretty nice ballad that sadly isn’t memorable to me aside from the chorus. However I do like Vincent’s voice, but overall it’s not enough for me. 4/10
This is supposed to be a heart-tugging ballad. I don’t understand the random use of the word “Amen ” in the song . He has gone for a different music genre as compared to last year but I am unable to feel the connect with the song. I do appreciate that he his singing well but his voice isn’t unique enough. I don’t personally see this qualifying . Yet a high jury score might see it through . But ballad loving jurors are more likely to gravitate to Switzerland , Bulgaria , Albania or Portugal for that matter but the… Read more »
I keep forgetting this song exists
Amen is Bueno
I don’t want to sound mean, but I look forward to future years when other artists from my home country get a chance. The problem with Vincent is that he hasn’t found his own particular style yet, so he makes do with songs that are pleasing, but far from daring and outstanding.
I also don’t like that “Amen” is our first completely foreign-written song since 2014. We have enough talented songwriters, we can do it on our own.
I adore Vincent Bueno very much, but let’s focus on the music instead. 🙂 “Amen” is in D-flat major and is pretty much based around chromatic chord shifting. The “James Bond Theme” uses a very similar pattern, but “Amen” is a bit more uplifting with it being in the noble D-flat major key. This key also tends to be popular with old film scores, hence why the song feels rather dated. There’s also a rather ghostly pedal note going on, but I don’t think it’s creatively relevant; it’s probably there for practical tuning purposes. I’ll be honest: I don’t like… Read more »
11. Austria: I really like this song. I find it emotional, mesmerizing and I really like the music video (it seems to be inspired from the famous poem “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe) . All in all it is a very captivating song and I hope that it will do good.
13. Austria – Vincent Bueno – Amen – 8/10 – this is a celebration of endings, taking us on a journey through fragile feelings to the moment of acceptance when you realise it is time to move on. The lyrics have sufficient universality for the listener to impart their own meaning as to what that ending and moving on might be. This could be a metaphor for a break-up but could equally apply to deeper issues of faith or self-analysis. Vincent delivers a powerful and varied vocal in a surprisingly emotional performance with respectful maturity. The production is the beating… Read more »
If this is 13th for you, Kosey, I’m very interested to see your full ranking!