The Wiwi Jury — our in-house team of music unprofessionals — is reviewing and rating the 40 competing songs in Eurovision 2022. Next we review North Macedonia, who have chosen Andrea with “Circles”.
Were we spinning around in joy? Read on to find out!
Andrea – “Circles” (North Macedonia Eurovision 2022)
Review: Andrea – “Circles”
Natalie: Andrea’s voice and attitude is truly the star of this song, and I’m absolutely here for it. The first minute or so is totally epic, filled with solid production and a thumping chorus. I just wish it went somewhere a bit more punchy. Throw in a few more creative decisions to the production, a bit more darkness. It’s still a solid song, but I really want it to be spectacular.
Score: 9
William: Andrea wants to have a conversation — and she does exactly that. The production is so minimalist and the sounds so bare, it’s almost like our girl is just talking rather than singing. There’s an honesty and connection in that — and one that will reach many viewers who feel her pain, anger, resilience and strength. Ultimately, though, I don’t find this particularly melodic or memorable and it feels better suited for a spoken word night than a song competition. No matter. Andrea elevates this live, creating a special moment that will endear her to many, me included.
Score: 5.5
Josh: “Circles” is a perfectly serviceable pop song. It has a hip-hop beat that keeps you listening, and Andrea’s smoky vocal really connects emotion to the lyrics. You draw empathy from her female empowerment message of getting out of a relationship when it is no longer giving you what you need. It’s relatable because most of us have been there. Unfortunately, the ability for the song to really build to an emotional climax is stunted, because just like the title, it only ends up going in circles in the second half. The ending impression is “good”, but not “great”.
Score: 7
Lucy: “Circles” is a decent pop song, but it just feels extremely vanilla – something I imagine the UK would have sent in a less-good attempt of theirs. Andrea really does sell the hell out of it, particularly in the verses. Sadly, I just find the chorus so dull after a while that I wish it had a little bit more spice somewhere. Vocally, she could still qualify due to genuine talent, but I just wish she had a better song to showcase it.
Score: 4
Jonathan: Andrea hasn’t re-invented the circle here. But somehow the song manages to hit many of the right buttons. Andrea’s delivery is emotional yet gritty and one can feel the pain she directs towards her partner. The production of “Circles” is lacking in places and the second verse is too rushed before returning to the chorus. Overall, though, there’s plenty of elements to enjoy from the entry.
Score: 6.5
North Macedonia Eurovision 2022 ranking
In the Eurovision 2022 Wiwi Jury, we have 18 jurors but only have room for five reviews. The remaining scores are below:
|
Angus: 6 Antranig: 6.5 Cinan: 5.5 Deban: 7.5 Luis: 5 Oliver: 5.5 Pablo: 5 |
Renske: 7 Robyn: 5.5 Ron: 4 Sebastian: 3 Suzanne: 7.5 Tom: 6.5 |
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 3 and a high of 9.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 5.91/10
What do you think of North Macedonia’s Eurovision 2022 entry? Share your own score and review for Andrea’s “Circles” below!
Nothing to complain about, but nothing either to do a standing ovation. Good singer, average song that I don’t think will make it to the final. 5,5/10.
6.5/10 My favourite of the Macedonian selection, however it’s quite mediocre. Circles is a good song imo, I like the lyrics, it just doesn’t have anything special about it?
Not much to say about this one, it’ll fade into the background in Italy sadly. Wish they were combining their 2019-2021 staging efforts with their 2017-2019 songwriting efforts, they could easily manage a top 10. Andrea is a charismatic performer tho, I’ll give her that. 6/10
Well, for me is one of the best songs in this “ballading” year. Is an interesting, emotional and modern middle tempo. Is not so sad like most ballads and not so ridiculous like many uptempo songs of this 2022. Congrats!
N. Macedonia – Nothing to me is inherently wrong with the song, but it’s just one of those that I’ll completely forget about – It’s one of those songs that when you go back and see all the songs competing and I’ll be like “oh yeah, this is this year’s”
Andrea has a more than competent voice, but other than that it’s pretty forgettable – 5/10
I really like this one. The “Circles” are musically confined to the chord sequence, which repeats over and over again. However, the melody begins in the lower range of Andrea’s vocal (which is stunning, by the way), and then moves up an octave for the Chorus. Verse 2 then has a different melody, which sounds like it’s improvised, and here I feel even more emotion behind the lyrics. This bit ends with some great vocal runs, another Chorus, a bit of an impro Bridge, which leads us back to a shortened Chorus to finish. In summary: This 3-minute piece wouldn’t… Read more »
34.North Macedonia – Superman would have been perfect for this year (because it was fun). This is a solid, mediocre, but ultimately the wrong choice. It does have, like a trap beat, with an undercover revamp and great staging, this could be a big surprise. Then again, it is North Macedonia. Overall, it’s too safe. The people wanted to go balls to the wall. Oh well…
As much as I don’t want this to happen, Andrea is a serious competitor for bottom 2 of this SF2.
She is in my top 5 of the semi, but N.M. isn’t known to qualify and SF2 is just ao strong.
i don’t feel strongly about this song. it’s enjoyable, but it has a 2014’d production and the melody isn’t too memorable. i like the aggressive lyrics. still, i don’t think this can escape the bottom of its semi.
6.5/10
No videos for the wiwi jury this year? ?
Circles is one of my favorite entries this year, I love it and Andrea has been able to deliver and engage so far, she deserves a good place! 😀
Nothing original or interesting at all but it does sound nice. Just that: listenable. It was the best option for North Macedonia though and it’s bettet than some other entries. The problem is the song feel a bit uninspired and already listened like a hundreds of times before. I don’t see it going too far and certainly won’t book the hotel past the 2nd SF if I were the Macedonian HoD.
North Macedonia stands in my 27th place.
15. Armenia (7)
27. NORTH MACEDONIA (6.25)
NORTH MACEDONIA – It goes round in circles, now doesn’t it? As soon as I feel like the song might reach some momentum, it rotates back on the loop. Interestingly, that connects it with its lyrical content about a woman who is tired of repeating the same mistakes over and over. Andrea transmits that exhausted energy very well. I see that some people are not thrilled with how angry she feels, but for me, that’s what’s holding this track from being forgotten. With a milder sound and delivery, there wouldn’t be much to go back to. Even now, I feel… Read more »
Can always count on you to take something that is clearly a musical negative (the slow, plodding looping going on in this song) and try to turn it into a positive that’s had some thought behind it and fits in with the message of the song!
The idea that Andrea is deliberately delivering this in a way to show “exhaustion” is an intriguing idea to me because it’s one that doesn’t really translate to being appealing as a listening experience. It would be fascinating if this was indeed an intended effect!
It’s a good question when it comes to music, movies, and visual art – If something was meant to be grating and succeeds, is it good for getting the intended message across or just grating? For me it depends on the case, but it is a fun aspect to analyse. Whether the idea was well translated in the case of Circles is something I don’t know, but at least I found that correlation in my listening experience. 🙂
North Macedonia basically had a national selection between songs that sounded like raw demos and “Circles” was in my opinion the most promising one between them. The problem comes when they revamp it and the whole thing still sounds like an unfinished demo. I simply can’t understand how they came up with a bridge that just recycles other parts of the song and doesn’t add anything to the track. It’s a pity, because Andrea has an interesting voice and I can sense there’s a whole artistic identity fighting to emerge here. 5/10
3/3 for us today, Sabrina. 🙂 (0.5 +/-, but that’s very similar when taking the whole scale in account) Armenia is my favorite of the day, by far, then North Macedonia, then Romania. Still, we haven’t reached my top 15, and I’m assuming not yours either. It’s cool reading your reviews. 🙂
PS. If I were to guess, I’d say that a song about family, fruit, and wild animals is the one which might be a matter of dispute. I totally get it, as it’s a very marmite entry, and there are others who’ll agree with that POV too. 😉
Yeah, none from my top 15 appeared yet, though I must say the differences between entries from 13th to late 20ths in my ranking are tiny, it’s less about quality and more about what I’m in the mood for in that exact moment. And you guessed right. And it’s not that I dislike it, or that I have a problem with it being humorous. It isn’t about it had beaten a song I preferred either (looking in retrospective, Norway actually did the most competitive choice). But for some reasons that I’ll try to explain in their post, I just can’t… Read more »
I would really like to see Tibor back too. I always enjoyed his elaborated takes, both when we agreed and when we didn’t. I can never be 100% sure, but knowing Tibor, I am almost positive that a respectable argument wouldn’t be something he’d take personally. I really hope that he’s fine. I actually love three songs from MGP almost equally – GTWAB, Fly, and Death of Us. Seeing how many slower songs there are in the second half of the semi, I’d say that strategically, this would be the order to go by. Generally speaking, all are top quality… Read more »
And knowing you, I am totally sure that the conversation between the two of you was respectable. I miss Tibor, but I am sure that his (hopefully temporary) absence in comments has nothing to do with you.
I called him naive for believing that people voted just for the songs and weren’t influenced by things like staging and said I was tired of having the same discussion over and over, but that was all. As you said, Tibor doesn’t seem to be someone that would take it too serious (especially coming from someone I believe he knows that like him and his opinions) or that would react in a way that would lead to an expulsion. But in the very next day, he disappeared.
I really don’t feel like that was crossing the line, especially not from you. As you say, Tibor knows several of us hold him in high regard, no matter if we agree or disagree on specific songs or components. He was discussing in a similar way with me, and others, on other occasions before, and it was always friendly. I honestly don’t feel like that was the cause for him to delete his messages. I hope we hear from him soon.
Maybe they should have tested her limits! Because I won’t be surprised if in a few months or years Andrea releases a track that will leave us under the impression she could have done much better in Turin.
I think the first line of your review pretty much nails it, although, I personally found “Flower Of Sorrow” to be the most promising of the songs and once they brought out the revamped, non-English version of it, the gap between it and the other entries got even bigger for me. It was something I could at least feel a little something for. I agree with you about Andrea vocally and yes, from what I’ve heard out of her, she’s an interesting person and a potential artist. I think if you surrounded her with experienced musical professionals, she could do… Read more »
“Flower of Sorrow” was probably the readiest to Eurovision in their selection, I even thought it would win with a push from the jury. But I’m glad they picked Andrea instead, since I see more personality in her entry, while the other one was more Eurovision ballad by the books. In any case, I think North Macedonia would struggle to qualify this year. It’s sad that they haven’t managed to surf the wave created by “Proud”, even if Andrea and Vasil are both talented singers.
I really hope the unthinkable happens and Andrea can surprise everyone enough for her to conquer the semifinal, because I think she deserves it. She’s a good performer, I like the song, and both in Tel Aviv and Rotterdam recently, N. Macedonia actually staged REALLY well. I hope Circles continues that trend in Turin! It’s a 8/10 for me, mostly because the song’s been on repeat for me since it came out on Spotify.
I wouldn’t discount her just yet. I think this will be more popular on the night if staged well.
She’s trying to hard, and doesn’t look genuine…
IMO this has a 0% chance of qualifying
22. North Macedonia: The song is generic and one can also say somewhat uninteresting. But one big advantage of this entry for me is Andrea’s voice. She has a very nice deep singing voice that elevates the song. Perhaps its chances of qualifying are small (not non-existent though), but I enjoy this entry. It’s by no means among my favourites but I still enjoy it.
Her voice is definitely the part of this entry I receive most favourably. And actually, from the interviews I’ve seen done from her, she has a lot of personality. I think N.Macedonia would do well to aim to get that across during the live performance.
(Say what you want about last year’s song, but N.Macedonia, with both Tamara and Vasil *definitely* got the character of their artists across strongly with their live performances).
I actually liked last year’s song from North Macedonia. And Tamara’s entry as well. Neither of these were among my absolute favourites but I liked them. And yes I agree that Andrea’s personality can be a big advantage if conveyed accordingly. Tamara’s entry (although much better than Circles) was elevated a lot through that as well so it’s definitely a good strategy.
Pretty bland tbh. Pretty certain that this isn’t qualifying!
it’s not bad, but we know it’s nq material
Andrea can sing, unfortunately she’s singing Circles. NQ for me. I’d like to see her sing near enough anything else.
A clear NQ
i want to like it, i really do because you can tell andrea cares a lot about her song and is trying her best but i cannot help but feel like this song is so immature. it reminds me of a generic junior eurovision song… for that matter, most of north macedonia’s jesc entries more impactful and mature than circles is, it’s a nq for me but i want to see andrea deliver
It’s def underrated but at the same time doesn’t have a “wow” factor. The beat in the chorus tho kinda ruins it for me. The verses tho are really good.
Rating: 5/10 (28th)
This is not a bad song, It’s,not….Will it qualify? Not so sure about that,but I wouldn’t mind…..
Whelmed.
Still better than current OGAE top 3
It might be the worst-produced song of the entire year. It’s bordering on unprofessional at times. There’s an overwhelming sound of cheapness to everything and sounds are simply not going together. It’s like clash, clash, clash. Melodically and lyrically, it’s average at best but Andrea is competent with the limited amount of vocal work that the song gives her to do it. What could’ve been an average-to-mediocre song is dragged down by poor execution into what will almost certainly be another non-qualifier for N.Macedonia. (I promise I’m going to be more positive and hopefully soon…but y’all have started out with… Read more »
How thrilling that we are diametrically opposed so far – I’ve started off with three of my top ten!!
But whilst you have more positivity to look forward to, I have a fair wedge of negativity still to unleash!
I thoroughly look forward to being the yin to your yang this year…and sometimes, yanging up while you’re yining.
That sounded better in my head.
Last year the Wiwi jury had begun with Serbia and Latvia: my bottom two from 2021. I am more privileged this year having started with a song in my top 10 (Armenia), a song in my top 25 (North Macedonia) and a song from my bottom 5 (Romania).
The first two lines are exactly what I think of Denmark’s entry this year lol
I agree but Denmark were kind enough to make other elements of their song much worse than how it was produced. :3
Yeah, unfortunately the production of the track is not on par with the rest of the competition. Everything sounds rough and, since Andrea’s voice has a raw raspy nature (which I enjoy a lot), I believe it won’t go easy on the ears of most of the audience.
Rating: 4.0/10.0
100% non qualifier
I like the song. The repetitive nature of the song goes well with its theme of going in circles. Seeing the fan reaction and running order I see it as an unlikely qualifier. I liked it better than Flower of Sorrow and Superman. She sings well live and could be in the Jury 6-10. If she comes 6th with the jury she could go through with a 11-14th televote . A 7.5/10 for me
I don ‘t like the song and her voice
6. North Macedonia – Andrea – Circles – 8.5/10 – an authentic depiction of relationship issues, this one strikes a chord more than any other in its genre this year due to its rawness and honesty. Andrea is an engaging performer who emotes very well that sadness and frustration of experiencing something you once loved, and still want to love, slowly dying. There is a nice build through to a pleasantly engaging chorus. The story in the lyrics feels real and relatable. There is power and purpose in the performance and the production nicely complements the essence of the song.
Top 5 for sure, probably not at the very top but competing.
Andrea was always my number two in North Macedonia and she has grown on me further since the NF.
I really enjoy reading your reviews, Kosey. They are very well elaborated. Our tastes so far are quite different (although I also enjoy Armenia), and there will probably be more cases of us having a polar opposite review of a song. That’s also a fun part of this journey. Who knows, even if it doesn’t happen that often, one of my lower placed entries might grow on me at some point. 🙂
The actual music video they released for Superman (not the lyric one) made me really optimistic about how Superman would’ve done in the competition. It was entirely presented as lyrically-ironic. It could, in fact, have been brilliant.
Honestly it’s a decent song, but nothing more than that. Everything about is just ok. 4/10
A VERY underrated song for sure. The way Andrea delivers the lines hits HARD for me. I think this song could do well if people gave it a shot. People have preconcieved judgements which hold this song back.