Last night the Wiwi Jury—our crack team of music un-professionals—grabbed our German dictionaries and headed to Vienna to review “Shine”—Natália Kelly’s song for Eurovision 2013. Did she shine like a head of hair washed with Vidal Sassoon? Or was she a bit more Head ‘n Shoulders? Read our reviews to find out.

Deban: Natália Kelly is very Mickey Mouse Club. However, make no mistake, she leans more towards Stacie Orrico than Britney Spears. Is this a good thing? Hmm…In the Eurovision Song Contest, you only have three minutes to court millions of potential fans. Repeatedly singing ‘trust me you will shine’ isn’t the recipe for success. I’d rather her team comes up with a better arrangement, melody and lyrical content. This is a dull song sung well. It fulfils the brief, but not much about it is memorable.

Score: 5/10

Wiwi: Natália asks us to trust her “because [we’ll] shine.” Well I need her to trust me: This song won’t shine at Eurovision. She has an amazing voice—perhaps one of the best in the competition. But as with Nadine Beiler in 2011, Austria wastes that talent on a bland and forgettable song. Call Josef Fritzl and ask him to lock this song in his cellar!

Score: 3.5/10

HK Dick: It seems we have a song called “Shine” every couple years (following on from Georgia and the Netherlands). But for me this one loses its sparkle early on. I know I should like it: Natália certainly gives a rousing performance complete with obligatory fire behind it. But I find “Shine” rather dull.

Score: 5/10

Natlia Kelly_04_Eurovision 2013Mr Häggkvist: Jesus Christ! Am I the only one to think that this girl can actually win the contest? This is FIERCE and full of energy… I love the attitude, she’s a great singer, and “Shine” is a pretty good song.

Score: 8/10

Bogdan: I first heard this song when I saw the live performance and I instantly became a fan! Despite the somewhat predictable lyrics (all songs called “Shine” seem to have the same verses, don’t they?), the melody is beautiful and Natália and her voice really shine onstage. In a year full of ballads, I hope hers will prevail. For certain, “Shine” will bring Austria back to the Grand Final after last year’s embarrassing entry.

Score: 8/10

Alexander: Austria’s gentle ballad “Shine” is good, but not great. As a big fan of motivational/inspirational music, I usually dig this kind of stuff, but the song is not as powerful as previous motivational entries have been. It was pleasant to listen to at first, but after several listens I got bored with it. My main problem with the song is that the melody in the chorus is not very dynamic– the notes are all in a somewhat narrow range which makes it a bit flat. Natalia is a good singer though, and despite the song being average, I’m sure she will shine in Malmo.
Score: 6/10

Natalia Kelly_02 ESCVebooboo: Alicia Keyes has got her some competition. This b*tch works her neck and vocal chords like no other in this power ballad.  Every time she sings “fight the shadows in the sky” and rolls her neck I can only raise my hands and praise. And damn, does girl work her sex eyes every time the camera comes close. Add to all that falling fire sparks a la Azerbaijan 2011 and we’ve got a guaranteed finalist. Austria has had a terrible Eurovision history in recent years…pulling out for a while, sending horrible acts like Trackshittaz. I’m still ruul ruul pissed that they didn’t send our Conchita Wurst last year, but at least they got things right this time around.

Score: 7/10

The Wiwi Jury Verdict: 6.07/10

You can see the latest reviews and standings on the Wiwi Jury pageYou can also listen to all 39 entries on our contestants page.

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Malcolm Birdsall
Malcolm Birdsall
10 years ago

Not shiny enough.

Trevor
Trevor
10 years ago

Is it just me, or does all that firepower fail to overcome the lack of “lift” in the chorus?

Leon
Leon
10 years ago

She oozes sex appeal and she can sing – many will focus on her and not too much on the song. Having said that, it is overall, average.

MoMo
MoMo
10 years ago

The only thing that shines is her voice.

Wouter
Wouter
10 years ago

Will fight with Croatia, Belgium, Slovenia, Montenegro and Slovenia for the last 1 or 2 tickets for the final… Very good singer, but it needs a good presentation on stage to qualify. I wouldn’t mind if they qualify though

Nadya
Nadya
10 years ago

Sad, but true. Great singer. Boring song.