Last night the Wiwi Jury—our in-house panel of music un-professionals—found ourselves in Estonia eating potatoes. We then gave Birgit Oigemeel tips on her pregnancy and reviewed her Eurovision 2013 song “Et uus saaks alguse”. Did we ever figure out what that means? Or did we pass out from boredom before we had the chance to ask? Read on to find out…
HK Dick: And the winner of this year’s generic Eurovison ballad award goes to…Estonia! Neither offensive nor memorable (apart from the key change). It’s so middle of the road there might as well be a white line painted on the stage. Perhaps it is a good thing the producers of the show are dictating the running order as too many of these ballads together would drive us over the edge.
Score: 5/10
Mr Häggkvist: I love Birgit. As you can see in our Eurovision in Concert interview with her, she’s a wonderful singer, a gorgeous girl and she tried so hard to win Eesti Laul. I was really happy when she did. BUT: “Et uss saaks alguse” is the type of song that you won’t remember after 5 minutes. It’s just so forgettable and if you can’t speak Estonian you won’t even remember the title. Don’t even try to sing this. It’s a risky choice for Estonia. Of course, “Kuula” worked last year. Who knows if this can work too?
Score: 6.5/10
Bogdan: Let me just preface this by saying that Estonians have made the worst mistake by not sending Winny Puhh to Eurovision this year. They would have brought the trophy home! By comparison, but also in its own right, Birgit and her ballad are the exact opposite – pretty as a whole, but totally bland and utterly forgettable. They represent what is wrong with Eurovision today: too much American (formulaic) pop influences. Sorry, but as a Eurovision fan I cannot stand or support this.
Score: 2/10
Vebooboo: When this song started at Eurovision in Concert in Amsterdam, Wiwi and I had no idea what was going on. That pretty much sums up how unique and memorable this song is. We were stunned by Birgit’s looks, and by her lovely, lovely nature in our interview with her. Unfortunately, we were less impressed with the actual song. Birgit is pregnant now, so she has a lot to be happy about. That’s probably a good thing, because she won’t be singing on stage on Saturday.
Score: 4/10
Deban: Clearly the underdog in this year’s competition, Birgit Oigemeel defied the bookmakers and opinion polls to win the right to represent her country in this year’s competition. I can see why. The simplicity of her song lends itself to incredible staging. She sings with a lot of conviction, and the melody manages to hold one’s interest. Although her swaying does nothing but irritate me, when I close my eyes in protest, I’m left with dulcet tones. Even in a year of folk ballads, this should easily advance.
Score: 6.5/10
Alexander: Similar to Cyprus, this is another ballad that is totally forgettable. Yes, it’s pleasant and sweet, but that’s really about it. It sounds really outdated for 2013–even in Eurovision! Nothing really new or interesting happens after the second verse either. Birgit does have a nice voice though, and I kinda like the melody (as old-fashioned as it is).
Score: 5/10
Wiwi: Perhaps Birgit knew she was pregnant when she decided to sing this song: It’s so boring it would lull the loudest baby to sleep. I really feel for her. This song is likely to make her morning sickness even worse. In any case, I’m not going to mock a pregnant woman, so I’ll just say this: She has lovely eyes.
Score: 3/10
The Wiwi Jury Verdict: 4.57/10
You can see the latest reviews and standings on the Wiwi Jury page. You can also listen to all 39 entries on our contestants page.
Very harsh review on Birgit’s song. I loved it. Think it shoul have made the top 10. It was Classic Eurovision. Sure, it could have represented some country in 1974 but I adored its retro feel. What’s wrong with Eurovision these days is that the majority of popular songs are just overproduced drivel. This was a quality song, brilliantly sung ( I will admit, maybe a bit boring at times) but overall a great entry. More of this sort of song please.
Birgit was totally great. And her vocals, yeah, like Eythor, were underrated. Clearly.
Nice and simple, soothing sounds. I eagerly turned to the lyrics and was disappointed – it didn’t meet expectations.
I liked it, in the way I like paracetamol when I have a headache. Soothing, but for the wrong reasons. It reminds of so many other songs, but I can’t remember what they were, either.
In 2000 Denmark won with a beautiful ballad featuring two old men and had odds of 80-1.
In 2013 Estonia has a beautiful ballad featuring a young beautiful woman and has odds of 66-1.
What more do I have to say?
Awwwh on behalf of Briggy, I’d like to ask, “Dear Jury, why so mean?”
LOL.
I kinda like this. Or maybe I’m just in a good mood. Either way, I know it won’t do well but I can listen to it a few times and still have a full head of hair.
Et uus sacks alguse missed it’s calling as a Telenovela theme song though. Shame, shame, shame.
@Ewan Spence The only time there was a woman with a white dress with a dress who was in 1994, with Edyta Górniak.
@Alex I think both Cyprus and Estonia are boring 😛
Also, Winny Puuh was hilarious, but I don’t think the EBU would be okay with camerawork that gives people seizures.
The jury thinks this one is boring but Cyprus is awesome? Really? This one is at least very sweetly delivered, while Cyprus evokes shades of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2012 with Despina’s sleep-inducing voice.
The Eurovision juries would have absolutely hated Winny Puhh had they represented Estonia this year and would’ve been a serious contender for the first ever combined Nul Points since 2009.
“Et uus saaks alguse” isn’t too bad although I’d prefer if Grete Paia won this year’s Eesti Laul instead. Unfortunately, Birgit’s bound to get trounced by the likes of Anouk, Dina, Aliona and Zlata in terms of ballads, on the first semi-final.
Oh Wiwi…the baby comment was priceless!! I have to admit, for me the Most Boring Song of the Year award goes to Cyprus. But I see where you’re coming from. I don’t think Winny Puuh would have been a better choice for Estonia. I personally had nightmares about those hairy-faced, spandex-wearing creatures from the bowels of hell, and I can’t see that they would have qualified. I think Grete Paia would have been the balance between Exhibit A Birgit (yawn) and Exhibit B Winny Puuh (OH MY GOOOD MAKE IT STOP MY EYES/EARS!!!!). In other musings, does the fact that… Read more »
Sorry, but she’ll be on the last places.
She can sing very well, but she won with an utterly forgettable song. Paia’s effort was so much stronger.
@Bogdan I kind of disagree with this sentence in your review: “They represent what is wrong with Eurovision today: too much American (formulaic) pop influences.”
Estonia’s entry this year doesn’t really reflect American music at all, besides the fact that it’s formulaic and uninspired. This song and performance wouldn’t have a chance of success in the States, even at small/local gigs. I’d say that this reflects more on what Eurovision used to be– a contest full of outdated ballads mixed with cheesy acts. In a way, Eurovision is still like that, but it’s definitely gotten better 🙂
How many ‘women in a white dress in a solitary spotlight ballads’ have we had at Eurovision out of the 1600 songs? Rather a lot, and all mostly forgettable. How many hard punk songs have we had? None.
Just one genre song out of 1600, that’s all we asked for, but Eesti Laul changed the jury make up, and Winny Puuh missed by one jury point. And they missed at least a guaranteed place on Saturday night as well.
Sweet girl. BORRRRRING song. I can’t even hum the melody a moment later!