Last night the Wiwi Jury—our in-house panel of music unprofessionals—packed our urban streetwear and headed to Helsinki to review Clarissa and Josh Standing’s #umk14 song “Top of the World”. Did it makes us move? Or did it feel more “End of the World”? Read on to find out…

Deban: Disposable pop married with lazy choreography. The harmonies need lots of work, and the laissez-faire attitude to wardrobe and styling isn’t endearing. That said, it gives off  the right dose of fizz, and it is the most catchy entry on offer in Finland this year. Note to the pop pair: catchy doesn’t always mean good. Unfortunately, the song title will always remind me of Edsilia Rombley’s track…the one that failed to advance in 2007.

Score: 5.5/10

Angus: First off nobody steals Euroband’s thunder with the whole ‘there’s only one of us, LOOK THERE’S TWO OF US NOW.’ Second of all, those purple extensions are terrible and third the dancing is terrible. As for the song, it’s generic and the vocal is a mess. I think these kids aren’t so much on top of the world as out of their depth and drowning. Things get better in the second verse but that doesn’t take much doing.

Score: 3/10

Bogdan: Come on, it’s not that bad. At least he’s not rapping, which I feared when I first saw him. Granted, they have a lot to polish in terms of staging, but it could look much better by May, if Finland chose to send them to Copenhagen. Teens will eat this act UP. Plus, Clarissa is pretty, has stage presence, and Josh has a lot of potential. (Burn that shirt though, it’s hideous.)

Score: 7/10

Katie: 
I enjoyed listening to “Top of the World”, Clarissa and Josh have great voices! Clarissa looks a lot like Miley Cyrus (pre-2013) although her forehead is weirdly still when she’s singing. Josh also has a rather questionable dress sense that will hopefully be sorted out before the final. The slight Finnish accent when they sing is also nice, it’s like Tone Damli and Eric Saade’s “Imagine” but a whole lot better! If this song went to Copenhagen, I think it’d do pretty well and get a top 10 finish.

Score: 8/10

Wiwi: So when I reviewed the jury performance I wrote some not-so-nice things about this being the Eurovision Song Contest, not the Eurovision amateur dance hour Contest. But then I read this interview with Josh and Clarissa, and then I listened to the re-mastered version, and now I LOVE this. It’s my favourite in #umk14, along with Jasmin Michaela. 

Score: 8/10

Padraig: It starts well. And then Clarissa opens her mouth. Things improve slightly when Josh appears but there’s not much he can do to distract us from Clarissa’s grating voice. The pair have zero chemistry, as they sing at rather than with each other – it’s all I, I, I. And oh my, they do like to repeat themselves. Clarissa is on top of the world. Josh is on top of the world. We get it! The dancing towards the end doesn’t do them any favours either.

Score: 4/10

Sami: My second favourite in the contest. Great pop track with good performers, especially Josh. I’m sure it will look even better with more dance and with backing-singers. It’s a great package and I think it’s one of the biggest favourites to represent Finland in Copenhagen. I hope it happens!

Score: 9/10

Wiwi Jury Verdict: 6.36/10

You can read our latest #umk2014 reviews and see the latest standings by clicking here. You can also keep up with the latest Eurovision news and gossip by following the team from wiwibloggs.com on Twitter @wiwibloggs and by liking our Facebook page.

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Alex
Alex
10 years ago

Not going to lie – I think this is better than Miracle. Almost the same synth rhythm in the chorus, but it sounds way less generic and the melodies are fairly satisfying. What’s with the random semi-dubstep, though? Also, they did essentially run out of lyrics.
7/10

P.S. anyone remember Swedish House Wives from last year? haha

Arianna
10 years ago

I do like the tune 😀 But it would be so predictable and boring if it won UMK.

Bb
Bb
10 years ago

I find this incredibly boring and quite frankly subpar at best for its genre. It’ll be a great shame if Finland sends this to Copenhagen at the expense of just about every other choice they have left. A certain duo from Romania would leave this one in the dust should they both face each other on the Eurovision stage.

Zolan
Zolan
10 years ago

Vocals are rough, but good enough for this genre, which is mainly about bravado and having fun. Their voices make an interesting combination with good potential. Naturally, a bit more polish is still desirable, and acheivable. I expect their dance routine will be much stronger, but it could still be a mistake for them to place too much weight on it. A dance interlude will still read as: “Please hold. The song will resume shortly.” Mind you, I will have probably have to look away from whatever pseudo-streetwear Josh ends up in just to take in seriously anyway. The first… Read more »