It’s been a very long road, but this evening the Wiwi Jury—our in-house panel of music unprofessionals—headed to Finland to review our 12th (and final) #umk14 song. It’s from Lauri Mikkola and it’s called “Going down.” Did “Going down” bring us musical pleasure? Or did it totally turn us off? Read on to find out…

Bogdan: Do they know what “Going Down” means in English? I saw someone tweet “Going down is nice” while watching UMK and and I couldn’t stop myself from laughing (and retweeting). That being said, the song is nice and it sounds current enough, but it’s not amazing, something I may like but not vote for. I don’t think Lauri will represent Finland, but if he ends up going down to Copenhagen after all, I don’t expect his song to go up in the final rankings.

Score: 6/10

Padraig: So James Morrison has decided to enter UMK with a Rihanna song. Oh wait, scratch that, it’s only Lauri. But seriously, does anyone else think “Stay” when they hear the opening cords of Going Down? And the beginning isn’t the only thing the songs have in common – both need to be sung by a female! I can just imagine the power and emotion which the Finnish equivalent of Celine Dion or Pastora Soler could bring to this. Unfortunately, we’re stuck with Lauri and a wasted opportunity.

Score: 6/10

Angus: Gorgeous vocal, stirring piano and a slick look. Lauri is a consummate performer and his voice puts me in mind of the vocals from Snow Patrol or One Republic. The song also sounds really contemporary and the backing vocals complement his lower tone. The message of the song is also easily relatable, and let us not forget this is a visual contest as much as anything else and Lauri has great stagecraft.

Score: 8/10

Deban: Going Down has a big shot at being played on radio stations across the continent. Lauri isn’t your average pinup lad, but he’s got something. What’s even more impressive is that he takes music seriously, and composes his own material, including this pre-selection entry. Similar to the offerings of Germany’s Roman Lob, this may make the cut, but sadly, won’t move any mountains.

Score: 6.5/10

lauri mikkola umk 2014Sami: One of my favourites. I love Lauri’s vocals and the instruments in this. Lauri is also a great performer…and very good-looking ;). But I hope they don’t make the show too lame. This could do well in Copenhagen, maybe it would get the best result of all 12 songs, but it’s not my biggest favourite to send to ESC. I hope that in the future Lauri does more dance music than big ballads.

Score: 8/10

Katie: The first thought I had when I pressed play on the “Going Down” video, was “why is Roman Lob trying to represent Finland this year?” Everything about this song is a carbon-copy of Germany’s 2012 entry, and although the song is quite nice and mellow, it couldn’t be any more generic. There was nothing exciting about the song, and nothing surprised me which is quite disappointing. Despite this, it would probably do okay in Copenhagen. Not brilliantly, but not awfully.

Score: 7/10

Wiwi: All y’all need to stop comparing this to Roman Lob’s “Standing Still”. That is offensive to Roman, to Germany, and to me. Yes, Lauri has a nice voice. But unlike Roman his song is BORING with a capital B (and O-R-I-N-G). I put this on, nearly fell asleep, went to the kitchen to get some water, made a sandwich, and when I came back this song was still on. That really upset me.

Score: 4/10

Wiwi Jury Verdict: 6.5/10

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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ESCaddict
ESCaddict
9 years ago

I just heard this amazing song on ESC radio (April 2014). I looked it up & it was Going Down. I love Lauri. I love Going Down. I found something better than Softengine.

Charles
Charles
10 years ago

Oh before I forget I decided not to rate the song for just one reason: I am only interested in rating the definitive chosen song from Finland … after all that is the ONE will be focusing on later this year …

Charles
Charles
10 years ago

A nice ballad indeed sung very well he does have a very nice voice but … this comes to close to some of the piano riff of Rihanna’s Stay, which should not be a bad thing. But in Eurovision terms it would be more acceptable to have a song that comes close to “Only Girl” or “We found love”, in other words, an uptempo dance track rather than a ballad. And I am not speaking for myself here, to truly judge this in the context of Eurovision I am trying to see the big picture through the eyes (and a… Read more »

Alex
Alex
10 years ago

Most generic lyrics EVER. And yes, the chords at the start are essentially the same as from Rihanna and Mikky Ekko’s “Stay,” although the songwriters do something different here. A great vocalist with a nice instrumental, but I just can’t get over the lyrics. 5/10

And yes, he is very good-looking 🙂

Ronaldo
Ronaldo
10 years ago

So. Boring.

Zolan
Zolan
10 years ago

Written and delivered with skill, it is a good example of its type. But I have listened many times for some reason to care, and still feel no connection whatsoever.
If it doesn’t work emotionally there’s nothing else to fall back on. 4/10