Spain: Wiwi Jury Reviews Raúl with Seguir sin tu

Earlier this afternoon the Wiwi Jury, our in-house panel of musical un-professionals, skipped our siesta and sat down to review Raúl Fuentes Cuenca’s song ‘Seguir sin ti’ (Go on without you). Did we dub him the male Pastora Soler? Or were we left hoping that Spain will go on without him in their #eurovision selection? Read on to find out…

http://youtu.be/7TlxvVxixOk

Deban: Sweet and pleasant but we’ve heard it before. This is cookie cutter Spanish music. It has a remarkable national flavour, but brings no new ingredients. Served on a tapas board by a waitress in a flamenco skirt, you know it’s the hit of Seville. However, this track ain’t leaving the peninsula.

Score: 5.5/10

Angus: This is pleasant. There’s no punch to it though. It’s so quaintly inoffensive that I can see it sneaking through amongst the swirling ballads and bangers. If that happens expect Spain to languish in the lower echelons again.

Score: 4/10

Katie: Has anyone heard of “Zauvek” by Sara Jovanovic (Moje 3)? Weirdly, this song reminds me of that. Before anyone uses the word “plagiarism”, I’m referring to the operatic wailing, random backing singers and acoustic instruments. It’s a good song with a good singer, and hopefully it won’t be too forgettable when competing in the National Selection or Copenhagen if he’s lucky!

Score: 8/10

Padraig: Poor Raul. He and his team have clearly used Quédate Conmigo as a template for Seguir Sin Tu, and based on Pastora’s success they must have thought they were onto a winner. Unfortunately, when compared with Ruth or even Brequette, their efforts seem a bit generic. Which is a shame, because Raul definitely has the capabilities to give us something much better.

Score: 5/10

Anthony: This falls straight into the ballad category. And it’s a surprisingly good one from Raúl. Only problem is, judging from the rest of Spain’s entries this year, it’s going to be some task to convince the public this is the winner. I’m not sure Raúl has any chance of seeing his entry picked this year.

Score: 7.5

Daphne: I’m going to say ‘no’ to this one. Fair enough: it’s not my type of music. But despite that, I doubt that this will really impress. Imagine it gets stuck in the finals between a ‘I feed you my love’ and a ‘L’enfer et moi’: by the time voting starts, no one will remember what Raul had to offer. Too soft. Too slow. Too light. Besides that, it’s okay to sing in your own language (I’m a huge proponent of singing in your own language at ESC), but at least make sure that the music itself will impress. Unfortunately, not the case here.

Score: 3/10

Zach: Harmless entry, not terrible singing. However, the second you hear the chorus you realize this dated song might have done moderately well back in the early 2000’s, not in the 2014 show. No impressive vocal punches, boring pace, I don’t see this winning in Spain. And if for some reason it does, Spain will once again be bottom 5.

Score: 3.5/10

Sami: I actually like this quite a lot. Sure it sounds a little dated, but it has very nice melody and I like Raúl’s voice. The chorus is the best part by far. I can’t see it winning and I don’t think anyone will remember this next year, but it’s a nice little song. I just wish I could understand the lyrics.

Score: 8/10

Patrick: His voice is really strong and the song could be the front-runner with the jury. It’s a really nice song with a great chorus and wonderful high notes. It lags initially but then his voice gives it lift. Sadly I don’t think the public will be moved. All in all a great song though.

Score: 7.5/10

Wiwi: This sounds like the perfect background music for a Spanish-language rom-com. The key word here is background. Despite Raul’s solid vocals and a lovely melody, this song is not worthy of centre stage. In a field of incredibly strong songs, this fades into the background and should finish last. Raul doesn’t need to renew his passport. He’s not going to Copenhagen.

Score: 5/10

Wiwi Jury Verdict: 5.7/10

Current standings:

1. Brequette (9.10)

2. Ruth Lorenzo (7.30)

3. Jorge González (7.15)

4. La Dama (6.45)

5. Raul (5.7)

You can see the complete standings and final rankings on our jury page. You can also keep up-to-date with the latest Eurovision news and gossip by following the team on Twitter @wiwibloggs and by liking our Facebook page.