Eurovision reviews and rankings: Kallay-Saunders wins Wiwi Jury

The Wiwi Jury—our in-house panel of musical unprofessionals—has now reviewed all 37 Eurovision 2014 songs. It wasn’t always easy. But the jury, which consists of 19 jurors from Albania, Austria, Australia, Britain, Croatia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, the United Kingdom and the United States, took our painkillers and pressed on!

Each juror assessed each song independently, and then awarded it a score from 0 to 10. The highest and lowest scores were then dropped before calculating the average. Jurors range in age from 14 to 38, so we cut across generatons, y’all! Please note: The jury did not rate songs based on who they think will win, but rather who they want to win. This reflects our taste, and isn’t neccessarily a “Eurovision prediction”.

Hungary’s András Kállay-Saunders came out on top with an average score of 8.56. One juror said this “stirring number gives trauma rhythm and reminds victims of abuse that there is a way out, even when those closest to you don’t seem to care. Another was quick to add that he skillfully avoids “the temptation to scaremonger or preach,” resulting in powerful music with an accessible message.

Sweden’s Sanna Nielsen finished a close second with an average score of 8.35. She secured four perfect 10s, one more than Hungary. One juror nearly fainted when he heard this. “The moment Sanna gets to that first ‘uh-uh-uh-undo’ you know this one’s got it going on,” he writes. “Sanna’s strong vocals, the simple staging, and the pumping electro-chords give this entry some major oomph, and the heart beats in the bridge still give me chills.”

Ireland’s Can-linn featuring Kasey Smith finished in joint third with Romania’s Paula Seling & Ovi. Both acts earned an average of 8.06, but Ireland won the tie break on preferential votes. “With its anthemic quality and dramatic instrumentals, it is hard not to get swept up in the whole thing,” writes one juror. “The traditional Irish music and modern pop blend perfectly, avoiding both Ryan Dolan’s gimmickry and the diddly-eye (read: hot-mess) sound of Dervish. I could nit-pick and criticise the lack of lyrical depth, but to be honest why bother? I’ll be too busy holding onto my heartbeat.

You can read each of our reviews by clicking on the song title’s below. You can also read the lyrics to each of the songs by visiting our contestants page. Who tops YOUR Eurovision 2014 list?

Eurovision 2014 Previews and Reviews

1. Hungary: András Kállay-Saunders with “Running” (8.56)
2. Sweden: Sanna Nielsen with ”Undo” (8.35)
3. Ireland: Can-linn feat Kasey Smith with “Heartbeat” (8.06) ** (9 vs. 7 vs. 3 )
4. Romania: Paula Seling & Ovi with “Miracle”(8.06)
5. Armenia: Aram Mp3 with “Not Alone” (8.05)
6. United Kingdom: Molly Smitten-Downes with “Children of the Universe” (8.03)
7. Spain: Ruth Lorenzo with “Dancing in the Rain” (7.86)
8. Norway: Carl Espen with “Silent Storm” (7.72)
9. Israel: Mei Finegold with “Same Heart” (7.66)
10. Ukraine: Maria Yaremchuk with “Tick-Tock” (7.59)
11. Italy: Emma Marrone with “La Mia Citta” (7.51)
12. France: Twin Twin with “Moustache” (7.48)
13. Austria: Conchita Wurst with “Rise like a Phoenix” (7.31)
14. San Marino: Valentina Monetta with “Maybe” (6.86)
15. Azerbaijan: Dilara with “Start a Fire” (6.76)
16. Greece: Freaky Fortune feat. Riskykidd with “Rise Up” (6.62)
17.  FYR Macedonia: Tijana Dapcevic with “To the Sky” (6.5)
18. Estonia: Tanja with “Amazing” (6.45)
19. Denmark: Basim with “Cliché Love Song” (6.36)
20. Moldova: Cristina Scarlat with “Wild Soul” (6.35)
21. Montenegro: Sergej Cetkovic with “Moj svijet” (My World) (6.25)
22. Slovenia: Tinkara Kovach with “Spet/Round and Round” (6.21)
23. Finland: Softengine with “Something Better” (6.19)
24. Germany: Elaiza with “Is it Right” (5.56)
25. Albania: Hersiana Matmuja with “One Night’s Anger” (5.46)
26. Poland: Cleo & Donatan with “We Are Slavs” (5.45)
27. Belgium: Axel Hirsoux with “Mother” (5.15)
28. Switzerland: Sebalter with “Hunter of Stars” (5.12)
29. Portugal: Suzy with “Quero Ser Tua” (4.8)
30. Netherlands: The Common Linnets with “Calm After the Storm” (4.44)
31. Russia: The Tolmachevy Twins with “Shine” (4.43)
32. Malta: Firelight with “Coming Home” (4.02)
33. Belarus: Teo with “Cheesecake” (3.6)
34. Latvia: Aarzemnieki with ‘Cake To Bake‘ (3.03)
35. Lithuania: Vilija Mataciunaite with “Attention” (2.91)
36. Iceland: Pollapönk with “No prejudice” (2.85)
37. Georgia: The Shin with “Three Minutes to Earth” (1.79)

** Ties are broken by preferential vote. For instance, although the averages are the same for Ireland and Romania, nine jurors rated Ireland higher, seven rated Romania higher, and three scored them evenly. Ireland wins the tiebreak.

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