Tere Estonia! Eesti Laul 2015 — Estonia’s national selection for Eurovision — begins on February 7 with the first semi-final. So the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of musical unprofessionals — is busy reviewing the ten acts from the first semi-final. Up next it’s The Blurry Lane and their song “Exceptional”. Did it live up to its title? Read on to find out…

Reviews: The Blurry Lane’s “Exceptional”

Angus: This sounds like a Carrie Underwood B-side and is unfortunately anything but exceptional. Country can be an amazing genre when it’s done right but this is just quite hollow. It’s missing a heart and that’s not something you can refine at a later date.

Score: 3/10

Anthony: While it’s not quite “Exceptional”, it’s growing on me and is one of my favourite English only entries of Eesti Laul. The sultry vocals from Kristi Raias become the main highlight and really lift the mood of this indie pop song. I’d be happy if The Blurry Lane represents Estonia this year.

Score: 7/10

Chris: There are a lot of elements going on here and I’m not sure that they all match up. Take out an instrument somewhere along the line, maybe slow it down a bit and you’ve got yourself something special. The lead singer is really good and has a great blues-y, jazz-y tone to her voice which makes me think of the likes of Saint Lu. Unfortunately, it’s all a bit too muddled right now to excite me.

Score: 5.5/10

Josh: I don’t know if this song is ‘Exceptional’, but it’s not terrible. I did find myself tapping my foot to the chorus of this track. The girls providing vocals have pretty voices and hit the high notes delicately with great control. Keep an ear out for the tiny saxophone elements too. The lyrics, however, are incredibly cliché, which bothers me a lot because it doesn’t suit the mood of the music. I don’t hate it. But it’s not a standout.

Score: 5/10

Patrick: “Exceptional” has a problem in it — the lyrics and the sounds don’t match. The lead singer has a great voice and sings those words amazingly. The lyrics are damn good! The composition is not that strong, as it’s too noisy and there’s too much drama with the sound. It just sounds slightly off for me, even if it’s a generally pleasent song.

Score: 4/10

The Blurry Lane 2

Ramadan: This song is alright and nothing more. It’s not a terrible song, it just doesn’t leave any impression. The lead singer has a nice voice and definitely deserves a better song. I wouldn’t download this.

Score: 4/10

Robyn: The idea with these “I am awesome!!!” songs is that the audience identifies with the singer. But what if instead the singer comes across as an egomaniac insisting “I’m exceptional!” And as weird as this sounds, The Blurry Lane could learn a thing or two from Sunstroke Project about the power of restraint in saxophone playing.

Score: 3/10

Sami: This song is so tiring and lazy and I just can’t listen to it for the full three minutes. Her voice makes me sleepy and you could find this song on any country artist’s album. There’s nothing expectional here.

Score: 1.5/10

Sopon: The Blurry Lane only furthers my opinion of Eesti’s surprisingly poor setlist. Tempo changes are a loose cannon, and only really work in the style of “What A Feeling” or “Crisalide”, where the entire song changes. This smooth transition from slow verse to fast chorus – no no no, ain’t gonna fly. The vocals are quite nice and soothing, though, so I’ll throw them some points for that.

Score: 4/10

WIWI JURY AVERAGE: 4.11/10

See the latest Eesti Laul 2015 reviews and rankings

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Nebi
Nebi
9 years ago

I don’t think it is a poor set list at all. Is that one becomes a Wiwi blogger is to hate everything except for songs nobody else likes like Israel 2013 and San Marino 2013 and Georgia 2015? I do agree that Goodbye to Yesterday is the clear leader of the pack this year.

xxxxJosheey17xxxx
xxxxJosheey17xxxx
9 years ago

i hope it’s going to be goodbye to yesterday for estonia. no, it HAS TO be that awesome song 😀

btw: watch my ESC 2015 preview-video 😉
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7iZmrT3k4o