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. Up next it’s Liis Lemsalu & Egert Milder and their song “Hold On”. Will we be holding on to Liis and Egert or will be letting go? Read on to find out…
Reviews: Liss Lemsalu & Egert Milder’s “Hold On”
Angus: This had me holding on for the full three minutes. Emotive vocals, catchy hook and stirring production all come together magically here. This might be a national selection season of duets but this wipes aside a lot of the competition. The soft guitar and percussion allow the vocals to shine and that’s a real credit to Liis and Egert.
Score: 8.5/10
Anthony: “Meh”, was my initial reaction when I heard their entry for the very first time. “Hold On” is a very middle-of-the-road pop song which sounds as if they’ve played it safe. Sadly, I got bored of it almost immediately. Not a good omen for their semi-final hopes.
Score: 2.5/10
Chris: I adore Liis Lemsalu and it surely has to be just a matter of time before she makes it to Eurovision – Estonia would be mad not to send her. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for Egert. If we could just lose him and have this song being a Liis solo, I’d be much happier. It’s different enough from the Common Linnets to show progression from 2014, but I just can’t enjoy Egert’s sections.
Score: 6.5/10
Josh: ‘Hold On’ is incredibly boring. I’m usually quite fond of a male/female duet but this doesn’t excite me. I don’t even know what to say about this song besides the fact that I find it incredibly dull. Liss does have a nice voice though.
Score: 2/10
Patrick: Meh… Liis has a nice voice and her parts are ok but this guy is hilarious! He doesn’t fit into this song and if we go with the voice, he should not work with Liis. They dont match! “Hold On” is not bad song, it has something special in it. Liis brings it perfectly even though the lyrics are cliché and maybe boring. Egert Milder is really mild, not a great voice and his parts aren’t that good. But with a bit of work this would be awesome!
Score: 5/10
Ramadan: This is one of my favourites in this year’s Eesti Laul I must say. Liis and Egert have great vocals that work well together. They’re full of emotion y’all. It really draws me in. However, her previous attemps were much better. ‘Hold On’ would be hard to beat if the song comes alive on stage. I’m really hoping that they can make the song work live.
Score: 9/10
Robyn: This is easily one of the better songs in Eesti Laul this year. Both Liis and Egert have rich, soulful voices and the upbeat song actually has a contemporary sound. Not only that, the chorus is catchy. Hey, good luck, y’all!
Score: 7/10
Sami: I actually like this song and it’s the best in this semifinal by far. Egert’s voice is something special and Liis sounds nice too. The chorus is strong and I think this could do well in Eurovision. Estonia can do better than this (we have to wait for the second semifinal), but I’m sure I will be jamming to this after Eesti Laul.
Score: 8/10
Sopon: Liis Lemsalu is known as one of Estonia’s biggest artists in a relatively small industry, but that does her no favors when it comes to this. First comparison I can make is “Probka”, that mess from Latvia a few years ago. Why? These songs are both written in strange tempos (7/4 if I am correct) and just throw us off. No dancing to this one, I’m afraid.
Score: 1/10
I hate this song so much 1/10