In the run-up to each heat of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK), Finland’s selection for Eurovision 2015, the Wiwi Jury — our in-house team of music unprofessionals — will rate the songs from that heat. And before you ask, no, we haven’t taken a flight from freezing Finland to sunny Spain, even though today’s song might make you think that. Cuban born Norlan “El Misionario” is taking part in UMK 2015 with the song “No Voy a llorar por ti“. Did our jury feel the heat or were they left cold?
“No Voy a lorar por ti” reviews
Deban: I love the audacity here! A Spanish reggae song from Helsinki rapped by a Cuban immigrant? I’ve just clocked 100,000 airmiles without moving an inch. Some of my colleagues are taking a territorial approach to judging this entry. Shame on them! Eurovision is increasingly becoming a contest without borders, and there is no breach of brief here, otherwise, he wouldn’t feature in the UMK selection if there was. That said, “No Voy a lorar por ti” is rather outdated. It’s also the weirdest eulogy I’ve ever encountered. A trio of harlots, a court jester and a voodoo priestess. WTF??
Score: 3.5/10
Josh: This song seems like an unusual fit for UMK for two reasons. Firstly, it’s a reggae-rap song. Second, it’s in Spanish. It reminds me of those Caribbean hip-hip songs that were really popular in 2002. That was 13 years ago. There’s a reason why that style isn’t popular in 2015. This song isn’t a good. Not for the brief of UMK and Eurovision.
Score: 2/10
William: Obviously there is a Cuban singing in Spanish in the Finnish final. Despite my love of Latin music, this is just too boring for my tastes. You could take a snippet from 20 seconds, 40 seconds, and 60 seconds and it would all sound the same. I like salsa because it has lots of ingredients and not just one.
Score: 2/10
Ramadan: Who would have thought there would be a Spanish song in the Finnish national selection. I really enjoy Latin music and I’m liking this song. I’m really loving the R&B grooves, and it’s so damn catchy. Nice to see diversity in UMK.
Score: 6/10
Robyn: Rapped verses and Spanish lyrics? I love that Finland is putting songs like this in the national competition. With the combination of sunny reggae beats, a bit of urban grit and some smooth R&B grooves, this is unlike anything else in a national competition this year. And as a bonus, it’s a fairly good song!
Score: 6/10
Sami: I remember when people wondered why Finland sent a song in Swedish back in 2012. Imagine what would happen if this is sent to Vienna! I don’t really like this song. It’s really boring. Even though it’s about losing your father, I don’t feel anything. I’m sure it wouldn’t place well in Eurovision either.
Score: 2/10
Sopon: This sounds eerily similar to “Bailando”. In fact, I’m surprised it wasn’t disqualified for plagiarism. I’m strongly against having a Spanish-language entry from Finland. From Spain? Fine, they speak Spanish. From Romania? Fine, they are known for summery music. From Finland? No!
Score: 2/10
Patrick: I wonder why this is in Finland’s national selection. It’s in Spanish and has a nice summer melody, but seriously! It’s in wrong country. It’s a dull song with cheap, overused music.
Score: 1/10
Mikhail: When I first listened to it, I thought that this will be something hardcore, a lot of rap and whatnot. But once I heard that chorus I couldn’t help but imagining some grannies with accordions singing in the village. It’s quite forgettable and doesn’t grab my attention at all.
Score: 3/10
The highest and lowest scores have been removed before calculating the final scores to avoid bias. We have removed a high of 6 and a low of 1.
The Wiwi Jury Verdict: 2.6/10
You can read all of our reviews and rankings for Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) 2015 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.
Photo: YLE
Some rather narrow-minded comments around here… I do however, agree 100% with what Deban said.
The song is not really that good, but that doesn’t have anything to do with it being a reggaeton song in spanish trying to represent Finland.
Fair enough @William Adams Lee Adams
Intriguing, but not unprecedented. We’ve had a Canadian represent Switzerland and an American represent the U.K., and both won. It should be no surprise that, once again, at this time of year, Europe is the center of the world, and this time a Cuban has come to play. Do I think he has a chance? Nay.
I feel like this could have been pretty successful in Eurovision during the 2000’s, but it’s just a bit too late for this kind of music to make it in Eurovision. Reggaeton didn’t exactly age well as a genre.
That being said, I do like the variety this added to the lineup.
Oh yeah, one other thing: there’s not much new about having a song primarily in Spanish from a country that isn’t Spain in Eurovision. It was just 3 years ago that Mandinga brought their energy to the stage for Romania! (Although this time, the song is completely in Spanish, yes, and it’s reggaeton, which is different from the usual ESC fare.)
I’m proud that a song in Spanish is in Finland’s selection, but… you can imagine the rest of the sentence.
P.S: If someday happens an “Eurovision” (Again, RIP to the defunct OTI Festival) here in Latin-america i am sure that 90% of the songs will be like this… FINLAND SAY NO TO REGGAETON, THAT IS NO MUSIC!
My worst nightmare its about to come true… REGGAETON IN ESC!!! YUUUUCK!
Yes, Elena Risteka send a song with a bit of Reggaeton in 2006 and Chikilicuatre also in 2008 but that was a joke entry… I mean this will be the first “serious” entry with 100% Reggaeton… I know that the lyrics are not the typical of a reggaeton song but still this can’t go to ESC… Please Finland send Siru or Satin Circus, even Opera Skaala but not this u_u
This is my LEAST favourite song. It’s really horrible. Goes nowhere. Tries to be different to stand out. Spanish-language music does not represent Finnish culture. NEXT.
6.5/10, actually
my point still stands
‘You could take a snippet from 20 seconds, 40 seconds, and 60 seconds and it would all sound the same.’
And at the same time, Superlove gets a 6.8/10?
Boooooooooooo to the Wiwi Jury.
I’d love it if this one won the selection.