Wiwi Jury UMK Edition: Shava With “Ostarilla”

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. Today we listen to the only suomibhangra band in the world, Shava and their entry “Ostarilla“. The song is about spotting a beautiful girl in a shopping mall and the sorrow of never seeing her ever again. What did our jury think?

Deban: Finnish is probably the most foreign-sounding European language, making it rather difficult to compose a bi-lingual song. However, when layering Finnish vocals on a bhangra sample, it works rather well. Shava pumps a heady dose of Bollywood flavour into “Ostarilla”, and drops it like it’s hot on the dancefloor.

Score: 6/10

Josh: Is anyone else thinking Pollapönk doing Bollywood? This song does make me want to dance like Hadise and it’s catchy, but the song itself is a bit of a joke. I can’t take this seriously. The film clip is really cheesy as well. Some would argue that Eurovision offers more cheese than a French delicatessen, but I like that Eurovision is becoming a bit more mainstream. I’m a bit on the fence with this song.

Score: 5/10

William: The Finnish language works well with many genres, but this isn’t one of them. Although the song makes me bob my head for a few seconds, it isn’t enough to save this hot mess.

Score: 3/10

Ramadan: Who would think Finnish and Bhangra would work. I really love the outfits of Shava and I’m sure they’ll be bringing colour to UMK stage. Overall, I find the song nice and catchy. Not a bad effort from Shava.

Score: 6/10

Robyn: A Finnish Bhangra band? UMK are really bringing the diversity this year. This feels like a novelty performance, included in the line-up for some laughs. Shava would surely bring colour to the stage, but the song doesn’t have so much going for it.

Score: 3/10

Sami: The more I listen to it, the more I like it. But that’s not a good thing for Eurovision song, if you want to place well in the contest. On the first listen it sounds very weird and quite crazy, but it also gets you dancing and to sing along (if you know what they are singing, of course). It’s something different, something new and I think Finland needs more bhangra!

Score: 7/10

Sopon: This is a really catchy song. It’s literally the definition of “guilty pleasure”, just because it is so different. I love the mix between the rapping and the singing, and since this sort of song has not been heard before, it doesn’t get tiring. I don’t like the increase in at the end, but I’m happy to indulge in this guilty pleasure.

Score: 8/10

Patrick: “Mixi Mixi Ostarilla”…. 1,001 Arabian Nights meets Bollywood classic meets Finnish music-studio. This is so hilarious that it is funny again! If you go with Eurovision rating I would give a ZERO but its entertaining and why should Finland hide their Indian talents!?

Score: 5/10

Mikhail: This is definitely something extraordinary. A bit of a crazy dancing tune is always nice. I like their original style, which reminds me of Pollaponk from last year. But the song itself is quite weak and has nothing interesting in it except some shaking.

Score: 5/10

The highest and lowest scores have been removed before calculating the final scores to avoid bias. We have removed a high of 8 and a low of 3.

The Wiwi Jury Verdict: 5.3/10

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