Earlier today, the Wiwi Jury — our in-house team of music unprofessionals — journeyed to the beautiful Baltic state of Latvia for the final of Supernova 2015. We were all excited to visit the Birini Palace, which is located on a lovely lake in the middle of Latvia. Despite sunbathing lakeside, we didn’t forget to listen to ElektroFolk and their song “Sundance“. Yes, we already rated the studio version. But did our opinions change after seeing it live? Read on to find out…
ElektroFolk – “Sundance”
Anthony: Slovenia once combined folk with rock, and now its Latvia’s turn to experiment with its own folk mélange. ElektroFolk opted for electronic, hence their name. It’s catchy yet cheesy at the same time, but I definitely preferred their original Latvian version “Dieva Deli”. As it is Latvia we’re talking about, be prepared for the worst case scenario of this being picked for Vienna. Don’t say I didn’t warn y’all!
Score: 4.5/10
Deban: The thought of a Sundance conjures feelings of liberty and total abandonment, NOT the instrument-heavy drivel we have here! How this advanced to the final still baffles most people. It’s too light on vocals and too reliant on audience hand claps. “Dieva Deli” was rubbish, but at least, it had an opinion. “Sundance” comes off as fraudulent.
Score: 2/10
Denise: I want to be nice, but I can’t think of a single nice thing to say about this. Oh wait…. I really liked the song when it ended. The song is all about the musical instruments, but they aren’t even allowed to play them live in Vienna. I’m glad that the viewers weren’t voting for this song last week, so there’s still hope for Latvia.
Score: 1/10
Judit: EleltroFolk represent something that I like, but the song is still not my cup of tea. They are good on the stage, though, so I’ll show them some love. I gave them 3 points previously. Now after the lives shows they get a 4, but nothing more.
Score: 4/10
Louis: So weird yet so good. It has all the makings of a complete and utter flop, but somehow the guitars and drums make it extremely catchy. Perhaps if they had more fun on stage, I wouldn’t mind seeing them in Vienna.
Score: 8/10
Mikhail: This song is boring. It’s the same tune all the way through. The guitar at the beginning reminded me a bit of “Coming Home”, but lacks the latter’s charm. I don’t wanna smile, I just want to yawn.
Score: 3/10
Patrick: This song has grown on me. It’s weird, but it really happend. “Sundance” is not the best song for Eurovision but it has its own style and I like that! I can already see it failing in Vienna, sadly, and I worry that Latvians, with their special tastes, may go for it (even if it’s extremely unlikely). But it’s funny and catchy. I hope that it wont represent Latvia, because in the end I want to see Latvia in the final again!
Score: 6/10
Robyn: This song is equally split between vocals and massive instrumental breaks (compare and contrast with “Walk Along” which has no instrumental breaks at all). That’s the problem with this song – the almost meaningless lyrics seem like they’re there to fulfil the EBU’s criteria that all songs must contain vocals. Go back to the folk festival, guys.
Score: 2/10
Sopon: I’m torn on this one. The song is simply another way to let Latvia be mocked once again, but it’s pretty catchy. Its riffs and funkiness make it bearable, but this just won’t do Latvia any favors.
Score: 7/10
William: I’m here to evaluate one song, not 12. This is a disasterous hodgepodge of folk, electric, dance, brass band and jazz. It goes for everything and ends up as nothing. Grating, loud, unpleasant to the ears. Nice boots, though.
Score: 4/10
It’s like an out of place “Zdob Si Zdub” music
The problem with Latvia is that they choose the worst entry out of a decent bunch. I wonder why. Maybe it’s because they are unsure of what a good Eurovision entry is (don’t take this the wrong way) or maybe ratings are low, there’s a lack of public interest in Latvia and Eurovision is a joke to them. It’s why they’ve failed to qualify for 6 years straight so far. One of the longest non qualification streaks since the semi final system has been introduced. I think Latvia should take a year out (or a few years) and come back… Read more »
It’s pretty catchy and enjoyable. However, the male singers are absolutely awful. 3rd out of the 4.
The worst of 4 finalist.
I don’t think any of their entries could qualify ATM. So well, I think they should pick this one – its the best! XD
I actually find the mix interesting, not saying I want it to win, but I don’t hate it as much as the wiwi jury. But I agree, the original in latvian sounded better.
The song is not good at all. Yes, they play their instruments live, but it doesn’t really help anything.
The more I listen to this song, the more it reminds me of another Eurovision song…but I can’t figure out which one. Even so, if it were chosed I could see this really going over well with the live audience in Vienna, but I don’t think it would be able to catch the rest of Europe.
I think this is the best of the four.
Honestly, I was least impressed by this song, even including four who got eliminated. Euphony or Framest would be a better addition to finals. Please Latvia, you have three other good songs in the finals, do not choose this one!
Even if this gets picked it’ll still be Latvia’s best entry in years.