Wiwi Jury Romania: CEJ with “We Were In Love”

In preparation for Selectia Nationala 2015, Romania’s selection that will take place on Sunday, the Wiwi Jury is reviewing each song and act. Today, we are reviewing CEJ and their song “We Were In Love”. As Rednex, this Swedish band was famous for the bluegrass hit “Cotton Eye Joe” in the ’90s, but can they keep up on the times? Were we in love with the song? Read on to find out.

Note: We are aware of a new version of this song, but because we began our reviewing process prior to the release of said version, all reviews reflect the original recording. In the event that CEJ wins Selectia Nationala 2015, we will review them again in our Eurovision 2015 jury with the proper version.

David: This is a really nice song. It all plays out well and I enjoyed listening to it. But nothing special. Nothing bad, but nothing special either.

Score: 8/10

Deban: The sudden key change just before the vocals hit the chorus took me by surprise, but to CEJ’s credit, it livens up a rather boring tune. It takes a while to get going with this number, but takes even longer to reconcile with its abrupt ending.

Score: 5/10

Francheska: I am in love with this song! This is definitely my guilty pleasure this year. I know I should hate it because it sounds dated, and the lyrics are more sugarcoated than Twinkies, but it really strikes a chord with me! Maybe it’s the mellow sound, the soul, or how the band harmonizes really well during the chorus. Point is, it definitely deserves a place on my “recently played” playlist, and a spot in the final.

Score: 8.5/10

Iñaki: CEJ: a duo that sounds sweet but stalls halfway through. Their voices are pasted in perfection but the theme is missing something that can’t prevent it being so boring. They definitely need a little more drama and atmosphere to be more thrilling.

Score: 4.5/10

Josh: This may sound a little strange, but CEJ is giving me vibes of The Corrs without the fiddle. This song isn’t horrendous, and it’s nice to hear something besides electro-pop in the Romanian national selection. In saying that, the track does feel a little slow and boring. But the vocalists have a great talent and it’s not too hard to listen to.

Score: 6/10

Kristin: I’ve heard this song before, like a lot. Its a nice song really, but it’s missing the “Wah wah whoom!” factor on my part. But the chorus has a little something, which made me stick around. Not the best song in the bunch, but certainly not the worst. I’d describe it as “comfortable”.

Score: 7.5/10

Louis: A song full of constant surprises. Shaping up to be a boring song, it becomes lively with a key change in the chorus, and then the male voice comes in, changing the mood and making the whole thing boring again. Also, it doesn’t have an ending? Was this song written for something else and just cut in half to fit the Eurovision rules?

Score: 6.5/10

Luis: Am I the only one who thinks this song is too short? It’s not that I desperately want more of it, I don’t like it that much, but it feels like they just cut down a chorus or something. “We Were In Love” is nothing more than another pleasant, radio-friendly song. It’s nothing new at all, but that’s not actually a drawback: you would have liked it ten years ago as much as you can like it now.

Score: 7/10

Max: Country music is alive and kicking in Romania! Lady Antebellum springs to mind when I hear this song and it just appeals to my musical taste buds so much. The slow verses build up to a powerful, if slightly cliché chorus about being in love. After suffering heartache myself (feel sorry for me, everyone) I connect with the words of this song so much.

Score: 9/10

Patrick: This is a really strong song. The beautiful melody is so lovely and she can sing so well. Without any warning the guy starts singing and it makes it even more special. This is Eurovision at its best and this could smash it all! AMAZING!

Score: 9.5/10

Robyn: I’m not sure exactly how CEJ relates to Rednex, but for a band who created another version of itself to tour Australia and New Zealand, it seems perfectly plausible that CEJ would be the Rednex franchise for Eurovision. “We Were in Love” keeps the folky Americana style, but makes it more of a emotional country ballad than Rednex’s typical madcap bluegrass sound. It’s a melancholic ballad and more interesting than a lot of ballads at Selectia Nationala 2015, but it’s still nothing special.

Score: 6/10

Sami: It’s a nice listenable song, but also little boring. The whole song is quite melancholic and Romania isn’t the country for this kind of music. However, they sound nice together and I wouldn’t mind this winning.

Score: 6.5/10

Sopon: “We Were In Love” is probably more fitting in a musical than in Eurovision. It’s a beautiful song in style and if it means one more ballad, I won’t mind too much, but the cheese in this is real, y’all. Perfect for when the small town female protagonist gets dumped by some dirtbag in a theatrical production, not perfect for Eurovision.

Score: 6.5/10

The highest and lowest scores have been removed before calculating the final scores to avoid bias. We have removed a high of 9.5 and a low of 4.5.

The Wiwi Jury Verdict: 7/10

You can read all of our reviews and rankings for Selectia Nationala 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.