Wiwi Jury Romania: Lara Lee with “Superman”

In anticipation of Romania’s Selectia Nationala final tomorrow, the Wiwi Jury is reviewing the 12 acts that will perform. Next up is Lara Lee, a frontrunner in our poll and a sweetheart on Skype. Did her song “Superman” save our day? Read on to find out.

David: It’s good, but there’s nothing special. She has a nice voice with a decent range, but doesn’t do much with it. At times it seems like she’s fighting with the music for who will be owning parts of the song (this is not good), but mostly it’s just that it’s all good, but never great.

Score: 7.5/10

Deban: Sounds like a B-side that didn’t quite make the cut on Rihanna’s Rated R album. “Superman” appears to be edgy, but it is lacking in originality. Potentially though, this track could’ve been WOW, but the down-tempo bits are too quiet. Paradoxically, when Ms. Lee turns up the volume, she’s much too shouty for my taste.

Score: 5/10

Francheska: YAASS (I’m using this unironically). It has traction, the chorus elates me, and Lara Lee is seriously giving me a Sia vibe. Romania: I’m begging you: please pick Lara! Pretty pretty please!

Score: 10/10

Iñaki: This is the Romanian “Cinderella”. It’s not unusual for a pop song, in the current market style, to have similarities with another hits. In my case, especially at the beginning, the song reminds me slightly of Sia’s “Chandelier”. The chorus is catchy but the “superman, superman” of the backing singers is a bit anticlimactic.

Score: 5/10

Josh: This track is a little meh for my liking. I would love to hear something other than an electro-pop “Chandelier” rip-off at some point during this Eurovision season. This song just gets lost in the crowd. I don’t think even Superman himself could save this song.

Score: 4/10

Kristin: This song left me a little bit torn. At first I was like: “No, she’s too much of a heavy breather”. And then the chorus came and I thought: “Wait a minute, this could be good.” After that I swung between “no way” and “hell yeah” for the rest of the song. So I’m gonna rate this above average.

Score: 6/10

Louis: The lead-up and the choruses almost make it worthwhile to sit through the boring verses. Average would be a perfect description; it’s not great but it’s not going to embarrass everyone involved on the night. Middle of the park score for me.

Score: 5/10

Luis: Is Lara Lee gonna swing from the chandelier? Here’s something that could get Romania another top 10 finally! I’m not really mad about it, but “Superman” is a very modern and powerful song and if Lara can deliver live, this will be a one to watch. She’ll need to polish a bit of the first chorus, but the rest actually sounds fine.

Score: 7/10

Max: This is a fan favourite but I really can’t warm to it. Yes, she has a good, strong voice and the song is structured wonderfully but we’ve heard it so many times before and it’s just padding for the final, it’s just there… it doesn’t actually do anything. There’s nothing substantially amazing about it. Sorry, but I think Superman’s found his kryptonite.

Score: 3/10

Patrick: Lara Lee is probably one of the hottest favourites in Romania and could have a big shot at Eurovision – we are ready for her! She will smash the performance, I’m sure about that and I totally love the song! Well done! *downloads song*

Score: 9/10

Robyn: The verses are a bit unengaging, but the pre-chorus and chorus really kick things up a gear. Lara brings character to the lyrics and handles the dynamics of the song. It’s not a perfect song, but I’d be happy for Romania to send this to Vienna. (Also, please let this song be about Nietzsche’s Übermensch and not a heroic boyfriend.)

Score: 7/10

Sami: Her voice is amazing and the song is very strong. The chorus is quite difficult and you don’t remember much of the song on the first listen, but the more you listen to it, the more you like it. I’m sure this will be in the top three of the Romanian final.

Score: 8/10

Sopon: Amazing! This sounds like something that Sia would release, and with the Australian blonde’s rising popularity this could pay off for Lara. The fantastic buildup and the coordinated mixture of electronic synths in this song give it texture, making it a strong entry for Vienna.

Score: 10/10

The highest and lowest scores have been removed before calculating the final scores to avoid bias. We have removed a high of 10 and a low of 3.

The Wiwi Jury Verdict: 6.7/10

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.