Wiwi Jury: The Netherlands’ Trijntje Oosterhuis with “Walk Along”

Earlier today the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of musical unprofessionals — headed to Amsterdam for a good de-tox. We avoided the coffee shops and dark alleys of the city Centrum and went instead to La Fruteria, a juice bar near Dam Square. As we sipped on our orange-mango juice, we also listened to Trijntje Oosterhuis‘ sunny Eurovision 2015 song “Walk Along”. Did the music make us want to walk along with Miss Oosterhuis? Or was it more a matter of running for our earplugs? Read on to find out…

The Netherlands’ Eurovision 2015 song

Reviews: Trijntje Oosterhuis with ‘Walk Along’

Angus: ‘Walk Along’ might lack the punch necessary to win in Vienna but there’s still enough juice in the tank to clear the Semi-Final. The ‘way-ay-ay-ay’ hook is a real earworm and unlike most of the performers this year, Trijntje has experience and well-honed stagecraft on her side. Represent.

Score: 8/10

Bogdan: I had hoped, before the video was released, that they would revamp the track to give it at least a bit more flesh towards the end. Unfortunately, it was not to be. As it stands, the singalong hook of the “why-ay-ay” wears off quickly and risks being mocked by first time listeners. Moreover, in her live performances, Trijntje tends to smile all the time, which doesn’t match the lyrics. (Being friendzoned ain’t no reason to smile.) The bridge is weak and the song as a whole goes nowhere. Like the Netherlands itself, “Walk Along” is pretty, but flat.

Score: 7/10

Chris: Some of the initial gloss has worn off “Walk Along” now that it’s been out for so long, but I must admit that when I first heard it, I really fell in love with the song. It does not hold up to repeated listens — it’s far too repetitive — but at Eurovision, where the wider audience is only going to hear the “why-ay-ay-ay” hook on the night, they too could be caught at first listen. I still worry for the Netherlands, but this is a good song, if not on the level of the past two years.

Score: 7/10

Deban: A middle of the road effort that won’t attract much hate. By the same token, perhaps not powerful enough to drive the public to cast votes in its favour. However, Trijntje’s strength here is the song’s familiarity. As one of the first hand-picked entries for Vienna, “Walk Along” remains memorable and familiar. Ms Oosterhuis’ X factor ensures that this will sail through to the finals.

Score: 6/10

Max: Trijntje is the sort of woman I’d want to get drunk with and do a bit of karaoke with. She seems so full of life and this comes across in her song. It’s a song that I connect to, which is always a good thing, and the simplistic ‘why-y-y-y’ is a sing-along just waiting to happen. She’s got a lot of pressure on her, poor woman, due to the Netherlands past two successes and I hope she can deliver this bouncy number on the night. If so I won’t rule out another top ten placing.

Score: 8/10

Mikhail: The first time I heard this song I got an immediate boost of happy. It is so cheerful, joyful, catchy, and fun. For an hour I was running around my house singing “Why-ay-ay-ay” and I couldn’t stop. One note for Miss O: In your last live performance and video you stressed “slow motion” and it doesn’t fit at all! This song is active and it should be performed in this way, otherwise it will be extremely boring.

Score: 8/10

Our first thoughts on Trijntje (9 December 2014)

Skip to 14:27

Padraig: I’m torn. Traincha’s a soul and easy listening superstar, well capable of doing justice to the likes of Dusty Springfield or Karen Carpenter. But “Walk Along” is simply not meant for her. I could imagine someone like Meghan Trainor or Carly Rae Jepson having a massive hit with it. It’s lightweight, bubbly, fun, pop – their speciality. So why has it been given to Traincha? Sure she does a competent job, but I can’t help but feel that this is a missed opportunity for the Netherlands.

Score: 7.5/10

Robyn: This was one of my early favourites, but as the full 40 were revealed, it slowly slipped down my list. The song gets down to business quickly, and it lets the very experienced Trijntje show off her talents. But then it gets a little repetitive, though this might not actually be an issue for the majority of viewers who’ll be hearing it for the first time. I would like to see this in the final, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t make it.

Score: 6/10

William: I had written this song off in the fall, but on repeat listen it really is an earworm. There is nothing like this in the competition and, even facing a bloc of former Soviet Republics in her semi-final, Trijntje still stands a chance of getting through (especially if she brings that hunk of burning man meat from her music video). It melds vintage elements — think Melissa Ethridge or Tracey Chapman — with the why-ai-ai-ai of Shakira or a Disney animated film set in a jungle. Love all of the above.

Score: 7/10

William C: I’m sorry Trintije, but this has to be the most annoying song for me this year. I cannot stand the chorus at all — it’s as if something gets stuck in your throat and you make the same sound over and over again. However, there are not too many songs like this in 2015, so it has a chance of qualifying. But I hope for the life of me this stays in the semi-finals. After two great Dutch entries, I feel like this is a bit of a let down. Their qualifying streak should end. Period.

Score: 2.5/10

Twenty-nine jurors review each song, but we only have space for ten written reviews. The remaining 19 scores are listed below.

Anthony: 8.5/10

Denise: 7.5/10

Francheska: 6/10

Josh: 6.5/10

Judit: 6/10

Kristín: 6/10

Liam: 5/10

Luis: 7/10

Marek: 7/10

Mario: 4.5/10

Mike: 8/10

Patrick: 7/10

Ramadan: 6/10

Renske: 9/10

Rezo: 7.5/10

Sami: 2/10

Sinan: 9/10

Sopon: 4/10

Zach: 7/10

To reduce potential bias, the lowest and highest scores are dropped prior to calculating the average. We have removed a low of 2 and a high of 9.

WIWI JURY AVERAGE: 6.65/10

SEE OUR CURRENT EUROVISION 2015 REVIEWS AND RANKINGS