Today the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — landed in beautiful Slovenia. After snapping some cute selfies for Insta at Ljubljana Cathedral, we put on our biggest set of headphones and sat down to review Maraaya and their Eurovision 2015 song “Here for You”. Did we shout “Amen”! Or just head back to the cathedral to pray for them? Read on to find out…
Slovenia’s Eurovision 2015 song
Reviews: Maraaya with ‘Here for You’
Josh: YES! My number one for 2015. This song has a modern beat, encompassing old-school orchestral sounds with new-age electronica. I love Marjetka’s vocal. I love Raay’s charming smile. I love everything about this song. I’m fairly confident it won’t win, given the lack of neighbours participating this year, but I’m hoping Slovenia can at least crack the top 10. If Maja Keuc couldn’t do it in 2011, I would hope Maraaya could do it in 2015. COME ON, SLOVENIA!
Score: 10/10
Chris: It’s a danger sometimes to be “cool” at Eurovision – but Maraaya are the coolest act around and they are all the better for it. I love everything about this entry. It’s fresh, modern, and has some completely bonkers staging with the air violinist. It’s hard to find fault with it. I love the headphones, I love Marjetka, I love the sound. Slovenia could and maybe even should be gearing up to host in 2016.
Score: 9.5/10
Angus: Not to burst bubbles and bring everyone abruptly crashing down to Terra Firma but this leaves me wanting to hit someone, not the dance floor. The vocal is nasal, the air violinist bizarre and the song a convoluted mess. Too many elements have overpowered the basic ingredients of a good song and squandered Slovenia’s potential.
Score: 3/10
Sopon: The duo have branded themselves very well, but the glue holding the package together is their song. “Here For You” is a breath of fresh air in this year’s competition, and Slovenia’s best ever effort. It’s fun, upbeat, and catchier than a cold. With so many slower songs (to say the least), the Slovene delegation will stand out in a very positive light, and I truly believe that they’ll break into the top three.
Score: 10/10
Anthony: For the second year in a row, our Wiwi readers correctly predicted the eventual winner of this year’s EMA national final. And once again, I’m happy. After doing wonders with predecessor Tinkara Kovach last year, Raay has done it again with a contemporary uptempo song, accompanied with Duffy-esque vocals from wife Marjetka. And who knows, the air violinist providing the violin solo could be the Epic Sax Guy moment of 2015 in Vienna!
Score: 9/10
Bogdan: I may be in the minority, but I love the air violonist! It’s a genius dance idea and whoever thinks it is easy to do should try it themselves. Yes, it’s a gimmick but I don’t mind it – it wouldn’t be Eurovision without a crazy element like that. Same goes for the headphones. Gimmicks aside, the song is uplifting, despite the cliché lyrics that speak of being down, and Marjetka’s voice conveys the right amount of emotion. However, it isn’t my style of music and I will only enjoy it in Vienna for the show. It’s not something I would ever listen to at home.
Score: 6/10
Deban: Interpretive staging aside, this is a crackin’ entry! “Here For You” sounds like an old classic that’s been retooled for fresh ears. Potent in parts, and confessional in others, Slovenia’s 2015 entry sports a killer hook. Marjetka Vovk’s coarse vocals add some gritty magic to their fabulous composition. Edgy, contemporary and radio-friendly, Slovenia should be proud of this number.
Score: 8/10
Padraig: An instant earworm that’s impossible to shake. Combining retro and modern elements, Maraaya have struck gold. Where do I begin? The strings make me giddy. The lyrics lift me up, while the melody does laps round my brain. I love everything – even especially the headphones and the manic lady playing the invisible violin. If this doesn’t get Slovenia back into the top 10, I don’t know what will. Go forth and slay!
Score: 10/10
Robyn: This is an uplifting song with a great hook, but its success in Vienna will all depend on how audiences perceive its performance. Either it’s sung by a singer with a rich, soulful voice, wearing a cute pair of bedazzled headphones, and accompanied by a quirky dancer, or it’s sung by a singer with a coarse and irritating voice, who can’t be bothered with proper in-ear monitors, accompanied by a weird fake violin player. In other words, it’s Marmite, so it probably won’t do as well as its fans will expect.
Score: 7/10
William: When you’re down, down low….you need to listen to this song. Instantly catchy and uplifting, it could help the nastiest queen get her happy back. Marjetka’s vocals are mainstream yet quirky and she channels Duffy and the Noisettes, but has a timbre all her own. Among the most radio-friendly songs of the year.
Score: 9.5/10
Our jury consists of 29 people, but we only have room for 10 written reviews. Here are the remaining 19 scores.
Denise: 8.5/10
Francheskca: 3/10
Judit: 9.5/10
Kristin: 6.5/10
Liam: 8/10
Luis: 10/10
Marek: 10/10
Mario: 8.5/10
Max: 8.5/10
Mike: 7/10
Mikhail: 10/10
Patrick: 7/10
Ramadan: 10/10
Renske: 10/10
Rezo: 0/10
Sami: 7.5/10
Sinan: 10/10
William C: 6.5/10
Zach: 6.5/10
To reduce potential bias, we drop the highest and lowest scores prior to calculating the average. We removed a low of 0 and a high of 10.
I like it but I prefer last year’s. 8/10.
Milla: You have so right. If you dont can sing, dont do it!!! 0 points
Eugene ESC UK:.
Hi there Eugene,
Yes I do agree with your comments, not always but this time yes (I’m kiddin!!).
Yes some of us have forgotten that EUROVISION is primarily a COMPOSER & SONGWRITER FESTIVAL and we should really have a special look into that fact.
Am I right or not ?
I really don’t loathe at the final verdicts of wiwibloggs team very much when they are negatively judging a Eurovision song. It is their personal scores after all. Plus, they gave Maraaya’s song a great score. Although, not an astounding one, but at least a great one. There are other polls, sites and whatnot that also acknowledge some of the quality and credibility of these Eurovision songs and why stop to one?
Sounds a lot like a low quality rip off of the Noisettes (see “Never Forget You”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRFHiBW9RE8). But I do agree that it’s better than most songs this year, and above all way better than what Slovenia usually sends.
Live it’s boring so far. And that fake voice is a bit annoying. I’m sure she can sing normal. And those headphones are ridiculous. It’s a good song though among all these ballads, I think they will do quite good. 85% chance of a final ticket.
Didn’t expect so low scores for this song. :/ 0, really?! 😐
8.5/10 Here For You is an unusual song in a great way. I like how upbeat it is, accompanied by her Duffy-like vocals. I also like the headphones that they wear onstage. It’s another great and unusual element for their performance. Initially, I liked the song (not as much as I do now), but I was a bit sceptical mainly due to how overrated it was (or still is). Now, I think Slovenia could pull off a Top 10 finish for the first time since 2001 (my personal favourite that year and from Slovenia all-time). I will say that the… Read more »
Well with no offense to any wiwi juror that contributes here on WiWiBloggs but people that would vote either tactically/either with weird taste either with lack of real skills to judge a song should not be allowed to continue rating songs here because they mess up the voting unfortunately.. The contributors of Wikipedia really rely on the opinions on wiwi juries here with even posting them there so this hurts the reliability of the whole site.. With no offense to Rezo or anyone of course.. I really can not imagine if i was seeing Loreen’s diamond anthemic masterpiece *Euphoria* getting… Read more »
Wouldn’t be at all surprised if they lift the trophy – good luck!
George wrote: Who the hell is Rezo?!?!?!
George, Rezo is the Wiwi juror from Georgia, who gave his country’s entry a perfect 10 out of 10; an entry that is, alas, still several places below the great song from Slovenia–and always will be, on this list at least.
Nice try, Rezo. Too bad it didn’t work for you.
I truly think that there is an issue with certain jury contributors of WiWiBloggs that i have seen too low grades 4 really good/great songs not only just on certain occasions but multiple times even..
If there was a real jury that had rated Slovenia’s song with ZERO 0 it would be really a serious issue problem with the reliability of the judgement of this jury..
One of the best songs in Vienna’s Vision <3 I REALLY like it.. <3 Marjetka's voice is angelic & one of a kind! <3 She is my #1 favorite 4 the next top model of Vienna's EuroVision! <3 One of the best entries of Slovenia in our Vision <3 Its my 4th most liked on the 2nd SF & my 9th most liked among the 40.. <3 My grade 4 Slovenia's *Here 4 You* 6,5/10 1) Georgia ~ 9/10 2) Italy ~ 8/10 3) Holland ~ 7,5/10 4) France ~ 7/10 5) Malta ~ 6,5/10 6) Serbia ~ 6,5/10 7)… Read more »
Can Wiwi jurors be fired for stacking the votes by downgrading real contenders so their favorites will come out on top? Clearly this just happened.
It would be a worthy winner and amongst the best songs this year. Definitely has a contemporary feel to it and is different to anything else at the contest. Probably would sell the most records as a non-Eurovision entry too. I think Marjetka’s voice is excellent and the song is well-constructed. It should be a certainty for the top ten.
8/10
0????????????? 3????????
Easily the best Slovenian entry of all time and my favorite this year… I don’t think it can win but a top 5 placing would be well deserved…
If I were to make a review of Maraaya here, they will be my top 1.
My favourite!! My top 3: Slovenia, Portugal and Estonia!
A really great entry from Slovenia, it is about time they get the recognition that they deserve 🙂 since 2007 they have really trued. The only negatives that I have this year are the air violinist and those damn headphones, she really doesn’t need them, they add nothing to the performance and it just makes it look silly, weither it’s her trademark or not…ditch em! Good, modern and catcy song performed well 🙂 Well done Slovenia! 8/10
Easily in my top 3 this year. The song is beautifully layered, with real depth and style. Fantastic vocals, great strings, every time I hear this song I just feel myself get fidgety and giddy, I need to move! Uplifting and energetic, this is truly one of the best entries this year.
10/10
Thank goodness you take away the highest and lowest! I mean a 0, really?! OK so it is my favourite song but even still! Anyways, onwards and upwards…I love love love this song! I’ve listened to it so much since March and it hasnt gone stale at all. Marjetka’s voice is quirky but not annoying and all her live vocals have been on point and Raay manages to ooze personality from behind the piano. I think the violin dancer is great – we all know the instruments aren’t live so I think it’s clever to turn the instrument into dance.… Read more »
Who the hell is Rezo?!?!?!
This will challenge for 1st and I can’t wait!! Sweden/Slovenia/Russia/Estonia will all be really close at the top, maybe itll be a repeat of 2003 and go down to the last vote!!
This will be the winner.