We are getting close to Belarus’ national selection for Eurovision 2016, which takes place on January 22. In recent weeks the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of musical unprofessionals — has been listening to and reviewing all of the songs. Napoli sings of “My Universe” but were we in her orbit? Read on to find out!

NAPOLI — “MY UNIVERSE”

https://youtu.be/rLJpZLPtnSw

“MY UNIVERSE” REVIEWS

Mikhail: Let’s face it, the verses and the chorus are boring. However, the bridge is a very interesting part. It is really captivating and it makes me think: “Yes! Here it is! It’s gonna be something great!” — and then you get that chorus… Oh what a disappointment! They could’ve done so much with it, but it ended up so cheap. What a pity!

Score: 5.5/10

Denise: It sounds more like a children’s song for a Disney movie. As far as I can remember, this is the selection for the ESC and not JESC. Doesn’t mean it’s bad. Zlata was my favourite in 2013 and that song also sounded Disney – but that one was way better.

Score: 7/10

William: It starts off very Frozen and Finding Nemo. But NAPOLI ain’t a child, so this has the unfortunate effect of making a bad song sound even worse. Lyrically it’s empty and musically it has no legs to stand on. Just blow and “My Universe” falls apart. Nice dress, though.

Score: 4.5/10

Robyn: It’s not a good sign that the giant skirt is the most interesting thing about the performance. It’s a by-the-numbers “Eurovision song”, complete with a key change. A song like this might have done OK a decade ago, but for 2016, it’s just not offering enough.

Score: 4/10

Sami: This is such a boring and unoriginal song. Her vocals are fine, but it doesn’t help much when the song is very bland and forgettable. The only thing what you remember of this is that exaggerated dress.

Score: 3/10

Edd: The verses are so dull that they may as well not exist – but the chorus is a completely different story! If the song is revamped to make it a tad more exciting, this could give Belarus a seriously good result. Also, we may have just found a home for Zlata’s never used LED backdrop

Score: 8/10

Luis: Ehm. This is just unoriginal and clichéd. It feels as if NAPOLI was obliged to send a song to EuroFest and came up with this two hours before the deadline. As Robyn points out, it’s just not enough to represent a country at Eurovision.

Score: 3/10

Cristian: Eurovision clichés aplenty. The hairstyle, the dress, the song, the movements, the look, the backing singers. I really appreciated “Gravity” by Zlata Ognevich back in 2013 ’cause she has those flawless vocals but actually I think we don’t need a bad Belarusian copy of that entry. At least this blonde girl can sing.

Score: 5/10

Antranig: This song is pleasant listening and the pre-chorus is amazing! Lyrically, it’s better than most of the English songs in the final. The only thing lacking is a wow moment because it struggles to stand out. This wouldn’t be a bad pick for Belarus but it would need a revamp to make an impact on the leaderboard at Eurovision.

Score: 8.5/10

Bernardo: Everyone, call Zlata Ognevich, cuz Gravity 2.0 is here. Well, a new type of “Gravity”, a boring and 20th century “Gravity”. A vocally powerless “Gravity”. A boring “Gravity”. You’re probably asking why I’ve mentioned “Gravity” so many times. That’s just because “My Universe” is just not worth mentioning. With good staging and a different dress the tune can get another life – let’s hope for that, because I’m not feeling the Disney vibe this song needs.

Score: 6/10

Anthony: I liked the band’s R&B pop side to last year’s entry “My Dreams”. With their latest offering “My Universe”, they’ve moved back towards the pop ballad approach of their 2014 entry “Stay with me”. It’s another decent easy-listening attempt and yes, I’m all too aware of the resemblance to Zlata Ognevich’s “Gravity”.

Score: 7.5/10

William C.: At the beginning, I feared that this song was going to be another drab ballad, however, as soon as her voice raised higher, I knew this would be a guilty pleasure of mine. It’s incredibly cheesy, à la 3+2 back in 2010, but it could work. She has clearly dressed to impress, and can carry those high notes to a tee. For a change, the backing singers fit, something that I don’t find in the rest of the songs. All we need is a giant and Napoli can sail through among Belarus’ best.

Score: 9.5/10

The highest and lowest scores are removed before calculating the final score. We have dropped a low of 32 and a high of 9.5.

WIWI JURY VERDICT: 5.9/10

FOR OUR LIST OF BELARUS 2016 RANKINGS, CLICK HERE

FOLLOW ALL OF OUR BELARUS EUROVISION NEWS HERE

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MGR
MGR
8 years ago

Now you need modern entries for modern stages. Zombies could be good 20 – 30 years ago.

2015
2015
8 years ago

Napoli win! 😀 revamp the song later on, but win 😉

Laburnum
Laburnum
8 years ago

Unfortunately, this is the best Belarus can give this year imo. The zombies I think would have been the perfect choice, as it was the only one that was both original and interesting, with good vocals. Since they’re gone, I guess it would have to be this. Which is my favourite out of the bunch but I only give it a 4.5/10.

MGR
MGR
8 years ago

At least better than “Zombies”.

Paul D
Paul D
8 years ago

Another disgusting copycat song this year, what a joy…

Steven
Steven
8 years ago

NAPOLI GODDESS <3