The Wiwi Jury – our in-house panel of music unprofessionals – is continuing its journey around Lithuania ahead of the first Eurovizija quarterfinal next Saturday. Earlier, Alice Way’s “Hero” left us wanting to run home. Will Valdas Lacko’s “Stay Tonight” make us change our minds? Read on to find out…
Valdas Macko “Stay Tonight” Live
Robyn: Valdas is a strangely compelling performer. He has a great voice, but he hasn’t been given the best vehicle to showcase his talents. “Stay Tonight” is an ok song, but it has a really old-fashioned arrangement, and during the chorus the backing singers dominate, spoiling his vocals. Valdas has the potential to be a granny-pleasing crooner, but not with this song.
Score: 5.5/10
Mikhail: Boring. Clichéd. Boring. Irritating voice… Oh, have I already mentioned that it’s boring? There is nothing more to say about “Stay Tonight”. Valdas has no charisma, and seems to be stuck in the ’90s. I repeat, boring!
Score: 3/10
Valdas Lacko “Stay Tonight” Studio Version
Steinunn: Ok, I’m not sure if Valdas is attempting to be like an American country singer trying to make it as a pop star, or if he’s auditioning to be a Ronan Keating impersonator. All I know is that I sure do not want to be his bride. No wait, I got it! He is an American country singer doing a Ronan Keating song at a karaoke bar in Tenerife. I need a drink!
Score: 2/10
Anthony: When Laura Kamhuber’s song of the same name missed out on the Austrian selection I was left reeling. So based on the title alone, I was curious to see what Valdas could provide for Lithuania. It’s a stark contrast for all the wrong reasons. He’s got a wonderfully charming voice, but this dreary dated pop ballad lacks the wow factor. I don’t want to stay tonight, let alone hear it again in Stockholm.
Score: 3/10
Antranig: A mesmerising voice let down by an awful song — Valdas has some of the best vocals in the entire competition but this song goes nowhere. The lyrics are predictable and uninspiring. Send him next year with a better entry and he could do very well at Eurovision. However, “Stay Tonight” would be a one-way ticket to a semi-final exit.
Score: 4/10
Angus: My main thought listening to “Stay Tonight” is how sorry I feel for Valdas. The song feels like a bad pastiche of what everyone thinks makes a good Eurovision song and the worst part is that Valdas is totally committed to the performance, and going for it. That’s the mark of a true performer and his stagecraft is to be saluted. The song on the other hand can be tossed into a fiery inferno to languish in agony for eternity.
Score: 2/10
Bernardo: “Let me feel your heartbeat”. Sorry pal, mine stopped. “Stay Tonight” is an old-fashioned entry. There’s potential with Valdas’ voice, but the song does not build nicely. To be honest, this is just a big mess. I can’t find anything, besides his vocals, that justifies positive feedback.
Score: 3/10
Liam: Valdas has a captivating personality on stage, but his entry falls flat. “Stay Tonight” is just another love song. There’s nothing special, nothing interesting and certainly nothing screaming Eurovision entry. It simply doesn’t fit the criteria for success.
Score: 3.5/10
Luis: I appreciate how he absolutely feels the theme and clichéd lyrics. But it’s about damn time everyone got over “stay tonight”, “together forever”, “united as one” and all that stuff. When someone wants to take Europe by storm at Eurovision, they have to make a difference. This — apart from Valdas’ vocals, which are quite good — doesn’t make any.
Score: 5.5/10
Padraig: I have a very low tolerance for crooners. Whether they be international superstars like Michael Bublé or grannies’ favourites like Daniel O’Donnell, my automatic reaction is always to switch off. It’s worse with Valdas. Between the woeful lyrics, the tuneless live vocals and his Sunday-best styling, I’m overcome by an urge to rub my face with sandpaper. “Stay Tonight” is that bad!
Score: 1.5/10
Our jury consists of 16 people, but we only have room for 10 written reviews. Here are the remaining 6 scores.
Josh: 4/10
Patrick: 3/10
Sinan: 4/10
Denise: 2/10
Judit: 3/10
Edd: 4.5/10
To reduce potential bias, we drop the highest and lowest scores prior to calculating the average. We removed a low of 1.5 and a high of 5.5.
WIWI JURY AVERAGE: 3.32/10
SEE OUR CURRENT LITHUANIA 2016 REVIEWS AND RANKINGS.
Photos: Vytenio Radžiuno (LRT.lt)
Valdus’ stage performance reminds me of a lost child who’s been forced into his dad’s tux and then thrown on stage – a whole lot of awkward stares and reaching movements. I guess that it distracts from the song though, yet thinking about it, paint drying 180 ft away could distract me from this.
Score: 2/10
I feel like I’m listening to 80’s/90’s American Country music. I like the song a lot…but it shouldn’t be in Eurovision. It belongs as an encore at a residency in Branson, Missouri. If anyone knows what that is…it’s not a bad place to be. It’s just not Eurovision.
I actually like this entry 😡 It’s pretty middle of the road but it’s nice. Saying that it would probably be a bathroom break song amongst all the belters and thumpers