Lithuania: Wiwi Jury reviews Behind the Moon with “Did It All”

The Wiwi Jury – our in-house panel of music unprofessionals – is continuing its journey around Lithuania ahead of the first Eurovizija quarterfinal on Saturday. Previously, old-time crooner Valdas Lacko drove at least one of us to the drink with “Stay Tonight”. Can Behind the Moon set us back on track with “Did It All”? Read on to find out…

Behind The Moon “Did It All” Live

Reviews: Behind The Moon with “Did It All”

Anthony: I was disappointed by Ugne Kudlaite’s early exit with her solo attempt. Thankfully, her rock band is still in the competition. A talented lead singer and composer of “Did It All”, Ugne unleashes her inner rock chick and truly shines. Whether Lithuania would want to risk going head-to-head against the likes of Cyprus and Montenegro remains to be seen.

Score: 8/10

Luis: I have mixed feelings with this one. Usually, I’m all for rock songs at Eurovision. But while this is a solid rock attempt, there’s a ’00s teen pop-rock vibe that kills the whole act. “Did It All” would have fitted in perfectly ten or 12 years ago, but now it’s totally out of place. It’s a pity, because Behind the Moon are a good band and lead singer Ugne puts on a great show. If it was just the band, I’d send them directly to Stockholm. But with that song, they’d better wait for next year.

Score: 5/10

Behind the Moon “Did It All” Studio Version

Robyn: Ten years ago, this would have sounded like a cool metal song, a Lithuanian Evanescence. But a decade down the track, this just sounds tired. Ugne brings lots of energy to the stage, but her nu metal vocal tics — things like pronouncing “me” as “meeee-yaaaah”  — sour the performance.

Score: 3.5/10

Bernardo: I’m not feeling it. I should, because I like a good rock song. But this is not a good rock song. Despite owning the stage, Ugne’s voice does not fit the style. Also, I find the song predictable aka boring aka forgettable aka no Eurovision for you.

Score: 2.5/10

Liam: I hear similarities between this and the likes of Avril Lavigne and Paramore, which is good, because they’re both successful in their own right. And I like “Did It All”. It’s no mind blower, but it brings diversity to the Lithuanian table. I don’t think this would do well at Eurovision. But, for now, it’s something I would genuinely add to the queue on my playlist.

Score: 8/10

Steinunn: Man oh man, what a catastrophic mess this is! I honestly didn’t know that emo-highschool-rock was still popular. First of all she’s not singing, she’s moaning and not in a good way. I’d call for help if I heard that outside my house. Second, I don’t understand a word that she’s moaning (not that that’s new when it comes to the eastern part of Europe). Third, the emo stage performance is the worst of all. Man, I’m getting to old for this!

Score: 1/10

Antranig: This is very different from the rest of the competition and that’s a good thing. There’s so much head banging going on and I want to join in. I’m not sure why they’re waving flags that aren’t far off being Russian. But ending with Ugne on the ground underneath those flags is so cheesy that it’s perfect.

Score: 9/10

Mikhail: Firstly, we’ve heard it all before. Secondly, what’s wrong with Ugne’s voice? Sometimes she screams like she’s pleasuring herself at the same time! The song itself is going nowhere, but the singing makes it so much worse.

Score: 3.5/10

Angus: This is more head-spinner than head-banger but Ugne’s vocal and conviction just about pulls it off. Relative to the tired ballads clogging up the competition, “Did It All” offers an anarchic twist to proceedings. And the bizarre staging somehow enhances the rocker mystique that Behind the Moon are offering on stage. It isn’t spectacular — something enhanced by the guitarist’s contribution in the bridge — but it’s a million miles better than some of the other drudge in the competition.

Score: 6/10

Padraig: Ugne is basically the child Avril Lavigne and Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger never had. Neither of her (now separated) hypothetical parents have had a bona fide hit in almost a decade. And “Did It All” would’ve struggled even 15 years ago. It stands out when compared to the rest of Lithuania’s rather weak field, but at Eurovision its dated qualities would only become more pronounced.

Score: 5/10

Our jury consists of 16 people, but we only have room for 10 written reviews. Here are the remaining 6 scores. 

Josh: 3/10

Patrick: 4/10

Sinan: 5/10

Denise: 4/10

Judit: 5/10

Edd: 5/10

To reduce potential bias, we drop the highest and lowest scores prior to calculating the average. We removed a low of 1 and a high of 9.

WIWI JURY AVERAGE: 4.82/10

SEE OUR CURRENT LITHUANIA 2016 REVIEWS AND RANKINGS.

Photos: Vytenio Radžiuno (LRT.lt)