Ahead the second heat of Finland’s Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) 2016, the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — will review all the competing songs. Today we are listening to Cristal Snow with “Love Is Blind”. Are we blinded by the love for Cristal? Read our reviews!
CRISTAL SNOW – “LOVE IS BLIND”
“Love Is Blind” reviews:
William: Lyrically complex and musically arresting, this is perhaps my favourite song in the contest. Mr Snow doesn’t look at love through rose-tinted glasses. He takes it for what it is — frustrating, irrational and stifling, but if you’re lucky, worth all that trouble. The “twisted romance” comes with some killer production that layers optimism and hope over a mysterious, almost dark backing. Cristal’s delivery has just the right amount of madness — he shrieks without shrieking — and by the time the choral backing comes in, I’m in heaven. Modern, brooding and ultimately quite sweet, this deserves a shot at Stockholm.
Score: 9.5/10
Edd: An enjoyable, well-produced pop ballad — but nothing revolutionary here. Unfortunately, his over-the-top looks and camp voice don’t work with a serious ballad like this, and its comes across as a confused Perez Hilton parody. I trust it to be a thoroughly entertaining three minutes on stage, but as more of a weak gimmick act than a quality, serious entry.
Score: 7.5/10
Sam: If “The Great Gatsby” was adapted into a four-minute homoerotic music video, this would be it. The production is stunning, I can picture it taking place in a modern-day West Egg. And the song’s quality matches it perfectly, depressing and heavy-hearted, yet with a glimpse of optimism. “Love Is Blind” is a true contender for Finland’s ticket to a high place in Stockholm, as long as Cristal can keep his audience captivated.
Score: 8/10
Luis: Everything in this song sounds (and looks) expensive and well produced, but I fear this might not be enough. It’s mainly the music video and the lyrics what make this song stand out, so in a live performance in front of 200 million people most of which don’t speak English, I’m afraid it might get lost. Apart from that, Cristal’s voice is not particularly striking, and the beat of the song gets monotonous in the end, so in a way, what this act gains from the video, it loses it when it’s just the song.
Score: 6.5/10
Robyn: I’m vexed. The “Love is Blind” music video is incredible, a gothic, dramatic, sexy and spooky examination of the song themes. But the song… it’s pretty ordinary. Cristal Snow doesn’t have the strongest voice, and “Love is Blind” ends up sounding especially dull in the chorus. It could be lifted with staging in a similar theme to the music video, but as a Eurovision entry, it’s just not of a high enough standard.
Score: 6/10
Kristin: I agree with Robyn — the song itself is not that strong, but the lyrics and the message behind is breathtaking! Count on the Finns to ruffle some conservative feathers in Europe and doing it beautifully. I don’t see it go all the way across the boarders, although anything is possible, but the beauty of story that the song portrays is sending shivers down my spine. It’s simply divine, and I do wish Cristal all the best, albeit him not being a possible winner, as yet.
Score: 8/10
Sinan: I like the message that the song is giving to all listening. Actually I like the song, but in some places I’m getting tired, I do not know why such a feeling arises in me. It’s like I’ve heard it many times and I was pissed off, and I should’ve listen to it again to review it.
Score: 5.5/10
Antranig: Cristal Snow takes on the theme of homosexuality with aplomb. Some of the lyrics — such as “you look like Jesus but you taste like sin” — are incredible. Unfortunately, unlike Saara Aalto’s “No Fear” — which has gay anthem written all over it — there is absolutely no subtlety here. It’s too literal, too intense and just too much of everything.
Score: 5/10
Max: “Love is Blind” is a strong, entry which demonstrates real progression, but I can’t get over the monotony of Cristal’s voice. The slick video promises a high-quality stage performance, but I don’t hold out high hopes for the live vocal. This definitely wouldn’t bomb at Eurovision, but there are better options for Finland.
Score: 7/10
In the Finnish Wiwi Jury we have 17 jurors but only have room for 9 reviews. The remaining eight scores are below!
Maria: 7.5/10
Josh: 4/10
Ramadan: 3/10
Denise: 3/10
Bernardo: 5/10
Dayana: 9/10
Cristian: 7/10
Mario: 1.5/10
The highest and lowest scores are dropped prior to calculating the average score. This is to remove outliers and reduce potential bias. We have removed a low of 1.5 and a high of 9.5.
WIWI JURY SCORE: 6.13/10
FOR OUR LIST OF FINLAND 2016 RANKINGS, CLICK HERE
FOR MORE FINLAND EUROVISION NEWS, CLICK HERE
Photo: YLE
Anyone notice you can sing JHF’s Jag ar Fri on top of the refrain of Love is Blind?
Probably the worst “song” in their selection, that’s no small feat to accomplish… Mario’s rating just about sums this up, though I feel that’s still a bit generous…
This song makes me extremely uncomfortable lyrically. I’m gay, but this feels like it’s passive aggressive at best, and plain old rude.Not edgy, not even in my experience of the world true – although maybe in his – but instead a commercialised, cynical attempt at being confrontational that falls way, way, way short of the mark.
He isn’t a particularly good singer either, and while the song is constructed well enough it’d be a huge disappointment for me if Finland choose it. 2/10
With the right staging, this could do really well. I agree with the Pet Shop Boys comparison and it is up there with my favourites in Finland.
I will go on record as saying this is better than all of the CONFIRMED acts for Stockholm and again, if Europe decides social themes are more important than musical quality, then this “could” win Eurovision. It is good *enough*.
I hate everything about this, especially the lyrics, just cringeworthy. I’m praying to every god there is for Finland not to send this. I don’t want my second home to be last on my list for a second year in a row.
Stunning video and the song is constantly in my head. I love the lyrics “you look like Jesus and taste like sin” is brilliant and the message be it lost in Europe or not is one I relate too. I really hope it does well. I’d like it to win. I’d like it to reach Stockholm and I want it to finish high.
Cristal Snow’s voice reminds me of the ‘Pet Shop Boys’ vocals. The song is well-suited to his range, and contains an interesting rhythmical refrain in the chorus (“I won’t go to heaven… etc.) The video is also an amazing production and location – those are all major positives. Unfortunately, there are some big negatives here too. The song’s tempo really drags. It’s too slow. It makes me feel like the song is ambiguously happy and sad at the same time, which confuses its message. The biggest problems though are the references to a specfic religion in the lyrics, which alienate… Read more »
ugh as a gay person this irks me
the lyrics seem so pushy and for what? i mean finland isn’t really the most intolerant country ever
plus his voice is a little screechy no offense to him
I always agree with Denise for some reason xD.
Basically, I hate the lyrics. You look like jesus (You have got to be kidding me). The melody is nice, but everything else just sounds so dramatic.
I actually really like it, which is good for me because I have a feeling this is what Finland will send.
He freaks me out sorry but no ahaha
The musical arrangement is really strong but I gotta agree that its a bit intense lyrically at points. I think he’ll qualify deservedly so but not sure if he’ll make it to Stockholm!
Too hammering to be enjoyable. Hopefully this stays out.