Earlier today, the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — gathered in Bern to discuss the contestants participating in Die Entscheidungsshow, the national selection for Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. Today we are taking a look at Rykka‘s “The Last of Our Kind”. Is Rykka deserved of her early favourite title, or is this the last time we want to hear this song? Read on to find out…
RYKKA – “THE LAST OF OUR KIND”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIlEcu140Ew
“THE LAST OF OUR KIND” REVIEWS
Antranig: Call off the national final right now — we have a winner! This is absolutely incredible and I think this could bring Switzerland their best result in a long time. I also think she and Vincent Gross are the only two who could get Switzerland back to the grand final. Switzerland need to send this — Rykka absolutely slays!
Score: 10/10
Cristian: The video screams “Sia” but actually the song is far away from Sia’s jewels and her real appearance as well. Rykka is more like a mix between a Lolita and a femme fatale coming out from the 1950s. It’s a good song, and probably the best among the six left. It perfectly follows the contemporary music pattern: electro-pop songs with ’80s vibes. She’s got a nice voice but her performance was far from perfect, and she has to improve a lot of her skills for the national final. However it’s still the best chance to get a spot into the grand final.
Score: 7/10
Edd: BOOM! I honestly think this is the most modern song I’ve ever heard in the Swiss national selection. Over the years there has been a massive gap in the contest for electropop. With a few more synths and robotic sounds, Rykka will absolutely slay the genre. There’s even a key change!! I was very pleasantly surprised with her live vocals, although disappointed with the performance. If she really is the last of her kind then she needs to stop looking so human and bring out the inner alien.
Score: 9.5/10
Josh: “The Last of Our Kind” is obviously the best of a bad bunch. The beginning of the song is so promising however it quickly leads to something so lacklustre that I’m just left bored. I find the key change in the final chorus to be really off-putting – something you’d find in a stereotypical ’90s ballad. Rykka tried to bring theatricality to her Expert Check performance but unfortunately it failed to meet expectations. You can cover a turd in glitter, but at the end of the day it’s still a turd.
Score: 6.5/10
Renske: “The Last of Our Kind” is one of the most interesting songs in the Swiss national final this year. Although Rykka’s image looks great, like a Swiss version of Sia, she does not look secure on stage. Sadly, this distracted me really from her performance. If she takes some vocal lessons and works on her stage performance, I’ll give her a chance.
Score: 7/10
Robyn: Here’s my dilemma – I really like Rykka but I don’t like her song. She’s a great performer with a rich, expressive voice and has great stage presence, but “The Last of Our Kind” is such a let-down. Despite the strong, dramatic opening, the song quickly runs out of ideas and ends up with Rykka singing “We’re the last of our kiiiind” over and over. But it is still the best song in the NF and I’d be happy to see Rykka win it. I’m just not a fan of the song itself.
Score: 6/10
William: With shades of Sia and Agnes, Rykka pulls Switzerland into 2016. Her modern entry stands out for its production value and for mixing a hopeful message with dark, electro sounds. It’s heady and modern, yet clearly engineered for Eurovision: see the key change in the final third. A strong entry that deserves to do well — in Switzerland and at Eurovision. PS Love that trash bag she wore to the Expert Check!
Score: 9/10
In the Swiss Wiwi Jury we have 16 jurors but only have room for 7 reviews. The remaining nine scores are below!
Anthony: 8/10
Bernardo: 7.5/10
George: 8/10
Luis: 6/10
Maria: 5/10
Mario: 7/10
Mikhail: 6.5/10
Ramadan: 6.5/10
Sopon: 8/10
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 5 and a high of 10.
This song deserves a performer who’s captivating enough not to leave me checking how much time is left 45 seconds in, and Rykka deserves a song that she can deliver convincingly (which do exist – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsmxU8RImR0). As it stands, it’s a performer and a song that each have potential but can’t bring out the best in each other.
I’m from Switzerland, and yet if that’s the best we can do this year, I think it’s safe to say we won’t be a threat to anyone in Stockholm. 🙁
It’s definitely a diamond in the rough and I hope to see some improvement on Saturday. Nevertheless, this is by far the best song we (Switzerland) have to offer this year and if it doesn’t win we won’t reach the final for sure.
We are discussing one live performance on a stage that wasn’t even one. Do you remember the first time Roberto Bellarosa presented his song in Belgium? It was a complete disaster!!! Then, with the right staging, the right vocals and a loooot of other arrangements, they got a decent place in the final. Rykka is likely to do the same. She has a professional background and she is working with great people. I think that her live performace of Saturday will blow off the critics. It will be a complete new song, with an improved staging, (better hair), better vocals…… Read more »
@Eugene. Indeed, point taken, and I entirely agree. I’m glad you did comment actually. There comes a point when I should perhaps re-consider what I comment to give it more context: it’s good to have a splash of cold water from time to time. I wish to clarify two things: 1. I didn’t dwell too much on the chorus to “Half a Smile,” since it felt like everyone else already has. But I suppose half a smile could validly be demonstrated with a no-lyrics chorus, especially if one’s not quite sure what it is? (I think most songwriters would have… Read more »
I love her voice in the live video, but I agree she looks nervous and this hair should go. She can do it but she has to work for it.
I started out as one of Rykka’s detractors, but after listening to her song multiple times and seeing her expert check performance, I’ve become a huge supporter. Switzerland, this is the best chance you have of getting back to the final because the song is so strong, it grabs you right from the first note. And Rykka herself has the star power to fill the big stage in Stockholm when the song is combined with a stage presentation to fit its tone. As a Eurovision fan who’s followed the last 3 Swiss finals, “The Last of Our Kind” is the… Read more »
I agree with Robyn’s review (above). I love Rykka, but the song is a bit weak and repetitive. Despite this, she will likely win the national final with her powerful vocals and awesome stage presence.
I don’t think Rykka is as good as people think she is. The Swiss national final this year is horrible, but Rykka has an average/slightly above average song, which looks like a masterpiece in comparison to the others. If she does make it to Stockholm I still don’t see Switzerland doing that well, and they’ll struggle to make it out of the semis.
Switzerland’s best option this year but I don’t think it’s good enough currently to get past the semi.
From where I’m sitting there seems to be about three million better songs than Rykka’s in Estonia, Hungary, Finland, Latvia and Denmark. This is yet another song nodding uncreatively to the past – the trends are not in its favour. The trends are bold, semi-radical and different. This song screams no change.
I am from Switzerland and I think that Rykka MUST be our choice for this year. She could get us to the final… and beyond? Last time we picked a canadian it went pretty well 😉 But I am afraid that people in Switzerland will mess it up like last year… vincent is supported by a lot of influential people, and this could influence the 50% vote of the jury. Last year Timebelle was the right choice, people chose wrong and we got the last in the semis… this year RYKKA is the only option if we want to do… Read more »
i love this ong, but I´m concerned about her live perfomance, I mean, she has a great voice and she is a really good performer, but I Don´t want her nerves to take her down 🙁
“Diamond In the rough” Ñu summed it up perfectly.
Rykka is the only one of the six who would get Switzerland back into the finals!
I think that Rykka’s song is the perfect example of a diamond in the rough. There’s so much work to do to improve her stage presence and also the staging but it’s undeniable that there’s so much potential, I waiting for the NF to check if she has improved since her last performance.