Finland: Wiwi Jury reviews Ylona with “Blazing Fire”

Ahead of 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 it’s time to listen to Ylona and her song “Blazing Fire”. Did we feel the heat or did it leave us cold? Here’s what we think!

Ylona – “Blazing Fire”

“Blazing Fire” reviews

Antranig: Ylona delivers some attitude but “Blazing Fire” seems as though it can’t decide if it wants to be a dance number or a ballad. That makes me very curious to see how it will be staged. We are also given some of the most awkward and literal lyrics ever — “you’ve been waiting for this time to come and now the time has come”. Simply riveting.

Score: 7/10

Sinan: When I first saw the thumbnail of the video on YouTube and the song title “Blazing Fire”, I thought it’s going to be a ballad. However, it is more like remix of a great ballad. I love the music video though.

Score: 5/10

William: Love the heavy electro beat and her inspirational message, but this lady is on a loop. The repetition makes this sound a little cheap — like they spent all their money on that one verse and then just cut and paste. Her voice is very digital sounding. Strip away the technology and I’m worried what we’ll find.

Score: 5/10

Edd: It sounds like one of those songs they play on cheap computer games to try and make them epic. The production is very empty – and without autotune I fear Ylona’s vocals will be too. I assumed the understated production was building up to a big boom in the final chorus, but I was wrong.

Score: 4/10

Sam: More aspiring-to-inspire crap, with especially terrible songwriting and cheap club music. The advantage of national selections is that they (mostly) filter out songs like this. I trust UMK will work its magic once again.

Score: 2/10

Luis: I seriously want to ask her where the “blazing fire” is, because I haven’t even seen a spark. The production confuses me a lot: the song goes down when it should go up, it stops in the middle of a chorus, what’s this? The production is cheap. Next!

Score: 1/10

Robyn: “Blazing Fire” is like the chorus of “Let It Go” mixed with some generic “u can do it” cheerleading. It feels like a by-the-numbers Eurovision song, and despite the compelling story in the music video, the song itself is devoid of personality. I’m disappointed.

Score: 4/10

Kristin: Hmmm…I wasn’t sure what I was watching and listening to. She’s a fighter, then she’s a Disney diva, and then there’s a rockband behind her. And the song begins like a throwback to the late ’90s dance hits, circa Sophie Ellis-Bextor, but then it changes into a soundtrack from a Nicholas Sparks-inspired movie, and then they add a little metal. Honestly, what the what?! A boxing ring? And fire? But then some slow-motion hardcore emotional porn?? I need a drink.

Score: 4/10

Max: “Blazing Fire” doesn’t provoke any kind of reaction. Split between being a dancefloor banger and a motivational ballad, the song just won’t commit. I’ll be intrigued to hear Ylona’s live vocals on the night, as they sound over-produced on the recording. Overall, this is a very forgettable entry in a tight semi. I don’t hold out high hopes for it.

Score: 4/10

In the Finnish Wiwi Jury we have 17 jurors but only have room for 9 reviews. The remaining eight scores are below!

Maria: 4.5/10

Josh: 4.5/10

Ramadan: 5/10

Denise: 6/10

Bernardo: 5/10

Dayana: 6.5/10

Cristian: 6/10

Mario: 2/10

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 and a high of 7.

WIWI JURY SCORE: 4.5/10

FOR OUR LIST OF FINLAND 2016 RANKINGS, CLICK HERE

FOR MORE FINLAND EUROVISION NEWS, CLICK HERE

Photo: YLE