Ukraine’s national selection for Eurovision 2016 comes to a glittering end on February 21. While we wait for the confetti to fall, the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — has been listening to and reviewing all the songs that qualified from the semi-finals. Today we turn to NuAngels with their song “Higher”. They say they aren’t angels, but did they take us to heaven anyway? Read on and find out!

NUANGELS – “HIGHER”

“HIGHER” REVIEWS

Mikhail: At first I thought this was pretty average pop, but then it got stuck in my head and I wanted to go higher, higher, higher! The live performance gives it energy and elevates the song to another level. Their vocals are very manly and that adds some unique flavour.

Score: 8/10

William: Their deep and husky vocals are part drag queen and pure power — when they sing I feel the heat and a tsunami of power, sexuality and independence. They update disco in the most delightful way, giving it EDM modernity and a whole lot of attitude. I love how they play on faux lesbian, but in a more subtle way than t.A.T.u. I thought the recorded version was a tad monotonous, but performed live this comes  to life. We can go higher and we just have!

Score: 8.5/10

Deban: NuAngels have got a good thing going. “Higher” is a super-catchy pop number, and there’s no denying it, the girls are incredibly telegenic. Unfortunately, they don’t understand the power of restraint. “Higher” would’ve worked better with subtlety and sophisticated feminism. It doesn’t call for this level of amplification. If this is fixed ahead of time, the girls could be packing their bags for Stockholm.

Score: 8/10

Josh: There’s something I find really jarring about “Higher”. I think it’s a mixture of the girl-on-girl erotica, the leather and the over-the-top facial expressions. The song itself is great, and NuAngels deliver it with an enormous amount of power. The staging and the performance just weirds me out a bit.

Score: 6/10

Robyn: Oh, the drama! I was starting to worry about the lack of swishy haired lady singers in the final, but here are NuAngels to tick that box. But here’s the thing – I find this song to be unenjoyably full-on, cranked up to 11 the whole way through. But at the same time I respect that this style has a place in Ukraine pop music culture and it’s not without its fans. It’s not my thing, and I think Ukraine can do much better for Stockholm, but it’s not terrible.

Score: 6/10

Luis: I’m on two minds with this one. While “Higher” is a strong and powerful song and NuAngels have terrific stage presence, the whole performance is a bit over the top for me. There’s too much exuberance in this entry that makes it a little hard to digest. There’s not a single moment of rest and at the end I feel like I need to wash it down a bit.

Score: 6.5/10 

Antranig: I wasn’t blown away by the studio version but their live performance was incredible. The other five songs are either boring or very serious and as such, “Higher” really stands out. These ladies have an excellent stage presence and I am sure they would own the stage in Stockholm if Ukraine voted for them.

Score: 9/10

Denise: The best song of this heat that got through. They’re known for their low voices and it works better in this song than in ”Courageous”. It’s uptempo and modern. They are great performers, and they own the stage.

Score: 8/10

“HIGHER” SCORES:

Patrick: 8.5/10

Sopon: 2/10

William C.: 8/10

The highest and lowest scores are removed before calculating the final score. We have dropped a low of 2 and a high of 9.

WIWI JURY VERDICT: 7.5/10

FOR OUR LIST OF UKRAINE 2016 RANKINGS, CLICK HERE

FOLLOW ALL OF OUR UKRAINE EUROVISION NEWS HERE

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Huh
Huh
8 years ago

Even the juries afther their performance mentioned that their song needs originality but nevertheless praised their singing.

WendyWilliams
WendyWilliams
8 years ago

I love it and I would even say I want them to win….BUT…. IS NO ONE GONNA SAY THIS IS “RUNNING” BY BEYONCE AND NAUGHTY BOY!?!?!?!??!

Steven
Steven
8 years ago

Has Sopon liked anything in Ukraine??? I prefer courageous but this is an extremely catchy song. Yes it smells of a rip of running but I feel it’s done to such a high level that it nearly stands on its own and doesn’t sound like a cheap copy (like the several hundred horrific Sia wannabes). Unfortunately they’re in a contest with more incredible songs but they should better their placement from 201(3)

MarioMario
8 years ago

Do you really like this awful song?

Daan
Daan
8 years ago

Oh come on, this song is obviously a Running -Naughtyboy ft Beyoncé Rip off. They are not even trying to conceal it. They toke so many parts of it and do they really think the audience and jury is not going to notice that when they preform in Stockholm? I heard this song first on ESCRadio and was baffled because I almost thought it was just a cover of Beyoncé haha. 1944 or Hardkiss should go, this is the most uninspired piece of music I have ever heard on a NF before. GG Nuangels. Shame on you.

Hollandique
Hollandique
8 years ago

It’s going to be between NuAngely and Hardki$s