Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — is in Romania, listening to the 12 semi-finalists of Selectia Nationala 2016. They’re about to listen to “I’m Coming Home” by Vanotek feat. The Code & Georgian. Will our jury enjoy the song or will they send the trio back to mama? Let’s find out!
Vanotek feat. The Code & Georgian – “I’m Coming Home”
Vanotek feat. The Code & Georgian – “I’m Coming Home” reviews
Antranig: Lyrically, it sounds like a phone call between a mother and a son on any given Saturday night — “Mum, I’m coming home” over and over again, really? Musically, it is a different story because the composition is terrific. I want to like this more but between the lack of singing and the terrible lyrics when they actually are singing, it feels incomplete.
Score: 5.5/10
Bogdan: I love this track! It reminds me of my Norwegian bae Röyksopp. However, I feel torn about it because for an Eurovision song to be successful with the juries, it needs to have more than an irresistible beat and fine vocals, but also, well, more substance, more meat, more… lyrics. “I’m coming home” could and should be a top 40 radio hit, but it would sound out of place on the Eurovision stage.
Score: 8/10
Deban: Simplicity at its finest helmed with sparse, yet compelling vocals. It’s refreshing to be awakened by a composition that strips excess, and opts for minimalism. “I’m Coming Home” would translate beautifully on the big stage with the right LED backdrop. Also, Vanotek and his friends are serving pure eye-candy. Luscious!
Score: 8/10
Luis: I struggle to remember it once it has finished, but it’s a good song. As long as it plays, it’s quite enjoyable, although it rapidly fades away in your mind. The main drawback to “I’m Coming Home” is that it sounds like background music. In fact, this could be playing at any clothes shop, and you’d continue with your shopping without noticing it.
Score: 5/10
Robyn: I love this as a contemporary EDM pop track, but a song that’s almost 50% instrumental is going to struggle at Eurovision (it’s a song contest, after all). The track has a mystical coolness to it, but the instrumental chorus seems ill suited for Eurovision. As the live video above shows, the instrumental parts aren’t at all compelling to watch when performed live.
Score: 5/10
William: I adore the timbre of his voice and I think the lyrics are touching. But at times I get the sense this is an instrumental piece with vocal sections rather than the other way around. The promising opening — all brooding and melodic — gives way to a rather out-of-place and mood-killing final minute. It’s like having an emotional funeral service before lowering a disco ball. WTF?
Score: 6.5/10
In the Romanian Wiwi Jury we have 12 Jurors, but only space for 6 reviews. The remaining scores are below:
Dayana: 5/10
Denise: 7/10
Edd: 7.5/10
Patrick: 5/10
Ramadan: 8/10
Sami: 7.5/10
The highest and lowest scores are removed before calculating the final score. We have dropped a low of 5 and a high of 8.
Wiwi Jury Score: 6.5/10
The semi-final of Selectia Nationala 2016 will take place on 4 March in Baia Mare. An expert jury will select four songs to advance to the final, while televoters will save two more acts. The winner will be chosen by 100% televote on 6 March.
Do you agree with Wiwi Jury? What do you think about “I’m Coming Home”? By the way, don’t forget you can vote for it in our Romania 2016 poll!
For our list of Romania 2016 rankings, click here
For more Eurovision Romania news, click here
Photo: Facebook
Love this one. For those complaining about the simplicity, remember Nocturne? That was basically a violin solo.
Ok, the fact that ‘Nai nai’ it’s the best song in your opinion so far creates me a little scepticism. ‘I’m Coming Home’ is certainly a good song, but doesn’t seem to fit the criteria for a good performance in Eurovision. It’s nice to hear it in a cafe or at parties, but it isn’t strong enough to be considered a winner by a continent. I still think that ‘Moment of Silence’ is the only entry from Romania which could (and would) impress at Eurovision.
I like this and in fact I liked it better in the video where they were singing it instead of the “official” one. Didn’t seem “empty” at all to me. So there is hope in Romania after all!
this is the most palatable song of this selection, and it’s still very weak
The lyrics have changed and this seems to have been by far the biggest complaint, therefore these reviews aren’t very useful now.
I was expecting you guys to give this song high rankings but for me, this is the best out of all songs in Selectia Nationala and Romania would do well if this got sent. I’d give it an 8.5/10 if you guys asked me.
It’s very pleasing to the ears…8/10
I wad expecting higher grades than these, but I guess this is what you get when you come up with something original and very non-Eurovision. One thing is true, though – without awesome staging, this will not translate well on the screen.
Best Song of the Romanian selection
Jury assessment underestimated