Today the Wiwi Jury – our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — travelled to Sydney (first class and on Qantas, obvs). After we sampled some grilled kangaroo marinated in Vegemite, we decided to review “We Are” from Alexa Curtis — Australia’s Junior Eurovision 2016 act. Did this diva from Down Under turn our world upside down? Read on to find out…
Australia’s Junior Eurovision 2016 song
“We Are” reviews – Alexa Curtis
Andy: Alexa Curtis sets sail in “We Are”. It is a modern, radio-friendly tune that plays to our pop sensibilities. It has flashes of Enya, but eventually takes us on a trip through the end credits of Princess Diaries. It is sweet bubblegum pop and man is it tasty.
Score: 8/10
Jason: With its anthemic, Disney movie sound, “We Are” has the potential to be amazing. Alexa is a confident and engaging performer, and her voice fits this radio-friendly entry nicely. The chorus lacks the intensity of the verses, but I have every faith that the overall live performance will be first-rate.
Score: 8/10
William: We were given these arms to fight and Alexa was given that voice to sing. And boy does she! Pitch perfect, powerful, controlled — her vocals are atomic and she deploys them with the precision of a fighter pilot. Produced to perfection, “We Are” wouldn’t sound out of place in the adult Top 40 and could get air time on radio stations from London to Los Angeles to Luanda. But can this win a children’s music contest? It’s unclear and it doesn’t matter. Australia’s girl slays and this sets her up nicely for her imminent transition from national darling to international star.
Score: 9.5/10
Antranig: My home country has chosen Alexa — and she nails “We Are” in every way. It already stands out to me as one of the strongest entries in the competition. If I have one criticism, it’s that the chorus is somewhat lacklustre compared to the very powerful verses. However, I am confident that Alexa will bring this to life on the night and I think “We Are” might look and sound a lot better when performed live. Go Alexa! Make us proud!
Score: 8/10
Bernardo: The public expects great things from Australia and some fans will always throw shade when a song does not meet their impossible-to-reach standard. But let me tell you something: “We Are” is a global song with exceptional production value. It’s age appropriate and fits well with the competition’s theme of #embrace. And I haven’t even started talking about Alexa – an out-of-this-world singer with an astonishing vocal range. Make no mistake. This is a contender. Bravo!
Score: 8/10
Josh: “We Are” is another solid Junior Eurovision entry from my homeland. After “My Girls” in 2015, I think it’s smart for the Australian delegation to select another child from The Voice Kids. One thing is certain: Alexa’s live vocal is amazing, and I’d love for her to go off and do some vocal runs in the song like Dami Im did with “Sound of Silence”. Overall another great entry from Australia.
Score: 8/10
Robyn: “We Are” sounds like a theme song for a sci-fi teen adventure film, an anthem for a group of heroes rising up against an oppressive society. The chorus has a really big, satisfying sound and when performed live, it could deliver goosebumps. Alexa is an experienced performer and brings a lot of precision to her performances. She’s going to be good.
Score: 7.5/10
Antony: Alexa should be commended for her strong voice and for being a seasoned performer, both of which are evident in the music video. However, the song itself a bit boring. What I do like are the various beats within the song, which allow her to show off just how cool and hip she is. Regardless of the song, Alexa is a real star.
Score: 6/10
Deban: Alexa Curtis is a heavyweight in this competition. Her vocal abilities surpass many established artists. “We Are”, on the other hand, is a little cheesy and predictable (though, in a kids competition, that isn’t neccessarily a bad thing). In any case, Alexa still packs a punch. You cannot fault her performance as a singer and dancer.
Score: 6.5/10
Chris: Whereas Australia have been pretty good at being on point at adult Eurovision, it seems they’ve yet to hit that high in JESC. In this case they definitely have the right performer. Alexa is top-notch. But “We Are” is too cheesy and, dare I say it, fairly dated. It’s a missed opportunity because Alexa clearly deserves better than what she has been given.
Score: 6.5/10
Our jury for 2016 consists of twenty-one jurors, but we only have room for ten reviews. The remaining eleven scores are listed below.
Dayana: 5/10
Edd: 6.5/10
Jordi: 8/10
Luis: 8.5/10
Marek: 8.5/10
Mario: 6/10
Matt: 4/10
Renske: 7.5/10
Rezo: 9/10
Stanislav: 10/10
Zakaria: 6.5/10
The highest and lowest scores are removed prior to calculating the average score. This is to remove outliers and reduce potential bias. We have removed a low of 4 and a high of 10.
I love Alexa, and she deserves a more accessible song, something, for example, like Girl on Fire would have smashed. The song feels over-produced and over-thought. There is such a thing as trying too hard. One of the beautiful aspects of JESC is the freshness of the performers, the enthusiasm, the youthful take on the songs. Sadly, this is lost here. I still love Alexa, and there are parts of the song which are really good. I hope that the live performance will bring up her personality and fearlessness and help her overcome the rigidity of the studio version. This… Read more »
@Polegend Godgarina – So far it’s Australia’s best song and it is an upbeat in a famously slow year. No Golden Boy, but it was a risk to allegedly swap out songs last minute.
Love her voice but the song is weak. I find it a bit similar to “My Girls” mostly in the fact that a song perfect for ESC is being used in JESC :/
Australia is once again in the rush for the trophy this year =) Alexa is very charismatic (where does she come from ?) and has a great voice (like many other contestants this year). Her song reminds me the Gold Coast and cool vibes I could feel when I’m gone there for holidays =) Good job Australia ! And good luck ! I’m crossing my fingers to see you win the JESC 2016 !
I’ll give to the country a 9/10 !
Aussie aussie aussie, oi oi oi ! Go Australia ! Greetings from a tongan guy 🙂
@ Z24 – Tonight Again and musical risk don’t belong in the same sentence.
This has to be the most boring song of the year. Totally forgettable, but watch the new 100% jury sistem award it stellar points just because it’s Australia. On a bright side, she looks very good… that’s all I can say. 1.5/10 lmao
9/10
Good song. This is professional, but still junior.
I realize that Australia wants to look like they belong in Eurovision and gears their music accordingly. But I’m still wanting a song that makes me think of Kangaroos.
I feel so sorry, but I feel this is the weakest song of the bunch. It’s just too safe and mellow and predictable. Except for Tonight Again, Australia has yet to really take a big musical risk that emboldens their overall repertoire. This is, to be honest, kinda boring.
3.5/10
It’s so beautiful song. Wish her good luck.
So Australia… For me this song is… Meh? I really don’t find it interesting. Maybe she’s got the voice but the song? It’s not bad but sooo repetitive. But still it’ll place high knowing the juries. For now my personal 11th place/15
This song made me shiver the first time I heard it. The verses are really amazing,but the chorus doesn’t life up to it 100%, but is still very good. Alexa is a great performer, but please don’t fail on the dress like last year. Australia had my favorite song last year, but live was a dissapointment. Her dress was awfull. I do love this song a lot, and it should do good, but it should do very good with the expert juries.
9/10
Rank: 4/15
I’m excited for Ireland tonight.
Great voice but the song is underwhelming… let’s see how she performs it live, might surprise
impeccable voice and presence, but the core melody and beat are formulaic and very middle of the road despite all of the embellishments. The chorus doesn’t reach any climactic passage and that puts a damper on the song’s progression. It starts with high expectations, but you never really feel gratified or elated as it evolves. 7/10
I used to find this song below average but it has grown on me. I don’t like how suddenly the song ends but this is the only flaw. Overall, it’s a good pop song and Alexa is amazing! I love her voice, her pronunciation and her energy. She sounds like she believes what she is singing and that’s great because her song has a wonderful message. Kudos on the lyrics, they are so on point!
Score: 7/10
Rank: 10th/15