We are getting close to Belarus’ national selection for Eurovision 2017, which takes place on January 20. In recent weeks the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of musical unprofessionals — has been listening to and reviewing all of the songs. Next up is Alexandra Tkach (aka Lexy Weaver) with “Be Stronger”. Is she making us stronger? Read on and find out!

Alexandra Tkach – “Be Stronger”

“Be Stronger” reviews

Mikhail: It is really enjoyable jazzy lounge song. That is the song you would listen to just as a background. It is not a good idea to put it on a big stage — people will get tired. But her voice is charming and the melody is pleasant. There will be someone to appreciate that.

Score: 6/10

Luis: The last thing I need on the Eurovision is the soundtrack of a Saturday-afternoon movie. Alexandra’s voice tho. She sings beautifully, but her song is boring as hell. And then there’s that saxophone. This is all so 1987. Also, “Hold me one more time, tell me you’re alive”? Well, it would be a bit spooky if he was holding you and he wasn’t alive, you know.

Score: 4/10

Kristin: To whom do I speak in order to get those 2:50 minutes of my life back? Because I kind of need them back for no reason. Alexandra is indeed packed with talent, but she has got one serious snoozefest on her hands! Outdated, confusing and flat out boring. Nope. I’ll pass, thank you. And also, Kenny G called and wanted his reject saxophone fusion back. Alexandra deserves a much better song, because she is fantastic. Girl, ditch this hopeless tune and do it yesterday!

Score: 3.5/10

Robyn: “Be Stronger” is a very pleasant, Sunday afternoon kind of song. But it’s not engaging enough to be a Eurovision entry — it’s not so much a toilet break song as a nap break song. Lexy Weaver is obviously a very talented vocalist, so I’d be very happy to see her back next year with a catchier song

Score: 4.5/10

William: Beautiful woman, gorgeous voice, boring song. I’ve had more fun staring at fish tanks than I had listening to this. Saxophones are fine in upbeat funk songs. But they render numbers like this decidedly 1987. Alexandra says “be stronger” and I say “practice what you preach.” This is weak.

Score: 4/10

Sami: I think the jury in Belarus really appreciates good live vocals, because that is the only reason why I can see this getting through to the final. Especially the production of the song is bad and it feels like Alexandra was just improvising and singing the lyrics over a beat she never heard before.

Score: 2/10

Chris: Almost the definition of a “filler song”. There’s just little to engage with here: talented girl, but no hope in the song. There’s just no kind of hook or anything that draws you in. It’s not an unpleasant listen, so I can’t be too harsh. But it just leaves me feeling nothing.

Score: 4/10

Antranig: Alexandra’s voice is nothing short of mesmerising. The song itself holds a lot of promise but gets nowhere. I don’t think a revamp could save it — she deserves a completely different song altogether. On the plus side, at least she’s got herself a nice guy — the music video is quite beautiful considering its minimal production. Get Alexandra a new song, please!

Score: 5.5/10

In the Belarus Wiwi Jury, we have 17 jurors but only room for 8 reviews. The rest of our scores can be found below:

Bernardo: 6/10

Dayana: 7/10

Edd: 6.5/10

Jason: 5/10

Patrick: 3.5/10

Rezo: 10/10

Sinan: 6/10

Steinunn: 6/10

Zakaria: 5/10

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before calculating the average score, the highest and lowest scores are dropped. This is to remove outliers and reduce potential bias. We have removed a low of 2 and a high of 10.

WIWI JURY VERDICT: 5.1/10

SEE OUR LIST OF BELARUS 2017 RANKINGS HERE

FOLLOW ALL OF OUR BELARUS EUROVISION NEWS HERE

10 Comments
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mawnck
mawnck
7 years ago

You Wiwi guys are showing your biases. This one’s good.

Don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll make a doonce doonce doonce remix for you if they pick it.

Rita
Rita
7 years ago

I, again, have to completely disagree with most of y’all! This is one of the better songs for Belarus along with NAVI and Isaac Nightingale. I feel like this could be staged well on a big forum like Eurovision (they would have to because…y’know…Eurovision: where some of the coolest songs can be written off if they don’t come across right). I mean, Cyprus was able to pull off a song that was at the same tempo in 2013 and was previously discredited so I would not discredit this song quite yet. For me, it is mesmerizing and if she can… Read more »

Pollaski
Pollaski
7 years ago

She’s a pretty girl with an excellent voice, but… yeah. There’s a fine line between retro and dated, and she’s falling on the wrong end of it. Still, I can see a good revamp saving this song, and maybe becoming a qualifying threat in kyiv. Overall one of the best Belarus has, but its not THE best.

AngieP
AngieP
7 years ago

Really like this song. The girl has such a beautiful voice.Not a common eurivision entry, it has something distinctive. It can do well. Like it.

mocosuburbian
mocosuburbian
7 years ago

imo it’s beautiful but too high-brow for eurovision
like i personally love it but others idk

beccaboo1212
7 years ago

Why can’t anyone at Wiwibloggs show respect to at least one of the candidates for Belarus? 🙁

8.5/10

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
7 years ago

I would agree with the jury if this song was in the majority of other country’s national selections but as it is in Belarus, a selection that as usual is seriously devoid of vocal talent, I think this could be the representative. Based on the auditions so far, this or Nikita Hodas would be my choice.

(J)ESC Fanatic
(J)ESC Fanatic
7 years ago

I feel like this is going to do surprisingly well. Many fans may dismiss it, but I think it certainly has the potential to stand out, because it’s very romantic and calming. Alexandra gives it shape live. I like what’s going on here.

7.5/10

Jerome
Jerome
7 years ago

And the slams continue!
I don’t know about everyone, but I believe that there is a song that suits a particular time or moment. For this one, it’s really nice when you’re about to wind down from a busy day. It doesn’t always have to be energetic to be interesting. One of my favourites (TBH, I could say that about SIX other songs in this line-up).
8/10 (9/10 when you wanna relax)

an esc fan
an esc fan
7 years ago

If Norah Jones was successful, then why not Alexandra Tkach, but is risky song for ESC.