Georgia: Wiwi Jury reviews Sabina Chantouria, Sparkle, Tako Gachechiladze

With the Georgian national selection on Friday, the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — continues reviewing the competing songs. Next we’re looking at Sabina Chantouria with “Stranger”, Sparkle with “On the Top” and Tako Gachechiladze with “Keep the Faith”. Do we want to spent three minutes on earth with any of these songs? Read on to find out!

Sabina Chantouria – “Stranger”

https://youtu.be/ma-aMo6GZDs

Antranig: Sabina’s vocals are strong and “Stranger” is lyrically captivating. The only problem is that the chorus gets really repetitive — I’ve had enough of it after one listen. I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing this win and then revamping it with a more dynamic chorus.

Score: 5/10

Chris: “Why don’t you care?” Well, Sabina, it’s because we’ve all heard songs like this before in national finals. That’s hopefully where this one will stay, too. The vocals sound weak to me and the chorus just isn’t strong enough. Plus, the mixing in the studio version makes the drums way too overbearing.

Score: 3/10

Luis: “Stranger” builds on the steps of “Blue and red”, but in a less radio-friendly way. This kind of music was popular a decade ago, but it no longer makes an impression. Also, the chorus is wearing, and by the second refrain, you already wish it was “a stranger to you”.

Score: 2/10

Renske: “Stranger” tries to be classy and cute, but in the end, it is not honest. It has a nice melody, but neither the chorus nor the verses are persuading me. It is a nice song to hear once, but only once.

Score: 7/10

Robyn: “Stranger” sounds like a song written by a 16-year-old after she’s had her heart broken for the first time. It’s full of dramatic lyrics, that sound like cheesy dialogue out of a telenovela (“¡Ramon, from now on you will be like a stranger to me!”). The repetitive chorus leaves the listener wishing Sabina would just get over it.

Score: 4/10

William: A sweet and breezy opening punctuated with pain, “Stranger” invokes the heyday of The Pretenders with a dash of Melissa Ethridge. Sabina is feeling this and it makes me want to pass her a tissue. And while I’d happily download this, I think it’s better suited to a bar or lounge than the massive stage of Eurovision.

Score: 7/10

In the Georgian Wiwi Jury we have 12 Jurors, but only space for 6 reviews. The remaining scores are below:

Bernardo: 4/10

Cinan: 6/10

Dayana: 4/10

Jordi: 6.5/10

Josh: 5.5/10

Zakaria: 6/10

The highest and lowest scores are removed before calculating the final score. We have dropped a low of 2 and a high of 7.

Wiwi Jury Score: 5.1/10

Sparkle – “On the Top”

https://youtu.be/KmsRVBPIs5w

Antranig: “On the Top” delivers a wicked beat and immediately stands out in this national final. This is cheap trashy pop that would do absolutely terribly at Eurovision — and that makes it one of the best songs in this national final. The rap is incredible and I want more.

Score: 8/10

Chris: A Love Generation song produced to the absolute top mix. Can we all just repeat this mantra though: “never include an unnecessary rap breakdown at Eurovision”. Especially one so short that it disrupts the flow of the rest of the song. Remix that out and Sparkle may have something.

Score: 5.5/10

Luis: I’d change the title to “Over the top”. Sparkle bring a song which would be appropriate for 2012, but it’s a bit out of place in 2017. It’s too much, the beats are super trashy, the rap part is unnecessary,… My ears were delighted that it only lasted 2:57 minutes.

Score: 1/10

Renske: For a second I thought I was hearing O’G3NE’s Eurovision song, since it has got the same kind of vocals and harmony. It’s like Alcazar and O’G3NE have had children. After the first listen I was rather confused, but now it is really growing on me. It’s the right song for a girl’s night out. Dance party!

Score: 8/10

Robyn: Shadows and light, y’all. Sparkle is big and bright and amazing, but relentlessly so. It gives the listener no chance to catch their breathe, and doesn’t stand up to repeat listening. The rap does offer a chance of pace, but I’d rather ditch that and have the song indulge in a bit of restraint.

Score: 5/10

William: Grab your IDs and chill the wine cooler: The euro-trash discotheque is open for business! This is a totally bombastic song that includes loading guns, early 90s rap, unidentifiable synthesised noises, and the tiniest flash of Ke$ha in the attitude and lyrics. Everything is in the kitchen sink and I just want to turn on the garbage disposal!

Score: 3/10

In the Georgian Wiwi Jury we have 12 Jurors, but only space for 6 reviews. The remaining scores are below:

Bernardo: 6/10

Cinan: 7/10

Dayana: 5.5/10

Jordi: 7.5/10

Josh: 5/10

Zakaria: 7/10

The highest and lowest scores are removed before calculating the final score. We have dropped a low of 1 and a high of 8.

Wiwi Jury Score: 5.95/10

Tako Gachechiladze – “Keep the Faith”

https://youtu.be/IlAkDvTacGo

Antranig: This is an absolutely dire and overly dramatic ballad. It almost feels like a cheap version of “Rise Like a Phoenix“. Vocally, I can’t flaw Tako but I have nothing positive to say about the song. The repetitive chorus adds to the unnecessary melodrama and by the end of it, I have lost my faith.

Score: 1.5/10

Chris: I think Tako wants us to keep the faith. Maybe she could tell us a few more times just to be sure? This has a “Moment of Silence” kind of feel to it and I kind of love just how over the top it goes. If Tako can nail this vocally live then I might be all in.

Score: 6/10

Luis: I can bear with a bit of drama, but Jesus Christ, this is too much. The song drew me out of it in the first minute, and by 2:00 I only wanted it to finish. Why would you sing such a tragic song when your message is, in theory, encouraging?

Score: 1/10 

Renske: In addition to Tako’s fame in Georgia, I can definitely see why this is a favourite in Georgia. It is a dramatic masterpiece, but the best part doesn’t start until the second minute. That is just too late. Either way, this is a very strong entry.

Score: 8/10

Robyn: It sounds like “Keep the Faith” runs out of ideas pretty early on and ends up adding more and more extravagant variations on the chorus. There’s dramatic oversinging, excessive orchestral flourishes, a gospel choir and a key change. By the time the song ends on the big horn honk. it’s just become a joke.

Score: 2/10

William: Don’t you let them steal your dreams, Tako! But please do recognise that this is better suited for the West End or Broadway than for Eurovision, where we frequently praise songs by saying, “Thank God it’s not another woman singing a ballad.” I cannot fault her vocally — she’s got it. I just cannot cope with this song, which makes me feel like I’ve survived a nuclear explosion — replete with horns and percussion.

Score: 2.5/10

In the Georgian Wiwi Jury we have 12 Jurors, but only space for 6 reviews. The remaining scores are below:

Bernardo: 5/10

Cinan: 5/10

Dayana: 6/10

Jordi: 8/10

Josh: 5/10

Zakaria: 5/10

The highest and lowest scores are removed before calculating the final score. We have dropped a low of 1 and a high of 8.

Wiwi Jury Score: 4.6/10

SEE OUR LIST OF GEORGIA 2017 RANKINGS HERE

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