Eesti Laul: Wiwi Jury reviews Leemet Onno with “Hurricane”

Every year Estonia has big, often kooky ambitions for its Eurovision selection. So the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — can’t help but review the songs competing in Eesti Laul 2017. Next up is Leemet Onno with “Hurricane”. Did he tear up our wheat fields? Read on to find out!

Leemet Onno – “Hurricane”

“Hurricane” reviews

Chris: Where has Leemet Onno been hiding!? “Hurricane” is easily one of the standout tracks of the year. Admittedly, I love my country/bluegrass-influenced music, so that probably pushes this one up for me. My fear is that the very end of the song just sort of fades away, rather than ending on a high. I find Kerli and Elina slightly more memorable, too.

Score: 8.5/10

Anthony: I braced myself and prepared to be blown away — so to hear a country pop song was unexpected. I don’t normally go for this genre, but it stands out among a diverse range of songs at Eesti Laul. It may not be a category 5 hurricane, but Leemet has produced an earworm of a tune with its strumming guitar and clapping beats.

Score: 7/10

William: If Ivo Linna is singing at a farmhouse, then Leemet is probably singing at the dive bar down the street, no doubt with bales of hay at the bar and peanut shells on the floor. This is country music with a Wild West rock edge and I’m really not feeling it. I think Leemet would have to show up in leather boots — and nothing else — to make this more exciting.

Score: 2.5/10

Robyn: In a national final dominated by electronic-based music, the songs that break away from that style end up being the ones that stand out. “Hurricane” has a sly country style, but subtle pop flourishes are lurking. The repeated “my hurri, my hurri, my hurri” is reminiscent of Lady Gaga’s old lyrical style. I can’t see this winning Eesti Laul, but I’d like to see it in the final.

Score: 5.5/10

Bernardo: Leemet’s vocals are — hands down — the highlight of this entry. Sweet and compelling, he might actually win…if Eesti Laul were staged in the US. It’s a fine track, lacking a bit of dynamism, but the unique genre and the staging can elevate this. I’m excited to see some barnyard realness.

Score: 6.5/10

Josh: I’m typically not one to enjoy this sort of pop/country style of music, but “Hurricane” is actually pretty good. Although I can totally picture this as a backing song for a commercial for Carlton Draught (my fellow Australians will understand), the chorus is catchy enough and it’s just a fun and enjoyable track to listen to. Not the worst!

Score: 7/10

Matt: This is straight up my alley and I’ll be his hurricane any day of the week. This country song has it all and my feet just can’t stop tapping to the beat. This will for sure get to the final and people will be blown away. It is a contender for the title.

Score: 9/10

Patrick: Not everyone will consider this a favourite, but it could do better than expected. I was never a fan of that chill-Texas-cool music style, so for me it’s nothing special. But there are people that actually love this style — and he’s good at it. The lyrics are real and the song is catchy. Not bad at all.

Score: 6/10

In our Eesti Laul Wiwi Jury, we have 20 jurors but only room for 8 reviews. The rest of our scores can be found below:

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 2.5 and a high of 9.

Wiwi Jury Verdict: 6.25/10

See our list of Eesti Laul rankings here

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