Edgy, original, avant-garde — Estonians have a reputation for beating to their own drum. So the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — happily continue reviewing the songs competing in Eesti Laul 2017. Next up is Liis Lemsalu with her song “Keep Running”. Did we want to join her for a jog? Read on to find out!
Liis Lemsalu – “Keep Running”
“Keep Running” reviews
Jason: “Keep Running” was the last song I listened to from this year’s batch of Eesti Laul entries, and I was feeling major burnout at this stage. Thankfully Liis is like a breath of fresh air and her entry is current without being derivative. This has potential to be a major stand out if it makes it to Kyiv, and I must admit, I’m kind of rooting for her.
Score: 9/10
Steinunn: “Keep Running” is a great pop song — too bad that I’m just not that keen on this type of pop. It’s a bit too sugary and too “girl group discovered on Youtube” cute for my taste. But even though the song is sweeter than I would normally like, it has that je ne sais quoi I just can’t put my finger on. I do know that I really like the tribal-esque backing vocals that appear in the last 30 seconds of the song.
Score: 7/10
Matt: I’ve always loved a bit of Liis Lemsalu and she hasn’t disappointed with “Keep Running”. This deliciously upbeat track has me pressing repeat. It has a strong chance and will run to the final. If she gets it right live, who knows what could happen?
Score: 9/10
William: Liis oozes optimism and her production is on point with swells at just the right moments. The flashes of tropical house make me tap my feet and I just want to give her a high-five and shout “Emmelie de Forest Rainmaker Realness!” Even so, the song is somehow forgettable and gets monotonous halfway through.
Score: 6/10
Chris: Liis is back just by herself (thankfully) and she’s bringing a Carly Rae Jepsen-esque banger, too, which is even better. “Keep Running” is, realistically, her best Eesti Laul entry ever. Yet it still doesn’t quite feel like she’s really reaching her potential with it. The “keep running for days” refrain really works, but would a key change have really gone amiss here?
Score: 7/10
Robyn: This is the best pure pop entry in Eesti Laul 2017. It sounds like the sort of thing Taylor Swift was doing a couple of years ago — adorable pop mixed with uplifting instrumentation with tropical traces. While it does have its chilled out moments, there’s enough drama and variety to make it work as a Eurovision entry.
Score: 8.5/10
Luis: “Keep Running” is a decent attempt from Liis. It’s catchy, fresh and kinda sugary, just like a perfect pop song should be. It needs some more power, and not only coming from her. She’s a great performer and she can lift this song perfectly on stage, but the base needs to be enhanced. As it stands, “Keep Running” comes across as a bit demure. Still, Liis is one of the strongest contenders this year, and could definitely be Estonia’s entry for Kyiv.
Score: 7/10
Anthony: An Eesti Laul veteran on her fourth attempt this year, Liis brings her strongest entry to date. Her sweet, sultry vocals continue to give me an instant sugar rush. After two unsuccessful attempts in the semi-finals, I’m hoping it’s third time lucky for Liis to reach the final. I’ll be happy to see her in Kyiv if she wins the whole thing.
Score: 8.5/10
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:
Antranig: 8/10
Bernardo: 8.5/10
Dayana: 7/10
Edd: 7.5/10
Forrest: 9/10
Josh: 6.5/10
Kristin: 7/10
Mikhail: 8.5/10
Natalie: 9/10
Patrick: 8/10
Sami: 7/10
Zakaria: 7.5/10
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 6 and a high of 9.
the lyrics are nonsensical and it is a bit like a song that plays on award ceremonies as an introduction to presenters.
My FAVORITE this year!!! 😀
LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! I love Liis as a performer and this song slays! This will be amazing live great opening for the 2nd semi final. It is my favourite in Eesti Laul (I also love Elina and Kerli) and I love it so much! I have lots of confidence that she will qualify for the final and do well! If this wins in Estonia I could see this being top 10! Keep Running Liis because you will be running all the way to Kyiv (hopefully)!
This is low key Hailee Steinfeld – Love Myself. Sounds exactly like it.
It gives me some Belgium 2016 vibes! It’s a good, happy song, the girl has agood voice. Yes, I like that.
Still, I believe there are better songs in Esti Laul this year.
Lol.There is no commenter named george@ luis
I like liis’ song though……I keep listening listening……keep listening listening
Prefer “Verona”, “In or Out” or “Spirit Animal” over this.
What a way to spend New Year,Liis rocking the Casbah.Very talented Ms Lemsalu and deserves to get to the final this time and challenge,i hope so.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS-Hf3ueGz4
Catchy as hell! I really like this song.
This is a good song but it does not really build up over the three minutes. They would need to do a lot of work on it if it were selected as as a Eurovision entry.
Winner in Estonia for me! Stands out around the other stuff.
A brilliant song but this can get old and repetitive very quickly – that’s a problem a couple of the other big names don’t have!
Come on, this is overrated. I mean, it’s not horrible, but the melody is so repetitive and tired.
4.5/10
George?! Don’t you mean Polegend? 😀
Agree with george 🙂
In a way that song goes, it becomes overdosed with pop sugar. Across three minutes it remains being a danceable punch but without much melody, good transitions only refrains keep me listening to it. Overrated until something will be reworked here.
More accessible sweets with Daniel Levi and xmas pinch 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN97tyQGD2w
Liis is very good live, and it wouldn’t surprise me if this alone causes her to win Eesti Laul. The song’s Chorus is very catchy and will do well with good staging. The Verses sound similar to a song by One Direction (“What makes you beautiful”), but it’s not identical so I don’t think Liis has to worry about plagiarism. Another clever thing that happened was the early release of the lyric video on YouTube for this song – this has given it added publicity, and means that people can now more easily sing along to it. Smart move! We’ll… Read more »
It’s a solid pop record, and I’m glad everyone agrees. Considering how flawless she is live, she’s my number one choice for Estonia.