We’re black and blue (and white). That’s because the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — continues reviewing the songs competing in Estonia’s Eesti Laul — its national selection for Eurovision 2017. Next up is Laura Prits with her song “Hey Kiddo”. Were we feeling her pop delights? Read on to find out!
Laura Prits – “Hey Kiddo”
“Hey Kiddo” reviews
William: She rose to fame with rock band Ziggy Wild. And with “Hey Kiddo” Laura once again drops her unique brand of quirky, experimental pop. This mixes bubble gum sweetness with light beats, wooden drumstick taps and a bit of ukulele. I appreciate the tropical breeze and spirit, but the song is ultimately a tad boring and just doesn’t match Laura’s pizzazz and pop. It’s like taking a colourful peacock and dousing her in white paint.
Score: 3.5/10
Robyn: “Hey Kiddo” reminds me of the kind of delightful pop that Ingrid Michaelson does, but its quirky and fun feeling wears thin fast. Some songs can support frequently repeated lyrics (see “Heroes”) but in “Hey Kiddo”, it quickly starts to sound tired. A good song knows when to subvert repetition and delight the listener with surprises. “Hey Kiddo” doesn’t get it right.
Score: 5/10
Josh: I don’t know why this song irritates me so much. The entire track is consistently annoying and just because you call a song “Hey Kiddo”, it doesn’t grant you permission to create a song that seems so immature. It doesn’t translate well audibly, and I doubt it’ll translate well on stage.
Score: 3/10
Chris: I wasn’t sure about this track when I first heard it, but after a couple of listens I do quite like it. It’s like a riff on a Regina Spektor song, which is definitely something I can get on board with. Unfortunately, it’s not really a genre that I’d ever see translating well at Eurovision. Nice to listen to and I’d put it in my playlist, but Estonia have better options for Kyiv.
Score: 6.5/10
Matt: This is a departure from the upbeat numbers and the intense ballads that dominate the competition this year — and I’m pleasantly surprised by Laura Prits’ offering. She really stands out with this summer anthem. This is a dark horse and can surprise us all.
Score: 7.5/10
Antranig: I had very low expectations from the song title and my fears were certainly proven after listening to it. The lyrics are irritating and the melody matches it. Laura has a great look and decent vocals but this song is an abomination. Hey kiddo, I’m getting rid of you.
Score: 0.5/10
Mikhail: I dislike Laura’s way of singing. It is a bit annoying and uninspiring. And the peak of this annoyance is the chorus… Oh, and that bridge as well. The whole thing is just redundant. I don’t have words for this — it just passes me by.
Score: 3/10
Natalie: In terms of being calm, sunny and on-trend, Laura hits the mark brilliantly. Unfortunately, she misses pretty much everything else. It made me happy at first to have such a shameless optimistic song in the mix here, but it really didn’t take long before things grew childish. The very genetic, repetitive and uninspired lyrics really didn’t help either. It’s a pity, because I really wanted to like this one and it may really impress with other people, but it just didn’t do it for me.
Score: 4.5/10
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:
Anthony: 3.5/10
Bernardo: 4/10
Dayana: 8/10
Edd: 8/10
Forrest: 3/10
Jason: 7/10
Kristin: 4/10
Luis: 0/10
Patrick: 1.5/10
Sami: 4/10
Steinunn: 3.5 /10
Zakaria: 6/10
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 0 and a high of 8.
Andres Kõpper can write SO so much better. wtf. I mean, just listen to Rooftop
I just don´t know why ….
The songs sounds good and the singer is good. But despite the beat, is seems dull to me. And repetitive.
It took me a while to get used to this, but now I REALLY love it – wouldn’t send it to the contest, though.
Songs like this one are THE WORST.
This just does not stand out from the Eesti Laul pack for any positive reason. Completely forgettable and out of its depth. Seems cruel to actually put it up against some of the strong songs.
The definition of “weak”. The only part I kind of like is the pre-chorus.
This one is interesting and has a memorable setting, but the song’s melodies are a bit lacklustre in places. The song’s “cake” is harmonically sweet, but without any icing or decorations or a cherry. It has a chance to make the Eesti Laul final, but only a small chance.