Bring an open mind, but pack your ear plugs! The Wiwi Jury, our in-house panel of music unprofessionals, continues our musical journey through Chisinau, reviewing the songs from Moldova’s frequently hilarious and always entertaining national selection O melodie pentru Europa 2017. Our next contestant is Valeria Pasa, runner-up in 2015 and the third place finisher in 2016, who returns with “Freedom”. Is 2017 going to be her year…or will she once again be free in May? Let’s find out!
Valeria Pasa – “Freedom”
“Freedom” reviews
Jason: “Freedom” is a product of the “Love Love Peace Peace” school of Eurovision songwriting, but it is admittedly one of the better offerings in Moldova’s selection. Valeria’s vocals are pretty strong and her live performance is engaging, especially in comparison with some of her competitors. With some polish, this could be a respectable entry for Moldova.
Score: 6/10
Patrick: This is one of the better songs in this rather weak selection. Unlike her screeching compatriots, Valeria can sing well live and is beautiful, which can only help. Song-wise, however, “Freedom” screams early 2000’s Eurovision. It seems to mix Ira Losco’s 2002 entry “7th Wonder” and Alsou’s 2000 entry “Solo” — but ends up way weaker than either of them. “Freedom” only sounds better in comparison with the other songs in the national selection. Nothing worth sending to Kyiv though.
Score: 5/10
Anthony: I’m a fan of Valeria — she’s a gorgeous, talented lady. After a double helping of ballads in previous years, Miss Pasa makes a refreshing change with a pop song. As much as it pains me to say this, “Freedom” isn’t having the same impact as her previous attempts. But Valeria has done well in O melodie pentru Europa, so I wouldn’t rule her out just yet.
Score: 6.5/10
Antranig: “Freedom” has a terrific build-up and then the chorus hits. It’s like going from a nightclub to a cemetery — the song just dies. Valeria Pasa has powerful vocals and she can undoubtedly breathe some life into the song with her live performance. However, “Freedom” needs a more powerful chorus and a catchier hook if it wants to make an impact at Eurovision.
Score: 5/10
Luis: OK, we can all agree that the pop-drop is one of the worst musical trends of 2016. Now imagine there’s a song with an unintended pop-drop. That’s what happens with Valeria, and I’m truly saddened. “Freedom” may sound like a song Carly Rae Jepsen would have rejected, but it’s still one of Moldova’s best choices. The main problem is that the instrumentation throughout the chorus is almost non-existent. And it’s not really interesting in the rest of the song either. Yet this is above the O melodie pentru Europa standard.
Score: 5/10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzqvn34Y12E
In our Moldova Wiwi Jury, we have 17 jurors but only room for 5 reviews. The rest of our scores can be found below:
Bernardo: 5/10
Bogdan: 4/10
Chris: 4/10
Cinan: 6/10
Dayana: 5/10
Deban: 6/10
Josh: 5/10
Kristin: 5/10
Robyn: 4.5/10
Sami: 6/10
William: 5/10
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 4 and a high of 6.5.
Here we have a great singer with a rather dated and average song. That’s all. Watch out for her in the future though – she can really sing. 🙂