Our time in Latvia is nearly at its conclusion, with the penultimate edition of our Supernova 2017 Wiwi Jury. With tomorrow’s second heat of the show set to eliminate another 7 acts, our in-house team of music unprofessionals continue to look at the best Latvia has to offer this year.
The three acts in this edition includes returning names, Triana Park and My Radiant You. They’re also joined by Santa Danelevica — will any of them move in to the lead with our jurors? See our thoughts below!
Triana Park — “Line”
Chris: This makes me want to dump a bucket of UV paint over myself and dance all night long. Which is probably exactly the mood that Triana Park are looking for with “Line”. If this translates well on to the stage then they could be soaring through to Eurovision, especially in comparison to the competition on offer.
Score: 6.5/10
Robyn: This is the only song in Supernova 2017 that I feel I won’t be able to properly assess it until the live show. As it is, it sounds like a good enough dance track. But will it work in the confines of a television studio, in front of a sedate studio audience? Songs like “Line” create a fantasy and it will only work if Supernova can sustain that fantasy.
Score: 6/10
Jason: “Line” is from a genre that we haven’t experienced much at Eurovision, so it is hard to predict how successful it would be. I really like the energy of this entry, and with a really inventive production it could impress the Eurovision audience. But first it has to win Supernova, and alas, that probably won’t happen.
Score: 8/10
Kristin: The lyrics are just a bit too repetitive, but the song itself is totally something I’d listen to, while driving or cleaning. It’s fast paced and deliciously heavy on the techno part. There’s a tiny little techno goblin that lives inside me and he just went crazy. Will it blow the audience away or fall flat live? I don’t know, but I’m excited to see. This is not a winner, but it sure is invigorating!
Score: 7/10
Zakaria: “Line” would fit more in a club with people dancing and too drunk to listen carefully to the song. I think it’s mainly because it’s more focused on the rhythm and the beat rather than the vocals and the lyrics. This song clearly doesn’t belong in a song contest like this.
Score: 3/10
Andy: I’m not the biggest fan of house music or beats, and have a hard time picturing it at Eurovision. In fact, it actually sort of puts me to sleep. This is one of those songs I can appreciate for what it is, but unless I need chill late night party music, I’d skip it. I don’t know how this entry could possibly surprise – I feel like I’ve already staged the entire neon-bloated rave in my head.
Score: 5.5/10
In the Latvian Wiwi Jury, we have 15 jurors, but room for only 6 reviews. The remaining scores are below:
Antranig: 3.5/10
Bernardo: 6.5/10
Dayana: 7/10
Forrest: 6/10
Jordi: 6/10
Josh: 6/10
Luis: 6.5/10
Sami: 6/10
Renske: 6.5/10
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 3 and a high of 8.
WIWI JURY VERDICT: 6.08/10
Santa Danelevica — “Your Breath”
Chris: A crazy musical journey, but Santa has me captivated from the start. “Your Breath” does feel like someone threw some random ingredients in to a blender and this is what came out. But sometimes that works and you get a good end result. Thankfully for Santa, that’s what has happened here. I don’t think it’s a contender at Supernova 2017, but it’s certainly in the top half of songs.
Score: 6/10
Robyn: “Your Breath” starts out all chilled and ambient, and that’s nice. But just as it gets into that groove, a drum and bass beat turns up and it get a bit of R&B attitude. Then at the end it becomes a mid-2000s emo rock number. I can get how the music changes tie into the emotion of the song, but it is a little too close to those YouTube comedy videos where a musician plays one song in dozens of different genres. And now for the polka!
Score: 6/10
Jason: Santa Danelevica packs an entire career’s worth of musical evolution into just three minutes, and the result is bewildering. I like the chilled vibe in the beginning but the many sudden changes of genre afterwards are a bit too much. The overall effect is messy and confusing. While “Your Breath” could be rather good, in its current form, it’s not.
Score: 4.5/10
Josh: Good lord, was that a musical journey or what? If you’re after a song that starts of as Björk, merging into Sarah Brightman featuring Rudimental, reaching Within Temptation at its climax and returning to Björk, this is for you. It’s like the only thing that’s missing here is some bubblegum pop to really round out the complexity of the song. I’m confused.
Score: 5/10
Kristin: At the very beginning of “Your Breath” I thought we were in for a hypnotizing musical masterpiece, á la Björk. Then it went all pop, then there was a slight heavy metal vibe going on by the end. What!? Not bad, but sort of confusing — like there wasn’t a unanimous decision about what kind of song this was supposed to be. I feel dizzy and undetermined, so I put this a little bit above the middle.
Score:6/10
Zakaria: If we’re doing cooking terms, this is like putting pineapple in a pizza. The whole song is a mixture of three musical genres that don’t necessarily go together. Not only that, but the transitions are not cleverly done, which makes it sound very confusing. Santa Danelevica should have chosen just one genre and, based on the song, that’s heavy metal.
Score: 5/10
In the Latvian Wiwi Jury, we have 15 jurors, but room for only 6 reviews. The remaining scores are below:
Andy: 3.5/10
Antranig: 2/10
Bernardo: 5/10
Dayana: 6.5/10
Forrest: 4.5/10
Jordi: /10
Luis: 5.5/10
Renske: 4.5/10
Sami: 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 2 and a high of 6.5.
WIWI JURY VERDICT: 5.0/10
My Radiant You — “All I Know”
Chris: Tracking My Radiant You through Supernova last year was a fascinating journey. It’s rare to see an act adapt and learn from judging criticism at a Eurovision selection, yet the duo did so to great effect. I fear that “All I Know” may not get the same opportunity, especially with the competition in this heat. It’s a lovely song, but perhaps a little too middle-of-the-road. I’ll definitely play it again though.
Score: 6/10
Robyn: Last year, My Radiant You made it into the Supernova final with the epic “We Will be Stars”. This year, they’ve gone for a less ethereal and more cosy sound. “All I Know” sounds like modern Christian rock, with lyrics that could either be about God or about a special someone. Maybe that’s why I can’t quite hook onto the song. It feels too broadly focused.
Score: 5/10
Jason: “All I Know” sounds like the kind of music that is eternally popular in Ireland (the kind that I am subjected to daily): simple, inoffensive gentle rock for the masses. In fact, I could totally see this on an advert for Discover Ireland. Unfortunately for Latvia, Ireland is not in charge (anymore) of Eurovision, and there are plenty of stronger choices in Supernova. This is a nice effort, but it lacks impact.
Score: 6.5/10
Josh: I — to most people’s dismay — strongly disliked My Radiant You in Supernova last year: it felt sloppy and messy. “All I Know” definitely sounds cleaner than last years effort, but the song lacks originality and pizzazz, which makes it highly forgettable. RuPaul doesn’t associate the word “safe” with America’s next drag superstar. This song is safe, and it’s definitely not a winner in my eyes.
Score: 5/10
Antranig: My Radiant You were my clear favourites last year, which meant there were high expectations when I clicked play. Sadly my hopes were not fulfilled — this lacks all of the ingredients that made “We Will Be Stars” so special. It has a “feel good” vibe to it which makes for pleasant listening, but it was not made for the Eurovision stage. “All I Know” is that I’m really disappointed.
Score: 6.5/10
Andy: This song has the potential to be so palatable to so many people that it is almost white-washed. It does everything right — from hand clapping to a sing-a-long final chorus to a head twitching beat — yet has no personality. And after the song ended, I didn’t remember it at all. Excellently produced background music for a chilly summer afternoon at the cabin, but no Eurovision winner.
Score: 6.5/10
In the Latvian Wiwi Jury, we have 15 jurors, but room for only 6 reviews. The remaining scores are below:
Bernardo: 6/10
Dayana: 9.5/10
Jordi: 5/10
Forrest: 7.5/10
Kristin: 7.5/10
Luis: 5/10
Renske: 7.5/10
Sami: 8/10
Zakaria: 7/10
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 5 and a high of 9.5.
I’d still give Triana Park a shot to represent Latvia. It’s evident that a major factor is how the song is going to sound live and TP, as experienced professionals, should nail it. It sounds like a song that could do well in finals, especially in a year that already seems to be made of ballads.
My favourite song is still “Little Weird”, but I’m not sure but there’s the risk of sounding poorly on stage, as is usual for unrecognizable artists.
Santa’s song is atrocious, I feel like she tried to do too much in 3 minutes and the result is a messy, forgettable, headache-inducing collection of noises. My Radiant You’s song is good, but again, forgettable, while Triana Park is a complete blessing: we haven’t had quality dance music in years at the contest!
“Line” has a particular sound which make it stand out. However, I’m not a fan of the song.
“Your breath” is a song I absolutely love, whether it qualifies or not.
I’m in the middle with “All I know”. I can say I like it, I don’t love it.
I really hope that ‘Your Breath’ will go through … I love the end of the song !
Triana Park is extremely underrated. They are the best option for Latvia. With a good staging, Latvia could easily place in top 10, the song itself is amazing.
Out of these three Santa and Triana Park may proceed to the next round (if I understand Latvian selection right).
Santas song sounded quite nice and melodic to my ears and didn’t have a feeling of 7 songs trapped in ‘Your Breath’.
My Radiant You, I should agree to wiwi jury, it just doesn’t stick with you.