Poland: Wiwi Jury reviews Kasia Mos, Agata Nizinska and Paulla

Earlier today, the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — landed in Warsaw. We travelled to the birthplace of Frédéric Chopin in search of the next Polish superstar from the 10 acts competing in the national final Krajowe Eliminacje. Today we kick off the reviews looking at Kasia Mos with “Flashlight”, Agata Nizinska with “Reason” and Paulla with “Chce tam z toba byc”. What did we think?

Kasia Mos – “Flashlight”

“Flashlight” reviews

Natalie: With modern, dramatic production and a very strong vocalist, this song should really go places. But, somehow, it misses it – the whole just comes off as very monotone and baseless. Whether it’s because the instrumentation gets very repetitive, or Kasia’s voice seems to grow tired towards the end, I really don’t know, but this one should definitely be more memorable than it is.

Score: 4.5/10

Marek: Kasia’s 2016 entry “Addiction” was catchy but “Flashlight” is something more! It has a creepy cool and bursts with uncertainty and insecurity. The song sounds like a mystery, and the music video builds on that for an incredible effect. This type of dark ballad is not common at Eurovision, but it would hopefully find an audience. The “Polish Sanna Nielsen” has already joked that this will not be her last try at Eurovision. Well, we will see if she succeeds this time. But with this song, her chances are immense.

Score: 10/10

William: Kasia is a beautiful woman and this video sees her giving face and body. Unfortunately that’s all I’m really interested in. The song is bland and beneath her. It gets monotonous by the second verse and leaves no lasting impression.

Score: 4/10

Chris: Kasia’s “Addiction” is something of an underrated gem from last year’s selection. It’s a song I keep coming back to even now, perhaps because it stood out as being different. “Flashlight”, however, blends in with similarly dramatic songs in other national finals. This would be lost at Eurovision and whilst I appreciate it when it’s on, it’s not memorable.

Score: 5.5/10

Jason: Poland has done relatively well since its return in 2014, but it is high time that the country went all out for the win. “Addiction” was one of the good entries in the national final last year, but the mysterious “Flashlight” is even better . Dark, tense and current, this song is one of many throughout this year’s selections that suffer from the Jamala effect. However, Kasia Mos is a stellar performer and will undoubtedly serve drama and perfect vocals on the night. One to watch.

Score: 7/10

Robyn: “Flashlight” delivers loads of drama, but nothing much really happens. It just feels like drama for drama’s sake. It’d rather see that energy go towards something more meaningful instead of just “hey everyone, I am in a strong relationship”.

Score: 4/10

Josh: I remember absolutely nothing about Kasia Mos’ performance from last year’s selection in Poland, and I fear this will have the same result. The orchestral heavy metal elements in the instrumental sound dated and combined with Kasia’s vocal, it lacks power. A pretty voice — but not the right song.

Score: 5/10

In the Polish Wiwi Jury, we have 13 jurors, but room for only 7 reviews. The remaining scores are 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 4 and a high of 10.

Wiwi Jury verdict: 5.77/10

Agata Nizinska – “Reason”

Robyn: “Reason” is like the flipside of Robyn’s “Call Your Girlfriend”. In this case, it’s “Don’t call your girlfriend” because Agata doesn’t want to be the cause of a break-up. The song really works well. There’s a bittersweet feeling and a real sense of loss. If Agata can deliver live, this could be a contender for the win.

Score: 7/10

Chris: Speaking of similarly dramatic songs, here’s “Reason”. I appreciate the tone in Agata’s voice and she really shows off her range, but this really does slip in to generic territory. It’s not bad by any means, but I want something to “wow” me in this track. That moment never comes.

Score: 5.5/10

William: Agata’s voice oozes power and soul — qualities she’s able to control and manipulate to great effect. This song avoids the cut-and-paste quality of so many Eurovision NF entries and has a shape all its own. She delivers this with sincerity — I can tell she’s lived! — and that gives the song a stirring authenticity. If she can perform this well live, look for her to challenge. PS: Bonus points for that gym-honed male model.

Score: 7.5/10

Antranig: “Reason” takes a couple of listens to appreciate. This has very good production behind it and it is very solid lyrically. Agata connects with the song and her delivery is compelling. “Reason” will undoubtedly be a dark horse to win Krajowe Eliminacje and if Agata can deliver the same passion and composure in her live performance, this could go a long way.

Score: 8/10

Jason: With a voice like Céline Dion and top model looks, Agata Nizinska is ready to kick some Krajowe Eliminacje butt. “Reason” is a well-produced high-class ballad. Agata doesn’t have to rely on exaggerated vocal displays to get her point across, and it is refreshing. The music video is good too, especially when her lover strokes the picture of Agata on his phone, lol.

Score: 8.5/10

Marek: “Reason” is the kind of song you can listen to just to relieve stress. It’s not as full of emotion or drama as others. It’s classier, like “Okay, I’m not a basic b*tch, get over it, next!” But the way it’s presented makes it seem fancy. It is a simple song but it sounds really good.

Score: 9.5/10

Antony: Agata should be commended for nailing her dramatic performance with this song aided by her strong and unique voice. The music video is very well produced with a grayscale appearance setting the scene perfectly. The music is very strong and effective for sending the right message to the listener supported by shrill undertones which awakens them.

Score: 8/10

In the Polish Wiwi Jury, we have 13 jurors, but room for only 7 reviews. The remaining scores are 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 5 and a high of 9.5.

Wiwi Jury verdict: 6.91/10

Paulla – “Chce tam z toba byc”

“Chce tam z toba byc” reviews

Luis: This was promising at the beginning… and then it was another ballad. Sigh. There are some good ideas behind the production, and it’s very pleasant to listen to. Do we get any more than that? No. Paulla is trying too hard to be an R’n’B diva, and she’s not really getting there. It all comes across as cold, and it doesn’t transmit any emotions. And it has nothing to do with the fact that I don’t understand Polish.

Score: 2/10

Robyn: For a Polish language song, I kept hearing English curse words in it, like an audio illusion. But that aside, “Chce tam z toba byc” is a standard R&B ballad. It’s loaded with layers of digital effects which don’t add much to the song. It’s hard to stay interested.

Score: 5/10

Marek: I can’t even imagine someone sitting at the piano humming “ka ka ka ko ko ka ka” and thinking “this is gonna climb the international charts”. This song is terrible — it didn’t deserve to get into the national final. I know Paulla — a lot of her songs are fantastic, but this is not one of them. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a project that’s been the result of half an hour in the studio, created just to show she still makes songs. Who with common sense would send this? She can do so much better.

Score: 0/10

William: There’s a lot going on in the “Chce tam z toba byc” music video —  Paulla strokes a horse, sips champagne in a helicopter and lies naked in bed. And then there’s a hip-hop artist tickling the ivories and a rather hunky man with his nose in Paulla’s neck.  The mish-mash of images reflects the eclectic quality of the song, which melds mid-tempo ballad, jarring electro sounds and even some bizarre wailing. Maybe it’s ahead of our time, but I can’t help but find it bizarre and difficult to access.

Score: 5/10

Chris: I always appreciate hearing the Polish language represented and it’s especially important for Paulla here. The fact she’s singing in her native tongue lifts what is, again, a fairly basic ballad to begin with. But the second she decides to show off her vocal tricks, it all goes downhill. This feels self-indulgent to a fault.

Score: 5/10

Jason: Polish is a beautiful language and it should be heard more at the contest. Just not in the form of “Chce Tam Z Toba Byc”, which is a bit of a mess. Paulla has a strong voice but she seems to struggle against the cacophony of various effects and layers, and in the end her voice becomes harsh.

Score: 3/10

Natalie: This song is very hard to grasp. As piano-driven ballads go, it’s quite well-crafted and has a lot of sentiment behind it, but very little of that comes through. The Polish language also seems to suit it quite well, but it’s impossible to come to any conclusion on what Paulla is on about. It’s such a pity, because I’m very much in favour of a multi-lingual Eurovision, but there is no impact to this. It’s just an underwhelming Slavic mess.

Score: 3/10

In the Polish Wiwi Jury, we have 13 jurors, but room for only 7 reviews. The remaining scores are 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 0 and a high of 5.5.

Wiwi Jury verdict: 4.27/10

SEE OUR LIST OF KRAJOWE ELIMINACJE 2017 RANKINGS HERE

READ MORE POLAND EUROVISION NEWS HERE