Selectia Nationala 2017: Wiwi jury reviews Elize & No Stress, Cristina Vasiu & Tudor Turcu

After taking a year of silence, Romania are back in the contest for good and they are in it to stay! Over the past few days, the Wiwi Jury – our in-house panel of music unprofessionals – listened to and reviewed to all 15 songs in Selectia Nationala 2017. First up, we will review Elizé & No Stress with “Fara Bariere”, Cristina Vasiu with “Set the Skies on Fire” and Tudor Turcu with “Limitless”. Do we think any of them can get Romania on top of the scoreboard? Read on to find out!

Elizé & No Stress – “Fara Bariere”

“Fara Bariere” reviews

Luis: Songs like this make me wish I had continued the Romanian lessons I started at university. Elizé and No Stress’ performance is fizzy and delightful, and I’m totally digging it. They rule that stage as if they had been performing there since childhood. All I can say is take me to a Bucharest bar and let’s have some beers!

Score: 7.5/10

Angus: This song rapidly moves from fun, to annoying, to tiresome in the three minutes it’s on stage. That’s no reflection on Elizé or the band, and more that the song becomes repetitive and the features tend to grate rather than endear it to you.

Score: 4/10

Robyn: I love the attitude in “Fara Bariere”. It has a very British sound, a bit of early ’80s new wave mixed in with late ’90s Britpop — and it all works. The Romanian lyrics are no barrier, but I can’t help think that it would be more accessible in English. But lyrics aside, I feel like dancing when I hear it and I like that.

Score: 7.5/10

Jason: Elizé & No Stress perform so well — the stage really comes alive for the three minute duration of “Fara Bariere”. However the song suffers for not having even a simple hook in English. Each country’s language should be celebrated for sure, but the appeal of “Fara Bariere” needs to be broadened.

Score: 5/10

Zakaria: Elizé has attitude onstage and the song is kind of okay. However, it is very inoffensive and forgettable even though it’s fun and enjoyable while it’s on. Also, it highlights Romanian in a way that I’ve never heard before but other than that it’s just a filler.

Score: 5/10

In the Romanian Wiwi Jury, we have 13 jurors, but room for only five 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 3 and a high of 7.5.

WIWI JURY VERDICT: 5.68/10

Cristina Vasiu – “Set the Skies on Fire”

“Set the Skies on Fire” reviews

Zakaria: Great voice, very generic song. This format has been used so many times in national finals and Eurovision that it becomes tedious: a gifted female singer singing the verses quietly and then belting the hell out of the chorus. I’d really like to see Cristina come back to Selectia Nationala but this time with a real hit. She deserves it.

Score: 4.5/10

Jason: Dated, shrill and irritating — these are not qualities that a winning Eurovision song should possess. “Set the Skies on Fire” is totally generic and the tiresome chorus becomes unbearable quite quickly. I expect more from Romania for their comeback.

Score: 3/10

Robyn: Christina was reportedly suffering from a cold at her audition, which could explain why her voice sounds strained in the big notes. I’m expecting a better overall sound in the semi-final. But still, I just don’t find this type of song appealing. It’s a generic Eurovision ballad. Romania can do better.

Score: 6.5/10

Jovana: “Set the Skies on Fire” is not a bad song and Cristina Vasiu is definitely not a bad singer. However, this type of entry belongs in 2004. It reminds me of Robyn’s early work and slightly of Sanna Nielsen’s “Undo”. A different, maybe more symphonic instrumental and a richer staging could possibly make it better though.

Score: 5/10

Natalie: The title gave me a lot of hope for this song – at least that it would be a bit more than just a generic Europop ballad. But that’s exactly what we have here. Sure this one has a bit of modernity and impact, this chorus in particular shows that Cristina knows how to sell a song, but there’s so little thought to it. Maybe “Set the Skies on Fire” will turn out to be a grower, but now at least it’s just bland, forgettable. I’m over this sort of thing.

Score: 3.5/10

In the Romanian Wiwi Jury, we have 13 jurors, but room for only five 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 3 and a high of 7.

WIWI JURY VERDICT: 5.45/10

Tudor Turcu – “Limitless”

“Limitless” reviews

Kristin: Heartbroken. Not because of Tudor. He is pure gold. Love him and his perfect, raspy voice. But this song flatlines completely. It’s repetitive and frankly rather dull, it’s lacking power in every aspect and quality-wise, it is far behind his 2015 entry, “Save Us”. However, I am willing to give this a second chance, because the live auditions often look bland. Maybe this will be a banger when on stage in the semi-finals. Until then, my points are for Tudor and him alone.

Score: 5.5/10

Antranig: “Limitless” is trying way too hard in the verses and then the chorus comes along and everybody stops trying. Tudor basically repeats one word while somebody else delivers the chorus, which just isn’t compelling regardless. Vocally he is intriguing but by the time the song finishes, I wonder who in Romania actually thought this was good.

Score: 3/10

Zakaria: WOW! What a voice! Tudor’s voice touches you deep in your soul but unfortunately you cannot say the same about his entry. “Limitless” is such a waste of amazing talent. It is actually powerless and tasteless. I’m still looking forward to hearing this song live just for the pleasure of listening to Tudor’s voice and definitely NOT the song.

Score: 5/10

Jason: Tudor Turcu has a strong voice that is actually very pleasant on the ear. “Limitless” however, is not so pleasant. Devoid of any emotion or real power, it drags along for three minutes. The chorus is really strange and unenjoyable. “Limitless” definitely has limits.

Score: 3/10

Robyn: Tudor has a big rock voice, so it’s a strange experience when his voice is overshadowed by the woman singing the pre-recorded backing vocals. It takes away some of the power he should be putting into the song. But that could easily be fixed at the semi-final. Sadly though, regardless of that, “Limitless” still isn’t a captivating song.

Score: 4.5/10

In the Romanian Wiwi Jury, we have 13 jurors, but room for only five 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 1 and a high of 7.

WIWI JURY VERDICT: 4.05/10

SEE ALL OF OUR SELECTIA NATIONALA 2017 RANKINGS HERE

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