The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — continues to rank and review the 43 songs competing in Eurovision 2018. Next we head to Belarus to review national final winner and Ukraine pop star Alekseev with his song “Forever”. Did we want his song to be ours forever? Read on to find out!
Alekseev – “Forever”
“Forever”
Anthony: Despite the inevitable conclusion at Eurofest, Alekseev’s vocals were all over the place. A repeat performance in Lisbon and he won’t be so lucky. The Russian version sounded mysterious but magical, swapping it with English lyrics felt awkward enough to kill the mood. And like a Great British Bake Off showstopper, staging will either amaze you or flop with a soggy bottom.
Score: 7/10
Bernardo: I was really excited listening to the studio cut of “Forever” but the live performance was chaotic and so were Alekseev’s vocals. It was very hard for me to find a note on key — hopefully he can work this out before Lisbon. As it stands, it’s a nice mid-tempo song. It’s not incredible but it isn’t disposable. At the end of the day, it won’t hurt anyone.
Score: 6/10
Chris: “Forever” would have romped to a Eurovision victory in the 00’s, and maybe even the early part of this decade. But now, Eurovision may have passed the song by. The national final performance seemed to highlight that even Alekseev and his team recognise this issue, as they through a hefty staging gimmick behind it. It’s slightly more memorable than some though, and if Alekseev’s vocals have improved for the “original” version, don’t rule it out from the final.
Score: 5.5/10
Jovana: “Forever” is a decent song, one of those that follow the recipe on how to write an entry that will do well. It is has a little bit of everything, slower rhythm, faster rhythm, drama, piano, electronica etc. But I cannot escape a feeling that Alekseev could have done better, that he deserved something better. It sounds like his voice could belt out something bigger than this.
Score: 7.5/10
Padraig: Back during Belarus’ selection, it felt like you were only allowed to either love or hate “Forever”. But I’ve always sat somewhere in between. Few other songs set the mood so well, but at times the brooding and gloomy atmosphere veers dangerously close to creepy. And it soon begins to drag, especially during Alekseev’s excruciatingly tuneless national final performance. Thankfully, his Voice performances suggest that that was a one-off hiccup which we won’t have to live through again in Lisbon. Nonetheless, it’s clear why Alekseev switched allegiances from Ukraine to Belarus – “Forever” would have struggled to reach the Vidbir final, let alone win it.
Score: 5.5/10
William: “Forever” has a timeless quality. The classical melody could have been born in any number of decades, but the modern production pulls it firmly into 2018. The sound drips with nostalgia and longing, carrying a strong regional identity that translates well outside of Eastern Europe. The staging at the national final — flashing body suits and LED everything — took me out of this world, but the dodgy vocals brought me back to earth. Thankfully Alekseev has had plenty of time to work on that — and to find a crew of backing vocalists to complement his own talents. If it all comes together, he’ll more than claw his way out of the semi-final of death.
Score: 7.5/10
In the Wiwi Jury we have 20 jurors but only have room for six reviews. The remaining scores are below:
Angus: 3/10
Antranig: 5.5/10
Bogdan: 7.5/10
Cinan: 8/10
Deban: 7.5/10
Jonathan: 7.5/10
Jordi: 6/10
Kristin: 5/10
Luis: 6/10
Renske: 5.5/10
Robyn: 5.5/10
Ron: 8/10
Sebastian: 6.5/10
Steinunn: 5/10
We have removed the highest and lowest scores prior to calculating the average. This is to remove outliers and potential bias. We have removed a low of 3 and a high of 8.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 6.36/10
What do you think of this song? Share your own score and review below!
See all our Eurovision 2018 reviews and rankings
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First when I heard this song I could not understand why the melody sounds so familiar, and after a few times I I understood that it sounds exactly like Valeri Meladze & Viagra – Pritazhen’ya Bolshe Net, a famous Russian song. Do you think the same?
15 years ago I would have been all over this. It sounds like something out of Sweden’s Melodifestivalen back then (back when they were still great, member those days?).
As it is… it starts out a little boring and his nasal voice is a distraction… but the chorus is quite effective. I go back and forth with this. Currently more back than forth but it’s s decent pop song. Not sure it’s going places, though.
The original version of this was pretty decent. I have to say, I find the lyrics and the music video very creepy. It gives me stalker/murderer vibes. I’m not sure whether it’s meant to be that way. The new version of this isn’t terrible, but I find the buildup of the song to be awkward. I also don’t like the chorus after the bridge – it sounds a bit demonic. Overall it is a good song. I think it may qualify.
The Tolmachevys are his backing vocalists.
I gave up on supporting him when he and his team decided that he will be singing in full English. Then it got worse when Belarus obviously wanted to pick him by ignoring the rest of the Belarussian NF participants and the fact that the song had multiple revamps. But I still wish him good luck as he is still considered as a gem in the Ukrainian music scene.
You have a point there, well, of course you do… it’s just that semi 1 is so packed with potential worthy qualifiers, it would be such a waste…
But as you said, over the years, me too, I became an expert in my favourites failing to qualify, so I should be able to handle it :-):-)
This is a clear NQ for me. I like the vibes of the song but his overly nasal voice kills it beauty! This song was meant for somebody else!
its*
This is one of my favourite songs this year. However, I was let down by the new version. The “original version” would get and 7.5 from me but I would barely give the new one a 6.
real review: The original Forever has a sort of “broken doll” appeal. Tragic, but beautiful underlying slick production and beats. Modern meets humanity, and oddly enough, the English lyrics enhance the experience for me. Overall is a very decent song with a strong slavic identity, full of emotion and immediately catchy… …Then we got the piano version which sort of kills the above mentioned. They basically recorded his dodgiest vocals and pasted it on a studio version, hastily pasting them to the previous chorus and…no. Just why? Instead of remixing his song into being unsingable, he should have mastered Forever… Read more »
Sigh, I mostly agree with you, but I hope he will pull it through, it would be such a shame if he wouldn’t. Fingers crossed, find a medium way and please sort it out to please all!
@ Tibor
I agree with every word. I have exactly the same feelings although I’m not so generous and really wish that Belarus will have to stay in the semis and don’t take a spot away…
Whatever I might think about the song is overshadowed by the fact that this guy can’t sing and it’s not just the NF performance. There are other videos of him singing the song and they aren’t as tragic but still not good. At some point we gotta stop making excuses for him and admit that maybe he’s just not very talented.
And I say this as someone who actually likes the serial killer vibes of the song.
Has someone seen Bulgaria live yet? Did you really check all the other competitors? Did anyone? Is this The Voice?
Bulgaria doesn’t matter here, we’re talking about Belarus.
“It’s a *song* contest, not a *singing* contest” doesn’t mean the voice isn’t essential, it means IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE A GIVEN THAT EVERYONE IN THE CONTEST IS A GOOD SINGER ALREADY. It’s a bare minimum requirement, and this guy doesn’t fulfill it.
Yes, I feel the same! He sounds like a drunk in a karaoke party. Well, I think the same about Lena’s Satellite, so maybe he has chances, although she wasn tune deaf.
Vocals 3/10
Song 2/10
SORRY I MUST TO SAY THIS IN SPANISH esta cancion me taladra los oidos, la melodia se me hace tan mediocre Perdon pero nomas no #43
Rough translation of Eurofan Mexico’s comment: “This song pierces my ears, the melody seems to me to be quite mediocre. Sorry, but not sorry. #43”
(Ouch.)
Correction to translation: ‘Sorry, but no more than #43.”
Ojala que no puedes votar!
Solo puede votar por sus favoritos. No hay un voto negativo en Eurovisión – no existe. 🙂
Pero no desde Mexico
I like Belaru’s song.
It’s nearly in my top 10.
8/10
Thanks Tibor. I enjoyed reading your comment. 🙂
I’m aware of Alekseev hit-songs and while it keeps his usual melancholic mood, what instantly downgrades this song is unfitting English and pronounciation. He makes redundant intention on consonants, only making it worse – it’s a common mistake for us easterners though. Would I be a fan of song, I’d switch immediately to another version. His vocals are good in studio. Melody is nice but with its pace and swaying arrangement song gets slightly repetitive, making me wish to come out of dejected atmosphere. Maybe some key change during choruses would help it. Lyrics are kind of too soft. It… Read more »
When I listen to this live performance (uploaded 28.03.2018) I can only give it 4,5/10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahsGKoroL4w
Good looking guy with a bad vocal… i think he will stay in semi…of course he has fans in own country Ukraine and in Russia but who gonna vote for him in semi 1?
Billy Bob He has many fans in Estonia, Azerbaijan, Armenia
I don’t wanna be his fur-eh-baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
-5/10
I really like the studio version, it’s pretty catchy. However those live vocals in the NF were awful and I’m not so sure about that light suit. The song is good but there are better ones in SF1 so its a NQ for me. 5.5/10
Alekseev isn’t a good live singer. In the studio version I could feel the autotune like a mallet on my ears, and that makes me think that unless he pulls a miracle, he’ll be in trouble. People have gotten so used to having their voices edited with computers that they can be sloppy in their singing in the recording studio, but live? Man, they become huge disappointments.
Belarus – Alekseev: “Forever” Keys: A minor Time Sigs: 4/4 Song structure: Intro – Verse 1 – Verse 2 – Chorus – Extension – Verse 3 [+ break] – Chorus – Extension – Bridge – Instrumental – Reprise – Extension Harmony: Four chords, with changes in Bridge Influences: Pop & Folk Music comments: The music is very moving, written in the “key of anguish” that’s usually reserved for tragedies. The melody sounds like it could be a folk tune, and the backing track is superbly laden with harmonic clashes that really showcases the key to the fullest of emotions. Musically… Read more »
Bravo! This is what I call a proper musical analysis!
You don’t give vocal marks?
No, not this year.
Last year I gave a performance mark, but I recieved strong complaints from fans and some of the act’s managers. To avoid offending them again, I am only analysing the song content this year.
Wait, what? Their managers reached out to you?
On that side of things, it’s not as dramatic as it sounds – It was just a professional disagreement in person at an event. I have since apologised and changed my approach to song contests generally (not just Eurovision). As far as Wiwibloggs is concerned, I just don’t want to upset the fans needlessly. There are performance critiques I wrote on here last year that I now regret writing. I see now that it’s not right for me to judge their vocals or dance talents if the whole point of the contest is to judge the songs, not the performers.… Read more »
Thank you for the beautiful analysis! As for the lyrics, in my view, this is sad song about an impossible love, this man is rambling about happiness and forever and always when he knows this love is doomed, never going to happend. I quite like the choppy lyrics, they make an emotional love struck feverish delirium. I think they add to the magic.
Thank you. 🙂 About the lyrics, I agree that it is beautiful and dramatic poetry. But in my opinion, the delerium effect works very well in a poetry reading, but not so well in a structured pop song, unless it is made clear earlier in the song. Poetry is a slightly different skill to writing “lyrics”. It’s clear that the intention is to be dramatic, but the dramatic emphases of the lyrics are in the wrong place to match that of the overall music. To give more clarity to the song, a different songwriter might have referenced the part about… Read more »
I think the bridge is the most beautiful part of a very beautiful song, and when the singer concludes saying “blind before you” his voice always changes, becames metallic, distant, as if he acknowledges his lunacy. You know from the begining that something is deeply wrong even though he makes childish promises, things are not set clear till the end, only hints of tragic.
Yaa, agree with you, this is very sad love song actually, despite the fact of confident performance. I like the fact that LED won’t be allowed in Lisbon, they should be focused more on his face, that lights only draw attention from the song.
I feel like the song is about a psychopath or a stalker or something like that, and that’s why the song sounds unsettling. Also in the video you see the headline on the newspaper about unsolved murders so this might be about a serial killer; which fits well with Alekseev’s unique color of voice. If only he could actually sing, this would be an interesting concept.
Lol, interesting concept, agree 😀
Oh wow – I didn’t know about that newspaper headline in the video! 😮 That’s a really dark interpretation of the song.
Alekseev would be a rather pretty villain though. 😀
My name had a typo in it. Sorry about that.
Pretty villain, that’s actually neverending theme of many movies 😀
Yep, hot and dangerous. I’m in!
Yeah, and now that I’m looking at the frame I realize the article itself talks about Pearl Harbor, so the headline “Another horror murder in Mythos, Body count now up to four” must’ve been put the on purpose. And there are pen scribbles in a foreign language (russian/ukrainian/belarusian) around it too.
Did you notice the Braille sheet in the begining foreshadoing what is to come?
Great review as usual, Mask. 🙂 I really don’t like the clashes on the chorus then. But I guess I could get used to them if they lyrics fit better what they’re trying to do.
Edd is giving his scores in the videos; how come his scores aren’t included in the articles?
Well, perhaps at time he wasn’t included to lucky twenty?
Forever’s title and lyrics might suggest eternity, but this was dead on arrival even before Alekseev’s vocals gave it the funeral from hell.
One of the worst songs competing this year. We have other dated songs this year, but they manage to elicit emotion and have considerably more quality.
Belarus 2018 will be similar like Poland 2016, Austria 2016,Croatia 2017 (big difference between juries votes and televote).. My prediction Belarus in bottom 5 with juries in final, and in TOP 6 with televote (more points then him from televote will get Israel, Sweden,Czech Republic, Belgium, Russia) , in total from 8 to 12 place in final.
Well, what can I say? I do not understand in the slightest how this is getting as much love as it is. The entire entry is just trying so hard to appeal to as many people as possible it just ends up being alienating. First of all, let’s get it out of the way and talk about those vocals. They’re atrocious. And that performance in Minsk was excruciating to watch (don’t blame it on the live stream or the sound, it was just poorly sung, period). His diction ain’t nothing to write home about either. The song probably has the… Read more »
”First of all, let’s get it out of the way and talk about those vocals. They’re atrocious”
That’s exactly for me key point of this performance which makes me like it, LMAO
+ the fact that he looks confident enough to not give a f about it+ broken English, what else do you want 😛
I don’t understand. So you like the fact that he doesn’t sound good live??
Yes, but don’t mind me, given the fact that Sebastien Tellier – Divine is one of my all time favorite performances.
That song is SUCH. a guilty pleasure lmaooo I love it and I don’t care what anyone thinks
OK, so it’ll be a little more about Belarus. The case is complicated as he revamped his song drastically. I loved the first version, it was perfect for me (I have to note that here I don’t rate staging and live performance as not everybody showed it yet). After Alekseev decided for “slower” version, I was disappointed. I didn’t like the pathos of his low and high notes (sometimes it sounds tiring and like he was trying too hard). When the song goes further, it takes the former energy, but again, I don’t like the ending in the new style.… Read more »
As a song, I find no faults in it. It’s just not very striking or interesting. Clearly, there’s some melancholy in it, which gives it a better score than what I originally thought of the song. Alekseev fails completely live though, and that’s a major worry that I have coming May.
Final rating: 5/10
Writing this, but I’m waiting for the 568th final version of “Forever”. The good thing is that it has that Eastern European sound, and I like that. The bad thing is everything else. The song is bland and weak, but we know he will bring an expensive staging to Lisbon. He’s probably working on those vocals too, or at least he should. 3.0/10 Prediction: Too many acts will heavily rely on the staging this year, so not all of them will qualify. This is one of the weakest attempts of the first semifinal, so I’m not confident about his chances.… Read more »
3.5/10. I don’t like this; it is one I would happily skip. The chorus does have the ability to get stuck in your head, but as for the rest of the song I don’t actually remember it…
Jeez, this song made me depressive, it’s something dark and gloomy in it, like autumn rainy day.. Having said that, it’s my guilty pleasure, especially with that LED suit performance 😛
Wiwi jury
1)Slovenia 6.58
2)Belarus 6.36
3)Denmark 6.17
4)Moldova 6.08
Modified Score
1) Denmark 8.33
2)Slovenia 8.17
3)Moldova 8
4)Belarus 7.67
Total:
1) Slovenia 14.75
2)Denmark 14.5
3)Moldova 14.08
4)Belarus 14.03
Rant all you want but this is the winner or top 5. It’s a melancholic and mysterious love song, with a tinge of tragic, a classic. The voice matches perfectly, sweet and strange, the video is so classy, the boy is beautiful. For me is last year’s Salvador Sobral, from the first moment I said, this is it, this is the winner, screw the odds & polls.
I love you so much for your words: I feel the same about Forever. :’)
This song leaves me cold and wanting so much more. The drama in the music doesn’t come across through the lyrics and staging and the revamp has reduced even that.Add to that his lack of good live vocals and we had a Manel Navarro situation happening in Belarus this year.
He has fans in the USSR region and will probably get atleast 60 televote points from pro-USSR countries.But that still leaves him short by 60 points and I’m not sure the other countries and juries are necessarily going to give him that.
A 5/10.
Well, I wrote a huge comment about this song, but the Website won’t let me publish even a single bit of it, so…. No Review for this song I guess. 😀
Oh, yeah I’ve seen that! It wasn’t there when I checked, but glad that it got through. (I’m not a Spammer 😉 )
Okay, unpopular opinion: I reeeeaaaally like this song. There’s something dark about the melody that I love, something mystical. The verses build that mystical atmosphere and in the chorus it explodes into… the typical Russian song. Which is good, I like that! He also has a very special voice, which I (unlike everybody else) also like. And in a way it reminds me just a Little bit of Sennek and Lana del ray (just in a way, Lana is a legend of Course). And here are the negative Things: The staging is bullsh*t… Alekseev, you’re not the next Sergey Lazarev.… Read more »
We have different opinions about the song but I couldn’t agree more about the staging. It has nothing to do with the song, it’s like someone has bought some expensive leds and had to find a way of using them to justify the money spent.
Oh, and I loved the “space ranger”! haha
It is perfectly okay to love this song. Actually, judging by the comments, I’d say that the consensus is very mixed. I love your review, and love hearing different opinions. I might not like this song, but as I said, I can see it as a grower if the focus the performance more on the dark edge instead of the sugary parts.
I agree with you, I actually kinda like this song by the studio version ofc. I immediately recognize that it’s coming from Eastern Europe by that dark melody which I like (Lana is queen indeed). I had exactly the same thinking about the staging, I found it odd and unsuitable for this song. About language… yeah it’s better in Russian. I think it goes to Julia Samoylova too, both of them sounds like they aren’t comfortable with singing in English. It’s such a pity and kind of missed opportunity, they could’ve join the club of songs in native language this… Read more »
Some of the Eurovision entries, including some I really like, are out of tune even in the official version but I’m ok with that. Most of this year’s songs are never heard live. Lots and lots of Eurovision singers have atrocious English accents but did ok in the contest because nobody cares in the end. So why suddenly is this a deal braker?
Belarus dissapointed me badly when they decided to change the first version + singer CAN’T sing the song live. It is like, the song was written to other singer, but Alekseev decided to sing this song.
I mean, they change the song 100 times and it goes nowhere. Better Alekseev learned how to sing in live instead of making song any better. My score: 3/10
How can you say this? He is a profesional singer, he does this for a living, and very succesfully, too. Here is Forever, live, from yesterday, in Moscow Vegas arena https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5oBP6O7qXQ
This is just meh, sorry. I don’t like it.
Still can’t sing. But well, he’s famous in a music industry that isn’t really renowned for its singers’ vocal abilities (no offense).
If someone with decent vocals sang it, it’d be a very good song. But his voice ruins it completely.
Could qualify, but it would be very borderline, & they’d have to drown out his vocals Samra style. If it does better than Naviband I’ll probably break something. For those worrying about him getting pretty-boy votes, they don’t always help – look at Brendan Murray or Lighthouse X.
His singing is just as good as out of tune navidad male singer last year that the juries praised for not bothering to learn to sing so it means Belarus is guaranteed to make final from lack of talent. Juries greatly enjoy navidad drunken pub singing the most and lots of shouting instead of a real chorus. Make them stand in a stupid boat waving arms and you dont need to be able sing or have a song. Well done Belarus and juries
#Justiceforverona
Nah, I prefer Naviband by miles. Just no, Alekseev, just no! Even if your song wasn’t doomed enough you screwed even more with that sh*t of a revamp. Sorry, man your song my have a modern beat, but the whole package makes me sick.
Placement: 40/43.
Denmark: 22/43
Slovenia: 30/43
Moldova: 35/43
Despite some lyrics and a dodgy live performance I still really like this. Shame it’s in the first semi. I think if they dont over do the staging and practice more on his vocals he has a strong chance of qualifying. Also the piano version of this song sounds amazing, it has an amazing melody. 8.5/10.
BELARUS – There is something really annoying in this song. Sure, his live pronunciation is awful (I hear ”We use final prayer” instead of ”Windows wide open”), but that’s definitely not all. The instrumental is really good, actually. It oozes something romantic and spooky at the same time. The lyrics *could* go the same way, if tweaked just a bit. The thing is – I believe this was supposed to be a creepy one-sided villain’s declaration of love, something like Phantom of the Opera. Somewhere in the process, something occurred to present the story as straightforward romance and it ends-up… Read more »
I totally get the Phantom of the Opera vibe on the first verses, Colin (and I would be 100% on board if he could achieve something on that lane), but I guess we agree that the chorus throws everything away. I wonder if the English version is completely loyal to the original lyrics.
Well, these are the Nasvegda lyrics directly from Google translate:
It will not hurt, from the sky – water.
We are happy people.
In the rain without an umbrella.
We will not be let go.
I am with you forever.
Forever…
We’ll open the windows.
Above take off.
There are also two of us.
We will step over the edge.
Only with you.
With you and know.
Forever…
Surprisingly, they are really similar to the English version.
So, translation wasn’t the problem here. And I’m glad “in the rain without an umbrella” hasn’t made to the final version. 😛
Phantom of opera is spot on, Colin.
Thanks. If I felt like this was the direction, my rating would be much higher. I sense a great disharmony between the music and the content. However, totally get that someone would have this one as a favorite and I hope it can be a grower for me too.
I’ll try to post my review in about an hour, once I have properly woken up. But basically, I had at first not fully understood the disconnect between the lyrics and the music until a YouTube fan explained to me how it is supposed to work. After that I had to acknowledge that the song DOES work for people listening in Eastern Europe, and so the mark slowly started to increase. Then if you take into account Performances (which I’m not doing this year) then you’ll see how with each live performance Alekseev has made an effort and improved his… Read more »
I’ve written here a few days ago that there’s something about this song that bothers me a lot and I wasn’t being able to figure out what it is. Purple Mask suggested me some reasons for that to happen. The first would be that the drama on the lyrics doesn’t match the drama on the music. It makes sense. In the chorus, the melody sounds way darker than what he’s singing about. While in the verses he sings things like “craving to say her name” and “it’s driving me crazy”, matching the dark background, in the chorus he’s singing about… Read more »
Great review, Sabrina. I basically second everything you said. Music is too dark for it’s ”lovey-dovey” lyrics. With a better delivery of dark feeling, it could easily be a 6. I might have been a bit harsh giving it only a 4, but the rating I was going for (5) would indicate I am either indifferent or with equally mixed feeling about the song. The thing is, there is some unpleasantness I feel that pushes it to 4, even if this is by no means a terrible entry (That’s what 2, 1 and 0 ratings are for).
I don’t think any act this year deserves a grade below 4, would you agree? Even those who are ranked low on my personal taste have things that can elevate them. Belarus has a lot of space to grow, Iceland has a charismatic singer, Moldova can be very fun to watch… San Marino is the one I can’t see anything redeeming about, but it’s not like I hate it. I’m just indifferent.
There is only one song I rated lower than a 4, and that’s primarily for it’s laziness. San Marino ain’t it, although it’s not really a good song either (I will decimate it like I did Belarus for sure). Most entries I rated higher than 5/10. I am really happy with how this year shaped-up. I think 30 songs or so are pretty nice, while my top 10 are songs I consider absolutely amazing!
For me this year there is only one entry bloe 4 and this is Norway, it’s a mockery, a lazy attempt to a ESC song. Love, love, peace, peace but lacking any charm. Sorry.
I wouldn’t consider Norway’s entry that bad, but I understand how you feel about it. Ir relies too much on Rybak’s charm. If it had a different singer, this would never be in Eurovision.
Hi Sabrina. L’Oiseau was referring to the metre of the English words in the Chorus and how they should generate a natural rhythm when sung, but the melody does not conform to that rhythm and so it sounds awkward and forced. For example the Chorus goes: “WE will go FOR it, and I KNOW you’ll MINE for-ehh-Verr.” So the emphasis on the melody is on “we”, “for”, “know” and “mine”… but when we speak the words in English we emphasise the phrase as: “We will GO for it, and I KNOW you’ll be mine forever.” I hope the differences are… Read more »
Thank you Mask! Got it and agree 100% with L’oiseau on that one. The way he sings the chorus is awkward. Maybe this can also affect the way he finishes those sentences?
To be fair, Alekseev is putting a lot of effort into learning how to speak and pronounce English better, and does seem to be improving in every live performance since his National Final. Hopefully by the time he gets to Lisbon, he will be a strong contender. 🙂
Hi guys!
Yes exactly Purple Mask. Also this exemple stand out for me: ‘No need to worRY, rain falling down / It’s our happiest stoRY’, whereas in English the tonic accents of worry or story are not on the ‘ry’ but on the first syllable, at least for my non-native English ears…
Great reviews btw Sabrina and Purple Mask
Thank you L’oiseau! You guys really helped me solving this puzzle. This is exactly what was bothering me since the beginning. I’m glad to know that Alekseev is working on that, so maybe there’s still time to improve it.
Thanks L’Oiseau. 🙂
5,5/10
I’ve got mixed feelings about this entry. While the song has its moments (the beginning of the chorus has stuck in my head since the beginning), there is some kind of dated (not positively nostalgic) feel surrounding it. Alekseev’s voice sounds quite goatish in many parts of the song (especially when he sings “Foreeeeeever”) which makes me lose interest at around 1:20 every time I listen to it. After last year’s great entry, this is definitely a step back for Belarus.
My personal ranking: 5.5/10 (33rd overall)
My prediction: 16–19 in the first semi final
The song sounds so much better in its native language. It’s a shame he decided to sing in English.
I second that. He sounds much more comfortable in Russian.
So I’m kind of confused how to rank this song, because I loved the old version and it was in my top 10, but the new is weaker for me, still good though in my top 20 for sure. But I’m not really worried about his vocals or performance, because I know he will deliver. My score is 8,5/10.
1. Belarus 8,5/10
2. Slovenia 7,5/10
3. Denmark 7,5/10
4. Moldova 4/10
Poor, old pop, girls will vote, because Alekseev is beautiful, and in the East Europe is known.
Yes – that’s what I fear too – this song will get too much votes because of his looks.
where is he known in East E? I don’t see many East E countries in semi 1 also..
There is something captivating about this song and I often find myself singing the chorus for some reason. However, I feel like it doesn’t really take off, it doesn’t go anywhere. Lots of potential but only a part of it is taken advantage of. I’m afraid it might be hard for Belarus to qualify from such a strong Semi.
6/10