The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — continues to rank and review the 43 songs competing in Eurovision 2018. Next we journey to Belgium where Laura Groeseneken aka Sennek has the dramatic “A Matter of Time”. Did we think she was licenced to thrill? Read on to find out!
Sennek – “A Matter of Time”
“A Matter of Time” reviews
Deban: Oozing sophistication and polish — “A Matter Of Time” stands tall as one of Eurovision 2018’s standout entries. Groeseneken steers her craft with ease by delivering a track which straddles several decades of easy-listening pop. Furthermore, this composition beholds a rare quality that slowly unfolds beautifully on stage and on screen.
Score: 8.5/10
Jordi: Sophisticated at its finest, Sennek’s “A Matter of Time” is ready to hit Eurovision as only Belgium could do it – again! With a slow boiling tempo and a flair for drama, Sennek captivates since the very first notes by crafting such an epic tune. This song just flows soulfully, inviting and driving the listener to a journey of proper mystery and edginess, with doses of orchestral pleasure. We know Belgium delivers when it comes to the main stage. And by having that and this year’s offering, the small but powerful country is again a strong contender for the win! Bravísima!
Score: 9.5/10
Kristin: “A Matter of Time” is a surprisingly refreshing tune, considering this type of music. It indeed takes a subtle nod to Bond themes through the years, but there is also a lot of Portishead going on, and a hint of Catatonia. The ’90s indie-pop darlings are now combined in a modern song, which oozes coolness. Last year, Blanche seemed moody and depressed while Sennek is her complete opposite, with her approachable persona and a bright voice which is also dark underneath. Belgium should expect similar results as last year because this is top-ten material.
Score: 8/10
Padraig: The Bond comparisons are undeniable, yet it would be lazy to dismiss “A Matter of Time” as a mere knock-off. Every element of the track oozes a class that other supposedly Bond-style entries – Georgia 2017, Albania 2016 – could only dream of. Where big-lunged divas bully us into submission with their sheer vocal power, Sennek’s indie sensibilities allow her to add layers of nuance. And while it takes some time for the song to build, it lingers on long after the final note ends.
Score: 8/10
Renske: Ja! Sennek really took off where Blanche ended last year. “A Matter Of Time” is totally what I hope Sennek’s entry would be and she is totally delivering it. She has an amazing voice and with the right staging and a bit of luck, I can see her bringing the contest back to Belgium. I can’t believe that she works as a visual merchandiser at IKEA for a living actually!
Score: 10/10
Robyn: “A Matter of Time” has been compared to a 1990s Bond theme song, but I am all for that. Sennek serves all the drama and glamour that the genre deserves, but she also brings her own alt-pop style. This is not a pastiche of an older style — it’s very much a product of 2018. The song just needs some suitably glam visuals to go with it and Belgium will easily be on track to another great result.
Score: 9.5/10
In the Wiwi Jury we have 20 jurors but only have room for six reviews. The remaining scores are below:
Angus: 8/10
Anthony: 7/10
Antranig: 8.5/10
Bernardo: 5/10
Bogdan: 9/10
Chris: 6.5/10
Cinan: 8.5/10
Jonathan: 8.5/10
Jovana: 9/10
Luis: 9/10
Ron: 7.5/10
Sebastian: 5/10
Steinunn: 9/10
William: 7/10
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 5 and a high of 10.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 8.11/10
What do you think of this song? Share your own score and review below!
Her performance in Madrid last night was her best so far and for me she is back on track with it. It was a convincing performance. I am shure they will be clever with the staging because she knows how to create visual effects and is working very hard by analyzing what works and so on. The weakest point about the whole thing is that her voice isn’t that convincing in the higher range.
What do you think after Madrid?
I think there is no way Belgium can finish in Top 5 three years in a row. Let’s see.
Good because they didn’t in 2016! Laura was 10th.
Wallonia could easily finish 3 years in a row in the TOP5, it’s Flanders that will break the pattern. (Laura Tesoro was “only” 10th & I’m not just yet 100% sure Sennek will qualify.)
Maybe she wrote just these interesting chord changes without really considering what makes her voice sound the best.
This range fits her voice seemingly much better, what do you think: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SI63JXKubw
Sorry it was meant to be a response to @Rose – it got at the wrong station 😉
Being a die-hard Bond fan, I heard the “Tomorrow Never Dies” allusions right away. However, I consider them more of a post-modern musical quote rather than “plagiarism”. The song has a quite unique feeling and one can hear that its creators really know what they’re doing. The changing tempo is breathtaking and ensures that I stay alert over the course of three minutes. My personal ranking: 9/10 (7th overall) My prediction: 1-5 in the first semi final, 6-10 in the grand final ______________ 1st FR (10.0) | 2nd AL (10.0) | 3rd PT (10.0) | 4th NL (9.5) | 6th… Read more »
I see qualities in this song but I am not convinced thath it can make it to the finals. It’s like a plain turkey steak, with no side dish. Which is totally OK for a rainy Tuesday in November but Eurovision is a feast.. 6.5/10
Your comment is very witty. It is a strange coincidence the father topic – also SuRie speaks to her father in the second verse. And maybe Netta thinks of her father too as a boy 😉
Witty doesn’t mean what you think it means.
funny is the right word – right?
I am sure Sennek won’t win – she couldn’t create a magic winning moment on stage in Israel/Amsterdam – maybe she will be able to in Lisbon and the TV cameras can create this moment of “elegance” that convinces. But I think she needs to win you over with the chorus – and I must say there is no way she can create a winning moment with these “before it all echos echos”. I think the notes of “before it all” are not good for her voice and for the song. I think the chorus doesn’t make her vocal strength… Read more »
Well, she co-wrote the song especially for Eurovision. In other words, this song is specifically made for her voice alone
But I have to admit that I was a bit let down hearing the first live performances
Maybe she wrote just these interesting chord changes without really considering what makes her voice sound the best.
This range fits her voice seemingly much better, what do you think: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SI63JXKubw
Here we have the same situation like last year.
10/10 for the audio version
2/10 for live performance
To the Moderators: There are some awful hate reply comments in this section, in several different languages. Please do what you can. Thank you.
This song sounds like elevator music. Boring. 4/10
10’s, 10’s, 10’s across the board!!
Side-by-side against Blanche’s “City Lights”, this one doesn’t impress nearly as much. It reminds me of Ann-Sophie’s “Black Smoke” (Germany 2015), and I thought that was a good but not spectacular song.
Got a better opinion, bub? 😛 Or did I touch a nerve?
I like this song, but it has started to slip down from my top. I don’t know, perhaps I just don’t listen to it that much, yet I won’t skip it either. To be honest I like her more than Blanche. I adore the aesthetics in the music video, thus it comes across more pleasing to watch, rather than to listen without it. But when I saw the first live, I was like oh gurl daamnnn, I was shocked, I didn’t expect to sound that bad. Even though the verses were fine, but it turned out that the chorus might… Read more »
Bonsoir Lisboa, Belle chanson de la Belgique encore cette année même si je trouve que celle de l’an dernier était mieux. Ce serait bien d’essayer de chanter en Français de temps en temps comme Sandra Kim lors de la dernière victoire belge : “J’aime j’aime la vie !!!”. Par exemple : “J’aime, j’aime le vin !”. Lors de l’Euro 2016, il y avait une super chanson belge. “Le football c’est super, y’a plein de supporters Tu gagnes, tu perds, tu bois de la bière !” Voici ma note : 7,5 / 10 entre la 11e et la 15e place pour… Read more »
Eh bien, le français est l’une des langues officielles en Belgique et a donc le droit de commenter ses deux cents en français.
It’s a Bond theme innit. This was covered by Conchita. Do something different.
It’s fine but nothing more than that
It does have a strong whiff of a 90s Bond Theme to it. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Is it a winner? I would say not. But it should certainly be left side of the score board.
Belgium is number 3 on my top so I quite agree with this score, and I think they deserve to win eventually, even more so than Bulgaria. They have been sending many great songs, in different styles. I have saying for years that Conchita was unique as James Bond esc song and here we have another great Bond esc song. Even if it doesn’t win, it will be remembered.
5.0/10
The ultimate jury bait. I hope it stays in the semis.
She’s presenting a song for the juries, not for the people.
I’m not from Portugal, you idiot.
One of the few songs this year I liked instantly. Beautiful, mysterious, reminding us of James Bond movies with Adele vibes. One of my favourites!
8.5/10
I have a feeling this could be this year’s Greta Salome/Norma John. It is a very good song but I find it boring. Not sure how it will translate onto the stage, needs really good staging.
Unfortunately, there will be ”shocking” non-qualifiers, certainly in semi-final 1. I have a hunch that at least one among ”dark-themed” favorites: Belgium, Greece, Bulgaria or Finland, will do a ”Greta Salome 2016” with being too moody on stage and not accessible enough for the audience.
I agree
Same here. I wouldn’t be surprised if TWO OGAE top-5 finishers have trouble qualifying or fail outright.
Colin, out of the trio Finland-Austria-Belgium
1 will fail to qualify and possibly even 2 of this countries.
And THIS regardless of the quality of these songs or of how great they will sound live.
BECAUSE this is just how Eurovision works. This trio (Finland-Austria-Belgium) of old time western European countries just have it harder to cause an impact than countries like Greece, Armenia, Azerbaijan…
I also have some mixed feelings about this one. Like many, I also loved Rythm inside (my #4 in 2015) and City Lights ( my #1 in 2017), so I had high expectations about Belgium this year. I also loved Sennek’s version of Amar Pelos Dois, so I was sure it would be amazing. When ‘A matter of time’ got out first, it didn’t really impress me ( I also wrote about it here). I liked the polished production and her elegant voice, but I found the chorus a bit bland, so I didn’t know what to think. It took… Read more »
Belgium loves Salvador and Senneka is Salvador!
Belgium is overrated this year. Yes its quality, but its also quite boring. It will do worse than many of you predict. I still have to laugh when i read comments about this song winning esc this year 😀 It wont happen. She is likeable though, but so far she’s not convincing at all in her live performances. Belgium also has a terrible draw. This could easily miss out, wouldnt surprise me at all. I do think it will qualify thanks to the jury. But its not your winner.
Terrible song and terrible voice. Sorry 2/10
The Live performance’s were kinda .. meh. The song is good , but the live version doesnt improve it in any way , when a song has too good studio version , the live version can really struggle. These scores from the jury are fare if you only look at the studio version.
These PREPARTY performances are NOT a reflection of the actual show. Use common sense people.
NEW :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SS1GFv4xwd8
AWS-Viszlát nyár english version!
Brilliant ! Shivers! Better in Hungarian! You have all my 20 votes! Proud of you! Hungary for the win!
Beautiful! They really put an effort to make English lyrics very similar to those in Hungarian. Of course, original is original, but this is very, very good. Thanks, AWS!
This is the first venture of Dutch Belgium in the dark electro-pop trend that their French brothers have been in for a while now. And it is really strong and credible. I really like the fact that it’s a Bond style song that is, for a change, subdued. Usual Bond style ESC songs are loud and shouty, but this one pulls it back to create an engaging atmosphere, kind of like a new way to present bond. Lyrics are incredible and the chorus sticks well. Regardless of the above, I feel this song might fade a bit on the eyes… Read more »
Sorry that I haven’t read all your reviews, might you tell me who is in your top 5 so far? I know Albania is.
Wow, I’ve found my Eurovision twin. Although I’d also sneak France in there for a cheaty top 7.
Nice comments on Sennek – I have the same mixed feelings. Thanks for a nice post, Tibor!
I remember when I first time listened to this song I thought ”Really nice song, well done”.. but I didn’t listen it anymore since then 😛
Simmply not my cup of tea, maybe because I’ve never been fan of Bond-ish songs, even less Bond movies.. She will need ”killer” staging if she wants to get through ”killer” semi, but I think this should qualify. Good luck 🙂
y lo desafinada que? a ver ahi que hacemos, SE QUEDARA PEGADA
Ironically, the top 2 songs in the Wiwi Jury for the moment (Belgium and Bulgaria) are my votes for the 2 most overrated songs of the competition. This one reminds me of lounge music from the late 80s / early 90s and not in a cool retro way. It seems to have a lot of fans among hardcore Eurovision fans so it will probably be fine, but I will totally understand if its charms are lost on your normal Eurovision fan and it’s a shock non-qualifier.
I agree. Belgium and Bulgaria are the definition of overrated. Throw Czech Republic in there as well.
and Israel….
Blackbird, blackbird, don’t sing to me …
She doesn’t look like Isabelle Huppert to me, but the house in that video of hers reminds me a lot of the house in “Elle.” Girl better lock them doors.
I think that NOTHING Belgium sends in the next years could ever beat ”Rythm inside”, because it’s probably one of my favourite Eurovision Songs ever, maybe it is the one. So of Course Belgium won’t beat this for me… I really liked City lights and it seems like they’re kinda going for that artsy Kind of song again, but this isn’t quite enough. I really want to love this song, because usually I do love These Kind of Songs, but I just can’t and it leaves me cold. They should make it to the final tho
Same, ‘Rhytm inside” is still unbeatable in my list and Blanche is 2nd.
Rhythm Inside was heavily inspired by Lorde 😛 City Lights is in its own universe
Never mind, I like Lorde anyway.. I hoped that they will follow this fine route in this year also, instead they choose.. Bond 😛
hahah fair enough
Can’t stand this song. Boring and pointless. Hope she wont qualify.
I loved Belgium’s recent entries but this seems pretentious to me. It’s a good enough and deserves to qualify, but that ranking…just no.
Good enough song*
Pretty much like Bulgaria, Belgium is a country that has been improving recently in terms of both quality and success chances. This song is very artsy, well produced, well composed and contemporary. It just needs a good live performance with solid vocals and effective staging and it’s an easy qualifier, especially with the juries.
7.5/10
This doesn’t work for me. With Loic Nottet and Blanche I felt that Belgium pushed the boundaries of Eurovision. This feels like a dated and tired Bond theme.
Close to my favorite of the year. Alternates between this and Portugal. Great voice, great intensity. Belgium knows how to do this and do it well, although I hope they change it up a bit more next year.
Totally Unrelated note : OGAE Poll comes in from another 4 clubs OGAE Latvia 1 point went to Bulgaria 2 points went to Lithuania 3 points went to Belarus 4 points went to Ireland 5 points went to Austria 6 points went to Estonia 7 points went to Sweden 8 points went to Australia 10 points went to the Czech Republic 12 points went to Israel! OGAE Serbia 1 point went to Finland 2 points went to Italy 3 points went to Sweden 4 points went to Belgium 5 points went to Denmark 6 points went to France 7 points… Read more »
The rest of the world knows what’s up! Poor UK still getting slept on,
Wow.. 4 points from Latvia! Cheers OGAE! Atleast we won’t get zero when the OGAE voting is over…someone likes us.. somewhere haha
Aww, I really like your song, Darren! It’s simple, but very sweet. Unfortunately in such a strong semi your chances aren’t that good. Still, good luck. <3
Aw thanks Weißbrot! Kind words 🙂
Looks like my votes in ROTW made no difference at all. At least Estonia and Italy got some points!
The song is an exact copy of the music style the band “Hooverphonic” introduced. Listen to “mad about you” by Hooverphonic and then listen to ” a matter of time”… you will feel that it’s the same song. Therefore lack of originality.
Haha, Alex Callier from Hooverphonic wrote the song together with her, of course it sounds like Hooverphonic 😀
Unlike others in Wiwi land, not a big fan of this song. Perhaps it’s the genre, but it’s rather derivative of Bond movies and nothing original nor authentic. I’m not confident how this will pan out on stage, either. From what I’ve seen live, it’s just ok. Overall, it gets a 7/10, but does not make my top 20. It will qualify, but maybe struggle to gain top 5. Preferred Loic.
Get some class. 🙂
This is my favourite.9/10.
Everything’s fine is she gets to hit those high notes of the chorus. Top 10 material. If not, this won’t even make it to the finals.
I don’t know how it will work as an Eurovision act (more about this later on), but this is my favorite song on this year’s contest. It doesn’t have a powerful message like “Mercy”, the lyrics aren’t as brilliant as in “Non mi avete fatto niente”, Sennek’s vocals aren’t impressive as Eugent’s (though I love them both), but “A Matter of Time” has something that I value a lot when I think about music, movies or literature: rhythm. It’s not about the beat, but the structure. This is a song that knows exactly when to attack and when to retreat.… Read more »
“9/10 (it would be a 9.5 if it wasn’t for Tel Aviv’s performance)” Exactly the same for me, Sabrina.
The funny thing is that by the videos I’ve seen by the time she was announced as Belgium’s act, I wasn’t expecting to be worried about her live performance. So I hope it’s just “a matter of time” to get her vocals on the right track.
I have the exact same feeling. We know she’s a good singer if you see her live perfomances of other songs.
Also “A Matter of Time” is written for her. I can’t imagine she will not be able to nail this live…
The silver lining is that this happened when there was still time to check what was going wrong. It’s not good that she’ll arrive to Lisbon under pressure, but maybe she could take many people by surprise if she delivers a great performance on the semi.
It starts out with such promise, the verses are really drawing me in… but I’m not a fan of the chorus. I keep expecting more.
It’s good. Moody. Bond in a good way. But… ultimately it’s lacking punch for me.
Should qualify if she sings with more restraint than we’ve seen her exhibit (with this song) so far. This is the one song that absolutely needs to exude cool. Could be quite a piece if done right. If she does not hold back, however, things could get real ugly.
Semi 1 Wiwi jury Qualified :1)BEL 8.11 2)BUL 7.94 3)AUT 7.78 4)CZE 7.72 5)EST 7.67 6)CYP 7.61 7)MKD 7.58 8)AZE 7.22 Not qualified: 9)GRE 6.94 10)ALB 6.89 11)SUI 6.50 12)ARM 6.39 13)BLR 6.36 14)CRO 6.19 15)LTU 5.83 16)IRE 5.67 17)ISL 3.83 Modified Score Qualified: 1)EST 9.25 2)BEL 9.19 3)CYP 9.06 4)BUL 9.00 5)AUT 8.75 6)MKD 8.69 7)CZE 8.56 8)GRE 8.56 Not qualified: 9)ALB 8.19 10)AZE 8.19 11)SUI 8.06 12)CRO 7.69 13)BLR 7.56 14)ARM 7.50 15)LTU 7.44 16)IRE 7.06 17)ISL 5.31 Total: Qualified:1)BEL 17.30 2)BUL 16.94 3)EST 16.92 4)CYP 16.67 5)AUT16.53 6)CZE 16.28 7)MKD 16.27 8)GRE 15.50 Not qualified: 9)AZE 15.41… Read more »
10 qualify from each semi
Finland and Israel (both SF 1) are still to be reviewed. 🙂
Looking forward for the rehearsals for this one. I can’t believe Sennek will not be able to nail this. The video’s i saw of the first live performance were really very bad.
The song is written for her and her voice.
Time will tell..
For now she’s still at the top of my list!
Okay…. This is a good decent effort from Belgium again. It has taken Laura’s strength of jazz and tried to pull it into something that wouldn’t piss of people who dislike dated songs. I don’t get the bond vibe of it though. Her voice does sound a bit strained in the chorus. I wouldn’t be as pissed off with this winning as I was last year but this again is a song I wouldn’t put on the replay.
A 7.5/10.
It took time to me to realized how good is this song. So it has been growing on me during these weeks. The soft yer mysterous melody and the video take me to another world. I hope she can improve her live performance, because Belgium is opting for another Top 5 placing! Belgium rounds up my Top 5: 1. Germany (9)| 2. Albania (8.75) 3. Spain (8.5)| 4. Austria (8.25)| 5. BELGIUM (8)| 7. Ukraine (7.5)| 9. Portugal (7.25)| 10. Bulgaria (7.25)| 11. Italy (7.25)| 12. France (7)| 13. Lithuania (7)| 14. Denmark (7)| 15. FYR Macedonia (7)| 16. Greece… Read more »
You missed Israel.
Finland and Israel are yet to be reviewed. 🙂
Israel and Finland haven’t been reviewed yet.