The Czech Republic reached an all-time high when Mikolas Josef took his wood bamboo all the way to sixth place at Eurovision 2018. So the stakes are very high for the country to keep up the momentum in Tel Aviv.
We now know at least one Czech act willing to accept the challenge and give Eurovision 2019 a shot: the pop singer Jakub Ondra with the song “Space Sushi”.
The 24-year old singer, who released the single on Tuesday, told Seznamz Pravy that he’s submitted it to ESCZ — the Czech national final, which starts on January 7th. Three-hundred entries were received. Only six to eight will advance to the final, and his interview suggests he’s got hope he’ll be among them.
You can listen to “Space Sushi” here.
“Space Sushi” isn’t a call for eating raw fish on Mars. Instead, he says, “it’s a song for all the lazy people who want to get work done.”
And while different folks will draw different meaning from the metaphor, Jakub’s space sushi seems to relate to hard work and achieving your wildest dreams. As he sings: “Set my alarm for early morning, ring ding ding ding ding I start working… It’s so crazy good, can you taste it? Space sushi!”
The sound is quirky, crazy and a bit vintage. Add it all up and it could fit in nicely on the pop charts of 2018.
Jakub gained fame at home because of his catchy electro-pop songs, which tend to combine his unique voice with an acoustic guitar. A quick scroll through his Instagram shows a man with a stylish look — a bohemian busker of sorts, and one who loves a black bowler hat.
While Jakub didn’t make the final cut for ESCZ in 2018 — despite submitting his song “Reasons To Love” — he has made an impact elsewhere. Some of you might recognise him from our very own wiwivision candidate list back in 2016.
Should Jakub make it to Eurovision, it’s clear he’ll pull out all the stops to put on a memorable stage show. Just look at the video for “Space Sushi”. Shooting it required Jakub to step out of his comfort zone and into a star-filled galaxy, forgetting about his guitar for a good three minutes.
Are you feeling it? How does this stack up against “Lie to Me”? Let us know in the comments box below!
Well, it’s better than our 17 Spanish songs. I don’t think it can reprise Lie To Me success though.
I really want to see Jakub on Eurovision (he’s on my wish list), but can the song have the same vibe as ‘Reasons To Love You’?
It’s not bad, but not great either. But then again we’ll see if this’ll get selected – maybe we’ll hear 8 other songs in January.
btw. “Seznamz Pravy”? lol
I went into this thinking it was a joke entry, but then it turned out this was all about having that side hussle and chasing your dreams and before I knew it I had feels.
I actually like it. But hopefully there are better songs in the National final.
am I the only one who really likes this, tbh it’s better than anything we’ve heard so far from National Finals.. or at leadt up there
Czech fans ( including me) hate it. Don’t worry…this song on 99% won’t ve in Tel Aviv
NO. Countries becoming one-trick ponies always backfire… and this is a cringefest.
Oh my gosh! Same consideration as Cyprus: last year was the very first good one for Czech Republic, i know, and “Lie to me” was really pleased and fun. For me, they don’t need a second shot, especially if this shot have all this ingredients: trashy verses at the chorus (something like “Toy”), style which is a copy of the most famous american pop musics (look at Saara Aalto last year, she has an amazing voice and chemistry but the song was really cheap and close to all generic pop music). 2016, for me, was the very best year: a… Read more »
The verses are good, the refrain a bit basic, but I love the melody and the vibes. He has charisma and attitude. So with a little revamp you can take me in your space shuttle to heaven, hunty <3
I heard the song and it’s complete and utter trash. If he’s chosen to represent the Czech Republic, we’ll know who’ll be the first not to qualify
I want Jakub Ondra in ESC, but not with this dreadful song. God I hate this.
The answer to the headline of this article is “hell no”