It’s game on in the Czech Republic! As they did ahead of Lisbon, Czech Television is once again staging ESCZ — its national selection for Eurovision.

This year there are eight acts that represent a variety of genres — from sassy funky club to 80s electro updated for today. And recently we sat down to watch them all.

In the video above you can see our candid and uncensored reactions. Want to skip to a specific act? Use the timestamps below.

ESC 2019:Timestamps

0:49 Andrea Holá “Give Me A Hint”

3:48 Hana Barbara “Poslední Slova Tobě”

6:10 Barbora Mochowa “True Colours”

9:29 Jara Vymer “On My Knees”

11:25 Lake Malawi “Friend Of A Friend”

15:00 Pam Rabbit “Easy To Believe”

19:02 Jakub Ondra “Space Sushi”

23:18 Tomáš Boček “Don’t Know Why”

How do you rate the overall strength of songs in this selection? Who’s your winner? And who has the best chance of making an impact at Eurovision? Let us know down below!

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Colin
Colin
5 years ago

I don’t see any of them as likely qualifiers, unless we get back to pre-2012 general standard or if staging works in their favor. I can see Space Sushi qualifying if he goes all the way in the wacky and fun. If he decides to present it as somewhat serious, it’s a NQ. SS is a guilty pleasure and has a chance if unapologetically presented as such. True Colors is quite lovely and I like it, but there are far more striking ballads in NFs. It stands out here, but if put next to five other ballads as 3rd of… Read more »

ESCFan2009
ESCFan2009
5 years ago

Barbora is Lana-Del-Ray-ish. Good, but at the same time risky to gain votes. Friend of a friend is kinda cute. Space Sushi is indeed crazy and charismatic, but at the same time a bit weak in the chorus. Hana, Jara and Tomas didn’t stand out (in my mind).
I voted for and would go with Easy To Believe (modern, fresh). It has to get a phenomenal staging like in the music video, with a lot of blue and neon and mystery for me, but then it could have a chance 🙂

Eurovisionary
Eurovisionary
5 years ago

Barbora has a real Lana Del Rey vibe going, I hope she makes it to Tel Aviv!

blondboybc@hotmail.com
5 years ago

Too be honest, I simply cannot rank these entries as none of them stands out in any way, shape or form. Nothing outstanding, impactful or memorable, tbh. At least there’s one Czech language song, but even that’s forgettable. Sorry, really don’t believe any of these will make the final in the ESC, unless they go through major revamps.

LaForzaFan
LaForzaFan
5 years ago

I personally like On My Knees. It’s very emotional and just positive. I like ballads in general and not that rubbish fast food music like space sushi. Although that said, keep in mind that everyone has their own taste.

Joshua
Joshua
5 years ago

There are two main problems with this selections: firstly, the quality is not very high, which leaves us with big voices with an average song, and secondly, most of them really need to grow on you before you start liking them, something that at Eurovision doesn’t work. Here are my opinions: Poslední slova tob? – A song in Czech surely would stand out, both in Eurovision and this selection. Hana is a very good artist, but the song doesn’t make her justice: she manages to save it with her pathos and passion of her voice, but wouldn’t do much at… Read more »

Dave
Dave
5 years ago
Reply to  Joshua

Space Sushi can easily qualify with proper staging.

Lola
Lola
5 years ago

For me personally: one of the last four. Not that I don’t appreciate the stripped back songs, but I don’t think that they would stand out enough. Will one of these songs push through to the final? Hard to predict this early, but with the right running order and a killer staging, Lake Malawi (and maybe Pam Rabbit or Jakub Ondra) stand a chance. No top 5 or top 10 for the Czech Republic this year I think :/ But I’m glad they didn’t try to copy Mikolas, how I hated that song!

It's the BBC's fault, not the UK's
It's the BBC's fault, not the UK's
5 years ago

They’re all awful to be frank. Even Barbora would get lost in the semi-final, although she’d end up the highest out of all of them. Space Sushi is just downright dreadful, although my worry is that might win!

Rafal
Rafal
5 years ago

Very average selection. I think Lake Malawi probably have the biggest chance to stand out and then Space Sushi. I personally like Hana Barbora a lot – it’s a Guilty pleasure of 2019? the rest is forgettable

Rome
Rome
5 years ago

Space Sushi has to win. It’s catchy, silly, crazy. There’s no way it gets unnoticed. The other acts are just forgettable, they won’t stand out at all.

Jake
Jake
5 years ago

Very weak selection. I supprot Barbora.