Estonia: Wiwi Jury reviews Johanna Eendra and Kadiah

The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — continues to rate and review the competing songs in Estonia‘s national final Eesti Laul 2019. Next up we take a look at  Johanna Eendra, who asks “Miks sa teed nii?” and Kadiah with “Believe”. Did either of these songs make a believer out of us? Read on to find out!

Johanna Eendra – “Miks sa teed nii?”

“Miks sa teed nii?” reviews

Barnabas: Here’s another one of those typical national final entries that are very easy to listen, usually well produced and a bit catchy — but that’s all, really. It works well as background music in a fast-food restaurant, but as it has no boom nor any storytelling. It just gets lost in the sea of other pop songs.

Score: 4/10

Florian: “Miks sa teed nii?” combines modern and traditional elements and the outcome is a well-produced pop track. Johanna has a great voice and the transition into the chorus is really enjoyable, too. This is definitely one of the better songs of this year’s Eesti Laul.

Score: 7/10

Lucy: Johanna has a gorgeous voice, and modern elements bring this song into 2019… but it’s oh-so-very forgettable. In a field of vast genres and oddball entries, as well as outstanding front-runners, this is going to get lost. There’s nothing wrong with it, but there’s nothing outstanding about it either.

Score: 5/10

Natalie: Estonian pop bliss. This is the kind of thing that gets me excited about Eesti Laul every year. It’s a very well-polished bit of music, there are plenty of very hefty elements, but they are well-crafted and blend together extremely well. And Johanna delivers the song so effortlessly and passionately. It’s part of the magic of music and the magic of Eurovision that even those who know nothing about Estonia will be feeling the emotion with her. I can see this doing very well in Tel Aviv.

Score: 9/10

Robyn: There’s a lot of potential here, but the song doesn’t quite get as good as it should. “Miks sa teed nii?” has a really cool sound, but it’s not engaging enough. Perhaps English lyrics would work better — but as Salvador Sobral showed, language doesn’t matter when the song is good. The other issue is the vocal sample — JOWST was allowed to use similar in 2017, but would the EBU be as flexible following Netta’s looper ban?

Score: 5.5/10

William: The opening verses promise so, so much. Johanna’s voice is gorgeous and works well with the slightly electro production. There’s longing, wistfulness, and a sensual vibe and I am here for all of it. But as the song progresses I can’t help but feel it’s not reaching its potential. It seems to turn into another throwaway song you’d be suggested on Spotify. And there ain’t no chorus! Instead we get loud digi sounds that are incredibly underwhelming. I’d prefer this stripped back with Johanna at the centre.

Score: 5/10

In our Eesti Laul Wiwi Jury, we have 18 jurors but only room for 6 reviews. The rest of our scores can be found 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 4 and a high of 9.

Wiwi Jury Verdict: 5.72/10

Kadiah – “Believe”

“Believe” reviews

Barnabas: Here’s an example of how a beautiful, heartfelt song can be ruined by its arrangement, as Kadiah’s lovely singing is simply battered by the heavy bass. Some acoustic drums and guitars would make it much better. The lyrics are also a strong point here — we’ll see how it turns out on stage.

Score: 5,5/10

Florian: The lyrical content of the song is much appreciated, but sonically just can’t keep up with it. While there were only good intentions when creating this track, this would need a major facelift in order to fulfil its potential.

Score: 3,5/10

Lucy: This song brings something very different to proceedings at Eesti Laul, both with Kadiah’s voice and in the pace of the track. It’s slow but builds into a very moving chorus, which really compliments her unique tones. I feel this will get lost on the way with much stronger competition battling against her, but it sounds fabulous for now, and I really hope she goes back to Eesti Laul in a future edition.

Score: 7/10

Natalie: Those strings really have some life. With that heavy bass line and Kadiah’s silky voice, it really is a beautiful combination. It still leaves me a bit distant somehow though. I almost feel like I’m a bit numb to this kind of music, or maybe it’s just a bit too much and it’s trying too hard. It doesn’t feel as heartfelt or as genuine as it should. I can tell that Kadiah does genuinely mean what she’s singing. But maybe if there were fewer elements, a bit less trying very hard to be emotional, and more Kadiah just singing from the heart, it would feel a lot better.

Score: 6/10

Robyn: This song is ruined by its production, with Kadiah’s sweet vocal tones losing a battle with the deep and obnoxious bass. It makes me wish the song would have embraced its Disney ballad side and stop trying to be cool and edgy with all the studio gimmicks. It would sound so much better just with a bare piano accompaniment.

Score: 3/10

William: This is breathy and, depending on my mood, it’s giving me all the feels t0 leave me breathless! Girl is tugging on heartstrings and melting my heart in the process. With the right staging — a dark opening that gives way to LIGHT — she could really take us on a journey. Immense potential from a promising artist.

Score: 4.5/10

In our Eesti Laul Wiwi Jury, we have 18 jurors but only room for 6 reviews. The rest of our scores can be found 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 9.

Wiwi Jury Verdict: 5.06/10

See our list of Eesti Laul 2019 rankings

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