Estonia: Wiwi Jury reviews Ranele and Sandra Nurmsalu

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 we take a look at Ranele with “Supernova” and Sandra Nurmsalu with “Soovide puu”. Did we think either of these two were stars? Read on to find out!

Ranele – “Supernova”

“Supernova” reviews

Angus: “Supernova” would have sounded tired at any Eurovision Song Contest this century and yet the ’90s dance elements – thumping beat, towering vocal, dance drop – are as compelling today as they would have been 19 years ago. This is a better choice for a club dance floor than the biggest non-sporting television stage in the world, but you can’t deny the appeal of the ’90s dance track factory formula that underpins its DNA.

Score: 4/10

Bernardo: “Supernova” is borderline annoying and doesn’t work as a whole. Ranele’s voice doesn’t fit the experiment that is trying to be done here. The production value is low for what the song is trying to achieve. The repetition of the word supernova shows the low standard in the writing process. Nothing works. Next.

Score: 1.5/10

Jordi: Ranele’s “Supernova” is not as bombastic as her song title might suggest. Her offering doesn’t bring to Eurovision anything we haven’t seen before whatsoever. This might not be helped with the fact that it also sounds too generic and the melody is with all honesty, not catchy – and pretty messy. However, it’s great to see her Estonian realness and her way of sticking to the Estonian language.

Score: 3.5/10

Luis: This frenzied track from yesteryear is the least appealing entry to grace Eesti Laul in 2019. It does not work at all: Ranele’s voice doesn’t belong in the song and it has so many filters that at some point I wonder whether it’s a human voice. “Supernova” is annoying, dizzying and, ultimately, absolutely uninteresting.

Score: 2/10

Oliver: This song seems to be portraying multiple facades at once. Starting out somewhat gently, that impression is completely destroyed during the chorus and we’re taken to a cheesy Tallinn ’90s disco.  While the beat does provide some structure to the song, perhaps the phrase “less is more” should have been considered during the songwriting process. It’s a dated attempt at best but could be fun with some intricate staging.

Score: 4/10

Sebastian: The drum and bass is an interesting touch – but ultimately, it is too ‘in your face’ for the kind of song “Supernova” is. Something about the production is lacking — and perhaps it is the fact that Ranele plays second fiddle to the heavy instrumental track. The strength of this song will lie in its live staging and vocals — if Ranele can hold on par with the full-on drum and bass, we could have a banger. But she does risk being drowned out by the drums.

Score: 6/10

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 1.5 and a high of 8.

Wiwi Jury Verdict: 4.16/10

Sandra Nurmsalu – “Soovide puu”

“Soovide puu” reviews

Angus: Ethereal pop moments are all well and good, but if the best you can do is take us on a tour of your forest clearing you’re unlikely to set the scoreboard on fire come voting time. Sandra has a fantastic voice, aesthetic and form flying the flag for Estonia at Eurovision. But “Soovide puu” doesn’t have a lot going on. A great choice for a meditation at dawn on a mountainside. Less good choice for Estonia’s Eurovision 2019 song.

Score: 5/10

Bernardo: Everything was perfect until they changed the tempo of the song at 1:05. The etherial sound that was transporting you to another planet transforms itself in a random song you would listen to in the background of your local Chinese restaurant. It’s a shame Sandra’s magic vocals are lost in this song.

Score: 3/10

Jordi: One of the most special entries among this year’s Eesti Laul. Sandra’s “Soovide puu” is angelic at its best, heavenly at its finest. A proper breath of fresh air. Her voice is everything here, but also joined by such pleasant yet fairy-like melody. While it’s still quite uncertain to predict how this could do in a competition like Eurovision, it has all ingredients to make an impact: it tastes different and has a clear Estonian identity, not without its sweet and catchy melody.

Score: 7/10

Luis: Sandra’s vocals are to die for, that’s undoubtable, however “Soovide puu” doesn’t make them justice. While the verses are thrilling, with all her vocal twists and flourishes, the chorus is lacking. The verses are a mysterious and dark Estonian forest in winter, whereas the chorus and the bridge are the pleasant scenery of the paintings at your local Chinese restaurant. That is, uninteresting and kind of unnecessary.

Score: 5.5/10

Oliver: There is something instantly captivating about Sandra’s voice.  Its enchanting, ethereal and delicate qualities compose a serene and calming atmosphere, allowing the listener to almost float through her song.  Sure, it may not be as good as Urban Symphony’s “Rändajad” was, but it is definitely something signature to Sandra and stands above the rest as a piece that’s original, cultural and magical.

Score: 9.5/10

Sebastian: Sandra is a vocal genius — ethereal, astounding and arresting. She’s an absolute welcome entry to Eesti Laul – but sadly “Soovide puu” as a track does not build enough to warrant the talent that Sandra is. Despite this, expect Sandra to blow us away in her live performance.

Score: 6/10

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 2.5 and a high of 9.5.

Wiwi Jury Verdict: 6.16/10

See our list of Eesti Laul 2019 rankings

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