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 Around the Sun with “Follow Me Back” and Cätlin Mägi & Jaan Pehk with “Parmumäng”. Did either of these songs have us twanging along? Read on to find out!

Around the Sun – “Follow Me Back”

“Follow Me Back” reviews

Barnabas: As I was listening to the song, I kept thinking: what will they substitute the word “Instagram” with if they manage to win Eesti Laul? Luckily, this is not some kind of “The Social Network Song” 2.0. In fact, it’s a feel-good EDM entry that has a great opening riff and strong verses, yet the chorus is a letdown. And really, is it that hard to fill those last 30 seconds? In this manner, we got a slightly underwhelming entry from a very promising group. There is so much talent and potential in there — don’t waste it, guys!

Score: 6.5/10

Florian: The track is off to a promising start. The lead singer has a great voice and the instrumentation is well put together. The chorus however is a little underwhelming considering the strong verses. The song could still do well in the competition if their stage presentation is memorable enough.

Score: 6/10

Lucy: Yaaas! This sounds great and perfect for the Instagram generation. The lively feel with relevant theme brings this squarely into 2019, and fit for the final of Eesti Laul. I first listened to this the day the tracks were released and this is one of the ones that really stuck with me, and I find myself humming regularly due to the catchy hook in the chorus.

Score: 8.5/10

Natalie: Gosh, what a riff! And what a backing, what a sound… this gives me many chills. I know the lyrics are a bit cheesy, but it kinda love that somehow, it adds to its beauty and irreverence. It’s a very catchy and boppy EDM song, but it’s also got so much more depth than that somehow. I don’t know how they packed so much emotion and charm into such a simple dance song. It’s pretty incredible. I could listen to this on repeat and still fall in love with it every single time.

Score: 9.5/10

Robyn: “Follow Me Back” has a great flavour, mixing Estonian cool with some retro house sounds. But the song doesn’t do enough. The lyrics are cute — the modern dilemma of not having a mutual follow from your crush — but musically it doesn’t take the listener on a journey. Around the Sun seem to have a lot of potential, but they haven’t got it right with this song.

Score: 5/10

William: Don’t worry about me following you back — I am there! This group has a likeable quality that comes through in the video. They’re doing their thing and aren’t bothered what the world thinks. The song itself is pleasant and inviting, smooth and yet somehow unfinished — and I mean that in the most positive way possible. The lead singer’s vocals channel longing really nicely.

Score: 8/10

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:

Angus: 5.5/10

Antranig: 5.5/10

Bernardo: 5.5/10

Deban: 8.5/10

Jordi: 6/10

Julian: 7/10

Luis: 5.5/10

Lukas: 8/10

Oliver: 7.5/10

Pablo: 3/10

Sebastian: 9/10

Steinunn: 6/10

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 9.5.

Wiwi Jury Verdict: 6.75/10

Cätlin Mägi & Jaan Pehk – Parmumäng

“Parmumäng” reviews

Barnabas: Eesti Laul has always had some weird and quirky songs in store, and there’s no difference this year either. And yeah, I know, I don’t really have stuff like this in my playlists, but dang, this is fun, I like it! It has this interesting buzz all the way through, and it kept me paying attention through the three minutes. Indie, folk or whatever this may be, it’s something that is rare and shouldn’t be ignored. So, regardless of this making it to Tel-Aviv being unlikely, there’s no reason to be super harsh on this.

Score: 7/10

Florian: The song got my attention with only a few seconds in, but doesn’t go anywhere from there. Overall, this is more confusing than entertaining and they need to make sure this won’t end up being awkward on stage. This song could definitely improve with its live performance.

Score: 4/10

Lucy: It wouldn’t be Eesti Laul without some of… this. Eesti Laul has been one of my favourite national finals for the joys of the weird (Winniepuhh from 2013 comes to mind), but this is just a bit too much for me. Props for the unique sound, but it’s doing nothing for me musically. I can’t begin to imagine how this would be on stage either, which isn’t the best sign. It’s just grating so I certainly wont be cheering this on.

Score: 1/10

Natalie: I can’t make any sense of this. I has a really sweet charm in a way, but in the same way it’s also very jarring and sounds a bit like a mess. Like they recorded a bunch of cute sounds and just overlaid them on top of each other. I think I’d like all of these sounds individually, but together? Not so much. I will be fun at Eesti Laul, but this shouldn’t make it to Tel Aviv.

Score: 4/10

Robyn: As it happens, this isn’t the only unusual ode to the jaw harp that’s been entered in Eesti Laul. But while Meisterjaan’s 2016 entry “Parmupillihullus” was a weird pleasure, “Parmumäng” is quirky but ultimately forgettable. While the studio version is entertaining, it may not translate well to the stage. Playing a jaw harp sounds fun, but visually it looks like someone trying to dislodge something stuck in their teeth.

Score: 4/10

William: This is irritating in the extreme. The man’s voice sounds like it’s blaring from a megaphone, and the warble in the background is inducing nausea. I’m putting myself first and turning this off halfway through.

Score: 1.5/10

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:

Angus: 5/10

Antranig: 1/10

Bernardo: 1/10

Deban: 2/10

Jordi: 2/10

Julian: 3.5/10

Luis: 2/10

Lukas: 1/10

Oliver: 2/10

Pablo: 1.5/10

Sebastian: 4.5/10

Steinunn: 8/10

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 and a high of 8.

Wiwi Jury Verdict: 2.88/10

See our list of Eesti Laul 2019 rankings

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AngieP
AngieP
5 years ago

“Follow me back” is quite good. The other one, I don’t like.

Héctor
Héctor
5 years ago

“Follow Me Back” is one of my favs in this year Eesti Laul. Enjoyable and easy to listen. Around The Sun will most probably qualify, but won’t represent Estonia.

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
5 years ago

Follow me back – One of the few “social media songs” that actually works. The lack of lyrical content in the Chorus gives way to a very exciting backing track that’s designed to sell anything. This song could make a fortune if used in advertising. People could like this, but truthfully there are better songs in the competition.

Parmumäng – While I appreciate the use of live instruments to create the sound, William is correct about the vocals being too loud. Pass.

Polegend Godgarina
Polegend Godgarina
5 years ago

Y’all serious about Follow Me Back? Social media songs are pure cringe. Let’s not with the other one, it’s like they thought they were doing something.

eurovision6
eurovision6
5 years ago

Agree, using that Instagram line in the song ruins it. 6.75 on average is a joke

Colin
Colin
5 years ago

Follow me back – It’s inoffensive and pleasant. It’s too contemporary for it’s own good. In a decade people would find it very dated. Instagram as a focal point? – 5/10

Parmumang – Estonian folk song with original take – I should like this. Yet, I find it quite repetitive and strange. Not really something that could appeal to a lot of people. – 4/10

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
5 years ago

Parmupillihullus was actually pretty decent and was especially well-performed. Do not see much that Parmumäng has in common with it apart from the use of the instrument.
Follow Me Back is an excellent piece. Should go to the final!