The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — is in Latvia to review the acts competing in Supernova 2019. Today we are looking at Kristiana Bumbiere and Kristine Pastare. Are either of these ladies destined for victory? Read on to find out!

Kristiana Bumbiere — “Remedy”

“Remedy” reviews

Jack: “Remedy” may not seem like a Eurovision-ready track just yet, and that’s partially because it’s not. The song’s instrumentation and Kristiana’s live performance in her audition were satisfactory but left me wanting more. That being said, these issues could be easily remedied with a minor revamp and some killer staging. And while “Remedy” may not be a stand out entry just yet, I think that at its core lies a great song with major potential, which is far more than can be said of many other Supernova entries this year.  Kristiana’s stage presence and confidence sets her ahead of her peers, and if she delivers a performance worthy of her exceptional talent and song, Kristiana has the potential to not only win Supernova but  “Remedy” Latvia’s non-qualification streak in Tel Aviv as well.

Score: 7.5/10

Florian: There’s something missing with this track. I have the impression that Kristiana could use some dancers on stage. Otherwise, this feels a little lost in place. Musically, this is one of the stronger cuts and could become a dark horse in the national selection.

Score: 6/10

Antranig: There is a lot of potential here. “Remedy” is enjoyable musically and lyrically and Kristiana has a lot of charisma as a performer. However, it feels like an amateur concoction pieced together in a matter of minutes. The building blocks are present for a strong entry but “Remedy” will need to be ironed out before it can shine.

Score: 6.5/10

Deban: Borrowing elements from the Eurodance genre, this sassy lounge-pop offering showcases Kristiana’s ease. Unfortunately, this ease is also packed with shortcomings. It exposes her limp dance moves and her rather shrivelled vocal delivery. However, the raw materials here are solid. With the right investment and stage presence, this could slay in the months ahead.

Score: 6/10

Sebastian: “Remedy” is the remedy Supernova needed. Sure, it’s just a quick fix, much like a cough lozenge that soothes the ticklish throat of an average national selection — it definitely helps make a difference. Production is quite strong — here’s hoping Kristiana is paired with stronger backing vocalists come finals time, so she can deliver a high energy impact performance that this track deserves.

Score: 6.5/10

Bernardo: “Remedy” is an OK track that borrows from lounge music and the iconic Eurodance genre. Like all songs in Supernova this year, this feels underproduced, wanting to be something but not being able to actually be. Kristiana’s vocals are not the best either. With that said, I wouldn’t be surprised seeing this being a surprise winner.

Score: 5/10

In our Supernova 2019 Wiwi Jury, we have 14 jurors but only room for 6 reviews. The rest of our scores can be found below:

Edgars: 4/10

Robyn: 6/10

Natalie: 7/10

Luis: 4/10

Kristin: 6.5/10

Lukas: 7/10

Oliver: 7.5/10

Jordi: 3.5/10

 

 

 

 

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 3.5 and a high of 7.5.

Wiwi Jury Verdict: 6/10

Kristine Pastare — “Smaragdi Un Pelni”

“Smaragdi Un Pelni” reviews

Edgars: This song just gives the feeling that I’ve heard it before about 3 years ago in 10 different versions. For those who don’t understand the Latvian language, the lyrics are something about fire that gives wings and a river that flows in her — some really psychedelic stuff. Sorry Kristine, the only song in Latvian that was brilliant enough to reach the Eurovision finals was “Esamība”.

Score: 4/10

Robyn: There’s a lot of drama packed into this song. It begins with a kind of slow tension, then slowly builds into an explosive climax — the best kind of climax, y’all. Sadly the weakest part of the song is Kristine’s voice. She’s a good singer, especially on the lower notes, but seems to struggle on the bigger, higher notes. The song really needs those parts of the song to be delivered with strength, volume and tunefulness.

Score: 6.5/10

Natalie: I’ll be honest. After a full minute of that same chord being played on the piano, I got a bit of a headache which put me in a bad mood when I was reviewing this song. It’s got interesting elements and I can see they were trying to give it a bit of power but it really doesn’t work. It’s so repetitive, doesn’t seem to make much sense and is achingly slow. This would be a lot more special with much more.

Score: 5/10

Luis: To be honest, I wasn’t even hearing this song for the first minute. Then things got interesting when Kristine unleashed her vocals and showcased all the standouts of this track, which are many. It’s risky and maybe a bit too much, but at least it brings a new flavour to the table. It would need a revamp to make that first minute more dramatic. Still, this should be on the right path to Tel Aviv.

Score: 6/10

Kristin: Oh this song has every potential to be the bomb! Slow start, increasing drama and then BAM! A Florence and the Machine-like explosion kicks in and ticks almost all the boxes. Almost. Sadly, Kristine is nowhere near the right person to perform this song. Her voice breaks in all the wrong places and when desperately trying to deliver it to a climax, she simply comes off as shrilling. But I have hopes that she will do some serious fine tuning before the national finals. She has to, for “Smaragdi Un Pelni” is top placing material if done right.

Score: 7/10

Lukas: This entry already stands out for being in Latvian and the start of it is quite promising. But it doesn‘t really grow until the chorus hits where the singer shows her powerful voice. I think this song has a lot of potential but it still needs a lot of work since the pre-chorus is quite forgettable. However, with that strong voice, Kristīne can really deliver a great performance and the last minute of this song is very good. Overall, this is a great entry which still needs more work but if the pre-chorus can be made a bit stronger, I can see it doing very well at Eurovision.

Score: 7.5/10

In our Supernova 2019 Wiwi Jury, we have 14 jurors but only room for 6 reviews. The rest of our scores can be found below:

Oliver: 5/10

Jordi: 4/10

Jack: 4/10

Florian: 4/10

Antranig: 6/10

Deban: 7.5/10

Sebastian: 7/10

Bernardo: 3.5/10

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 3.5 and a high of 7.5.

Wiwi Jury Verdict: 5.5/10

Read all our Supernova 2019 Wiwi Jury rankings

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AngieP
AngieP
5 years ago

“Remedy” has actually an interesting sound, you can listen to that on the radio. But not sth that stands out. The other song is flat and boring, sorry.

Christina Bumblebee
Christina Bumblebee
5 years ago

WTF, Wiwijury underrating Peress

Polegend Godgarina
5 years ago

Kristine Pastare is THAT bitch but I don’t think it’ll go very far in Supernova

Colin
Colin
5 years ago

Remedy – It’s a standard pop song. I don’t mind hearing it, but nothing really stands out as above or below average. Instrumental is pretty polished. As the song progresses, it remains the same, giving little variation. It’s fine, but that’s it. – 5/10 Smaragdi un pelni – This song confuses me. On one side, it’s quite unsettling. The repetition of the way she say ,,plust” (which sounds like a boiling teapot in a way) in the chorus can get unnerving. But somehow I have a feeling it’s meant to do that. I believe it might be a psychedelic song… Read more »

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
5 years ago

You put together my “most underrated” and “most overrated” together!
Smaragdi Un Pelni, for me, could (should) win the whole selection whereas Remedy is just so woefully mismatched to its singer that I feel uncomfortable watching it.

Colin
Colin
5 years ago
Reply to  Briekimchi

I agree that Smaragdi un pelni (along with Bušu tepat) might be the most underrated song when watching lists and comments. It’s unnerving, but special. It’s my 4th favorite of Supernova and I wouldn’t mind seeing it as a winner.

uzhas
uzhas
5 years ago

Smaragdi un Pelni will flop, Latvian televoters won’t vote for it.