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 returning Eesti Laul act Grete Paia with “Kui isegi kaotan” and INGER with “Coming Home”. Did we think either of these two were winning acts? Read on to find out!
Grete Paia – “Kui isegi kaotan”
“Kui isegi kaotan” reviews
Angus: This starts strong like a dancefloor diva song but runs out of energy on the chorus. Grete has the big lungs you need for a dance song like “Kui isegi kaotan” and lyrically the subject matter is all there – “It’s time to pick up the pieces from the ground, I live only as myself, even if I lose” – but unfortunately the production really lets things down. The whole track is underpowered at all the wrong moments. You should start strong and build on it, instead of starting at your strongest and dipping straight after.
Score: 5.5/10
Bernardo: “Kui isegi kaotan” is an overall nice song. It has a bit of everything we look in an Eurovision song. A nice production, a sweet (yet powerful) voice and a decent chorus combined with Grete Paia. She oozes girl-next-door and urban realness — very 2018. The song could easily be categorised as generic but the fact that she sings in her native language saves it from that fate. I could see this winning but it wouldn’t do much damage at Eurovision as it is.
Score: 6.5/10
Jordi: Grete Paia’s offering sounds exciting but doesn’t really stand out from what we usually hear in Eurovision – nor in the Nordic/Baltic block. Estonian is felt, and very much appreciated. And props should be also given with such nicely executed production. Nevertheless, the whole composition doesn’t bring much newness to Eurovision. While this — provided it has good staging — can turn it into a contender, the hook is not yet there.
Score: 6/10
Luis: Grete Paia’s entry this year is a contemporary and mature effort, but perhaps too safe. “Kui isegi kaotan” is very pleasant to listen to, yet it never takes off properly. The chorus is more or less fine as it stands, but the verses feel a bit too long. It’s like the song constantly lags, losing energy in many moments, particularly in the last phrase of the chorus. The bad thing is that it’s done on purpose to enhance Grete’s deep vocals. Goal accomplished, but the price for that is making the song less appealing.
Score: 6/10
Oliver: Singing in one’s native language is an instant bonus for me, especially when the language in question is as beautiful as Estonian is. Grete’s song is modern and builds nicely through the verses without seeming rushed. With the arrival of the chorus the song transforms into a more anthemic and powerful number, accompanied by Grete’s textured vocals. Overall a great composition and entry in the competition
Score: 9/10
Sebastian: Very strong production, matched with a rocky, edgy vocals, makes this a formidable entry. Its melding of pop/hipster/rock does make the overall track a little forgettable – so here’s hoping an eventual English adaptation can really reinforce the narrative here. In a weaker year for Eesti Laul, this does stand tall.
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:
| Antranig: 6/10
Barnabas: 8/10 Deban: 6.5/10 Florian: 7/10 Julian: 4/10 Lucy: 6.5/10 |
Lukas: 8/10
Natalie: 9/10 Pablo: 9.5/10 Robyn: 6/10 Steinunn: 5/10 William: 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 4 and a high of 9.5.
Wiwi Jury Verdict: 6.63/10
INGER – “Coming Home”
“Coming Home” reviews
Angus: INGER is a sweet swinger with a sweet guitar song and that is a combination that has previous form at Eurovision. Lyrically there’s not a lot going on – she wants to go home, she’s on her way home and, presumably, she loves being at home. But a song like “Coming Home” doesn’t need a huge amount of narrative to it, instead the warmth of the delivery and simplicity of the composition are all that it needs to draw you in.
Score: 6/10
Bernardo: Yes, “Coming Home” reminds me of background music for YouTube videos, but that all stops when INGER starts singing. Her voice is warm and inviting and the dynamics of the song allow you to enjoy this endearing three-minute journey. A journey with a well-thought composition that makes it impossible to be called generic. It’s somewhat infectious, in the best way possible. Some eurofans will dismiss this song out of the gate, but it has the potential to surprise at Eurovision.
Score: 7.5/10
Jordi: What a voice with proper identity. INGER’s roughness is well appreciated in the sweet offering of “Coming Home”. While having a very radio-friendly sound, her proposal for Eesti Laul is as well very pleasant to listen to yet truly uplifting. This is all about good vibes and great doses of love, that can also come across as bit cheesy. Overall this is catchy and very straightforward, with a positive-spirited ukulele. Put some charisma here and some charisma there, and the stage is yours!
Score: 6.5/10
Luis: INGER’s voice is special and very comforting, and she creates a mood that’s perfect for what the Danes call hygge. Lyrically, there’s not much to grab from “Coming Home”, but it’s in terms of harmonies and vocals that this song is as rich as a warm coffee. This song is a perfectly polished product that could go anywhere: from the radio to Tel Aviv.
Score: 7/10
Oliver: Warm and cosy, Coming Home is somewhat reminiscent of Stig’s entry from Eesti Laul 2018 but is in no way a cut and paste. INGER’s voice is what makes the song so special, sweet and gentle. This song doesn’t need pyro or any kind of fancy tricks when it comes to staging — a simple yet sophisticated arrangement would do this entry more than justice.
Score: 7/10
Sebastian: With the cuteness of 2017’s Brendan Murray and the folksy easiness of 2012’s Joan Franka, “Coming Home” is actually a decent entry and well composed. It seems true to INGER and believable. Its easy-going tone could do well on a national final (or even Eurovision) stage amongst the glitter and pizzazz that many Eurovision entries bring. A simple performance could see this rise to the top of a mellowing year for Eesti Laul.
Score: 7.5/10
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:
| Antranig: 7.5/10
Barnabas: 8/10 Deban: 7/10 Florian: 4.5/10 Julian: 4/10 Lucy: 8/10 |
Lukas: 7/10
Natalie: 6.5/10 Pablo: 1/10 Robyn: 7.5/10 Steinunn: 7.5/10 William: 6.5/10 |
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 1 and a high of 8.
Inger’s voice and song doesnt feel intimate or cozy, its like too generic in its own kind , bringing nothing to table and in case of a win it is a kind of song destined to be forgotten in long line of 26 songs… Hope she does not qualify from the semis. In Gretes case , there is a problem of average or OK. She is good but the total song , its arrangement and vocals are all ordinary average and nice nordic pop song features . It does not possess tha “wow” ingredient in itself .
What I like about “Kui isegi kaotan” is that it sounds like an Estonian modern song you can listen to on the radio. It’s today.
“Coming home” reminds me of “Together” (Ireland 2018) but still a sweet song.
Kui isegi kaotan id undoubtedly the best option for Estonia. They have to send Grete!!
Both of these songs need more cats.
Both should be happy if they make the final. Neither is realistically in the running to win it.
I wouldn’t be so sure, Inger got some surprisingly positive feedback when the songs were released. If the other big competitors don’t bring it on stage or cancel each other out (say the superfinal is Inger, Victor and Uku), I could see her sneaking in a victory.
Superfinal could also have Grete, Stefan, Sandra and X-tra Basic, based on the feedback.
Kui isegi kaotan – Very well structured and dramatic. It appeals to both ballad lovers and ”bop” seekers. Estonian sound magical as always and it gives it a further push. The bridge is very interesting too. My winner of semi 2. – 8.5/10
Coming home – It’s sweet without being cheesy and slow without being boring. It’s so cute and melodic. Among the best ones in the selection. – 8/10
I’m glad you mentioned the Bridge in “Kui isegi kaotan” – it is indeed quite interesting. It’s a counter-melody implied throughout the Choruses, but it is used here to advance the lyrics – almost like how poetry uses lines in brackets to give added context. Creative.
INGER is my 2nd fav to win Eesti Laul, would be a pretty decent choice. Cute guy, with a guitar/ukelele and high pitched voice, nothing special, but always welcomed! The song is sweet and catchy too. 7/10
I think some of you are overrating Grete Paia because of her past entries. Nothing interesting for me.
“cute guy” I think Inger is a woman
Grete’s past two entries have been stronger than this one. Inger’svoice just annoys me in her song
Two potential Eesti Laul winners here. Both performers have bags of charisma, and their songs are just sweet enough to grab the audience’s attention for 3 minutes. It is to Grete Paia’s credit that every time I hear her song, I barely notice that she is singing in Estonian – that reveals potential mass appeal. As for INGER, I find his vocal half-yodelling slightly irritating, but other than that I think the song is solid. Perhaps the only criticism of these songs is that they are both very “safe”, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. Good luck to… Read more »
N.B. I have possibly misgendered INGER, and for that I apologise. It was not intended. The change makes no difference to the review of the music or the singing, as it happens. 🙂
Don’t beat yourself up. You’re not the first to do so and won’t be the last.
Inger is my winner of Eesti Laul this year. I normally hate this kind of songs, I really hated the German and Irish entries last year, but this is somehow nice and cozy. All the other Eesti songs are so generic, especially this Grete Paia above.