The Wiwi Jury reveals their favourites in Belarus’ 2019 national final

Tonight Belarus will decide its act for Eurovision 2019 at its live national final. Ten finalists will compete and an expert jury will decide who will get the ticket to Tel Aviv. But before then, the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — has had their say. The jury has listened to all ten competing entries and has listed their five favourites. Read on to see which songs grabbed our attention!

Julian

1. ZENA – “Like It”

This brings fresh air into Eurovision! It’s a cool and modern uptempo song that I didn’t expect from Belarus. Up to now, this one could easily qualify and with a little improvement in her singing – PLEASE remove the echo effect from her live performance! And with a few background dancers performing a “Fuego”-style choreography, it could even reach top ten. Especially with the weak competition, “Like It” is a strong song I don’t want to miss in the final.

2. BLGN ft. Mirex – “Champion”
3. PROvokatsiya – “Running Away from the Sun”
4. Eva Kogan – “Run”
5. Michael Soul – “Humanize”

Robyn

1. ZENA – “Like It”

The Belarus national final is known for its mixed quality, but amid all the varied acts, Belarus is still capable to delivering some gems. One of the stand-outs this year is ZENA with “I Like It”, an explosion of popaliciousness. She’s a talented singer, able to deliver plenty of R&B sass. The song needs a little polish from its audition form, but it’s nothing Belarus can’t fix. With the jury alone in charge of picking the act this year, I’m hoping they will be swayed to liking “Like It”.

2. Michael Soul – “Humanize”
3. NAPOLI – “Let It Go”
4. BLGN ft. Mirex – “Champion”
5. PROvokatsiya – “Running Away from the Sun”

Luis

1. ZENA – “Like it”

The audition was a hot mess, but at least there was something hot about this performance, which is not something you can say from the other nine. Still, ZENA is a sassy and cheerful performer, and she can deliver her song with ease, so it’s quite a clear choice for Belarus. It needs a bit of tweaking and yes, it’s a bit generic and will probably struggle at Eurovision. But hey, with the right revamp, this could quite become a (sort of) bop.

2. Michael Soul – “Humanize”
3. BLGN ft. Mirex – “Champion”
4. PROvokatisya – “Running away from the Sun”
5. Aura – “Čaravala”

Barnabas

1. BLGN ft. Mirex – “Champion”

Half of the finalists from this selection are clearly trash, but “Champion” clearly stands out of the bunch. The vocalist has a warm and beautiful voice, and the track is so dynamic that I already got my feet moving to this. Of course, the live audition doesn’t show everything that is hidden in this pack, but I would love to see an unboxing in Tel Aviv!

2. Eva Kogan – “Run”
3. Michael Soul – “Humanize”
4. Sebastian Roos – “Never Getting Close
5. ZENA – “Like It”

Antranig

1. ZENA – “Like It”

After enduring nine dismal songs, ZENA made this catastrophic national final worthwhile. Sure, it’s generic and sounds awful in the Belarus studio, but there is heart and soul here. It sounds like a song Aminata might have written while half asleep but in Belarus, that sounds like a winner. Give her KeySi’s dancers and you’re good to go. It must be noted, however, that my real number one is Alyona Gorbachova’s earrings.

2. KeySi – “No Love Lost”
3. Alyona Gorbachova – “Can We Dream”
4. BLGN ft. Mirex – “Champion”
5. PROvokatsiya – “Running Away from the Sun”

Lukas

1. ZENA – “Like It”

In a quite weak selection, this is a great song which just stands out immediately. The chorus is catchy and Zena sounds great live and looks confident on the stage, which is a great thing. It still needs a stronger ending because right now it’s a bit monotonic and doesn’t grow as much as I would like it. However this is still the best song from all ten and with a revamp it could do quite well at Eurovision.

2. Michael Soul – “Humanize”
3. NAPOLI – “Let It Go”
4. BLGN ft. Mirex – “Champion”
5. KeySi – “No Love Lost”

Pablo

1. BLGN ft. Mirex – “Champion”

Two words: Immediately interesting. Belarus hasn’t sent anything similar to this, nor is there something like this in the contest at the moment — it would be a huge plus for both factors. Dynamic, strong and addictive, “Champion” really stands tall and beyond its competitors, no question. Now, it is not perfect, and the (low-quality Belarusian audition live) needs work, but it is evident that they are retooling this to really be top of the pack, let alone when it gets the resources it needs if BLGN & Mirex end up going to Tel Aviv. Belarus, this would work wonders and would turn your spotty luck in the contest in a snap.

2. ZENA – “Like It”
3. Eva Kogan – “Run”
4. Michael Soul – “Humanize”
5. KeySi – “No Love Lost”

Oliver

1. ZENA – “Like It”

This was an interesting selection to say the least with very few songs being able to hold my attention for more than one minute. That being said, ZENA came as a complete surprise to me. “Like It” is modern, arresting and well produced and would definitely provide some life into the first half of the first semi-final, which, at the moment is rather saturated by ballads. Granted, the audio is not that great and the vocals can seem pitchy at times but given the environment, I think she delivers a stellar, high energy performance of her song.

2. Alyona Gorbachova – “Can We Dream”
3. KeySi – “No Love Lost”
4. PROvokatsiya – “Running Away from the Sun”
5. BLGN ft. Mirex – “Champion”

Patrick

1. ZENA – “Like It”

Well, at least there is something that can we worked with. The selection is not high standard so this song is standing out from the rest. The base of the song is good, the rhythm is right and the singer is good. Now this needs loads of work and it might not be right away a favourite but she brings the power on stage and she looks damn cool. Now let’s see if the judges will like her as much as I do.

2. Michael Soul – “Humanize”
3. KeySi – “No Love Lost”
4. NAPOLI – “Let It Go”
5. Alyona Gorbachova – “Can We Dream”

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