The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — continues to rate and review the 41 competing entries of Eurovision 2019. Next we take a look at Montenegro‘s six-piece singing group D mol and their entry “Heaven”. Did we enjoy their heavenly harmonies? Read on to find out!
D mol – “Heaven”
“Heaven” reviews
Sebastian: I’m feeling the love for D mol – merely for the fact that they are trying something aurally different in a sea of familiar sounds. As a recorded track, “Heaven” sounds like a ’90s track, covered by the cast of Glee. And it is exactly those clean, youthful harmonies which bring so much joy out of this track. It might be dated, and we’ve seen the standard key change and dressed-in-white look all before – but it’s still a bop. Seeing a group this large on stage is something that’s sorely lacking at Eurovision.
Score: 7.5/10
Angus: The truth of the matter is that D mol are sweet and talented kids lumbered with a decidedly sour song. True the revamp is a 10/10 improvement on the national final, but that’s only made “Heaven” into a 3.5/10 song. The ethnic elements are nice — had they been pushed further this might have been more promising – but alas they’ve only been added to give the most modest of refreshed feelings to the track. In the future the individual members of D mol may challenge at Eurovision, but this year Montenegro seems doomed to be knocked out in the semis.
Score: 3.5/10
Lukas: This year Montenegro is giving something more fresh with the young singers but the song just feels very dated. Even after the revamp it just doesn‘t stand out. Knowing it’s going to be in the second spot in the first semi-final, chances are very small that Montenegro going to qualify. Overall the song is quite nice and catchy but there is no wow factor and I am not sure about the live version of it because some parts in the national preselection sounded quite off.
Score: 6/10
Kristin: This is like the final soundtrack from a straight-to-DVD Disney film. Does anyone remember The Little Mermaid 2? No? Well, good, ’cause “Heaven” is the tune you’d hear in that! D mol are very accomplished singers and together they harmonise perfectly, but this song does them no justice. It’s dreary, sappy and forgettable. Montenegro has left the building. Thank you, next.
Score: 3/10
Chris: “Heaven” at least has shown signs of improvement in the revamp, but that’s hardly saying much based on the original version. It’s a dated piece of pop (now with a slight ethnic hook) that deserves to have been left behind in the early 2000s. To their credit, the members of D mol are doing their very best to try and make this dud of a song work. But there’s only so much six people can do — even a choir of angels wouldn’t be able to salvage this track.
Score: 3.5/10
Robyn: “Heaven” sounds like it comes from a parallel universe in the early 2000s, where the winners of the first Montenegrin series of Popstars are taking their series winner’s single to Eurovision. But there’s something very comforting about the song. Perhaps it’s just so joyful and warm and uncynical, that it’s impossible to outright dislike it. But the best thing: with the individual group members, Montenegro has its Eurovision acts sorted for the next six years.
Score: 4.5/10
In the Wiwi Jury we have 30 jurors but only have room for six reviews. The remaining scores are below:
| Anthony: 5/10
Antony: 5.5/10 Antranig: 5/10 Barnabas: 5/10 Bernardo: 2/10 Calvin: 2/10 Deban: 3/10 Essi: 4/10 Florian: 2/10 Izhar: 4/10 Jack: 6/10 Jonathan: 4/10 |
Josh: 4.5/10
Julian: 4.5/10 Lucy: 4/10 Luis: 3/10 Mikhail: 3/10 Oliver: 1/10 Pablo: 3.5/10 Renske: 5.5/10 Ron: 5.5/10 Tobias: 3.5/10 William: 2/10 |
We have removed the highest and lowest scores prior to calculating the average. This is to remove outliers and potential bias. We have removed a low of 1 and a high of 7.5.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 3.96/10
What do you think of this song? Share your own score and review below!
It smells the last place le SF1 and of the entire competition. Nothing to save this… by far the worst song this year! Give us back the artists from 2013 to 2016.
So many things to dislike about this. It was the fifth best song in a national final of five songs. That’s a bad start. They’re a vocal group who don’t sound that good together. Also not great. They threw about 50 instruments into their revamp and now it’s pretty much impossible to listen to. Positives are…nice (if a little off at times) music video. Good addition of old guy with instrument. Oh and their facial expressions when performing are completely inappropriate for the song. I find it amazing that after the revamp, I found ten songs WORSE than this in… Read more »
I actually found 39 songs in various NFs to be worse than Montenegrin and Belorussian winning song. My lowest rating is a zero, but I gave it only three times, and all to the participants of the same NF.
You know me by now, Colin. You can’t leave anything open like that!
*Starts working out what those three songs could be*
Still, pretty cool that you gave ratings to all of the songs of all of the NFs. That is a list that I would love to see…
Thanks, Briekimchi. 🙂 The three zeroes come from a NF so hilariously abysmal that most of the songs were rated under a 4 and only top 3 over a 5. Their winning entry was in my top 5 of the semi and still ended-up with a 4/10 score. I can share some of my other scores if you are interested 🙂
With these live audition rounds, I’m never sure whether the songs should be evaluated as national finalists. I mean, Belarus and Moldova’s auditions are almost unfairly atrocious in places.
I’d really like to see the whole list…but I think that might test the limits of the comment section. 😉
Sometimes I wonder myself that a well… With Belarus, I didn’t rate the audition songs (although I sense some 1s and 0s as well) because there was 73 of them and they got dwindled down the same day. I did rate Moldovan 28, as they were released weeks before and had an official audio at the site. And was it a hoot! I want to thank Moldova for being so bad, because it really brings me joy to be able to rate such songs (call me mischievous, I guess). I will share my Moldovan list here or on You Tube… Read more »
I look forward to seeing it!
I don’t know if I have ever rated a song the equivalent of a 0. I had a song in Latvia (though to be fair, it was in the “auditions” stage) and Lithuania this year that would’ve came close. Don’t think any song actually selected for Eurovision has been THAT bad, either.
Is the Latvian song perhaps Grow? Because that’s the one I’ve given 1/10.
Where do you want my Top 28 posted?
Can say that one didn’t grow on me!
Maybe stick your top 28 in a comment on one of my youtube vids? I’ll catch it regardless of which one!
@Briekimchi: Nooo! 🙁
I gesture my arms, in protest. 😛
Haha I know it hurts you!
The good thing though is that you actually convinced me that there is a passable melody in there…somewhere…really hidden well. It is literally EVERYTHING else that is terrible. 😉
Agreeing hard with #3 (my 2015 winner).
I was with you all the way until the last sentence…
Let’s make it short: meh. Kudos to the guys coming from an academy. They are amateurs and they are going to be seen by 200 million viewers. No way this is qualifying though. Montenegro has a very comfy place in my bottom place. 3. Greece (8.5) 5. Lithuania (8) 8. Portugal (7.75) 9. Slovenia (7.75) 11. Azerbaijan (7.25) 13. Armenia (7) 14. Austria (7) 15. Hungary (7) 17. Albania (6.75) 19. Estonia (6.5) 23. Norway (6) 24. Latvia (6) 25. Israel (6) 26. Belarus (6) 27. Finland (6) 28. Serbia (6) 29. Germany (6) 30. Russia (5.75) 32. Poland (5.75)… Read more »
I like this song. I think the ‘dated’ comment is a weak one. Songs from the noughties and nineties are regularly played and enjoyed by fans today. This song makes me smile. It reminds me of S Club 7!
The revamp is actually pretty listenable. The version they sung in the national final was so bad, I had to laugh. It went from a guaranteed last place in the semi to… still the last place, probably.
2. GRE (9.0)
5. AZE (9.0)
8. RUS (7.5)
9. NMC (7.5)
10. EST (7.0)
11. HUN (7.0)
12. ROM (7.0)
16. IRE (6.5)
17. ARM (6.5)
18. ALB (6.0)
20. AUT (6.0)
21. DEN (5.5)
22. NOR (5.5)
23. SLO (5.5)
26. ESP (5.0)
27. FIN (5.0)
29. BLR (5.0)
31. SER (4.5)
33. CRO (4.0)
34. ISR (4.0)
35. GER (3.5)
36. MOL (3.5)
37. LIT (3.5)
38. MNE (3.0)
39. LAT (2.5)
40. POL (2.5)
41. POR (2.0)
For me this is not the worst song in the contest, but it almost is… with their score I have now only one spot left in my bottom 10. There has been already said enough about how dated and cheap this sounds and how some of the 6 are significantly more talented than the others, so I will not dig more into this. Just try to do a little better next year, Montenegro! Please! This year they have fallen from heaven and landed on spot number 38 with a score of 3.0/10, and I am almost sure we will not… Read more »
By far the worst song of this year! So dated, so cringeworthy. Montenegro is looking like it’s going to end up last for the first time ever
1/10
Yey! Thanks for highlighting the redeeming factors. 🙂
This was the only Wiwi Jury score that had the potential to upset me. 3.96 – ouch. After so much effort went into the re-vamp… 3.96?!
What more would have satisfied people? Actual falling from Heaven, real nakedness and catching each other in mid-air? 😀
Anyhow, I like this song. So downvote me.
Downvoting? Why? I am glad you enjoy it! (this way at least someone does!) 😉
Owh so *that’s* why you were smiling at my sad face below; I get it now.
I expected downvotes because in the past, when I have liked an unpopular song on here, I have been downvoted. But it’s good to know that there is at least some support for it.
@Rimig: I answered your question, but my answer was filtered.
Well, you know, you can put a tost in a toster or add some cheese and ham, but you won’t make it a pizza.
They’re doing their best to make this song enjoyable, it’s the song itself that is the problem
Anyway, I appreciate them for trying.
Mmmmh… me like pizza! 🙂
In the unlikely event that they qualify, I’ll be happy for you, Mr. Mask. 🙂 When you mentioned that they make you remember of music school, I got what they feel about this entry. Sadly, I don’t have the same life experience and their flaws get more evident than their merits to me.
I am glad someone likes it. I’ll be honest: The first version was cr*p. It would get a 1.5/10 from me. But the re-vamp made it listenable at least. It’s still so boring… But I appreciate the effort. Live performance might help. This year, I keep more of an open mind and I expect to have many growers and decliners after the show. I will post my final 41 after ESC. Speaking of, does anyone want to see my final Top 42 of 2018? It’s not exactly the same as it was on my reviews.
pa ajde brate stavi link
Yea not my favourite at all there were like 2 better songs in a WEAK NF, not all their vocals are amazing either sorry Montenegro but I don’t see you in the final this year at all… 2/10
Please bring back Knez
Knez or Sergej Cetkovic would be a dramatic improvement to what they have sent recently.
This is the grower of the year. I really like the traditional sounds.
I didn’t see the Montenegrin NF but if this was the best song available then probably internal selections is the way to go! This doesn’t sound to be competitive at all. While the singers themselves are good they’ve been given a horribly lacklustre song. The revamp did do it some good though. This is competing for the last spot in the semi. A 3.5/10. The bad running order reduces a point and the lack of support reduces another . It has got at best 1% chance to go through .
This was the weakest song in the selection, and still it managed to win lol.
Somebody told me this won because this was the only one with guys performing/singing?
Andrea Demirovic’s song was 100 times better and could have bring Montenegro a possible qualification on this SF.
Everyone outside of Montenegro loved Ja Sam Ti San
Obviously, Montenegro were not hiding a potential Eurovision winner but this was still the worst song in their selection, in my opinion.
the harmonies are neither clear nor joyful. anyway… i don’t think this is the worst
It got better with the revamp actually.
3/10
Eurovision would not be Eurovision without at least one country picking a trainwreck like this.
Like a group trying out for an ‘X-Factor’ show, where the judges expect every member to sing one line of a song by themselves. They tried too hard at that, instead of having one or two members lead. It turns an attempt at harmony into a mixed bag; and that’s not good.
Strangely enough, they are not even last on my list.
I think this one’s quite catchy and they sound great and they seem like fun people to be around. But this song fights Moldova and Croatia in the moet dated songs category, and just like those entries I’ve got to give it a 4/10, but I would not be sad if D- Mol qualifies, they deserve it.
I appreciate the effort they put on the revamp. The beggining and the ending sound much better, the melody now has the vivacity the lyrics required and the ethnic elements are always helpful when you have a bland entry. Though I think they’ve overdone it, especially with the key change. In the end, it still feels like a disposable group presentation of the finalists of a reality competition. I think it would work better as a duet. We would have more time to engage with the singers and the uneven vocals wouldn’t be a problem anymore. 4/10
Yey, effort was appreciated. 🙂
Agreed about the song working better as a duet. When you play it on piano, the melody’s octave even rises and falls as if it were a duet.
The girl that sings most of it is very good, it was just the matter of picking one of the guys to join her.
My comment got filtered and “heartbreak was the only thing you left for me”, evil filter. “I was ready to give up”, but then this song “came into my life”, and now “I’m in heaven falling”. Thanks, D-mol.
Oh man… Montenegro… we all know the song is not so good, but honestly saying something harsh about it would be too cruel – D mol seems like a group of young wonderful talented people enjoying spending time together, and trying to cheer us up with a positive message. Whether they succeed or not is not that important – I believe they have bright future ahead of them and I hope they will have fun in May regardless of their placing. Don’t give up Montenegro, your time will come, maybe not this year tho. And I give it a “yeah…… Read more »
Oh my, so painful to see the score. I think I am the very small minority who do not rank them in the bottom 10. I have not seriously ranked the songs this year, but Heaven should be around 15-20 on my list. Dated? I think Moldova is worse.
I can’t wait to see everyone’s face when this does a lot better than expected.
It probably won’t qualify, but it won’t place lower than 12th in that awful semi ?
i like the song, but i gave up on its chances to qualify
if duncan had this song heaven, then probably 10’s all over from wiwi juries mr odds and wiwibloggs overhyped favourite lol
I think it doesn’t matter who’s singing the song. The topic is the voice and the harmonies. Duncan is way better than D mol tbh
i doubt, duncan the worm is way too pitchy
MONTENEGRO – What is it with Montenegro and them lately so often being near the very bottom on ESC? (I loved them last year, though.) Unfortunately, besides good singers and their harmonies, this has very little to offer. It’s as cheesy as Moldova, but not as well constructed, as boring as Latvia, but not as authentic and as nondescript as Lithuania, but not as concise. It’s quite generic and goes nowhere. It has nothing that will anger me, but when the song’s biggest achievement is not wanting to turn it off, you know you have an instant NQ on your… Read more »
🙁
🙂
Sorry, the song is somewhat bland to me, but still a tad better than Belarus, even if I would describe both as not good. It’s quite forgettable and non-specific. I appreciate the harmonies and new ethnic instrumental, but it’s still very cheesy. 🙁
I can see you gave three pts for the old guy with the instrument.
i visited all those places in the music video last year in april, watchin it was a reverse warholian expedition
i mean one can enjoy it or not but it’s objectively a low quality song, plus it’s awfully dated. i think it’s cute but it’s not gonna escape the bottom three of its semi
You use too much the word DATED.
Everything will be dated tomorrow, and Serhat is more successful than most.
Why do you care about what is dated TODAY?
bc today u should bring sumthin that’s fresh n current instead of sumthin that’s already been done and that’s no longer cool
But the question is – who decides that? Radio? Competitions? Ratings? A how long does it take to make something ”dated”? A year? Five Years? Ten? Also, what to say if a certain style returns to popularity? For me, only weaker songs can be truly dated. Good ones have a staying power, even if the style is less represented.
the general public decides it, ain’t it clear ? once they stop consumin a type of sound and choose a new one, everyone starts doing that type of music.
What makes a song DATED? Personally, I believe it’s when once popular song of little artistic value loses it’s demand and gets substituted by other disposable songs of different style. A weak 90s ballad is now ”dated”, just like a weak Despacito clon in now ”modern”, but will be dated in a few years when people get another ”it” style. A good song is a good song and it doesn’t go out of date. However, maybe even good songs can go a little dated for some people. Feel free to disagree.
“Those clean, youthful harmonies bring so much joy” is the subtitle of this article.
And then you see the verdict score for this song.
Damned by faint praise
I can”t imagine if this was Sweden. Harmonies would have bring orgasm lol.