The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — continues to rate and review the 41 songs that had been selected for Eurovision 2020. Next up, we take a look at Russia‘s internally selected act Little Big and their song “Uno”. Did it make us want to count the beat? Read on to find out!
Little Big with “Uno”
“Uno” reviews
Florian: “Uno” was a tough one for me to judge. While I do appreciate the positivity and fun they’re bringing across — which, don’t get me wrong, is totally out there — it’s also slightly repetitive and basic at the same time. While they’re bringing so many positive vibes to the scene, the song’s composition and lyrics unfortunately fall aside for that. But still, it’s the polarisation which helps them stick in people’s head and help shape their moment — whether that is now with the music video’s popularity on YouTube or at Eurovision 2021.
Score: 6.5
Luis: This is all I need at every moment. It has been on loop in my head since the first listen. Little Big would have certainly challenged for the trophy in Rotterdam. It’s silly but brilliant, and it has me smiling from 0:00 until the end. The “Uno” lyrics and its dance may seem dumb, but being able to create a fun and memorable performance is way harder than belting out a stereotypical ballad.
Score: 8.5
Natalie: Yeah, look, I just don’t get this? I’ve never quite understood the Russian sense of humour, and this isn’t helping. It’s… kinda annoying? Like, why are they singing random Spanish numbers over a weird electro beat? Why are they doing the weird dance moves with their legs? Why this is there a guy practising martial arts? And for God’s sake, why was this in the top ten with the betting odds? I’m not confident “Uno” would have got as much attention if Belarus or Moldova had sent it. It’s not what I’d call great music.
Score: 2.5
Robyn: Unexpectedly, this has turned out to be one of my favourite songs from 2020. It’s trashy and it’s fun, but there’s a place for that. Little Big bring style and attitude, along with a really well thought out performance. The song might seem like dumb fun, but every part of it feels like it has been well considered. And as much as I’m not ready for a revival of flared trousers, “Uno” makes me want to at least consider a bootleg cut.
Score: 9
William: Little Big is a band of former comedians. And with that comes a natural ability to satirise institutions like Eurovision. The band — in the most loving way possible — pokes fun at showbiz and all the gimmickry that comes with it. From the generic sounds of Benidorm to the nonsensical lyrics to the kitsch dance to the dancer who seems to watch a lot of RuPaul’s Drag Race, this is a group that’s in on the joke as they make us cackle and smile. The intensity of their facial expressions is a suggestion that we should all really loosen up. Given the catchy rhythm and irritating earworm sound, you have to whether you want to or not.
Score: 8.5
Little Big with “Uno” rankings
In the Wiwi Jury we have 22 jurors but only have room for five reviews. The remaining scores are below:
| Angus: 6
Antranig: 6.5 Åri: 7.5 Barnabas: 7.5 Bernardo: 6.5 Calvin: 8 Deban: 7.5 Esma: 7 Jonathan: 9 |
Lucy: 7
Oliver: 9 Pablo: 8 Renske: 8 Ron: 7 Sebastian: 7.5 Tobias: 2 Tom: 8 |
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 2 and a high of 9.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 7.18/10
What do you think of this song? Share your own score and review below!
Russia – 5/10 (32nd/41)
Russia 8/10
I agree with Natalie ?????
Same. I just do not understand the appeal of this song, even after other people have tried to explain why they think it’s passable.
This over Italy? Seriously? What a joke
Without any doubt one of the worst songs of the year!! That score is way overrated!
How? And, why? 🙂
Thanks in advance.
Well for instance it has almost the same concept as Barbie Girl of Aqua. They try to be funny but they’re not, and on top of that the longer the song lasts, the more annoying it becomes. I think that you like song and I totally respect that, this is just mine opinion. And thank goodness we don’t all have the same taste. It would be boring
I like their style.. 8/10
One of the delights of the Ghost Edition 2020… So cheeky and well thought-out.
Rank 2/41
Grade 9/10
When listening to this song on its own, it sounds like a dirty older man trying to seduce a very young Spanish girl. But put together with the video, the fun sarcasm and blatant callbacks to songs of old are a delight. The band’s routine is calculated and inch perfect. This was definitely a contender for the Top 10, as it is an audience pleaser. Juries might not have agreed though.
I don ‘t like this group and stupid song. I hope for a other artist and a better song in 2021
I’m from Russia, unfortunately, they are kept for the next year.
I think I can sum this up as: love the attitude, cannot stand the song.
If we could have them back in 2021 but with a song that’s actually sort of pleasant to listen to? Please and thank you.
Eurovision fans have such low standards. Thank god they only represent a tiny minority of the viewers/televote… It seems that for them “catchy” has become a synonym for “quality”: any dumb song with a maximum of 2 keys and the same 4 sentences repeated for 3 minutes becomes “good” just because it sticks in your head. Add 12 LED screens flashing lights and a man running in a hamster wheel in the background, and they’re happy. Everything else is considered boring.
Again, thank goodness this is a very small group that only has a tiny influence on the contest outcome.
Don’t be a dummy, dummy
I got that yummy, yummy
Can we be chummy, chummy right after midnight?
In juries time Spain 1968, UK 1969, Norway 1985, Yugoslavia 1989 won with that the formula, few word repeated for 3 minute
I can tell that you are an uptight person with no sense of humour. Its Eurovision, a chicken dance won in 2018.
Catchy song. Russia would be in TOP 5. Dancer from video is so funny
7.18?? this deserves top marks from everyone
Agree
Nope
Can those of you who class yourself as Eurovision experts remember one thing. The public who watch the show as a one off on final night. Uno stands out. This would have been top 3 only because experts see this as “trash” and would have marked it down. Like it or not this is a good pop song.
I don’t agree with juries marking this as “trash”. Trash is something else. Something like Dustin The Turkey, that’s trash. Uno is clearly well thought out and professional in their own way. Jury’s will have appreciated the irony and the production of the song. What I was wondering though: There are 7 people in the video and only 6 could be on the main stage. So someone had to drop out… Who was it going to be, because they all seem a vital part of the act. As I understood, the two leads, the keyboard player and black mouthed back-up… Read more »
I agree, it stands out. But standing out doesn’t make of it a good pop song.
Just imagine this came from the UK instead…
BBC have no idea now what a good catchy pop song is if it bit them on the a**e. You have to go back to 1967 – 77 for that.
For me best song UK send in 80s. My favoute of catchy song from 1981-84, good ballad 1985,1988
Scott Fitzgerald with Go is one of the best UK ballads ever. Any other year but he was up against Celine a worthy winner. I see a lot of Gjon’s Tears this year with Celine then. Great Song Great Vocalist the serious challenger to UNO
1983,1988 was for me 2 best ESC many good song. in 1988 my favourite was Lara Fabian from Luxembourg. I like song from that year Norway,Switzerland, UK, Denmark, Yugoslavia, Germany, The Netherlands, Israel, Spain,Turkey.
Uno’s definitely a song that properly sticks in your head, and it’s great to have something fun coming from Russia. Top 10 material, but probably no higher than 5th.
My second favorite song this year, so much fun. I must have watched the music video 10, maybe 20 times. This year’s Say Na Na Na, but even better. Finally something good from Russia! 🙂
2. UNO
3. Release Me
5. Fai Rumore
6. Medo de Sentir
24. Running
35. Prison
Catchy, upbeat, and a juicy guilty pleasure! Well done, Russia, thank god you stayed away from peace ballads and overproduced songs! This one is so refreshing. It’s my 13th in my top. The only thing that I have to criticize is the fact that is repetitive. I love until 1:30, but after that I kinda get annoyed by it. Neverthless, I really enjoy it. I think Russia would smash in the televote: this could have won it easily. Little Big are famous in a lot of ex-soviet countries (not only) and the song is an earworm. However, the juries would… Read more »
Biased jury. 10/10 !
The winners of ECS 2020 without Coronavirus.
you are so right
If this is the Russian trend without Kirkorov, then I want him to stay in Moldova and Estonia imo, this is just too good. This is fun, this is catchy and this is extremely memorable and it’s very much the type of entry every Eurovision should have. Russia has been very safe, sterile and predictable as of late, so this is just a ENORMOUS breath of fresh air. Spasibo Rassiya!
Clear 10/10, would have been such a highlight and without a doubt the televote winner of the year.
I gotta be honest. At the beginning, I did not like it. I thought it was kind of a joke entry.
But it became my guilty pleasure, and tbh, I like this much more than what Russia has tried with Kirkorov.
I really hope they’ll return next year!!
This is fun and genuine. Would have been a hit in Esc. And Russia finally going 100% local as they always should
Can’t find anything fun or genuine in this entry. Just another try with a joke song. But there are several songs on a high level. So this can not go anywhere. Too weak.
Russia 10/10
It made it into my top 15. It’s interesting enough that it needs to finish above the “good but doesn’t really stand out” entries but bad enough that it has to be below the high quality songs. I love the performance and how it looks visually and it’s a lot of fun to listen to (without getting annoying).
oh wow i would’ve expected a lower score. i honestly think this song would’ve been a hit throughout europe and a solid televote winner, it’s a bummer it won’t get the exposure it deserves bc it’s brilliant.
The problem is not the fact that “Uno” is a bad joke. Eurovision has had room for everything over the years. The problem is some people self-considered fans of Eurovision want this to win. We’ve been there some years ago with lots of joke acts making a fool of Eurovision but now we’ve achieved a high standard of quality in music and visual terms. I can’t help but think that if Russia place top 10 or even top 15 some other countries will go back to the joke entries and, as a music lover and a Eurovision fan, I don’t… Read more »
Watching them perform is so visually pleasing, every movement and detail is so precise and well rehearsed, but at the same time doesn’t look forced and fake at all. I find combination of cheerfull dance and poker faces hillarious. Certainly they would be one of the highlights of the contest and I really hope they will be back next year with similar vibe, no more overproduced “dramatic” ballads please.
I take points down because I’m not so impressed with the song, it starts good, but after that sounds annoying and repetitive tbh, I think they can do better tho.
8,5/10
NO NO NO!! Since i heard that little big will take part in Eurovision, i was expecting something ridiculous and it turned out i was correct. This song is just annoying i kinda want to break something when i hear it. The only thing that’s kinda good it’s the choreography but that’s a song contest so…
Overall: 0.7/10 (39/41)
I’d love to see the reactions if one of the Big 5 sent this song.
The song comes from 2007, and musically its exactly what fans describe as “DATED”. (a term that doesn’t exist in music).
It could have been Verka Serduchka.
But the way it is presented, the gimmick in the choreography , the attitude of the band is very 2020 and this could have made it win.
Off-topic: I’m back to ignoring any kind of poll. It’s clear that we can’t have anything nice. Albania and Greece in the lead? Ridiculous. And that’s coming from someone who really likes the Albanian revamp a lot.
I really like this – it’s not in my top ten, but I beg Russia to stay away from Kirkorov for a while, because they do have one of the best music industries not only in Europe, but in the world as well yet they have been sending ballads and peace songs over and over again. So hoping to see them send Manizha, Zivert, Olga Buzova… This song is fun, but still quality and unique – u don’t that get that often so I really appreciate it, I do hate joke entires, but this is who they are and I… Read more »
I’d take Little Big standing on stage accompanied by three minutes of silence over another Kirkorov.
Me as well.
I love Little Big, yet “Uno” leaves me indifferent – it doesn’t make me laugh and it doesn’t annoy me either. One of the principles of comedy says “random does not equal funny”, and to me “Uno” is just that – it doesn’t create a juxtaposition, it’s not ironic or sarcastic, it doesn’t serve as a commentary on any topic, it doesn’t contain any surprises, it just mixes a bunch of wacky elements for no particular reason. All in all, humour is subjective, so if you find it funny, that’s great, but I really don’t. 5/10
Same. If it at least had irony, I’d be sold.
I wouldn’t necessarily say it was funny, but it is fun. And I think there is irony in the respect that it works as a throwaway entry, both in the context of the disposable nature of Eurovision songs for most people but also in the context of how I’m sure they have worked hard to create something which is so disposable, which is not an easy thing to do.
I can see that logic, but I think this type of entry feels out of place in 2020. We had a lot of troll acts in 2000s, when songs like “Uno” were actually common at Eurovision, but music trends have changed since then. In fact, in my opinion “Uno” would have only reinforced the image of Eurovision as a competition for kitschy and disposable songs, and I don’t think that would have been a good thing.
To have 5-10 songs each year which try to be nonsensical disposable party songs would be a disaster. To have Uno song (see what I did there, hi, hi) with a well-crafted throwback on that is gold! I wasn’t sure how I feel about it on first listening, but now it turns out to be one of my most frequently listened ESC songs of 2020. I’d put it right there with Lasha tumbai and Moustache in terms of entertainment. Sure, when this concept fails, it fails *a lot* (Leto svet, Flying the Flag, Ave Romale… are some of the worst… Read more »
I. LOVE. BELARUS. <3 I loved that one because it was so funny but it was never meant to be funny (I assume).
Yes, there are also some lighthearted entries that (probably accidentally) go overboard with simplification and thus become guilty pleasures worth mentioning. Some of my favorite unintentional guilty pleasures include the Czech Have Some Fun from 2008 and Latvian Beautiful Song from 2012. 🙂
I’d also argue that this year’s Azeri song has some elements of it, but I’ll go in more details when that review comes-up. 🙂
I also loved that one (in my top 12 for that year) and did so unironically. 😉
Yeah, Mr. Vanilla Bean!
I rediscovered I Love Belarus last year and I downloaded it. It has become a guilty pleasur of mine. 😀
Now that Eurovision is cancelled, this song doesn’t exist for me anymore. It’s just not something I’d ever (wanna) find on my own. But I hope Russia sticks to stepping out of their suffocatingly tight comfort zone and maybe sends them again if they have a better song. The group’s charm is not lost on me. Side note: I can totally see a Melodifestivalen audience placing this 1st. It’s right “up” there with the majority of the most meaningful MF songs in terms of “message”. 😉
RUSSIA – Nonsensical, meme-like and utterly fun, Little Big re-define the over-the-top ESC party song. It’s not easy to make a song which is seemingly pointless and still make it musically good, catchy and point on, but they’ve managed it. It’s an instant earworm and leaves an impression from the get-go. Is that impression positive or not is for a listener to decide. I can easily see this being someone’s 41st, because it’s very in-your-face and loud. It is also somewhat repetitive, which usually bothers me, but here it just adds to their memorable performance and makes it easily accessible.… Read more »
Mixed feelings with “Uno”. On the left: a well-built troll song with potential for lots of memes and a crazy staging (and probably a perfect occasion to take some vodkas + drunk dancing moments during an Euroclub fiesta). On the right: Little Big can do really better than this over-synthetic piece of nonsense. “Uno” is not the Rambo Amadeus’ kind of troll act (God’s sake, it’s still a nightmare eight years after) but I agree with Natalie: it wouldn’t have been remembered THAT MUCH if it was for Belarus (not so sure for Moldova) 01. ITA 9,5 10. BEL 7… Read more »
Russia is so danceable, fun, fresh and quirky. In my top 10!
Russia would have won the televote no doubt! And would have got about 13th with the jury.
My prediction for what Russia would have got
Jury 11-13th GF
Televote 1st
1. Russia 9
2. Belgium 7
3, Italy 7
4, Cyprus 7
5. Portugal 6
6. Moldova 2
8. Russia – 8.5/10 – Three letters – F U N – the instrumentation and production remind me of a summer holiday on a sun-kissed Spanish island. This is supremely ridiculous, insanely catchy, but most of all a huge bag of enjoyment. This should not work on any rational basis whatsoever. But it does.
5. Moldova – 9
8. Russia – 8.5
18. Portugal – 7.5
24. Belgium – 6.5
26. Cyprus – 6
28. Italy – 6
The song comes from 2007, and musically its exactly what fans describe as “DATED”. (a term that doesn’t exist in music).
It could have been Verka Serduchka.
But the way it is presented, the gimmick in the choreography , the attitude of the band is very 2020 and this could have made it win.
I know I’m in the minority, but I don’t like it. Trying too hard to be funny and become a meme, sorry.
4.5/10
Totally agree.it is not funny at all.