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 North Macedonia‘s internally selected artist Vasil and his song “YOU”. Were we feeling him? Read on to find out!
Vasil – “YOU”
“You” reviews
Barnabas: I appreciate North Macedonia’s effort to keep things diverse, but this song does nothing for me. It just flows by without a change of pace that would bring it to life. A decent club track, but on the Eurovision stage it just falls flat.
Score: 3.5
Jonathan: The first listen of “YOU” took me on a journey that I wasn’t quite expecting. Ethnic chanting opening into soft synths in the verse, which leads into a tango section and percussion-filled chorus. By the end I’d been to the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom, twirled around a bit and returned to my bedroom again – yet, it left me slightly intrigued for more. I find myself enjoying “YOU” a little bit more on every listen, though that’s not necessarily the best thing for Eurovision where you have to aim for tens across the board on the very first dance.
Score: 6.5
Lucy: This is my biggest guilty pleasure of the year. It does lose points for the fact North Macedonia has gone for something a bit generic the year after winning the jury vote in their first grand final since 2012. But removing history, this is sultry and exciting — Vasil’s vocals are smooth like caramel. His moves in the music video could have indicated similar staging, now that the delegation has learned how to put a performance on. I wouldn’t have it penned as a qualifier, but a sexy addition to the soundtrack nonetheless.
Score: 7
Pablo: I see what they were trying to do: Romanian-style club dance cool, and I’m into it. While enjoyable, I had my concerns on how to transmit this style of song without coming across as derivative or cliche. Vasil has the talent to pull off a daring number like this, and there are vocal flourishes that, if nailed, could really surprise. A good listen, but it’s a tempo increase or a dance break short of being a great listen.
Score: 8
Tobias: This doesn’t impress me at all. Sadly it’s an unforgettable song that doesn’t stand out. It is lacking that catchy melody that I need to get hooked. As of now, it feels a bit outdated and something I would expect to hear maybe 20 years ago.
Score: 4
Vasil – “YOU” rankings
In the Wiwi Jury we have 22 jurors but only have room for five reviews. The remaining scores are below:
| Angus: 4.5
Antranig: 6.5 Åri: 6.5 Bernardo: 4 Calvin: 6 Deban: 5.5 Esma: 5.5 Florian: 6 Luis: 7 |
Natalie: 7
Oliver: 6 Renske: 7 Robyn: 4 Ron: 4.5 Sebastian: 6 Tom: 3 William: 6 |
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 3 and a high of 8.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 5.65/10
What do you think of this song? Share your own score and review below!
North Macedonia – 5/10 (31st/41)
North Macedonia 2/10
Some of you have zero taste. Your loss Great song.
You actually put this song bellow “Prison” xd i guess there’s no reason to check these final scores after all.
On topic, while this song isn’t anything amazing or innovative but its still decent. What Im trying to say is that its too good to be classified as “guilty pleasure”, that’s for sure.I’d give it something around 6,5/10
I like it. Dance song with tango flavor
To me, this one really suffers from the fact that it won’t be performed on the stage. It was obviously building to some sort of amazing dancing visual act but unfortunately, all we’re getting this year, is a pretty decent ethnic, euroclub track. Vocally, it’s fine and I like the instruments used but its impact was all going to come from how it was presented and as it is, it just doesn’t stay with you.
NORTH MACEDONIA – It’s sensual and hypnotic, even if a bit typical. We had a lot (and I mean *a lot*) of ESC songs about dancing. In order to differentiate itself, this has to offer a new experience. It does so through it’s musical background. The dynamic flamenco vibe is what gives life to otherwise pretty standard and somewhat repetitive chorus. I like the trance vibe it’s going for, but I guess it needs more to keep me hooked. It still is a decent and well produced dance track. – 5.5/10 My ratings: 10 – ITA 9 – RUS 8… Read more »
23rd of my top. I must admit that this has grown a lot on me. The first listenings were meh, it wasn’t bad, but not good either. But then I started to like more and more. I love the vibe and the atmosphere of the song – that tango vibe is awesome! I know that the song was some flaws: his timbre doesn’t convince me and the lyrics are basic. But, again, when I hear it, something resonates inside. So, I think until May it would have grown more and more. However, this would not qualify. I’m confident about the… Read more »
Macedonia’s is my most forgettable song this year (yup, even more than France!)… It’s not the worst of all the entries and there’s not much wrong with it, but when going through recaps of all the songs, I just go “oh yeah, Macedonia had a song” over and over again. Sorry!
hitting or flopping, NMK makes pretty good music videos
Nothing in this song is grabbing my attention. It is pretentious and fake. Tries to be something else and it is just a bunch of things put together. A let down having in mind what MKD brought us in the past. The snippet was good but it was almost the only good part in the song. Would be a good Spotify-list filler for a cocktel bar. This entry fails in providing a believable context though he is trying hard, and the tango part just have no passion, that has something to do with the lack of chemistry between Vasil and… Read more »
Can someone please tell me….is he gay? The video gives mixed messages. When he was announced, they said it was a step in the right direction for lgbt rights in North Macedonia but then he comes up with a video of him dancing with a girl and they seem to be really into each other???
Yey for bisexuality? 🙂
Fair enough I guess but I did think he was gay
I used the bi word. It got filtered. Go figure.
Correction: It was a cookie error.
Looks at girl: “I just wanna dance, with you”
Looks at bartrnder: “With you on the other hand…”
Xd
There is always one song every year that I personally love and seemingly no-one else does. This is the one for 2020. It is my 2nd favourite! It has “Strictly Come Dancing” written all over it of course, and there are other factors: The music has a light groove that grows and develops. The melody starts sweetly and then relaxes into these crazy high octave tripping notes. That falsetto voice Vasil has is stand-out. We even get a second Chorus melody towards the end. This entry has it all for me. On top of that, the choreography is inappropriately saucy… Read more »
I’m sorry, Purple, that the rest of us are kinda mean now. I think this song is fine, it just doesn’t leave a lasting impact on me and it’s somewhat in a loop. It’s still not as underwhelming as some other male-sung up-tempos this year. Unfortunately, I will be a lot meaner to Briekimchi’s second favorite. I am sorry in advance. 🙁
PS. I might up it to 6 if that’s allowed in here, but IDK…
This is an interesting one to nail your colours to the mast on. As a studio track, I don’t find it one that people would feel strongly about so it is good to know that there is somebody who has it rated as highly as you do. I do like it (overall) and it did make my top 26.
This is like the definition of mediocre, it’s such a dissapointment coming from a country that has been killing it (song-wise at least) in ESC and JESC recently. This wouldn’t have qualified I believe, I really hope they can come with something better next year. 6/10
Which semi was it in? Everyone from semi2 had a shot imo
But in first one, not even close
Yeah, there’s not really much to say about this one. This entry is sort of fun, and it does make me move my hips a little, but it’s not one of the songs that come to my mind when I think of Eurovision 2020, and I’ll probably forget about it pretty soon. Last year, North Macedonia showed us that they can do much much better than that, and it would have been a shame if Vasil’s talent had been wasted on a middle-of-the-road track that is ‘You”. 5.5/10
The verses are so good and the chorus loses all momentum. I love the vibe the song is going for however – that ethnic chant in the background is ethereal and is by far the best part of the song. This wouldn’t have qualified (probably 11th-13th in the semi), but i wouldnt be too mad to see it in the final. A guilty pleasure of mine but it lacks something.
North Macedonia: 5.5/10
I don’t get the hype for this one. Sounds like a dated mashup of unrelated styles. It may have been fun on the Ahoy stage, but it would have been for sure (to me) a perfect moment to go back to the fridge and take some beers while yawning.
01. ITA 9,5
10. BEL 7
11. MOL 7
13. POR 6,5
19. CYP 6
25. RUS 5
34. MAC
Bland and forgettable background music, one big – meh. It’s a non-qualifier for me and proof that dance songs can be boring too, I prefer some ballads which I find more interesting than this song.
4/10
After being placed in top 10 last year because of political issues, this year’s entry makes no surprise to me. This song is the definition of”so and so”. The song isn’t that special, vocals are mediocre and the dancing parts are awkward. Although it does gives some nice vibes there’s nothing more.
Overall:3.5/10 (31st)
Tamara didn’t place top 10 because of politics. She placed top 10 because of a great song, impeccable staging, and an amazing vocal performance.
North Macedonia was always an underrated country in Eurovision. Once the name was changed, suddenly everyone thought the song was amazing. The juries voted once again based on political criteria.
Totally agree. Someone at BBC who gave 12 points they don’t even know about the name issue. Great song, vocals and song with a strong message. Politics does not have anything to do with that. Cezar from Austria was jury favourite, but everyone knew he will not win televote. Politics also for Austria, I don’t think so.
What political issues are there apart from resolving its naming issue with Greece last year?
That was the only reason. Big-5 always supported a name like that and thanks to their influence, the juries voted for it. That’s just how it is.
Let me guess, you’re Greek?
Easy to understand by the name. But you have to admit that I’m not wrong. You probably think I’m a racist or smth but I’m open minded and always against the name disagreement. We are all people:the name doesn’t matter
I do think you’re wrong. I am however very happy to hear that you are not racist and that the name doesn’t matter (because it truly doesn’t). We just have differing opinions, that’s all. I had Tamara at my 11th place if I remember correctly, so a bit lower than her score, but I still think her score was deserved. You can’t deny that she was amazing on stage. She didn’t hit a bum note and that staging was impeccable (which is strange since North Macedonia usually f***s up their staging). But everyone can think what they want. Sorry for… Read more »
I thought it was obvious that the reasons were political…
Come on it was nice but in no way the best song and overall performance.You tell me that if the juries were the only ones to decide this one would have won…no way!
Oh, I definitely dance with my girlfriends as well because they are my besties. I don’t dedicate to them love songs, though
Oh, okay. So you thinnk he’s singing “I just wanna dance with you” while dancing with a girl and having full eye contact with her, but he’s dedicating the song to somebody else. Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, but well…
Maybe he’s a ventriloquist?
Yep, compare it with Spike Jonze’s music video for “Praise You” for example, and you can see how most of music videos bend reality. I would kinda love to see a version where they just start dancing out of nowhere in a real pub.
Have you been around gay people by any chance? That’s exactly what I would do to get the attention of the bartender! When this quarantine is over, go out and discover the world.
If it is writen for a man. He should instead dance with a man. Don’t you think?
The song is middle of the road for me. Probably like a 6/10. What bothers me in this is the music video. In 2020 you CANNOT pretend to be something you really are not. It’s not great for you, it’s not great for your audience, it’s not great for the open-minded, without racism, sexism, homophobia and discriminations in general, world we want to build. It’s just NOT GREAT!
I would politely disagree here. He is a performer and his ”character” in the video doesn’t have to mirror his actual private life. As long as it doesn’t feel exploitative, I am okay with that. It’s a fantasy mini-story for the video, not a documentary. The song itself could be applied to both gay and straight couples, though.
I don’t know, the tension between the bartender and Vasil is kind of obvious and not exactly hidden. And the female and Vasil are such an obvious mismatch, that must also be a deliberate decision.
32. North Macedonia – 5/10 – a decent dance tune but a very middle of the road presentation which makes it completely forgettable. There is nothing particularly offensive in the musicality, but there is nothing which pulls me in to want to explore it further. I can’t honestly say that I remember it when it has been played randomly on Spotify, nor have I any significant emotional reaction whilst it is playing. It leaves me with the same feeling as if I’d have been sat in silence. This still doesn’t make it the worst entry this year though as at… Read more »
I LIVE this one
The song is middle of the road for me. Probably a 6/10. What bothers me is the music video because in 2020 you CANNOT pretend to be something you’re not. It’s not great for you, it’s not great for your audience, it’s not great for the open-minded, without racism, sexism, homophobia and discriminations in general, future we want to build. It’s just NOT GREAT