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 Israel‘s The Next Star for Eurovision winner Eden Alene and her song “Feker Libi”. Were we feeling the love? Read on to find out!
Eden Alene with “Feker Libi”
“Feker Libi”
Calvin: Doron Medalie has done it again. The voice of Eden Alene is among the strongest, if not the strongest this year. “Feker Libi” throws many elements in the mix without ending up messy. The Eurodance-beats suit the ethnical elements surprisingly well. I see nothing about this entry and performance that urgently has to be changed. Everything is in balance and with Eden as a singer, nothing can go wrong.
Score: 9
Florian: “Feker Libi” takes upon great ethnic elements, especially considering the different languages it embraces. However, it’s not as out there with regard to the song’s production as it may have been. The instrumental break itself makes sense but could have been handled differently. On the other hand, Eden’s charisma makes up for that and helps boost its authenticity.
Score: 7
Natalie: Ethnic pop is definitely my kinda thing. Eden Alene is one young woman who can do it very well indeed, she was a great choice for Israel. “Feker Libi” has a very strange structure of random elements sprinkled all over the place, but I kinda love that. It’s still very special, and nice to sing along to. Eden delivers it with a great cheeky smile and she seems to be enjoying the joyful insanity of it all. It’s super cute.
Score: 8
Ron: On first listen, “Feker Libi” sounded to me like a mix of too many different songs, but after listening again and again you really like them all, or as our William said in his first reaction “An all-you-can-eat buffet, but I’m eating everything”. Eden Alene is so full of charisma and freshness and she can sure deliver. You can tell she’s enjoying every second on stage. This is among my favourite songs of Eurovision 2020 and could have done well on the Eurovision stage. It’s unique in its sounds and music genres.
Score: 8
Tom: Yes! This song is what #OpenUp is all about. The mix of vibrant cultures and languages blended with a positive party atmosphere got me hooked from the first listen. You can’t help but get on your feet and dance to “Fekir Libi”. I think they could have created something special on stage with this song but Eden is a star and I can’t wait to see what she brings next year.
Score: 8.5
Eden Alene with “Feker Libi” rankings
In the Wiwi Jury we have 22 jurors but only have room for five reviews. The remaining scores are below:
| Angus: 7
Antranig: 7.5 Åri: 8 Barnabas: 8 Bernardo: 7 Deban: 8.5 Esma: 7 Jonathan: 7 Lucy: 6.5 |
Luis: 8.5
Oliver: 7 Pablo: 8.5 Renske: 7 Robyn: 6.5 Sebastian: 6.5 Tobias: 5 William: 7.5 |
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 5 and a high of 9.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 7.48/10
What do you think of this song? Share your own score and review below!
Israel – 7.5/10 (18th/41)
Israel 6/10
I love this one! Will be listening to it for a very long time.
Sorry, wiwibloggs. I’m going into this atricle just to remind you that ESC has been cancelled this year. I couldn’t CARE less What you think About this entry but I gurss you have to do something with this artucle you have written alrwady. Sorru!
Learn to write first oy oy
Message taken:) Normally I would enter this webpage maybe 15 times a day, now I visit it maybe once a day in hope there will be news about EBU having some kind of competition for the 2020-songs after all. My comment yesterday was unfair to the wiwibloggs-team, I’m sorry. I was just frustrated and let the aggresion lose. It won’t happen again.
Dear haters, I will attempt to explain to you why this song was the best possible option to represent Israel this year in the least condescending way possible. 1) it represents Israel: in an ever growing Eurovision with Swedish writers writing everyone else’s song for them (no shade) this song represents Israel’s culture to a T. The culmination of sounds from all across the globe is perfect to represent the best of Israeli culture and music. 2) It represents Eden the best: Sending this incredible performer with any other song would have robbed her of the opportunity to present a… Read more »
This is honestly one of the worst things I’ve ever heard. Not just in Eurovision. Not just in music. I’m talking about everything that reaches my ears: this makes me cringe more than fingernails on a chalkboard. This is not a song, this is 9 unrelated noises that they pasted together in some shapeless, inharmonious, tasteless, loud mix. I think there’s part of the beat I enjoy once the song reaches the chorus, but it immediately changes to a completely different sound and gets lost in the mix. I can’t even remember it. This is the silver lining of this… Read more »
Now tell us how you /really/ feel, haha!
God, when people are this tasteless it is just so disappointing. Maybe actually listen, feel the rhythm, listen to her powerful vocal, pick apart the varied instruments, the cultural sounds of Israel and Ethiopia, the intricacies of the language, the subtle yet powerful tribal influences. the amount of effort that went into the song that you are so blatantly disrespecting. This may not be your favourite song, but there is no way it *isn’t* a song. That’s not even opinion, it is a fact that it is a song. It’s so disappointing how someone can drag a piece of art… Read more »
I’m entitled to an opinion, whether you like it or not, and I doubledown on everything I said. There’s nothing subtle about what they did here: if ESC was a cooking contest, this “song” is the equivalent of mixing a bunch of totally incompatible food, blending everything together and then claiming “Look at my art, this represents everything about me!”. Let’s throw some chocolate krembo for Israel, mix it with deepfried fish for Ethiopia, add marshmallows + mayo cause the singer likes it, then dip everything in chicken stew. Feel free to eat it and claim it’s fine dining if… Read more »
You are not only speaking about the song, though, Bella. You are insulting the songwriters, the performer, the thousands of hours of dedication and work put into the music. I think you are acting incredibly stuck up and really very rude. You weren’t at all ‘focusing on the message’, as you said, because if you were then you might have offered, say, some constructive criticism, such as ‘I think they should have removed some elements of the song’ or ‘I believe some more work could have been put into this’. Unfortunately, you didn’t. Verbatim, you said “This is not a… Read more »
And more insults, still not related to the song, lol… The very concept of this Wiwi Jury and the reviews they make are more insulting than everything I could ever write (not to mention the angry comments you read on this site everyday, including yours). If you cared about respecting artists, songwriters or the hours of work involved, you would not be here. Don’t pretend that this is about respect: this is about you not accepting criticism of a song you like, which is inherently disrespectful (but not surprising: this is textbook ESC fan). Also when I said “This is… Read more »
You know what, I was wrong. I get what you’re saying now. But please don’t stereotype me as a typical ESC fan. I am just trying to say my opinion, but I was being rude about it. I apologise.
I’ll be honest, I did not expect you to apologize. This is not something you see every day on Wiwi or online in general, so thank you. I don’t like this song, my comment was meant to express that but was also purposefully sassy/witty… at least it was meant to come across as funny, I tried. 🙂 Sorry if that came through as disrespectful or something!
It’s ok!! I was really tired when I was on this comment chain and I really wasn’t thinking straight. I was and still am going through a lot of personal anxiety and I was irrationally angry because of it. I am never usually this confrontational, especially about something as trivial as a Eurovision song. I hope you have a good day! 🙂
Is there no one moderating this website? Dude over only 2 comments you called her tasteless, rude, lacking any sort of musical taste or knowledge, incredibly stuck up, not having enough understanding of foreign cultures, uneducated and not having intelligence or knowledge. I’m just copying from your comments here. You’re just attacking for no reason. I like Israel’s song too but calm down. She can dislike whatever she wants without having to face a downpour of hate like that. This is not ok. This is cyberbullying and in my country (New Zealand) the government made it easier to prosecute.
If you read my comments I said more than that in a better fashion than what you have portrayed me as. And in any case, I have apologised because I was taking it too far. If you’d like to see cyberbullying on this website, I recommend checking out: the multitudes of racism dealt onto The Mamas when they won in Sweden, the homophobia towards many artists, and many many more disconcerting things. And I didn’t say neither intelligence nor knowledge in a general way, but in a musical way. I have admitted I was in the wrong – I was… Read more »
youve most likely already seen it live but ok
Bella, I have just two words for you- bye Felicia!
Wiwi team has just spoiled me in the last two days: Romania, UK, Poland, Israel – all the songs from my playlist with not much to criticize. One might think I am really benevolent towards the whole line-up, but just wait for it – six among my bottom seven are still to be released, as well as the majority of songs I am fairly neutral about. However, six out of my top ten are still to go as well. 🙂
I am wondering how much on either side do we have in common. Can’t wait to find out. 🙂
The song is very instant and has some catchy tunes (from pop to oriental sounds to East African, if I got it right), but when the chorus hits with these tacky lyrics (glory, story, have no shame, etc.) it goes downhill for me. It is sweet and catchy with enormous potential for interesting and over the top staging, but it is still pretty average.
African vibes and freshness!! Excellent choice from Israel once again! Catchy melody, rhythm, and very good performance! With the right staging, this could have made top 10 easily.
Overall:7.5/10 (16th)
Full of charm and vibrancy, and Eden’s enthusiasm is infectious. Top 10 for me.
For me one of overrated song by ESC fans. She don t have strong vocal. In ESC Israel maybe same faith like Norway 2011 (fans favourites to stay in semi, Norway was one of contender for win on betting odds that year)
Lets not trust the betting odds mate. Where was France again last year?
Hands down my winner, this is just joy all around, the drop is great, her energy is undeniable and her vocals are spot-on. This would have been THE dark horse, and I would have seriously gone crazy if this wouldn’t finish at least in the top 10. This is truly what #OpenUp is, and it’s such a step forward from last year, when Israel was my DEAD last. 10/10
This is a good song, and although not a contender, could have gotten top 15 I think.
But, next year eden might bring a much better song, because she has long time to prepare, so I have high expectations for her.
I have a confession to make: I grew tired of Israeli entry. Africa’s portrayal in “Feker libi” feels like an advert for a travel agency. It’s energetic and joyous, but at the same time a bit artificial and unremarkable. I like the idea of blending the quasi-African sounds with the Middle Eastern flavour, and the fact that it can be read as both a love story and an expression of pride of your own roots. However, I find the execution underwhelming – there’s a lot going on and the song constantly shifts its tone, but none of the segments is… Read more »
Unlike you, my initial reaction was similar to yours but with more listens I came to appreciate the blending of the flavors. This song is one of the more entertainingly interesting entries this year 9/10. If you find this song unremarkable and underwhelming I would very much like to know what you regularly listen to.
It’s my 2nd <3
My number 5. Its so amazing 9.5/10
Vibrant positive colourful vibes all over, I like this relaxed fun song which is not trying too hard to “slay”, cute lyrics and fantastic slick performance, it’s the best uptempo song in the contest and in my top 10.
9/10
Its my number 2 overall, 10/10!
It’s a middle-of-the-pack entry for me. She is a fantastic performer but like Stella Mwangi, I don’t think the song does her any favours apart from actually representing African language. It actually does sound like it is from the 2010-2013 ESC era. The chorus is the most misplaced piece of anything you’ll find in any song this year. On the plus side, in a NF of four songs, there were two better than this so I’m pretty hopeful Israel are going to be able to give her something good next year.
I don’t understand the 2010-2013 Esc era. Eurovision like any trend is circle. And some songs or entries would work/appeal in any era I think.
We only need to see which Nordic entries are really connecting to people recently for instance.
Or maybe countries like Greece should get back that vibe. It really depends
My biggest grower 8.5/10
It’s interesting how placing on the list and the level of love the song receives vary from person to person (and from year to year). I would definitely listen to anything in my top 20 (even though so far, only my top 16 are on my “official” playlist), occasionally even as low as 30th spot (other than for strictly reviewing purposes, of course). On the other hand, I believe that being my 7th in 2006 would mean being only solid and not on my usual radar. 😉
2006…I was struggling once I was out of my top five.
Absolutely! I have exactly three songs that could crack my top 20 in 2020. More than a half of line-up would probably be rated with under a 5/10 by today’s standards. With all the free time in my hands, I might as well re-listen and rate ESC 2006-2010. Might be fun. 🙂
I don’t really know what to write about this one. It’s okay. It’s fun. There is a constant misinterpreted lyric if you have my ears, but let’s not go there. 😀
I know exactly what you mean! I don’t know who Libby is but it is clear Eden doesn’t like her!
For me, it adds to the charm!
I have the same with Fai Rumore where it sounds like Diodato really doesn’t like someone!
Which part of Diodato’s song are you referring to? It’s a shame I, haven’t noticed it
It is just before the chorus – he repeats it later in the song as well. Sorry for my potty mind and mouth, my knowledge of Italian is limited and so when the song is on I try to imagine what he is saying – and it’s pretty hard not to hear a swear word in English.
In Fai Rumore, is that “quanto io fugga”? LOL – Same silly ears here. 😀
And yeah, Israel are really mad about Libby. 😉
I love this song. I do think that the chorus is a tad dated. But still I really enjoy it, it’s fun, ethnic, personal and has an amazing performer and singer. I do think there is a chance that this wouldn’t have qualify though. But I think she will come back with something way stronger since they didn’t have much time to prepare the songs for her (or weren’t targeted to her), so I’m super glad she is back. My score: 7,5/10 1. Romania 10/10 2. Belgium 9/10 3. Portugal 8/10 4. Italy 8/10 5. Israel 7,5/10 6. Russia 7,5/10… Read more »
12. Israel – 8/10 – a great big ball of happiness, this one gets me swaying from the very first beat. I imagine myself kayaking down a jungle river having a party with nature. Varied musical elements mean that it never gets boring and turns unpredictably several times. After its arrival into my ears, I am instantly transported into a good mood.
Both rating and place on the list match mine! 🙂
I was really intrigued to see that there was a very small spread on the Wiwi jury as well – I think most people really like this one – I could have seen it pick up a lot of 1-5 points from both juries and the televote.
Cuteness overload. Reminds me of Occidentalis Karma, everytime I hear it, I feel better.
ISRAEL – I cannot help myself but to smile and dance alongside it. Eden is a spring of positive energy and this song is so vibrant! Lyrically, it’s quite standard – I love you, we can have fun… ect. However, it compensates with creativity in language mixing and rhythms intertwining in surprising harmony. I can see people saying it’s messy, but I find it very fresh and well composed. It keeps the flow interesting. It’s fun, it’s sunny, it’s cute. It’s a type of an unpretentious upbeat song ESC needs in it’s line-up! – 8/10 My ratings: 10 – ITA,… Read more »
My #1!
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