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 the winner of Slovenia‘s national final EMA Ana Soklič and her song “Voda”. Did we want to soak up her song? Read on to find out!
Ana Soklič – “Voda”
“Voda” reviews
Angus: Water can be the force that gives us life or the most boring thing on the dinner table. And unfortunately “Voda” falls into the latter category. Ana has an admittedly huge voice, but it is wasted on this banal ballad.
Score: 2
Esma: With this entry, Slovenia has water up to their throat. I feel like the team behind “Voda” over-polished the song – which makes its entirety boring. The song is only three minutes long, but it feels much longer because it simply misses a climax. There are no remarks on Ana’s powerful vocals, she sings flawlessly. A talented singer like her deserves a better song – “Voda” doesn’t do her justice.
Score: 5
Robyn: I admire the craft that has gone into “Voda” but that almost might be its weakness. The song feels almost robotically flawless. As weird as it sounds to say this, Ana’s vocal sounds almost too perfect — it could have benefitted from a little roughness around the edges. Some will admire this, but to me, it feels like the song is just going through the paces.
Score: 5
Ron: “Voda” is a beautiful mysterious dramatic song matched with the powerful vocals of Ana Soklič. The only disadvantage in its original version was the extremely slow build-up and the verses that were perhaps too long. But the revamp has smoothed out those flaws and polished it into the best version.
Score: 7
Tobias: This doesn’t appeal to me at all. As much as I can appreciate her vocal skills because she can sing, it is a “meh” song. I appreciate Slovenia’s effort to send something in their native language but the performance doesn’t get my attention. I am usually a person who appreciates it when countries send songs in their native language but then it really has to be a song that can embrace anyone. “Voda” is not that kind of song.
Score: 2
Ana Soklič – “Voda” rankings
In the Wiwi Jury we have 22 jurors but only have room for five reviews. The remaining scores are below:
| Antranig: 3
Åri: 7.5 Barnabas: 4 Bernardo: 4 Calvin: 5 Deban: 6 Florian: 5 Jonathan: 8.5 Lucy: 4 |
Luis: 4.5
Natalie: 6.5 Oliver: 6 Pablo: 2 Renske: 7 Sebastian: 3 Tom: 7 William: 4 |
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 8.5.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 4.88/10
What do you think of this song? Share your own score and review below!
I will give a 8/10 for this
Slovenia – 6.5/10 (28th/41)
Slovenia 8/10
Some of your jurors have NO TASTE. This is the best ballad and one of the best songs of the year.
I agree with you – absolutely underrated
My #2 this year, this song is so beautiful. ;(
Owh this is my hidden treasure of the season. I first heard this song on a recorded live playback of the National Final, and I honestly thought it was a studio recording because it was so good. Ana has such an incredible tone in her voice, which I find very moving. She also sounded so good on Pre Party ES a few days ago. The problem with this entry is that the music is deathly slow, and even with Ana’s dramatic gestures, Euro fans everywhere will find this one uninteresting. But I love the lyrics and the beauty of the… Read more »
I know, right? Her cover of “I Put A Spell On You” was incredible, she sounded exactly like Nina Simone.
lolwut? those scores and reviews are unreal lmfao. this is such a powerful song, were the reviews made before the revamp (i hope so, otherwise…)?
Well, I would have agreed with you on this score based in the original version. It was like Croatia not memorable and too classy, it was just there. Now the revamped version almost gave me goosebumps the first time I listened to it with low expectations, especially when I read the lyrics. And we all know she’s great live. So I was really looking forward to the live performance on the Eurovison stage. With a good staging it could have qualified and be a dark horse. Kind of Pastora Soler’s “Quédate conmigo” vibes. I suppose that’s not happening anymore. Before… Read more »
This song is very beautiful and deserves much more points than the Wiwi jury gave to her
I sincerely hope that if she comes again next year, she has a better song. Her voice is WAY too good for a song that, granted, is beautiful, but lacks so much in nearly every aspect except for her vocal.
Not a fan of this song.
I believe you’re on the wrong page, Misteriks. Here’s the link to the Georgian Wiwi Jury article 🙂 :
https://wiwibloggs.com/2020/04/14/wiwi-jury-georgia-tornike-kipiani-take-me-as-i-am/251332/
I guess if Eurovision could have happened, Voda would have been number 2 in the first semi-final, after the obvious and best choice of spot number 1, UNO UNO UNO.
“We have removed a low of 2 and a high of 7.5.” But Jonathan gave it a score of 8.5?
Most underrated song this year by many ESC fans and bookmakers. For me in TOP 10 song this year. They did best revamp of all songs.
Agree.
I actually………love it
I think with the right staging this could have had some sort of impact, but aside from that it just doesn’t stand out for me. It’s not the worst ballad, at least.
SLOVENIA – A gentle, yet sleepy ballad with somewhat cryptic lyrics. It’s about two people who run away together and hide during a storm. I have a hunch there is something more in it’s hidden meaning, but I’m not sure. The vibe here is nice, slow and atmospheric. The verses are a bit too long and slightly boring, but I do feel the power of her voice in the chorus. I love that it’s in the national language and that it’s calming. My main issue is that unlike some other slow songs this year, the pacing really feels dragging and… Read more »
I think this is good. Nothing less, nothing more. Her vocals are stunning but wasted on this song sadly. My issue with this song is that it takes too much time to build. She is a captivating performer but if you don’t have a song that can manage to showcase that then that’s a problem. The revamp has made this from a filler act to something that is at least deserving of being watched for the whole 3 minutes. There’s finally drama, some build up but it never goes all the way and just barely misses the climax that would… Read more »
I embrace this song. Sorry Tobias.
This song is amazing, the revamp brought it to life. I’d complain about the scores, but judging by how bad they have been so far, I just don’t care 😀
Why did you remove a 7.5 when two juries gave 8.5?
This is one of the hardest songs for me to rate. Sometimes i think its boring sometimes i hum it. I don’t think ill ever come to a conclusion about that. I love the drama vibes and the vocals but the song itself isn’t something exciting
Overall:6/10 (22nd)
It seems that most fans disagree with me, but I absolutely love this song. Making a good power ballad can be tricky, but Slovenia did a really great job. “Voda” feels pure, ethereal, spiritual to a certain extent, which pairs nicely with a mystical and poetic nature of the lyrics. I simply adore how the tender, dreamy verses contrast with the chorus, which is as powerful as the gushing waters mentioned in “Voda”. This song is truly an experience that needs to be felt with all the senses. I prefer the original version to the revamp, as I think the… Read more »
It’s really not true but go off I guess
20. Slovenia – 7/10 – a slow and overlong intro, but when it gets there this song evokes stirring and mesmeric nautical images. There is simplicity and universality throughout, we are all 60% water after all. An unusual feminine voice that has power and depth and who exudes the traits of a strong yet caring marine goddess. This song has aching sadness yet is drenched in hope and I enjoy the comforting feeling that it gives me. The strings in the revamp add more strength to an already solid entry. I find myself surprisingly emotional during this song. It has… Read more »
Is Tobias’ score really correct? An 8.5 score doesn’t seem to reflect the poor review.
Such a downgrade after amazing Zalagasper, which I still listen! “Voda” is pompous orchestral ballad ( I wouldn’t call this Balkan ballad) which doesn’t resonates with me at all, wannabe meaningful lyrics, pretentious empty entry which I find pretty much exhausting for listening, even annoying. Ana is good singer, but personally I don’t like her voice, especially in the chorus.
4/10
Our entry this year is fine, but nothing we should be really proud of. Like she can sing and the song is nice, but I agree with everyone else – it’s nothing that special. We’ll see who we will send next year (have a feeling Maraaya may try again). my score: 6/10 1. Romania 10/10 2. Bulgaria 10/10 3. Belgium 9/10 4. Australia 8,5/10 5. Czech Republic 8/10 6. Portugal 8/10 7. Georgia 8/10 8. Italy 8/10 9. Israel 7,5/10 10. Russia 7,5/10 11. Armenia 7/10 12. Albania 7/10 13. UK 7/10 14. Ireland 7/10 15. Belarus 6,5/10 16. Spain… Read more »
Structurally, it had problems from the beginning. The verses are too long and take forever to get to the point. The chorus is a bombastic, vocal onslaught but most listeners are already asleep by the time it comes around. The revamp did a great job of polishing up the instrumental and making it more dramatic. Ana had one of the voices this year so hopefully, they can avoid their horrible NF (worst voting system in Europe, bar none) and work with a fantastic singer to put together a much better song.
My top so far:
1.
2. Italy
3. Romania
4. Bulgaria
5. Croatia
6. United Kingdom
7.
8.
9.
10.
11. Russia
12. Australia
13. Albania
14. Israel
15.
16.
17. Ireland
18. Moldova
19.
20.
21. Belgium
22.
23. Poland
24. Georgia
25. Czech Republic
26.
27. Slovenia
28.
29. Portugal
30. Armenia
31. Spain
32. Austria
33. North Macedonia
34. Cyprus
35. Belarus
36.
37.
38. Serbia
39. Greece
40. San Marino
41.
Middle of the road safe balkan ballad but with a very nice orchestral touch. A decent entry but nothing spectacular enough to qualify. Anyway I don’t mind it but wouldn’t have voted for it. 5/10
You people are deaf..