The Wiwi Jury — our in-house team of music unprofessionals — is reviewing and rating the 39 competing songs in Eurovision 2021. Next we travel to the Czech Republic and listen to Benny Cristo with his song “Omaga”. Read on to find out what we thought!
Benny Cristo – “Omaga”
“Omaga” reviews
Diego: Benny Cristo transmits good vibes and energy. He’s taking a risk by creating something different with “Omaga” He expresses joy and I enjoy hearing that. Although this song does not have sensible lyrics or a deep message, it is fun and very catchy. The chorus gets stuck in your head for days! And when it comes to staging options, “Omaga” has a lot to play with. It sounds colourful, visual and energetic.
Score: 6.5
Lauren: When Benny Cristo performed “Kemama” in Vidbir 2020, I realised I was massively underrating him as a performer. This year, I was prepared for Benny to deliver a banger, and he exceeded my expectations to the umpteenth degree. That being said, going third in a semi-final with none of Czechia’s voting allies, I fear for this fantastic entry’s chances. Hopefully, the second I see it performed live, I’ll understand I have nothing to worry about. “Omaga” is a brilliantly written and composed piece by a loveable artist. One thing is for sure, Czechia is continuing its positive trajectory.
Score: 9.5
Antranig: The title of this song actually triggers me in my personal war against pointless contractions. Benny Cristo does Benny Cristo well — he has his own style, sound and personality and all of that is on show here. While I respect it, it’s just not my cup of tea and I don’t enjoy his style of music. If you liked “Kemama”, I daresay you’ll like “Omaga” too. Lyrically, it’s full of cliches and feels like it was written by an overexcited teenager. Sadly, I’m just not that into it.
Score: 2.5
Lucy: “Omaga” is the sheer burst of joy we all needed in 2021. Benny Cristo has cleverly crafted a song that references lockdown in a cheeky and hard-to-resist way. Seriously, the lyric “there ain’t no apocalypse, as long as you’re here on my lips” might be one of the most flirtatious lyrics ever in Eurovision, and I’m kinda here for it. I can’t fault the fun angle on what we’re all going through by making it romantically playful, nor Benny’s famous stage presence. There’s only one score I could ever give this, and it’s unquestionably a ten. This song is repeat-heaven, and I’m beyond excited to see what he brings to Rotterdam.
Score: 10
Oliver: Its lyrics may at times be cliché and juvenile, but there’s something about “Omaga” that keeps you coming back for more. This track does a brilliant job of showcasing Benny Cristo as the personality he is — totally captivating, charming, and oozing with character. And there’s no doubt he’ll bring that same joyous energy to the Eurovision stage. Musically, there’s a lot of quality elements here. Dembow rhythms make for a danceable beat and the infectious bassline drives momentum throughout. Though there could be more variety, the repetitiveness works well in creating an earworm quality and a memorable hook that will surely get Benny plenty of radio spins across Europe.
Score: 7.5
Benny Cristo – “Omaga” rankings
In the Wiwi Jury we have 24 jurors but only have room for five reviews. The remaining scores are below:
| Calvin: 7
Deban: 4 Erdi: 2 Esma: 7 Jonathan: 8.5 Jordi: 5 Josh: 7.5 Julian: 9 Kristín: 6.5 Luis: 8 Natalie: 5.5 |
Pablo: 6.5
Renske: 7 Robyn: 5.5 Ron: 5 Sebastian: 3 Tobias: 1.5 Tom: 6.5 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 1.5 and a high of 10.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 6.16/10
What do you think of this song? Share your own score and review below!
nothing’s quite like Omaga and no one’s quite like Benny Cristo. 10/10.
Czech Republic 4/10
A 9 for me. I find it insulting that some people give it less than 4. taste is a thing but so is common sense and respect!
I give it a 7.5!
Omaga is not as original as kemama was, but I like this year’s entry! This song makes me happy, makes me dance, It’s just fun and uplifting! And that matches the message of the song really well! The lyrics are not the best thing about it, but they’re so catchy & even cute! I love the instrumentals! Benny is a charismatic great performer and I really hope he will qualify, even if I think he will struggle to do so. I think it will be a 9th or 10th place qualifier.
Benny’s music is one of my guilty pleasures. I shouldn’t like it, but I do. I like the cheekiness of it, and it also happens to be well-produced.
It’s mainly driven by three chords (with some exceptions), and they gently slide up and down. Yes, like that. There are also these jazz notes in the melody, which are added naughtyness. There is also an accompanying siren sound, which, yes you guessed it, slides up and down on two notes of the scale. The song only has one thing on its mind. Just get on and “have it” then. 🙂
Don’t feel guilty. It’s okay to like things that aren’t complicated…like pancakes. They only have three ingredients, but they are delicious.
This is so underrated. I love it
I think it deserves a higher score. It is the typical song the regular eurofan tend to pass on but end up qualifying and being well valued. He has the charisma, a feel good song with some summer and tropical vibes, can’t ask for more, isn’t a winner but in my book should be a qualifier. I specially like the live band performance it adds a new layer of musicality I really enjoy. I even prefer it to the original. I can’t believe some people said his live performance was bad. Her vocals were on point but there’s more in… Read more »
If performed well, this might go very, very far. Mark my words.
Gold star.
I have not much to say about Czech Republic, it’s one of those entries that I don’t find bad, but I don’t actually care about. Omaga is a nice feel-good song that I enjoy listening to when it’s on, but I would never add it in my playlist. It’s definitely catchy and very easy to listen to, also Benny is a very charismatic performer and looks genuinely like a simpathetic person but his vocals really need to improve to have a chance to qualify for the Grand Final (and I think he surely will with a good performance). His performance… Read more »
you’ve been home too long, i’ve been home too long
It’s a 9/10 for me, one of my favorites this year. I’mn generally not into uptempo songs, but this one really grabbed my attention. It’s playful, crazy, colorful, has a lot of personality, and has a purpose – make you smile and enjoy the moment – without trying to be more than it is. Actually making people smile and have a good time is already a lot. Thank you Benny for this wonderful song. Also, I can understand those who are bothered by the word “omaga”, but to me it’s not hurting the song in general, and it’s just in… Read more »
Somebody said this has a little bit of the boygroup genre. Since you know so much about all genres, what do you think about this statement?
Benny is so cool and this is so much fun. I prefer Kemama by a landslide. But anyhow I like this.
The boy group song of this year is Norway’s!
Wow, that’s certainly a higher score than I thought, and a ten too… I personally don’t like the song, and the word “omaga” in particular makes my blood boil. There are songs that I enjoy less tho, so it’s my n. 33.
While I always strive to focus on the song in my “reviews”, I’d be lying if I said that Benny’s personality and character hasn’t affected my feelings towards “Omaga”. He’s no doubt one of the most positive, upbeat and cheerful persons I’ve heard of, and his easy-going attitude is shining through everything he’s doing – interviews, videos, projects, campaigns, concerts and, of course, his music. Whenever I see him, I just can’t help but smile. But I do like the song. Although musically he’s travelled from Africa to the US of A, the core is still the same – Benny’s… Read more »
Greece, Serbia, Croatia and Moldova? All are outdated and full of clichés …
The Czech Republic serving quality for the x time in a row! I just love this, it’s happy, modern and colourful. Again Benny really makes this song! I’m also proud that a country like C. Republic is sending their biggest artist to esc since this can only do good to the reputation of the contest, hoping some bigger countries would do the same but I doubt Spain and UK have any ambition.
my score: 9/10
my leaderboard so far:
pastora soler and ruth Lorenzo are both really big in Spain, from what I know of them
they are big but more in a sense like when UK sent Blue or Bonnie – everybody knows them but her music isn’t really played on the radio (at least as far as I’m aware of). I’m mean of course it’s better than drag acts but it would be better if they send actual quality entries – they literally have hundreds of good artists I’m sure one of them would do it, it all comes down to the HoD.
well, conchita was a drag act
well, I dislike 90 % of drag queens. Conchita was good but imo did not deserve to win – top 15 yes, top 5 no.
don’t think it’s fair to say you dislike 90% of drag queens when you probably haven’t met any, but okay
what has meeting drag queens anything to do with their music? I don’t need to meet Ariana Grande to judge her songs.
yeah completely. I’d be so bad at critiquing someone’s work in person.. I wouldn’t be able to do it.
Do you have something against Black people? Because in every article you make rude comments to Destiny and now Benny.Malta and Czech Republic and Croatia are the best dance songs this year why? Becaus they are good produced Greece is a Dua Lipa rip-off and Moldova sounds like a dated Katty perry song.
Wait, Destiny is considered black? It doesn’t make any difference for her character of course, and I don’t mean it negatively, but I’m shocked :O
Oh, also, the Greek song is not a rip-off (and the Maltese one is definitely not original)
she has a dark skin colour and the composers and songwriters of Greece song were definitely inspired by Dua Lipa.I did not say that Malta song was original i say it was the best produced.
You did not make comments to Swedish and Israel representatives.
Says the one who is hating on Destiny on every article.I speak to you about your wrong behavior.
I can confirm as a black woman who wrote the article for wiwi last year ‘Black lives Matter and so do black artists at eurovision’ they don’t have something against black people, also Deban one of the wiwi faces is blacker than black! William himself belongs to an ethnical minority group It would be quite a problem if Deban would hate on people who are from African diaspora. ?
“Lyrically, it’s full of cliches and feels like it was written by an overexcited teenager.”
In that case, I’ll be interested to see your comments about Cyprus.
Cyprus is basically the poster child for “Slightly ethnic diva bop” Tibor and I were discussing below. Thus, fans are willing to overlook it’s cringe lyrics. I find some sort of poetic irony that these blatant lyrics are actually perfectly matched with its message about surrendering to the dark. 😉
Not the worst lyrics of the year, though.
Personally I would rate this above the juries current top 3. This year there a lot of songs I really like and would want to see at the top of the leaderboard, this is one of them.
I’ll be honest, I didn’t really like Omaga when I heard it first, I felt it was missing some kind of hook or pull, but I have to say it’s grown on me a lot over the last few weeks. Love the music video too.
While it’s no Kemama which felt more personal to Benny and his roots, I think yeah Omaga isn’t bad at all.
Benny is a charismatic performer and gives it his all to please his fans. I think Czech Republic will, or should do well this year.
Best of luck Benny 7/10
To be honest, it took me a while to get into “Omaga”. In a song contest, it’s important to “make an impression” and this one doesn’t put much focus on doing it. Though it’s part of its charm as an unpretentious and effective fun song. The production is slick, the bass line is great and Benny carries lots of rhythm and personality in his voice. Knowing his stage presence, I’m sure he can elevate it even more. It’s also nice how it addresses covid times in the lightest possible way. 7.25/10
4) Czech Republic –
This song really does bring me joy, and it’s definitely the one I’ve listened to the most so far. I loved Kemama last year, and this year’s no different. While yeah, it’s not the most substantial song lyrics-wise, sometimes you just want a bit of fun and Benny really does it for me here. I just hope that the staging will be reflective of the music video, because I thought that was brilliant. 9/10
Well agree about Germany, Latvia and N. Macedonia, but I actually find Czech Republic amazing?!
But I thought you liked Germany (I never did, I’m just confused because of your comment above: “Parodies are usually fun and have quality.”)
Oh, well, good job I guess lol.
I don’t find it godawful, just super-hyper annoying
Wiwi Juries’ current TOP 7
My personal TOP 7
Opinion on CZE: Such a feel-good song. I actually didn’t HATE Kemama but Omaga is definitely a stronger contender for qualification and a possible top-20 placement! Plus, Benny is one of the humble participants in ESC and I absolutely love his attitude!
PS Please respect my opinion, if you wish 🙂
I wasn’t the biggest fan of Kemama, so I was really curious if Benny could send a song that I like more. Then Omaga got released, I listened to it, and I immediately liked it more than Kemama. After listening to it more and more, it turned into one of my favourite songs this year. I really like how Omaga talks about the pandemic in a way that doesn’t make you sad. Instead of focusing on the things we lost, the lyrics give you a warm hug, like “Oh, I haven’t met new people in a while, wait, YOU ARE… Read more »
omaga is in my top 3. its not particularly special but its just so good. it feels similar to roxen’s entry in that it isn’t particularly powerful but its definitely a likable song and one that people would put on their playlists.
this song is so underrated. it’s a total earworm, both the instrumental and the melody, and he’s super charismatic. idek why he’s seen as a borderline qualifier, he’s one of the few participants who are used to performing headlining shows in 10k+ capacity venues
This gives me such happy-go-lucky , easy , laidback vibes and I love it . This does not come across as a parody unlike Germany. I think it’s refreshing , he’s got a good vocal , a bad running order and plenty of stage presence. It depends entirely on how they stage this entry. I currently see it at the cusp of qualification at 11th . Hopefully they’ll jump the cusp.
7.5/10
IMHO, Germany is fun and has quality.
Oww… poor Jendrik. 🙁 At least my review will be a positive one. But I am ready for a rain of negative ones, and I am fine with that. Judging by the lyrics, so is he. 🙂
Ideally they should be fun. I agree mostly with what you mean for Germany . But not to the same extreme
21. Czech Republic: Just a fun and positive song. Some parts are catchy, but in some other parts the song is flat. Nevertheless it’s a joyful and bright entry. It will struggle to qualify though.
One of my most played songs from this year. It has a cool vibe which none other entry has this year. I have a feeling this will be much better live.lets hope they will go through to the final because benny deserves it.
YES!!! you said it best. this song is just effortlessly cool. benny’s entire act is
Once again my ranking is very close with Wiwijury’s.
For the time being Wiwijury’s Ranking:
1. Russia 7.18
2. Sweden 7.14
3. Latvia 6.34
4. Belgium 6.16
= Czech Republic 6.16
6. Serbia 6.06
7. Norway 5.89
My ranking:
1. Serbia 8.5
= Sweden 8.5
3. Latvia 7.5
= Russia 7.5
5. Belgium 7
6. Czech Republic 6
7. Norway 4.5
Lol I love the way you downvote me once again for expressing my opinion. If you just believe that I’m wrong it’s better to comment expressing your differences democratically rather than downvoting me like I’ve cursed someone.
I wouldn’t worry about it. The rationale for the downvotes is that it is highly, highly unlikely that when you list lots of entries that people will agree with you 100% – someone might agree on 6 out of 7 but because you might have put their favourite last, they will still downvote even if they largely agree with the rest. That’s what makes this site and competition so great, there are so many different opinions! Try not to take the up and down votes to heart. And some people don’t have the time or desire to reply with a… Read more »
Shame on you Tobias, Antranig and Erdi ! Kidding 🙂
This song is so energizing ! this is definitely not the most original song of all time but definitely a must have for the final to have positive feelings during the ESC party
Kemama was in my top 5 last year, and I hoped he’d come up with a similar song. I really like Benny but this song is not really for me.
I was expecting a MUCH higher average
Between this and belguim I am very disappointed in this years wiwijury
Typical eurofans have issue with Hip-Hop, Rap or R&B type of songs usually.
I really don’t know why
I would call it a *slightly* ethnic bop, as going ”fully” ethnic, like Ukraine, can also get you sidelined among many hardcore fans. A slightly ethnic uptempo pop. If sung by a diva who accentuates both her charm and her independence, the better. 😉
A disclaimer – Not saying that most fans like *only* slightly ethnic diva bops, and not saying that some of them aren’t truly great in my opinion as well. Just saying that, if I had to make a calculated choice on which genre and style has the highest statistic chance of appeasing the majority of big fans, that would be it.
25th: Czech Republic. This is not bad. It’s a good pop song with a very interesting beat in the verses and a very catchy hook. It is worlds away from Kemama, which is not something I was expecting: I do wish there was some afrobeat influence in Omaga. But something about this song doesn’t quite click for me. It’s good and I can enjoy it while it is on, but it’s not a song I ever seek out. I hesitate to call it generic, so maybe I’ll call it underwhelming compared to its potential. I really do appreciate the inclusion… Read more »
CZECH REPUBLIC – I really liked Benny’s song last year, but he stepped up even more, delivering a top ten-worthy entry. It’s an amazingly produced track which wouldn’t feel out of place on any worldwide radio station. It’s uplifting, catchy, and entertaining. It is also surprisingly humorous. This is especially highlighted by his charming, carefree delivery and a vibrant scenery. It has that nostalgic image from the older films, when a guy is trying to impress a girl of his dreams, but it’s done in a contemporary, respectable, and cute way. It is also a big earworm, so I have… Read more »
One-dimensional “yasss queen” type of fans….
If Cyprus gets higher score than this and Belgium I’ll kill somebody
I’m going to call the police then so they will be prepared for a murder
Agree, Cyprus is probably the most overrated sing this year along with a certain singer who is being pushed everywhere by odds, journalists, etc… but no need to kill, just hope the results will be way different
i could be downvoted a lot for saying this, but for once i agree with tobias
Well, even if you hate the song, 1.5 is way too low for a song like what which is somehow catchy
29. Czech Rep – Benny Cristo – Omaga – 5.5/10 – this style of song is not really my thing but I can appreciate that Benny has delivered a well-produced radio-friendly pop track. I enjoyed Kemama more as it had more of a clubbier edge to it whereas this feels much more middle of the road. But it is not offensive whilst it is playing, which is more than can be said for some other songs and sometimes I do find myself swaying gently to the beat. Benny seems very charismatic so there is every chance he will do well… Read more »