The Wiwi Jury — our in-house team of music unprofessionals — is reviewing and rating the 39 competing songs in Eurovision 2021. Next we turn to Israel where Eden Alene has “Set Me Free”. Were we convinced by her entry? Read on to find out!
Eden Alene – “Set Me Free”
“Set Me Free” reviews
Antranig: Eden Alene is a fantastic artist and performer but “Set Me Free” isn’t worthy of her talents. The song has some great traditional elements and Eden truly turns the average into the enjoyable. I also feel that the song lacks a big climax and seems to continue at the same pace for three minutes. However, the music video gives me hope that they can come up with some memorable choreography and staging. Unfortunately, I’m afraid this is a case of an extraordinary artist with an average song.
Score: 6
Jonathan: It’s clear that Eden Alene is the key ingredient to this package. From the very start, she has helped elevate every song she’s been given through the selections. While the revamp of “Set Me Free” wasn’t a massive overhaul, it gives Eden more performative opportunities for her time on the Eurovision stage, which is where Israel is most likely to pick up some points. And although Eden may sadly be out of reach of a medal, a place in the contest’s record books should she achieve that whistle note is perhaps an even better way of having her name ingrained in Eurovision history.
Score: 7
Josh: After the revamp of “Set Me Free” hit, I felt as if the added tweaks in the production (and even the whistle note) were unnecessary “bells and whistles” that ended up actually taking away from the song itself, and hurting the overall impression. Now, a couple of weeks on, I’ve changed my mind again — and it’s all because of Eden’s authenticity and consistency. She’s always on vocally, and she brings a sense of self-confidence to everything she does. While I still am unsure if “Set Me Free” will achieve what I thought “Feker Libi” could, I have no doubts that Eden will give every last ounce of herself in the performance to give Israel the best possible result.
Score: 8
Robyn: There’s a lot to like about “Set Me Free”. It delivers a fresh and funky sound and perfectly showcases Eden’s vocal talents. I’m not normally a fan of whistle notes, but the way it’s used in “Set Me Free” feels necessary, part of Eden’s continuing cry for liberation. The song loses a little momentum with the post-chorus that pulls away from Eden as a singer. But all up, it’s an enjoyable song. It doesn’t feel like a sure qualifier, but it will be one to look out for at the semi-finals.
Score: 5.5
Lucy: Eden’s return to Eurovision 2021 was possibly the most anticipated going into the new season, and I truly believe she didn’t disappoint. She has arguably the best vocals in the contest, and the revamp really brought “Set Me Free” in 2021. You can tell how much happier Eden is with the song now it is way more her with the chance to beat the record of highest note ever sung at Eurovision if she pulls it off. Which, let’s face it, she will. This is high-key top quality pop with a dose of sheer coolness, and something we can all dance around to in our lounges in May.
Score: 8
Eden Alene – “Set Me Free” rankings
In the Wiwi Jury we have 24 jurors but only have room for five reviews. The remaining scores are below:
Calvin: 6
Deban: 7 Diego: 6 Erdi: 4 Esma: 6.5 Jordi: 8 Julian: 6 Kristín: 6.5 Lauren: 10 Luis: 5.5 |
Natalie: 7
Oliver: 6 Pablo: 5.5 Renske: 7.5 Ron: 7.5 Sebastian: 7 Tobias: 4 Tom: 7 William: 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 4 and a high of 10.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 6.45/10
What do you think of this song? Share your own score and review below!
I give it a 7.5! I liked Set me free even before the revamp! I prefer & miss Feker Libi’s authenticity tho. This year’s entry is not so innovative, but is a good pop song, is catchy and Eden’s great vocals and charisma elevates it. After the revamp, I miss some of the elements of the first version, but this new one just builds so much better to a powerful ending with that insane high notes, that I’m pretty confident she will hit live. Let’s see if the stage is going to do justice to the video. There are so… Read more »
Israel 2,5/10
Eden deserves a better song. I think a 6.45 score is way higher than it should be. “Set Me Free” is a generic piece of pop with no soul or originality. Brings absolutely nothing new. It’s Eden the one who is clearly elevating this act. The revamped version adds some flavour but it doesn’t work for me either. Her song last year was faaar better and interesting. I’m pretty sure Israel isn’t qualifying this year, certainly it will be really hard from the 1st SF. 5.5/10 6. Spain (7.5) 7. Finland (7.5) 8. Sweden (7.25) 12. Czech Republic (7.25) 15.… Read more »
Spain at #6 – on what planet do you live? The odds have Spain as one of the last place songs in the entire contest. It’s one thing if you were saying it is your personal taste – which you are entitled – but instead you are making predictions in how this will end up and I’m sorry Spain would not qualify in either semi final.
This is a ranking of their taste , though.
It’s a prediction, not personal taste – they are saying who is going to qualify or not.
Before the revamp and before Australia canceled travel I put this at 8-12 in SF1. Now if she nails the performance this will go anywhere from 3-7 in SF1 and can place in top 10 in the final. Unless she screws up the performance this is an automatic qualifier and a dark horse top 10.
I’m really sorry for Eden, this whole thing so unfortunate. “Set Me Free” is contradictory on multiple levels. A patchwork of an upbeat, funky, groovy track and a dance-pop diva banger, it tries to kill two birds with one stone and hits neither, alienating both disco lovers and whistle register enthusiasts. The lyrics are similarly inconsistent and baffling, bereft of flow and clear communication of cause and effect. I have zero clue whether they’re empowering, or light-hearted, or emotional, or maybe none of the above. As a result, “Set Me Free” feels looong and joyless – with no clear tone… Read more »
It got lost in the editing process, but in the first draft of my review I wrote something similar, that this song (mainly for its lyrics, but also for its musical aspects) is not particularly uplifting, emotional, sassy or seductive, while its competitors in a similar lane are all very clear about their intentions.
Though it may end up not being a problem with first time viewers, because many of them will be discovering Eden and it’s hard not to immediately fall for her charms.
A mixed of medusa…and metropolis ? The song completely irrelevant with this photo…Borderline qualifier ?
For someone that doesn’t care about the song you sure found the time for the longest comment here. LOL
He is thorough in his reviews. This one is actually comparatively short, if you ever read one of the others. Not caring is also a valid description, as all songs get their time in the spotlight. This is Israel’s. It’s not like he commented this randomly on an unrelated article.
Antraig- “I also feel that the song lacks a big climax and seems to continue at the same pace for three minutes.” REALLY??? Have you listened to the last 45 seconds? What kind of a comment is that???
William – 5??? The correlation between your song review (on YouTube) and the score you actually gave it is non-existent.
You got to be kidding me.
The points were awarded before the revamp
After the revamp was released the Wiwi Jurors were given an short window of time to amend their scores for Israel to reflect their opinion of the current version.
approximately 24:30 into the video William says he missed the deadline which is why his original score hasn’t been updated, but his actual score for the revamped version would be a 7.
It’s likely several of them missed the deadline. These scores seem to be for the original version, which was a borderline qualifier not even close to the revamp.
the revamp elevated it a lot to the point it jumped from 20-something to 3rd in my top. eden could sing the telephone book to me and i’d enjoy it, her voice is just amazing. and knowing her performance abilities and stage presence, she should easily pull thru
Honestly, same story for me. Before the revamp, it was early 30s-late 20s and now is in my top 10.
I’ve warmed up to this song. I really dislike the verses, but the beautiful chorus kinda makes up for it. I like the whistle note too. It’s in my 20th place, but I’m considering a higher position.
First of all, I’m very pleasantly surprised by the discussion here, both with the level of analysis and with the decorum. I don’t really have any knowledge about judging a song, but I can say that in my opinion, due to political voting, Israel this year is almost guaranteed a place in the final. Azerbaijan has always had some affinity towards Israel, but this year due to the war with Armenia it’s even greater. Judging by the comments in the youtube video, I’d say Israel is guaranteed 10-12 points from Azerbaijan this year in the SF, at least from the… Read more »
It is funny that politics is mentioned in favor for Israel
Televoters in one country in semi final #1 make up for 2.6% of the eventual score.
Even if they do give Israel 12 or 10 points, it’s very far from guaranteeing a qualification, and even if the Azeri vote is in the bag for Eden, Israel is still one of the countries with the least diaspora or neighborly advantage (all they have is the large French Jewish community, but France is voting in the other semi final), if they qualify it would have to mean getting enough votes across the board.
0/10 bring back Doron Medalie
13th: Israel. The best revamp of 2021, following in Armenia 2020’s footsteps. From a funeral dirge of a song with a tired, bland hook, the Israeli team and Eden managed to craft the demo into a song that fully fit her. While this is a very large downgrade from the all-around perfection of Feker Libi and Roots, Set Me Free is still an honourable follow-up. Very well-produced and very catchy, this song has steadily grown on me ever since the revamp and now sits at a comfortable thirteenth. If Eden can hit those whistle notes on the night, this is… Read more »
This is a highly polished song that is musically sharp and to-the-point. The key is C-sharp minor, which itself is interesting because its nearest relative major is the rather joyful-sounding A Major. I like to think this was deliberately placed here to add some uplift to the track, but it’s probably just a coincidence. The latest revamp keeps the song in the same key throughout, and adds a more prominent hook to the song. The revamp has essentially cleaned it up to make it a clearer three minutes. I like the overall production package, and I like Eden’s talent particularly,… Read more »
Eden deserves so much better than this bland song. Bring back Roots or Feke libi.
Can people stop those pointless stupid comments? They can’t bring a song from last year, it’s a done deal. If you have nothing more relevant to say, you know there is an option not to comment.
This is actually higher in the odds than Feker Libi
ISRAEL – Having one of the most charismatic performers in the contest means little if you give her a lackluster song. The third revamp polished this quite a lot, making it more slick and punchy. Still, there are some core issues with the song which remain standing. For instance, it’s lyrically confusing (Why does he have to ”set her free”, if she is ”already gone forever”?), which only emphasizes how it cannot decide on whether it’s meant to be uplifting or melancholic. The new version’s climax is more memorable, but also somewhat more repetitive. Even so, parts of it are… Read more »
About melancholic versus uplifting, I think this is down to the choice of key, and I think it might be deliberate to emphasise the joy of being set free compared to the sadness of captivity. And about being “gone forever” – We can still be in each other’s lives and be “forever gone” at the same time – that would seem to be about the emptiness of captivity. Disclaimer: I’m not the songwriter; I’m just thinking out loud here. Clarification from the real songwriter is always welcome. 🙂
Thank you, Purple. It does help in understanding it. 🙂
Also, my initial NF rating was a 4.5/10, so even if 5.5 doesn’t seem generous, it is an upgrade. Mostly thanks to Eden and the production values.
I’m curious though, are all of these scores based on the revamp because some sound like they may be referring to the nf version.
Deban said in the reaction video for the revamp that they gave already scores before , and that he wanted to change them.
Well Eden actually with both versions could be a dark horse as she would grab lots of jury points, even if she finishes with very few televote points. We have seen this happen with Austria and Denmark in 2017 and Israel again in 2016. So I believe that she will make it into the finals, especially by the time she has a nice running order, unlike Australia, Ireland and Cyprus
Although the song isn’t my thing, I can’t see it as a sure nq like many here down the comments. The staging might be good and it’s quite memorable.
I think it’s in a direct battle against all of the others female bops in semi 1 and it has definitely a chance.
Is this getting annoying? Anyway, here it is again: Wiwi Juries’ current TOP 15 Cyprus (7.45) Finland (7.34) Ukraine (7.32) Russia (7.18) Sweden (7.14) Azerbaijan (6.57) Israel (6.45) Latvia (6.34) Belgium (6.16) (=) Czech Republic (6.16) Serbia (6.09) Albania (5.89) (=) Norway (5.89) Spain (5.34) Germany (5.14) My personal TOP 15 Ukraine (My 7th) Belgium (My 10th) Finland (My 11th) Russia (My 13th) Serbia (My 14th) Cyprus (My 17th) Czech Republic (My 18th) Albania (My 25th) Azerbaijan (My 26th) Israel (My 27th) Sweden (My 31st) Germany (My 34th) Latvia (My 35th) Spain (My 37th) Norway (My 39th) Opinion on ISR:… Read more »
For me, Eden’s song is too poppy. Of course, ESC is a pop contest, but her track looks a way too mainstream, it’s a typically sweet music from Sweden. It sounds that way even if it’s not from there. In my opinion, the performer deserves better. She deserves something fresher and less safe.
The song doesn’t do her any favors. I think she can do way better than this.
27) Israel –
I don’t really have many comments scribbled down for this one, but Eden’s personality on stage and her voice are probably going to carry this entry. It’s rather forgettable, but at the same time I’m prepared to hear /that/ whistle note live. 6/10
It feels like a wasted opportunity. While Eden is immensely talented and has an irresistible sunny personality, “Set Me Free” suffers from lack of identity and focus. The lyrics are confusing. It’s a breakup song where she begs for freedom and later invites this same person, her “one and only” to “come and get some”. Should I feel good or bad for her? The revamp improved the instrumental and gave moments for Eden to wow jurors and viewers, but I’m not a fan of all the screaming and whistling. 5.5/10
Again, we have the same rating, and the very similar reasons behind it. I am looking forward to see whether Skiwalko will join us on this one.
It almost happened again with Estonia, but I took 0.25 from the vocals, which can obviously be returned when Eurovision comes. Since Skiwalko posted his review there, maybe he forgot to do it here? Or is he still trying to figure out the lyrics like you and me? 😀
I gave a pretty good review now. And this time, we are the generous ones. 🙂
I hate to be the grumpy one, but today’s entries are far from my favourites. I can’t wait for an entry I could finally say something positive about.
I totally get it. I feel like I was generous. Especially for Set Me Free, as I really like Eden as a singer. Still, both of these songs are in the borderline part of my bottom 10, so I can see how they can provoke a complete disinterest, or even a direct disapproval. For me, there are worse ones yet to come. Even lower than Serbia, who is in my temporary last place.
On a bright side, only Ukraine has been reviewed from my top 5, so there is a lot to look forward to as well! 🙂
If it wasn’t for Eden, this would get the same 4 from me, Skiwalko. She and Tusse elevate the material they received to the limit, but they can’t solve problems that were in the foundation of the songs. Though I think Sweden will sail to the final and with good staging I can see Israel qualifying too. I just hope they don’t make at the expense of some of my favorites, but I think it’s inevitable that I’ll lose at least one or two of them, as it always happens.
I actually quite like this but it has no chances of advancing it’s too safe and generic. Eden has massive talent and it will be sad to see her not qualifying. For me, it’s one of the obvious NQ along with Macedonia, Norway and Slovenia/Ireland. Staging might elevate this A LOT but I still can’t see it making it into the top 10 of that semi. my score: 7/10 my leaderboard so far: Belgium 9/10 The Czech Republic 9/10 Russia 8,5/10 Cyprus 8,5/10 Sweden 8/10 Ukraine 8/10 Israel 7/10 Azerbaijan 7/10 Spain 6,5/10 Norway 6,5/10 Finland 6,5/10 Serbia 6/10 Latvia… Read more »
yeah, sorry obvious was the wrong word.. 🙂 I think only Macedonia is the obvious NQ… all others I think will NQ but aren’t obvious.
I do prefer the revamped version. I agree with you though this should not qualify… too generic even though Eden is amazing.. I also doubt it will tbh – she and Albina will fight for the same votes and Albina has Slovenia and Macedonia while Israel has nobody.
Eden is way better than this song. While I think that with great life performance she can make it to the finals, I wouldn’t be happy abou that. I just can’t connect with this song. It’s bit to messy, and bland at the same time for me
Unfortunately, it’s in my bottom 10… Such a shame, since I was hoping for something way better from Eden
Eden is stunning and I’m sure she’ll go far whatever happens at Eurovision. Now fir the song. I know we have to compare the songs to the other songs that are competing this year, but it’s difficult not to when we have an artist from 2020. “Fekir Libi” last year was epic and a definite top 10 placing, “Set Me Free” is good, but I feel it fails to hit the heights that we already know Eden is able to. The song is good, but just feels flat and slightly rushed, the revamp helped but some issues remain, such as… Read more »
Feker Libi >>>> Set Me Free
Personally, I like the song.
Which songs are you
excited about?
P.s. kommst du zufälligerweise aus Deutschland?
This is going to be top 5 in SF1 and somewhere between 5-15 in the final. It is one of the few songs that will get a lot of points from both jury and televote. The previous version was much worse and very borderline qualifier. This one is made for Eden to shine. Many of the reviewers are comparing it to feker libi or have the previous version in their head, but that has nothing to do with how it will perform in the contest.
i hate to burst your bubble, but this song will not advance to the grand final. SF1 is simply too competitive and Israel lacks a memorable song, despite Eden’s boundless charisma and talent
No bubbles burst. This is a 100% sure qualifier, it’s not even borderline.
Eden needed better songs. This is decent. I liked the second version better. Still it’s not a bad song. But the singer is winner material , the song is sadly not.
Currently the chorus ” I’ma make it on my ahhhhh-…..n ” is very off putting to me. It gives me the vibe of a battery suddenly dying.
She’s got more opportunity to show off her vocal skills after the 2nd revamp and should get more jury points. This Is in direct competition with Australia, Croatia and Ireland to qualify. I think it’s borderline.
7/10.
28 . Israel: Sadly I find this song unmemorable and quite bland. It has some moments where it is catchy like the “set me free” part but the rest of the song is far from special. I am also one of the few I believe people that like the first version more than than the revamp (even though the first version wouldn’t be much higher in my top). It could be a borderline qualifier but I lean more towards saying this won’t qualify given that semi final 1 is a bloodbath.
Genuinely shocked that this got a higher Jury score than Belgium!
it’s not just shocking, it’s revolting
Agreed, Belgium has a much better song.
I love her! She deserve more than this result..
33. Israel – Eden Alene – Set me Free – 4.5/10 – the revamp improved the song but musically it still all sounds incredibly safe and very, very familiar. The different elements of the song are also arranged in a very jumbled manner. The “set me free” bit feels like a completely different song from the rest of it and imo it is the worst part of the song which is unfortunate as the main part. There are then exceptional vocal runs on display but they don’t seem connected or necessary in the song’s context. All in all, there are… Read more »
In other unrelated news, husavik missed out on the oscar for best original song
it went to fight for you
Sad