The Wiwi Jury — our in-house team of music unprofessionals — is reviewing and rating the 39 competing songs in Eurovision 2021. Next we take a look at Slovenia, where Ana Soklič has “Amen”. Did it make us want to shout hallelujah? Read on to find out!
Ana Soklič – “Amen”
“Amen” reviews
Julian: Oh Lord, what a voice. We already knew Ana’s big voice and her range but “Amen” definitely shows her voice at the next level! Beginning slowly, Ana had me with her first note singing. Going on, the song builds beautifully into a big chorus and a gospel choir supports her, elevating the song even more. While there a people who see “Amen” as a typical ballad — which it actually is — I would not underestimate Ana to convince listeners at home and in the jury to vote Slovenia into the final!
Score: 7.5
Luis: Ana Soklic’s abilities are out of the question. What is yet to be settled is whether this entry is a beautiful showcase for them or mere vocal masturbation. Musically, the instrumentation is grand albeit a bit empty. “Amen” follows a risky path: a message that’s so explicit will have its followers, but also its detractors. Religious imagery is a delicate topic, many will interpret this as a sermon, and it’s not certain this is what the audience wants on Eurovision night.
Score: 2
Deban: In a modern world where “El Diablo” is AMAZING and Jesus is not, we really have to take some of these criticisms with a pinch of salt. Although “Amen” isn’t my track of choice, it underpins the faith of millions of listeners across the continent and fully represents the singer. I would’ve preferred this entry to read more ‘inclusive’. However, it would be a major oversight to ignore the strength of Ana Soklic’s voice. From her deep register to her mezzo-soprano highs, this Slovenian singer is a master vocalist. When the choir of voices join her, she powers in to build a bigger stage moment and knows when to exercise restraint as the track fades to an end. Not many of her contemporaries have mastered this skill in the way that she has.
Score: 6
Natalie: I have to say, this song grew on me a lot when I did the lyrics analysis of it. Maybe it’s just because Ana Soklic’s vocals are so hard to hate. Or maybe it’s because “Hallelujah!” sounds so good when it’s sung as loudly as possible. It’s a lot deeper than we usually expect a power ballad at Eurovision to be. And it builds – oh Jeez, does it build. Each chorus is more intense than the next, and it’s so exhilarating. But let’s be realistic, it’s still just Inspirational Power Ballad #9999 at Eurovision and, buried in slot number two, its prospects are less than stellar. But I have a lot more respect for this song than I did when I heard it at face value.
Score: 4.5
Renske: You can be very upfront with Slovenia’s entry this year. Ana perhaps has one of the strongest voices in this year’s contest, but “Amen” simply does not give us anything we haven’t heard from other countries in recent years. The use of a gospel choir at the end of the song gives the song something current, but in a competition with 38 other songs, it will sadly not stand out, especially not for televoters as there are simply other songs using similar themes and lyrics.
Score: 7.5
Ana Soklič – “Amen” rankings
In the Wiwi Jury we have 24 jurors but only have room for five reviews. The remaining scores are below:
| Antranig: 5
Calvin: 7.5 Diego: 5.5 Erdi: 2.5 Esma: 5 Jonathan: 5.5 Jordi: 5.5 Josh: 8.5 Kristín: 5 Lauren: 2.5 |
Lucy: 5
Oliver: 2 Pablo: 3.5 Robyn: 4 Ron: 3.5 Sebastian: 3 Tobias: 5 Tom: 7.5 William: 3.5 |
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 2 and a high of 8.5.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 4.84/10
What do you think of this song? Share your own score and review below!
I like the song much more than Voda, it has potential for a really great staging. People are writing it off as a NQ because of the Christian symbolism, but you forget that we have Russia, Ukraine, Croatia, N. Macedonia, Romania and Lithuania in the same Semi 1 and those are the most religious Christian countries in Europe. The other two are Poland and Serbia in Semi 2. I can totally see Russia and Ukraine juries giving 12 points to this to make a point of “traditional values” and “normal” music. The public of Slavic countries could also give this… Read more »
The song is admittedly no masterpiece but I do love the “sour” note in the bridge. Voda was certainly better (and severely underrated by the fandom).
Looking at the other entries in the first semi, I’m not sure if it will make the cut but I think it could be a shock qualifier. Fingers crossed for Ana as I’d personally put her through to the final.
It’s a very unfairly low ranking for this song. Yes, it’s not great but still. I personally think that we‘ll see her in the Final. I hope jury will help her. Honestly, I’d rather see Slovenia in the final than Azerbaijan, for example
I definitely do not think that a potential religious meaning behind the song should be criticized by anyone. We must learn to equally tolerate people of different faiths, sexuality, and skin color.
I have to applause Ana for her bravery. People are so judgmental these days, that if they hear any religious context in a song, they’re always ready to attack. As a fellow Christian myself, I was so happy to finally see not only one, but TWO songs of Christian background and influence. Although Im not a huge fan of ballad, her voice is absolutely breathtaking, and for that reason I believe this song is underrated.
Final ranking: 22/39
Rating: 7/10
I love this song, unpopular opinion but she’s my 3rd, 9.5/10
She’s a dark horse; all you guys want is uptempo songs as usual, of course she’s underrated.
A great voice wasted on a non-descript yawn 2/10
Slovenia 2/10 – definitely NQ
Damn… 4.85 as the average score… I wasn’t expecting that, honestly I was expecting a bit more higher.. She has an amazing voice, but she’s in the semi final of death.. (Semi final 1), I don’t see this qualifying, but I respect the song. 🙂
I wouldn’t put Amen so low; while I was hoping for something along the lines of Voda (which was my 2nd place last year!) I know that she will definitely be able to pull this off live and elevate the song. Hopefully it turns out the best for her 🙂
Phenomenal voice? Check. Power? Check. Potential for great staging? Check. There’s a lot of great elements here but unfortunately the song doesn’t live up to the sum of its parts. And, for me, this has nothing to do with the religious elements of the song (though I wouldn’t consider myself religious). She’s not breaking any rules by adoring her own religion and I don’t think it should be downvoted for this, it just doesn’t stand up to songs with more impact and resonance. Obviously this is just my honest opinion and others will disagree which is cool.
Ana vocals are impressive, one of the best female vocalist this year, but unfortunately that’s the only outstanding thing about this entry. Well, I agree the last minute elevates this entry a little bit. Other than that, it is pretty ordinary, not bad, just average. It does win the “Amen” battle by a little margin though. Personally, I prefer the revamped version of “Voda” over this one. I was convinced that “Voda” was going to be the dark horse of the edition. It went from my bottom 5 from my top 10. So incredible and touching. She would have fill… Read more »
Saying Ana’s song is “off-putting” for being too religious is no better than people denouncing El Diablo for being satanic. Its hypocritical.
And Kazakhstan is in Asia is truth.
Hard agree. People might not like religious lyrics, and I’m not religious myself, but appreciate the song for its merits.
4.84 !??? WTH? way too low. You will see. She’s the dark horse of 2021
SLOVENIA – This is primarily a platform for Ana’s outstanding vocals. Aside from that, it has a classicist approach, which means that the main purpose of an art piece is to spread a message. It relies on a safe, even a bit beige composition. The verses are too stripped back and feel rather flat. I tend to like big belting ballads, but this feels too cold to deliver its empowerment message right. The religious symbolism isn’t even pretending to be subtle, and the execution isn’t inviting enough to surpass that preachy tone. On a plus side, it has Ana, who… Read more »
19. Slovenia – Ana Soklic – Amen – 6.5/10 – this track drips with confidence and expertise, it is unashamedly old-fashioned and it doesn’t care what you think. The religious undertones are a little off-putting, but Ana’s vocal is so strong that she sucks me into the sentiment. The stirring strings and gospel elements add loftiness to the glorious message.
Good vocalist but bland song
Somehow I havee the feeling that she is going to pull out a Tamara Todevska and this is going to be the this year’s North Macedonia 2019.
I wouldn’t mind tbh. This is one of my favouris this year. I love her voice and this is one of the best ballads this year.
North Macedonia won in 2019 jury vote because of the women empowerment message this song has a christian message jurys will hate this
North Macedonia won because of Tamara’s beautiful vocals and stage performance.
Of course this song has a place at ESC. Gospel is… gospel; It tends to do well at Eurovision. Ana’s self-determination and incredible vocals make this performance a stand out. However, the first two minutes of the song have the Verses, Bridges and Choruses all in the same key, which is probably the main reason why people get bored by it. It’s all dull anticipation in the first two minutes, and it feels like it’s going nowhere. However, the third minute of this song contains some absolutely glorious harmony. There is a Bridge where the G-sharp minor key modulates quite… Read more »
Hallelujah, she’s glorious!
I’m not a fan of key changes, but I agree that this one was very well done. It fits as part of the build up and it’s not our usual “hey, I don’t know what else to try here, so please enjoy this key change”.
Of all the songs in Semi Final 1, which is a tight semi final that is hard to predict, this is the one that I am most confident won’t qualify. I simply cannot imagine any scenario in which it does qualify. The running order won’t do it any favors either.
This is going to be one of the best live performances and possibly top-10 with juries in the semifinal. I don’t agree she has no chance to qualify and I do think that her performance can be one of the highlights of the semifinal.
Every man to his taste, but Kristin gave 10 (ten!) points to Norway and 5 (five!) to Slovenia
If Eurovision was about singers and not songs, Ana would be a strong contender to win the whole thing. She has it all: an interesting tone, excellent technique and enough power to fill an arena. Unfortunately, “Amen” uses her skills in a manner that sounds calculated and pompous to my ears. More than the religious undertone, what rubs me in the wrong way is how she sings it from a position of authority. But the quality is there and I wouldn’t be shocked if the juries decide to give Slovenia a strong push. 6/10
We have similar descriptions regarding Ana’s grand vocals, as well as calculation / coldness in the song. However, this time you were much more generous than I was. Her glorious vocals alone gave it about 0.5 points more, but there is little for me to enjoy.
Her vocals are phenomenal and a big part of my grade. One random thing that crossed my mind one of these days is that if she was singing “A Matter of Time” (I love Sennek, but she couldn’t handle it when going live), she would be a serious contender (and that song surely deserved to be it). But I simply can’t connect with “Amen”.
What a great idea! Ana with ”A Matter of Time” probably would’ve finished in top ten in 2018, and she would’ve deserved it. The only reason why that song isn’t in my top ten of its year is Sennek’s wooden delivery. Ana would have owned it. 🙂
Also, you noted very well how condescending this approach may feel. It’s perhaps not the religious overtone itself (as I do love some religious songs very much), as it is that the song talks from a position of authority. I feel like I’ve been a bit harsh on it, but it is really cold, while not being well built-up until well after the second minute, and not as well produced as some others. I feel like about two thirds of these lyrics, with a different arrangement, and a bit of warmth, could even work well. That said, I can see… Read more »
This would definitely benefit from some warmth on its approach. The lyrics are quite somber and sound like she’s lecturing someone. I get that the intention is to show that perseverance will guide you through the storm and lead you to the light, but for me the tone used is unsettling. Though I’m far from being its target audience, maybe this is exactly what some people want to hear.
People banging on about the religious connotations of this song being a detracting factor, yet they give top honours to a song they’re saying people shouldn’t take literally as an ode to the occult and the devil himself! Choose one side of the fence please and stick to it! I dont care about connotations. The song may not be the most groundbreaking song this year, but it is by far NOT the worst out of the 39! Looking at statistics, reviews online and the reception by the euro-fans most definitely proves that it isn’t the least liked. Plus, Ana’s vocal… Read more »
A song with no structure whatsoever. Her vocals hold together what would otherwise be a disaster.
‘No structure’? How much more structure do you want? Loool. The song has a classic arrangement. One that you probably don’t understand because you only stan generic bops.
This for me is one of the most underrated songs of the year . Ana’s vocal tone makes her stand out , she is a great vocalist. The song doesn’t entirely do her justice but gives her a lot of opportunities to show her skills. I’m not one who hugely thinks about meanings and lyrics and possibly that’s why I’m able to enjoy the song more than other who are off-put by its undertones.
Do I want it to qualify ? Absolutely
Do I see it qualifying ? Sadly , no.
7/10
For me it is an underrated entry, I honestly think that this song could pull an Ireland 2018 and be a shock qualifier. I am sure the juries will rate this well. It’s not on my playlist but the song has quality and is rich, and Ana has an amazing voice
Wiwi Juries’ current TOP 17 Cyprus (7.45) Finland (7.34) Ukraine (7.32) Russia (7.18) Sweden (7.14) Croatia (6.75) 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) Estonia (5.07) Slovenia (4.84) My personal TOP 17 Ukraine (My 7th) Belgium (My 10th) Finland (My 11th) Estonia (My 12th) Russia (My 13th) Serbia (My 14th) Cyprus (My 17th) Czech Republic (My 18th) Albania (My 25th) Azerbaijan (My 26th) Israel (My 27th) Croatia (My 29th) Sweden (My 31st) Germany (My 34th) Latvia (My 35th) Slovenia (My 36th) Spain (My 37th)… Read more »
”but it’s not reaching the creepy lows of you know who”
I really do not, but I am curious. I mean, as far as preachy content goes, these lyrics do keep it within reasonable borders, but I still feel they are seriously dancing around that thin line which allows spiritual, but not strictly religious content in ESC. Not the first song that does it, though, but I don’t see the likes of Maria Magdalena or The Dream being *more* religious in comparison. 🙂
Oh! Yes, I agree. That song was good, composition-wise, and hauntingly unsettling, lyrically. No wonder I preferred several other entries in SN 2019, even if Laura has, technically speaking, one of the best voices.
I think this is so underrated personally. Obviously I respect other peoples opinions but I’ve grown to really love this entry! The lyrics are so so powerful and Ana has one of the best voices in the competition. Make no mistake in counting this out of qualification, especially with the jury.
Completely agree
This is easily a top 10 material for the juries, but I feel that televoters might give this less than 10 points,like North Macedonia, not because this is a bad song, but because the competition is really big
35. Slovenia: Though Ana is a great singer the song has nothing going for it. The best part for me is the Gospel part at the end which won’t even be featured in the Eurovision performance I guess. The rest of the song is bland and a bit boring for me.
4.84? Ouch, even the song from Azerbaijan had higher score, and that song really isn’t giving such emotion like this. Slovenia is underrated by most people.
look I know I’m biased (not really since this song is around my 30th place).. but how is it possible that it got around the same score as Romania did in 2018, as Moldova in 2019, and lower than San Marino 2017? Kinda unfair imo.. my review will be up later, have no energy left haha
hahahah she most definitely will 😉
This year, Ana is taking us to church, and it’s a decision I fully support and respect. I may personally prefer jazz-prodigy-Nina-Simone-reincarnation Ana to a Sunday-morning-service Ana, but either way there is a lot to appreciate in “Amen”. As an atheist myself, I can’t deny the enchanting sublimity and admirable purity of its religious imagery and psalm-like sentences. I think their artistry and universalism transcends cultures and beliefs, as we’ve indeed been “born to fight” in times of a “relentless storm”. Although sometimes we may feel as if “we’ve fallen from grace” (hey, TIX!), it’s through bruises and scars that… Read more »
4.84 lowest score ever
I’d even argue that Ana’s vocals are even more powerful than Tamara’s.
Do people not read lyrics? The song’s not “religious” per se, it just uses some fairly common religious metaphors in a song about perseverance. I’m pretty sure the guy who wrote Rise Like a Phoenix was directly involved in this one too.
Does anyone know what the all time lowest wiwijury scores are? I don’t often see songs go below a 5.
Every year 5-6 songs go below a 5, with usually one or two going below a 4. The older editions had a bit more polarizing ratings, though. There were more 10s and 9s, but also more 1s and even 0s. So, some less liked NF songs could score as low as 1.5. These days, most reviews tend to be more nuanced, even if they really dislike the song.
If it makes you feel better Jacques Hudek was ranked 39 by WiWi with less than 5.0 and ended up 13 in final and Salvador was 19 and ended up winning the whole thing. Anything can happen. Especially with songs that are not meant to appeal to the readership of wiwi.
Ouch, who got 3.31 in 2017? Wait, let me guess…
Lithuania?
it feels like im the only person on this planet who likes that song lmao
oh cool haha, I found someone else
Tamara won jury voting because of the women empowerment message this has a christian message jury will hate this.
You’ve a point. But according to this…Cyprus and Norvege are going to win the jury vote.
Sad about the final ranking for her, but we know that a religious song in a world of people who believe in the power of themselves and not in God’s power would never work out. The majority of people under 40 years old will never connect with both “Amen” songs, cause we can’t.
What I have to say is that Ana is a very talented artist with an impressive voice that selected again a bad song to represent Slovenia in Eurovision. She even slayed Rona’s song in 2012 (If you remember she performed “Suus” in Eurovision Home Concerts)!
First of all, Ana has an amazing voice, looks stunning and there is, in my opinion, far far worse songs in the contest this year that unfortunately are placed high. I will say, the song itself is not stand out, and the “reaching out and grabbing air and pulling it back into your chest” routine is an overused Eurovision cliche that I wouldn’t mind seeing dropped for once. The song leaves me quite cold and it’s only selling point for me is Ana’s vocal ability. I would like to see her return to Eurovision again at some point with a… Read more »
Deban really has a BIG point. Even if I am irreligious and don’t really like the song, it is so boring that Europe nowadays has adopted this approach.
gonna have to disagree with you both here. I think Proud was one of the best 2019 songs, it was subtly incredible and beautiful.
honestly I get your point. I dont think I really ever listen to the studio cut, but it’s so so good live
just because I don’t listen to the studio cut doesn’t mean I dont like it lmao
I think that was a different Tamara in 2008 lol
Amen..
32) Slovenia –
It’s big, it’s dramatic, and helmed by a lady with an impeccable voice. It’s one of the better songs of its kind this year but I don’t fancy its chances in qualifying. With it being as big as it is, it could possibly be a shock qualifier. Good luck, Ana! 4/10
I like this song so much. Even though I do not identify myself as a Christian, every time I listen to the song I experience some kind of catharsis. She is absolutely in my top three best vocals this year, alongside Sanja Vucic from Hurricane and Destiny. 🙂
Very underrated. Shows how selectively fans see equality and freedom of speech.
One of my favourites this year actually. Better than Croatia and Serbia but the latters will likely qualify.
34th: Slovenia. Great voice. That’s it. With a message that feels incredibly uncomfortable to my atheist self and possibly the most stereotypical ballad percussion I’ve heard (very reverbed wood hits), this is not bad but it’s hard not to skip. Voda grew on me with each listen, especially after the revamp, while Amen does nothing of the sort. It feels like Voda if you took all the goodness out of it. I’m sorry Slovenia, but going from Sebi, a literal masterpiece, to this, is quite a shame. I just don’t appreciate being preached at. It’ll be well sung on the… Read more »
Wiwibloggers clearly need to find Jesus. Or an exorcist. 😀