The Wiwi Jury — our in-house team of music unprofessionals — is reviewing and rating the 37 competing songs in Eurovision 2023. Next we review Israel, who have chosen Noa Kirel with “Unicorn”.
Were we feeling phenomen-phenomen-phenomenal after listening? Read on to find out!
Noa Kirel – “Unicorn” (Israel Eurovision 2023)
Review: Noa Kirel – “Unicorn”
Lucy: When we found out Noa Kirel’s song would be called “Unicorn”, my 31-year-old brain cringed somewhat. However, whilst the lyrics live up to that expectation at times, it’s much better in terms of melody (even if, yes, it’s three songs in one). It’s massively grown on me, but Noa deserved better given her superstar status domestically. But, and this is important, that dance break moment at the end is going to be bloody INSANE, and one of my most anticipated moments of this contest.
Score: 6.5
Rick: “Unicorn” obviously includes various music styles and there’s a lot going on – especially in combination with the music video. As soon as I only concentrated on the musical aspect though, I got behind the vision of the song. Yes, it’s still “a lot” – but it feels organic and real to Noa. I can also imagine this becoming less chaotic when performed live. The unusual way of ending the song with a dance break and the pre-chorus are my favourite parts of the entry.
Score: 8
Kristín: I sincerely wish I had something uber positive to say about “Unicorn” but I’m really struggling here. I am so sorry but this, for me, is scraping the bottom of the barrel this year. I really want to love this Dua Lipa inspired number, but it just leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. “Unicorn” should be ticking all the boxes. Girl power? Check. Strong singer? Check. Modern and catchy tune? Check. But it somehow all feels incredible forced and inauthentic. Almost fake. Sorry Israel. Its a no from me.
Score: 1.5
Ruxandra: This song gives me some sort of mixed feelings… Obviously, it’s a very brave attempt that can’t go unnoticed. There are some parts of the song that I really like (the verses, the refrain and the dance break) but I’m not a huge fan of the chorus. Israel tried a little bit of everything. All these musical transitions sound to me like it’s a medley of multiple songs, not just one coherent song. And I have to admit that I am not a fan of the “Unicorn” comparison. But having a song with lyrics about standing tall like a unicorn and also an orchestra in the background is not something you see every day.
Score: 7.5
Pablo: This song clearly has no idea what it wants to be. “Unicorn” starts with a fun pop intro and a clap-heavy hook, but then the chorus, this song’s worst enemy, comes in to undo all the stitches it sowed. The chorus brings all to a halt in a way that makes the clubby verses and bridge feel disjointed and makes the final dance break appear unnecessary and tacked on last-minute. “Unicorn” is seven songs in one and they are at war with each other. It could have been a solid hit had it made up its mind and stayed in the quirky, upbeat pop route established at the beginning.
Score: 4.5
Israel Eurovision 2023 ranking
In the Eurovision 2023 Wiwi Jury, we have 20 jurors but only have room for five reviews. The remaining scores are below:
|
Antranig: 7 Cinan: 10 Dayana: 7 Deban: 6.5 Diego: 6.5 Forrest: 3.5 Jonathan: 7 Luis: 7.5 |
Oliver: 3.5 Renske: 6 Ron: 7.5 Samuel: 6.5 Simon: 7.5 Tom: 7.5 William: 8.5 |
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 1.5 and a high of 10.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 6.58/10
What do you think of Israel’s Eurovision 2023 entry? Share your own score and review for Noa Kirel’s “Unicorn” below!
Haha… eat dust haters! #2 by the juries, #3 overall!
I would never vote for Israel ever
Israel should not be in eurovision
Why is ISRAEL is the Eurovision at all ??
Israel commits daily war crimes, murder of men, women & children simply because they are Palestinians
Israel is an apartheid state-
Its a well known fact that every year the wiwiblogg jury is biased, usually in favour of “yes slay female bops”, so the overrated scores are not a surprise. I don’t love nor hate it, but it certainly isn’t as good as you’re making it out to be
as a Israeli,i was very happy to find out, noa kirel is going for Eurovision. but when unicorn released, oh boy my first reaction was Houston we have a problem ! I just didn’t get that , its just to much and its very israeli to go overboard, like last year entry , hosting 2019 and etc. , unicorn is not suitable for European taste . considering all the songs competing this year , and noa skills in a good day she can do top ten , but I am afraid they will do to much on the stage .… Read more »
seems like it is now forbidden to praise this entry as the fandom has decided that it must flop.
I don’t like the song, honestly i find it flat. But I won’t deny this will become strong once we see the staging, even if peeps here believe that is impossible. This entry is packed with potential.
Girl power? Check. Strong singer? Check. Modern and catchy tune? Check. But it somehow all feels incredible forced and inauthentic
I agree with the above. It is very inauthentic and felt that they tried hard to write with Eurovision in mind (hence the random dance break).
Having said that, it grows on you after a few listens but this is not a good song. Noa deserved better.
sorry but I just think y’all just enjoying talking off Noa just becuase she had a huge buzz. there were such a HORRIBLE, BORING songs this year that you gave them higher score. looks a little bit bias..
My current 31st place. 3 positions below “I wrote a song”. This kind of pop I never pay attention to.
The beginning of “Unicorn “ gives some hope wich dissapears right after the first verse. Third and final part of the song is horrible , pardon.
We are, afterall, to enjoy the song contest, not the bad kindergarten choir…
NQ
A bit surprised by the comments, I expected that this will be among bubble favorites. It is a typical song that the bubble overhypes each and every year, so I must say I am pleasantly surprised.
4/10 for me, although I am interested to see how they will stage this.
The bubble you talked about only exists outside of Wiwibloggs. In Wiwibloggs, the commenters usually hate bangers unless it’s a unique banger such as “Who the Hell Is Edgar?”.
Any positive comment towards a typical diva pop banger such as Fuego, El diablo, Mata Hari, Unicorn, etc. will get you several downvotes.
So much negativity and hate in the comments omg. It’s not that bad song and I enjoy it.
Agree i don’t get why it’s got so much dislike…
This song is actually one big disjointed mess. It seems as if 4 or 5 composers composed a part and threw their different pieces to make one wong
I love all the hate towards Israel this year, I can’t wait for Noa to take the stage and then everyone will eat their hats! Top 5 guaranteed if not victory. Mark my words! 🙂
Sorry, I had to laugh, I get that you thought you ate with that comment but the cringe is beyond comprehension. Flopicorn stans are delusional lmfao
Pleasantly surprised by the rating, thought it was going to score much higher because it’s a girly empowerment bop. Personally, I find it insipid, vain and shallow, no substannce but trying to be something way too hard. It doesn’t help that it sounds like at least three songs smashed into one.
No, I don’t want to see you dance, please go away.
Twitter user @ redbullsvviings explained “Unicorn” with it’s meaning very well, so I’ll just copy it here: 1. Hey, you don’t like the way I’m talking – Refering to the political and military position of Israel Hey, so you stand there, keep on calling me names – Refering to Palestinian hate for Jews 2. No, I’m not your enemy so. If you’re gonna do it, don’t do it-– A portretization of Jews as peaceful people in Palestinian territories, while it’s the opposite, by controlling more territories are killing more people. And considering themselves as only rulers of the territory 3.… Read more »
I imagine this song was written with the performance in mind, so it’s a gamble judging it before we know what Israel is preparing for the stage. After all, Noa seems to be an accomplished performer and surrounded by an experienced high-budget team. For now, what we can review is the song and the track itself sounds disjointed, uneven and hollow. The chorus for example, is way less interesting than the verses and the “pheno-pheno-phemenal” (which sounds fun, even if the quality of the wordplay is questionable) and has lyrics that would fit better a Junior Eurovision entry. But the… Read more »
I only wonder which 10 seconds of the song will be chosen for the recap video, having in mind that the song is one huge recap video to begin with.
The “U-Ni-Corn!” part for sure! with the fireworks and all her dancers dancing with her…
It will be the most powerful part of the performance… ant the timing is perfect!
She was the very first artist selected, had a budget like no other, got access to writers & producers, was told to be well known and famous, didn’t perform anywhere and in the end this mess was what we got?
If Israel NQ her Eurovision moment would be three minutes and endless shame as the worst act ever – considering all of the hype, budget and past experience.
This song is great
Hope it gets Kate Ryan’ed
rather Finland to get a horrible flop, so they can hopefully return to english music next year again rather than in their stupid finnish language gibberish
I think you missed this year’s theme. It’s “United By Music”. NOT “United by English-speaking songs from countries where English is not an official language”
You’re not obliged to comment dude, you’re not even able to make proper bait
you mad cuz finland could win, go cry
This entry is all about staging and choreography, and they have the budget to deliver that
“You wanna see me dance?”
Ummm, not really…One of the worst songs this year.
No one:
Cinan: Sees literally any kind of gurly bop and immediately gives it 10
Actually, surprisingly, this is a very sober review of a gurly bop from wiwibloggs
what the hell? ._.
I liked bits of the song, but I didn’t like it overall, feels like it was made for the stage rather than as an actual song and tries to be everything at once which makes it sound like a scrapbook due to the lack of cohesion
The song really grows on me. My initial thought was this feels incredibly formulaic and too try-hard. But after the 100th listen, I started humming along.
Israel 1/12
Cinan giving this a 10 is far from surprising
This is an entry in parts- some of it is a real
Party banger…. other parts of it are a complete let down. I truly wish it knew what it was….. it just gets lost in its own chaos.
I like it, I do, but a song needs to survive outside of the onscreen three minutes to be deemed good.
I am concerned for the dance break for this song and for Solo. I LOVE Mata Hari but Efendi’s dance break was disappointing and I’m concerned the dance breaks this year will disappoint too. Mind you, Chanel had an amazing one
Well I’m kind of thinking, if she made it a point to specifically put a dance routine breakdown in the studio version then theyre planning on proper going for it for the dance break. I think the music video also indicated that it would be more in line with what Chanel did than Efendi (not to say that its copying at all but rather that it will be impressive).
efendi’s entire performance (and personality) was/is disappointing
This song breaks my heart a little. The first 1:20 is the best contemporary pop song of the year, in my opinion; then that song gets abandoned in favor of a fruitless search for the perfect meme. First, we get that terrible “femininal” section, then another chorus (the backing is a little fuller; I like this), then the “femininal” section comes back within 30 seconds with some new sassy Hebrew (it’s even worse, and feels like desperation setting in), then the rest of the song is dominated by that silly dance break. The good parts are unresolved and the bad… Read more »
I expected the overall score to be much lower actually. This isn’t very liked by the ESC community unfortunately but I’m sure in ESC we should place in the top 15? I suppose if we place 16th to 21st I would be too shocked. I also wouldn’t be shocked if we come 5th or something. I know most people on this site despite this entry but I love my country’s entry this year and it is my winner (Perhaps Austria will pass it after the show if Israel’s staging is not good enough). I posted my personals lyrical analysis as… Read more »
Thanks; I remember appreciating your take on the lyrics back when the song was first released.
I remember a person named Dani did as well. I really appreciate that.
Thnaks for your view of the lyrics, interesting. But why is some explanation like this not available from the singer herself… I mean, her response was very vague in the interview, as if she either does not know what it is about or is ashamed of it….
Cus she isn’t able to mention anything political so Noa has to give out a generic “this is an empowerment anthem answer”
Yeah, this kind of internal cultural politics seems like explosive stuff. Is it being received in that way in Israel?
I see no one else receiving the lyrics this way. I might be the only person in the world to view Unicorn’s lyrics as such lmao.
I definitely raised an eyebrow at ‘write a new book,’ but not being Israeli, I couldn’t be confident at all.
I believe you are more likely to be 5th than 16th to be fair and think people are sleeping on this one. When the rehearsals start, they will be all over it. You will recall that Fuego had a similar lukewarm reception in the run-up to the 2018 contest.
For anyone who is struggling to find meaning in this song here is my personal lyrical analysis I did back when the song came out. This is MY personal interpretation, so take it as you will. “Hey, you don’t like the way I’m talking…” “Hey, so you stand there keep on call me names No, I’m not your enemy so If you’re gonna do it, don’t do it” The first verse is Noa speaking to religious far right wingers that don’t like others from different cultures, races, sexualities and genders speaking in a certain way or standing up for themselves.… Read more »
The song does go up a notch for me when I consider your interpretation.
Thank you Jonas & Jimmy for your comments. I really appreciate them!
Wow. What a fantastic analysis. The connections to you draw on to Jewish history and culture are fascinating. Thanks for writing this up. I agree with Jonas, the song goes up a notch or two based on this.
Again this is my personal analysis. Also think about how much could actually be said about the Israeli government publicly. If the song writers were more clear with the lyrics the entry would have not been sent. The government would lose its mind and mind you that our pathetic excuse of a prime minister actively tries to get rid of KAN11 and therefore is trying to pull Israel out of Eurovision. A Unicorn is associated with the queer community and is a powerful mystical and feminine being, so imo that is why it was chosen to be the center of… Read more »
Sol, I love your analysis ??
Can someone please help me understand what this song is about?
Thanks… as you said… cookie-cutter PR 🙂
Agreed.
Israel, I like your song BUT
The last part, with the wild dance and the oriental vibes, put me off. I always listen to the song up to that point and then skip the rest.
It’s rather irritating.
The rest of the song is good and I can dance to it!
However, I don’t like when songs or entries lose balance and go over the top.
Good luck, Israel!
I still don’t understand what does she wanted to say with the “Power of a unicorn” .
What does she want*
She explained that in her ig
Not that I’m a huge fan of the Israeli song in terms of personal taste but frankly posing as a jury and ranking it lower than the Latvian song this year is pretty problematic tbh.
Regardless of personal taste one is clearly more competitive than the other…
As one of the few people here who gave a positive review in the comments to the Israeli song, let me tell you that using the Latvian song as an example of a song erroneously rated higher than Israel is the WRONG way to go.
Latvia clearly have the better song, regardless of what you deem to be “competitive” or not.
Yeah sorry. I like the Latvian song but frankly when one song is consistently on the bottom 3 out of 37 songs on the betting odds and the other is consistently either on the top 5 or close to it I just don’t buy the claim for objectivity beyond personal taste and pretentiousness. There’s a limit for how much you can separate competitive success and quality as a matter of objectivity. People here like to hate on the Israeli song for many reasons and the Eurovision bubble likes to love on the Latvian song for many reasons but it’s honestly… Read more »
How can you hate something ridiculous?
But this is the format – they’re grading songs based on their personal taste. It’s not about predicting how well a song would do.
Not according to what Deban said on the semi prediction.
One juror gave Austria a 5 because of worries for the staging, so reasoning may vary.
Latvia VS Israel? No comparison. The israeli song is a bop, with a dance routine, it serves another purpose and audience.
The Latvian song is more artistic, complex (in a good way), well thought out, more meaningful.
They are different and it comes to personal taste if you want to judge which one will do better.
Obviously, Unicorn may end up higher in the final (should it qualify), Aida much lower because it serves a niche who like more artistic songs.
Good luck to both countries, I would love to see both of them in the final!
This is one of the songs I find myself skipping every time. The switching of genres every 20 seconds is irritating, but the most annoying part is the obnoxious “do you want to see me daaaance” part. It’s a no from me. Sorry.
I always respond no when she says that ?
It’s a catchy song , but I’m not sure if the different genre of music all within 3 minutes is going to work , culminating what appears to be an abrupt end . It better work on stage . Just have to wait and see . I do find the lyrics strange but intriguing. Either this ends in the top 10 or bottom 10 . Saying this though I do enjoy listening to it . It will qualify for the final .
I’m surprised you are giving this one a 6.58/10 but the UK received almost an 8/10. Both fall under the same category in my opinion: uptempo radiofriendly danceable bop about girl empowerment sung by a good-looking girl with diva attitude. My problem with this kind of songs is that everything sounds like something heard before. I can say, though,”Unicorn” has better dynamics and keeps introducing new elements that draw you attention and, live on stage, will make the audience have their eyes on the TV screen for 3 minutes straight. And that’s what I think “Unicorn” is superior to other… Read more »
Israel: I think when we heard Israel was sending a singer who has been very successful in the Israeli charts very recently, I think its safe to say, expectations were relatively high. I’m going to talk about the positives first, Noa is a great singer and this song will be able to showcase her vocals quite a bit and her dancing which from the bit at the end of the MV looks quite promising. The music video itself looks quite expensive (that has been a theme for Israel for quite some time now) and apparently they are throwing quite a… Read more »
also yeah, I would’ve preferred if the “Do you want to see me dance” wasn’t included in the studio cut, feels a bit awkward listening to it especially without the MV.
This part! OMG! It’s like she’s saying, “Do you want to see how special I am? I’ll show you!” and I’m sure she will bring the best dance ever in this contest! I’m sure of that!
The video’s dance was enough to bury every other dancer who has ever been in Eurovision. And the fact that Noa plans to perform an even more impressive dance at Eurovision is one big wow!
Tbf, I think this has the potential tto go massively up the odds and peoples rankings with a live performance because we know she has plenty of stage experience and a label behind her.
I’m sure the dance break will be impressive too 🙂
Eurovision dance contest?
Finally not a love song and not party song! great lyrics! with powerful meaning!
Don’t judge someone by his skin color or the way he talk!
Hey, you don’t like the way I’m talking
Hey, so you stand there keep on call me names
No, I’m not your enemy so
If you’re gonna do it, don’t do it
Hey, do you wanna check my DNA?
History caught in a loop
Don’t you wanna change it?
great lyrics..? “I’m gonna stand here like a unicorn, out here on my own, I got the power of a unicorn”… help
Unicorn is a metaphor, the idea is that it is actually something unique, hey look at me, I’m special and different but you don’t have to be cruel to me for that and if you try you won’t be able to bring me down!
Again that topic of unity and celebrating diversity is such an original concept lol
Very Unpopular Opinion: i prefer Blanka’s Solo to Noa’s Unicorn
I understand you! “Solo” is a radio-friendly song, and “Unicorn” is a “Eurovision performance-only song”, written as a soundtrack for the performance! These are 2 different things.
As a song, I do too. But I do expect for Noa to have a much better vocal performance and a much stronger dance break on stage than Blanka.
I had emotionally prepared myself for an inflated score, because wiwi jury tends to go with the hype, so I’m pleasantly surprised.
It’s not a song! It’s a soundtrack for a performance! Today Eurovision is not a contest for the best song, it is a contest for the best performance overall. If the staging is amazing and she can deliver it live then it can also win! 🙂
Noa only deserves the best of the best with a capital B, not just some basic pop trash
where Nadav is israel’s golden boy, Noa most definitely is israel’s Golden Girl
also some commitment she has to ESC, to cancel some concerts in favor of this worldwide music competition
can she top my fave israeli act at ESC? which honour still goes to Mommy Dana International, well i certainly hope so, that her staging is one knockout of the park piece of gorgeousness
Doron said a beautiful thing, he said “most countries send normal songs to the competition, but normal songs are no longer winning in Eurovision, every year you have to try and innovate, this year we came with something different. We know it’s a risk, but it’s a risk we’re willing to take.” and that’s what I like in Israel, every year they send something different.
If we’re being honest, all the lyrics to this year’s songs are embarrassing! “You’re stuck on me like a tattoo”, “And the angels are crying” “I don’t care about them all, cause I want to be loved”… “Cha Cha Cha” X1000 times…
“Unicorn” at least has a different message of “don’t judge someone by their appearance, their skin color and their language of speech” and it’s not another love song or a party song..
“Do you wanna check my DNA?”
“History caught in a loop, Don’t you want to change it?”
“Hey, you don’t like the way I’m talking
Hey, so you stand there keep on call me names
No, I’m not your enemy so
If you’re gonna do it, don’t do it”
OK I get it now you are a troll…
If you really believe your comments then I feel sorry for you. Because your comments don’t make sense.
The most ridiculous thing is that you prefer a song that talks about someone who has no self-confidence and only when he drinks an alcoholic drink only then does he have the confidence to dance and be who he really is.. Is this what he wants to teach this generation? “You should drink to have self-confidence!” It is terrible! But you’re a troll, so I understand. BYE!
“Tattoo Ho Ho”
“Cha Cha Cha”
They’re also very good, liked by a lot of people and finished high in esc.
Arcade is a thing from someone from a different universe of too pitchy vocals, and thanks to Duncan winning we have so many Duncan copycats these days ugh
Are we seriously discussing about winning overall with anyone other then Sweden, Finland or Spain this year (objectively speaking).. And no ESC is not just about performance but overall package meaning performance but also song, lyrics,vocals and impact on the night..
Well, yes they are not the only three countries competing sorry.
“Objectively” lol man come on
Norway, Austria, France say hello, sorry to disappoint you.
I think Austria will be loved by the televote but not that much by the juries, France the opposite and Norway will get equal love but not enough to surpass first three..
This song was not constructed for a radio yet it still tops the Spotify charts when comparing to all other songs. So putting it for some of you in the bottom 5 is outrageous even tho taste is not arguable. I have interviewed Doron Madaly for my Podcast in Hebrew. They wanted to create a diffrent constructed song that breaks the boundaries we know and expect today yet it made some people confused cause they think this is a 5 songs in one. The main focus was leaving an impact on the stage itself thus are changes to some instrumental… Read more »
It’s my #36 … just noise
It’s my 36 too, high-five 😀 Albania is my 37,what’s yours?
I have to agree Kristín here. This entry wants to do so many things without actually achieving a single thing, making this come across as hollow and lifeless. I’m sure Noa can deliver this well live, but everything seems so forced, and all individual musical elements crammed into the 3-minute mark are connected very poorly as well. The “You wanna see me dance!?” is also something that was noticeably crammed in just to throw in a dance break because “what’s a female bop without a dance break, am I right?”. In short, this entry is extreme fan service to the… Read more »