The Wiwi Jury — our in-house team of music unprofessionals — is reviewing and rating the 37 competing songs in Eurovision 2024. Next we review Czechia, who have chosen Aiko with “Pedestal”.
Are we lifting Aiko up on a pedestal of praise? Read on to find out!
Aiko – “Pedestal” (Czechia Eurovision 2024)
Review: Aiko – “Pedestal”
Deban: An exciting addition to 2024’s Eurovision stable. Aiko’s brand of modern feminist pop cuts through the clutter, whilst placing self-love at the front and centre. The original release was good but this revamped version packs urgency with throbbing angst. No matter what way we evaluate this, the message of “Pedestal” never gets old. It urges us to strive for success by building self compassion.
Score: 7.5
Pablo: “Pedestal” takes on a pretty unique angle of current trends, evoking the likes of Paramore and Olivia Rodrigo, for a rocker chick number that on paper should stand out in the line-up, and it does… slightly. While the verses and choruses are pretty decent and well crafted, it all flows maybe a little too smoothly overall, up until the spoken word part in the bridge that can be either effective or confusing in the final execution. The success of this song hinges on Aiko transmitting that edge and unique quality live.
Score: 6.5
Simon: My first thought was that “Pedestal” sounded like something Avril Lavigne scrapped from an album 15 years ago. Aiko brings a lot of energy, which is nice, but it tampered with her vocal abilities in ESCZ, so that needs to be bettered to qualify to the final. The revamp made it a bit rougher, so maybe there’s a chance, but for now it hasn’t really tickled me in the right places. In a semi-final with four other high-energy girl bops, I don’t think this will make the cut.
Score: 3.5
William: Aiko is here to practice some self-love — and she’ll kick to the curb anyone who stands in the way. It’s a noble goal and one that slaps thanks to the contemporary production and Aiko’s playful aggression. The descending chords of the pre-chorus lead to one of the catchiest riffs of the year. I’d happily let Aiko spit in my face, so long as she does it with the same charm and charisma of “Pedestal.” One of the few songs from this year’s edition that I never skip.
Score: 8
Czechia Eurovision 2024 ranking
In the Eurovision 2024 Wiwi Jury, we have 17 jurors but only have room for four reviews. The remaining scores are below:
|
Antranig: 8 Cinan: 8 Georgia: 7.5 Jonathan: 7.5 Lucy: 9 Ron: 4 Ruxandra: 7.5 |
Scarlett: 4 Sebastian: 7 Suzanne: 8 Tom: 7 Tomas: 8.5 Youyou: 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 3.5 and a high of 9.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 7.00/10
What do you think of Czechia’s Eurovision 2024 entry? Share your own score and review for Aiko’s “Pedestal” below!
One of the most underrated and overhated entries this year, all based on one poor live performance at a national selection filled with poor performances and sound.
Evil. Pure evil.
And I just realized I mixed up Czechia with Poland in another thread, ouch.
If Aiko keeps on improving her voice a.s.o, Pedestal will rank high. Dark horse Potential.
Czechia 6/12
A 7 is generous
Good song, awful singer.
I really like (the studio version) of this song. It evokes feelings of nostalgia. But I’ve seen some live footage and well…no.
Months have passed and the idea that “Pedestal” actually won the Czech national selection still hasn’t taken any root in logic or reason. There was little appetite for it to do so online, and there are still major question marks over the validity of that result. For all intents and purposes, it is a poorer version of the entry that came 6th in Czechia’s national selection of 2022, but with an unambitious instrumental and a less talented “singer” behind it. The quotation marks are intentional as Aiko’s vocal approach to this song is little more than mumbling through some verses,… Read more »
7? xD wow guys. Even if she was charismatic and amazing singer (she can’t be further from that), this song is very weak and cringy.
America’s Pedestal is a bland uninspiring snoozefest, will likely be forgotten in that tough semi 2
1.5/10
A good song killed by a terrible live performance. NQ 3/10
Oh, I’m so glad “Pedestal” is finally getting some recognition! I just don’t understand how this song has gone so unnoticed during the NF season. Yes, the revamp gave this song a second live but it was already good before it. Czechia has been in my top 5 since the very beggining. I find it very different from what we are used to see and listen to on the Eurovision stage and I need this kind of fresh blood. I’m too tired of the poppy stuff that keeps coming. Uplifting and edgy, this piece of what remembers me a little… Read more »
Czechia’s “Pedestal” received a nomination for my “Best re-vamp 2024” prize, but lost out to Albania’s “Titan.” “Pedestal” is a rock song that’s very firmly in F-sharp minor, that key of distress that Mozart seemingly tried to avoid at all costs, but Haydn and Mendelssohn used it whenever they got really worked up about something that was important to them. (Sorry, I digress.) Sufficed to say, this is yet another ESC song that is fantastic to play on piano. There really are a lot of them this year. The best things about this song are the triplet rhythms in the… Read more »
Pleased to see this getting some love and decent scores, it’s been one of my favourites from the start, especially the original version. Fingers crossed it will find a spot in the final.
It’s okay, may have a tiny, tiny chance to qualify in the lower places with a good performances and when others with better songs struggle. But beware. If she manages to qualify and picks a producer’s choice poison card, they will put her off her pedestal, almost guaranteed.
#2
I enjoy this. I enjoyed the original and do the revamp… well cleaner version. It’s the redemption song, that is a feel good vibe and I find it relatable. I hope this is staged well and does well.
Score 8/10
Bronze star.
“Pedestal” is my biggest grower of the year among the SWEurovision songs I listened to.
I like almost *everything* about it with the exception of “I get violent”. The word might indicate frustration in the face of the repeated silence of the lover yet it doesn’t land best imo.
And just because I *really* like this song, respectfully, I wish for a much improved live vocal. Prosím!!!
This is not a good song. I predict what happened to Iceland 2023 the pppower will be put myself on a pedesta and fail. NQ for sure
This song gets way too much hate. It’s a nice Olivia Rodrigo impersonation. It didn’t really need a revamp and the original 2:20 length was perfect (with such a fast tempo three whole minutes can sound endless), I just hope she performs well enough live to prove bookies wrong.
“You stay silent, I get violent”
These are the words of an abusive person. The whole lyrical set up of the song is one of open narcissism and it’s riddled with the idea that female violence towards men shouldn’t be taken seriously. I don’t know how any one can defend this in 2024.
Ireland’s song deals with negative feelings about a finished relationship by letting all the rage and hurt out but in that song Bambie has been the abused partner. Pedestal is from the perspective of an abuser.
Isn’t it just about self love? Stop over thinking it x
Anyone who tells someone to think less cannot possibly have anything to say worth listening to…
Interesting. I read it completely the other way around – in that the narcisstic is the other person. In terms of being “violent”, it can be an emotional state rather than an act of physicality so I don’t see what you see in the lyrics
Like Germany 2020?
Even if they are the words of an abusive person, that is allowed. It’s art. Art can be fiction.
Cher actually commits a double homicide in one of her songs, Dark Lady. A classic!
Cher is my GOD
I’d hardly call any of what were talking about “art”. The reason that people used to be censorious of rappers including lyrics about killing gays and abusing women was for one simple reason; the message matters. Lyrics do effect how people think and behave. It’s that simple. This dreadful song is contributing to the narcissism and domestic abuse that is already rampant in the world.
“I speak to destroy” sounds less abusive to you?
Bambie is casting a spell to release their anger. That’s rather different than “shut up while I assault you”. Baffled that men are OK with seeing their brothers abused. If it was a man singing Pedestal, they’d have been kicked out of the contest.
Lucky she is not representing Israeel then
They went with the “I’m the real victim” card instead. Honestly, singing about a devastating “hurricane” while murdering whole families and dragging the rest of the world into a war is another level of cognitive dissonance.
Seriously? Abusive, narcissistic? Wow, talk about not understanding a single thing… She’s talking about having problems in a relationship and how her partner don’t say anything of what she might want to hear (just a sorry) and how that frustrastes her and makes her “violent” in a metaphorical way. She finds that partner guilty of that. And, as she isn’t getting the love and affection she deserves, she is also going to keep her love for herself and put her first and stop wasting it. The song is actually pretty relatable. There’s no need to complicate the meaning behind the… Read more »
11TH PLACE: CZECHIA: I always found this song pleasant and uplifting. The genre reminds me a lot of some early 2000s female pop-rock songs and the chorus invites everyone to sing along: it’s loud but also energetic and strong. The revamp also gave it more musical depth and more power, especially towards the end and a chance to draw more attention to it during the high note (though I guess we will be getting a dance break there, and I am never a fan of these). Yet we must address the elephant in the room which is the live performance… Read more »
I love this song in the studio version. It is the live what I don’t like. We know how important live is in Eurovision. Maybe it will improved in May though.
This song’s studio version is better than her live performance. So I get Wiwijury’s higher score but I still see it struggling to get out of the semifinal if the live performance continues to let it down.
4. Czechia – Aiko – Pedestal – 9/10 – energetic, middle-finger defiance which is right up my street. The fuzzy bass line is top notch and there is a greatly engaging build and satisfyingly punchy chorus which pushes this into favourite territory. I would like to see Aiko with a band on stage, I need to see the crashing drums and thrashing guitars and I think this would provide greater thrust to the visual presentation. The revamp lifted the track up another marker with a very good breakdown and closure to the song. The fact that she had to change… Read more »
Surprised you guys ranked this so high, given this entry has been fighting an uphill battle ever since it won ESCZ. That being said though, we can see with the preparty performances that Aiko has improved her vocals in spades and that is a good thing! I still believe she won’t stand a chance to qualify from a strong semifinal, but the chances are definitely bigger than they were before. The song unfortunately isn’t to my liking. The chorus repeats itself too much with little variation, making the song rather tedious after a while to me. I respect what Aiko… Read more »
35th place – Czechia
I’m sorry but this is awful. I can’t actually believe my eyes Wiwi jury gave it such a high score, which is undeserved. You can’t tell me that this is better than Serbia, Slovenia, UK…
The song isn’t enjoyable, at least for me. Her vocals during Czechia’s national selection were seriously bad and I at first thought this was some kind of a joke. The song in itself is nothing special. I think even if her vocals improve and they do good staging, it still won’t be enough to qualify.
so glad with the score, I feared it’d get less than 5 points 🙂
Okay wiwi “jury” April Fools is over, no need for this “joke” votes… you’re telling us THIS is better than Portugal, Serbia, Georgia, Armenia, Slovenia… ?! Well, at least I’ll feel some kind of satisfaction when this doesn’t qualify knowing how disappointing this jury will be…
disappointed*
Less divisive I guess, definitely not better.
That old problem…many people like it, but only a few love it.
29) Czechia – It’s a reasonably solid song, and I enjoy bopping my head along to it. It just doesn’t do anything more for me – there are other songs this year in similar genres that I prefer way more, hence why I find this forgettable in comparison. 4/10
Wow, we have a match with Suzanne’s taste at least here finally. This song is a far from my favs but I like it since its first release and didn’t get the hate it got. Will be happy to enjoy it at the final. GL.
Is Suzanne that lady who thinks voice over on some rubber duck is uber funny?
Suzanne is iconic.
I just guess music taste is not her strength.
I don’t get why this gets so much hate. I like it, it’s very current and catchy. Yes she needs to work on the vocals but she’s does seem to be improving. Borderline qualifier for me
I love the song and she jumping up my ranking almost every week but its not 4th best song so far in wiwi jury
CZECHIA – Most often when a song I wasn’t keen on wins its national selection I can still understand why. It had the most immediate hook, the most sophisticated melody, or was performed the best. Even if it wouldn’t have been my choice, I get it. None of this applies to ESCZ 2024. No matter which aspect I look at, Pedestal doesn’t make it to top 3. Despite of the overall poor sound on that stage, every song, apart from maybe Starlet, was performed better. Most of them also have nicer flowing melodies, stronger instrumentation, or better lyrics. Yet, this… Read more »
Perhaps our biggest disagreement thus far this year as I can see that Czechia is really low in your top. It can surely be viewed as a non-standard song, whose influences are not immediately seen but I personally like it. I am hopeful it will qualify though as of now.
*not hopeful I meant unfortunately
Yeah, it would appear we diverge here. I honestly did not expect this song to score this well in Wiwi Jury or with you and Kosey. It puts some things into a perspective. There’s obviously audiences for this, and perhaps it does better than expected. I don’t think it’s awful either. Just the “meh-est” one in this line-up. But hey, maybe I change my after Aiko smashes it in the semi. I like when some songs I rate low prove me wrong and make me like them afterwards. Last year it were Belgium and the UK. So… it’s possible. I… Read more »
*RATING: 3.5/10
*RATING: 3.5/10 is the actual rating!
The three shouts in the Chorus might not sound melodic, but they are part of the melodic phrase that is carried through to the next two lines. The whole melodic phrase is “Put – My – Self… on a Pedestal; I will be lo-vin me more, Lovin me”. If you want some technical language:
The three shouts actually form a Tresillo on the dominant note of the tonic, then phrase off (down a 3rd) before pumping out triplets for the “lovin me” part of the phrase. So the shouts are part of the melody, even if they might sound unmelodic.
Thank you for explaining 🙂 It seems like I underestimated this song, as so many of you found things that genuinely work. Thus, my comment how I don’t understand how it even won can come off as ignorant. Even though it’s low on my list, I can see why it works for others.
i want to see aiko do well and think this should definitely be in the grand final. 6/10
Wiwi Jury Ranking