The Wiwi Jury — our in-house team of music unprofessionals — is reviewing and rating the 37 competing songs in Eurovision 2025. Next we review Georgia, who have chosen Mariam Shengelia with “Freedom”.
Are we resonating with Mariam’s message? Read on to find out!
Mariam Shengelia – “Freedom” (Georgia Eurovision 2025)
Review: Mariam Shengelia – “Freedom”
William: This is without question one of the most forgettable entries of the year. I listened to it five minutes ago and yet I cannot remember the refrain. Putting my headphones back in and having another listen, I’m struck by how disjointed this is. The chorus is a non-event and the gurgling voices in the background sound devilish and like the singers are suffering from severe indigestion. Mariam has a nice voice, but this song frequently seems like a mere vehicle to let her hit big notes rather than any sort of cohesive musical entry. If this is “Freedom,” then lock me up.
Score: 1
Jonathan: Elements of this are really lovely. The lush strings underlying Mariam’s stunning vocals make for a gorgeous combination. This could easily be the protagonist’s big number in a Georgian musical production. However, there in lies the problem – this would only work in a musical from Georgia. It’s perhaps a bit too regional for most others to appreciate. Additionally, the dramatic change in pace between some of the choruses and verses can be a little jarring to the listener, whilst the lyrical content is both non-specific and somewhat tone-deaf.
Score: 5.5
Deban: Overworked, shouty and seemingly pointless, Georgia’s 2025 entry is a far cry from last year’s “Firefighter”. As a song, I find “Freedom” to be problematic, and when paired with its performer, it feels illusory. Georgia as a nation is known in the Eurovision community for often taking bold steps to showcase their musical heritage. This hasn’t always paid off, but some of their misfires have ended up as fan favourites. I can confidently predict that this year’s submission won’t advance beyond its first outing, and will probably mark the stage as their lowest point in 17 years.
Score: 3.5
Tom: I love Georgia at Eurovision! The last three years have been excellent in my eyes, but “Freedom” has stopped that positive momentum. It is a nice enough song, yet I can’t help but feel that I have heard it before and as a result, I feel a little bored. It doesn’t feel original enough, or fresh enough for what Eurovision is now. “Freedom” will get lost among the other songs in the semi-final and probably won’t qualify unless we see a monumental performance.
Score: 4
Georgia Eurovision 2025 ranking
In the Eurovision 2025 Wiwi Jury, we have 17 jurors but only have room for four reviews. The remaining scores are below:
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Andreas: 3 Antranig: 3.5 Bernardo: 2 Burak: 1.5 Cinan: 3 Jordi: 4 Lucy: 2 |
Pablo: 2 Ruxandra: 5 Scarlett: 5 Simon: 2.5 Suzanne: 4 Tomas: 1 |
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 high of 5.5 and a low of 1.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 3.07/10
What do you think of Georgia’s Eurovision 2025 entry? Share your own score and review for Mariam Shengelia’s “Freedom” below!
Strange to think that this same song, well almost, actually won Junior Eurovision. Obviously not good enough for this contest.
Georgia 4,5/12
NQ, so much going on, a bit too much.
This is in my Top 10. Upon first listen I also didn’t like it. It seemed too strange, but after listening to it many more times I began to like it. Maybe I’m the only one.
Nope, I like it too, actually 🙂 Not among my favourites, but more or less in the middle.
Given the circumstances, all I’ll say about this one entry is: I appreciate the music in this song, and I wish Georgia all the best for the future.
i mean, no one is going to be shocked if this finishes with 0 point in the semi’s…
1/10
I’ll be surprised if it gets any higher than bottom three, 14th at best.
GEORGIA – I am never happy with countries sending propaganda songs, and despite being re-purposed as a song about nature and freedom, this most certainly is one. Exibit A: Having lyrics like ”homeland is one and only”, and ”carried in the heard by the homeland”. Exibit B: Having heavy drums and men styled as warriors in the video adds to the militant style of that freedom. Exibit C: Mariam (allegedly) supporting the political party that wants to limit the freedom of expression, the very thing she is singing about. Musically, there are two ways to go about it. For those who… Read more »
19th place: Tough one to review right here. I have to say that as a song it really has a lot of nice instrumental moments, a great vocal delivery and some traditional elements that Georgia always nails. It is a classy song, albeit surely DOA. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with this song: apart of course from its context which is surely problematic.
At least this song doesn’t annoy me like some other tracks. And I guess that’s all about it.
9/10 Queen
I feel very bad for Georgia. It deserves much more. I like the song and the amazing voice of the singer very much
I don’t know if this would have such a low score on here without the political connotations, it’s not any worse than the likes of Serbia, Montenegro, Armenia…
All 4 are below par songs. Add to them Portugal Ukraine & Lithuania.
Ukraine, Portugal and especially Lithuania are not below par, you just got filtered by styles/genres that you don’t listen to so you lack the perspective
Trust me i appreciate all genres. I can’t see Lithuania gather momentum based on the current performances. I’ll wait to see what the staging does for the song in Basel but i can’t see them getting public vote.
Can’t say I disagree with the results here. There’s a reason this is my personal last place, because it commits the ultimate sin. it is forgettable. It really does go in one ear and out the next whenever I listen to it.
Just when you though this year served (pun intended!) enough of all the imaginable and unimaginable c***, came Marian…with a song so unbearable…that it almost makes me break things. ugh
Georgia needs to bring whatever they bring in JESC to ESC.
Wow, one of the lowest scores ever. Merited honestly. Truly a nothing song.
I feel bad for Georgia. They never seem to do well at Eurovision. Every year on the “Who should win Eurovision” poll on eurovisionworld.com – they always end up dead last, with the lowest number of votes. They’re not doing much better on Wiwibloggs, either. Just keep trying Georgia, you’ll get it someday. Don’t give up and stay awesome.
Wait, I actually correctly guessed the score for this ?
To be honest, that score is deserved!
Another tough one to endure. On the bright side, I listen to so few Eurovision songs this year that most of the contest will feel almost brand new to me if I watch the performances. But seriously, if this is meant to be the propaganda song that many claim it is, it’s shockingly weak. Freedom never sounded so forced and it’s almost as if propagandist songwriters can’t make good music with they limitations they’re presumably given by their leaders. That goes for others too this year. If you have to go down that route, ridicule yourself properly. At least I… Read more »
Oof, that score!
Georgia – Yeah… this is just not working for me. The tune itself is interesting and Miriam’s voice is nice, but other than that it just falls flat to me. It’s not the worst song for me this year, but this one is absolutely going to be dead on arrival. 3/10
32. Georgia – Mariam Shengalia – 4/10 – I am not the intended audience for this, there is very little in it that I find appealing – neither the choral elements, the incessant and slightly annoying production in the verses nor the tonal shift into the chorus are for me. Then another one of my pet hates the jazzy lounge bar piano and strings make an appearance, so yes all in all, it’s not a song I will ever want to hear again. But there is quality in the performance and I realize the negativity I feel towards it is… Read more »
Is that the lowest ever rating?!
No, technically the lowest ranking ever was a 1.00 (out of four jurors) in 2012… and that was Georgia too.
I would have thought Austria would have gotten the lowest score of 2012. That song was pure garbage.
Putting Armenia and Georgia last is just a crime ! Underrated songs but the live performances make it more impactful and will elevate the songs !
Good!!!