The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — is still in Hungary reviewing A Dal performances. Today we turn to Freddie with his song “Pioneer”. Were we feeling Freddie’s pioneering spirit? Or were we sticking with our old ways? Read on to find out…
Freddie – “Pioneer”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZytivYYR5Fk
Watch Freddie’s live performance at MTVA.
“Pioneer” reviews
Robyn: Compared to the studio version, Freddie’s live vocals are much harder to understand, particularly in the verses. For a song with a message, it’s not quite a success when the message can’t always be understood. But otherwise it’s a strong and super catchy anthem, but perhaps a bit too “Hungarian Måns” in its style. Still, I’d be happy to see this in Stockholm, but Freddie’s enunciation needs work.
Score: 7.5/10
Angus: A million hearts, a million people? I could swear we’d heard this message before. The song isn’t that revolutionary either. The vocal, fortunately, is wondrously gravelly, laced with passion, hurt and tone that elevates an otherwise sub par production. This lacks a stand out moment though, which can be problematic when you have three minutes to make an impact.
Score: 6/10
Judit: Can’t we just finish the show and give him the trophy? He has the voice, the song and even the look. No one can be better than him. The performance can improve, just like the number of the voters. Just look at the way he stands on that stage: PER-FECT!
Score: 10/10
Mikhail: This is high class. The composition itself is very good — it has quality. I love the clapping — it adds some spice. But forget about all of it, because the highlight is Freddie’s voice! It is so deep, smoky and overall mesmerising. It would melt all the ice in Stockholm right now. This song would be a perfect choice for Hungary.
Score: 9.5/10
Denise: Oh my, this is heaven. I’m addicted to his raw voice, which sounds really good in this song. I’m so glad that his live version isn’t a letdown. In fact, it’s way better than expected. I like the staging and of course I like Freddie. 2014 was a great year for Hungary, but this song is even better than “Running”, for me. Even though we only know a few songs for this year, I already trust Hungary in having another top-five song if they choose this.
Score: 10/10
Sinan: Oh, Freddie! That body, that voice, that act — you slay the paaack. I’m totally loving that song. Sometimes he needs to enunciate better, but that will come in time. The most important thing is to know all about the song you are singing so you can live it when you perform.
Score: 10/10
In the Hungarian Wiwi Jury we have 13 jurors, but only have room for 6 reviews. The remaining 8 scores are below!
Edd: 6/10
Ramadan: 6.5/10
Patrick: 7.5/10
Dayana: 6.5/10
Luis: 9/10
Antranig: 10/10
Cristian: 9/10
To reduce potential bias, we drop the highest and lowest scores prior to calculating the average. We removed a low of 6 and a high of 10.
Well, I give him a 10/10, the song is perfect and his voice is perfect. The staging was amazing and the performance was perfect. He has to win!
If he won it’s because he and his voice are hot not because this song is good.
OH MY GOD BEN HAENOW HI! I HAVEN’T SEEN YOU SINC-wait…this isn’t Ben Haenow? Well then..um *cough* I like the song, like a lot, it’s giving me Aram MP3 flashbacks with the bang of the chorus. Saying that, the staging isn’t what this song needs, Freddie needs a tad more charisma for a power-rock-pop-alternative-indie song like this, and please, look at more places than Primark for your clothing! That being said, I love the chorus and most of the song itself.
Score: 9/10
One of the best songs this year. Extremely raw and the vocals are already there. Definitely see this high on the left side of the board in May should it make it…but it will face a challenge from Oliver & Andi !!
I agree with dutchie. We need big notes well held, with a connection to the camera. He screeches and looks down. But that’s after the first listen so I’ll give it another go.
Are Hungarians sure, that they can realize this entry on stage in Stockholm? Do you remember what Malta did a year ago?
This is no better than Sound of Our Hearts.
For me this is the second favorite on A Dal.It is a good song, good singer.I wouldnt mind if it goes to Sweden but…for me after the live performance the best is from A Dal till now Olah Gergo.The staging was perfect, vocals perfect, song very gypsy-hungarian,memorable.Kallay is my 3rd favorite, he is good also and Seven Seas with Berkes Oliver.These 4 are my favorites from A Dal. This song for me is a 9.Definitly would qualify in Sweden.
The song could win Eurovision 2016
I love this song since i’ve heard it, my favourite by far in Hungary. This one with say yay, the best by far
Yet another track (this year overall) that’s just okay, but not more.
@ Eugene
You are being very strict. We are still at the national final stage and what we are looking for is raw talent. He clearly has it. The voice, the looks, everything. However I am not convinced that the live is better than the studio version so far. It still has a lot of room for improvement and it definitely needs some inspiring stage direction.
I expected an epic chart breaker on the basis of those 10/10 reviews, but apparently like the poster below me I’m missing something. The guy has a nice husky voice, that’s true. But this song is just a lot of screaming and not a lot of melody.
Definitely the most overrated song for me this year. I am afraid I just do not understand the hype. Maybe I am missing something?