Time for the third part of the review series we started yesterday. As you know, nine of our editors have taken a look at all entries. Tonight we present you part twoof these series: We’ll have a look at Ukraine and Belarus!
Ukraine: Sympho-Nick – Pryyde Vesna
Simon Wells:
The essential Ukrainian ingredients are there; a professional presentation, good vocals, a fantastical element to the song which will no doubt be matched by the stage act. However, something doesn’t quite click, musically. The sentiment of the song is exactly what you’d expect, “It’s lovely, our one and only / Forever lovely and welcoming / Lovely family / Lovely Ukraine”, and there is no doubt that Ukraine will earn every point the country deserves, plus a few more. I can’t see this pushing past 4th or 5th, but give it an anthemic remix and the right stage show and I stand by to be proven wrong. The girls are clearly good singers and deserve a better stage name!
Rating: 5/10
Peter Dunwoody:
Lyrically this is patriotic to ‘I Love Belarus’ levels, but take into account the singers, the staging and the current situation in Ukraine and it takes on more of a “Don’t ever cry, my Ukrainian sky” vibe. Whilst it owes a lot to ‘(Sha!) Gravidee’ in terms of production, it stands on its own two feet musically as one of the more interesting compositions of the year, with an engaging melody and complex vocal arrangements. It doesn’t seem like a winner to me, but it should deservedly earn a solid top five placing.
Rating: 7/10
Rinor Nuhiu:
The Ukrainian entry this year is easily comparable to “Gravity” and last year’s “We Are One”. The beginning is very impressive, and the chemistry between the girls seems to work very well. However, there isn’t anything new going on in the second verse, and it gets a little boring, with the chorus remaining the same.
Rating: 6/10
Belarus: Nadezhda Misyakova – Sokal
Liam Clark:
Ah Belarus. How can a country that is often so turbulent in its Eurovision selection be so perfect in Junior? So often the Belarusian Junior entry feels like they could send it straight off to adult Eurovision and it would be a legitimate contender and Nadezhda’s Sokol is no exception. I love songs that infuse a folk sense into their songs and this does that so beautifully. Nadezhda has a beautiful clear voice and a fresh face that just makes you instantly like her and I think this has a great chance of continuing Belarus’ dominance in the contest.
Rating: 10/10
Alekas Supranavičius:
She is really cute! I see Emmelie De Forest and Ruslana influences here. Strange how Belarussian JESC acts are more polished and dare I say better overall than the country’s effort in the adult ESC. Not sure if this could be the winner, but it is a very solid from Belarus.
Rating: 7/10
Dimitris Ioannou:
The song is simply amazing. It has exactly what a song needs to make me like it. The background music is good but at some points it starts to become quite annoying, especially at the non-singing parts. I expect the song to have an outstanding stage performance. Although I believe that Belarus was overrated in some of the contests, this year it totally deserves a top three place.
Rating: 9/10
That means we gave Ukraine a rating of 6/10, whereas Belarus score 8.7/10. Stay tuned tomorrow, when we review Armenia and Serbia!
