It’s time for the last part of our review series. In the past days, we’ve already taken a look at fourteen entries, so only two of them are left: Malta and Slovenia. Watch what we think of those below!
Slovenia: Ula Ložar – Nisi Sam (Your Light)
Rinor Nuhiu:
Definitely one of the best songs this year, and a great debut from Slovenia! A beautifully-sung pop ballad with a smashing and memorable chorus. Although I can’t predict a significant position for Slovenia this year due to the big number of ballads, I would love to see this finish Top 3!
Rating: 10/10
Alekas Supranavičius:
Good English! I LOVE THIS. This sounds very Western and cool. Maybe too serious for JESC? We seldomly see the songs like this win JESC (read: never). But this is a fantastic entry and I wish all the best to Ula. I hope she has a great career, this old soul.
Rating: 9/10
Liam Clark:
Now this is a girl with an interesting voice. There aren’t many girls in this contest who can rock a low sassy note like Ula Ložar and it’s just a treat for the ears. The song itself is most likely far too mature for Junior Eurovision but I don’t even care. This is a gorgeous little composition that switches languages so effortlessly you don’t even really notice. Powerful and understated at the same time, a very classy choice from Slovenia.
Rating: 10/10
Malta: Federica Falzon – Diamonds
Dimitris Ioannou:
Although I never really liked such songs, this song has something that made me like it. It is weird though to see a girl with such a voice. I saw some people comparing her to the Romanian entrant of the Eurovision 2013 and I completely disagree; Federica is way better than Cezar. However, the song is still not a great song but it’s not as bad as Cezar’s song, which I totally disliked. But I can weirdly see this doing extremely well.
Rating: 4/10
Danny N:
Time to listen to the host country’s entry and I have to admit, this is not what I was expecting. Federica has a fantastic operatic voice and for the first thirty seconds, that’s exactly the direction you would think the song is taking. But then out of nowhere a beat kicks in and the song completely comes into its own. How this song will go down with a younger audience is debatable but it cannot be questioned that this entry is without a doubt the most unique from this year’s competitors and with a good performance and stage show, this could be a contender.
Rating: 7/10
Peter Dunwoody:
Malta are in it for the double aren’t they! It seems like finally their passion for the contest is being reflected in the quality of entries. Obviously the main selling point of this song is Federica’s voice, which for an 11 year-old is outstanding, but the song is pretty good as well. The lyrics might be the usual clichés about following your dream, but musically it builds and sticks in your head – two very important elements. It doesn’t even sound like it was written for an operatic voice but Federica just gives it that extra something. This must be a frontrunner.
Rating: 8/10
Nick van Lith:
I spent the first 90 seconds recovering from what I just heard. What did I just listen to? Let’s start with the positives: Federica is a gifted girl and this is a clever composition and I would not be surprised to see this winning the contest for Malta once more. But who expects such a voice or such a song in a Junior Eurovision? Kids doing opera, we’ve seen them before on talent shows (Jackie Evancho in the USA, Amira Willighagen in The Netherlands), but somehow the picture is just way off. I’m still in shock and the link between seeing Federica and hearing her is not there yet. It’s actually a bit scary. Are three minutes enough to let Europe recover from the shock? If so, then this is a front runner. She’s talented, but is this the right competition for her?
Rating: 5.5/10
We’d like to thank you all for following these series and we’d like to wish all contestants the best of luck in tomorrow’s Junior Eurovision Song Contest!
