Welcome to The Xtra Files, our new series which will give you an insight into what the team at escXtra think of your favourite entries into this year’s contest! Today, we review San Marino.
Now that all the songs have been released, we are able to review each and every one of them. Our honest and brutal reviews will keep you entertained until the rehearsals start in May! We will also each give a score out of 10 for every entry, and create an escXtra leaderboard of the entries! You can see our preview reviews here.
Today, it is the turn of the Sammarinese entry, ‘Spirit Of The Night’ by Valentina Monetta & Jimmie Wilson, to be reviewed by Nathan, Nick, Rodrigo, Ryan, Simon, and Yassia. Let’s get started!
The Reviews
Nathan
Welcome back Queen Val, the Sammarinese superstar we all need in our lives when May rolls around each year. I wish her and her new duet partner well for Kyiv!
Nick
To lash out against Eurovision fans telling them there’s more than Eurovision a few weeks before you’re announced as their entrant for the fourth time… I have to laugh, really. But this song works and she enjoys her time there. It’s a bit of an Alcazar B-side from the early 00s which was rejected early on in the process. So I like it. I’m just trying to figure out what he is doing there.
Rodrigo
I get that when someone pays for your participation they get to call the shots, but is it worth signing off your dignity as an artist? It bothers me because Valentina is capable of so much more and she would be a fantastic contestant if she were given a better song. The only redeeming feature is the amount of key changes (although, isn’t the rule “fourth attempt four key changes”?). This may be San Marino’s worst entry to date – yes, including facebook uh oh oh…
Ryan
I was hoping Valentina would return for a fourth try one day and I’m thrilled she has! The song isn’t totally my cup of tea but Jimmie and Valentina do deliver this with perfect enthusiasm and it’s a welcome variety to this year’s line-up.
Simon
No, no, no. One for each key change. At the fourth time of asking, Val Mon and Uncle Ralph should have learned, and they should work to Valentina’s strengths. But Ralph just can’t help himself from pressing that button. Thrice.
Yassia
Very simple pop-song, nothing interesting. It’s kind of great that Valentina keeps trying though. This time she even took a guy with her. Maybe her next try will finally be a success. Let’s see what is going to happen, because maybe I’m mistaken 😉
Scores
| Dimitris | 7.5 | Rodrigo | 1 |
| Hlynur | 2 | Ryan | 3.5 |
| Katarina | 5.5 | Sagheer | 5.5 |
| Luke | 5.5 | Simon | 1 |
| Matteo | 3 | Sophie | 1 |
| Nathan | 6 | Wivian | 0.5 |
| Nick | 8 | Yassia | 5.5 |
When we remove the top score of 8 and the lowest score of 0.5, the average score for San Marino is 3.92.
(Removing the top score and the lowest score helps to make the average score more reliable and less affected by outliers.)
Leaderboard
San Marino reaches 8th place in our leaderboard with a score of 3.92.
- Australia – 7.25
- Serbia – 7.08
- Hungary – 6.79
- Moldova – 6.58
- Norway – 6.33
- Latvia – 6.25
- United Kingdom – 6.00
- San Marino – 3.92
Tomorrow, we will review Denmark.
Do you agree with our reviews of San Marino? What are your thoughts on ‘Spirit Of The Night’? Let us know in the comments!
Comments on The Xtra Files: We Review San Marino’s ‘Spirit Of The Night’ by Valentina Monetta & Jimmie Wilson!