The Xtra Files: We Review Ukraine’s ‘Time’ by O. Torvald!

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 Ukraine.

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 Ukrainian entry, ‘Time’ by O. Torvald, to be reviewed by Dimitris, Katarina, Luke, Nathan, Sagheer, and Simon. Let’s get started!

The Reviews

Dimitris

I’m really happy when the contest finally gets to have some good rock songs. However, I have to admit that there is one thing with Ukraine; the verses are so much better than the chorus. That doesn’t necessarily mean I don’t like the song, I still find the song really good.

Katarina

I may not be a fan of rock music but I can appreciate a good rock song when I hear it. However, this is a rather bad rock song. The lyrics are okay, but that’s the only positive of this entry, unless I count in the staging which at least shows us how much time is left until it’s over.

Luke

At least O. Torvald have been nice enough to put a timer on the screen during their performance to let me know exactly how long the pain will last. This feels like an even worse, more rock-y version of Belarus’ entry last year. It gets boring very quickly, and just doesn’t go anywhere. If it were a semifinalist, I’m uncertain if it would even qualify. Bad effort, Ukraine.

Nathan

Enjoyable composition but goes nowhere in three minutes. I’m expecting some impressive staging and a running order draw of 22nd will mean the crowd reaction in the hall from the host nation could push this onto the left side of the board.

Sagheer

Rock is just not my thing and this song really does not do anything for me. Three minutes feel like an absolute eternity.

Simon

If the target is to give a notable entry but not to have any risk of winning again, mission accomplished. Good to have some actual rock music on stage.

Scores

When we remove the top score of 8 and the lowest score of 0, the average score for Ukraine is 5.13.
(Removing the top score and the lowest score helps to make the average score more reliable and less affected by outliers.)

Leaderboard

Ukraine reaches 15th place in our leaderboard with a score of 5.13.

1. Belarus – 7.75
2. Australia – 7.25
3. Serbia – 7.08
4. Switzerland – 6.96
5. Denmark – 6.83
6. Armenia – 6.80
7. Hungary – 6.79
8. Austria – 6.58
9. Moldova – 6.58
10. Norway – 6.33
11. Latvia – 6.25
12. United Kingdom – 6.00
13. The Netherlands – 5.33
14. Albania – 5.21
15. Ukraine – 5.13
16. San Marino – 3.92

Tomorrow, we will review Sweden.
Do you agree with our reviews of Ukraine? What are your thoughts on O. Torvald’s ‘Time’? Let us know in the comments!