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 the Czech Republic.
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 Czech entry, ‘My Turn’ by Martina Bárta, to be reviewed by Hlynur, Katarina, Nathan, Nick, Ryan, and Sagheer. Let’s get started!
The Reviews
Hlynur
The more I listen to it, the more I like it. Adorable and sweet lyrics that speak to me. It is a comfortable song to the ear, and I hope it reaches the final.
Katarina
I have listened to this entry so many times and I still can’t remember how it goes, since the song seriously does nothing for me. I feel like Martina’s beautiful voice deserves a much stronger song, not an almost definite non-qualifier. Better luck next time!
Nathan
Learning from last year’s first qualification to the Eurovision final, the Czechs have sent another contemporary pop ballad sang by a competent singer. They will need more staging than last year in order to improve upon their 0pts on the televote.
Nick
Czech Republic are going for a gentle ballad. This song is subtle, but it might just be a little too subtle for Eurovision. Martina does what she loves and I applaud her for that. She stayed true to herself. Good for her. I like this enough for a decent midtable finish.
Ryan
Contrary to popular opinion, I think this is amongst the best of this year’s ballads. It doesn’t rely on vocal gymnastics or overwhelming production, just a beautiful and emotional message and a beautiful voice in Martina. In addition, I’m finding this to be a grower which isn’t the best fit for Eurovision but there’s a richness to this entry and the Czech Republic deserve immense praise for this.
Sagheer
A beautiful song that has a lovely message to it. It’s definitely not the best ballad of the year but I think that with the right staging it may surprise many come the first semi final.
Scores
| Dimitris | 8.5 | Rodrigo | 9 |
| Hlynur | 7.5 | Ryan | 9.5 |
| Katarina | 2.5 | Sagheer | 6 |
| Luke | 1.5 | Simon | 4 |
| Matteo | 7 | Sophie | 5 |
| Nathan | 6 | Wivian | 8.5 |
| Nick | 7.5 | Yassia | 3.5 |
When we remove the top score of 9.5 and the lowest score of 1.5. the average score for the Czech Republic is 6.25.
(Removing the top score and the lowest score helps to make the average score more reliable and less affected by outliers.)
Leaderboard
The Czech Republic reaches 19th place in our leaderboard with a score of 6.25.
- France – 9.04
- Sweden – 7.77
- Belarus – 7.75
- Australia – 7.25
- Israel – 7.21
- Serbia – 7.08
- Estonia – 7.07
- Switzerland – 6.96
- Denmark – 6.83
- Armenia – 6.80
- Portugal – 6.79
- Hungary – 6.79
- Germany – 6.59
- Austria – 6.58
- Moldova – 6.58
- Greece – 6.54
- Norway – 6.33
- Latvia – 6.25
- Czech Republic – 6.25
- United Kingdom – 6.00
- The Netherlands – 5.33
- Albania – 5.21
- Ukraine – 5.13
- San Marino – 3.92
- Georgia – 3.91
- Slovenia – 2.13
Tomorrow, we will review Malta.
Do you agree with our reviews of the Czech Republic? What are your thoughts on Martina Bárta’s ‘My Turn’? Let us know in the comments!
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