The Xtra Files: We Review Belgium’s ‘City Lights’ by Blanche!

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 Belgium.

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 Belgian entry, ‘City Lights’ by Blanche, to be reviewed by Luke, Matteo, Nathan, Simon, Wivian, and Yassia. Let’s get started!

The Reviews

Luke

City Lights has such a haunting feeling. It makes you feel like you’re in a trance, rather than like you’re falling asleep. Blanche has one of the most interesting voices of all this year’s contestants., mostly in that it’s so low that whales can hear her sing, but it works fantastically and is so soothing.

Matteo

I am not a fan of her voice, the song is great, but it would be even better for me if she didn’t sound like her cat had just died.

Nathan

What a turn around for Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest. This is quite frankly stunning. A contemporary slice of electronic synth inspired pop music reminiscent of Lorde, Blanche is bringing the most classy relevant entry that this year has. Another top 5 finish is surely on the cards?

Simon

This could sink or swim. I’m interested to see if the layered octave vocals will come off when performed live. Contemporary, an intriguing voice, but enough to hold your attention for 3 minutes?

Wivian

I should like this song a lot, as it’s very similar to “my” kind of music. And I do like it, just not as much as I ought to. It’s very 2017, which is good, and for once there is a song that goes deep enough that I can comfortably sing along without screeching on the high notes…I have it 8th place though, so it is among my favorites, but there is just something missing for it to move into my top 5.

Yassia

I’m not a fan of this song, however I think that it’s nice (that’s the only word that comes to my mind while listening to it). There is nothing terrific about Blanche’s unusual for a girl voice, or about the song itself. At least this song doesn’t make me sleeep.

Scores

When we remove the top score of 10 and the lowest score of 4, the average score for Belgium is an impressive 8.92!
(Removing the top score and the lowest score helps to make the average score more reliable and less affected by outliers.)

Leaderboard

Belgium reaches 3rd place in our leaderboard with a score of 8.92.

1. France – 9.04
2. Italy – 9.03
3. Belgium – 8.92
4. Azerbaijan – 8.00
5. Sweden – 7.77
6. Belarus – 7.75
7. Iceland – 7.46
8. Australia – 7.25
9. Israel – 7.21
10. Serbia – 7.08
11. Estonia – 7.07
12. Switzerland – 6.96
13. Denmark – 6.83
14. Armenia – 6.80
15. Portugal – 6.79
16. Hungary – 6.79
17. Cyprus – 6.71
18. Germany – 6.59
19. Austria – 6.58
20. Moldova – 6.58
21. Greece – 6.54
22. Norway – 6.33
23. Latvia – 6.25
24. Czech Republic – 6.25
25. United Kingdom – 6.00
26. Finland – 5.71
27. Ireland – 5.54
28. The Netherlands – 5.33
29. Albania – 5.21
30. Poland – 5.13
31. Ukraine – 5.13
32. Romania – 5.12
33. Malta – 4.25
34. San Marino – 3.92
35. Georgia – 3.91
36. Montenegro – 3.33
37. Croatia – 2.71
38. Slovenia – 2.13

Tomorrow, we will review F.Y.R. Macedonia.
Do you agree with our reviews of the Belgium? What are your thoughts on Blanche’s ‘City Lights’? Let us know in the comments!