The national final season is in full swing. On 30th January, the Czech Republic will reveal who has won their online national final. We’ve taken a look at the entries and the procedure below, so here is the XTRA Preview & Review!
XTRA Preview: Eurovision Song CZ
The Czechs have decided to go a different route this year. No more internal selections, but no televised show either. Instead, we’re having an online national final. The Czech broadcaster has selected six entries.
Those six were in an online vote. Czech fans could vote through the official Eurovision app. They are going to make up 50% of the final result. The other 50% has already been decided. An international jury, full of former Eurovision stars, chose Mikolas Josef as their favourite.
On Tuesday, the Czech broadcaster will tell us who the winner of the combined vote is. Make sure you check ESCXTRA.com that day to see who wins the Czech ticket to Lisbon.
XTRA Review: Eurovision Song CZ
Debbi – “High on Love”
Nick: The Czechs deliver yet again. What a chorus, great verses, good voice to add to it. I’m getting Laura Tesoro vibes, although I don’t think it would do as well.
Score: 7.5/10
Luke: I like this, it’s really cheerful! It feels like it could be a song from Natalie Imbruglia or Alanis Morissette from years ago, but this might work against it; it could come across as dated? For me though, it’s a great feel-good song
Score: 8/10
Dominik: This is such a strong song. Strong, uplifting and a great message! Never thought the national final will be that strong in the Czech Republic! Well done.
Score: 8/10
Emanuel: It’s competent enough, but something is missing. Needs more power, needs a stronger instrumental, and it’s the type of song that normally improves once its performed live, what makes it hard to judge the song with just a studio version. With a good revamp, it’s a maybe. As it is now, I don’t think it would have many chances at Eurovision. It makes me feel good, though.
Score: 7/10
Doctor Victor – “StandUP”
Nick: You wouldn’t put it past the Czechs to choose the 80s rock to represent them, would you? I can’t see this getting anywhere, though. At least, I hope not.
Score: 3.5/10
Luke: This…..no. It’s not that I’m not a rock fan, there are some rock songs I really like. This is just not well-made, and not enjoyable at all to listen to. I don’t know what they were thinking.
Score: 1/10
Dominik: This is one of those moments, when three minutes can feel very very long. Not a big fan of rock to be honest, but this is not catchy or I don’t even think, that I’ll remember the sound of it after two minutes.
Score: 2/10
Emanuel: The weakest entry in the national final, by far. I don’t like rock, but even for those who appreciate that kind of music, I don’t think this is good enough. Just feels old fashioned in a bad way. I’m not worried as I don’t see them making it to Eurovision. Everyday is Christmas so I will give them a 3/10 for showing up.
Score: 3/10
Eddie Stoilow – “We Rule This World”
Nick: Is Eddie in a Coldplay tribute band? Cause his song would hint in that direction. I think it lacks a bit of impact, but it surely is not a bad song.
Score: 5/10
Luke: This is cute, but it’s very forgettable and not something that I’m going to listen to again…I think with a bit more effort, this could’ve been a lot better.
Score: 5/10
Dominik: It has a dreamy, uplifting sound. I like the lyrics and the feeling of it. Sadly I think it won’t stick out. Still lovely.
Score: 6/10
Emanuel: I don’t think this is a good song, and I don’t think it is interesting either. While it was playing I found myself thinking about random stuff, so you can see how captivated I was. I wouldn’t play this one again, except if I wanted a lullaby to make me sleep. Czech Republic has by far better options.
Score: 4/10
Eva Burešová -“Fly”
Nick: “Lighthouse”meets “Horehronie” meets “LoveWave”. A golden combination, completed by the wonderful voice of Eva. With the proper staging, this could do things. But it will need a solid revamp before you could think about that.
Score: 7.5/10
Luke: This is a bad attempt at one of those “mystical” types of songs we see do well at Eurovision. It doesn’t go anywhere, I’m bored of it after just a minute of listening, and the lyrics are awful. I have no idea what the message of this song is. This would do badly in Lisbon.
Score: 2/10
Dominik: Very mysterious and unique. I love it. This could either achieve a brilliant position or flop very hard. I think this might be too complex for a wide audience, but an outstanding performance would help.
Score: 8/10
Emanuel: When I heard the song for the first time I got really confused. I didn’t know what to think about the song. However, now I love it. I needed my time to get used to it. I don’t think that’s a positive aspect when we talk about Eurovision, as the song has to be liked at the first listening. Anyway, I love how the song develops. It has a mysterious touch that I love. With a good performance it could be a surprise.
Score: 9/10
Pavel Callta – “Never Forget”
Nick: Middle of the road, a great album filler. But that really is what it is, if you manage to forget the English issues in this one.
Score: 6.5/10
Luke: This is adorable, I really like it! The only thing which ruins it for me is the reaaaaally bad English. There’s not really any excuse for it in this day and age; get somebody who is a fluent English speaker to take a look over your lyrics! Fix those, and it’s fantastic.
Score: 9/10
Dominik: This is so emotional. I love everything about this. Probably the best ballad I heard this ESC season. I don’t know how this would end up, but I would love for it to do very well. To quote Demy: “This Is Love”!
Score: 10/10
Emanuel: When the song started it sounded promising, and for that reason I was expecting it to grow into something bigger. But it didn’t. It just gets repetitive and boring. It’s just lovely song, but so was “My Turn” and we all know how that ended (Unfortunately). Not enough. Would just get lost between all the other songs. We need something different
Score: 6/10
Mikolas Josef – “Lie To Me”
Nick: Surely, this will win the national final? And then bring the Czechs their best ever result? This is a brilliant effort and a chart song for Europe to enjoy. Chart music ready to conquer Europe. Fantastic. The lyrics won’t make everyone happy, but they work. I’m running out of superlatives for this one. Only one score can even be considered for this.
Score: 10/10
Luke: Come on, this has to win. This isn’t the sort of thing I’d normally like but it’s just too much fun to not like. It’s completely different to what the Czech Republic have sent before and could definitely show them that if you send a good song then you get a good result!
Score: 9/10
Dominik: If the live performance comes any close to the studio version, Czech Republic is coming for that Top 10 placing at least! Love it so much and have it on heavy rotation. The Czech Republic always sends good songs, but this year it’s time for revenge and get this great place! I even can see me wearing a Czech flag! Flawless!
Score: 10/10
Emanuel: Normally I dislike this kind of songs but I find this one extremely catchy. It gets stuck in my head everytime I listen to it. If “Lie to me” goes to Eurovision it will stand out, and it’s a totally different style from what Czech Republic has been sending since their comeback. I’m really curious to see how they will stage the song if it gets the ticket to Lisbon. From the videoclip, it looks promising.
Score: 9.5/10
Who do we want?
The XTRA Jury, this time consisting of Nick, Luke, Dominik and Emanuel has spoken. Below you can see the average each song achieved. Their favourite for tomorrow’s show is Mikolas Josef’s “Lie to Me”!
- Mikolas Josef – Lie To Me: 9.6
- Pavel Callta – Never Forget: 7.9
- Debbi – High On Love: 7.6
- Eva Burešová – Fly: 6.6
- Eddie Stoilow – We Rule This World: 5.0
- Doctor Victor – StandUP: 2.4
Below, we’ve included a playlist for you. Which of these six do you like best? Make sure to let us know who you like by commenting!
[ypt playlist_id=PL3QGWsDEgtH8L6ojB2IYULs3ktmtl1Y2w]
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