The third heat of Hungary’s National selection, A Dal, is approaching the finish line and after this Saturday we will have the full line-up for the final evening of the contest. We’ve taken a look at the entries and the procedure below, so here is the XTRA Preview & Review!
XTRA Preview: A Dal – Heat 2
Just like last week, the show will start at 20:30 CET and will feature Károly Freinreisz, Misi Mező, Judit Schell and Miklós in the role of juries once again.
You can follow the show via live stream on MTV Duna’s website here, and don’t forget to join our live Twitter session at @ESCXTRA.
XTRA Review: A Dal – Heat 2
#yeahla feat. Viki Eszes -“1 Szó Mint 100”
Nick: This is almost perfect. Current, interesting, varied, good vocals, interesting music. If they can deliver this live, I’m sold.
Score: 9/10
Miki: “1 Szó Mint 100” is the type of song I would like to see from Hungary at Eurovision. It has a very contagious oriental instrumental vibe going on, yet it remains very mainstream and current sounding.
Score: 7.5/10
Rodrigo: Rather uninteresting and lacking in punch or hook of any kind. It makes you believe it will go somewhere but eventually ends up being a rather flat song.
Score: 4/10
Tim: This song is not doing anything for me, who knows it might change, it might depend on how this is staged and how her vocals sound on the night. However, it is a nice song.
Score: 6/10
Andy Roll -“Turn the Lights On”
Nick: Bit of a charisma issue here for an otherwise very anthemic effort. I quite like it… in the middle of a concert as an interval act. Clap along, turn the lights on…
Score: 6/10
Miki: I don’t find this particularly original or inspiring. Starts off rather promising and then becomes a tad repetitive for my liking. Overall, I find it inoffensive.
Score: 5/10
Rodrigo: When the song starts I’m intrigued. By the end of it I’m bored. It simply goes nowhere.
Score: 2/10
Tim: It’s like an outdated version of Jason Mraz with Sebalter. It starts of okay, but it doesn’t take me anywhere and it doesn’t captivate me in any shape or form.
Score: 4/10
Roland Gulyás – “Hypnotized”
Nick: Talk about, talk about repetitive, repetitive. It goes everywhere and it goes nowhere. In the end, it just bores me. Not for me!
Score: 3/10
Miki: I don’t like this, I wouldn’t listen to it willingly and I find it a tad tacky and it mostly comes down to the lyrics.
Score: 2/10
Rodrigo: I only realised he was singing in English when that magical part “Kardashian wannabe” came up. And that is the most memorable part of the song. Enough said.
Score: 3/10
Tim: Can we please talk about how many times a song that sounds like Human ending up in Eurovision, can we not make it two times in a row please.
Score: 3/10
Ham ko Ham -“Bármerre jársz”
Nick: Safe to say that authentic, Hungarian music with a folk twist can now do really well in A Dal. “Origo” paved a way for this one, even though this is light hearted fun.
Score: 6.5/10
Miki: Very fast pace, dancy, modern, ethnic and fun. This ticks a lot of boxes and has potential for a really fun stage show, ah and yes It’s in Hungarian.
Score: 7/10
Rodrigo: Love the ethnic flavor paired with a fell of pure and simple fun. Comes across as authentic without trying to be. Good effort musically and for diversity.
Score: 7.5/10
Tim: It is very lively!, it sounds a bit like an upbeat version of Origo and similar to Alcohol is Free, with great staging and if their vocals stay like this, it might work.
Score: 6/10
Cintia Horváth & Tomi Balogh -“Journey (Break Your Chains)”
Nick: Cintia’s voice is world class. The song is not. It’s decent and all, but who’s going to remember this after three minutes? Not me.
Score: 4/10
Miki: Very inoffensive and I like the melody but I find it rather familiar sounding. This might work well live but It might fall flat.
Score: 5.5/10
Rodrigo: Inoffensive and bland. Not sure there is much else to say about this one.
Score: 4/10
Tim: This sounds okay, basing on the studio version, it would depend on how they perform it on the live performance. But it will definitely not go to Lisbon.
Score: 5/10
Tamás Horváth -“Meggyfa”
Nick: A song about a cherry tree must have some poetic value? Good for this song that it’s also a musical delight, with a playful guitar and a captivating melody.
Score: 9/10
Miki: Mainstream yet traditional, emotional yet kinda catchy. This ticks a lot of boxes and I can see it doing rather well at Eurovision.
Score: 8/10
Rodrigo: The chorus reminds me a lot of “Työlki ellää” for some reason. The song altogether is very pleasant and different. Not at all expected and it could do well if sold properly.
Score: 7/10
Tim: The song is unique in it’s own right. Whether or not this would appeal to the masses would be a different story. If he can sell it, it could possibly work.
Score: 7/10
Maszkura és a tücsökraj -“Nagybetűs szavak”
Nick: You really don’t want to write that act down more than once… With a new stage name, I’d be happy to see this doing quite well in A Dal. It’s another jazzy, oldies effort. But a pleasant one.
Score: 6.5/10
Miki: Perfectly competent and pleasant, but I don’t feel it’s strong enough to stand out. Maybe they will deliver a great performance, however I’m not sure that will enough to go further in the competition.
Score: 4/10
Rodrigo: Pleasant but forgettable. Nothing that has the listener wanting to hear more. Nothing particularly exciting. Lift music, if you will.
Score: 2/10
Tim: It’s very toned down and a bit bland for my tasting, it was just a steady beat throughout the whole song. If you wanna do Eurovision, you need to captivate your audience, I’m afraid this doesn’t.
Score: 4/10
Nova Prospect -“Vigyázó”
Nick: This sounds like it. Pop rock, developing into true rock, building in the most perfect way with a lovely vocal and in Hungarian. Sold!
Score: 8.5/10
Miki: This would be an interesting chance for Hungary at Eurovision. If Nova Prospect can deliver it well live, I would certainly grow to appreciate it even more.
Score: 8/10
Rodrigo: Proper pop rock which is well written and well sung.
Score: 7/10
Tim: I like the consistency of it, and with it being a Pp Rock song, the song actually goes somewhere,. I hope she executes the live vocals well for this.
Score: 7/10
Nikoletta Szőke, Attila Kökény and Róbert Szakcsi Lakatos -“Életre kel”
Nick: It’s as if your aunt, your mother in law and your old high school teacher thought it’d be a good idea to record a song together. It sounds like nothing, to be honest… Boring, uninspired and amateurish.
Score: 2.5/10
Miki: I appreciate that this is a bit different than the rest, but that doesn’t make it a great song. Plus, it is a bit dated sounding (despite having a nice little lounge flow).
Score: 3/10
Rodrigo: Hotel lobby band (with a Disney touch) alert! Uninspired, boring, dated, blah. Three minutes of my life I’m never getting back.
Score: 1/10
Tim: This sounds very old style and the singers do not bring anything new to the picture. I have no other words to show my dislike.
Score: 2/10
Reni Tolvai -“Crack My Code”
Nick: Someday, in the future, Reni will enter A Dal with a song less cheap and tacky than her previous efforts. That year is not 2018 though. Another missed chance for her.
Score: 5/10
Miki: I mean I don’t mind this, but I’m not sure as to how it will all come across live. It is a very mainstream/radio friendly track that even includes a rap break (generally a No-No for Eurovision) and it somehow works. The pros overweight the cons for me on this one.
Score: 7/10
Rodrigo: I can sense a bit of “New Rules” in this. But generally it’s rather trashy and does not her voice any services. Rather than sounding contemporary it has the feeling of a 10-year old song trying to be adapted to today.
Score: 4/10
Tim: I’m just going to sit here and pretend that she got another song. This does not show off her vocals or her style and it doesn’t even compare to what she has released before. I think this is another missed chance and I think she should have gone with another song.
Score: 5/10
Who do we want?
The XTRA Jury, this time consisting of Nick, Miki, Rodrigo and Tim has spoken. Below you can see the average each song achieved. Their favourite for tomorrow’s third heat of A Dal is Tamás Horváth with his song titled “Meggyfa“.
- Tamás Horváth – Meggyfa : 7.8
- Nova Prospect – Vigyázó : 7.6
- Ham ko Ham – Bármerre jársz : 6.8
- #yeahla feat. Viki Eszes – 1 Szó Mint 100 : 6.6
- Reni Tolvai – Crack My Code : 5.3
- Cintia Horváth & Tomi Balogh – Journey (Break Your Chains) : 4.6
- Andy Roll – Turn the Lights On : 4.3
- Maszkura és a tücsökraj – Nagybetűs szavak : 4.1
- Roland Gulyás – Hypnotized : 2.8
- Nikoletta Szőke, Attila Kökény and Róbert Szakcsi Lakatos – Életre kel : 2.1
You can listen to the ten competing acts from the third heat in the playlist below, and make sure to let us know who your favorite is by commenting.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJxH2QtxgHWCiTdlEFyqAKnyQU1K0fRJn
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