The national final season is in full swing. Tonight, the Hungarian national final, A Dal, is going to take place. We’ve taken a look at the entries and the procedure below, so here is the XTRA Preview & Review!
XTRA Preview: A Dal – Final
Hungary have decided to go for all males tonight. Eight men will be fighting it out for the ticket to Lisbon. They’ve all survived a heat and a semi already, so this will be the third time they’ll perform in A Dal.
The jury will select the top four tonight. They’ll give 10, 6, 8 and 4 points to their four favourites. After all four jury members have voted, the top four will progress to a superfinal. In that superfinal, televoting is the only thing that counts. All in all, that means it’s wide open!
ESCXTRA will be tweeting the show live on Twitter.
XTRA Review: A Dal
AWS – “Viszlát Nyár”
Sami: I always like it when there are songs from different genres what we don’t hear so much at Eurovision. I still think there are better metal songs than this. It doesn’t have a strong melody and it’s hard to connect with this in any level.
Score: 4/10
Nick: Screamy rock with that voice? Normally, I’d have switched right off and told them to learn a song before bothering me with noise. But this actually has something going for it. There’s a melody and he’s living it!
Score: 7.5/10
Hlynur: It felt good to hear the silence when I turned the song off. I some sometimes love rock and this one would definatly stick out in Lisbon, however I do not think it will make it there.
Score: 2/10
Nathan: It has been quite a few years since Eurovision had a rock entry as heavy as this. The introduction peaks my interest but then the verse quickly loses it. The chorus is a little too ‘scream’-like for my taste. If I was listening to the radio and this came on, I would probably switch off.
Score: 3.5/10
yesyes – “I Let You Run Away”
Sami: This is my favourite to win A Dal this year. It’s such a good song and it could actually even win Eurovision. Adam’s vocals could be bit better, but he sounded a lot better on the semifinal already. It’s very powerful and modern and I’m sure both juries and the televoters would like this.
Score: 10/10
Nick: Why so angry? You’ve got a pop song with an accordeon. Sure, you let someone run away, but it’s not the end of this world. A little too dramatic and over the top for me when it comes to his singing. A good song, but they’ll need a performance director like no other.
Score: 8/10
Hlynur: This is too aggressive, that is I think it is too intense in a wrong way. Feels like he is sometimes screaming, then singing.
Score: 3/10
Nathan: I’ll get straight to the point – yes, yes to yesyes. This is everything I’ve wanted from a Eurovision entry in recent years and the best thing about it is that it stands up live. It’s wonderful, really it is.
Score: 10/10
Viktor Király – “Budapest Girl”
Sami: Viktor sounds and looks good and the song is nice and simple, but the chorus is so bad. It’s so stupid and annoying. With a different chorus, this would be one of my favourites. Now it just annoys me.
Score: 2/10
Nick: Alert! We have found the most disappointing chorus of the years. The verses are sheer brilliance and get the arena cheering. The chorus is a repetitive mess. As if they forgot to write it ‘she’s my budapest, buda, buda, budapest girl, girl, girl’. Too lazy for even a four year old. Shame, as the potential is enormous.
Score: 7/10
Hlynur: That song took a swing… what happened in the middle? However the song is not that bad apart from that. Still….Buda buda buda, I just can’t.
Score: 4/10
Nathan: This is almost a little too subtle for me. If it had been a little more unique, like Kedvesem was, this would be right up my street. However, a delicate song is very well performed live with lovely staging.
Score: 6/10
Tamás Horváth – “Meggyfa”
Sami: Tamás is so charismatic and he sounds great. I also love the Hungarian language. The lyrics are bit silly in English, but luckily I don’t have to think about them when he is singing in Hungarian. The performance is little confusing, but I really love the song.
Score: 9/10
Nick: What a song. The instrumentation is wonderful. I am glad he cut out his ‘nanana’ singing from the instrumental bits like he did in the heat. He is good and he fits this song perfectly.
Score: 9/10
Hlynur: Think this will be my winner of A Dal, sweet and catchy tune in a good way. I am sure I can listen to this one again and again. Hop! And I love the maple leaves in the background.
Score: 8.5/10
Nathan: Promising right from the start, a really very Hungarian feel is prominent throughout the opening verse. The chorus brings it up another level though and I love the post-chorus instrumental too. Overall, this is an extremely strong entry.
Score: 9/10
Gergely Dánielfy – “Azt Mondtad”
Sami: This is so boring. Yes, Gergely is a great singer and the lyrics must be touching, but the message or the feeling isn’t coming through enough.
Score: 2/10
Nick: RWinner alert. Surely this will win tonight? Please let it win tonight? Delicate, touching, soulful, genuine, pitch perfect vocally, a staging like no other. This is perfection in three minutes. A song about what someone said to you, but now they’re gone… This is a glorious effort and one of the best songs of the season.
Score: 10/10
Hlynur: Rather pleasant meloday and Gergely has a lovely voice. Yeah, it easy and nice to listen to.
Score: 7/10
Nathan: I am not entirely sure of the value of this entry in a final as strong as this. It is a little bland and will get lost in amongst the heavier or more effective entries as it’s a little too basic to stand out.
Score: 3/10
Zsolt Süle – “Zöld A Május”
Sami: I could imagine hearing this in some café as a harmless background music, but it doesn’t work at Eurovision. Sure it would be different from the other songs, but I don’t think people would remember this.
Score: 1/10
Nick: May is green, spring is going on, you’re walking the streets of Budapest and in a shabby old café, you hear this man singing about the delights of spring. You must fall in love with everything Hungarian, whilst the waiter brings you a glass of Tokaj wine.
Score: 9.5/10
Hlynur: Half way through the song I thought, it’s quite ok. But then it starts feeling too long. Clearly not as hyped for this song, I like the lady hanging in the rings.
Score: 5/10
Nathan: This, of course, stands out. The sad thing is that it doesn’t really go anywhere after the verse. It meanders on, as if you’d hear it on the streets of Budapest but continue walking past and not stop to observe. That is how I feel about this entry.
Score: 2.5/10
Gábor Heincz ‘BIGA’– “Good Vibez”
Sami: This is such a feel good song. It’s so sunny and Gabor sounds just like on the studio version, his vocals are perfect. It’s not maybe the most original song of the bunch, but it does make me happy.
Score: 8/10
Nick: At frst, I cringed at the lyrics: “We are the fools, that play by the rules”. But on second, third, fourth (and continue…) listen, this is too catchy for its own good. Do we need a man in his mid-40s singing this? Perhaps not, but this is a very decent and credible tune. Too catchy!
Score: 9/10
Hlynur: Was ready to write the song off in the beginng. However, the lyrics caught me. Let’s just say this is quite alright…
Score: 6.5/10
Nathan: My attention is stolen from the opening bars of instrumental, but then the verse starts and I am immediately put off. That’s not the voice or pronunciation I wanted for this. The melody of the song is nice though, particularly in combination with the instrumental. However, it is yet another entry that I shrug my shoulders at and say “so, what’s next?”
Score: 5.5/10
Leander Kills – “Nem Szól Harang”
Sami: Leander Kills always deliver, but sadly their songs sound always pretty similar. ”Nem szól harang” is a good song, but not extremely interesting.
Score: 6/10
Nick: More acceptable and more mainstream than any Leander Kills song of the past few years. They even have a violin before destroying your ears by guitars and drums on maximum volume. This sounds so angry.
Score: 4/10
Hlynur: Once in a while I do like rock songs, this one I do approve of. Yes!
Score: 8/10
Nathan: What I love about this is that it is immediately recognisable as Hungarian from the arrangement of the instruments. However, I am not a fan of the vocal line at all. If you’d given me a different vocalist for this, I’d like it much more. I think the balance of where the “heavy” rock element comes in sits well with the traditional instrumentation but I am totally let down by the voice on the melody line and I really am not a fan of those scream vocals at all.
Score: 4/10
Who do we want?
The XTRA Jury, this time consisting of Sami, Nick, Nathan and Hlynur has spoken. They were quite divided!Below you can see the average each song achieved. Their favourite for tonight’s show is Tamás Horváth’s “Meggyfa”!
- Tamás Horváth – Meggyfa: 8.9
- yesyes – I Let You Run Away: 7.8
- Gábor Heincz ‘BIGA’ – Good Vibez: 7.3
- Gergely Dánielfy – Azt Mondtad: 5.5
- Leander Kills – Nem Szól Harang: 5.5
- Viktor Király – Budapest Girl: 4.8
- Zsolt Süle – Zöld A Május: 4.5
- AWS – Viszlát Nyár: 4.3
Below, we’ve included a playlist for you. Which of these [include number] do you like best? Make sure to let us know who you like by commenting!
[ypt playlist_id=PLMbWxBEblGEbPXzAvSeRUOLtPTPOG4Cmn]
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