The national final season is in full swing. Tonight, Poland’s show Krajowe Eliminacje 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: Krajowe Eliminacje
Krajowe Eliminacje is Poland’s format to pick a song for the Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon. They’ve had a few very successful years in the contest, so they will sure hope to continue their final streak.
Ten acts will be taking part tonight and it’s a very open field. Marta and Isabell seem to be frontrunners tonight. Poland will, like many other countries, make use of a 50/50 system.
The jury will consist of five people. Kasia Moś, Maryla Rodowicz, Tabb, Stefano Terrazzino and Jan Borysewicz are all music professionals in Poland and will make up the jury tonight. Kasia is the most familiar to us Eurovision fans as last year’s Eurovision entrant with “Flashlight”. The other 50% is a televote.
XTRA Review: Krajowe Eliminacje
Saszan – “Nie Chcę Ciebie Mniej”
Dominik: The beginning is great. I would have loved to have a stronger chorus here. A song, that is easy to forget. Might be enough for the radio, but not for Eurovision.
Score: 5/10
Matt: I’m always worried by a midtempo song for Eurovision. This threatens to go somewhere but ultimately doesn’t. I’m looking for impact and the thing that will make Europe vote for a song, but “Nie Chce Ciebie Mniej” isn’t grabbing me.
Score: 6/10
Nick: RPolish pop is one of the hidden gems of Europe. They do midtempo pop better than most other countries. It’s very current. An outstanding effort here, where the only doubt is how much impact it’ll make in a 25 song show.
Score: 8/10
Riccardo: As a language lover, I immediately liked the song was in Polish. While, I find it a little dry at times, I must confess that I kept singing it in my head after I stopped listening to it. I just wished it had a more powerful chorus.
Score: 7/10
Monika Urlik – “Momentum”
Dominik: Strong ballad. Love the personal lyrics. This is such a Eurovision song. I can see this in Lisbon. Would be a nice entry.
Score: 8/10
Matt: And we’ve got an anthem! If this wins, it will get favourably compared to the UK’s “Storm” by SuRie. Emotion levels will be at 100% by the end of the song and if Monika can pull this off live, it may well win the ticket to Lisbon.
Score: 7/10
Nick: One of the best Ylva & Linda efforts I’ve seen recently. It’s quite an anthem where the vocals Monika delivers make this a stand-out track. I like this quite a bit.
Score: 7.5/10
Riccardo: This is onoe of those songs that I had to listen to a few times before I could form an opinion. And I liked it the more I listened to it, which could be both good and bad. I think Monika is a brilliant vocalist and I can see her stand out from the crowd if she and her backing vocals deliver as well as the studio version.
Score: 7/10
Isabell Otrebus – “Delirium”
Dominik: Very mysterious. I like this. If she can deliver this vocals, this is one for the victory in Poland. Sadly you know the whole song after the first chorus. Still good.
Score: 8/10
Matt: This could be good live on stage in Lisbon. If Isabell can belt out the chorus live, just like on the recording, she’ll stand a good chance of winning selection. I like the high-pitched instrument that breaks up the vocal too. I’d say good entry, not great.
Score: 6.5/10
Nick: Contrary to Matt, I would like to call this a great entry. This girl can sing, we saw that last year. This is a rousing pop track which has character and class.
Score: 9/10
Riccardo: This fall right down my alley and I LOVE the sudden high pitch and the instrumentation in the chorus. This has a good dose of sass, a good perfromer and my kind of build up. Would this stand out in Lisbon? Yes, but it would also need a really good stage show with it.
Score: 8.5/10
Ifi Ude – “Love Is Stronger”
Dominik: I so would’ve expected something like this in the Estonian selection. It will stick out, but will people vote for it? It will either finish at the bottom or somewhere at the top. I somehow like it. Needs a strong performance though.
Score: 7/10
Matt: Bridging the gap between the 1970’s and 2018 in music’s version of Timehop. Absolutely everything will depend on the staging here. By far the most individualistic and unique song of the bunch, there are so many ways to stage this. I would go for something quirky and visually outside the box.
Score: 6.5/10
Nick: Really too quirky and out there for me. There’s no real hook, there’s no real point of interest. The entire three minutes long, I keep thinking ‘what even am I listening to?’. And that is far from positive. Lyrics put me off too…
Score: 2/10
Riccardo: Well this is an intriguing entry. Folky, modern and mysterious. This is something I should really like, and I do like some parts quite a lot, but also dislike some instrumental parts of it. I am not sure I like it as a whole package, it feels a little all over the place. Shouldn’t win the show, but it definitely spices up the selection.
Score: 6/10
Future Folk – “Krakowiacy i górale”
Dominik: It’s very different from the other songs. But not in a very good way. It has a polish vibe from the language and the music, but it’s not working for me.
Score: 4/10
Matt: Not entirely sure I get what’s going on here. The repetitive loop of the song is frustratingly simple. The group’s back catalogue is better than this offering. Borderline novelty act, but I’m not really into it – sorry boys.
Score: 3/10
Nick: Your old Polish neighbour has a folk effort right there for you. Every national final needs a fun folk effort like this. Not a winner at all, but it’s good to have it there. I quite like it.
Score: 6.5/10
Riccardo: Well, I know many people will think this is a joke entry and I can see why. I don’t see it as such, I find it very folky and traditional and I absolutely love those kind of music. I do think that after a while the song can become a little overwhelming but by all means I hope that it doesn’t get considered by Polish viewers.
Score: 7/10
Gromee ft. Lukas Meijer – “Light Me Up”
Dominik: I love uplifting songs that are well made. This would be such a BANGER in Lisbon! I can always see the audience going wild for this. YAS POLAND!
Score: 9/10
Matt: It’s anthemic and uplifting. We would need something interesting happening on stage during the verses, but I can definitely see a Eurovision audience jumping up and down in unison to the chorus. Strong entry. Might be worth putting money on.
Score: 7/10
Nick: Poland are doing well this year. This is a current effort with a brilliant DJ base to it. Tradition learns that these things are terribly difficult to stage well. With six people on stage, you cannot have a lot of dancers to fill the instrumental bits. I like this, it’s a surefire radio hit, but staging will be more than crucial.
Score: 7.5/10
Riccardo: Feels like the perfect track of Euroclub. Uplifting, charming and modern, I really enjoy it! I hope the live performance is as good as the studio version, if so it could really stand out. This is my favorite in the selection, so I hope Poland chooses this, but knowing my luck with favorites, they probably won’t.
Score: 9/10
Marta Gałuszewska – “Why Don’t We Go”
Dominik: Modern song. Love the chorus. Super catchy and very radio friendly. If this gets a good performance, this could end up in a good place in the NF, maybe even win. This is good!
Score: 8/10
Matt: This is a sound that we’ve heard a million times in the charts and, indeed, already during the national final season. But it’s modern and Marta’s fresh look lifts the song a little. It’s not memorable enough for Eurovision but a solid song in the mix.
Score: 5/10
Nick: Once again, a very current effort. This fits right into the charts of many European countries. This girl is popular in Poland, so I wouldn’t quite rule this out for a win in Krajowe Eliminacje. She’s got the looks, she’s got the vocals and she’s got the song.
Score: 8/10
Riccardo: Yes, it’s maybe a little generic, but I really dig this! Even if I understand zero words of it, I want to jump in a sing along. I just hope that she works on her performance and produces a good stage show, otherwise I fear it could fall in the background and it would be a pity!
Score: 8/10
Pablosson – “Sunflower”
Dominik: The chorus us great. I like this. The verses could be much stronger. Overall it’s a nice song and I wouldn’t mind it at Eurovision, but this could be a problem, as it’s just nice and could be forgotten very easily.
Score: 5/10
Matt: Oh dear, just…no! The lyrics are randomly thrown together, and definitely not in a fun Scandilove kind of way either. The voice is too affected and difficult to understand at times. The song is basic, like an unfinished demo. I’m sorry but me no likey!
Score: 4/10
Nick: This man is quite famous in Poland as part of another band. They simply know him under his name Pawel Stasiak there. The fact that he felt the need to perform this under a stage name says enough about the quality of this song. In other words: There is no quality. The best part is the finish.
Score: 1.5/10
Riccardo: I am not a fan of this whatsoever, flat, repetitive and way too generic. I really struggled to listen to the last 30 seconds, drags too much. But I actually think the song could actually do better if it had a different singer who doesn’t make the song sound quite…awkward.
Score: 2/10
Maja Hyży – “Błysk (Skin)”
Dominik: This is nice. Probably too nice to vote for it. It’s a good song, but I don’t think it’ll go this far. I love the Polish language here, so I hope “Błysk” is the one she performs tonight.
Score: 6/10
Matt: Similar to Marta Galuszewska’s song, this at least has more going on aurally. My comments are the same as Marta’s: not memorable enough.
Score: 5.5/10
Nick: Once again, Krajowe Eliminacje shows us a very decent midtempo pop number by a good vocalist. I really hope she will sing the Polish version, “Błysk” tonight as that is an outstanding track. I love it.
Score: 8/10
Riccardo: Doesn’t feel ambitious enough, it’s cute, nonetheless. I like some parts before the end in particular, the instrumentation especially. While it does build a little, it misses a more climatic, vocally captivating moment. Don’t mind listening to it at all, but wouldn’t pick my phone to vote for it.
Score: 6/10
Happy Prince – “Don’t Let Go”
Dominik: This is sadly one of the songs, that make 3 minutes super long. The verse and chorus are going nowhere for me. It’s one of the songs, that make you feel happy… when they’re over.
Score: 3/10
Matt: I’m getting vibes of The Police and The Killers. The younger vote will bypass this song which would be a shame. The vocal has real light and shade and would work well in the arena. Perhaps not right for Eurovision, but a really good entry for Krajowe Eliminacje.
Score: 6/10
Nick: I like this better than I thought I would. When listening to it, it’s a pleasant effort that reminds me of a Coldplay album filler. The downside is that I forget all about the entire song as soon as the three minutes are over.
Score: 4.5/10
Riccardo: Well, I have to say I’m a very disappointed. When I only heard the snippet of all entries I thought this would be my number 1 in the selection. But actually now that I listened to the whole song, it’s possibly one of my least favorite. Not a fan of the main singer’s vocals, while they may be reflecting the song’s message, they feel more like a growling sound. The instrumentation is amazing but not enough to save my disappointment.
Score: 4/10
Who do we want?
The XTRA Jury, this time consisting of Matt, Dominik, Nick and Riccardo has spoken. Below you can see the average each song achieved. Their favourite for tonight’s show is Gromee ft. Lukas Meijer’s “Light Me Up”!
- Gromee ft. Lukas Meijer – Light Me Up: 8.1
- Isabell Otrebus – Delirium: 7.8
- Monika Urlik – Momentum: 7.4
- Marta Gałuszewska – Why Don’t We Go: 7.3
- Saszan – Nie Chcę Ciebie Mniej: 6.5
- Maja Hyży – Błysk (Skin): 6.4
- Ifi Ude – Love Is Stronger: 5.4
- Future Folk – Krakowiacy I Górale: 5.1
- Happy Prince – Don’t Let Go: 4.4
- Pablosson – Sunflower: 3.1
Which of these ten do you like best? Make sure to let us know who you like by commenting!
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