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 San Marino.
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 on 5 May! We will also each give a score out of 10 for every entry, and create an ESCXTRA leaderboard of the entries!
The series continues today, with reviews of the Sammarinese entry, ‘Say Na Na Na’ by Dimitris, Miki, Nick, Ryan, Sami and Sara. Let’s get started!
The Reviews
Dimitris
It’s good to see Serhat back as a performer and a character, but I wish I could say the same thing for his songs. While I’m not overly impressed by the song, I have to admit that the song is somehow catchy and definitely way better than his previous song. I appreciate San Marino not taking this contest very serious (apparently) and sending something fun and funky. I just can’t get myself to love the song. He’s definitely entertaining and someone that will make people have fun, which should definitely be the spirit of the competition.
Miki
Serhat is BACK (by popular demand)! The reactions to his comeback were overwhelmingly positive and I agree that his second entry is way better than “I Didn’t Know”. However, I am more keen on judging a song solely because his 2016 effort has nothing to do with the lineup of songs we have this year or is of any relevance for the outcome. Judging this solely as a song, I have to say that despite it being catchy I just really wouldn’t see myself listening to it after the competition is over. It does absolutely nothing for me but I do love a comeback so my score reflects that.
Nick
San Marino are guaranteed to provide us with something we’re going to talk about. This time, it’s the return of one of the most peculiar stars the contest has brought forward: Serhat. Let’s face it, he wasn’t the first in line when God handed out a talent to sing, but he sure was at the front when pulling off a bald head was concerned. It’s three minutes of sheer fun, so get on your feet and join Serhat before he really is too old to do it himself. All I’m missing is a bit of Helena Paparizou to raise the roof even more.
Ryan
It’s certainly a massive improvement on I Didn’t Know, it doesn’t feel novelty and instead a rather pleasant yet dated disco song. The female “na na na” vocals throughout the track give the song an additional hook. In the grand scheme of the contest, this is unfortunately still amongst the weakest. Yet, it’s certainly a respectable entry for San Marino that will be a nice contribution to the live show. Also, a special thumbs up for having one of the best music videos in the contest this year… hopefully this can somehow be translated to the Tel Aviv stage!
Sami
I really love the song’s positive message and this sounds both modern and nostalgic at the same time. This is just so much fun and I am sure the performance will also bring smile to everyone’s face. Serhat is a great character and I am very happy to see him back in the contest.
Sara
Serhat’s impact can’t be denied; he has inspired me to make a twitter account for the sole purpose to spam #SayNoNoNo on May 14. That is all. The fact that people seem to genuinely like this is so confusing to me. Sure, it’s better than his last attempt, but he didn’t set the bar very high, did he?
Scores
| Angelos | 1 | Natalie | 8 | Sara | 0 |
| Costa | 7 | Nathan P | 5.5 | Simon | 0 |
| Dan | 4.5 | Nathan W | 4 | Tim | 7.5 |
| Dominik | 7 | Nick | 8 | Tom O | 7.5 |
| Emanuel | 6 | Oliver | 5 | Tom R | 6 |
| Hlynur | 1 | Riccardo | 6 | Vincent | 6.5 |
| Lisa | 9.5 | Rigmo | 7.5 | Wiv | 0 |
| Luke | 8 | Rodrigo | 2.5 | ||
| Matt | 5 | Ryan | 3.5 | ||
| Miki | 4 | Sami | 7.5 |
Therefore, the average score for San Marino is 5.11.
Leaderboard
San Marino reaches 11th place in our leaderboard with a score of 5.11.
- Cyprus – 8.26
- Spain – 7.54
- Norway – 6.96
- Slovenia – 6.63
- Hungary – 6.44
- Ireland – 6.17
- Czech Republic – 6.17
- Portugal – 5.91
- France – 5.74
- Finland – 5.50
- San Marino – 5.11
- Lithuania – 4.78
- Australia – 4.65
- Moldova – 4.50
- Montenegro – 3.48
Tomorrow, it will be the turn of Iceland to be reviewed.
Do you agree with our reviews of San Marino? What are your thoughts on Say Na Na Na?
Let us know on social media @ESCXTRA!
