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 Belgium.
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 Belgian entry, ‘Wake Up’ by Dan, Dominik, Natalie, Nathan W, Oliver and Vincent. Let’s get started!
The Reviews
Dan
Belgium have delivered some amazing radio friendly hits over the last few years. ‘Wake Up’ is no exception. The verses have a somewhat electronic feel which build into a natural, polished chorus. I actually feel like this one is getting overlooked by the bookies, there are parts which contain similarities to ‘City Lights’, the last entry which got them a top 5 placing. It’s in the weaker semi of the two and has a decent placing in the running order, so I am hopeful it will make the final at the very least.
Dominik
I really like the studio version of “Wake Up”. It has a strong beat in the chorus and is kinda mystic in general. This is a song I think will win or lose with the performance. This could have a moment like Belgium 2017 or Belgium 2018. I was hoping, that the last chorus might be a bit different or stronger than the others, but I think it’s still a good song the way it is and everything is possible in terms of qualifying.
Natalie
This is the kind of music I love, but fear that it won’t appeal enough to a Eurovision audience. It might even be too good for Eurovision. Belgium knows how to produce high quality songs and it certainly shows in their entries from recent years, but in the case of “Wake Up”, this might need to heavily rely on its staging to have an impact on the public. Either way, Belgium are once again serving us a brilliant entry which could have a lot of potential if staged right
Nathan W
I could write a whole essay on this song but I won’t. I love it, despite the… lacklustre chorus. This song had so much potential in its instrumentation, building flowing verses and it just disappeared at the key moment – the chorus is SO flimsy. However, this can be easily counteracted if staged so effectively that you forget the drop in quality during the chorus because you’re too busy focusing on the amazing staging… so, come on Belgium, get this staged perfectly and give yourself yet another great result with a young artist and an electronic song!
Oliver
I was initially not sold on ‘Wake Up’. You can definitely hear the dark pop vibes that brought Blanche success (clearly a part of Pierre’s ouvre!) – however to me this song is an odd fusion of the last 2 Belgian entries. I am somewhat apprehensive with the chorus, which is somewhat monotonous relying on the same note. Eliot was really strong at LEP and brought the chrous to life a bit more. This song would be perfect in a teen netflix show.
Vincent
Ah, Belgium, the biggest let-down of the year (is that even an expression?). Anyway, yes, the chorus is a bit boring and seriously kills off the tension and atmosphere built in the verses. But what an atmosphere though! Those verses are great, and I especially like the background music, which reminds me of Mass Effect’s soundscape in a way, which is always a nice thing. But I don’t really see it qualifying, even with a good staging. It seems very “A Matter Of Time”esque fate-wise.
Scores
| Angelos | 7.5 | Natalie | 8.5 | Sara | 8 |
| Costa | 8 | Nathan P | 2 | Simon | 4 |
| Dan | 8.5 | Nathan W | 8 | Tim | 9 |
| Dominik | 6 | Nick | 7.5 | Tom O | 6 |
| Emanuel | 7 | Oliver | 8 | Tom R | 5 |
| Hlynur | 8 | Riccardo | 7.5 | Vincent | 6 |
| Lisa | 1 | Rigmo | 8 | Wiv | 7 |
| Luke | 5.5 | Rodrigo | 10 | ||
| Matt | 7.5 | Ryan | 6.5 | ||
| Miki | 5.5 | Sami | 9.5 |
Therefore, the average score for Belgium is 6.85.
Leaderboard
Belgium ends up at 8th place on our leaderboard with a score of 6.85
- Cyprus – 8.26
- Malta – 8.10
- Spain – 7.54
- Armenia – 7.35
- North Macedonia – 7.00
- Norway – 6.96
- Albania – 6.94
- Belgium – 6.85
- Estonia – 6.74
- Slovenia – 6.63
- Hungary – 6.44
- Iceland – 6.39
- Ireland – 6.17
- Czech Republic – 6.17
- Belarus – 6.02
- Portugal – 5.91
- France – 5.74
- Finland – 5.50
- Poland – 5.43
- Austria – 5.39
- Russia – 5.32
- Denmark – 5.13
- San Marino – 5.11
- Latvia – 5.06
- Lithuania – 4.78
- Germany – 4.69
- Australia – 4.65
- Moldova – 4.50
- Montenegro – 3.48
- Israel – 3.30
- Georgia – 3.00
Tomorrow, it will be the turn of the United Kingdom to be reviewed.
Do you agree with our reviews of Belgium? What are your thoughts on Wake Up?
Let us know on social media @ESCXTRA!
