Eurovision Insight Podcast: Juke Box Jury #3 Written by
Ewan Spence on
March 30, 2019 | 5 Comments
It’s time for episode three of Juke Box Jury, with another next five songs from this year’s playlist looking to win this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. You can listen to Juke Box Jury and the ESC Insight podcast online, add the RSS Feed to your favourite podcast application, or click here to follow us in iTunes and never miss an episode.
We welcome another new judge to the bench this season, but the format stays the same. The songs, the discussion, and then “hit, miss, or maybe’.
Eurovision Insight Podcast: Juke Box Jury #3 with Ross Middleton and Jim Gellalty
Finland: Look Away, by Darude ft Sebastian Rejman. Croatia: The Dream, by Roko Blažević.
Norway: Spirit In The Sky, by KEiiNO.
Ireland: 22, by Sarah McTernan.
Armenia: Walking Out, by Srbuk.
British Academy (BAFTA) nominated broadcaster and writer Ewan Spence is the voice behind The Unofficial Eurovision Song Contest Podcast and one of the driving forces behind ESC Insight. Having had an online presence since 1994, he is a noted commentator around the intersection of the media, internet, technology, mobility and how it affects us all. Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, his work has appeared on the BBC, The Stage, STV, and The Times.
You can follow Ewan on Twitter (@ewan) and Facebook (facebook.com/ewanspence).
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Was this really published two days ago? I could have sworn in checked in yesterday and there was no JBJ #3 here then. OMG, I’ve gone blind! :O
Finland:
This is so incredibly forgettable. I’m okay listening to it, it doesn’t hurt, but that’s about it. Can’t see it making the final. MISS
Croatia:
Ugh, schmalzy and all of those other negative adjectives like that. Not as bad as Houdec singing himself, but the wings, the wings … makes me cringe. MISS
Norway:
Yes, it’s probably going to do well, but why? I’ll admit it’s catchy, but it’s by the numbers with a bit of joik thrown in. A bit of cheap beat to go with it and there you are. Can you tell I think this is a horrible song? The only good thing is it’s from Norway, a country that I love, so I can be happy if Norway does well, even if I wish it would be with a good song. MAYBE
Ireland:
A nice song, but really not very competitive. But then I didn’t think Ireland had a competitve entry last year and look what happened to it. “Nice” really isn’t going to get you to the final, unless the find something in the staging. MAYBE
Armenia:
At last, a good song! Strong hook, great bass, always gets my attention when it comes on the playlist. I will admit I rarely find myself humming it when I don’t have music playing, but I do stop and listen while the song plays. HIT
@Harriet- JBJ is published every Monday. This one was published this morning, so you didn’t miss anything.
Finland-
I think it represents the problems a DJ has when writing a song for Eurorvision. If a dance track can take the time to develop and extend, the constrains of 3 minutes limit you to what you can put in those 3 minutes. The vocals are not a pleasant one or even powerful enough to carry the song,which is a miss when it comes to a dance track. The chorus is just repetitive and doesn’t develop anywhere. A DJ on stage never works well on Eurovision stage.
One thing though – The musical sentence that the whole song is based on, has a great potential, but someone was playing safe and was not sure how to built further – MISS
Croatia-
A good looking lad with a good voice, dressed on white,singing an dated ballad that goes nowhere.
Am I the only one who has a déjà vu to Iceland 2018? – MISS
Norway-
It is a bit of a Euro pop that runs quite well until the 2.10 minutes mark, when the bold guy starts whaling. The bold guy is the weakest link. There is some chemistry an interaction between the other 2, but the bold guy seem a bit lost. It will be popular at the Euro club, and I think it will qualify, only to leave no marks on the scoreboard in the final – MAYBE
Ireland-
I don’t think it’s bad. It’s definitely not the Irish ballad we were getting in the last 4-5 years, but it’s been done very cheap and as if no one really care about this year contest. There is a potential here but someone forgot to put a big production and to arrange this, musically, in a way to grab my attention-MISS
Armenia-
This is a strong song, a song I’ll listen go also after the contest. It has something in it that intrigue me. I just hope she can hold that high note live and that they don’t mess up the staging. Not sure if this is accessible enough for a big audience – Somewhere between MAYBE and HIT
Norway is going to be like Denmark’s Rasmussen in 2018…..the subject of derision, seen as cheesy and written off and then, courtesy of the Televote, grabbing a Top Ten finish…9th or 10th maybe???
Finland: MAYBE. This is much better in the studio version than live, although the sound at UMK wasn’t great so it’s hard to know at this stage how much of a factor that will be until we get to Tel Aviv. Sebastian doesn’t come across as a strong live singer. All 3 of Darude’s songs for UMK were underwhelming to me. I think they need to go back to an open NF next year. A DJ is always a curious thing at Eurovision – they just don’t bring much visual appeal live. Good staging at the contest would remedy this. I do like it a bit and think it has a chance of sneaking into the final although it’d probably be in the bottom 5 if it did.
Croatia: MISS. Jacques Houdek has come up with a rehash of his last entry. Simplistic, banal lyrics and rhymes. Also a pet peeve of mine: bad English grammar (‘I don’t never wanna…’). Roko has a fantastic voice and is the only good thing about it, as so often happens at the contest. Hopefully he’ll be back in the future with something better. It would have been better left all in Croatian because they we’d have less chance of realising how banal the lyrics are. There are voices just as good as his in SF2 but the difference is they all have better songs.
Norway: HIT. This is cheesy but a lot of fun and will definitely stand out. They’ve been given a good chance to do so at the end of SF2 and should qualify easily. Having the LEDs on the stage this year will allow them to have the northern lights appear and bring a visual reminder of the song. I’m glad they’re not planning on being in animal costumes in Tel Aviv; that would push it too far over the top. I think it’ll do better with televoters than juries and should get a mid-table position, similar to last year perhaps. I wouldn’t say top 10 is out of the question.
Ireland: MAYBE. This is getting a maybe from me because it’s a nice song but not particularly competitive. It’s very radio-friendly and Sarah has an unusual quality to her voice that adds to it. The song is, however, very low-key. The video doesn’t give much away and she’s tried with it during the live performances I’ve seen but there’s not much to do for her apart from sing. Ireland staged last year’s low-key entry very well but that could have been a fluke. She could do quite well with the juries like the Czechs did in 2017 and this could boost her. Singing from the number 2 death slot will count against her and suggests that the staging might be very simple/forgettable.
Armenia: HIT. I had high hopes for this song and although I like it, it’s not one I’ve rushed back to listen to. The song has personality and attitude and Srbuk seems like an exciting young artist. There’s great staging potential for this and Armenia has been very good at that aspect in the pass. It should make for a distinctive opener for SF2 and should sail into the final. I’d love to see Armenia back in the top 10.
Was this really published two days ago? I could have sworn in checked in yesterday and there was no JBJ #3 here then. OMG, I’ve gone blind! :O
Finland:
This is so incredibly forgettable. I’m okay listening to it, it doesn’t hurt, but that’s about it. Can’t see it making the final. MISS
Croatia:
Ugh, schmalzy and all of those other negative adjectives like that. Not as bad as Houdec singing himself, but the wings, the wings … makes me cringe. MISS
Norway:
Yes, it’s probably going to do well, but why? I’ll admit it’s catchy, but it’s by the numbers with a bit of joik thrown in. A bit of cheap beat to go with it and there you are. Can you tell I think this is a horrible song? The only good thing is it’s from Norway, a country that I love, so I can be happy if Norway does well, even if I wish it would be with a good song. MAYBE
Ireland:
A nice song, but really not very competitive. But then I didn’t think Ireland had a competitve entry last year and look what happened to it. “Nice” really isn’t going to get you to the final, unless the find something in the staging. MAYBE
Armenia:
At last, a good song! Strong hook, great bass, always gets my attention when it comes on the playlist. I will admit I rarely find myself humming it when I don’t have music playing, but I do stop and listen while the song plays. HIT
@Harriet- JBJ is published every Monday. This one was published this morning, so you didn’t miss anything.
Finland-
I think it represents the problems a DJ has when writing a song for Eurorvision. If a dance track can take the time to develop and extend, the constrains of 3 minutes limit you to what you can put in those 3 minutes. The vocals are not a pleasant one or even powerful enough to carry the song,which is a miss when it comes to a dance track. The chorus is just repetitive and doesn’t develop anywhere. A DJ on stage never works well on Eurovision stage.
One thing though – The musical sentence that the whole song is based on, has a great potential, but someone was playing safe and was not sure how to built further – MISS
Croatia-
A good looking lad with a good voice, dressed on white,singing an dated ballad that goes nowhere.
Am I the only one who has a déjà vu to Iceland 2018? – MISS
Norway-
It is a bit of a Euro pop that runs quite well until the 2.10 minutes mark, when the bold guy starts whaling. The bold guy is the weakest link. There is some chemistry an interaction between the other 2, but the bold guy seem a bit lost. It will be popular at the Euro club, and I think it will qualify, only to leave no marks on the scoreboard in the final – MAYBE
Ireland-
I don’t think it’s bad. It’s definitely not the Irish ballad we were getting in the last 4-5 years, but it’s been done very cheap and as if no one really care about this year contest. There is a potential here but someone forgot to put a big production and to arrange this, musically, in a way to grab my attention-MISS
Armenia-
This is a strong song, a song I’ll listen go also after the contest. It has something in it that intrigue me. I just hope she can hold that high note live and that they don’t mess up the staging. Not sure if this is accessible enough for a big audience – Somewhere between MAYBE and HIT
P.S.
What do you mean Ellie is not going to Tel Aviv?
Norway is going to be like Denmark’s Rasmussen in 2018…..the subject of derision, seen as cheesy and written off and then, courtesy of the Televote, grabbing a Top Ten finish…9th or 10th maybe???
Finland: MAYBE. This is much better in the studio version than live, although the sound at UMK wasn’t great so it’s hard to know at this stage how much of a factor that will be until we get to Tel Aviv. Sebastian doesn’t come across as a strong live singer. All 3 of Darude’s songs for UMK were underwhelming to me. I think they need to go back to an open NF next year. A DJ is always a curious thing at Eurovision – they just don’t bring much visual appeal live. Good staging at the contest would remedy this. I do like it a bit and think it has a chance of sneaking into the final although it’d probably be in the bottom 5 if it did.
Croatia: MISS. Jacques Houdek has come up with a rehash of his last entry. Simplistic, banal lyrics and rhymes. Also a pet peeve of mine: bad English grammar (‘I don’t never wanna…’). Roko has a fantastic voice and is the only good thing about it, as so often happens at the contest. Hopefully he’ll be back in the future with something better. It would have been better left all in Croatian because they we’d have less chance of realising how banal the lyrics are. There are voices just as good as his in SF2 but the difference is they all have better songs.
Norway: HIT. This is cheesy but a lot of fun and will definitely stand out. They’ve been given a good chance to do so at the end of SF2 and should qualify easily. Having the LEDs on the stage this year will allow them to have the northern lights appear and bring a visual reminder of the song. I’m glad they’re not planning on being in animal costumes in Tel Aviv; that would push it too far over the top. I think it’ll do better with televoters than juries and should get a mid-table position, similar to last year perhaps. I wouldn’t say top 10 is out of the question.
Ireland: MAYBE. This is getting a maybe from me because it’s a nice song but not particularly competitive. It’s very radio-friendly and Sarah has an unusual quality to her voice that adds to it. The song is, however, very low-key. The video doesn’t give much away and she’s tried with it during the live performances I’ve seen but there’s not much to do for her apart from sing. Ireland staged last year’s low-key entry very well but that could have been a fluke. She could do quite well with the juries like the Czechs did in 2017 and this could boost her. Singing from the number 2 death slot will count against her and suggests that the staging might be very simple/forgettable.
Armenia: HIT. I had high hopes for this song and although I like it, it’s not one I’ve rushed back to listen to. The song has personality and attitude and Srbuk seems like an exciting young artist. There’s great staging potential for this and Armenia has been very good at that aspect in the pass. It should make for a distinctive opener for SF2 and should sail into the final. I’d love to see Armenia back in the top 10.
Finland – Reminds too much of Poland last year. Miss
Croatia – If they have a staging surprise up their sleeves it might just turn this awful song from Miss to Maybe.
Ireland -Average song hampered by poor semi running order draw. Miss
Norway – This year’s equivalent of Rasmussens Vikings. Low jury score followed by strong televote could leave it 6 – 10 in the final. Hit
Armenia – Decent song which may never fully recover from its semi running order draw. Qualifier but at best mid table in the final. Maybe