A Dal 2017: Reviews of Hungary’s first heat

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and may not be representative of escYOUnited, its other editors or those of the EBU.

Tonight sees one of the more popular national selections kick off and as such there is an increasing excitement amongst Eurovision fans for what the season ahead holds. Hungary will begin A Dal 2017 with the first of three heats tonight and with a 10-strong field in each heat there’s plenty of potential Eurovision classics to be unearthed over the following weeks.

So what did I think of the first heat’s entries? Let’s take a look at my ranking;

1. Rocktenors – Ősz – Wow, fantastic! Where did that ending come from? I have a real soft spot for songs that take the whole song to build up (Armenia 2016 for example) so this took me by surprise. Great choice for A Dal!
2. Calidora – Glory – This sounds great! This wouldn’t sound out of place in many Suicide Sheep playlists, so I’m quite interested to see how this kind of song can be played out on stage. We will find out tonight. It would be an inspired choice if it went all the way.
3. Roma Soul – Nyitva a ház – A bit of much-needed regional flavour in this competition amidst the modernisation – probably not strong enough for Eurovision but an enjoyable, toe-tapping entry nonetheless.
4. Dávid Henderson – White Shadows – Certainly a decent entry but the music almost seems unsuited to the vocals. I’m sure songs like this will becoming increasingly common this year but it’s no problem that a more commercial sound is coming to Eurovision selections. May have a strong chance at taking the A Dal crown.
5. Spoon 21 – Deák – It looks like this band has a large following and considerably more views than the competition – is this one of the favourites? It’s certainly not harsh on the ears but I think I don’t fall into their target audience. Satin Circus in UMK a few years back cornered this market better for me.
6. Benji – Karcok – A song that plods along with a nice tempo but no excitement. Surely this will just be lost in a sea of similar ballads ad nauseum this year?
7. Viki Singh – Rain – See my comments for Benji. It’s not terrible but I can’t gain anything from this song and despite it going last I would be surprised to see it go through.
8. Kata Csondor – Create – This has a really 00s sound to it and would’ve done well during the last decade of Eurovision, but I feel this may not have as much impact in 2017. Not bad by any means, but nothing extraordinary.
9. Leander Kills – Élet – I was excited to hear a rock song, but this is the bad side of rock for me. Will certainly have a lot of fans but it can’t entice me with anything and the 3 minutes pass by…
10. The Wings – Mint a hurrikán – Just not my thing at all. Pleasant enough for me to sit through but it will be forgotten by the next song I listen to.

Do you agree with the ranking? Share what #YOU think on tonight’s songs below or on our forum!