ESCfan
Active member
I kinda liked the song! It stuck on my mind weeks before...just IMO something's missing in the live performance....vocals?staging???I don't know....but it stills on my playlist everyday!!! Well done Samra
Azerbaijan AZERBAIJAN 2016 - Samra Rahimli - Miracle
- Thread starter escYOUnited
- Start date
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AuroraBorealis
Member
Surprising to see the juries not award hundreds of points to an Azerbaijan song for once. It was okay actually, deserved around 18th maybe.
blartashura
Active member
Loved the song (especially the studio version), average performance and for me a justified placement.
ParadiseES
Well-known member
How did she manage to collect so many jury votes with such a weak performance? I think this wasn't final worthy, or at least shound't have made it above bottom-3. Probably the worst Azerbaijani entry ever.
Anjeza
Active member
Her performance on Friday was a bit better than the one on Saturday... but in my opinion still not good enough to get so many points...
- Joined
- September 19, 2015
- Posts
- 4,512
My biggest disappointment this year. Everything in the performance was awful - her dress (for me it was the worst dress in the contest this year) and her vocals. It didn't deserve to qualify. 
is getting worse every year.
is getting worse every year.
Carian
Well-known member
Regardless of her song and singing, I must say I was really impressed by her beauty. In my opinion she was the prettiest girl/woman in the whole ESC this year
LalehForWD
Active member
I think it's simple really, Miracle is a RnB pop song. If you don't like that genre which to my impression is common among ESC fans, you will not like Miracle. Personally I think it's a pretty good song and Samra sung it well, especially on the Thursday semifinal performance. As i said before, in the semifinal performance she actually managed to reach out beyond the singing and shine. However in my opinion Samra was never as amazing and epic as for example Sabina Babayeva who also sung a RnB pop song.
Time for me to review this year's Azeri entry
Samra Rahimli - Miracle
Status: Yes! I love me some mira-mira-mira-cle!
Song: Despite not sending songs from Azeri composers anymore since their debut, Azerbaijan have almost always been defending songs that I enjoyed: they generally have a very mainstream appeal, yet they contain some interesting twists and instruments that still make them be worth listening. My favourite Azeri entry ever is the one that got their worst result to date ("Start A Fire" in 2014
), I also loved "When The Music Dies" (2012) and "Hold Me" (2013), and I quite enjoyed "Drip Drop" (2010). On the contrary, I've found "Always" (2009) catchy but too repetitive and empty for my taste, "Running Scared" (2011) is their weakest effort to me - it's too bad that they won with this - and I never liked "Hour Of The Wolf" (2015), it was too cheesy imo. After sending more or less successful ballads two years in a row, I wondered what they would send this year, and yes, it was time to have something rather uptempo. "Miracle" is an rnb/pop song about a girl who breaks up with her lover after realizing that their relationship was never meant to last since they both lied to themselves about it and only a miracle could change the situation. The lyrics aren't that inspired, but they're totally acceptable, afterall when one is fed up with someone else and wants to move on, direct and crystal clear words are the wisest choice Musically, it's very pop-ish/rnb-ish, which is a good thing imo since we never had such obvious mainstream rnb influences before: the intro includes a single low note played by a cello and an electronic sound, which seems to be a computer-modified vocal sequence. Then, Samra starts singing the first verse (whose voice definitely has that rnb vibe too) to the beat of rnb light drums, accompanied by ambient synthesizers and a piano motif in the background. The "loud" drum sound in between each sentence literally gives me LIFE 
I think it brings power to the rhythm they opted for and makes each vocal phrasing stand out to my ears. Later on, strings are introduced when the main melodic lines change, and a heavier beat is added towards the second part of the first verse. This is melodious and slightly atmospheric, and the beat is right up my alley, well done! Then the chorus hits me like a wall of sound, now we switch to loud pop drums, backing voices to support the main melody and the distinctive electronic melodic pattern we heard at the beginning (in a higher tone) which brings dynamism to the overall instrumentation. As for phrasing rhythm, the chorus includes two rather spaced sentences (which are supposed to be the hook of the song) followed by three sentences sung slightly more quickly on a different melodic line and a repetition of the first sentence. I appreciate choruses that aren't two-words long and too monotonous. The second chorus has the same instrumentation as the first one, with slightly more present strings. Then the chorus is repeated twice (with nonetheless a part of the lyrics that change), and the main twist of the song finally arrives: it sounds familiar because the melody and rhythm corresponds to the melodic pattern of both the intro and the chorus, however they included lyrics in it by playing with the sound of the word "Miracle" (Mira-mira-mira-cle) which is so smart imo as it represents a second catchy hook (for people to remember) that also helps breaking the routine of the past 2 minutes. In the meantime, Samra takes advantage of the opportunity to perform ad-libs and minor melodic variations before singing the first sentences of the chorus again with the loud "Miracle" twist in the background. The song ends with a drum sound, a second of silence, and a last vocal phrasing accompanied by a piano chord and a cello note. Frankly, I think that - in the mainstream pop department - "Miracle" was clearly one of the catchiest and most interesting compositions of the year, the strong rnb influence made it stand out among the purely pop entries and the well-crafted hooks brang power to it. After a disappointing effort in 2015 imo, Azerbaijan are back to their standards.
Voice: The main issue with the whole act is Samra herself. It is not the first time Azerbaijan made looks prevail over vocals (2011, 2014) and that's sad because a good song can be ruined by a disappointing performance. I wouldn't say she ruined hers - she probably did her best and that wasn't catastrophic at all - but she failed to hit some notes right and overall, the boost of energy of the studio version totally disappeared live. She reminded me of Eleftheria Eleftheriou (Greece 2012) who had to rely on a good backing vocalist, I felt like Samra's backing vocalists were really loud on purpose during the chorus. I think I like the semi performance better than the final one, both were mediocre but the song was too good to stay in the semi imo.
Staging: Azerbaijan opted for a warm colour scheme (orange, yellow, salmon pink) and an elaborate, yet simple-looking presentation. Samra was in the dark at the center of the stage behind her microphone stand, while yellow lights appeared in the background and the LED floor displayed a brief orangy fire explosion (OMG she had a golden microphone too). During the first two in-between drums of the verse, two stylized red/yellow deflagrations successively appeared to the left and to the right on the lateral backdrops, following Samra's gestures. Real flames and a visual pattern resembling flickering fire were also briefly used on stage right before the chorus, then the background was covered in moving pale gold lines creating geometrical shapes, some white strobe lights were added for more dynamism and the golden surrouding lights turned white. At that moment, two dancers and two backing vocalists came on stage and moved according to the jerky rhythm of the chorus. Towards the end of that part, Samra moved forwards (closely followed by her a team) while flames surrounded the stage. The main visual interest of the second verse is the dance routine, I don't know who pointed it out but Azeris were one of the few entrants to bring dancers and perform a dance routine, I think that was fitting: I liked the jerky choreography performed all around Samra, the crooked camera shots of the second chorus were nice imo. When the "mira-mira" hook resounded, fire and fireworks illuminated the stage, yellow lights with motifs filled the top of the backdrops, a sun appeared on the central screen and a shower of sparks with strobe lights brang this orgy of fire to a close. I forgot to add the backing vocalists joined Samra with golden microphone stands for the last chorus. Samra wore a close-fitting one-piece golden suit with shiny gold embellishments and slightly translucent and adorned sleeves. She also sported matching heels and a flattering low neckline. She was beautiful and her wavy hair was on point tbh. On the contrary, the dancers/backing vocalists wore creative golden and white outfits: the men had white skin-tight trousers with golden embellishents (one of which was a cropped trousers) and sleeveless tops with shoulder pads (one of which resembled the shape of American football outfits) while the women had gold dress and suit with white adornments. I liked everything fashion-wise. Overall, I found the staging really nice, they kept it simple but it was efficient imo, there might have been too much fire at some point, but what can one expect from the land of fire
Outcome: Azerbaijan qualified for the final and placed 17th out of 26. Juries ranked Samra 19th while she reached 12th position in televoting. Personally, I expected such a middle-of-the-scoreboard position as the vocals were one of the weakest in the grand final. Still, everything else appealed to me and I'm glad they didn't completely bomb. In my personal ranking, "Miracle" is 4th out of 42 - even though I consider downgrading it to 5th position - yes, this is a mainstream but well-crafted pop/rnb song in my opinion, the visuals were nice, only the live vocals prevented them from doing better in the contest I guess, but the studio version slays me so I don't think I'll rank them lower than that in my top 10. Even though it isn't very original, it is so catchy that I can't help liking it. Thank you Azerbaijan for that 2016 effort, I enjoyed it a lot and hope your next song will be good as well. However, if you could select more "capable" singers, that would be very appreciated, it's for your own good too: it would be a shame not to maximise your chances because of poor live vocals. Good luck and see you next year
Samra Rahimli - Miracle
Status: Yes! I love me some mira-mira-mira-cle!
Song: Despite not sending songs from Azeri composers anymore since their debut, Azerbaijan have almost always been defending songs that I enjoyed: they generally have a very mainstream appeal, yet they contain some interesting twists and instruments that still make them be worth listening. My favourite Azeri entry ever is the one that got their worst result to date ("Start A Fire" in 2014
), I also loved "When The Music Dies" (2012) and "Hold Me" (2013), and I quite enjoyed "Drip Drop" (2010). On the contrary, I've found "Always" (2009) catchy but too repetitive and empty for my taste, "Running Scared" (2011) is their weakest effort to me - it's too bad that they won with this - and I never liked "Hour Of The Wolf" (2015), it was too cheesy imo. After sending more or less successful ballads two years in a row, I wondered what they would send this year, and yes, it was time to have something rather uptempo. "Miracle" is an rnb/pop song about a girl who breaks up with her lover after realizing that their relationship was never meant to last since they both lied to themselves about it and only a miracle could change the situation. The lyrics aren't that inspired, but they're totally acceptable, afterall when one is fed up with someone else and wants to move on, direct and crystal clear words are the wisest choice Musically, it's very pop-ish/rnb-ish, which is a good thing imo since we never had such obvious mainstream rnb influences before: the intro includes a single low note played by a cello and an electronic sound, which seems to be a computer-modified vocal sequence. Then, Samra starts singing the first verse (whose voice definitely has that rnb vibe too) to the beat of rnb light drums, accompanied by ambient synthesizers and a piano motif in the background. The "loud" drum sound in between each sentence literally gives me LIFE I think it brings power to the rhythm they opted for and makes each vocal phrasing stand out to my ears. Later on, strings are introduced when the main melodic lines change, and a heavier beat is added towards the second part of the first verse. This is melodious and slightly atmospheric, and the beat is right up my alley, well done! Then the chorus hits me like a wall of sound, now we switch to loud pop drums, backing voices to support the main melody and the distinctive electronic melodic pattern we heard at the beginning (in a higher tone) which brings dynamism to the overall instrumentation. As for phrasing rhythm, the chorus includes two rather spaced sentences (which are supposed to be the hook of the song) followed by three sentences sung slightly more quickly on a different melodic line and a repetition of the first sentence. I appreciate choruses that aren't two-words long and too monotonous. The second chorus has the same instrumentation as the first one, with slightly more present strings. Then the chorus is repeated twice (with nonetheless a part of the lyrics that change), and the main twist of the song finally arrives: it sounds familiar because the melody and rhythm corresponds to the melodic pattern of both the intro and the chorus, however they included lyrics in it by playing with the sound of the word "Miracle" (Mira-mira-mira-cle) which is so smart imo as it represents a second catchy hook (for people to remember) that also helps breaking the routine of the past 2 minutes. In the meantime, Samra takes advantage of the opportunity to perform ad-libs and minor melodic variations before singing the first sentences of the chorus again with the loud "Miracle" twist in the background. The song ends with a drum sound, a second of silence, and a last vocal phrasing accompanied by a piano chord and a cello note. Frankly, I think that - in the mainstream pop department - "Miracle" was clearly one of the catchiest and most interesting compositions of the year, the strong rnb influence made it stand out among the purely pop entries and the well-crafted hooks brang power to it. After a disappointing effort in 2015 imo, Azerbaijan are back to their standards.Voice: The main issue with the whole act is Samra herself. It is not the first time Azerbaijan made looks prevail over vocals (2011, 2014) and that's sad because a good song can be ruined by a disappointing performance. I wouldn't say she ruined hers - she probably did her best and that wasn't catastrophic at all - but she failed to hit some notes right and overall, the boost of energy of the studio version totally disappeared live. She reminded me of Eleftheria Eleftheriou (Greece 2012) who had to rely on a good backing vocalist, I felt like Samra's backing vocalists were really loud on purpose during the chorus. I think I like the semi performance better than the final one, both were mediocre but the song was too good to stay in the semi imo.
Staging: Azerbaijan opted for a warm colour scheme (orange, yellow, salmon pink) and an elaborate, yet simple-looking presentation. Samra was in the dark at the center of the stage behind her microphone stand, while yellow lights appeared in the background and the LED floor displayed a brief orangy fire explosion (OMG she had a golden microphone too
). During the first two in-between drums of the verse, two stylized red/yellow deflagrations successively appeared to the left and to the right on the lateral backdrops, following Samra's gestures. Real flames and a visual pattern resembling flickering fire were also briefly used on stage right before the chorus, then the background was covered in moving pale gold lines creating geometrical shapes, some white strobe lights were added for more dynamism and the golden surrouding lights turned white. At that moment, two dancers and two backing vocalists came on stage and moved according to the jerky rhythm of the chorus. Towards the end of that part, Samra moved forwards (closely followed by her a team) while flames surrounded the stage. The main visual interest of the second verse is the dance routine, I don't know who pointed it out but Azeris were one of the few entrants to bring dancers and perform a dance routine, I think that was fitting: I liked the jerky choreography performed all around Samra, the crooked camera shots of the second chorus were nice imo. When the "mira-mira" hook resounded, fire and fireworks illuminated the stage, yellow lights with motifs filled the top of the backdrops, a sun appeared on the central screen and a shower of sparks with strobe lights brang this orgy of fire to a close. I forgot to add the backing vocalists joined Samra with golden microphone stands for the last chorus. Samra wore a close-fitting one-piece golden suit with shiny gold embellishments and slightly translucent and adorned sleeves. She also sported matching heels and a flattering low neckline. She was beautiful and her wavy hair was on point tbh. On the contrary, the dancers/backing vocalists wore creative golden and white outfits: the men had white skin-tight trousers with golden embellishents (one of which was a cropped trousers) and sleeveless tops with shoulder pads (one of which resembled the shape of American football outfits) while the women had gold dress and suit with white adornments. I liked everything fashion-wise. Overall, I found the staging really nice, they kept it simple but it was efficient imo, there might have been too much fire at some point, but what can one expect from the land of fire Outcome: Azerbaijan qualified for the final and placed 17th out of 26. Juries ranked Samra 19th while she reached 12th position in televoting. Personally, I expected such a middle-of-the-scoreboard position as the vocals were one of the weakest in the grand final. Still, everything else appealed to me and I'm glad they didn't completely bomb. In my personal ranking, "Miracle" is 4th out of 42 - even though I consider downgrading it to 5th position - yes, this is a mainstream but well-crafted pop/rnb song in my opinion, the visuals were nice, only the live vocals prevented them from doing better in the contest I guess, but the studio version slays me so I don't think I'll rank them lower than that in my top 10. Even though it isn't very original, it is so catchy that I can't help liking it.
Thank you Azerbaijan for that 2016 effort, I enjoyed it a lot and hope your next song will be good as well. However, if you could select more "capable" singers, that would be very appreciated, it's for your own good too: it would be a shame not to maximise your chances because of poor live vocals. Good luck and see you next year 
Nikoreindeer1973
Banned
Right.
Preuss
Well-known member
- Joined
- April 19, 2015
- Posts
- 3,145
Dilara is the best thing that has ever happened to Azerbaijan