Belgium BELGIUM 2019 - Eliot - Wake Up

[GlamSIMorous]

I have to admit it .. I am addicted to this song. It somehow really fills me with energy.

 

[John1]

I guess that it's going to be one of the dark horses this year in the same way as Nathan Trent in 2017.

 

[Preuss]

I think this might surprise and do better with the televoters than the juries like Blanche

 

[aef]

I guess that it's going to be one of the dark horses this year in the same way as Nathan Trent in 2017.

Well he finished in 16th place so he hasn't been that much of a dark horse... 8th-15th place seems reasonable to me for now for this year

 

[Brandt]

It is a bit underwhelming but it can be covered by a good performance.

 

[John1]

Well he finished in 16th place so he hasn't been that much of a dark horse... 8th-15th place seems reasonable to me for now for this year

lol? he still managed to qualify, while almost none of us expected him to do so before the rehearsals.

 

[aef]

lol? he still managed to qualify, while almost none of us expected him to do so before the rehearsals.

Well you didn't mention that specific personal definition of a dark horse... For me calling someone so is always related with receiving a surprisingly good result in the final. And what you describe isn't comparable to Eliot anyway, it's not a case of lifting the song up that much with a nice staging as in Nathan's case...

 

[Iker]

All in all very weak. You could have made much more out of this song because it DOES have potential, but it wasn't used. 4 points for now.

It is simply dull.

 

[mauve]

It is simply dull.

That is probably the better and shorter description to what I meant.

 

[Leydan]

I think this will do quite well at ESC tbh, imagining how it will look and sound live. In studio it's not at its full potential. I really quite like it actually, especially in this very average year. 7pts right now.

 

[ES2011]

Yes it drags and could be considered a bit repetitive near the end, but the first 2 minutes of this song have captivated me more than all of the other songs so far combined.

In a very mediocre year, this really stands out and with proper staging and camerawork, this could really elevate, potentially top 10. Well done neighbours,, you've probably stolen the first place in my top so far!

 

[wtf]

Yes, the chorus is not the strongest. But the production, the verses, the overall vibe and most of all, his amazing vocals - just save the song. I can see the juries ranking it really high.

 

[hijirio]

Many people here say the chorus is weak and rate the song low, and then in the Slovenian thread there’s so much support for an entry that doesn’t even have a proper chorus.

 

[Alaska49]

sounds like an artistic decision to put the weight of the song on the verses rather than the chorus. i think it works very well.

 

[Kevan1994]

Many people here say the chorus is weak and rate the song low, and then in the Slovenian thread there’s so much support for an entry that doesn’t even have a proper chorus.

Personally, I think the Slovenian verse-chorus transition is more effortless and the atmospheric vibe is continued throughout, so the “proper chorus” concern isn’t a significant issue. With Wake Up, the vibes in the verses aren’t quite continued into the chorus, so my brain doesn’t know how to really view the chorus right now.

My favourite song last year was Lost and Found -Eye Cue so I definitely can appreciate unique transitions, but at this point in time something just doesn’t feel fully right about Wake Up. I think my mind just expects the chorus to be the central focus of a song, while Wake Up is organized in a way that makes me focus much more on the verses than the chorus. Not going to say it won’t be able to grow on me though, since the verses are Top 3 material right now for me and maybe I’ll grow to appreciate their creative take on verse-chorus structure.

 

[hijirio]

Just give gays what they want and put a key change in the last chorus, and that’s it. I really think the Belgian team is considerate of fans’ opinions, remember how they removed the outrageous curtain Blanche was wearing.

 

[BorisBubbles]

Many people here say the chorus is weak and rate the song low, and then in the Slovenian thread there’s so much support for an entry that doesn’t even have a proper chorus.

They both go against the grain what people expect of modern pop songs. As Alaska (correctly, like always) pointed out, both Sebi's mantra-esque chorus and Eliot's anti-Chorus are deliberate stylized choices (as opposed to inept ones they intend boring us to death with.), but that is inherently a good thing. It makes them stand out from the crowd and if anything, them being there makes the year LESS boring because they provide more variety.

Neither are bad choices for their respective nations. They're high risk / high reward, and I feel we should support, rather than lambast, countries that are bold enough to steer away from the Same Safe Sound that has been plaguing last year and that is currently being proliferated by entries such as "Storm" and "Sister".

Cast aside your qualms. Open your mind . See each entry in its ESC context, and base your judgment on what is realistically possible, rather than what you stubbornly desire. Don't sleep on an entry because YOU don't like it, because then you might be in for some nasty surprises.

 

[Morpheus]

Hasn't the "anti-chorus" been the bane of the bubble for years now? I keep reading the same complaints that there's no chorus every year.
So Belgium's decision to not have a traditional chorus is hardly groundbreaking at this point.

I don't intend to opine about the song itself, just making an observation.

 

[blue00eyes]

Sounds like 4th place.. Again

 

[ZoboCamel]

They both go against the grain what people expect of modern pop songs. As Alaska (correctly, like always) pointed out, both Sebi's mantra-esque chorus and Eliot's anti-Chorus are deliberate stylized choices (as opposed to inept ones they intend boring us to death with.), but that is inherently a good thing. It makes them stand out from the crowd and if anything, them being there makes the year LESS boring because they provide more variety.

Does being a deliberate stylized choice mean that people aren't allowed to dislike it, though? Because setting aside a small minority of people who are being overly confident with their predictions, I think the general trend here isn't "this is a guaranteed flop and is objectively terrible" but rather "I don't like it and am personally disappointed." I mean, personally, I can see that the song is intentionally trying to have a chorus that doesn't match up with the rest of the song; but that whole meta-element of it doesn't just turn a boring chorus into a great one, in my eyes.

And note that I'm by no means the sort to complain about songs trying something different. I don't hate necessarily hate songs with quiet or subtle choruses (I'm rather enjoying Sebi this year), or songs with jarring transitions between sections (I adored the rap in Ljubav Je and didn't mind the chorus in Icebreaker), or even songs with no chorus at all (as far as I can tell, On It Goes in the 2016 Finnish NF didn't have one, and I was probably the forum's #1 supporter of that). I just think that... in this case, with the way things have been handled, they've ended up with a bit of a dud despite the fact that the steps taken to produce said dud were intentional.

No shade intended to anyone who likes the song, of course. Taste is subjective, things can grow with time, etc. etc. And I'm not saying that this is a guaranteed NQ or anything. Just that I think it's rather bland after a string of good Belgian entries, and that people are able to dislike it from a perspective other than just closed-minded ignorance of what it's trying to do.