Fem
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- May 22, 2015
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- 82
I agree, it wasn't good but it wasn't that bad. He definitely didn't deserve the last place in my opinion and I feel bad for him.
Estonia ESTONIA 2016 - Jüri Pootsmann - Play
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I agree, it wasn't good but it wasn't that bad. He definitely didn't deserve the last place in my opinion and I feel bad for him.
IncognitoGH
Active member
Gutted he never reached the final, but I don't think his performance was too good sadly. I was just distracted by his hand movements too much. The magic trick was horrible too
Quent91
Well-known member
^ The girl hiding her eyes at 00:24 
Time for me to review the Estonian entry this year 
Jüri Pootsmann - Play
Status: Good effort
Song: This year, Estonians have sent a song composed by Stig Rästa, the man behind their amazing entry last year (which was robbed imo), and I must say I had high expectations because of that since Stig knows what musicality and sound quality mean. But when I read so many mixed comments here and saw that Estonia's odds weren't encouraging, I started doubting. I have to admit that the first time I listened to it (that is, during the semi), I didn't like it. I guess I expected something else and that cast a shadow on my objectivity, because it grew on me since then. This is actually a grower to me (yes, for those of you who are wondering, Jüri is a grower) and a quality entry. It starts off very slowly with a piano, a refined string ensemble and Jüri's deep voice. The melody and pace of the first verse are very reminiscent of James Bond-esque themes (which is not a bad thing), then the mood of the song completely changes as the pre-chorus begins: the pace quickens a bit, the beat used is quite heavy and seems greatly inspired by the 70's, if I'm not wrong. Like "I Didn't Know", this is a retro song drawing its inspiration from an instantly recognizable music era while still sounding refined and current in its production. The chorus is little bit anti-climatic to me, hence why I think the song is not instant, it didn't "hit" me the first time and I regreted it wasn't stronger, but I've changed my mind: it is actually perfect as it is and thus doesn't "clash" with the rest of the song, it flows nicely, if that makes sense. The added drums, bell sounds and subtle brass instruments are noteworthy, I really like how all those elements put together work. The transition to the second verse (which is musically the same as the first one apart from some appreciated back vocalists' canons and an almost unnoticeable beat), is soberly executed by an electric guitar which furtively "appears" here and there later on. During that verse, I wish the arrangements were more different because the bridge is also very slow and I guess it would have been a good idea not to lose the momentum of the first chorus, but that's just my opinion. It doesn't reduce the overall quality of the song, which gets more powerful with each listening. Of course, not being instant is generally not a good thing for Eurovision, but for a fan like me, it is, because this kind of song won't get old.
Voice: Jüri's voice is very deep and suits the song perfectly. His tone was special enough to make the song stand out even more imo. However, I did have the impression he was stressed during the semi and thus didn't deliver as much as he could. I mean his performance was very decent, but he didn't have that extra spark of confidence and mystery he had during Eesti Laul.
Staging: As expected, the staging looked very classy and James Bond-esque. It's interesting that they went for a casino/card game theme and playing with different stylized spades was a good idea to me. At the beginning, the backdrops displayed white-ish dots while the audience was bathed in red light. The moment there were cards on the floor showing different profiles of his was precious. Afterwards, yellow spotlights surrounded the stage and the backdrops turned blue with different little spade-like embellishments, the stage looked really good and the giant spade was a memorable "gimmick" to me. Jüri was alone on stage, one can tell he was stressed because he looked stiff at times and the way he gazed at the cameras was sometimes a little bit scary
I didn't say "off-putting", but it could have made some people uncomfortable, he was very intense! 
If his eyes were daggers, he would have stabbed us all Just kidding! He wore a sort of dark royal blue suit with a red pocket square: very classy with his hairstyle, although I think the jacket was too large and long for him. Being slim doesn't help in that case (I know that only too well ). After last year, Estonia once again got it right imo: it was creative without being "intrusive" and distracting. The magic trick was unnecessary though, I didn't find that lame, just "out there".
Outcome: Estonia eventually failed to qualify for the grand final. Well, as I told you, I didn't like the song the first time I heard it and thus wasn't that sad or surprised it didn't get through. But now, I think that objectively it could have been a borderline qualifier: I mean it's a quality song but it's not very instant I guess, so people might have missed the point of it. The fact Estonia came dead last in the semi is scandalous, and juries - who I thought would support them more than viewers - actually ranked them last behind songs like Moldova and Finland for instance... Hmm ok :? "Play" is around 18th place in my personal ranking (it is in my "like" category) so it is safe to say this was a really good effort from Estonia (once again) in my opinion: interesting retro song, classy staging, decent performance (could have been better vocally and attitude-wise but stress happens, we're humans), I didn't see anything majorly wrong tbh. I guess the running order didn't help though, the cuteness and freshness of Austria performing just before might have made Estonia come across as cold and not quite likeable. But I don't care, I just hit "Play" button, wherever that is on Jüri's body Thank you for the music Estonia, I genuinely hope you won't allow Swedish imports to enter your one-of-a-king national final, you often bring your A-game and need no one from abroad to help you succeed. As every year, I look forward to your next entry, I want to see you win again sometime soon, so hurry up
Jüri Pootsmann - Play
Status: Good effort
Song: This year, Estonians have sent a song composed by Stig Rästa, the man behind their amazing entry last year (which was robbed imo), and I must say I had high expectations because of that since Stig knows what musicality and sound quality mean. But when I read so many mixed comments here and saw that Estonia's odds weren't encouraging, I started doubting. I have to admit that the first time I listened to it (that is, during the semi), I didn't like it. I guess I expected something else and that cast a shadow on my objectivity, because it grew on me since then. This is actually a grower to me (yes, for those of you who are wondering, Jüri is a grower
) and a quality entry. It starts off very slowly with a piano, a refined string ensemble and Jüri's deep voice. The melody and pace of the first verse are very reminiscent of James Bond-esque themes (which is not a bad thing), then the mood of the song completely changes as the pre-chorus begins: the pace quickens a bit, the beat used is quite heavy and seems greatly inspired by the 70's, if I'm not wrong. Like "I Didn't Know", this is a retro song drawing its inspiration from an instantly recognizable music era while still sounding refined and current in its production. The chorus is little bit anti-climatic to me, hence why I think the song is not instant, it didn't "hit" me the first time and I regreted it wasn't stronger, but I've changed my mind: it is actually perfect as it is and thus doesn't "clash" with the rest of the song, it flows nicely, if that makes sense. The added drums, bell sounds and subtle brass instruments are noteworthy, I really like how all those elements put together work. The transition to the second verse (which is musically the same as the first one apart from some appreciated back vocalists' canons and an almost unnoticeable beat), is soberly executed by an electric guitar which furtively "appears" here and there later on. During that verse, I wish the arrangements were more different because the bridge is also very slow and I guess it would have been a good idea not to lose the momentum of the first chorus, but that's just my opinion. It doesn't reduce the overall quality of the song, which gets more powerful with each listening. Of course, not being instant is generally not a good thing for Eurovision, but for a fan like me, it is, because this kind of song won't get old.Voice: Jüri's voice is very deep and suits the song perfectly. His tone was special enough to make the song stand out even more imo. However, I did have the impression he was stressed during the semi and thus didn't deliver as much as he could. I mean his performance was very decent, but he didn't have that extra spark of confidence and mystery he had during Eesti Laul.
Staging: As expected, the staging looked very classy and James Bond-esque. It's interesting that they went for a casino/card game theme and playing with different stylized spades was a good idea to me. At the beginning, the backdrops displayed white-ish dots while the audience was bathed in red light. The moment there were cards on the floor showing different profiles of his was precious. Afterwards, yellow spotlights surrounded the stage and the backdrops turned blue with different little spade-like embellishments, the stage looked really good and the giant spade was a memorable "gimmick" to me. Jüri was alone on stage, one can tell he was stressed because he looked stiff at times and the way he gazed at the cameras was sometimes a little bit scary
I didn't say "off-putting", but it could have made some people uncomfortable, he was very intense! If his eyes were daggers, he would have stabbed us all Just kidding! He wore a sort of dark royal blue suit with a red pocket square: very classy with his hairstyle, although I think the jacket was too large and long for him. Being slim doesn't help in that case (I know that only too well ). After last year, Estonia once again got it right imo: it was creative without being "intrusive" and distracting. The magic trick was unnecessary though, I didn't find that lame, just "out there".Outcome: Estonia eventually failed to qualify for the grand final. Well, as I told you, I didn't like the song the first time I heard it and thus wasn't that sad or surprised it didn't get through. But now, I think that objectively it could have been a borderline qualifier: I mean it's a quality song but it's not very instant I guess, so people might have missed the point of it. The fact Estonia came dead last in the semi is scandalous, and juries - who I thought would support them more than viewers - actually ranked them last behind songs like Moldova and Finland for instance... Hmm ok :? "Play" is around 18th place in my personal ranking (it is in my "like" category) so it is safe to say this was a really good effort from Estonia (once again) in my opinion: interesting retro song, classy staging, decent performance (could have been better vocally and attitude-wise but stress happens, we're humans), I didn't see anything majorly wrong tbh. I guess the running order didn't help though, the cuteness and freshness of Austria performing just before might have made Estonia come across as cold and not quite likeable. But I don't care, I just hit "Play" button, wherever that is on Jüri's body
Thank you for the music Estonia, I genuinely hope you won't allow Swedish imports to enter your one-of-a-king national final, you often bring your A-game and need no one from abroad to help you succeed. As every year, I look forward to your next entry, I want to see you win again sometime soon, so hurry up 
Brandt
Well-known member
- Joined
- December 27, 2014
- Posts
- 3,203
Jüri has succeeded a lot of things in last 2 years. He won the 6th season of Eesti otsib superstaari, and then he released his first single Torm. He reached the 7th number in Estonian music charts, which is a big success for a 20-year-old singer who released his first single. In the same year, his second single "Aga siis" reached number 1 in Estonia. Then he released his first EP with 5 songs. 2015 sure was a year full of work and luck for Jüri. The next year he won Eesti Laul with 32,394 votes and reached number 3 in Estonian charts. My point is, these are too much than expected for a 21 year old singer. And that kind of success, of course, causes a pressure on person. I think it explains why his performance in the semi final was weak compared to his Eesti Laul performance. Opening a window to whole continent was kinda stressful for him, I assume. And I think it is extremely reasonable. And still, I believe it wasn't deserved last place. Although people in general disliked his tricks and dark-theme mood, they are significant stands of Jüri and it gives him a mysterious profile which I find quite interesting. The same goes for the song Play. Good thing is, he is young enough to take different shots in Eesti Laul and Eurovision. Hopefully, I'm expecting to see him again in the following years, preferably working with Stig Rästa. Both of his composed songs are my winners of their years. I can't see why not again.
During his press conference, Jüri said that he is preparing a new album which will be released by the end of this year. But Stig Rästa and him don't have a specifical future plans for his career. So I guess we won't see his another work with Rästa in the album. So I can't be sure how much I like the album but still waiting for it.
By the way, today is Jüri's birthday and he hit the age 22.
Dutchball
Active member
[MENTION=9195]tuorem[/MENTION] Did you only hear all songs for the first time during the actual show?
[MENTION=9195]tuorem[/MENTION] Did you only hear all songs for the first time during the actual show?
Almost, because I want to be surprised
The only ones I knew were France (I always listen to my country's entry before), Slovenia (because I followed their NF) and Italy (since I watched all the San Remo shows live).That's difficult not to hit "play" for the rest though
so instead I read the threads and people's comments about the songs. I stop reading when rehearsals start because I don't want to be spoiled in this regard either, so that when I watch the shows it's all new and fresh to me, still I have people's opinions in mind and compare them with my own, that's fun.And that way, I don't suffer from PED (post-Eurovision depression)
because it takes time to make a personal ranking afterwards.--
[MENTION=14118]LesterMalvo[/MENTION] Don't get me wrong, I didn't say Jüri couldn't sing to save his life
It's just that on that particular night, he wasn't at his best because he was stressed, which is understandable, and he got us used to more confidence on stage. However, I still believe his performance was vocally more than good enough to qualify. As you said, at such a young age, he's already got tons of different experiences and he may well be back at Eesti Laul someday. This is not the end of something for him, still I think he was underrated like crazy, the fact juries didn't support him is really strange to me 
SwissKung
Active member
You were right, hopefully Estonians in 2018 will vote for the best song rather than the most popular artist.
Looking at Portugal's victory this year, I really believe Mick Pedaja would have made it into the top 5 in 2016.
