Although this song struggles to really get going, there are moments of pure beauty in it. Throughout the whole song, the mood is ethereal and the stripped-back nature of the song (before the final chorus) adds a sense of vulnerability and wonder. This is a truly moving number, and the build throughout raises the stakes as the song progresses. Ana is an amazing vocalist, and I love that she uses a lower register in the verses- she’s sultry, polished and emotive all at once, and it’s beautiful to listen to. The final chorus, where she really goes for it, is spectacular, and I like that they keep the super high notes to a minimum, preventing the song becoming too shouty. Now that I’ve heaped praises onto the song, I can hear you asking why it’s ranked so low. I would say it’s dated, but that isn’t enough to justify my ranking- I think the main reason is that it takes too long to get going, and then fails to really reach an emotional high after so much build. I do love the song’s gentle growth, but unfortunately, we only have three minutes, and these aren’t enough to have such long verses. When the song ended, there was a ‘wait, that’s it?’ feeling, and I felt like there was a final reprise or climactic moment that we missed. Furthermore, when the full orchestra comes in for the last chorus, it’s a little bit overwhelming- I know this is the song’s high point, but after so much slow build up, to then have everything suddenly come in at once is too much and our gentle ethereal mood is gone. I would have also liked to see some more authenticity in the song- I know it’s in Slovenian, and I love that, but we could have had more traditional instrumentation to add depth to the song and richen its texture. Although the instrumental is pretty, it’s quite generic. The song lacks true emotional pull, and doesn’t stand out enough to get me to come back to it.
Prediction for how this would have done had ESC gone ahead: there aren’t many pure ballads in the first semi-final, so this may have stood out and won some points for that. However, it does get swallowed up by the other songs in that semi, and I worry that, while it might get some jury love and some televote points, I doubt it would get enough.
SCORE: 5.5/10
RANKING: 38/41
39. Estonia- What Love Is
40. Belarus- Da Vidna
41. France- Mon Ailée
The Euro-Vine 