Ana easily has one of the best voices in this year’s competition, but ‘Amen’ really doesn’t do her justice. I can see where Slovenia were going: power-ballad with killer vocals, with a gospel choir and full orchestration. It is impressive to watch- nobody can deny that. But it just doesn’t bring anything original to the table, playing it too safe. The lyrics were clearly intended to be inspiring us to defy, but it’s just too vague and makes it sound like we should defy for the sheer sake of defying, rather than because there’s something to defy. The chorus, while melodically powerful, feels a little shouty and again, the lyrics don’t carry emotional impact, so I can’t lose myself in the chorus- don’t get me wrong, I get goosebumps when the full orchestra comes in under Ana’s phenomenal voice, but it’s only a moment of Wow, which then fizzles out. There’s an X Factor winner’s single feel to this song- but those songs are written to allow the singers to show off their pipes, but this is a song competition, and the song just isn’t powerful enough to win me over.
Prediction: This could do well with juries, potentially, as Ana’s vocals are up there with the best this year, but it is still unoriginal and struggles to pack a punch. I can’t see televoters rushing to support this in the masses, and with it also being positioned in the dreaded second spot, I don’t really have too much hope for Slovenia this year.
Photo credit: Adrian Pregelj/ RTV Slovenia
36. Austria- Amen
37. Georgia- You
38. Estonia- The Lucky One
39. Portugal- Love is on my Side
The Euro-Vine 