Welcome to Semi Final 3 of Supernova 2018. This was the last semi before the final next weekend. It was an interesting mix of songs, some great, some not so good! Please enjoy our reviews below. Chris Hockman (CH) and Nathan Mountford (NM).
Jenny May – Soledad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-DAR-m6EHI
Coming in I figured this would be the Despacito rip off with a name like Soledad, and it’s even worse than I’d imagined. I don’t remember the recorded version of this being quite so terrible, but my goodness, it’s a bad rip off of Despacito and she cannot sing live at all. The staging was at least interesting, but we, mercifully, won’t have to hear this in Lisbon. CH
Ed Rallidae - What I Had With You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZJ0RC1wcP4
Nice beat but the tempo change is a bit jarring. Vocals not great. Doesn’t feel natural. A bit disappointing because the studio version of this is actually good. NM
Katrine Lukins - Running Red Lights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icMPSotz52M
Red and black is a solid colour combo, running well with the theme of the song happening, and some unique staging but she got off to a poor start here which really cost her. It’s a shame because, apart from some pronunciation issues, she was pretty decent, and the beat is really great and modern, and modern beats is something Latvia is becoming known for. Unfortunately, that slow start which kept coming back on the choruses, sending Lukins to the eliminated list. CH
Lauris Valters - Lovers Bliss (Qualified)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xtdw5mrc8s
He definitely has his own style but like last year I just find something cringeworthy and very daggy about this guy and his music! What is that choreography? OMG! NM
MIONIA - You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnSPgltfGmE
My hatred for ballads has been well documented, but this is something unique, with the unique vocals of MIONIA. I hate ballads but I could have really liked this one. Unfortunately, MIONIA’s unique vocals could have been too much for the voters, which eliminated her. There were some cool ways to stage this (like maybe a full grand instead of a baby grand) and they tried, but it would have been interesting to see what they did with this in Lisbon, alas we’ll never know. CH
Kris & Oz - Morning Flight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDrFtRwd9mM
A very ‘quiet’ retro performance. A fairly unremarkable song and a bit hard to understand. What is with fashion in Latvia? NM
Laura Rizzotto - Funny Girl (Qualified)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMxQuU5dQcM
A modern beat, with someone that can actually sing! This is the gold that Supernova can produce, there’s a definite Aminata vibe from the Brazilian born Latvian here and she could have an impact with this modernized jazz sound. She handles the stage well, plays with what she has it’d be interesting to see how they stage this in Lisbon. Rizzotto has a real shot. CH
Please stayed tuned for our review of the final next week.