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EUROAlfa Panel is back! This year, 8 of our members will rate and comment on every single entry in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest! Today’s country is Belgium, represented by ESSYLA with her song “Dancing On The Ice“! 🇧🇪

1️⃣ Raul: Honestly, if this song from Belgium qualifies while Strobe Lights didn’t, I’m gonna scream. This sounds cheap, bad, like low-budget production, almost like it was made with SUNO. Next!!! Nothing wow, nothing interesting, just really flat. Probably an NQ.

Grade: 5/10

2️⃣ Reza: I hated this one when I first heard it, but now I tolerate it a bit more. Still, it feels incredibly low effort, as if they just picked the most basic and uninteresting song possible and said, “Let’s send this to Eurovision.” The lyrics feel just as uninspired. Honestly, I don’t have many positive things to say about it, apart from the fact that it does have a certain catchy factor and can get stuck in your head. Other than that, it’s a very weak entry. Also, no shade to ESSYLA, but she comes across as having no charisma whatsoever, at least in the official video. Moreover, you can really feel the lack of authenticity in this entry, and on top of that, I just don’t think she is selling the song convincingly at all. I also doubt she can pull this off live vocally in a way that would elevate it, because her voice doesn’t seem particularly strong either. And Belgium is not exactly known for improving their entries through staging, if anything, the opposite usually happens, and they end up making them even worse. So, it will be interesting to see what they do with this. I’m very close to calling this dead on arrival, but they would need absolutely flawless staging to win people over. All in all, this is just not it.

Grade: 3/10

3️⃣ Florin: I was not a fan of this at first, but after the second or third listen I started loving it. I think this can either get a great result or be a complete flop, depending on the live performance, as it has to be put on stage in a clever way in order to make it stand out.

Grade: 8/10

4️⃣ Stefania: This is actually a really nice song, I can definitely see myself listening to it after the contest. At the same time it doesn’t feel very competitive. It kind of sounds like something you’d hear during a figure skating routine, which is not a bad thing at all, just a bit niche for this. For now it’s a 7, but i’m really curious about the staging, it could still surprise.

Grade: 7/10

5️⃣ Laur: After last year’s shock non-qualification, I don’t know what to expect anymore. Will this qualify? I don’t think so. It’s nice for the vibe, but it doesn’t give me anything strong. I don’t see what kind of staging could save it, even though I would like to see it in the final.

Grade: 5/10

6️⃣ Titi: I can understand the concept of the song and the direction they were aiming for, but Belgium’s entry feels unfinished. Essyla has a very beautiful vocal tone, and I wouldn’t say the song is bad. “Dancing on the Ice” is the kind of song that either gets elevated by staging or becomes a complete flop. I hope that Belgium will prepare a show that helps Essyla qualify and fills in the production elements the song is currently missing.

Grade: 7/10

7️⃣ Nella: I gotta say…okay! Compared to the other entries from previous years this is a bit different. Catchy, “icy” I could say! Overall, I think it’s a good song, but it doesn’t have that “je ne sais quoi-ish” vibe that could bring it up more higher than this. Waiting for the stage.

Grade: 6/10

8️⃣ Mircea: Why people hate this one? I understand that this is not competitive or exceptional, but it’s a good track and it’s listenable. I’m very excited about the staging, because I don’t know what to expect from this. I can feel also a really good and surprising revamp to feel more complete, but I don’t mind about this official version.

Grade: 8/10

📝OVERALL GRADE: 6.13/10

Scoreboard:

1. Australia 🇦🇺 – 9.38
2. Albania 🇦🇱 – 8.00
3. Armenia 🇦🇲 – 6.50
4. Belgium 🇧🇪 – 6.13
5. Austria 🇦🇹 – 4.88
6. Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 – 2.75