Slovenia SLOVENIA 2021 - Ana Soklič - Amen

[escYOUnited]

Hey child
Why ya hiding from the light?
Why ya cowering in fright?

Don’t tell yourself
The heavens cast you out
And you’ve fallen from grace

You’ll get beaten and bruised
You’ll be scarred unto your core
But it’s gonna make you who you are

When ya learn to heal
When ya learn to rise again
You can tell the sun, “Amen”

Hallelujah
We’re gloriousl
Hallelujah,
The day is dawning!
The storm’s relentless
But everybody knows
Everybody knows
We’re born to the fight

Hey child
The fear’ll never go away
Might as well accept it now

Learn to persevere.
Learn to count your blessings down
Greet the future with Amen

Hallelujah
We’re gloriousl
Hallelujah
The day is dawning!
The storm’s relentless
But everybody knows
Everybody knows
We’re born to the fight

Not until the rain has stopped,
Not until the thunder’s hushed
Are we at rest, are we at peace…
Just imagine it
Not until the storm has passed,
Not until it’s quiet
Can the heart that’s broken cry.

Hallelujah
We’re gloriousl
Hallelujah
The day is dawning!
The storm’s relentless
But everybody knows
Everybody knows
We’re born to the fight

Hey child
Why ya hiding from the light?​

 

[joao]

OK so I get what people are saying about the pre-recorded vocals and I totally agree and hate it. It's one of those songs that work when sung live and pre-recorded you almost don't feel it.

But I do like it and I think that it has TONS of potential.

I hope the songs can shine live or if not live at least pre-recorded (live sound obvs) at a big stage in Rotterdam. This song deserves a GOOD stage with GOOD lighting and camerawork.

It's a for now.

(Slovenia will have a hard time to send something as good as Zalagasper. I'm literally their fan boy since 2019)

OH btw, just notice one thing: Are we really going to have two songs with the same name at this year's edition? Slovenia and Austria? And are both of them gospel inspired?? OUCH)

 

[Gera11]

Yeah, this ain't it. Another one of these preachy "hallelujaaaaah jesus take the wheel" ballads is not what I had in mind to get from Slovenia and it feels waaay too Bible Belt-ish for Europe. Throw a stone in a church in Tennessee and five songs just like this would jump from behind the church benches.

I want "Voda" back, and I didn't even enjoy "Voda" much lol. I guess I should appreciate the way it explodes by the third minute, the flames and all and she's obviously a good singer.

I suppose this is what the Cypriot fundamentalists will use this to wash all the El Diablo after Elena performs.

 

[hijirio]

Up? tempo? Girl literally played with our feelings?

I hope this is only a demo of 'Amen' and the song will be something like this with a revamp:

 

[sigi]

12 Points....epic

 

[Edweis]

When I learned they switch for English this year it was already a worry, as I didn't see a reason why they would think it's the best idea as Voda was received well last year, especially after revamp.
But still. I had hope it wouldn't lower the chances of me liking her entry. I was more doubtful when she said in an interview it wouldn't be a ballad because I couldn't really imagine her singing another her style. But okay.

What a disappointment. Even with Ana's amazing voice it's bland af. The lack of identity is glaring, and it's bothering. We lost the charisma Voda had for a song that would get lost in a sea of ballads. If it were a stand-alone release not related to ESC I wouldn't complain much, but in this particular context no sorry it doesn't cut it. It's the exact problem I had with Poland last year : interesting voice but an ordinary song.

Add to that the fact I tend to avoid religious themes like the plague.

A , because Ana can seriously sings, but that is.

 

[tuorem]

Gosh. I have to digest this now as my hopes for Ana were high.

Not gonna lie, I'm disappointed and kinda devastated by that. I am so rarely disappointed by my land of heart.

Mason was hit or miss, and this time it's a miss for me. I am listening to the song right now and I don't have anything positive to say about it: it's neither catchy nor particularly emotional, it's veeery slow and the build-up does not hit, the arrangements are as vanilla as they could be, and last but not least, there is no strong melody to make up for it.

I'm definitely not against gospel or religious-inspired lyrics, but this is not a solid attempt in that genre imo. The "hallelujah we're glorious" hook is borderline cringe. And I believe "Voda" showcased Ana's voice better tbh (sorry Kai, the comparison is inevitable).

OMG no!

Ana's voice deserves 12pts, but the song is bland and cookie-cutter... It pains me, but I will give points in the poll. I already know I'll never listen to "Amen" on my own. It does not grab me at all.

I'm certain Ana will perform it properly in Rotterdam, but if it happens to score decently, I sadly won't celebrate. Still, good luck to her.

 

[H.P. Lovecraft]

"Fallen Angel" and "Amen" it must be said that this will be a religious style ESC. If the Vatican City was in the race points for both. I'm kidding!

I really like Ana Soklic as a singer. Her vocal power makes me remember and regret Anna Oxa. Eastern Europe has always given us powerful and profound voices As far as the song is concerned, "Amen" is much better than "Voda". The interpretation and the piece are intense. I feel all of this touches my heart. My vote is now divided into two parts: beauty and ranking. In beauty I feel like giving a nice 8 while in my personal ranking... points for Slovenia. Finland, France, my humble opinion, have songs too strong to be surpassed by "Amen". I believe that songs from Germany, Ireland and the Czech Republic can reach the general public better. My is not derogatory but full of respect for a great vocal rehearsal

 

[Fluke]

Okay so first of, are the last 30 seconds actually part of the song (in which case they have to shorten it) or some kind of poorly edited epilogue?

Either way, this song has problems. Some chord changes are kind of cool, but overall it's another churned-out product of uninspired mainstream pop songwriters. The vocals are overly thicc and shouty, overusing typical tricks to fake "emotion" where there is none, and the overall type of tune never does well in ESC, so i'm gonna say this will not qualify. It's not really terrible in any way but it fails to move me, miserably.

 

[Leydan]

I wasn't really into Voda tbh, I get why people liked it but it wasn't for me. I like this, I love the explosive ending and tbh I think this will look so good live at ESC. The juries are soaking wet already. I'm gonna give it a 7. I'm not blown away but its definitely good imo.

 

[Teaisloveable]

I like it! I did like Voda too, but I think this hooks you in more effectively/ quickly.

Seem to really going for the Christian title vibes this year I'm not in the slightest bit religious but I'm not mad, decent songs so far.
We shall see how Austria's "Amen" compares...

 

[Geborgenheit]

Ana is a Balkan beauty, but this song is nothing. Voda was million times better.

 

[VirginiaVision]

I don't know if it's the Pandemic or the Church of Solovey to blame, but I am getting such a kick out of the coincidental religious undertones of this year's contest. Amen x2, Fallen Angel, El Diablo, Omaga (oh my god)... Dark Side? Karma? This is so funny to me.

On Ana's song specifically, I'm underwhelmed. If you're gonna go for this style song, you gotta make it DRAMA (caps included). Ana's voice and stage presence could've carried a more powerful and diverse arrangement- this one is too one-note for me. I'm also disappointed I won't be getting Slovene this year, as it's one of my favorite European languages.

 

[FilipFromSweden]

This is surprisingly great considering how bad Voda was! My favorite so far

 

[Realest]

Shes not my last Place unlike last Year. 4 Points.

 

[Pål Nordahl]

Religious vibes aside, this song is fine. But Ana's amazing voice would make any average song sound better than it is. Presumably the gospel choir epilogue will have to be cut, which is a shame because I like that the most.

Much better than Voda.
Not particularly outstanding.
points.

 

[marty]

I love Ana and I love gospel. but this is just so so.... I give 5 points. I fear the austrian song will be similar.

 

[NikolaiMoller]

this is one of the rare esc ballads i like

Go Ana!

 

[Morty]

Ballads are for me pretty much a guaranteed 1, but add religion into the mix, and I take away that point. My first 0 this year, and it'll probably be the only one too.

 

[rasmuslights]

juries will like this though I'm sure of it, probably top 5 with the juries, and around 14th with the televote due to the christian community of Cyprus and I'm sure some other more Christian countries will give it a point or two, so I would not write this completely off, personally even as a Slovene I wouldn't like this to qualify in semi 1 where much better songs will be I think (Romania, Belgium, Cyprus, Ireland, Australia, Lithuania, Russia, Malta, Ukraine and probably also Azerbaijan and Belarus)... But I do think I'd prefer this in the final over Tix.

 

[rasmuslights]

Ballads are for me pretty much a guaranteed 1, but add religion into the mix, and I take away that point. My first 0 this year, and it'll probably be the only one too.

ok not trying to be nationalistic here, because I'm not a huge fan of the song as well. But to give every ballad a 1? Like try to be a bit more open to different genres. I'm also not a fan of violent-pop-rock Finland is serving, but I would still give the song a 6, because I see some qualities in it.

Heck I HATE Germany's entry, but still gave it a 2 haha.