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Hungary HUNGARY 2017 - Joci Pápai - Origo

How do you rate the entry?

  • 12

    66 30.1%
  • 10

    33 15.1%
  • 8

    25 11.4%
  • 7

    15 6.8%
  • 6

    13 5.9%
  • 5

    10 4.6%
  • 4

    7 3.2%
  • 3

    8 3.7%
  • 2

    10 4.6%
  • 1

    5 2.3%
  • 0

    27 12.3%

  • Total voters
    219

tuorem

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January 17, 2012
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My review of "Origo":

-Hungary is one of the few countries I would love to see win soon because a country that regularly sends quality entries (imo) has to be rewarded by a victory at some point. Since I closely followed the contest back in 2009, I loved three of their efforts ("What About My Dreams?", "Sound Of Our Hearts", "Running") and did respect the rest which was less my cup of tea ("Kedvesem", for instance). This year, lots of people here moaned about the fact Tóth Gabi & Freddie Shuman didn't win the NF with their song "Hosszú idők"... I gave it a listen and thought it was indeed a shame we would never hear it in the contest. However, after discovering "Origo", my disappointment vanished as - for me - the entry people chose eventually was miles better. The song has no intro and starts immediately with a vocalise from a woman, Joci's voice and a first verse which almost sounds like a prayer somehow. There is no instrument but a quiet kind of synth setting the serious mood of the song, which allows Joci's voice to shine: his vocal tone is so special and ethno-sounding that it becomes an instrument in its own right. After roughly 30 seconds, the first chorus comes and - even though non-speakers of Hungarian and Romani can't get hooked by the lyrics - the catchiness comes from the melody and the way Joci modulates his voice (literally like an instrument), making the flow of the chorus very memorable for those of us who can't grasp any word. The absence of instrumentation works simply because Joci has that one-of-a-kind tone that captivates you instantly and makes you travel to spiritual places. The song sounds very spiritual to me. An arresting silence comes afterwards, then ethnic arrangements take the lead with organic instruments (violin, percussions), joined later on by an electronic beat, giving a delightful mix of cultural authenticity and music modernity. The second verse gets back to Joci's voice, sparse organic percussions and what I feel like are intermittent synth notes resembling pizzicato strings. Then, the second chorus builds on momentum with an added clear electronic beat, that fits the vocal lines amazingly imo. The instrumental break comes back, and the main twist of the song - the rap part - elevates the composition even more by a welcome rupture of rhythm. It might be an unpopular opinion, but I think the rap here gives an edgier and darker vibe to the song, it doesn't feel out of place and I love the ethnic musical elements they included as embellishments (violin, different percussions) so that it doesn't contrast too much with the rest of the song. Finally, the song ends with two choruses over a full instrumental and violin solo. Overall, "Origo" to me is fantastic and could be the legitimate successor of "1944" by mixing ethno music and instruments (violin, percussions, vocalises) with elements from modern pop (beats, synths, rap) in a masterful fashion: and all that in Hungarian and Romani... I mean what's not to like? The message of the song is also a serious and important one as it deals with the difficulties Romani people face in Europe as a stateless and nomadic people, which is not your everyday kind of message, so props to Joci for bringing that to the table. I love the song. Pros: Joci's marvelous voice, perfect mix of ethno music and modern pop elements, sleek production, effective minimalistic instrumentation, great structure and build-up, touching message, use of Hungarian and Romani (and no English!). Cons: none.

My personal highlight is the chorus, I mean: that voice, that phrasing, that catchiness, that emotion... Please, just let me get goosebumps, thank you!

-Vocally, Joci had THE most beautiful voice of the year hands-down to me, no one even came close. His live performances got me emotional for real and I still become teary-eyed every time I listen to the song live. He can deliver with all his heart, and I'm buying it. Awesome.

-Visually, Hungarians also slayed da house: it started out with white spotlights and an orange-ish sunset. As it disappeared and left the screen black, sparkling shapes appeared on the floor. Joci stood at the center of the stage next to what I assume was a folkloric instrument (it did look like a pot though), while a female dancer was performing arm moves to the left-hand side of the stage. Once the chorus started, rivers of sparkles and orange lights decorated the background. To me, it felt very warm and pared-down yet expensive (like the music basically). During the music break, the attention was drawn by the female violinist standing on the island in front of the main stage: I liked that because she forced listeners to focus on the violin part and acted as a clever distraction while Joci was playing his instrument. The girl seemed to enjoy the moment too, which was good :) The second verse allowed the female dancer to shine, I think she added a lot to the performance without looking tacky (as is often the case). The second chorus saw a change of visuals with a series of white and orange lights coming from the ceiling, as well as cute stencil-like birds (doves maybe?) on screen. The second music break was one of the main highlights as both Joci and the dancer danced together surrounded by flames, the circular motion of the camera during the rap part was lit too. Then the same background went from orange-yellow to blue-yellow (I loved both colour schemes), then the dancer knelt with her forehead touching the floor, I think the closeup of her face as if she was in pain or desperate tugged at my heartstrings: it was very touching imo. Finally, Joci helped her get back on her feet, and the background turned red, white and yellow while she resumed dancing. I don't forget the appropriate camerawork throughout the whole performance, and the nice white and black fades used before and after the choruses. I approve of everything! It was high-end-looking, very suitable for the song, touching and authentic. Fantastic presentation!

-Results-wise, of course I expected Hungary to qualify with such a raw and moving gem, but - even though their 8th placing in the final is not a disaster thanks to the televoters who positively responded to "Origo", I just can't at the juries' placing... Don't ever tell me these people are music experts, they are just a bunch of random people with their own biases - that have nothing to do with music - who happen to have 50% of say in the outcome. 17th place is literally SCANDALOUS given all the plastic crap they ranked higher: it should have been locked in their top 10 instead. It was "Celebrate Diversity" meets Hungarian culture meets modern pop: from vocals to music, from lyrics to visuals: the total package was there and stood out big time in the lineup. This is to me the most shocking disgrace of the year: "Origo" is one of the best - if not the best - Hungarian entry ever imo, it deserved much more than 48 points (tied with Greece :? b*tch please!). In my personal ranking, "Origo" is my 4th favourite song of the year, and I believe it would have made an awesome winning entry tbh. Thank you to Hungary whose NF always rocks, and special thanks to Hungarians who voted for "Origo", you truly blessed us by sending this song. xheart I'm mad at the juries honestly, they have no taste and should retire if they can't see an obvious gem where there is one. Fingers crossed for next year, I expect great things from you. Hopefully, we'll be able to celebrate your first victory in the years to come. xheart Kisses from Paris, France.
 

blue00eyes

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February 21, 2014
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Polska
giphy.gif

^ amazing review, I agree with most of your words especially about juries, I am not only so keen on the rap part though but overall Origo is eveything celebrating diversity should be about ;)
 

balizeg

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Joined
October 1, 2009
Posts
536
Location
Hungary
My review of "Origo":

What a beautiful review :D Thank you for that!
I voted for Origo in A Dal final (this year's edition was all about Gabi vs. Joci for me) so I'm glad Joci's song captured so many people around Europe. :)

His instrument on stage was a so called "Ceglédi kanna" and as I've just found out it even has an English wikipedia page at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cegléd_water_jug
He said he keeps it at home as an eternal memory of his ESC participation.

About the bakground graphics, I also found them beautiful and fitting. The doves and the floral pattern were inspired by the illustration of the intro music to Hungarian folktales (it can be seen in the first 30 seconds of this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al4DpKBL8o4 )
It nicely conveyed the message of the song too, as when they first appeared at the start of the second verse, a fully silver and a golden one, they were turning their backs to each other, but when they-reappeared at the end of the rap part, they had mixed colours and were facing each other with the floral pattern getting more lively around them.

I see it wasn't posted here yet, so here is Joci's new song, called Özönvíz (Flood), Alexandra Virág returns in the video to portray his lover like she did at ESC. I like it as much as Origo. :)
 

tuorem

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Joined
January 17, 2012
Posts
9,592
Location
GN-z11
What a beautiful review :D Thank you for that!
I voted for Origo in A Dal final (this year's edition was all about Gabi vs. Joci for me) so I'm glad Joci's song captured so many people around Europe. :)

OMG! Thank you so much for your information about the instrument. I was wondering what it was. :)
Thank you for voting for Origo tbh. Don't get me wrong though: Gabi's song was great too, that would have been a great entry as well, but my heart merely loved Origo more.

I thought your act this year was on point at all levels: it's such a shame the juries couldn't see that. Once one gets out of the standard pop format with "standard" vocals, there's 90% of chance to be underrated/overlooked by them sadly.
 

Realest

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May 23, 2017
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I can understand that not all Juries can put Hungary in their Top 10 regarding to the strong competitors but what annoys me is that 33/205 had Hungary in their Bottom 3.
9 Of them on the last place (3 of them are from Spain). I wish that they had a bit more flair.
 

blue00eyes

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February 21, 2014
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Spanish people seem to have a really weird taste to rank Hungary last. They picked Manel themselves. :rolleyes:
 

Realest

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balizeg

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October 1, 2009
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Hungary
Joci is currently taking part in Hungary's version of "Your Face Sounds Familiar" The editors are seemingly keen on giving him unfitting female singers :D So far he has been Sarolta Zalatnay (a 60s Hungarian singer) , James Brown and Kylie Minogue

He was also a task, for A Dal 2017 finalist Olivér Berkes, who performed Origo:

The line-up is filled with ESC-related singers, apart from Joci and Olivér, there's Csézy (ESC2008), Viktor Király (A Dal 2012, 2014), Gergő Oláh (A Dal 2015-17), Laura Cserpes (A Dal 2013-14), Veca Janicsák (A Dal 2013) and Viki Singh (A Dal 2016-17) all taking part this season :)
 

Mainshow

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December 23, 2018
Posts
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Another 12 points from me for this original, authentic, progressive, innovative and stunning entry!
 

ESC94

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September 7, 2019
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Bavaria, Germany
For me :hu: has become one of the most interesting countries in the contest. It´s because they never send similar sounding songs two years in a row, and also because of the excotic sound of the Hungarian language, which has nothing to do with most other languages in Europe.

In 2017, they chose for the very first time a Romani to the contest, something that many people surprised due to the political developments in :hu: in recent years. Joci Pápai had a really good and charismatic stage presence, which really helped his song "Origo".

When I listened to this song before the contest I found it good, but not great. But when he performed it in the second semi final something happened, I still don´t know what, but his performance got me right from the start. I really fell in love with the melody and the song basically hypnotized me, I really felt what he was singing, even if I didn´t unterstand anything. His performance in the final was even a bit better for me, and I was actually pretty pissed when the juries didn´t award him with more points, but luckily the viewers were much more generous to him, and after all he received :3: from the televote in :de: as well.

This is actually my favourite entry from :hu: so far and was a perfect example that you could reach a good place with an ethnic oriented song without using a word of English. I still like it a lot and gave this very deserved :12:!! (y)xheart
 
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mup

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Joined
May 24, 2021
Posts
289
A very interesting and different entry, Origo was a standout! Well done for :hu:!
It's so sad the country chose to isolate itself from the rest of the continent and to ditch Eurovision, they had been providing some original entries.
 
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