2016 JESC Reviews – Ukraine – Sofia Rol – Planet Craves for Love
Ukraine in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest has had its hits and misses, but in recent times, more often than not, Ukraine is sending songs that the audiences seem to enjoy. This year, it’s up to Sofia Rol to represent Ukraine with the song Planet Craves for Love, which uses both English and Ukrainian – a common trend for Ukraine in recent years.
After Sofia won the Ukrainian national final, upon listening to the song, I was really underwhelmed and to be honest, completely forgot about the song. I can’t tell if it’s just the bad video sound from her performance, or whether it was just underwhelming, but I didn’t rate it. When the official video came out, I began to take a bit more notice of the song – the magic of a studio version! One thing I really enjoy is the tension and emotion this song has, and the way it builds over the three minutes. The song has such an enchanting feel, and even though not everyone speaks Ukrainian, you just know that she is singing about she as a person believes in, as it comes across in her voice and the passion it emits.
The integration of English at the end of the song is a smooth transition, and doesn’t’ sound out of place, which I feel is the pitfall for some of the other songs this year. I hope that how this sounds on stage is equally as good as the studio version, otherwise it runs of the risk of being just average, rather than something really magical – which is what it could be with its potential. I really hope the stage show is something just absolutely out of this world, but only time will tell what they choose to do to present this song.
Overall, I think this has great potential, and is a definite grower. Have you had asked me a few weeks ago, I definitely wouldn’t have had this in with a chance, but the more I listen, the more I wish for its success in the contest. With a solid performance, this deserves a high position, but again, only time will tell.
