Since their return to Junior Eurovision in 2016, the nation has been on the road to success, culminating in two Junior Eurovision wins in a row. This year, selected artist Ala Tracz has some big shoes to fill, with a third Junior Eurovision win certainly a possibility. Her song, I’ll Be Standing was composed by Eurovision alumni Gromee and Sara Chimel-Gromala.
Song + Vocals
Despite the strong results Poland has achieved since their return to the contest, I haven’t always been a fan of their entries. The highlight for me was Viki Gabor last year with her winning song Superhero, which still remains as one of my favourite Junior Eurovision entries. There are elements to love about this year’s song, but for me, it doesn’t reach the heights of Superhero.
In comparison to the previous Polish entries, I’ll Be Standing features more of a rock undertone, which gives this song an edge. The style works well with Ala’s vocals, especially during the choruses. Despite the fact that this song features softer verses, leading into a bolder chorus, I still find this song to be a bit two-dimensional, especially in the studio version. The live version is my preferred version, as you can hear the tone of her voice clearer, with the backing music of the studio version a bit overbearing. The real strength of this song is the live vocals, with Ala proving that big vocals can come from a small package.
This could be one of those songs that takes a few listens to catch onto the melody, especially of the verses. Every now and then, the melody of the chorus will get stuck in my head, but considering it’s a repetition of the title line, it’s easy to remember.
Act + Performance
Despite Poland winning the previous two editions of the contest, I will say, I was hugely disappointed with the stage show for both of those performances. We’ve seen Ala perform the song live in the national final, and also in an additional performance, where there was complete choreography. Based on these factors alone, I can’t say I have high hopes for the stage performance of this song. Again, based on previous Junior Eurovision performances, the nation isn’t the best at matching the staging to the song, but I’m happy to be proven wrong this year.
Conclusions
This is another decent entry from Poland, but I don’t think it’s a winner. It’s the type of song that I’ll enjoy while listening, but not actively seek out to listen to, as it just doesn’t appeal to me as much as some of the other competing entries. Saying that, I think a Top 5 result is a reasonable expectation for this song.
Rating
6.5/10
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