The Netherlands are hit or miss when it comes to Junior Eurovision, with their peak at the contest back in 2009, where Ralf Mackenbach won the contest with the song Click Clack. Last year, The Netherlands finished in the Top 5 with Matheu and his song Dans Met Jou, but will we be seeing the nation reach the Top 5 again this year? Representing the nation is the girl group Unity, with their song Best Friends.
Song + Vocals
What’s so great about the Netherlands at Junior Eurovision is that they send kid-friendly songs consistently, and this year certainly is no exception. Best Friends is an uplifting tune that will bring a bit of energy to the Junior Eurovision stage this year. The verses are admittedly a bit lacklustre, but I think they make up for it in the pre-choruses and choruses, which are super catchy. You only have to listen to the chorus melody once or twice before it starts to get stuck in your head, and with easy lyrics to remember, it means you are ready to sing along by the final choruses.
Unity won the opportunity to perform at Junior Eurovision through a national final, which means we’ve heard this song performed live. The national final featured just three of the four girls, with one having to sit out due to COVID related reasons. Unfortunately, the live performance just doesn’t reach the heights of the studio version. The harmonies didn’t work at all, and there were a lot of notes that just didn’t come across well. Having pre-recorded backing vocals at Junior Eurovision may help to balance that out, and of course the countless rehearsals they would be going through are bound to help. The other factor that may continue to affect vocals is the choreography, and like in the national final, it’s almost certain that the girls will be dancing while singing. Visually, it’s great, but at the end of the day it’s likely to make an impact on the vocal performance.
Act + Performance
Looking back at the national final performance, it’s clear that it was well choreographed. I enjoyed the energy of the performance, and the colours. It wouldn’t surprise me if they stick with a similar choreography for Junior Eurovision, and I wouldn’t be mad if they did. Like I mentioned above, it may come at the cost of a good vocal performance, but at least it will be visually eye-catching.
Conclusions
This song has the potential to do well, but it will all come down to the vocals during the performance. If they don’t improve on the harmonies, and their vocal performance is reminiscent of the national final, I think they will finish in the 7-10th place territory.
Rating
7/10
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