Azerbaijan are far from a consistent participant at Junior Eurovision, with this edition marking their fourth appearance at the contest. The nation is yet to break into the Top 5, but could this be the year? Sona Azizova will perform ‘One of Those Days’ in Paris this year, but what do we think of the song?
Anita:
Song + Vocals
After their last participation, I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting such a high quality entry. Looking at the songwriters, it seems that the songwriting duties were passed to an international team. It’s a double edged sword – on one hand, this is the nation’s most competitive entry to date. However, the compromise is that other than the mandatory national language, this track doesn’t really have a ‘cultural identity’. While I enjoy the song as is, it would have been amazing to hear some traditional instrumentation to complement the composition.
I’m not usually a huge fan of ballads, however this one does tick a lot of boxes. The melodies are nice, and the song grows very well over the 3 minutes. Sona’s vocal tone is beautiful and quite mature. I don’t believe we’ve heard this song performed live, and that always causes some uncertainty.
Performance + Act
This is the type of song that can do well even with the bare minimum of staging. All I can say is I hope there’s more effort put into the live staging compared to the music video. I would expect to see Sona on stage alone, and having competed on The Voice Kids Azerbaijan, being on stage is not a new experience.
Conclusions
Azerbaijan has the potential to achieve their highest result this year, provided that Sona carries the song and the visuals back her up. With the build-up of the song, it would be great to see that matched in the stage show. This is definitely one of the better ballads this year.
Rating
9/10
Dennis:
Song + Vocals
This composition would suit the adult Eurovision Song Contest and the vocals of Sona are also very mature already. It’s a fierce power ballad with a classical build-up. Azerbaijan also chooses to make use of some English lines along with their native language.
Performance + Act
Songs like these are not so hard to stage. I expect a solo performance by Sona, with all eyes and camera focused on her solely. Maybe some visuals to add to the warm nature of the song. You can leave that up to Azerbaijan. In its genre, this song is being well executed.
Conclusions
There are always a few ballads that fare very well at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest and in 2021 Azerbaijan could have one of those ballads. It’s a strong composition, sung well by Sona, even though we haven’t heard her live yet. However, sometimes ballads are being overseen when the votes come in, and I am not fully convinced yet that will not happen to Azerbaijan this year.
Rating
8/10
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