In recent years, it’s not often that we see North Macedonia in the Eurovision final. The nation offers up a range of genres, but struggles to capture the attention of the viewers and voters. Hoping to reach the final this year is Andrea, who won the national selection with the song ‘Circles’.
Anita
Song and Vocals
After internal selections, North Macedonia opted for a national final this year. There were six entries, and realistically speaking I don’t think any of those entries would have made it to the Eurovision final. I do think that the best of the bunch was Andrea, but in the broader scheme of Eurovision, this will likely struggle to make an impact.
The original version of the song sounded very much as if it was in a demo phase. With a strong revamp, this had potential. There was a revamp, but it didn’t really add much to the song, if anything. By the end of the first chorus, you’ve heard it all. Andrea attempts to add some interest to the song, but it continues to come across as lacklustre. Had the revamp incorporated more build, much like a traditional Balkan ballad, North Macedonia may have had a qualifier on their hands. As it stands, we likely won’t be seeing this in the final.
Performance and Act
This isn’t exactly the type of song that can handle choreography, but at the same time, should Andrea stay static, the lacklustre nature of the song will surely be highlighted. The nation needs to find that middle ground by using camera work and lighting, but based on previous years, I am not sure that North Macedonia is up to the task.
Conclusions
While I don’t dislike this song, I also know that there’s not a huge potential at Eurovision. Andrea has a nice voice, but the angst of the song might put some people off. At this stage, I don’t place North Macedonia as a qualifier.
Rating
6/10
Dennis
Song and Vocals
North Macedonia’s Andrea lays a lot of emotion in her song and performance, even though it feels like a long three minutes towards the end of the song. It gets a bit repetitive and not in a good way. Very curious to see whether the Macedonians can cover this up with a great staging.
Performance and Act
Macedonia has not been the best nation at Eurovision in recent years, to put it mildly. For a big part this has to do with the quality of their songs, but also in terms of staging they usually don’t come up with something extraordinary. And to make this song go to the final, I think it takes more than just a basic staging on a darkened stage. But I fear that is where Macedonia will go.
Conclusions
Whilst North Macedonia doesn’t come with a bad song, let alone the worst song of the competition, I don’t fancy their chances of making the final. Usually it isn’t the worst or weakest songs that come in with a very low ranking, but the ones that fail to make a lasting impression. This could be the case with Macedonia this year.
Rating
6/10
Team Scores
Steef: 4/10
Erik: 2/10
Josh: 5/10
Heath: 4/10
Kaitlin: 7/10
Selim: 7.5/10
Morena: 9/10
Average Score: 5.6/10
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