Review: “Pabandom iš Naujo 2021” (Lithuania)

Lithuania will end their journey in selecting the act for Eurovision 2021 on this Saturday (the 6th of February 2021).
The national selection “Pabandom iš Naujo 2021” included 23 songs. But before the songs have been revealed, 2 artists withdrawn .
Among the 21 remaining acts, we can find The Roop that have a direct path for the final, following their winning in the national final last year.
20 artists participated in the heat rounds. 10 Among them qualified for the semi-final and 5 among them among qualified for the final.

Therefore, 6 artists will compete in the final of “Pabandom iš Naujo 2021!”.

During the last decade Lithuania have gone though a diverse fate: They qualified for the final 6 out of 10 times (2011-2013, 2015, 2016, 2018). However the country’s best result to date was the 6th place in 2006.

In this post, I will review the 6 finalists of “Pabandom iš Naujo 2021!”:

#1. Evita Cololo – ”Be paslapčių“ (Eng: without secrets)

The only song if the final to be performed in Lithuanian . It’s a dark soul pop song.
There is something passionate and mysterious in her interpretation. Evita is singing the song without special efforts. We could have heard that kind of song on the radio or in pubs.
The melody is based on bass guitar with a soft mid-tempo beat.
The performance includes shooting with smartphone. The dominant colors in the performance are: blue, black and red. Something in the staging reminded me a little bit of “The Voice” performances.
However, the song is lacking power and a peak point. I appreciate the fact, she has chosen to sing in Lithuanian language.

#2. Gebrasy – “Where’d You Wanna Go?”

One of the best ballads I’ve heard lately, and in Eurovision 2021 season in particular.
The melody is based on piano playing, the first part of the song is quite slow. He is singing the first verse in a high voice.
The chorus include in addition guitar playing. Gebrasy is using a mid-high voice alongside falsetto.
The second part of the song is a little bit more rhythmic. We can see Gebrasy is moving his body while singing. There is a sampling of deep man voice singing who is repeating the lead singer’s voice.
The camera shots are just great. They put the singer in the center of the stage.
The staging is simple but effective. It starting as dark with gleam lights. The contrast between the white outfit of the singer and the black stage creates unforgettable moments.
Gebrasy shows us versatile vocal abilities. There is something captivating in the song.
Every time I watch it ,I’m getting excited
I’ve got same vibes as Monique’s song from last year “Make Me Human” which isn’t surprising because he was one of the backing vocalists last year.

#3. Marytna – “Thank You Very Much”

The original title of the song was “F*** You Very Much“. It’s a electro -pop song.
Most of the time, the melody is based on the electronic production itself and not on “pure” music instruments.
The song is starting with an electronic beat. She is starting her singing with a fast rate.
Sometimes she is just pushing too much with her voice.
The chorus is much stronger than the verses, namely because is it more catchy.
The staging is good, especially the combination with the dancers. However I did found some unsuccessful moments from the dancers.
The song is decent, but it becomes boring and predictable at a specific point.

#4. Titas and Benas – “No”

It’s a ballad. The melody is namely based on piano playing. Titas and Benas have similar voices but they are different somehow. The combination between them gives the song an added value that wouldn’t be achieved as a solo performances.
The chorus is more powerful than the verses. While the verses can be heard sometimes as an unfinished sketch.
Although the harmonies were good, when they singed together the verses it wasn’t good enough at some moments.
In my opinion, their vocals in the semi-final have been improved since the “heat” round.
It sounded me a little bit like a boy band song from 15 years ago

#5. The Roop – “Discoteque“

An unique song with 1980 disco music influences.
The song is starting with a guitar stringing and thereafter a cyclic beat is being added.
They used recorded backing vocals of the lead singer himself (which is allowed at Eurovision this year, by the way). The bridge contains only the words “Dance alone” with spinning of the lead singer and 2 singers on the stage The chorus is built on singing- speaking in a way that the sentences is splitted by each word separately. After that, we have an instrumental section where we can them dancing on the stage.
The second occurrence of the chorus and the instrumental part is more effective and more special.
The lead singer knows how to perform live. He isn’t only a singer but also an actor.
You can see it by the way he pronounced the words, his mimics and the changes in the voice.
The choosing of the yellow color isn’t random. I believe they chose it in order to stand out.
I loved the connection to Covid-19 quarantine (dance alone).
Of course the chorus is the catchy part in the song.
The dancing has a critical role in the performance.
I can’t say it’s brilliant but definitely a special one with strong performance

#6. Voldemars Petersons  – “Never Fall For You Again“

A country pop song with influences of the wild west music.
The melody is based on drums and guitars. The first part of the song is quite generic.
Voldemars voice was a little bit shaky in the beginning. The melody of that part is relying only on guitars. The verse is too short and very quickly we are getting the chorus which is rhythmic than the verses.
The second part of each chorus is the best part of the song. It has a huge country influence and by that it gives the song another dimension.
The presence of the female backing vocalist is important and actually occasionally it seems like a duet.
The last bridge where the players and the backing vocals are singing breaks the frame of the song in a good way.
Somehow, the song lost his magic in the semi-finals, comparing the heat round. In my opinion, the staging should be reconsidered and maybe creating something similar to the video clip would help.

My Prediction

I can see only 2 songs that are just a lot better than the others: The Roop – “Discoteque” and Gebrasy – “Where’d You Wanna Go?”. It’s almost sure we will see The Roop band achieving another winning.

My Full Ranking

#1. Gebrasy – “Where’d You Wanna Go?”
#2. The Roop – “Discoteque“
#3. Marytna – “Thank You Very Much”
#4. Evita Cololo – ”Be paslapčių“
#5. Titas and Benas – “No”
#6. Voldemars Petersons  – “Never Fall For You Again“