EUROVISION 2019 REVIEW: GEORGIA - Oto Nemsadze - Keep On Going

Its time for the next review!

Today, we focus on Georgia, who are a country who bring a lot of different and unique entries to the contest, and this year is no different as they send 'Keep On Going' by Oto Nemsadze.

Here are my thoughts:

What I Like: Georgia definitely know how to take a risk. 'Sul Tsin Iare' does have a powerful instrumental and I love the choir elements that fit into this song well. Oto does show passion within his performance and vocal, and what has made this song better is the revamp which I believe has smoothed the song out and made it sound more professional to the national final performance we had before, with that annoying as hell judge, girl sit down! It's also obvious Oto feels connected with the song through his presentation, which is nice to see.

What I Don't Like: This song just doesn't sit well with me at all. I feel like I'm being shouted at and not in a musical way. Oto's voice sounds seconds away from breaking during this and it becomes painful to listen to, making me want to tune out rather than tune in. I really like the variety Iriao gave us from Georgia last year, although it was very low-tempo it was a pleasant listen each time while also showing off 'Ethno-jazz'. This just doesn't hit that same spot for me. It falls on the wrong side of passionate and ends up feeling angry and complicated. For example, the message of the song has very dramatic and political undertones, similar in certain aspects to Jamala's '1944', but this is just angry and frustrated, and doesn't create that 'moment' that Jamala managed to create. This is also probably the only entry of the year I wouldn't want to sit through 3 minutes of, and that's a worry. I don't think about this entry or give it any attention and that's really worrying for a song in a contest.

Prediction: Let's not kid ourselves here, this is one of the few acts this year this is a guaranteed non-qualifier, from fan reaction and quality of the song. If many of us can't even sit through it, how many are going to stay connected for 3 minutes and vote? It's an uphill battle for this one.

Final Score: 2.5/10

Summary: A dramatic and powerful song which shows presents Oto's passion, but with no English translation can come across as a shouty man lacking stage presence, which doesn't fit what Georgia should be going for if they want to be back in the grand final.

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