MIRACLE

SAMRA

SECHUK JURY

Rating

 230.5/320 (72%)

INTERNATIONAL JURY

AZERBAIJAN

INT

JURY TOTAL

118

Amar

Very radio friendly and contemporary! But with such a strong pool of entries, I can see this getting overshadowed by other strong female ballads such as Serbia , Armenia , Australia , and the Czech Republic . 

6.5

Benedek

This might be written from Swedish songwriters but it doesn’t appeal so much that I can say that this is top 5 material. It is really not. We saw what happened in recent years with this country in the voting and I think with this song Azerbaijan is not returning to the top. It will probably qualify but for the first time I'm not so sure though. She can sing the song is building but somehow it remains flat.

4

Christos

It's been a long time since I liked the participation of this country. A smart composition with a good performer. The country wants to win and I think the song is a good proposal for this year's winner. There are many good voices in the country and this is obvious. In my top 10 in the current year and certainly to the final. Unfortunately the Turks of Europe will vote someone between the song of Azerbaijan and San Marino . Very good choice

8

Daria

My first thought "Oh Beyonce, I like it!". I hope Samra can dance like Beyonce. Good produced poop song with very catchy chorus. 

9

Douwe

Azerbaijan has a long and relatively successful cooperation with various songwriters from Sweden and 2016 is no exception. Samra's 'Miracle' sounds very like Helena Paparizou's 'Survivor' from MF 2014 and indeed both songs are written by Henrik Wikström. This is another solid entry with a powerful groove and catchy chorus and the hooks in this song are very good indeed. I don't think we are returning to Baku in 2017 but this should deliver a better result than in 2014 and 2015.

8.5

Elena

This is the most exciting entry from Azerbaijan for years! Really like her voice and the song is easy to listen to and totally radio-friendly. Very powerful in the video, and I expect nothing less than power live.

9

Frederico

It is perhaps not gonna take a miracle for Azerbaijan to sail through to the final but it's one of the weakest songs Azerbaijan has ever sent. But they always manage to pull it off the bag and I am sure they will again. As a song this is quite ok but I think it's definitely a grower. 

6

José

A very soft pop song, that is very refreshing and powerful for Azerbaijan that shows every year that they understand perfectly what is Eurovision about.

7.5

Mark L

This is a country that specialises in sending technically excellent songs but I don’t feel that they deliver on the night. This sounds good though

7

Melissa

I don't really see this setting the scoreboard alight, but it's a decent pop song. Pretty forgettable once all the entries it's up against have been performed.

6.5

Octavio

This is actually a very good pop song; modern, catchy and performed by an excellent singer, but I don't know that she can reproduce that sound 'live' on stage. If she can she will be high on the leader board.With the right staging and visual effects this will do really well.

10

Paul C

It's a good song. Azerbaijan always takes Eurovision so seriously and yet again sends a quality song and for sure will put a great show in Stockholm . Having said that, I think there are better songs this year but this will probably score high in the final.

6.5

Pia

Dangerous, dangerous .....top 5 I guess. Good singer , and a really fine melody

9

Roberto

Interesting Swedish-Azeri entry. From the same composer of Carola's "Invincible", here's a quite notable song, with powerful mainstream pop melodies and a quite fascinating refrain. The vocals are good, the atmosphere is scheming enough. Someone could find this 'plastic' or 'shallow'. I think it's nice, overall nice. 

7.5

Roy

This is no miracle but it is also no disaster. It is a fairly average song that will probably qualify due to the country and not so much due to the song. Unless they stage it wonderfully (like they have done in the past), I do not see this setting the scoreboard on fire.

6.5

Samantha

There's something somewhat dated about this, but that doesn't mean it's unappealing. It took me a few listens to grab the hook, but once I did, it stayed with me.

6.5

UNITED KINGDOM JURY

AZERBAIJAN

UK

JURY TOTAL

112.5

Andrew C

A for Accomplished. Strong song as always from Azerbaijan . Just a pity it is another Swedish import rather than something more home grown but should see them safely into the final and close to the top at the final whisle.

8.5

Andrew G

Nice tune, I like this , this should do well, it`s a good song and she has a good voice, definitely qualifier and perhaps a contender for the winning song

8

Daniel

This is fantastic. Another Swedish-penned song for Azerbaijan but I'm willing to overlook that because I like it so much. 

7

Danny

A straight-up pop song here which I could see being a massive hit for the likes of Demi Lovato or Ariana Grande. The production on this is probably one of the best in the contest and I can see the Azeri’s giving an excellent staging for this. It really stuck in my head after the first listen and I can see myself listening to this months after the contest.

10

David B

A definite improvement on recent entries from Azerbaijan . This is a simple and very catchy entry, if generic. There's nothing startlingly original about the song but with a competent performance (and good English!) this one is sailing into the final.

7

David E

Yet another modern, contemporary song in a contest that is awash with songs that wouldn’t sound out of place on the most up-to-date commercial radio stations here in the UK . Hints of Sia and Rihanna make this one to watch. Fabulous!

9

Dean

Eurovision is so modern this year! This isn't bad, but it just doesn't set fire for me. And it becomes highly repetitive towards the end. I'm not sure you'd lift the phone to vote for this.

6

Eddie

The Azeris go to a Swedish written hit. And it will be a hit - great production, she has a nice voice. Should see them back on the left side- a finalist for sure

8

Gary  

Oh dear, yet again the music-writers of AZ get no access to Eurovision and instead we get another bought song from Sweden . I’m sure she’s a good performer with good connections, but this feels throw-away and yet another predictable Swedish song, with a chorus more suited to Junior ESC. How about some AZ fire for 2017? Will compete with all the other Swedish purchases this year (MF rejects?).

3

Joe

Magnificent from Azerbaijan , this is very polished and has 'hit' written all over it (anyone would think it was written by the swedes...). The chorus is very singalongable, and memorable. Excellent 

10

Mark M

Bit disappointed in this one - I normally really like the Azeri song but this one stops short of a really good pop song.  She's a decent enough singer but it doesn't really float my boat.

4.5

Martin

Azerbaijan should be back on track to break into the Final top ten with this powerful and superbly sung entry by yet another Azeri singer who is easy on the eye.  The only reason this might not reach its full potential is the decent into repetition towards the song's end...

6.5

Matt

This starts out promising and with a bit of 'zing', but her voice is a bit high-pitched for me and it gets a bit too samey later on.  Having said though, the 'mood' reminds me of the style of my youth! ;)  It'll do well.

6

Nico

It's undeniable that if this were Belgium or Austria no one would be talking about it qualifying. It starts of with a strong verse that hooks you in, but the chorus is unimaginative and puts me in mind of an old friends child that's trying so hard to be charming, but is actually just extremely irritating. Samra on the other hand is totally charming and has a beautiful voice, despite that, this will probably only appeal to lovers of cheap MF rejects. The miracle would be if we had the better song from  Austria in the final than this.

3.5

Sally-Ann

A breath of fresh air in this year's line-up - good song + strong singer + proper verse and chorus = a prayer of thanks to the God of Eurovision.

7

Tristán

Another dark horse, which will get plenty of votes across Europe , not just from the Turkish diaspora who do not have Turkey to vote for any more. I have already put a few quid on it each way. One of this year's early earworms, could we be returning to Baku so soon?

8.5