The Wiwi Jury — our in-house team of music unprofessionals — is reviewing and rating the 37 competing songs in Eurovision 2024. Next we review Latvia, who have chosen Dons with “Hollow”.
Does the song fill us up inside or leave us empty? Read on to find out!
Dons – “Hollow” (Latvia Eurovision 2024)
Review: Dons – “Hollow”
Lucy: In my opinion, the most engaging ballad this year. “Hollow” is haunting, emotional and has a real chance of surprising people in semi-final 2. Where Latvia narrowly missed out on qualification last year, they have sent another classy act, with a perfect vocal. Dons does need to look more emotional when performing in my view, as it will just add to the engagement the audience will have. But other than that, I can’t fault this. Dons’ gravelly vocal with a really powerful song is a big old YES for me.
Score: 8.5
Tomas: Dons really offered a great composition for Supernova 2024 and it was obvious with his runaway victory that he was the right choice for Latvia this year. It’s great to have a strong ballad in a year full of dancing. However, in my opinion, it lacks authenticity and might be forgotten on the night of the second semi-final.
Score: 3.5
Ruxandra: It all begins with a good voice, paired with a song that, above all else, complements Dons’ voice impeccably. Eurovision is not solely about hitting the highest notes; it’s crucial to bring a song that not only showcases but also harmonises with your vocal abilities, and Dons achieves this effortlessly. The lyrics resonate deeply, and I appreciate when they stem from real-life experiences. With very simple staging, the performance directs all attention to the music, and it is easy to notice that Dons feels every word he sings.
Score: 10
Simon: Strong vocals in a ballad that, unfortunately, just stays on the “nice” level for me. You can see that Dons is an experienced performer, but that’s the best part of a song that doesn’t really stand out. In a semi-final with a lot of uptempo and “noisy” entries, it will stand out as a calm break, which also could make it a bit forgettable. The vocals should be appreciated though, even if I think it will struggle to get out of this semi.
Score: 5
Latvia Eurovision 2024 ranking
In the Eurovision 2024 Wiwi Jury, we have 17 jurors but only have room for four reviews. The remaining scores are below:
|
Antranig: 5 Cinan: 7 Deban: 7.5 Georgia: 5.5 Jonathan: 6 Pablo: 9.5 Ron: 3 |
Scarlett: 3.5 Sebastian: 2 Suzanne: 3 Tom: 7.5 William: 8.5 Youyou: 3.5 |
We have removed the highest and lowest scores prior to calculating the average. This is to remove outliers and potential bias. We have removed a low of 2 and a high of 10.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 5.77/10
What do you think of Latvia’s Eurovision 2024 entry? Share your own score and review for Dons’ “Hollow” below!
