Review: Joci Papai - Az En Apam - Hungary

TellyStats Rating:

1 Day YouTube Views: 35,311
1 Day YouTube Likes: 1,667

After a very respectable 8th place finish in 2017 with the haunting and authentically ethnic "Origo". Joci Papai returns to represent Hungary once again with Az En Apam. Once again sung in Hungarian but a track with an entirely different tone.

Unfortunately for "Az En Apam", it isn't really comparable to Origo which really held the best elements of a modern ethnic track that was accessible to everyone at some level. While this years track isn't bad per-se - it's just very OK. Pleasant and accessible, reminiscent perhaps, of a Hungarian Ed Sheeran, the track flows without too many bells and whistles.

One particular criticism - perhaps a little unusual in a year that features a song called "Say Na Na Na" - is that the last minute of the song is just "Na Na Na", it goes on for way too long. Despite the critique of the song itself, Joci himself is a seasoned performer, and his 2017 entry cemented his popularity. This track will need some inspired staging to elevate it to new heights if it wishes to reach the finals.

"Az En Apam" has the lowest YouTube Views and Likes of any entry we have listed so far which is rather surprising, however Joci's social media follower increase is strong. Hungary perform in the first-half of the first semi final, I suspect that with the weaker entrants in this semi, plus a few regional allies scattered around - Hungary may just be one to progress through, however I don't see it making too much of a mark on the final.

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