On Monday the Czech Republic released the seven songs competing in their online national final.
The songs will be voted on by an international jury as well as an online public vote, available also to international fans.
11 members of the Aussievision team, ranging in age, gender and geography, went through the entries, ranking each with 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1 point.
Here are the results:
1st: Benny Christo - 'Kemama' (90 points)
Highs: 12 points from Laura, Guy
Lows: 4 points from Kyriakos and 2 points from Steve
Laura: "This is such an upbeat and uplifting song, how can anyone not love its infectious contemporary beats and feel-good summer vibes? I also love the positive lyrics. This reggaeton afropop sound has been popular in charts all around Europe, we need more of this in Eurovision!"
Guy: "Afro vibes usually get my attention, and this is done really well. It’s also a sound that doesn’t make it a lot to the contest, so I would be really happy if this went through. He sings it well in the studio version, so if he can recreate that well live, it could do well."
Steve: "Just not a genre of music for me."
Kyriakos: "This track is also great. I personally have enjoyed the whole selection of songs from the Czech Republic. This track is different again and has a groovy beat that makes you want to dance."
2nd: Olga Lounova - 'Dark Water' (82 points)
Highs: 12 points from Dale, Mike, Emma and Steve
Lows: 2 points from Liv and Ruby
Steve: "Loved it from the opening bars. Leaving aside the clear story, comprehensible lyrics and perfect diction, I can see so much potential for a magical stage performance with - hopefully - knockout vocals. To be honest, this stands head and shoulders above the other entries for me and I’ll continue listening to it going forward whatever the result."
Mike: "A modern ballad with instant appeal. Nice production complements a pleasing vocal. A really good track!"
Emma: "Sounding very much like our own Delta Goodrem, Olga has a beautiful voice but the chorus lets the song down. Good all around package though."
Dale: "This is heads and shoulders above the rest, emotive, powerful and delicate all at the same time. Lends itself to amazing staging as well - this is the one fro the Eurovision stage."
Ruby: "Vocally strong, ‘Dark Water’ is a pretty entry, yet it in sea of strong contenders falls slightly to the wayside."
Liv: "Atmospheric and has a Swedish production vibe (which it turns out it is co-written by a Swede!). It does what it says on the box – delivers a nice female ballad with big notes and moments…it went exactly where I expected and I wish it had just a bit more oomph to lift it to the next tier. Potentially live with the right staging and vocal performance it could really outshine the studio."
3rd: We All Poop - 'All the Blood (Positive Song Actually)' (81 points)
Highs: 12 points from Kyriakos, Fleur and Aaron
Lows: 1 point from Steve, 4 points from Mike, Emma and Guy
Kyriakos: "I just got into this song from the first listen. I love variety and this song offers that. The Czech Republic have offered refreshing entries in Eurovision in the past, and sending this will be no exception. Interesting play with the bands name and the songs title."
Aaron: " I was worried their band name would lead to a joke song, but they’re no joke. The message is great, highlighting how people choose to look away and shut out problems. It’s very Twenty One Pilots, which is a big compliment. I don’t think we’ve had anything like this at Eurovision before, but now’s a good time to #OpenUp."
Fleur: "Look, I just love it. It is something that I would expect to hear on the radio (on the main radio station that I listen to anyway). I like bands and there seems to be so few of them around this year in the competition. This would be memorable based on that alone. A solid (pun intended) successor to Lake Malawi."
Steve: "Sounds like dated Britpop (but with added mangled pronunciation). Given the title and the video, it all feels like an attempt to shock... but it fails."
Mike: "A little too languid in tempo for me. But some decent elements to it. Will appeal to some people."
4th: Barbora Mochowa - 'White and Black Holes' (66 points)
Highs: 10 points from Fleur and Guy
Lows: 2 points from Mike, Kyriakos and Laura
Fleur: "I have chosen this as my second favourite because I really love the song. There is something about Barbora’s vocals that is just so beautiful to listen to. The song is pure listening pleasure. That said, I am left scratching my head as to how this would work on stage. This National Selection process is a mystery as to how it is performed live. Would it be like Anouk or Sennek?"
Guy: "She is back, and sounding even more like Lana Del Rey than she did last year with ‘True Colors’. I think this can cost votes from people who get turned off if they perceive an artist as trying to sound like another well known artist. At the end of the day though I really love the way she sounds on this and it is a beautiful song. This is one I will listen to quite a bit, whether it goes through to the contest or not."
Laura: " I preferred her effort last year, ‘True Colors’, as it had more of a clearly defined structure than this song. ‘Black And White Holes’ also takes a really long time to build momentum and nailing the live performance is vitally important here as there are some very risky notes towards the end."
Mike: 'Takes a while to get going. What I expected from Barbora. Not really my kind of vibe."
5th: Elis Mraz feat. Čis T - Wanna Be Like (61 points)
Highs: 12 points from Liv, 10 points from Mike
Lows: 1 point from Kyriakos, Aaron and Ruby
Liv: "Can easily imagine this in the clubs of Europe or playing next to the beach on a sunny day. Fun Tropicana number which really took itself to the next level for me by adding in the male rap, female rap and music break. Without it this would have been a very repetitive tropical number that stagnates after the first chorus (which many Spanish national final songs fall into the trap of being)…this is memorable for being a ‘duo’ and has lots of staging potential."
Mike: "Czech reggaeton! Instantly likeable with a very modern vibe. Very catchy! Not sure the rap elements totally work but this is a good attention getter."
Kyriakos: "I really enjoyed this track but I have heard this style of music over and over again It reminds me of Eleni Foureira's 'Tomame'. Though this track could work well in a live performance with a great dance routine and back up dancers."
Aaron: "The Czech producers have out done themselves picking songs that are right up with the current popular styles. It even has the mandatory Spanish. It’d be quite good fun on the Eurovision stage, if a little messy. It’s my 7th but it is still quite decent."
Ruby: ‘Wanna Be Like’ unfortunately falls into the ‘fun’ category personally – whilst enjoyable, it fails to convey a message or emotive feeling."
6th: Pam Rabbit - Get Up (49 points)
Highs: 12 points from Ruby, 10 points from Laura and Steve
Lows: 1 point from Mike, Emma and Liv
Ruby: "Experimental and slightly crazy, ‘Get Up’ is truly intriguing musically, with a strong hook, changing dynamics, and structural shifts, in conjecture with a convincing vocal performance would make it a formidable entry if taken to Rotterdam."
Laura: " Modern, quirky, indie and unusual but still a very catchy song! "
Steve: "The quirkiness is strong with this song, but it mostly works for me."
Liv: "Not my cup of tea. I find both the vocal and techno a bit jarring. It’s a bit repetitive and monotonous."
Emma: " Triple J sounding track which I love in parts but hate in others. The beginning really draws you in but the chorus is very jarring and I just don’t have any desire to listen to this song again."
7th: Karelll - 'At Least We've Tried' (44 points)
Highs: Kyriakos 10 points
Lows: 1 point from Dale, Laura, Fleur and Guy
Kyriakos: "Karell's track is amazing. It is contemporary and radio friendly. The track has a James Blunt mood to it. Very well polished production."
Dale: "This is done well, but has very little to stand out. Probably the one I found forgettable among the entries."
Fleur: "This is a good song but I think we’re kind of done with the sad boy music genre. This is just going to be lost amongst the mix. It does not stand out- simple, really."
Guy: "While there is nothing terrible about this (I don’t think there are any bad songs in this NF), there is nothing about it that makes me particularly like it. It feels like a slightly bland sad-boy-at-a-piano song, and It’s likely to be a big year for that genre."
Laura: " At least he tried? A little bit of a formulaic ballad but he adds enough elements to keep the listener engaged. Even though it’s my least favourite song in this selection, it’s far from the worst thing I’ve ever heard and I simply preferred other songs - a testament to ESCZ 2020’s quality! "
All songs are available to listen to AND vote on in the Eurovision App. That's right, you can vote from any country, you don't have to be from the Czech Republic.
Voting is now open until 2nd February at 8pm CET (6am 3rd February AEDT), with the winner to be announced the following day.
Cast your vote via the official Eurovision app (DOWNLOAD) by going to the 'ESCZ 2020 · VOTE NOW' tab.