SuperStar first final: original songs and public vote results

On Wednesday evening, contestants in the first final of the Czech-Slovak SuperStar competition had the chance to show off their own creative work. Four of them performed original songs, and the fate of the rest was decided not by the judges but by viewers: the fewest points went to Samuel Doža and Kristián Holer.

What the songwriters showed

The songs written by the contestants can hardly be called hits: they made it clear that experienced producers should take them on, and that the lyrics and arrangements still need work. But the main point lies elsewhere: the four brave performers showed viewers and the music industry which direction they would like to take and that they want to work on their own repertoire.

Without that, the assessment of the performance notes, there is no point in entering SuperStar and dreaming of a singing career. The only exception was the first season in 2004, won by Aneta Langerová: until she grew confident as a songwriter, she was helped by vivid personalities of the Czech music scene.

Gája Anzari sang the song “Everest,” Karolína Pelišková performed “I Give Myself to All the Meadows,” Kristián Holer sang “My Superstar,” and Filip Kaleta performed “Yes Man.” The most interesting of the original songs turned out to be Kaleta’s composition, which was also helped by an unusual way of performing it for the show.

Who sang other artists’ songs and how the voting went

The other finalists, following the concept of the round, performed Czech or Slovak songs. Adam Hlůžek sang “Black Peacock,” from the repertoire of Hana Zagorová, Nikolas Drašković performed “Cowboys’ Dream” by Karel Černoch, Adam Jalč sang “People Are Not Evil” by the band IMT Smile, Samuel Doža performed “Ballad of the Field Birds” by Miro Žbirka, Natálie Šielová sang “Eclipse” by Leona Machálková, and Polina Babi performed “Bring Me Back Those Stars” by Beata Dubasová.

The jury, made up of Eva Farna, Pavol Habera, Jakub Prachař and Kalin, decided nothing this time: their spoken assessments only guided viewers, who then chose by text-message vote who moves on. The remaining contestants will perform in the second final next Wednesday.

Who the bookmakers favor

Before the first final, bookmakers at Fortuna published their predictions. They named Natálie Šielová (odds of 3:1) and Gája Anzari (3.2:1) as the main favorites, followed by Adam Hlůžek (4:1). They put the odds of a Czech winning at 1.1:1, and of the winner not being a man at 1.55:1.

The winner will be announced in the superfinal on Dec. 9 at Prague’s O2 arena. Tickets went on sale when the first final started on Wednesday.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz