Wiwi Jury #Melfest Edition: Ulrik Munther

This morning the Wiwi Jury—our panel of music un-professionals—watched Ulrik Munther dancing in front of his LED screen as he belted out “Tell the World I’m Here”. Were we moved to spread the message? Or did we write this off as generic trash? Read on to find out…

Deban: Ulrik Munther is a Eurovision veteran. He’s been a runner-up in Melodifestivalen, and won the regional Melodi Grand Prix competing against stars from Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Norway. He can sing, and he does have a good command of the stage. If Ulrik wins MF 2013, he’d be the perfect companion for Russia’s Dina Garapova. When she belts out, ‘What if I could change the path of time’, Ulrick could feed his chorus into his microphone, ‘Tell the world I’m here’. This is a good song, but one that goes nowhere. It’s not quite rock, but then it plays too ‘serious’ to be pop. The continuous refrain ‘Tell the world I’m here’ begs the response, ‘So what? Nobody cares’.

Score: 6.5/10

HK Dick: Self-belief is overflowing in Sweden. After Eric Saade told us how he was going to Popular, we now have Ulrik informing us to tell the world he is here and he is going to change it. However, this didn’t hinder Eric at Eurovision and the same fate awaits this anthemic pop song.  He has certainly grown up from last year’s Melodifestivalen and the producers clearly fancy his chances giving him the first spot in the final.

Score: 8/10

Mr Häggkvist: Another OK song in this year’s Melodifestivalen. My problem is that I was expecting something great after “Soldiers”, and this song is not even close to that. It can get a top 10 place in Eurovision. Ulrik obviously knows how to connect with the audience, but I don’t think we have a Eurovision winning song here.

Score: 6/10

Vebooboo: When watching this act, I can’t help but think of a magical elf from a mystical land singing to the crowd, begging them to believe that he exists. Ulrik looks like a little elf, and I think he may be lying about his age just like female Chinese gymnasts at the Olympics. But potential scandal aside, this act has it all: teenage girl appeal, dramatic staging with an LED screen that delivers when it needs to, and a tune that builds throughout the course of the three-minute song. It ain’t my favourite song this year, but I can understand why it will likely win.

Score: 8/10

Wiwi: I was really feeling this song for two-and-a-half minutes, and my favorite bit of it is the build up to the second chorus. But towards the end I’m sick of this little troll shouting at me and I just want to inject him with some growth hormone and tell him to shut up. That said, this is one of the more radio-friendly songs in this year’s MF, and I could see this making the Top 10 at Eurovision. It’s an OK song in a weak field, so consider this grade inflation.

Score: 7/10

The Wiwi Jury Verdict: 7.1

You can read all of this year’s #melfest reviews by clicking here. Then be sure to vote in our poll “Who Should Win Melodifestivalen 2013?”