Wiwi Jury: Malta’s Sarah Crystal with “Right Here With You”

Earlier today, the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — gathered in Valletta to discuss the contestants participating in Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2016 (MESC). Today we look at Sarah Crystal with her entry “Right Here With You”. Do we want Sarah to be right here with us, or would we prefer she go somewhere else? Read on to find out…

SARAH CRYSTAL – “RIGHT HERE WITH YOU”

“RIGHT HERE WITH YOU” REVIEWS

Deban: Overprocessed to the point of distortion, “Right Here With You” flushes ingredients down your throat when you’re simply craving for a well-prepared casserole. I like the Balearic dance beat. However, Sarah Crystal fades into a whisper when you expect her vocals to take centre-stage. This has only ever worked for Janet Jackson.

Score: 3.5/10 

George: Well, this song is really average. I can hardly hear her voice, as this cheap electro-pop melody dominates the whole thing. Especially after 2:40 it becomes too messy for me. I honestly can’t see this song going any further. It would be good for a summer club in a nice Greek island, but when it comes to Eurovision… No, thank you.

Score: 5.5/10 

Josh: There’s nothing particularly special about “Right Here With You”. It just sounds like another dance track with a slightly synthesised vocal layered over the top. The music is disproportionate in regards to volume in comparison with Sarah’s voice. It’s inoffensive but I can’t see it making it past the semi-final.

Score: 4.5/10

Robyn: This such an odd song — fresh, modern tropical house beats, Sarah’s very precise, clipped singing style, and dominating 1980s soul-pop backing vocals. Just to add to the wtf, on Xarabank, Sarah was using some quirky Meghan Trainor moves. Everything clashes and nothing flows.

Score: 3/10

William: I hate this lounge feel and I hate when electronic dance music doesn’t make me dance. It’s like sugar-free ice cream or caffeine-free Coke — promises a lot, but fails to deliver that buzz. The song just stopped playing and I literally cannot hum any of it. Bad sign.

Score: 2/10

Zakaria: I heard the song over and over and I’m still debating on whether I liked it or not, but at least I didn’t hate it. The song feels very flat and a little old-fashioned. However, I love that lounge feeling the song is recreating and Sarah’s soft voice fits very well.

Score: 7/10

In the Maltese Wiwi Jury we have 17 jurors but only have room for five reviews. The remaining twelve scores are below.

Anthony: 7/10

Antranig: 6.5/10

Bernardo: 5.5/10

Cristian: 8/10

Denise: 4/10

Luis: 5/10

Maria: 6/10

Mario: 5/10

Patrick: 7/10

Ramadan: 3/10

Renske: 6.5/10

Rezo: 3/10

The highest and lowest scores are dropped prior to calculating the average score. This is to remove outliers and reduce potential bias. We have removed a low of 2 and a high of 8.

WIWI JURY SCORE: 5.13/10

FOR OUR LIST OF MESC 2016 RANKINGS, CLICK HERE

FOR MORE MALTA EUROVISION NEWS, CLICK HERE