Norway: Wiwi Jury reviews Freddy Kalas with “Feel Da Rush”

This week the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — headed north for Melodi Grand Prix 2016, Norway’s selection for Eurovision. While we were enjoying a chilly wintery day, we suddenly felt the sun. That’s because Freddy Kalas was bringing some heat from Caribbean with his song “Feel Da Rush”. But did we feel it? Read on and you will know.

Freddy Kalas — “Feel Da Rush”

https://youtu.be/9xOlL5JVF9U

“Feel Da Rush” reviews

William: I usually love cheap, feel-good music. But something about this seems really inauthentic and forced — potentially because the Afro-Caribbean sound doesn’t seem organic to Norwegian Freddy. In any event, I appreciate his intention to make us move and this is way better than many of the songs at MGP which take themselves way too seriously.

Score: 6/10

Chris: I completely get that a song doesn’t have to sound like it’s meant to come out of the country it represents. Thing is, the last time that Norway tried to do something “different”, it resulted in “Haba Haba”. “Feel Da Rush” is fun, happy and I could totally get down to it at the Euroclub, but it’s just not right. I’d be shocked if this didn’t make the superfinal but I really wouldn’t want it much further than that.

Score: 6/10

Robyn: I like the burst of energy this has brought to the national final, a ray of sunshine to melt all the ice queens. While the song gets a little tiring to listen to after a while, I suspect it will be really fun to watch live, perhaps this year’s “En godt stekt pizza” moment of chaos and delight. And there’s always the knowledge that this song had its roots as a marijuana anthem.

Score: 5.5/10

Edd: Oh. My. God. Freddy Kalas is giving me LIFE! Tropical, epic, and dat base drop! His sound is somewhere between Kygo and Ylvis – which happen to be Norway’s biggest musical exports. This crazy fun is exactly what all my friends watch Eurovision for, but if I’m honest I can see this charting all over Europe too. I’m so sick of Norway giving us forgettable ballads when they could send something like this and actually leave a mark on the contest.

Score: 10/10

Mikhail: It is like every other song with southern influence in every club around the world. I have to admit, though, that my body was moving while I was listening to it. It’s the kind song that you just know is total crap, but your body says “Shake it, baby!”. Such a kind of resonance.

Score: 5/10

Zakaria: The song tries desperately to recreate a nice and danceable summer sound but instead of that, the song comes out rather repetitive and annoying . Maybe good staging can lift the song up, but it still is a second-rate summer hit copycat at best. I don’t have much hope for this.

Score: 3/10

Liam: Please calm down… I’m left utterly speechless. This is the sort of quality one would expect from a national selection like Finland, Belgium or France, not Norway. The gruffness of Freddy’s voice makes the whole song sound as if it was a country number reworked by Avicii. Stop. Please.

Score: 3/10

Bernardo: I don’t know what’s happening to Norway. I would expect something like this from France — because this is giving me Jessy Matador’s vibes. But do not be mistaken, this a lot better. I’m feeling the rush, the summer, the heat. Nice production, easy to listen to lyrics. I just want to dance, really.

Score: 8/10

Sami: I absolutely love this song. It makes me happy, it makes me dance and it sticks in your head and won’t leave you for days. Freddy’s accent is a bit funny, but it fits the song. I would love to see the audience jumping up and down for this in Stockholm, but I’m afraid it won’t get picked. I hope we hear it at Euroclub at least!

Score: 9.5/10

Deban: If this song was played on a carnival float (where it’s most appropriate) it would be faded into a medley halfway into the three minute mark.  As much as I value diversity, and building bridges with other genres, the end product needs to be solid. Sadly, this isn’t! It sounds like beach beats booming out of a Dominican pirate radio station — and I’m being polite.

Score: 2/10

In the Norwegian Wiwi Jury we have 25 jurors but only have room for 10 reviews. The remaining 10 scores are below!

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 1 and a high of 10.

WIWI JURY SCORE: 5.5/10

FOR OUR LIST OF NORWAY 2016 RANKINGS, CLICK HERE

FOR MORE NORWAY EUROVISION NEWS, CLICK HERE