It’s now time for the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — to get started on the 43 songs that will be competing in Eurovision 2016 in Stockholm. Our first port of call was Oslo, where we visited the Fram Museum to learn all about polar ships. Afterwards we sat down to discuss Agnete and her song “Icebreaker”. Did she melt our hearts? Or we were we left cold? Read on to find out!
Agnete – “Icebreaker”
“Icebreaker” reviews
Angus: Norway have been building to a winner the past few years and in Agnete they have their girl! Every time I hear the tempo changes it hits like an iceberg to the face and I want more. The dance-pop elements are icy cool, the chorus a vocal tour de force and the staging dazzling. “Icebreaker” has everything a modern winning song needs.
Score: 10/10
Bogdan: The surprising tempo change reminds me of Lana Del Rey’s “West Coast”, where the chorus is slower than the verses, and I applaud the courage of the songwriters who dared to swim against the tide. In this respect, “Icebreaker” will stand out in May and it will be interesting to see what the juries and the viewers make of it. I expect a lot of fan support, the likes of which Agnete enjoyed at the end of the Norwegian suspense-filled final.
Score: 8/10
Deban: “Icebreaker” wields a mattock in both hands as it redefines notions of Eurodance. Agnete’s vocal delivery, although lacking in grit, possesses a pop-soprano quality that sharpens this number. Nothing is lamer than predictable pop! Agnete knows this, and delivers a rescue package laced with killer-suspense, creativity and a banging hook. “Icebreaker” puts me in a trance.
Score: 9.5/10
Padraig: Is Agnete really comparing herself to a ship with a strengthened hull? It’s certainly not the most romantic of metaphors. But it may be apt considering the amount of lyrical clangers she has to deal with. Unlike most people, I don’t find the tempo change jarring. It does, however, leave me underwhelmed. When I’m teased a Cascada-esque banger, I expect a Cascada-esque banger. The two-in-one approach may have wowed the Norwegians, but Europe will prove harder to please.
Score: 6/10
Robyn: This song is really growing on me, though that’s not necessarily a good thing when performers only get one shot in the semi-finals. The staging at the national final was a mess, from Agnete disappearing from view as she walked down the stairs, to the poorly executed dancer in a box, to Agnete’s alarming talon-like false nails. The tempo change is unusual and unexpected on first listen, but the if song’s presentation can be strengthened, it could do really well.
Score: 7.5/10
William: With smokey vocals and raw sensuality, Agnete doesn’t just break the ice — she melts it! Initially I found the tempo change jarring. But on repeat listen I’ve come to love it and the dubstep that follows. This has the darkness of Margaret Berger but Agnete fills it with light. I prefer the live version to the studio take, as Agnete mixes power, soul and vulnerability so well. Bonus points for the effective use of smoke. There’s clearly a geyser beneath her glacier and I can feel the heat!
Score: 8.5/10
Mikhail: It starts off generic but nice. And then the tempo change comes and I want to mute it. It is simply annoying. The shift is not smooth and it hits you like an electric shock. Ultimately this is two different songs stitched together. When you have two snowballs and slam them together, you don’t get a nice big snowball, you get a weird ass mess.
Score: 3.5/10
Denise: The tempo change sounded a little weird the first time I heard it. Now I don’t even notice it anymore and it’s just a really good song. That it’s changing all the time grabs your attention. I also like the staging and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see the same thing in Stockholm.
Score: 8.5/10
Patrick: Let me be honest with you. Agnete was not my favourite at all. When I heard the song the first time I was really confused and pretty much hated it. But seeing it live changed my mind completely. Agnete needs to work on her vocals, but she has time. The song is modern and the staging amazing.
Score: 8/10
Mike: Initially I thought that the Norwegian national final was really bad and that the winner didn’t matter. But the more I listen to this song, the more I love it. At first the change in the chorus seemed really weird, but for some reason it makes sense now and fits the song. Gabriel Alares, who co-wrote the song, told me the lyrics have a special meaning for Agnete and that they revolve around a friend of hers who was previously addicted to drugs. This should take Norway back to the Top 10 for the fourth year in a row.
Score: 8.5/10
Tobias:“Icebreaker” is written by the Swedish songwriter, Gabriel Alares, who also wrote Russia’s entry last year. This song is a mix of Loreen’s “Euphoria” and a typical Sia song. The performance makes it a lot stronger. I don’t think Agnete’s voice is on point during the whole song but you don’t think of that while you look at this gorgeous artist. I think Norway will be in the top ten this year, but this is not the winner.
Score: 6/10
Judit: I love Norway, believe me, but I simply can’t love this song. The music is OK but the lyrics… “I’ll be your icebreaker/When you’re stuck in frozen water.” Really? Maybe it’s my fault, and I’m not creative enough, but for me it’s just annoying, nothing more. Sorry Agnete, it’s not my cup of tea.
Score: 4/10
In the Wiwi Jury we have 40 jurors but only have room for 12 reviews. The remaining 28 scores are below.
Anthony: 8/10
Antranig: 6.5/10
Bernardo: 7.5/10
Chris: 8/10
Cristian: 6.5/10
David: 8/10
Dayana: 7.5/10
Diego: 7/10
Edd: 6/10
Forrest: 3.5/10
George: 9/10
Gökhan: 10/10
Jason: 6.5/10
Josh: 7.5/10
Kristin: 6/10
Liam: 5.5/10
Luis: 7/10
Marek: 2/10
Maria: 4/10
Mario: 7/10
Max: 7/10
Renske: 9/10
Rezo: 7/10
Sami: 9.5/10
Sinan: 9.5/10
Steinunn: 6/10
William C: 7.5/10
Zakaria: 5/10
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 10.
I assume I’m not the only one who wanted Laila Samuels’ “Afterglow” to win. Nevertheless, the tempo changes in “Icebreaker” make Agnete’s song an incredibly rare gamble that should draw the attention of many who weren’t paying much attention to the Norsk MGP. This is #12 in my first evaluation.
I know instantly when I like a song… And this one hit a chord within me, and frankly, compared to the other entries in the Norwegian Finale, it was just Laila/Afterglow that was a match. (for me) The other ones were mostly ‘WTF’!!?? It is different, and I love different, and for me it sounds and feels perfect. OFC there are things that can be better, always is….but I don’t want to get hung up in details, when I like the overall this good. Too bad I can’t vote for it. 😛 My vote goes to Dami Im, and maybe… Read more »
I think she will qualify for the final, I like the chorus of the song. 7/10
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Really nice verses, followed by aweful, annoying, lazy written refrain. This song is starting off as a potential winner, not a masterpiece, and resembles too much of Euphoria, but still very nice. Then there comes the iceberg, and it all sinks down in a second…
Norway is a fast country, it seems. Three songs on the same night! None of them bad, but medleys are good for well known songs, not new ones. Cool it guys! You only needed one! 2/10 for sheer inconsistency.
My favorite Scandinavian entry this year. I like it, and I hum the chorus when I listen to it.
7 / 10
I used to hate the tempo change, but now I think it’s completely amazing.
10/10
4/43 in my top
she will slay at eurovision in may.
Well she can definitely sing but agree with the comments about the changes in tempo. At times it feels like a mash up of two songs and am not sure where it is going next!
Am sure the staging will be amazing and maybe they will release that poor woman from being trapped in the stage rostrum behind the singer!!
Not our winner this year
Norway is my 25th this year. Agnete’s voice is lovely but the song’s composition is just kind of lazy to my ears. Slamming two different styles without any real transition is jarring especially on the first listen which is its downfall for anyone that will be listening on the first time. Also, there is nothing really special about the composition. It is just regular pop. The staging too was okay but I didn’t like the dancer in the middle with the box. It was really distracting.
I agree with @Digital Style; the break in tempo/ melody is quite jarring and doesn’t work for me unfortunately.
Disappointing after such a promising 2015 entry.
I’ll be really surprised if this makes it to the finals. It’s a no for me.
this song is the worst song from Norway ever, it’s flat and dull and very boring
the singer has zero personality in that song, she sings very awful live
Norway won’t qualify this year 0.5/10
Congratulations Norway you done well. However, I prefer the hot temper beat of the song rather than the ballet, but we shall see how Europe react to it. The singer Agnete looks beautiful and sounds great.
The only really disjointed song this year is “The Last Of Our Kind”- “Icebreaker” has a tempo shift that is a bit jarring, but it’s still a good song that will probably make the top 10 like Norway’s past three entries.
5/10
I seriously dislike the tempo change, from the refrains to the chorus. It reminds me a little bit of Margaret Berger in 2013, which I preferred by miles.
But it’s the kind of music that usually does well in Eurovision..so I don’t think Agnete should give up.
It is a nice song but I think that something is missing from refrain….nevertheless is a good song
6/10
I wouldn’t say it’s a bad song, it’s just not very well written and put together. I know the verse to chorus transition is intentional but it doesn’t change the fact that it is awful. I feel like she’s trying to combine many elements used in popular songs and it turned out with this mess.
Ooopps double posts. I thought my first comment didn’t got through. 2.5-3 out of 10 .
This is such an awful production. Yes, the song may stand out for its ‘uniqueness’. But the whole transition between two different generic music genres gives me somewhat a confusing reaction and rather a jarring feeling to it.
Agnete’s voice: Lovely.
Lyrics: A little cliché but I like it.
Music: Nope. The transition needs a major work. Such a lazy composition.
Not this year Norway.
I rather give my votes to Freddy Kalas’ Feel The Rush than this song. At least, that sounds fun and enjoyable.
3/10
I really don’t get the hype of this song. Like sure this stands out the most amongst all of the entries this year. But the production of the music is rather lazy. Don’t get me wrong it has an okay lyrics, performed by the beautiful Agnete which has a lovely vocals. I just find the music as super jarring and irritating. A two generic music genres (electrodance & midtempo ballad) that is sticked together that just doesn’t work at all.
2.5/10
I didn’t have too much of a problem with the transition initially but as I listen more it definitely grows on you. It’s now my 2nd favourite overall, just a brilliant, innovative Nordic dance pop masterpiece.
Reminds me of when Girls’ Generation released I Got A Boy, which many people thought was 3 songs in 1, but I always saw the best in its composition. Plus it still got over 150 million views on YouTube.
I don’t get how so many jurors agree that they hated it on first listening but still think it will do well. Over 99% of voters will only hear the song once!! If it even makes the final its gonna flop. It doesn’t matter how well a song grows after many listens if most people only see the first time!
1.5/10 because I hated it first listen. After that it doesn’t matter.
7 / 10 Although it’s rather apparent which songs Icebreaker has taken inspiration from, I actually think Icebreaker is a stronger composition than its source material (that’s not an accomplishment that I encounter very often). Still though, I find the tempo change jarring, and I feel like it was done just so that the song could have its own identity. It’s rather ironic that I’m critical of the tempo change, given that I write piano music and my instructor is always telling me that I’m trying to do too many things in the same song. I don’t know if this… Read more »
At times, it sounds as if could do potentially well but then, you got the underwhelming chorus, the worst part of the song. Not content with underwhelming us once, Agnete’s repeats the lines of her chorus a second time in pretty much the exact same manner.
Whilst this is a step up from the sleep-inducing song Norway sent last year, I feel this is righthand side of the scoreboard material.
6/10
Icebreaker? Gurl you be breakin’ mirrors with that high note. This song just seems to be a mix-match of approximately twelve and a half different songs that must’ve been too good to resist. The tempo change still confuses me and completely knocks the song of its course – saying this the song is compelling enough to grab my attention, and isn’t too bad compared to a pretty week Scandinavian field this year.
Score: 7/10
I agree with a lot of the Jury that on first time hearing this song I thought the tempo change was annoying – but now I absolutely love it! I agree with William that the live version is so much better than the studio (not often we can say that eh?!)
12 points from UK!!
All of the constituent parts are there for it – if you separate the hooks, they’re all amazing. In isolation. None of them rub along well alongside each other and it’s obvious no revamp is going to magically happen. If they do though, I’d rather they not go ‘sod it, let’s go full-Cascada’ way on the chorus.
I honestly believe the tempo change could work if, and only if that build up in the verse actually went somewhere. A decently crafted drop would have carried this much better. As it stands it sounds like a musical version of Scandipop ‘Consequences’.
I would agree that Norway has been building to a winner, but it won’t be this year, they have sent stronger entries from 2013-2015. I actually predict a win for Norway in 2017 🙂 Song wise, ‘Icebreaker’ isn’t bad I love the up tempo euphoria style build up and I like the soulful chorus, but hearing them together just feels odd, Agnete should have decided if she wanted dance music or power pop, but it’s not the worst song. Will qualify for sure as its in a weak semi with Denmark, Germany, Ireland and United Kingdom voting, who usually give… Read more »
3,5/10 – I nearly despise that song! It’s messy and her voice is very annoying!
One of my favorites. Really unique and tells a good story. I love tempo changes, they give it that frosty feeling. It should easily qualify from semi 2.
I am loving the music, the lyrics & the performance. I find the chorus very catchy & stays with me. Icebreaker is in my Top 5.
wow, 40 jurors now….this is getting more indepth and serious.
Keep up the good work all at Wiwibloggs. You are by far my favourite site for all Euro news these days!
Bad live singer with a mess of a song. 7,1? Are you serious?? Next!
In my opinion it’s not a bad song-I just don’t like mixtures very much and this particular combination of sounds is not quite successful.I believe she will qualify to the final but eventually won’t rank very high…
@Thales
Tempo change is fine and can be a beautiful and interesting part of a song. But here it’s not. Israel was much more successful about having different tempo verses and chorus last year. In Icebreaker it’s jarring and immediately pulls be out of the song.
First of all, let me just take a moment and say: Hurraaaaayyy! It’s that exciting time of the year, when the wiwi jury reviews the songs! ;)). Although, as it happened in previous years, I’m sure it will get frustrating at times. And I didn’t have to wait long, it’s already happening… This is in my top 5, and I obviously don’t expect everyone to love it as much as I do. But, come on!!! 2,3?! That doesn’t leave much room to review many songs lower (unless those reviewers intend to give these marks many many times) – and even… Read more »
Those people who are criticizing the lyrics, they obviously don’t understand the meaning of the song. A hint: the icebreaker is a METAPHOR. 😉 By the way she’s my number one and I hope she’ll finish in the top 10.
A lot of people complaining about the tempo change. But that’s music. Music is about surprise, is about to bring something different. I really like the tempo change, that’s what make this song great. Although the beggining reminds me Euphoria, they are two different songs. Agnete is a good singer and the song fits her voice. This is the best song of the week semi final two, although I’d prefer a lot of SF1 and Big5+Hosts songs. And this don’t remind any of Sia’s songs, only her performance (in the X Factor, I guess) where the dancer of Azerbaijan’s performance… Read more »
7.5/10. Like the mix between the danceable versus and the pounding chorus. Agnete needs to focus on her live to take it to the next level and she needs to ditch the talons she wore in MGP. Also, the staging must be improved. With improved staging, I think that this could make the low top ten but if we cannot see the artist performing the song, then please make it less obvious, a close up of the dancer would be more fitting than seeing Agnete descend a dark staircase. Although, that being said, Norway always deliver a fantastic final product… Read more »
Cant believe noone raged about the non-existent key changes. Looks like people are actually learning. Its a good song, hopefully top 5
@ William Lee
You are right. There is certainly not one perfect voting system. I thought it over. Actually, for the final result the outliers are sometimes even more important than the normal votes. That’s why a controversial song is sometimes more successfull than a song that fans neither love nor hate.
Agree with Mikhail
3.5/10. Generic song with an annoying, abrupt tempo change for the chorus.
This song is already stuck in my head and on high repeat on my playlist. I liked the stage presentation. Bump that up one more notch and top 10 for sure. Maybe higher if some other acts don’t nail the live performance like Agnete can.
A very exciting time when the wiwi jury review the songs :):). It screams that Eurovision is just around the corner!
As for Icebreaker, I feel that two songs are thrown together; but I love it!! However it does blend in. People wanting that type of music would vote Russia. I’m sure it will qualify, and get high on the right or low on the left in the final. 8/10.
@Bhrister Cjorkman: Malta’s song disjointed ? Well, I don’t agree, I think the song just continues to build up and build up ! It is definitely one to watch with good staging and hoping for amazing vocal display. I just hope Malta will not be as underrated as it is in the comments section of this site. It is modern, fresh and different. If the contest is to evolve more and more, songs like Malta’s, Armenia’s, Bulgaria’s, and of other countries such as Israel, Azerbaijan, Croatia should definitely do well.
7.5/10
I love the verses but the chorus doesn’t go anywhere for me…. She is gorgeous though and I can see this doing well!
I have really liked Norway’ recent entries: “I feed you my love” should have won the contest, “Silent storm” is a genuine and very good entry, “A monster like me” was fabulous. “Icebreaker”, however, has left me underwhelmed since the first time I heard it. I suspect Agnete make it to the finals, but I will not be surprised if my home land finishes among the bottom 10 on the big night.
To make myself clear, I was not referring to anyone. I am all in favor for people writing their opinion, I just don’t like comments that are there just to hate. Singers will actually see these comments and I don’t like them feeling bad 🙁
If we are talking about disjoined songs then “Walk On Water” and “The Last Of Our Kind” are the ones we should be discussing.
The transition in “Icebreaker” actually feels smooth, and it fits the theme. Let me explain borrowing one youtuber’s comment:
“Picture the energy and motion of an Icebreaker….. what happens when it hits Ice and frozen water? It slows down…..and then it can hit smooth water again….(speed goes up)”
Oh, and just because tempo changes are rare in modern pop music, they were much more common before and there is absolutely nothing wrong with them.