The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — has almost finished listening to and reviewing the eight songs battling it out for a second chance in the Melodifestivalen Andra Chansen round. Finally we turn to 2012 champ Loreen and her Melfest comeback “Statements”. Did we hear her message? Read on to find out!
Loreen – “Statements”
About Loreen
This is Loreen’s third time at Melodifestivalen. She first competed in 2011 with “My Heart Is Refusing Me”, which didn’t make it out of the Andra Chansen round. Her second appearance was much more successful — “Euphoria” won Melfest and went on to win Eurovision with one of the highest scores ever.
Wiwi Jury reviews “Statements”
Chris: The pure song at the heart of “Statements” is an epic that fits right in with Loreen’s back catalogue — one that, for all of its sporadic nature, has really never failed to impress. Unfortunately, it’s muddled right now with overwrought and messy staging. Coco Chanel said to take one thing off before you leave the house: “Statements” needs to remove about three or four elements from the stage.
Score: 8/10
Deban: Loreen’s “Statements” is stratospheric. Just when you think she’s peaked, she finds new heights and then conquers them. “Statements” takes on a topical subject matter and in tow, revolutionises a largely bubblegum-pop contest. Vocally, Loreen remains on point, and although the visual effects are dark, moody and sometimes jarring – there’s much beauty to found in this art piece.
Score: 9/10
Anthony: Attempting to outdo “Euphoria” is pretty much mission impossible, so my expectations have been considerably lower this time. But as it’s Loreen we’re talking about, she took a risk and continued to deliver the goods with a memerising performance. Whether she goes on to represent Sweden or not, I just hope Loreen doesn’t end up going the same way as Leicester City’s title defence.
Score: 8/10
William: Visually arresting and completely gripping, Loreen’s performance made me feel like I was on a long journey to hell. Had I seen it at an arthouse cinema I would have been prepared for that. But because I was tuning in to Melodifestivalen it caught me incredibly off guard. The dark sounds and flashing lights border on terrifying. And while I know that’s part of the point, they distract me from the melody, which I struggle to remember even during the song. In terms of Eurovision this could fly or flop. I still can’t decide if it’s worth the risk.
Score: 8.5/10
Antranig: There are a few people in every generation who redefine music itself. Loreen isn’t a singer, she’s an artist and she achieves a performance that makes “Euphoria” look tame. “Statements” is mind-blowing. With no disrespect to any of the other talented artists in the competition, Sweden would have to be completely insane to send anything else to Eurovision. She’s on a whole other level.
Score: 10/10
Josh: I’m incredibly torn over “Statements”. Although I can appreciate the power of the message and the imagery portrayed during the performance, the song didn’t build into a whole lot and I was honestly a little bored. Returning off the back of such a strong song as “Euphoria” would insinuate a destiny of failure. I don’t think the song is a total flop, but it could’ve been epic and it missed the mark.
Score: 7/10
Bernardo: I want to make a statement right now: this is art! Forget everything you’ve heard and experience “Statements” as the piece of art that it is. Loreen’s voice takes all the ones listening to another planet. Captivating and powerful, it’s renewal, it’s rebirth, it’s drama. Loreen plays the Melodifestivalen game in another league. She has no competition.
Score: 9/10
Robyn: Loreen has created an incredible piece of performance art. But it’s less successful as a pop song. “Statements” is dark, edgy and provocative, but it’s also a little opaque in its intentions, and I’m left feeling confused and unsure of how to feel about it. It’s grown on me with repeat listens, but that’s not a luxury afforded to songs competing at Eurovision — it has to work at the first listen. But still, I’m glad “Statements” is here. It’s a valuable part of Melfest 2017.
Score: 6.5/10
Our jury for Melodifestivalen 2017 contains 29 jurors, but we only have room for eight reviews. The remaining 21 scores are listed below.
Angus: 4.5/10
Antony: 9/10
Dayana: 10/10
Edd: 7.5/10
Erdi: 7/10
Forrest: 7/10
Jason: 9.5/10
Jordi: 9/10
Jovana: 8.5/10
Luis: 8.5/10
Mikhail: 10/10
Natalie: 9/10
Patrick: 6/10
Rezo: 10/10
Ron: 8/10
Sami: 6.5/10
Sinan: 9/10
Steinunn: 9/10
Tobias: 10/10
Zakaria: 8/10
Before calculating the average score, the highest and lowest scores are dropped. This is to remove outliers and reduce potential bias. We have removed a low of 4.5 and a high of 10.
I sure am glad her eurovision-winning song had such a dark staging.
@Phlextro: Haha! Really, in A Minor? Yeeesss! 🙂
That key really does cut through to my heart. It’s a bigger statement though – I thought we didn’t need no statements?! Why is art always so confusing? :S
I would definitely prefer to hear Loreen sing in A Minor though – those higher notes in the chorus are astonishingly powerful. 🙂
@Purple Mask
Very interesting analysis considering they in the preview for AC changed it to the higher version! 😀
The bit where the woman rushes on to attack everyone with her bag is deliciously silly. This puts the fun back in Eurovision, love it.
@Michaela – No country ”deserves” to win just because it hasn’t won in a while/ever. The country with the best song and performance wins. This is a contest, not charity.
Statement 10/10
I am a real melfest nerd, but if Loreen won’t go to the final – well than I will feel a big hole inside. Statement is the best song ever in melfest. I totaly love it. I don’t want to se the final whithout Loreen, but I have to. For My daughter, but then I will go totaly opposit and wote for Owe!
The instrumentation of the song is so top notch, I like it better than Euphoria. Although she needs to fix camera angles/diction to succeed. She can get Top 3 in MelFest and potentially do very well at Eurovision.
@Polegend Godgarina: (vocal production, melody, music) leaves a lot to be desired….
I understand not everyone might like this song, but whaaaaaat? It is an exceptionally well produced song with a powerful music background and with (I think) a very original melody. I don’t think you can criticize the song on technical grounds…
The scenography (as good as it is) is too distracting imo, but the song is superb.
I like this a lot.
If it gets to Eurovision, I can see it doing really well.
Frankly, the only thing working against it is that Sweden has won Eurovision 2 times in the past 5 years. Maybe there will be a “protest vote” against it, assuming it actually gets to Eurovision.
I think the song is quite shit. It’s too narrow in its appeal and the broader European audience would not relate to it. Theres no denying her strong Eurovision fanbase but let’s be honest that’s quite small in relation to the audience watching on the Song Contest night and Statements isn’t going to grab the mass audience attention and stay with them all through 25 odd songs. Televotes historically go to songs that instantly grab your attention, even Euro fans on here are saying that Statements need a few listens to. Such a shame as I was so looking forward… Read more »
P.S. I was so blown away by the whole ‘Statements’ thing, that I actually had to search on youtube the other Loreen songs / videos (apart from ‘Euphoria’, I really didn’t know much about her music). And I must say that, while I liked most of them, ‘Heal’ has become one of my all time favorite songs / videos, I can’t even describe how this song makes me feel…. So, even if Loreen doesn’t win (although obviously I hope she will), I thank her for entering Melodifestivalen, because, as a result, I personally became spiritually richer and more healed…
Charles: Calm your tits, man. I’m not italian and not swedish (‘Cause my name is so italian, lol!). I can like whatever I want. And yes, Italy won two times and Sweden six times, so do you think that Sweden deserves another victory? I would love to see Eurovision 2018 in Italy and everybody have different taste in music so you could just respect this. Well, you can now continue with your fangirling with Loreen. 🙂
I prefer Italian, sorry 🙂
I don’t get why some people think the staging is messy… oh well…
In my humble opinion, ESC NEEDS this!
Musically this song has two versions. The recorded audio is in the very dramatic ‘A Minor’ key, while the live stage version is in a lower key. As it’s largely Loreen’s tone of voice that produces that drama in the song that emotionally moves the audience, one could be forgiven for overlooking the small musical differences between the audio v. live stage versions. I would like to focus more on the audio-only version of the song (because I’m a musician, not a choreographer). If you take the key as ‘A Minor’ and start playing the chords on the piano, you’ll… Read more »
@charles
Its ok to disagree with people but it’s not good on your part to be overbearing and condescending. Your statements are not going to change people’s perception about any song . All they can do is make people dislike you.Why u no be polite?,
Well this song has made an impact. At the moment it’s on 24th place of songs going viral in the world. I really think “Statements” is having more problem to win Melodifestivalen than Eurovision.
And one huuuuge obsticle is the loss of votes from kids. In AC Anton Hagman will get the kids votes! So therefore I think she might lose her duel 🙁 But I really hope I’m wrong and that she will get support from the international juries in the final as some sort of compensation!
Angus appears to be the only relatively sane one. 2/10 for me. It’s pretentious nonsense attempting to piggyback on to last year’s winner without any of the same emotional connection or personal relevance. And it also just isn’t a good song.
@Charles, I don’t think it is far of you to treat others poorly and write nasty things all because you don’t like their opinion. Everyone has the right to have their opinion and even if you don’t like it you have to accept it, because would you like to be treated the same way you treated those people. Probably not.
@DJ Tiggeh: Awful is also your inability to use the right words and have some knowledge of their semantics …. “dictation”? Are you nostalgic for the days when your primary teacher made write the things she said? Maybe being a DJ is the best thing you can do … you don’t have write or speak … God forbid your DICTION from being heard!!
@Polegend Godgarina: Because operatic males voices doing pop songs – something made up one day by Simon Cowell – are the true definition of music based on your … statements (pun intended) … your inability to dislike Loreen and prefer gorillas is just … how can I put this …. reductive …. look it up!
@Briekimchi: Because it’s a song that should evoque reflexion and bitter feelings about the fact that life is not always about waving the LGBT flag and booing Russia, sunshine and flowers, fancy clothes and shallow instagram moments and meaningless twitter usage … there is a life outside Eurovision that we undermine so often … you can’t expect warmth and affection from a song that it talking straight away to your face with no BS about US as humans … does it upset you to hear things that way too close to home? Maybe … but mainstream vulgar heard million times… Read more »
@cheesecake: “because I don’t want to go back to Sweden again and again” you forgot to say while eating your cheesecake … although this is not a “my country is better than yours” competition” or “my country has sunny weather so come here please” contest … if it’s too annoying that a country like Sweden knows and understands music better than some other countries … don’t blame Loreen … maybe try eating another type of cheesecake …
@KYLLITO: if you want Loreen to connect with you and the audience … do just one tiny simple thing … called … LISTEN …. don’t expect your club body and feet to do that for you … this is not a Kylie Minogue tune …. this is MUSIC … and don’t be distracted by what you don’t understand …. it’s still a song competition …
@Tazmanian DeMoon: And Statements actually speaks volumes for itself … did you see any zoo animal being used metaphorically and pathetically? Of course not … thank God!
@Michaela: You just want spaghetti and pasta (wrapped up in gorilla mode) to win because that your daily “mangare” … but this is a song contest … not “my country is better than yours b****” competition … and you have never watched or you’ve chosen to forgotten 1991 … Google that! Grazie mille!
Strong entry, power that Loreen conveys is at the same wide range. The song for me is slightly too complicated to be stunning. I guess that’s the reason why it’s gone to second chance. Still, this looks like a completed act, worthy to watch and go through. Well deserved points…
I would rather have a funny song (nothing like the screaming woman) and in Italy (not like almost every year in Sweden) Italy deserves to win this year!
It’s funny because I like the song so much more than the staging. It’s true it’s a little bit too much: the child (i love that part), the handbag’s woman, the awkard old lady… but the song and her voice is just another level. Gonna be my season’s favourite for sure.
First of all, I really like “Statements”. But, I believe the visuals are stronger than the song itself. I mean, the performance was stunning, no doubt about it! However, if there wasn’t the staging and we had sth minimal, maybe the comments would be different now. If sent, I think she’ll may be top 5 (the song is better than many songs we already know) but she won’t win! First, because “Euphoria” was better and second because the content of the song doesn’t help. After Jamala last year, we need sth to enjoy (that’s why I strongly believe Italy will… Read more »
Also I am not sure whether we can decide who will win based on Spotify streaming. Because not all of the Swedish public probably use Spotify and the amount of stream could be double that of the amount of people streaming that song.
I think that there is a high chance that Statements could be eliminated at Andra Chansen, due to it being so jaring. I do get that there is a powerful message behind the song. But I think the performance and song aren’t as strong as people are making it out to be and that could easily cause it to not make the final.
I think Loreen is the only melfest artist who could possibly win ESC this year. The rest is just a bunch of bland shallow pop. They don’t stand out whatsoever.
I’ll bet that if Statements was released simply as a comeback single and not a Mello entry, people would be like “OMG, Loreen is back and she is slaying!”
I really wish Loreen would’ve done a comeback more independently than through Mello, because this is just not working as well as fans hoped.
I’d rather she’d have been an interval act with this song like she was in 2015 with Paperlight.
Sorry, but this is SOOOOOOOOOO good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My 2nd fave Eurovision-related song EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (after Maraaya- Here For You) The performance is ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!! I hate it when people say it’s messy, there is just a lot going on wich I LOVE!!!!!!!!! I am not the biggest fan of Loreen, and while Euphoria was my fave in 2012, I don’t give her extra points for that. This is very different from Euphoria, and maybe 5 times better. I do agree that her diction is bad. Her vocals are AMAZING, but sometimes you just can’t understand her. And of course… Read more »
Many songs from the competition are good, but the first time when I realized that the main competitors are Sweden and Italy was in an article about Sweden where comments say something like ”we need a song to stop Gabbani” or things like that. Is interesting, I don’t care who wins, but Loreen can’t stop Gabbani and now I realized that all the time this might be the real message that comments from Sweden want to send. Sweden CAN stop Gabbani, but NOT Loreen. Sweden prepares DAMAGE CONTROL. Jon and Aninia are my favorites.
Man, Loreen went from a singer I don’t like to being one of my all time favorites! Best song in this national selection season yet!! She must win!! Or else Gabbani will be unstoppable come Kyiv!
Valdo: Their official Twitter account is @SVTmelfest; “Melodifestivalens officiella Twitter-konto. Officiell hashtagg: #melfest.”
It’s good, but it took me several listens to really get into it.
I think she should make the Melfest final, but I don’t want her winning.
The song is good, the dancers are great, but her diction as DJ TIGGEH pointed out could be a lot better. Furthermore, since Loreen is part of the dancing and seems more connected on getting it right, she is not connecting with me. I wish the dancing could still happen without her in it and she could be there on stage singing the hell out of the song. Otherwise, her lack of connection and emotion with the audience is going to make her up losing in the finals.
@Valdo The Swedish former Prime Minister recently referred to it as Melfest. In addition SVT use the hashtag #melfest. So if they can , I think Wiwibloggs and everyone else can too.
I never liked Loreen and “Euphoria” is just okay. But I still enjoy “Statements”.
it¨s MELLO and not MELFEST!
This is what I call “high-quality music”. Very good song and seems to have a great message as well.
Statements is one of my favorite Eurovision-related songs ever. It blew me away on the first listen. I really want Sweden to send Loreen to Eurovision but there’s a high possibility that she’s not gonna be that popular among televoters, given her current place in the Spotify chart and the fact that she only managed to get to Andra Chansen. Nevertheless, it’s undoubtedly one of the best, most powerful Melfest songs in recent history.
The best. If Sweden choose either Loreen or JHF ft. Anninia, they’ll be my #1 for sure.
To good and modern for Esc. This song is going to be a radio -hit in Sweden this year. Loreen rules, she dont need to win melfest.
Is it so strange that I agree with both Antranig and Robyn?
I feel Sweden SHOULD send this but at the same time, I don’t feel any warmth or affection for it…..
@xaxaxa, It is art and it was created by Sia, who I am sure would have something to say should this go to Eurovision. I guess there is not really a copyright on a dance routine but I find it so sad that Loreen has to rip off another artist to try and be relevant. The song itself without the visuals is pretty good, although even the studio version is sung so mumbled it is impossible to understand without reading the words, which obviously people watching the song once on the night are not going to be doing. I think… Read more »
It’s ART. I love the young and old dancers, it’s mysterious, interesting, original, different. Someone wrote from jury it would be crime, not to send this. Sweden, it would be crime. This is masterpiece!