Last night the Wiwi Jury—our in-house panel of music unprofessionals—put on our tightest jeans and headed to Finland to review Madcraft’s #umk14 song “Shining bright”. Did it light up our lives? Or did we find it a bit dim? Read on to find out…
Deban: Refreshingly different, and full of youthful energy, this is one of my favourite acts in this year’s UMK contest. Punk isn’t the most successful genre on the ESC stage, but it does break the mould of bubblegum, EDM and ballads. With DR continuing SVT’s tradition of regulating the running order, acts like MADCRAFT are vital in showcasing musical diversity.
Score: 8/10
Angus: Eww. This is what would happen if you blended Busted with PeR from last year. It’s awkward, dated and uncomfortable to listen to. I can’t help but cringe a bit. When people say Eurovision’s crap this is the kind of song they hold up at the moment we’re about to go on a rant about how amazing Loreen is. This is not shining bright, this is turning dimmer by the second.
Score: 3/10
Wiwi: I love a bit of pop rock. The chorus is infectious and it’s easy to find yourself humming this a few minutes after the band exits stage left. However, I’d like the lead singer to work on his posture and it’d be lovely if they could all close their legs. You don’t know what’s going to fall out of there. However, I do know one thing that hasn’t dropped: a song worthy of representing Finland.
Score: 4/10
Katie: Before the song even starts, we need to appreciate how brilliant the band look. They’ve got the style and the moves of a great rock band! I quickly noticed how much the singer mumbled, but by the first chorus I wanted to dance and sing along! It’s pretty awful, but it’s such a catchy song and by the end of it I was having so much fun! The jury probably wouldn’t like it very much in Copenhagen, but the votes could surprise us!
Score: 9/10
Bogdan: Brilliant, Katie? Why does the lead singer have to make himself smaller than the mike stand? I don’t find that brilliant at all. Anyway, the song is alright, in a Blink-182 slash Green Day wanna-be kind of way. I am not impressed, despite the catchy oh-oh-ohoh. I find everything very dated about this band (Madcraft, really?!) and their song. I probably would have eaten this up back in 1994, but this is 2014 and I am looking for something that sounds 2014, thank you.
Score: 2/10
Sami: Oh god, this is by far my least favourite in the whole contest. I don’t like the singer that much and this genre is absolutely not my favourite. I don’t think they would have any chance in Copenhagen. They are bit like Anonymous from 2007 and they didn’t do that well.
Score: 2/10
Padraig: Listening to Madcraft I feel like I’ve fallen through a time warp and landed back in 2004, when the likes of Busted, McFly and Avril Lavigne were at their pop rock heights. Back then Shining Bright would have sounded generic. Now it just sounds dated. And as for calling them punk? Let’s just say my cat is punkier than this lot.
Score: 4/10
Wiwi Jury Verdict: 4.57/10
You can read our latest #umk2014 reviews and see the latest standings by clicking here. You can also keep up with the latest Eurovision news and gossip by following the team from wiwibloggs.com on Twitter @wiwibloggs and by liking our Facebook page.
They’re fairly unintelligible live and the song is quite generic. It actually sounds worse as a studio recording, which is not a good sign. 3/10
I actually really, really like this song…. on mute.
This stuff seems so early 00s. I went through a massive Sum 41, Blink, New Found Glory, Simple plan & Green Day stage :’) They’re the Last Panda of this year. I love them haha!! But not enough to win. My preteen/early teen self loves it :’)
What does jury think of this Remix of the song? Would this get higher points?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KuPf0QciF0
Soooo 1994.
ESC is an event in which a few songs are set apart and framed for special attention. So the question is, why is this worthy of such attention? It’s like going to a restaurant for pot noodle. While their gusto may be admirable, the result is merely painful, and not even comically so.
3/10