#melfest: Wiwi Jury reviews Alcazar with Blame It On the Disco

Earlier today the Wiwi Jury—our in-house panel of musical unprofessionals—glued sequins onto our pants and headed to the discotheque to review Alcazar’s Melodifestivalen song. Did “Blame It On the Disco” make us, dance, sing, smile, and jive? Or did we cast blame on Alcazar for writing this? Read on to find out…

Deban: Give it a rest, Alcazar! Yes, you may have re-launched your music career alongside your newly botoxed visage, but the act is tired now. Unlike Bodies Without Organs who bounced back with a different sound, Blame It On the Disco is almost identical to Crying At The Discoteque, and their four other appearances at the contest. Recycling may be ‘in’, but re-invention is what keeps pop culture alive.

Score: 4/10

Anthony: I’m one of the many Alcazar fans and we all know what to expect from the trio: Schlager pop! They’ve also got Fredrik Kempe on side, and he knows how to produce a quality pop song. He’s worked his magic once again. To make it really Alcazar, they’ve even nicked Alyona Lanskaya’s giant disco ball for good measure! Can this give their classic 2009 entry “Stay the Night” a run for its money? It certainly can. After four failed attempts to represent Sweden, could this finally be Alcazar’s year? If not, let’s blame it on the voters.

Score: 9/10

http://youtu.be/mMCzLptvwtE

Angus: I didn’t get this at first. It seemed to be everything that was wrong about Eurovision. It was heavy on the cheese, camp and sequins: a mid-00s hangover that was seemingly out of place among the otherwise ultra-modern entries dominating Melodifestivalen. On repeated listen though I’ve given in to this as the ultimate in guilty pleasure. It’s super catchy and it’s camp charm is enchanting. That being said I can’t see this winning. The bookies might rate it’s chances highly but at the end of the day I suspect the average Swede will be savvier than risk sending this. If they don’t the international juries certainly will crucify it. I however am happy to blame it on the disco and have a wild night with Alcazar.

Score: 8/10

Zach: So. Much. Schlager! So. Much. Disco! So Alcazar!! This really is Alcazar “by the numbers” isn’t it? Cheesy but catchy disco themed lyrics. Cheesy but memorable disco themed props/stage designs. Cheesy and glittery disco era costumes. It’s sugary sweet to the point of cavity inducing, so colorful to the point of having to look away for a moment to regain vision. And unfortunately, so over the top to the point where it probably won’t win. I like this entry, just because it’s sort of like a blast from the past. Vocally they are on par as usual, but you honestly can’t hear Andreas for pretty much the WHOLE song. Choreography is sassy like always, and they look like they’re enjoying their comeback. Maybe it will shock people and win, anything is possible. I guess you’d just end up blaming it on the disco……baby on the lights!

Score: 7.5/10

James: There will be much anger from me if this gets anywhere near the top three. It is awfully dated. It is crass. This is of a Eurovision decades-old. Please, for my sanity and for my health, do not send this. Why? The gimmicks are just really embarassing and the obvious change of melody and song as we go into the chorus just really doesn’t work. This performance, in my honest view, is nothing more than an opportunity taken by Alcazar to throw some notes together and blare it out on stage to remind everyone that noughties’ schlager lives on. If you want to know what the closest song to this that I can think of is, click here to listen to Germany’s 2003 awfulness “Let’s Get Happy“.

Score: 1/10

Padraig:  Alcatraz, Azkaban, Alcazar… It’s no coincidence that the band bear an uncannily similar name to two of the most famous prisons of all time (and yes I know Harry Potter isn’t real). Andreas, Tess and Annika act as jailers, overseeing a schlager fueled dystopia, blasting us with riffs, hooks and cheese, until we submit to their reign of camp. Worst of all, I occasionally catch myself enjoying it. HELP!

Score: 5/10

Sami: Even though I love Alcazar, I wish they would’ve sent something new – this is basically a copy of all their hits in one. I think it might do well, even better than their last two tries, but personally I like Stay The Night much more. Anyway, it’s a nice track and the performance is okay. They could sing more live, though.

Score: 7/10

Patrick: Melodifestivalen without Alcazar? Not possible! It seems like they have appeared in the show like 200 times. The melodies and the styles will never change but hey – that’s Alcazar. Anyway I liked all of their past songs and “Blame it on the disco” is fantastic. I know it’s not that quality of a song but it’s catchy and they have great voices. As we saw in the Semi Final, the performance is great as always. But this big disco-ball at the beginning is too much even if I like big shows. Also the outfits are too glittery,  especially his trousers. But I love it. Fingers crossed for Alcazar!

Score: 7.5/10