Earlier today the Wiwi Jury—our in-house panel of musical unprofessionals—stripped down to our panties and jumped in the Blue Lagoon, rubbing waters rich in silica and sulphur all over our bodies. After we toweled off sat down to review Pollapönk’s Eurovision song “No prejudice”. Did we get into the punk vibe? Or were we left feeling that we had been punked? Read on to find out…
Bogdan: Björk once said that everyone in Iceland is in a punk band. It’s no surprise then that one of them could win Söngvakeppnin. This was Pollapönk’s lucky year. Now, the song is not that bad and kudos to its message of inclusiveness, but I fear it’s too jokey for Eurovision 2014. It sounds like a joke, it looks like a joke and I’m afraid Europe doesn’t have the Icelandic sense of humour to give the boys the ticket to the Grand Final and send the Russian twins home. How great would that be, though?
Score: 5/10
Padraig: Eurovision is often marketed as the continent’s biggest family show. Note not adult, not teenage, not kids. Family. The distinction is slight, but important. Unfortunately, the Icelandic public seem to have missed it, sending us this ramshackle bunch of pre-school rockers. Fair enough the song is fun and dare I say it, rather catchy, but after 3 minutes it’s hard not to feel like you’ve been whacked over the head with a guitar until equality rainbows are streaming out your ears. Subtle this is not.
Score: 4.5/10
Deban: “No Prejudice” presents a positive message wrapped in pure trash. At 01.40 mins into the track, it’s easy to see where their inspiration comes from. Clearly, Pollaponk have not composed this entry with victory in mind. As this is likely to stall in the semis, now, shut up and let me go!
Angus: It might sound moderately better in English but there’s no getting away from the tracksuits. Those are an early 00s hangover that should have been left to burn and die in 2001. The dated pop-rock sound should also have been left to wither away there too. It’s an honest message, though, and Iceland gets a full point from me for throwing shade at trigonometry.
Score: 1.5/10
Vebooboo: Maybe my ear is unrefined, but this reminds me so much of Greece’s “Alcohol is Free”. That being said, at least the lyrics are slightly more inspirational. I mean, who wouldn’t love a message about no prejudices? Oh wait, most of the world LOL. But seriously, this is a pretty catchy tune with an ensemble of Skittles-coloured artists. So get with diversity and taste the rainbow.
Katie: Oh, here we go. It’s the Wiggles on steroids! And what are they singing about? Prejudice. Brace yourselves folks… Weirdly though, they’re right about what they’re saying, even if they do shout it in a rather intimidating manner. I really don’t understand the need for such an animated video too, does everything need to be so psychedelic? I think I’ve learned not to ask with these guys. They really are something else. That being said, I do hope they take those rainbow flags in Copenhagen and rub them in the faces of all those nasty Russian government people a la Krista Siegfrids. Let’s just hope Turkey doesn’t spit out some sour grapes again. Hopefully everyone will be chanting the chorus across Europe and listening to their message! Just, chant it a bit more calmly than they do.
Score: 4/10
http://youtu.be/42k8HEn3DcE
Ramadan: I wasn’t a fan of their NF this year, and the same goes for this song, which can best be described as a turd. It gives me a headache and I’ll be pressing mute during the semi-final. Even the first first version of the Ukrainian song is better than this.
Score: 0/10
Anthony: After Iceland gave us the beautiful and talented Yohanna, I never thought I’d see the day when Iceland would stoop so low. While their decision to sing in English makes the entry more understandable, Pollapönk overall look and sound like a far less insane version of Estonia’s Winny Puhh from last year. Judging from the group’s multi-coloured suits, it looks like we’ve got ourselves a very early contender for this year’s Barbara Dex Award. To paraphrase the classic Only Fools and Horses quote: Iceland, you Pollaplönker!
Score: 2/10
Billy: These guys are voiceless and out of tune throughout the entire song. They may look funny, but they will go unnoticed—even in the rainbow suits. What’s worse? At least the studio version is less terrifying than the live performance.
Score: 1/10
Wiwi: I love the anthemic nature of the la-la-las. I love the message of tolerance. And above all I love these lyrics: “I may stutter when I speak but you don’t need to call me a freak.” That said, this is more after-school-special than primetime viewing, and the group totally loses me in the bridge. I can tolerate a lot, but not three minutes of this.
Score: 3/10
Francheska: 1.62
Mario: 4/10
Zach: 1/10
Patrick: 1/10
Mike: 1.5/10
James L: 1/10
Maxim Montana: 8/10
Sami: 4/10
William C: 4.9/10
The highest and lowest scores are removed before calculating the final score. We have dropped a low of 0 and a high of 8.
The Wiwi Jury Verdict: 2.85/10
You can check out our latest Eurovision 2014 reviews and rankings on the Wiwi Jury page. You can keep up-to-date on the latest Eurovision news and gossip by following the team on Twitter @wiwibloggs and by liking our Facebook page.
It is a pity that Iceland entry is so boring. Icelando has a good Singers and why didn´t send another one ? The song is a disaster.
My prediction: Iceland last position !!!!!
This is not, in any way, a good song, but nevertheless it’s not annoying or irritating, as that “bake a cake” (or whatever it’s called) fiasco! It kind of reminds me of the 90’s, which is kind of cool. I’d be surprised to see it in the final, but, again, I wouldn’t mind it terribly
So embarrassing, not the song, the jury’s comments. These comments & scores are way off the mark. Funny how artists get criticised to being generic & then when a song comes out that is different it gets shot down too. I think No Prejudices stands out from the pack with a different sound & tackles an issue very relevant in 2014. Pollaponk & Iceland can hold their head high knowing they put in a catchy, fun & meaningful song, no matter what the result. Life is too short for narrow-mindedness.
Really recommend you put the commentary of the highest and the lowest scores.
The song is jarring, but not hateful. They try a bit too hard with the message, damaging the appeal of the whole song. Sadly they’re at the bottom of my list.
Hi Robyn, The Pollapönk’s vocalist, Heiðar and the guitarist, Haraldur (I forgot his name apparently) are the members that you are looking for. But Haraldur is playing the drum for Botnleðja and Heiðar is still in the lead vocal. One of their song was actually inspired Damon Albarn to put the catchphrase “woo hoo” in one of the most popular Blur’s song, “Song 2”. Clearly they’re much cooler than we thought. I’ve been listening to Botnleðja since a very long time and I was shocked when Pollapönk has chosen to represent Iceland in Eurovision. Pollapönk is a band with mission,… Read more »
but it will definitely qualify to the final on behalf of someone else and better, like montenegro or san marino who have never been in the final.
My guess for Iceland: 20th in the final
It made 20th in Lys Assia’s top 20 🙂
“Icecubes?”
Now you’ve got me thinking The Sugarcubes should reform and enter. Think ESC is ready for “Mama” yet?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_QT76gFfrk
It’s just under three minutes long 😀
Well, a good reminder not to take ESC too seriously. I have a sneaky feeling that this is poking fun at those who think they know what entertainment should be like. This is a bit of fun with lyrics which share some serious messages if you take the time to listen carefully.
Will it appeal to the voting masses? 5/10
The Wiwijury members have missed the mark themselves. Not only is this song a family song, it will appear to the masses, it delivers an important message, it’s universal, the message is not political much like about the crappy economy like Portugal’s entry a few years ago. This is a playful, yet powerful performance. Now we will only have to see the choreography and it’s a sure ticket to the Finals. My only critique is that the Icecubes didn’t leave a single Icelandic word – at least bedazzle the 100 million viewers with some cultural in your language. Shame on… Read more »
I’m sorry but wiwi juries are starting to annoy me. I mean 0?? Really?
I actually love this song and was one of the first songs I got from iTunes this year. If Iceland could make the final in 2011, these guys should be able to do so. (7.5/10)
At least it’s better than all that soulless, overproduced stuff from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Ukraine etc. And every entry that can upset Russia, Aram MP3 and other bigots is final worthy as far as I’m concerned.
I guess the switch to English was a smart move, since several millions of Europeans will make out the lyrics (OK, at least partly; it is not the easiest to follow) and get the message straight. Otherwise, it could have been understood by some 320,000 people in Iceland + Björk at home. So, on the whole, well done. Unlike most people here, I am not impressed at the comic-esque or “any thing comica” for that matter, though I suppose it somehow suits the entry. On the other hand, I like the song as is and I would like to see… Read more »
This is a pretty catchy tune, aiming for non-mainstream Eurovision viewers and I personally think that this is a great move towards Eurovision. We don’t need another mainstream acts.
“These guys are voiceless and out of tune..” haha you need to listen more carefully, dude. They are experienced musicians and they know what to do to make an interesting song. Apparently, 2 of them are the members of the most critically-acclaimed post-punk band in Iceland called Botnleðja. Even Damon Albarn from Blur adore Botnleðja so much.
I agree with Ramadan’s score on this. And with Vebooboo that this is in the same level with ‘Alcohol is free’. Unfortunately that one had VERY high scores…
Iceland (as well as Italy) was my favorite for win in 2012…Now I hope they don’t qualify with this song and crappy costumes…
I love the song and it’s in my Top 10, but I’m such a minority on this. Oh, well. Doesn’t change how I feel about the song.
Such a silly song, sounds like some sort of TV series theme song
LOVE this song!!
Maybe Iceland 2014 is next Austria 2003 and Lithuania 2006. If televote and juries thiks so, Iceland wili be in final and surprise in TOP 10 in final, if not they wili finish like Iceland 2006, Estonia 2008,Ireland 2008, Czech republic 2009,Lithuania 2010
The prejudice against trigonometry showed in these lyrics is a major letdown for me.
Say “no” to the discriminations against trigonometry!
All mathematics are born equal!
Honestly, i like this song it’s catchy
“We got to get together on this” is my favourite line.
If only the lyrics were all as clear and fun to sing we’d find ourselves singing along spontaneously. The English version was clearly written in English by an English speaker, but sometimes there is no easy answer, and a few awkward lines might prevent it becoming the anthem it’s meant to be.
I think they should stick with the cartoony props, but bigger and more energetic. The toddlers will be accompanied by adults — They’ll cope.
This song (the video especially) take me back to MTV Europe circa 1992. It’s a dated look and sound. I strongly doubt it’ll do well. Though they mean well with the message, that Ppppppp stutter is annoying and defeats the purpose.
I used to hate it in icelandic, and I was so upset when it won the NF, to my surprise it sounds so much better in english, which is quite rare because I usually prefer the songs in their original language, even if I don’t understand what the song is about, but in my very personal opinion, it improved with the switch. It’s still not one of my favourites though, but from literally hate it to “ok it’s not that bad, I think I actually like it” is a great progress. And I second Vebooboo, it also reminds me of… Read more »
I believe in you Mike 😉 You are getting better 😀
I don’t understand why nobody likes this actually. :p
I’m torn. Hate the song. Love the video. Staging is crucial.
It’s not Dustin the Turkey which was just a horrible idea and not funny, this one is somewhat catchy and will possibly shock the Wiwi Jury.
In Icelandic it might have qualified, in English it sounds really awkward and doesn’t flow at all…
One of the SF non-qualifiers, me thinks…
It’s kinda annoying but so catchy. This will definitely stand out among all the ballads this year. They will probably have a silly show on stage but with so much joy and happiness, and that can get a lot of votes.