Wiwi Jury: Malta’s Amber, Daniel Testa, Trilogy & Dominic!

The Wiwi Jury aren’t resting yet. Our resident team of music unprofessionals are still on their way through Malta and with the Maltese semi final coming up, there was almost no time for them to see some of the sights in the gorgeous walled city of Mdina! The next group of acts to be judged for the Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2014-2015 are Daniel Testa, Trilogy, Dominic and readers favourite Amber – but what did our jury make of them?…

Please be aware that due to the smaller number of jurors, the highest and lowest scores have been included in the average scores, unlike other Wiwi Juries.

Dominic – Once in a While

Deban: “Once in a while” is a song that you mustn’t have on repeat. It felt considerably longer than 3 minutes, and this is often not a good sign. Fortunately, Dominic’s great stage persona helps to mitigate the shortcomings of this entry. 5.5/10

Anthony: Considering a majority of the 20 entries are ballads, this soft rock entry adds a bit of variety to the national final. However, I’m torn on this one. It’s not a bad entry, but not outstanding either. 5/10 

Chris: I think that part of my problem with “Once in a While” is that it never really gives you a chance to breathe – the pace of the song is so constant that you really can’t get any time to take it in. Dominic is engaging as a performer but I’m not really sold on this at any point. 5.5/10

Patrick: This song is really good! Dominic is really down-to-earth and a bit of a chatterbox – very likeable! His song is also likeable cause its something different, great composed and well converted! I like the style of the song and I think Malta will like it awell! Good Luck Minic! 8/10

Sami: It’s very Maltese – it doesn’t really annoy you but you don’t love it either. After you listen to it, you maybe remember the melody for the next ten minutes but nothing more. He has interesting voice and I would like to hear him singing something else than soft rock. 5/10

WIWI JURY SCORE: 5.8/10

Daniel Testa – Something in the Way

Sami: “One Last Ride” was one of my favourite songs from whole national selection season and I was quite disappointed when they chose Firelight instead. “Something In The Way” is not as good, but it’s just fine. It’s not very dancable, but it’s positive and I really like Daniel’s voice. 9/10

Deban: Fresh faced youngster Daniel Testa infuses some bounce into a ballad heavy national selection. His input is refreshing, and with the right coaching and stage direction, this could be a contender. 7/10

Chris: There is a basis of a really good performance here. Daniel is a great performer (and charismatic if his JESC commentary is anything to go by) and I find myself enjoying this song, though it does feel like it needs an extra little push were it to make it to Eurovision. The Maltese team have re-worked weaker songs in to qualifiers before though and I wouldn’t mind seeing this in Vienna. 7.5/10

Anthony: Daniel Testa returns to Malta Eurovision Song Contest and he’s just as enthusiastic as ever. I’m probably in the minority that prefers this over “One Last Ride”, although as the title suggests the weak chorus does get repetitive at times. 6.5/10

Patrick: This is song is catchy, sunny and nice! Daniel showed his talent at the last edition of MESC and now hes back with a great song! To be honest, his last song was better than “Something in the way” but it is still a great tune! He will place high, thats for sure! 7.5/10

WIWI JURY SCORE: 7.5/10

Amber – Warrior

Patrick: Who’s my favourite, Who’s my favourite? AMBER is my favourite! This is probably the best song in the last years of MESC I have heard and I love this song so much! Amber is one of my favourite Maltese singers not only because she is adorable, good-looking and sweet – NO she can sing amazingly good and this song fits her so well! This could do very well in Eurovision, maybe even a winner! 10/10

Chris: The winner according to our readers poll and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if this wins easily on Saturday. Amber is always a good contender in MESC, but this is the first time she’s been given a song really suited to her (though I was a big fan of “In Control“). It will need some fine-tuning for Vienna too, but I’m confident in its chances there. 8.5/10

Anthony: In my opinion, there’s a slight reminiscent of Helena Paparizou’s “Survivor” when it comes to “Warrior”, a gradual build up followed up with a booming chorus. It’s a pretty good entry from Amber, even though it runs the risk of being overrated. 8/10

Sami: I think it’s very overrated and comparing it to “Survivor” isn’t really a good thing for “Warrior”, as it’s much worse. Amber is a great singer, but the song just doesn’t touch me at all. 5/10

Deban: Amber brings sex appeal and versatility to her performance of “warrior”. I like the message in her song, and the power her range offers. Although the song treads lightly on being forgettable, the ending sharply adjusts that fear. 8/10

WIWI JURY SCORE: 7.9/10

Trilogy – Chasing a Dream

Deban: This is exactly the type of act that opponents of Eurovision cite when advocating that the contest should be scrapped. In the same token, there are many people who tune in for this type of schlager. Trilogy serve up what’s familiar. But make no mistake, this isn’t fine dining. 5/10

Anthony: This is one example on why three heads aren’t always better than one, or two. And I assume if Trilogy are going for popera on this entry, then it won’t do Malta any favours as popera entries in the past haven’t fared well at Eurovision. 4/10

Sami: Just a very weird concept. It starts as a ballad and then it grows to some weird mixture of rock and opera. The best part of the song is obviously the last chorus, but it doesn’t really make the song much better. 4/10

Patrick: Trilogy is well known in Malta and with Ludwig as a new part of the trio – they are amazing! The song is really good, wonderful voices and probably a great performance! They will do well, I know that! Good Luck guys! 8/10

Chris: Throw everything that you can in to the pot and see what comes out of it. There’s something incredibly awkward about how Trilogy perform this song too…nothing really syncs and it’s not an enjoyable three minutes. Probably one of my least favourite songs of the contest. 3/10

WIWI JURY SCORE: 4.8/10

YOU CAN VIEW ALL OUR MALTA REVIEWS HERE.