Wiwi Jury Denmark Edition: Babou with “Manjana”

Hej Danmark! Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2015 — Denmark’s national selection for Eurovision — takes place on February 7. So over the next week the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of musical unprofessionals — will review the ten acts that will compete. Next up it’s Babou and his song “Manjana”. Did we go ya ya ya ya or simply na na na na. Read on to find out… 

Reviews: Babou’s “Manjana”

Deban: Unashamedly current, Babou — a 2011 X factor finalist —  belts “Manjana” in 2015’s key. When I hear this, I wanna move! Even though the majority of the verses are sung in Danish, I am bold enough to create and lip-synch my own version, which makes me confident that the final version will be in English. Babou is this year’s Mohammed Ali. Although I’m certain that he’ll be a crowd favourite, I’m not so sure he’ll win Dansk Melodi Grand Prix this year.

Score: 7/10

Denise: I like the song from the first second. It’s a risk that he’s singing this song in Danish, but it gives me that tropical feeling which I like. I’m afraid that the Danish people won’t vote for a Danish song, but that would be a shame in this case. I already see the whole public singing along with Na na na na na na na na na Manjana Manjana Manjana. I can see this as one of the favourites in the Euroclub.

Score: 8/10

Mikhail: Just an ordinary club song. It’s fine to dance to once, but it gets boring quickly and if I listen more it will get annoying. It’s just not my cup of tea.

Score: 4/10

Ramadan: As soon as I heard a few seconds of the song, I knew I would love it. It’s great that’s it’s showcasing the national language, but I wonder if the Danes will vote for this. It’s very modern, catchy and I could see this fully in English if he wins Dansk Melodi Grand Prix.

Score: 9/10

Robyn: This is the sort of contemporary pop that’s in the charts at the moment. But chart popularity and ESC success don’t always mix. I feel like this is mainly going to appeal to younger audiences, leaving the oldies to yell at a cloud.

Score: 6/10

Sami: I really love this song. It’s so damn catchy, it makes me dance every time I hear it and I love that it’s in Danish, even though I believe it will be changed to English if they send the song to Vienna. I just can’t wait to see the performance with dancers. I’m also hoping he sounds good live!

Score: 10/10

William: The 15 seconds leading up to the first chorus make me tingle. Unfortunately I think the verses are stronger than the chorus which just seems a bit lame compared to the rest of this super-slick, well-produced track.

Score: 6/10

Photo Credit: Bjarne Bergius Hermansen DR

WIWI JURY AVERAGE: 7.14/10

Read all of our DMGP reviews here.

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