The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — is comfortably settled in Reykjavík, where we are discussing and judging the next two entries in the Söngvakeppni finals, Iceland’s selection for Eurovision 2015. Are we saying SKÁL to the joyful Icelandic/Swedish dance number? And are we loving its Coldplay-esque rival delivered by a singing doctor? Read on to find out…
CADEM – FYRIR ALLA
http://youtu.be/-7JsrBgZzmQ
Sami: It’s like Icelandic Alcazar, but the song isn’t that catchy. He sounds fine, but the performance is quite boring. I think and I really hope it doesn’t have a chance of winning the Icelandic selection.
Score: 4/10
Mikhail: That is a nice dance tune, but it reminds me a lot of Eric Saade. The song has no climax and it maintains the same rhythm throughout. BORING.
Score: 5.5/10
Patrick: I can’t wait to hear the song in English! This is an absolute banger of a dance song and I’m dancing already, y’all! Even if his voice isn’t the best, he knows how to deliver a good performance and the song is so damn catchy – All the best!
Score: 9/10
Angus: Oh god those harmonies (*shudders*). Top marks for energy but this is really style over substance. Don’t rely on pretty honies!
Score: 4.5/10
Josh: This is good! I love a good dance track, and it’s rarely seen in the Icelandic selections. A tad cheesy, but I like this kind of cheese. And the trio are bloody hot! That guy has cheekbones for THE GODS. Love.
Score: 7.5/10
Kristín: This is a Icelandic/Swedish collaboration I support. It’s delightfully cheesy, and you can see how much fun they are having on stage. It makes me wanna dance and give everybody a big hug. Go CADEM!
Score: 8/10
Sopon: First off, I’m in love with Daniel Oliver now. His eyes, his hair, his hoodie, like omigod. But they didn’t really have a strong live performance, in my opinion. The vocals were weak and the choreography lacked all the oomph that a certain Swedish pop trio oozes. I don’t think the comparisons are valid, sorry.
Score: 6/10 (and most of that is because of Daniel Oliver)
Denise: This is really fun! It’s something different from all the things that we’ve ever heard in the Icelandic selection thus far. I just don’t know why the girls are in the group? It’s like the guy and his backing vocalists and dancers. Oh and the ‘aaaah’ at the end of the song sounds a little misplaced and weird.
Score: 7.5/10
Robyn: It’s nice to hear something in Söngvakeppni 2015 that’s just a fun dance-pop tune. Ain’t no drama here. And it helps that the group are all young and not unattractive. Their presentation in the semi-final was a bit unfocussed, but with good staging things would be even better.
Score: 7/10
We eliminated the highest score of 9 and the lowest of 4 before calculating the average.
Wiwi Jury Verdict: 6.6/10
HAUKUR HEIÐAR – MILLJÓN AUGNABLIK
http://youtu.be/ut10TI5x2Cc
Sami: He’s very charismatic and looks great on stage, and overall I like his performance. The song is quite strong and I love drums, but it needs something to make it more memorable. This might actually sound better in English, so I’m looking forward to hearing it.
Score: 6/10
Mikhail: It is a lovely song. I liked the melody, and it’s really entertaining, but his vocals leave me wishing for more. With a few more sparks this could fly.
Score: 6.5/10
Patrick: I have a big problem with this song…the oomph and the silent voice don’t match! I can’t hear his voice properly and it sounds so wrong in so many ways…it’s not what I want in Vienna. Where’s the climax?
Score: 4/10
Angus: The piano in this is very stirring. Bold move to keep it in Icelandic too and I think it is actually all to the benefit of the song.
Score: 8/10
Josh: Milljón Augnablik is quite pleasant to listen to. Hearing that the song will be performed in Icelandic makes me nervous because I like to be able to relate to the lyrics of the song. In saying that, Haukur has a great voice, and the song has a great anthemic feeling to it which does give off a Coldplay-esque vibe – which I don’t mind at all. Not the winner for me, but it’s still a good effort.
Score: 7/10
Kristín: The live performance wasn’t as strong as I expected, and that was a huge disappointment for me. But the rhythm in the song is good, even though I don’t think that is enough. Haukur is a good singer, but this genre of music doesn’t quite suit him. I do wish them the very best, though, and I still like the song. It’s just not a winner, unless they crank it up a notch.
Score: 7/10
Sopon: Strong voice, weak song. It’s not going anywhere except the trash pile for me.
Score: 2/10
Denise: Still can’t believe that he got the wildcard. His voice is so weak here, while the song itself is just ok. I don’t know if the music is too loud, but there are times I can’t even hear him. It’s a shame since the song has potential.
Score: 5.5/10
Robyn: There’s a very uplifting, spirited feeling to this song (and I think the lyrics are along that theme too). Musically, the driving anthem mixed with purposeful piano brings to mind Coldplay. Sometimes Haukur’s voice is a little pitchy, but he’s adorable so who cares.
Score: 7/10
Wiwi Jury Verdict: 6.14/10
We eliminated a high of 8 and a low of 2 before calculating the average.
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Photo Credit: Milljón Augnablik
10/10 CADEM – FYRIR ALLA