The Wiwi Jury — our in-house team of music unprofessionals — continues its journey through Austria ahead of the Wer Singt Für Österreich 2015 final this Friday. Heights and thrills – the longest chain bridge in the world, which is located in Reutte and connects two castles, is the perfect place to review The MakeMakes with their song “I Am Yours“. How did our jury react? Would this be the perfect representative for the host country? Read on to find out.
THE MAKEMAKES – “I AM YOURS”
Deban: Heartfelt rock ballad sung with passion, power and angst. A different flavour to what Austria has offered the contest. This marks a welcome treat. However, there isn’t any obvious hook here to latch onto. Never underestimate the importance of memorability. Also, the impact of this is best felt in an intimate lounge, making it somewhat unworthy for such a big stage.
Score: 6.5/10
Max: If Gary Barlow, Hozier and the late, great Joe Cocker got together and wrote a song then this would be it. It has the key elements of a hearty ballad with a catchy, rock inspired chorus that I swear I’ve heard somewhere before. It’s quite underwhelming and would be a bit of a damp squib if chosen as the host entry.
Score: 5/10
Chris: There’s something very nice and easy to listen to about “I Am Yours”. A great voice to boot and, whilst this isn’t exactly a song that will ever set the scoreboard on fire, would be a respectable song for Austria. On the other hand, it could do a Raphael Gualazzi and Austria could be right at the top. Surprisingly good.
Score: 7.5/10
Anthony: The MakeMakes really have brought out the US song writing big guns and I can clearly see they’ve made an impact for the group. Vocals especially on the higher notes, really adds depth to this gentle piano rock ballad. My concern is whether they can stand out amongst a sea of ballads so far.
Score: 6.5/10
Robyn: I quite like this stripped-down soul jam. The singer struggles with some of the more challenging parts of the song, but that adds to the emotional feeling of the performance. My main issue – the singer spends most of the song with his eyes shut, creating a feeling of distance. Bring us into your world, o beardy guy.
Score: 7/10
Denise: Hmmm… it’s a good song for on a lazy Sunday, but that’ s it. I like his voice, but this is the song you forget when the voting opens. It wouldn’t score high in Vienna and it probably won’t win in Austria. Oh and I desperately want to grab a pair of scissors.
Score: 6.5/10
Mikhail: I like the song. It has a nice soulful melody, but I feel like I’ve heard a thousand of songs like this. On some American TV series there are a lot of similar songs and they quickly get boring. They are easily forgettable, which doesn’t make it a good choice for Vienna.
Score: 6/10
Judit: Love this bittersweet song. Maybe it’s just me but it reminds me of the Toy Story soundtrack. Maybe it’s just the singer’s voice but I have this weird deja vu. I like it and if I close my eyes I would feel in love with his voice.
Score: 8/10
Patrick: I sadly have to admit that the song is good – and it could place in the top 15 with a lot of luck. But anyways, the lead singer has a strong voice with power and soul – sadly he sometimes screams too much. The composition itself is great – good melody, nice lyrics – but something is missing. I’m not sure if I personally would send this to Vienna, though.
Score: 6/10
WIWI JURY AVERAGE: 6.55/10
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@Nebi: I don’t know if you have watched the last WSFÖ show on ORF, but the Makemakes produced this song in L.A. This was not planned by ORF at all, they just invited an American producer (forgot his name, but did a lot of high profile jobs) to Austria to help them (all the other candidates also got producers to help them). This guy was genuinely “in love” with the Makemakes at first sight, so he decided to invite the band to his mansion in L.A. for the second song. And so this song was born and so it may… Read more »
I have to disagree with the music unprofessional jury on this one. This song caught me from the very beginning. People are looking for something different for Eurovision and this is very unlike other entries since I can remember. It could be too American but that would be the only setback.
Love that song, my favourite of the WsfÖ. It has a contemporary feel to it and a kind of vintage sound as well. Great vocal performance and great composition as well. If I wouldn’t have known better, by the looks, this is like Dave Grohl singing Paul McCartney tune. It’s about time to show that eurovision songs are up to the task to showcase the direction the music scene of today should be heading for. This would be the perfect song to do this. Go Makemakes!!!!!!!
Chorus reminds me of ‘I’m the eye of tiger and you’re gonna hear me roar’ and the verses have a bit of Whitney Houston’s ‘I believe the Children are our future’ air to it…the lead singer knows how to convey a gritty emotion and his range is impressive, but the composition is confined to very familiar and repetitive replicas.
6/10
Dear music unprofessionals, why do you think your taste matters? There is a televoting and there is jury voting. Apparently you all can only be part of the televote because you don’t qualify as a music professional for a jury. And juries don’t have to judge by taste (which some juries still do though) but by artistic value. Here on this blog you want to play judges and jurors and yet you let yourself only guide by your own taste. That doesn’t only prove you are still music unprofessionals like any other ordinary televoter, but that also goes to show… Read more »
I indulge in this song a lot recently. I don’t care what music unprofessionals say as long as I find comfort and shelter in the song, which is so soothing and delicate. In a world full of war and shitty pop music, this is what I need the most.
Not bad at all song…Its from my most liked ones among the 6 of the Austrian Grand Prix…I wouldn’t mind at all if this wins in 3 days & represents Austria in the home soil Diamond Vision in Vienna.. 🙂 4,5 / 10 0 ~ Ok I survived after listening to this horrible ”song” people! {Finland! 😛 } 1 ~ That song is bad…I do not want to listen it again.. 2 ~ Bearable to hear but it does not do anything to you…Dislike.. 3 ~ Not truly bad song but its too weak.. 4 ~ Away from being a… Read more »