Norway: Wiwi Jury Reviews “Next to You” by Jenny Langlo

The Wiwi Jury – our in-house team of music unprofessionals – had a Disney binge and watched “Frozen” (we may or may not have belted “Let it Go”). After we got the inner 11-year-old out of all of us, we settled down and discussed some music that requires a more sophisticated palette, another contestant in Norway’s Melodi Grand Prix. We started with “Next to You” by Jenny Langlo. Do we want to get closer to her or move far, far away? Keep on reading!

“Next to You” – Jenny Langlo

Patrick: OMG…. Jenny is soooo Ira Losco 2.0! This genre is not my favourite at all – I don’t normally like dark electronic music: It sounds like a mess! The music is too loud, you can’t hear her great voice and it is a bit boring. I can already picture her on a foggy, dark stage (I hope this will help the song)!

Score: 5/10

Deban: Jenny invites lots of musical comparisons- that’s partly because we’ve heard this type of electro-pop offering many times before. Still, Jenny plays her part, allowing the instrumentals to flourish when required. She’s picked a genre that requires a personality to push its authenticity. It makes me curious. I want to know, and hear more from her.

Score: 7.5/10

Renske: The song is produced very strongly. It’s song for both the radio and stage. Still, I don’t know how it would look live, because vocally this song sounds very demanding. Sadly, the chorus is the only catchy part of this song.

Score: 7.5/10

Sopon: Lana Del Rey meets an awful, haunting backing track that drowns out her voice. Calm down those strange synths and you’ve got a winning entry.

Score: 9/10

Robyn: The style of “Next To You” reminds me a lot of “I Feed You My Love” – it’s lush Scandinavian gothic. It has loads of texture and drama and a particularly amazing chorus, and Jenny’s sultry, soaring vocals are perfect. I’d be happy for this to go to Vienna.

Score: 8/10

Ramadan: At the start, Jenny sounded a lot like Lana Del Rey. I love Lana and I now love Jenny. The intro hooked me and I’m loving “Next To You”. It’s mysterious and dramatic and, boy, it’s produced very well. Totally my jam.

Score: 9/10

James: Incredibly radio-friendly, is this. And veeery quasi-dubstep, which makes me very sad. It pulls off the whole idea of repeating something to the point that it’s the only thing that you can remember from the song. Also, how is the orchestra going to deal with this? There’s barely anything they can work on! Ach, I’m being too bitter – it’s going to be received well, regardless, and I can’t hide from that. I’m imagining a potentially inventive use of LED screens on the night.

Score: 5/10

Anthony: At first, I wasn’t entirely sure on whether the 15 second snippet for “Next to You” would win me over, mainly because I had my mind on someone else. So, I was pleasantly surprised after hearing the song in full. It’s got that slight hint of Ellie Goulding and if Jenny can pull it off live on her electronic pop entry, I’m in for a treat. I wouldn’t mind seeing her represent Norway in Vienna if she wins.

Score: 8/10

Max: When I first heard this I immediately thought of Lana Del Rey, one of my favourite artists. That gave me high hopes for the rest of the song and I wasn’t let down! It’s like one of Lana’s songs with a zest of electropop! I just hope the staging doesn’t let it down (as has happened too many times before with good songs).

Score: 8/10

Josh: She’s still Jenny from the fjords. She is dark, moody and surprising. I really like this song a lot. It’s got some pleasant light and dark throughout the entire song and I can definitely see her near the top of the scoreboard.

Score: 8/10

Angus: Jenny might be losing her mind, I’m hoping she gets lost on the way to the studio and can’t perform. Wobbly dubstep, a scratchy vocal and generic chorus are not cute.

Score: 2/10

Colin: The chorus of this song is the best part. It is dramatic, and it could be really powerful with great staging. It shows a lot of Norwegian character, and would probably be on the left hand side of the score board.

Score: 8/10

Francheska: It’s starts out so wonderfully moody and mysterious. Then, the chorus takes off and elevates me! It’s interesting, Jenny masters that whistle while going somber only a few seconds later. I’m hypnotized and in love!

Score: 10/10

The highest and lowest scores are removed before calculating the final score. We have dropped a low of 2 and a high of 10.

The Wiwi Jury Verdict: 7.55/10