This morning the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — landed in Oslo where we got down on some langoustine dripping in butter and some salmon cured in a mixture of salt and sugar spiced with black pepper, dill and brandy. After we licked our fingers we sat down to review Mørland and Debrah Scarlett and their Eurovision 2015 song “A Monster Like Me”. Did we think it was a total monstrosity? Read on to find out…

Norway’s Eurovision 2015 song

Reviews: Mørland & Debrah Scarlett with “A Monster Like Me”

Angus: You want the T? This. Is. Amazing. The spooky dry-ice smoke hanging around the stage, the hypnotic and dark chemistry between Mørland and Debrah and those sick vocals slay. “A Monster Like Me” is devastation on stage and the power conveyed in the emotion of the vocal and song is unlike anything else on offer this year. Also Debrah, yo hair game is ON POINT, GIRL!

Score: 9.5/10

Norway, Debrah Scarlett, 2Robyn: I’ve been feeling very indifferent about this song, but I listened to it one more time and now I get it. I love the dark, gothic feeling, the idea that this man haunted by his past is being enabled by his femme fatale lover. And who doesn’t love a surprise lyrical twist ending? Mørland and Debrah’s voices work so well together but they also have their own character. A song this dramatic needs to have very precise staging, though, and care will need to be taken not to lose focus during the instrumental section.

Score: 7/10


Padraig: 
Honey, I’m telling the truth, Estonia have sent the best break-up duet this year. But that’s not to take away from Norway’s effort. It’s dark, brooding, dramatic, poignant, emotional – the works. But there can only be so many pregnant pauses before a song loses momentum. And I never believe that Debrah and Morland are truly monsters. Sidenote: that giant hair knot Debrah sported during MGP needs to go!

Score: 8/10

Deban: This raises the bar by which all other entries are measured. “A Monster Like Me” is beguiling. It’s enigmatic. It’s rich. It’s beautiful. It’s touching. It lends its voice to a myriad of visual ideas, and staging possibilities. A masterpiece by all accounts. Even Lys Assia agrees – this is perfection.

Score: 10/10

William: Mørland may have done something terrible in his youth, but after this masterpiece I’m sure all of Europe will forgive him. His voice oozes soul and fragility. Debrah’s drips with sex and attitude. Together they burn hot like the pain his character still feels all these years later. In a competition of screaming divas and over-the-top theatrics, “A Monster Like Me” draws power from its simplicity. Melodious and moving, it still gives me chills at 2:30 — and I’ve had it on loop.

Score: 9.5/10

Sami: This is my favourite song from this year’s contest. “A Monster Like Me” is so touching, even if the story doesn’t feel complete. The way they sing is just so emotional and the first time I heard the song it really made me cry. It also grows on me every time I hear it, but the studio version is much stronger than the live performance. That might be a problem for this song to do well in the contest, but I really hope Norway scores another top-five placing this year.

Score: 10/10

Ramadan: One of the best duets in this year’s competition. Dramatic, emotional and dark — this works very well. If they get the staging right, we might be off to Oslo next year.

Score: 8/10

Chris: Of all the duets this year, this is clearly the best. Much like the Common Linnets last year, Mørland and Debrah seem to be picking up momentum at just the right time too, capped off by an incredible live performance at the London Eurovision Party. The song is beautifully structured and the instrumental bridge before the final chorus is one of the highlights of the entire contest. The two have wonderful chemistry on stage and provided Debrah’s vocals hold up, I can see Norway returning to the top once again.

Score: 9.5/10

Liam: This song talks of a monster, but it is certainly the hero of this competition. “A Monster Like Me” is simply beautiful. Carl Espen paved the way for better ballads from the Norwegians — and Mørland and Debrah ran with it.

Score: 10/10

Mike: “A Monster Like Me” is the best song in this year’s competition. Two great singers who know how to tell a story by singing and looking to each other. I have heard that Morland wrote this song a long time ago, which is a bit sad as Norway could have easily won a weak Eurovision year like 2013 with this song. They have to pull ahead of fan favourites like Estonia and Sweden, but there is still a possibility we will be in Oslo next year. At least they will get my douze points.

Score: 10/10

Bogdan: I love this song so much! Everything — from the lyrics to the way the voices blend and compliment each other — flows perfectly. It’s the most twisted but also the most authentic love song of the year. We all have demons in our closet and it takes a different kind of love to tell someone you have feelings for that they should look for “their prince” elsewhere, because you are a monster. A quite literal dark horse.

Score: 10/10

Mørland & Debrah Scarlett – interview at Eurovison in Concert

Our jury consists of 29 people, but we only have room for 11 written reviews. Here are the remaining 18 scores. 

Anthony: 8.5/10

Denise: 9/10

Francheska: 5/10

Josh: 9/10

Judit: 6/10

Kristin: 8.5/10

Luis: 9/10

Marek: 8/10

Mario: 8.5/10

Max: 8.5/10

Mikhail: 7/10

Patrick: 10/10

Renske: 10/10

Rezo: 7.5/10

Sinan: 10/10

Sopon: 4.5/10

William C: 2/10

Zach: 5.5/10

To reduce potential bias, we drop the highest and lowest scores prior to calculating the average. We removed a low of 2 and a high of 10.

WIWI JURY AVERAGE: 8.37/10

SEE OUR CURRENT EUROVISION 2015 REVIEWS AND RANKINGS

46 Comments
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ESC 4ever
ESC 4ever
8 years ago

I’m rating all the songs of 2015 again in 2016…

Norway= 9/10, was a bit underrated… I love this song !! <3 Was on of my favs.

TeleRoger
TeleRoger
8 years ago

Great song
Powerful
Builds and builds and can’t wait to see the staging
Food fight on set!?
I hope it’s top 5

Christian Kaad
8 years ago

I

L
O
V
E

You
Please do NOT win
Can’t afford another Norway
So please come second with one point diving you from the winner

Francisco
Francisco
8 years ago

I do like the glowering, moody ambient of the song, but I don’t think they have good chemistry, I hope they shape up a bit and manage to get their mojo, because the song is quite worthy

Gav
Gav
8 years ago

Stunning song. I find it totally captivating. It totally draws you in and it’s full of personality as well as meaningful lyrics, melody and drama. I hope these two pair up again and release more. I think it could be very different and very fun.

Gav. X

cheesecake
cheesecake
8 years ago

Estonia is better, but this is in my top 5 as well.

Andrew
Andrew
8 years ago

I wish the reporters would stop using the same old clichè lines:
“Sick vocals”
“On point”
“Smashed it”
“Slayed it”
All very meaningless terms.

Deven O'Kearney
Deven O'Kearney
8 years ago

I think we can say that Norway will win again fairly soon. They’ve performed very well in recent contests. Denmark’s sweepstake might be coming to an end with Anti Social Media. But the Norwegian success story lives on.

I think Jon Ola Sand will be one happy Norwegian if NRK host next year.

the truth
the truth
8 years ago

One of the best, if not the best one.

mark dowd
mark dowd
8 years ago

PER….there is only one more repetitive thing in this year’s ESC than the chorus of “Walk Along”, “Unbroken” or “Heroes” and that is your endlessly similar remarks about Norway……

Ewan
Ewan
8 years ago

My favourite by far of this years’ contest, it’s so haunting and the end gives me crazy chills

SpirK
SpirK
8 years ago

Congratulations for having the best song of the year Norway. After the last fail of Tooji, Norway has really upped it’s game. And this has been the top after two really great efforts. A song doesn’t need to be extra dramatic to make one cry (hello, Spain). It really has whatever it needs. The mysterious lyrics, the tempting instrumentals, and the fantastic voices of a duet with chemistry. The instrumental before the last chorus gives me chills every time. 10/10

Calvin
Calvin
8 years ago

I teared up a little the first time I heard this, but it’s kind of worn off for me. I still love it – just not as much as I did at first.

Tom
Tom
8 years ago

This *has* to win. This or Estonia. They both raise the bar in the contest and any of them would make one of the best winners ever. Let’s choose wisely, Europe.

Alex
Alex
8 years ago

Amaaaaaazing. I thought this was going to be a weak year… then songs like this one came through. I can’t decide my favorite, but this may well be it. The most moving of all the songs, in my opinion.

AnesBosna
AnesBosna
8 years ago

One of my favorites this year. Love their voices, and the lyrics are something different from the usuall songs. Hope this can reach top 5 😀 #HejaNorge

Fatima
Fatima
8 years ago

Oh dear, it does nothing for me. But Deban took the words out my mouth when he slapped down Patrick for his remark about it being too good for Eurovision. Nothing is too good for Eurovision.

Leo
Leo
8 years ago

At first I was not sure about it, but now I love it. It’s in my top 5. I don’t think it is a winner but definitely top ten.

Per
Per
8 years ago

She looks freaky. I dont like it at all

Deniz@TurkNL
Deniz@TurkNL
8 years ago

9/10

Good couple, interesting song and good chemistry. Live could be better. But it will be interesting to see what they will do with the staging.

Allen
Allen
8 years ago

The best Scandinavian entry by far and my favourite duet this year.

Although I don’t see this as a winning song in Vienna I would be happy if they win.

Everything is up to the staging now.

Racal
Racal
8 years ago

There must be something I don’t get about this song, cause I don’t understand how it can be so popular (OGAE, bookies, WiWi, YouTube, etc.). In my personal ranking, it’s 9th in SF2 and 18th in the final. It’s far from bad, but it just leaves me quite indifferent, it’s basically the same concept as Estonia’s and I just don’t get the hype… Additionally, let’s not forget that every year there are songs in OGAE’s top 5 that end up getting very bad results in the actual contest. If this has to happen this year too, my guess is that… Read more »

Jerome
Jerome
8 years ago

9.5/10 This is one type of monster I would embrace with open arms, instead of just waving and saying goodbye. This song is just hauntingly beautiful. The story behind the song is so dark and poignant, the melody is slow yet powerful already, and the climax at the end is just extraordinary. Mørland and Debrah Scarlett bring differing personalities, like the “monster” and the innocent in the song, yet they work together so well. I love the harmony by them at the end of the song, reminds me of “Say Something” by A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera, but… Read more »

Daniel
Daniel
8 years ago

Brilliant. I think this year’s winners. 8.5/10.

Steven
Steven
8 years ago

Good grief this is overrated tripe. It’s freaky not eerie. It’s grotesque not intriguing. YIKES.

per
per
8 years ago

This song is AWFUL. She cant sing, and its sooo boooooooring. 0/10

V_AUS
V_AUS
8 years ago

You said it, Wozzeck. It’s elegant, dark and very powerful. Go Norway!

Bronson
Bronson
8 years ago

Such a beautiful song. It’s not a winner and it’ll finish 5th at best, but it will definitely beat Silent Storm’s placing last year.

Otna
Otna
8 years ago

I’m not really a fan of it, BUT I very much prefer this over the current favourites Sweden, Italy and Australia, so if it won I wouldn’t be disappointed at all tbh. And I do think that it is the second best song lyrically this year, with only Macedonia’s lyrics appealing to me more.

Mario My Vision of Gay Love
Mario My Vision of Gay Love
8 years ago

Oh & I really love the videoclip… <3 One of the best videoclips in this Vision <3 🙂

Mario My Vision of Gay Love
Mario My Vision of Gay Love
8 years ago

Norway did really fantastic & finished 4th in the OGAE voting with 243 points! 🙂
The eurofans really like/love it & the bookies have it among the top hot favorites 🙂
Norway is certainly candidate to win in Vienna 🙂
Possibly ** Bergen 2016 ** 🙂

CookyMonzta
CookyMonzta
8 years ago

, William C.: What DIDN’T you like about this song?

I’m almost finished with my 3rd and final round of evaluations (I only have the videos from the automatic finalists to watch again); but based on the scores I gave Mørland and Debrah, for their song and their video, they will almost certainly stay in my top 10. For this song, and the video for Elina and Stig, I wouldn’t be surprised if, depending on what they put on that stage, Norway and Estonia slug it out for points with one another and perhaps with Il Volo from Italy.

Mario My Vision of Gay Love
Mario My Vision of Gay Love
8 years ago

I really like Norway’s entry 4 Vienna’s Vision! <3
Really atmospheric essential beautiful ballad.. <3
Just lovely.. <3 🙂
My 3rd most liked song on the 2nd SF & my 9th most liked song among the 40.. <3

My grade 4 *Monster Like Me*
6,5 /10
{ My 1st gets 8/10,
My 2nd 7,5/10,
My 3rd – 4th 7/10,
My 5th -6th -7th- 8th- 9th get 6,5/10 }

jimm
jimm
8 years ago

MY 3TH FAVORITE, 10/10

Diane
Diane
8 years ago

My favourite this year alongside with Latvia and Albania. Very atmospheric and dark at the same time. They might not deliver acrobatic vocal style or high notes or anything in their performance, but the interpretation and the vocal chemistry get me inside the song. I even had my own goosebumps moment when I watched the performance on Norwegian MGP, hope I will have the same experience when it goes live from Vienna. I hope it wins.

PP
PP
8 years ago

This song can t compare with boring song last year from Norway (for me better choice for Norway last year was song High Hopes with that song Norway would be in TOP 5 like 2013 )

Otna
Otna
8 years ago

Sooooooo overrated. Very beautiful lyrically but a real fine mess with the competition, especially the end.

wozzeck
wozzeck
8 years ago

Thank you Norway for making such good songs and not having anoying fans spamming each wall saying their country must win. They know they should win and they wait for the day minding their business. Elegant as their music.

Darren
Darren
8 years ago

This….this is my winner!! Out of all the “fan favorites” and overhyped cliches, this is what stands out. Unlike Estonia, this does sound like a winning song. For the 3rd year straight, Norway has proven to be a force to be reckoned with at Eurovision, I have a strong feeling that this will win, if Australia doesn’t. Oslo 2016!! The Scandinavian clean sweep rolls on 🙂 10/10 for song, style, vocals,and meaning…full package!

Darren
Darren
8 years ago

This….this is my winner!! Out of all the “fan favorites” and overhyped cliches, this is what stands out. Unlike Estonia, this does sound like a winning song. For the 3rd year straight, Norway has proven to be a force to be reckoned with at Eurovision, I have a strong feeling that this will win, if Australia doesn’t. Oslo 2016!! The Scandinavian clean sweep rolls on 🙂

PP
PP
8 years ago

My favorite song this year.
My TOP 3
1. Norway
2. Italy
3. Slovenia

But I think TOP 3 in final wili be
1. Australia
2. Sweden
3. Azerbaijan

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
8 years ago

The song takes a while to get going, too long in fact and when they do finally get into it, the wait was not really worth it. Morland’s a competent enough singer but not amongst the best male singers this year but the real problem for me is Debrah’s vocal. It is weak and all over the place. Alongside Italy, this is probably the most overrated song in my opinion.
5.5/10

Maltish
Maltish
8 years ago

Norway vs Estonia for best duet.

WTF
WTF
8 years ago

Third straight top 5 worthy entry from Norway, that’s quite the streak…

Easpag
Easpag
8 years ago

Undoubtedly the best orchestral arrangement this year, the atmosphere, vocals, and song are all fantastic. Tied for my first place with Latvia and Slovenia, I adore this song.

10/10

Adams
Adams
8 years ago

I love it! 10/10