The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — has gathered in Valletta to discuss the contestants participating in Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2016 (MESC). Today we look at Franklin Calleja with his entry “Little Love”. Does he deserve our affection for this number? Read on to find out…
FRANKLIN CALLEJA – “LITTLE LOVE”
“LITTLE LOVE” REVIEWS
Cristian: A sickly annoying song. I can’t stand Franklin’s style and voice — I find him so cheesy and outdated. This entry occupies the last place in my personal ranking, it irritates so much.
Score: 1/10
Deban: “Still Here” was one of the stand-out favourites from MESC last year. It demonstrated that Franklin could soar with a solid composition. Unfortunately, “Little Love” is too convoluted to stake residency in my mind, or any music charts. I could leave it on a loop, yet, still struggle to remember it! I believe in Franklin, but he needs start making smart choices.
Score: 4/10
Josh: I yearn for the day where we don’t get an excruciatingly cheesy ballad from Franklin. It seems every single year Franklin is sent to MESC with a rehashed power ballad from the previous year and it’s gotten to a point where it’s become so predictable. Franklin has such a unique and powerful voice and it would be great to hear him do something upbeat. Unfortunately I have little love for “Little Love”.
Score: 3.5/10
Ramadan: This songs sounds like a wannabe Disney song, not even good for Disney movies to be honest. After a couple of listens, I cannot remember how the song goes. The song is too childish. Franklin deserves a much better song. I don’t know what his team is doing!
Score: 3/10
Robyn: Franklin’s delicate pixie boy singing style is something of an acquired taste, so this song won’t be for everyone. “Little Love” sounds like it’s building to an epic climax, like “A Million Voices”, but it never gets there. The song feels like it has run out of energy, a forgotten purpose.
Score: 4/10
William: This is a big song, but it somehow feels hollow. And sickly, over-the-top and just a bit too sugary. Franklin can sing — don’t deny! But I question his team’s level of taste for choosing this song.
Score: 2.5/10
In the Maltese Wiwi Jury we have 18 jurors but only have room for six reviews. The remaining twelve scores are below.
Anthony: 5/10
Antranig: 2/10
Bernardo: 3.5/10
Denise: 1/10
George: 6/10
Luis: 4/10
Maria: 3/10
Mario: 4.5/10
Patrick: 8/10
Renske: 7/10
Rezo: 1/10
Zakaria: 1/10
The highest and lowest scores are dropped prior to calculating the average score. This is to remove outliers and reduce potential bias. We have removed a low of 1 and a high of 8.
I got a feeling that a lot of people are going to underestimate this song. I just finished hearing these songs for the first time and reviewing them. Franklin sits at number 3 on my scorecard.
I love the song!
I think this one does have potential and will make it to the finals.
Franklin should have collaborated with Alexander Rybak this year again! Last year his song was amazing, now I’m just not feeling this one
Wow you guys are nasty! This does take a while to evolve but it does at the end, and the singer is really sweet… would stick to the glasses he has in the picture though.
The beginning sounds similar to Gaia Cauchi’s The Start…
I have a question actually..
Will the songs be fully presented in that one (glittery) room like the years before, before the actual contest starts?
He had better song last year like Lawrence Gray.
I don’t like it either.