Wiwi Jury: Malta’s Domenique with “Empty Hearted”

Earlier today, the Wiwi Jury – our in-house panel of music unprofessionals, gathered in Valletta to discuss the contestants participating in Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2016 (MESC), the national selection for Malta. Today we look at Domenique with her entry “Empty Hearted”. Does Domenique’s empty heart fill our hearts, or do we feel a little heartless? Read on to find out…

DOMENIQUE – “EMPTY HEARTED”

“EMPTY HEARTED” REVIEWS

Bernardo: Domenique’s “Empty Hearted” is one of those songs you cannot dislike. But I don’t love it – it has good production but so-so lyrics. Domenique’s voice fits the tune perfectly and that can give her a few advantages over other acts in the national final. Eurovision material? Of course. This national final is giving me life and a future for Malta in Eurovision.

Score: 7.5/10

Deban: Sounds like a Delta Goodrem album track. It’s a good effort, but rather predictably, not a standout. Also, it doesn’t sound current, which in my view eliminates its chances of being a front-runner. However, on repeat listens, it continues to grow on me.

Score: 5.5/10

Josh: Domenique’s entry into MESC 2016 is a sweet and powerful pop ballad that is okay to listen to. I feel like “Empty Hearted” is a bit dated – taking elements from a winner’s single from American Idol circa 2002 and combining that with a finale song from a Disney Channel Original Movie. Don’t tell me you can’t picture Hilary Duff belting this out at the end of the Lizzie Maguire movie.

Score: 5.5/10

Patrick: Domenique is back with a way better song this year. I’ve always liked her voice and she is a sweet person with a nice stage presence. Though last year Domenique didn’t do that well and also had problems with her vocals, she is back and better than ever. “Empty Hearted” is modern, has a great beat and very good lyrics. If she nails all the vocals on stage, she will surely go to the final. You go, gurl!

Score: 8/10

Robyn: This is a really decent song, but it’s let down by being stuffed full of lyrical cliches (“I’m stronger than before!” “I can finally breathe!”). From the Xarabank performance, Domenique seems to have a very theatrical, jazz-hands style of performance that distracts from the emotion of the song.

Score: 5.5/10

William: Domenique’s heart isn’t the only thing that’s empty here. The song lacks substance — musically and lyrically — and there is nothing solid that I can cling to — a build up, a memorable hook, a catchy chorus. It’s built on clichés and so-so vocals.

Score: 1.5/10

In the Maltese Wiwi Jury we have 18 jurors but only have room for six reviews. The remaining twelve scores are below.

Anthony: 5.5/10

Antranig: 7.5/10

Cristian: 8/10

Denise: 5/10

George: 7.5/10

Luis: 4/10

Maria: 3/10

Mario: 3/10

Ramadan: 5/10

Renske: 7/10

Rezo: 2/10

Zakaria: 5/10

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 1.5 and a high of 8.

WIWI JURY SCORE: 5.41/10

FOR OUR LIST OF MESC 2016 RANKINGS, CLICK HERE

FOR MORE MALTA EUROVISION NEWS, CLICK HERE