Earlier today, the Wiwi Jury – our in-house panel of music unprofessionals – gathered in Reykjavik to discuss the contestants participating in Söngvakeppnin 2016, the national selection for Iceland at Eurovision 2016. Today we look at Ingó with his song “A Broke Student”. Does the broke student break our hearts, or do we want to help him find a sugar-momma to help him pay his tuition? Read on to find out…
INGÓ – “A BROKE STUDENT”
“A BROKE STUDENT” REVIEWS
Josh: “A Broke Student” reminds me so much of those punk-bands from the early 2000s like Sum 41, Fountains of Wayne or Blink 182 (the bands that always take the piss out of themselves or someone else). Straight away you can tell that this song is not one to be taken seriously. It’s fun and it’s got a decent vibe going on. Not my cup of tea but I can see the potential appeal in this.
Score: 4/10
Robyn: This is a super catchy pop-punk track, but it sounds like it should be performed by someone younger – like an Icelandic version of 5 Seconds of Summer. But there’s loads of energy and good cheer in the song. I get the feeling it will really come alive with English lyrics, but as it is, it feels somehow incomplete.
Score: 6/10
Steinunn: For starters I’ve never been a fan of Ingó as a musician, and that’s not about to change after listening to this song. I think the song is more suitable for the typical Icelandic guitar party than for Eurovision, the song is too simple and the lyrics are a bit childish. Not my cup of tea at all. This song has no place in the Icelandic final, and definitely no place in Stockholm. People didn’t get the Silvia Night joke, they are not gonna get the Icelandic guitar party concept either!
Score: 3/10
William: When Roberto Benigni picked up an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1999, he thanked his parents for giving him the gift of poverty. And while Ingó may not be living in a tenement, he should thank mom and pop for the financial struggle that has led to this fun garage ditty. The prominent shades of Blink 182 and Green Day leave me swimming in nostalgia. I’ve no doubt that when they translate the lyrics into English — and they no doubt would for Eurovision — it would drip with wit and surprise us all like Pollaponk did back in 2014. Bonus: The song is a very welcome change of pace in a field of singing wood nymphs.
Score: 7/10
In the Icelandic jury we have seventeen jurors but only room for four reviews. The remaining thirteen scores are below!
Antranig: 6/10
Bernardo: 6/10
Cristian: 6/10
Dayana: 7/10
Denise: 6/10
Edd: 6.5/10
Gökhan: 3/10
Luis: 5.5/10
Maria: 3/10
Mario: 3/10
Max: 5.5/10
Mikhail: 5/10
Sinan: 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 3 and a high of 7.
I’m really linking the Greenday vibes coming from this song, though I wasn’t old enough to jam out at the time of release, you can be sure that I was when the time rolled around! The lyric occasionally come to a sudden stop which puts me off my jam a bit, but maybe an English translation will fix that – hopefully.
Score: 6.5/10
It’s one of my favourites – makes me happy every time I hear it :). But English lyrics are really needed for a full experience so I hope we’ll see it in the final.