Wiwi Jury Denmark edition: Bracelet with “Breakaway”

The Wiwi Jury – our in-house panel of music unprofessionals – is continuing its journey around Denmark. Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2016 is under a week away and we’re here to review the ten finalists. Previously, Lighthouse X showed us their “Soldiers of Love”. We were only moderately impressed. Will we prefer DMGP’s other trio Bracelet with “Breakaway”? Read on to find out…

Bracelet “Breakaway”

Reviews: Bracelet with “Breakaway”

Sopon: “Breakaway” is a bit dated and lacks the oomph that I look for in a strong Eurovision entry. However, it has some strong qualities. It’s familiar, anthemic and catchy. That leaves me to believe that “Bracelet” could be a solid contender for the Danish ticket.

Score: 8/10

Josh: Bracelet are giving me some Danish-One Direction realness. “Breakaway” is an inoffensive, synthesised pop-rock track that is quite easy and nice to listen to. It seems like a song that a teenage audience is likely to get behind. However, I could live without the robotic noises in the chorus (I thought they died in 2001?). Bracelet could do very well, but for me it’s middle of the pack.

Score: 7/10

Anthony: “Breakaway” feels like a throwback to a Busted single and I can see this getting the seal of approval from the teenage market. Radio-friendly with an infectiously catchy chorus, it could do very well in the Danish charts. Unfortunately, that’s not quite enough for it to be considered a contender for DMGP. Still, a decent attempt overall.

Score: 6/10

DMGP 2016: Our top three

Antranig: “Breakaway” is modern and magnificent. I could picture this on the soundtrack of the next teenage sci-fi blockbuster. It ticks all the boxes of its genre and ticks a few extra just to make it even better. They’re as endearing as Anti Social Media and have the added bonus of a song that’s fifty years more modern. One of my top three — I’d love to see this in Stockholm!

Score: 9.5/10

Luis: If One Direction had gone to Camp Rock, they’d sound like these guys. “Breakaway” is bright and colourful, but I’m not impressed by the picture they paint. The melody is too “teen” for my taste, and the pause between each line of the chorus seems forced, which in a way fits the song. The whole package feels manufactured. You know that annoying feeling you get when people share “inspirational” quotes on Facebook? That’s more or less how I feel after listening to this.

Score: 4.5/10

Edd: “Breakaway” starts as a ’00s teen-rock song, taking me back to my days playing Sims on the family computer. Then in the second chorus, the song gains modern synths, giving a more astronomical feel. It’s very American chick-flick soundtrack, but with anthemic melodies and strong voices. I have no issue with that. People miss this kind of music, and for that reason I think it could actually do pretty well at Eurovision.

Score: 7.5/10

Padraig: This could easily be taken from any of the Now That’s What I Call Music compilation discs between 2003 and 2006. “Breakway” possesses vaguely inspirational lyrics, angsty vocals, and desperately wants to be an anthem. But we’ve moved on. For the most part, no one cares for manufactured pop groups pretending they’re rockstars. Of course there are exceptions such as 5 Seconds of Summer… perhaps Bracelet should recruit a fourth member and become a tribute band. At least then, they’d be singing music that people still like.

Score: 4/10

Mike: This is the typical song that wins a national final out of nowhere and goes to  Eurovision. But then a week after the contest no one can remember it was actually there. Call it the “Unbreakable” Sinplus effect. Sadly for Bracelet, this Danish national selection is one of the strongest in years and there is no way they are going to finish near the top. Also do not sing that you are a Belieber, not cool.

Score: 5/10

Bracelet “Breakaway” Acoustic

Robyn: The vibe I’m getting is a bland version of One Direction, offering a folky, rocky pop sound without One Direction’s, er, bad-boy edge. Take that away and there’s not much left. It seems like there’s a lot of talent between Bracelet’s three members – I just wish there was more of it in this song.

Score: 6/10

William: From the production to the sentiment to the sound, this is just so teenager. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’d work better at Junior Eurovision than Dansk Melodi Grand Prix.

Score: 3/10

Our jury consists of 22 people, but we only have room for 10 written reviews. Here are the remaining 12 scores.

Bernardo: 7.5/10

Bogdan: 6/10

Cristian: 5/10

Dayana: 7.5/10

Deban: 6.5/10

Denise: 7/10

Gökhan: 7.5/10

Kristin: 7/10

Liam: 9/10

Mikhail: 7/10

Ramadan: 2/10

Sami: 8/10

WIWI JURY AVERAGE: 6.45/10

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 9.5.

SEE OUR CURRENT DANSK MELODI GRAND PRIX 2016 REVIEWS AND RANKINGS.

Photos: DR