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, Jessica took us on a detour to the Carribean with “Break It Good”. Today, we’re back in the chillier Danish climes as Kristel Lisberg asks “Who Needs A Heart”. Is she talking to us? Read on to find out…

Kristel Lisberg “Who Needs A Heart”

Reviews: Kristel Lisberg with “Who Needs A Heart”

Sami: “Who Needs A Heart” is a really beautiful song with quite sad lyrics. I absolutely love the violin. It’s sweet and builds up nicely to the last chorus. Kristel’s voice is lovely and she totally hits the high notes. However, I’m afraid that a melancholic song like this might put some people off or even worse, send them to sleep. I still like it and would be happy to see how it does in the actual contest in May.

Score: 8/10

Mikhail: Though it has a nice melody and lovely vocals, “Who Needs A Heart” is bland. The good production is all that makes it stand out from similar songs submitted in selections such as Lithuania’s. It’s boring and unoriginal. There might be emotion, but I simply can’t feel it.

Score: 6/10

Deban: The angel from The Faroe Islands moves to the mainland to seek wider recognition for her talent. Her vocals are flawless, her delivery is heartfelt, and she exudes ethereal beauty. That said, she could use a sprinkle of fairy dust. “Who Needs A Heart” is a tad overblown, and verges slightly on the boring side. Listening to it again feels academic (although I appreciate its merits).

Score: 6.5/10

DMGP 2016: Our top three

Antranig: Starting with a beautiful violin intro, “Who Needs A Heart” has me hooked from the first note. Lyrically, it is full of raw emotion, which is delivered exquisitely through Kristel’s flawless vocals. This is a song that takes me a lot of places in just three minutes and it perfectly complements Kristel as a singer. Just like so many of the DMGP entries, this should easily get Denmark to the top ten at Eurovision.

Score: 9.5/10

Luis: Fast Denmark, do something, Ireland is invading your national final! Kristel definitely doesn’t need a heart, as all of her’s is in this song. There’s a lot of emotion, but I wouldn’t express it this way. The track turns into a reject for a ’90s or early ’00s Swedish movie set in a giant field with a palazzo where three sisters fight for the love of a sailor (I admit that might just be what mum was watching on TV earlier). What am I trying to say? Basically, “Who Needs a Heart” is predictable, not particularly interesting and it doesn’t make an impression. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad.

Score: 5.5/10

Kristel Lisberg DMGP 2016 Interview

Edd: Not gonna lie, I only zoned in when the chorus came. There are some great things going on in the background: violins, flutes, crashes – transporting you to the stormy North Sea on a mediaeval Faroese sailing voyage. But it all needs to be turned up a few notches. It feels dated, sounding like one of the better songs you’d hear in the Moldovan or Belarusian preselections (and no, that’s still not a compliment).

Score: 6.5/10

William: The chorus is sweet and intoxicating — sadly the verses are not. This was written with peaks and valleys in mind, yet the sound just seems to plateau. I’d love to hear Kristel come back with a more dramatic song that showcases her range a bit better. Faith Hill circa 1997 just doesn’t work for me in 2016.

Score: 6/10

Kristel Lisberg DMGP 2016

Padraig: “Who Needs A Heart” has a lot going for it — sumptuous strings, a dash of drama, stunning vocals. But everything doesn’t add up right. The song has a slightly homogeneous feel, bordering on monotony. Because while Kristel sings beautifully, her voice lacks grit or passion. Meanwhile, the chorus is missing the oomph that the verses promised. Songs with similar issues have won DMGP before but then suffered at Eurovision — 2012 and 2014. The same could happen with this, unless the ante is significantly upped for the live performance.

Score: 6/10

Mike: This is the beautiful ballad that I expect to hate because it’s too dated. But I love “Who Needs A Heart”. Besides a heart, Kristel also has an incredible voice. However, compared to the two fan favourites (Anja and Simone) this is not going to slay as much as it should. Also, amidst all the up-tempo numbers, this might become the toilet break song for Danish viewers. Still, it wouldn’t be a crime if Denmark sends this to Stockholm

Score: 8/10

Robyn: It takes guts to borrow a key lyric from one of Tina Turner’s signature songs, but at least Kristel Lisberg uses it in a good way. The chorus is great, but the overall effect is a self-conscious Eurovision ballad. A song like this would do ok in Stockholm, but it’s not the best DGMP 2016 has to offer.

Score: 6.5/10

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

Anthony: 7/10

Bernardo: 8/10

Bogdan: 5/10

Cristian: 8/10

Dayana: 8/10

Denise: 8/10

Gökhan: 7/10

Josh: 7/10

Kristin: 8.5/10

Liam: 8/10

Ramadan: 7/10

Sopon: 5/10

WIWI JURY AVERAGE: 7.03/10

To reduce potential bias, we drop the highest and lowest scores prior to calculating the average. We removed a low of 5 and a high of 9.5.

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

Photos: DR

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Charles
Charles
8 years ago

A ballad yes but in comparison with some of most outstanding ones from 2015 (yes there were great ballads being performed in Viena while everybody else was sleeping waiting for the golden boy to ring the alarm) this is very underwhelming. Tries too hard to be somehow emotional and heartbreaking but fails ending up sounding too artificial specially in her vocals – she may be singing but I don’t believe a single word she is singing. Overall I feel really underwhelmed by all 10 selected entries for the Danish Melodi Grand Prix this year … and it sounds like people… Read more »

Alex
Alex
8 years ago

This one’s really nice. I’m not surprised that a key part of the song is unoriginal as Robyn points out, since Denmark has a history of unoriginality in its Eurovision songs, but this works.

Steven
Steven
8 years ago

This one really draws out the emotion and I think the staging/lighting/camera angles can only improve it. She already has the vocals locked down!

cheesecake
cheesecake
8 years ago

I wouldn’t mind this song winning in Denmark.
A ballad might stand out this year anyway.