Norway: Wiwi Jury reviews Pegasus with “Anyway”

Ahead of Norway’s Eurovision 2016 selection Melodi Grand Prix 2016, the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — is reviewing all the competing songs. Today we turn to “Anyway” performed by Pegasus. Did the band live up to the majesty of the winged divine stallion it’s named after? Read on to find out…

Pegasus – “Anyway”

“Anyway” reviews

Deban: Sing-a-long rock songs have notched up a bit of global success — think Foreigner, Michael Bolton and Styx. Those sounds are nostalgic, and work fabulously in stadium settings. Perhaps “Anyway” won’t woo ageist pop tarts, but the reality is that this is still a credible effort delivering three minutes of listening pleasure.

Score: 7/10

William: Awful. If I was being generous I’d say this was like a watered-down version of Aerosmith’s “Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing.” But it’s not. It’s just bad. The dated production, lacklustre melody and mediocre vocals don’t deserve a spot at MGP. I fail to believe there wasn’t a better song submitted in Norway.

Score: 3.5/10

Steinunn: It’s a rather cozy song, but at the same time something bothers me. It sounds a bit like Jon Bon Jovi decided to turn the tables and become a soft-pop country star and make Meatloaf write a song for him with a 2000-millennium-kind of feeling. It would be a nice addition to a nostalgic soft-rock radio station’s playlist, but it wouldn’t make an impact in the Eurovision world.

Score: 5.5/10

Edd: If it weren’t for the intelligible English, I would guess that is was a song in the Belarusian preselection. The production is so dated and the voices are so weak. It has no personality. Pegasus are going to have to hope that lots of mice are watching Melodi Grand Prix on Saturday, because nobody wants this much cheese.

Score: 3/10

Robyn: I’m all for old rockers coming back to Melodi Grand Prix, but that doesn’t mean I have to like their songs. “Anyway” sounds like a Bon Jovi reject, with a hint of country. If it was 20 years ago and this was America, the sound would probably have been a huge hit. But in Europe of 2016, there’s no excuse.

Score: 3/10

Mikhail: We’ve heard it already… And with much better quality, even though it was in the twentieth century. Classic Bon Jovi here. I don’t feel anything in this song. I cannot connect with it at all.

Score: 4/10

Renske: “Anyway” sounds like Dmitry Koldun’s first Eurovision attempt “May be“, and that was exactly ten years ago. The song is a bit dated, but still okay. Sadly, I don’t get the winner’s vibe or anything close to it.

Score: 6/10

Bernardo: Rock is not my cup of tea. Attempts at rock even less. It’s poorly produced and I’m desperately trying to find something to hold on to and like in this, but it’s just impossible.

Score: 2.5/10

Sami: It might sound a little dated, yes, but songs in this genre are quite timeless. I don’t feel like this is ten years late. But it’s completely out of place for sure. It’s a sweet song and has sweet lyrics, but this would get lost on the big Eurovision stage among 26 songs. I wouldn’t turn off the radio if this came on, but I would take a toilet break if I saw this on my TV.

Score: 5/10

Chris: Bad Bon Jovi mixed with a bad version of Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”. This is terminably dull, if at least competently performed. But there’s nothing that makes me think I want to hear it again, given that I don’t even want to keep on listening after the first minute or so. You know immediately what Pegasus are giving us, and it’s three minutes of disappointment.

Score: 3/10

In the Norwegian Wiwi Jury we have 25 jurors but only have room for 10 reviews. The remaining 15 scores are below!

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 7.

WIWI JURY SCORE: 3.87/10

FOR OUR LIST OF NORWAY 2016 RANKINGS, CLICK HERE

FOR MORE NORWAY EUROVISION NEWS, CLICK HERE