The Wiwi Jury is reviewing the eight acts who have made it direkt till final at Melodifestivalen 2016. Next is newcomer Wiktoria who is crying out for help in her song “Save Me”. We were coming to her rescue? Read on to find out…
Wiktoria – “Save Me”
“Save Me” reviews
Angus: Wiktoria’s song felt weak in deltävling 2 and the weeks since haven’t changed that. A dazzling staging can’t cover up how mundane her Nashville number is. Mimi Werner did country much better and Wiktoria, for all her vocal abilities and killer look, can’t do anything lumbered with “Save Me”.
Score: 5/10
Deban: This is probably the only entry in the competition where the staging doesn’t add value to the song. Wiktoria exudes emotional depth and confidence as she belts her country-pop number, “Save Me”. A challenging song to sing, particularly in the higher registers, Wikoria nails her notes with ease without losing the audience.
Score: 6.5/10
Padraig: At Eurovision three things are key – song, vocals and staging. Wiktoria nails all three. “Save Me” doesn’t just ride the current country-pop wave, it overflows and washes all the competition away. Written in the tradition of Nashville but with a Scandinavian sensibility, it’s a throwback that’s truly modern. Add in Wiktoria’s on-point vocals, which just drip in emotion, and you’ve got a force to be reckoned with. The staging is quite possibly the best in this year’s contest, intricately innovative yet wonderfully simple. My personal favourite
Score: 9.5/10
Robyn: Wiktoria is obviously a brilliant singer and she delivers a great performance, but the song itself just comes across as really ordinary. And worse, the staging is so cheap for Sweden. When we’ve seen so much brilliant projection dress staging before (not to mention Måns’ projection mapping last year), there’s no excuse for just shining a series of random images upon Wiktoria, unrelated to the song. (Animated Post-It notes? Is this a 1990s screen saver?) But I can’t wait to see what Wiktoria will do next.
Score: 6/10
Tobias: Wiktoria is new to the Swedish audience but charmed us all and went straight to final. I think the staging and the technical effects are great but unfortunately the song is weak and boring. It was one of the best songs in semifinal two in Malmö but it won’t be one of the best songs in the final. A great voice and staging but the song is just… boring.
Score: 5/10
William: This teen queen is my Melodifestivalen dream in 2016! Born in Sweden but channeling Nashville realness, she sounds like an authentic country star — albeit one cast in the mold of Taylor Swift rather than Faith Hill. Her breezy song speeds by, driven by her grit and emotion. Upping the ante on the LED projection dress, she takes us through fire and water and outer space as she uses staging to elevate an already amazing song. This deserves to win — and to slay the pack at Eurovision.
Score: 9.5/10
Anthony: When SVT decided to put Wiktoria last on the running order of deltävling 2, I wondered what the fuss was about. After seeing her performance that night, it’s not quite what I had in mind. There seems to be more attention being focused on her projection special effects than the song itself. Her odds may be shortening before the final at the Friends Arena, but this isn’t a song that would have me raving about Wiktoria for weeks.
Score: 6.5/10
Chris: It says a lot that “Save Me” wasn’t even the best country-tinged song in Melodifestivalen this year. Listening to this song sans the performance, there’s a lot of weaknesses. Even with the performance, I’m not particularly wowed: in terms of screen effects, I’m a much bigger fan of Greta’s “Hear Them Calling”. Wiktoria has a nice voice, but there’s nothing that grabs me about “Save Me”.
Score: 6.5/10
Max: This is definitely a grower. When I first heard it I was bewildered as to why STV had thrown so much money at the performance and given it prime spot in the line-up of the second semi, but repeated listens reveals its folksy charm. Wiktoria’s team has managed to pair this sweet song with a striking LED sequence, which definitely lifts its memorability. But I’m not sure whether ‘Save Me’ will hold its ground amongst a final filled with several bigger, catchier songs.
Score: 7.5/10
Steinunn: After watching Wiktoria’s performance I wasn’t sure if the song really was all that good or if the staging had just distracted me. After listening to the song a few times without watching the performance I’m absolutely loving it. Wiktoria’s voice is awesome and I like the country-ish vibe I’m getting from her. The song totally stands on its own, and the staging sure isn’t dragging it down. I sure am a part of Team Wiktoria this year. Plus I love her hair.
Score: 9/10
In the Swedish Wiwi Jury we have 26 jurors but only have room for 10 reviews. The remaining 16 scores are below!
Bogdan: 8.5/10
Denise: 9.5/10
Marek: 7/10
Maria: 7/10
Patrick: 7/10
Rezo: 2/10
Sinan: 8/10
Sami: 7/10
Bernardo: 6.5/10
Luis: 9/10
Edd: 8/10
Mikhail: 8.5/10
Josh: 7/10
Ron: 6.5/10
Antranig: 4/10
Ramadan: 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 2 and a high of 9.5.
I don’t get this hate on the staging. It’s supposed to show her drowning and catching fire, which is her feelings when she sings “Save me”. Plus the song is really catchy and definitely a grower. It’s simple and much more catchy than Frans song
@EugeneESCUK: The jury is going to be all over the place, like they were in 2013. If Frans gets the Yohio treatment from them (even if he gets a single 12-point score), we could have more than half the contenders getting 12-point scores, and it could go to someone who does not lead in televotes, but is close enough that the points from televotes plus the jury points equals an improbable victory, as was the case with Robin Stjernberg.
Padraig, what ‘country-pop wave’?! What are you talking about?!
I really, really do not like this song. The staging gimmick has no connection to the song. The part I like would be the first verse but when that chorus hits it’s so disappointing and lacklustre. I feel like she should be showcasing vulnerability or something? I just don’t get the performance at all. HOPEFULLY it won’t win, but it’s in a prime spot.
I don’t like this song. The projection means nothing to the song, it just seems pointless. She also sings ‘Save me ‘ with a big smile on her face, nothing seems to fit together.
Don’t get the hype about this. This would be a good entry for some countries, but not for Sweden where it’s just middle-of-the-road. It’s not bad, but compared to the others just weaker. Btw what’s with the projections? So random…
I was shocked when this got through. Having said that, Semi-final 2 was all kinds of screwy. Still, this seems to have a lot of fans and I do not know for the life of me, know why.
I’m addicted to this song and her stage presence is incredible. If this won, it would be the first Swedish entry I like since Loreen tbh.