#Melfest: Wiwi Jury reviews Oscar Zia with “Human”

The Wiwi Jury is reviewing the eight acts who have made it direkt till final at Melodifestivalen 2016. Next is Oscar Zia, who is making a personal statement with his song “Human”. Did we feel his emotion? Read on to find out…

Oscar Zia – “Human”

“Human” reviews

Angus: “Human” packs a real punch of everything that’s good. Moody staging, dark vocal and a performer story that amplifies the power of something that might have been reduced to melodrama otherwise. Oscar is hardly the only act in the history of #Melfest to add in some backing vocals to the mix (HEJ SANNA!), and his emotive delivery has a lot going for it. Calling upon the dark arts delivers results, y’all.

Score: 8/10

Deban: Much of what we love about “Human” is tied in with Oscar Zia’s coming-of-age backstory. Together, they make a compelling performance that stirs deep emotions within. Unfortunately, the layered vocals which make up 65% of the track strip some of the depth, making “Human” another pop factory product.

Score: 6/10

Padraig: Of the three “dark” songs from teen idols at this year’s Melfest, “Human” is easily the best. Unlike Isa and Lisa, Oscar actually manages to inject some emotion into his performance. Granted, his vocals suffer as a result, but in a way that only strengthens the package by humanising it. The camera trickery is sublime, and lends a cinematic feel. Zia is on the cusp of something great, but Eurovision success is a while off.

Score: 7.5/10

Robyn: Here’s the dilemma: “Human” is a pretty average song and Oscar’s vocals aren’t that that great. He’s quite pitchy, especially in the lower notes, and it just doesn’t work as a compelling performance. But the staging itself is amazing, helped by Oscar’s charisma. Perhaps inspired by the music-video style of “Heroes”, “Human” is more like a slickly cut music video than a reactively cut live performance. The song might not be up to scratch, but the staging feels like a giant leap forward.

Score: 6.5/10

Tobias: This will either be a big success or will vanish on Saturday. It is one of the most intense performances this year, with all 208 camera shot making it look like a music video, similar to Måns Zelmerlöw’s performance with “Heroes”. However, I have one big issue about this song: the playback vocals which you can hear during virtually the whole song. In the refrain you can’t miss it. It’s not that I don’t like it, but if this would ever go to Eurovision (unlikely, but still) it wouldn’t be as powerful as it is in Melodifestivalen, since playback isn’t allowed in Eurovision. In general it’s an OK song, but nothing I would have on my Spotify list. I think I actually prefer the performance more rather than the song itself.

Score: 6/10

William: I like Oscar and I think he’s a fantastic performer, but this song does nothing for me. It’s a matter of camera work and special effects attempting to mask a truly empty song. It’s lyrically cliché and musically forgettable — and adding another synth or flash of lightning won’t change that. I understand why people are taken with the presentation, but I feel like I’m going to have an epileptic fit. But at least in that unfortunate scenario I’d feel something.

Score: 5/10

Josh: I’m so torn over “Human”! One side of my brain is saying, “Hey Josh, this song really isn’t that great.” And the other side is saying, “OH. MY. GOD. He’s so hot. And damn, this camera work is good!” I’m loving the performance. The cutting camera angles meshed with the clouds is a visual delight. Oscar himself is also a visual delight. His voice just needs some work.

Score: 7.5/10

Ron: Wow! The direction of shots in this number is just amazing and reminds me a bit of the genius “Euphoria” in a way. It’s that very smart TV direction the swedes are so good at. The song has a very strong message that comes together with the great direction and you can’t resist it — it really touches your heart. It’s one of the best songs in this year’s Melodifestivalen and the musical production sounds quite good as well (I want to see that kind of song and performance on the Eurovision stage). Oscar’s vocals, especially in the verses, are not that good and I hope he will improve this part for the final — that’s the only thing to improve.

Score: 8.5/10

Anthony: “Yes We Can” became a “No He Can’t” two years ago. So it’s hardly a surprise Oscar once again qualified direkt till final, but with a stronger song than his previous attempt. Out goes the visual screen effects and slick dance moves, the attention’s fixed on Oscar himself with added cloud effects and various camera angles. However, it’s the vocals that seems to be Oscar’s Achilles heel at Melfest lately.

Score: 8/10

Steinunn: I have mixed feelings about this song. Oscar’s voice sounds very shaky in the beginning and the verse sounds a bit like it was written just as a filler. But then this amazing chorus shows up, and Oscar’s vocals suddenly become really enjoyable. Fortunately for Oscar, the strong chorus will help this song to go rather far in the final. I also quite like his staging. It has just enough darkness to support the message of the song, without being unnecessarily dramatic. It’s a rather good entry, although it’s far from being my favourite. I will not cry myself to sleep if it comes last, but at the same time I will not jump naked around town with joy if it wins.

Score: 7/10

In the Swedish Wiwi Jury we have 26 jurors but only have room for 10 reviews. The remaining 16 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 5 and a high of 10.

WIWI JURY SCORE: 7.56/10

FOR OUR LIST OF MELODIFESTIVALEN 2016 RANKINGS, CLICK HERE

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