The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — travelled to Sweden to visit the ABBA Museum in Stockholm. Amid the platform shoes and sequins, we discussed Frans‘ song “If I Were Sorry”. Did we accept his apology? Read on to find out!
Frans with “If I Were Sorry”
“If I Were Sorry” reviews
William: Chit-chatty, charming and quietly powerful, this bucks all the rules of Eurovision, which leans toward the over-the-top and technical. Its simplicity and his slight awkwardness make this endearing and his voice works well with the casual nature of the song. Many have compared this to Justin Bieber mated with Ed Sheeran and rightly so. It’s well-produced, memorable and worthy of the airwaves.
Score: 8.5/10
Deban: “If I Were Sorry” is a lazy pop effort that has taken Sweden by storm. Frans’ is unassuming, and despite the toil that has gone into packaging this entry, much of it reads as underwhelming. To make an impact on the big night, I’m strongly advising against a Melodifestivalen copy and paste staging. This entry needs new life!
Score: 5/10
Denise: Sweden is keeping it simple this year and that might be the key to another victory. Almost every other country is going for big, bigger, biggest while Sweden is doing what they’re best at, doing something no one else does. The song is good and Frans is a good performer for his young age. Lots of people don’t like his accent, but I just think it sounds really sweet.
Score: 9/10
Angus: I was the farthest thing from a Frans fan at #mello, but since, “If I Were Sorry” has grown on me. The key to its appeal is how anti-Eurovision it sounds, relying upon the simple backing and lyrics to power it forward. It riffs off the current chart hype for Justin Bieber, and Frans fits straight into the mould Bieber left behind. If the Swedes stick to their staging guns, as they normally do, this will really sparkle at home in May.
Score: 7/10
Bogdan: Sweden’s entry is anything but what Sweden was expected to send. A quirky kid who recites more than sings an atypical song with unexpected lyrics? There are countless songs about how the protagonist is sorry, but how many are there where he is not? And herein lies the strength of “If I Were Sorry”: it stands out because it’s not spectacular, but frank and humble. Frans’ stark and credible rendition stole an otherwise glamorous show and that is why I love it. David beat Goliath and it might do the same in May.
Score: 9.5/10
Josh: Sweden, we need to talk. I love your music, but you should be sorry for selecting “If I Were Sorry” at Melodifestivalen. You guys had a plethora of talent with amazing songs and you went for the cutesy boy with a song that is so dull. The Australian jury didn’t award any points to Frans at Melfest, and this Australian on the Wiwi Jury won’t be voting for you either. And for that, I am sorry.
Score: 5/10
Tobias: I am from Sweden and I’m not a fan of Frans at all. I was surprised he won Melodifestivalen since there were much better songs that would do better in Eurovision. The Eurovision crowd may find this song a bit boring as most of them expect a big impressive and expensive stage performance in this contest. Compared with most songs this year, Frans doesn’t have a big stage performance but that could also be something positive, making him stand out. Typical Eurovision fans won’t fancy this but I think that the families and children watching this will like Frans. There won’t be another victory for Sweden this year but I do think they will end up in the top 10.
Score: 7/10
Judit: Please welcome the Swedish Justin Bieber. When I heard that song for the first time my reaction was: is it too late now to say sorry for this song? What is the hype around it? How can people go crazy about it. And then I realised the Bieber effect. But the thing is, Bieber can be original, and this song not. Frans could have a bright future, he just has to find his own voice!
Score: 4/10
Padraig: I’ve developed a new appreciation for “If I Were Sorry” since it’s moved beyond the Melfest Arena. The appeal lies in its simplicity. There’s no bombast or excess. Just Frans singing of all the ways he’d make up for the wrongs he’s done. But of course, the sting comes when he reveals that he’s not sorry at all. As Justin Bieber proved with the similarly themed “Love Yourself”, the population at large is a sucker for unapologetic boy-next-door types. Frans is already conquering the charts. The question now is whether he can win over televoters and juries too.
Score: 8/10
Patrick: Well, I’m pretty sad and also really pissed about Sweden. You stage a fantastic selection with so many freakin’ good songs and then you choose a bland boring song which goes nowhere. Ehh! I’m so annoyed by the cuteness factor that people credit him with. And also I don’t understand why he is so high in the odds. Can somebody explain me this?! I’m pretty sorry for you, Sweden.
Score: 2/10
Robyn: If there’s any song that can give Sweden its much desired consecutive victory, it’s this. “If I Were Sorry” is an antidote to all the overproduced “Heroes”-inspired power-pop heading to Stockholm this year. If the audience on 14 May is tired of all that relentlessly upbeat pop, Frans will serve a quiet moment of cute folk-pop, with a teenage boy shuffling around the stage instead of delivering a slickly choreographed number. This is Eurovision 2016’s moment of Zen.
Score: 7.5/10
Sami: People say this is so different from Sweden’s previous entries and it’s nice to have something sweet and genuine. That is what they are trying to make us think, at least. Frans is very charming, but as we saw already during Melodifestivalen, he really tries to get everything perfect, for example spending hours choosing the right hat. “If I Were Sorry” is a great pop track and deserves to do well in the contest. But winner it is not, and I will be really disappointed if Sweden wins once again.
Score: 8/10
In the Wiwi Jury we have 40 jurors but only have room for 12 reviews. The remaining 28 scores are below.
Anthony: 6/10
Antranig: 0/10
Bernardo: 6.5/10
Chris: 8/10
Cristian: 5/10
David: 4/10
Dayana: 9.5/10
Diego: 7/10
Edd: 9.5/10
Forrest: 8.5/10
George: 9/10
Gökhan: 5/10
Jason: 8/10
Kristin: 4.5/10
Liam: 5.5/10
Luis: 5/10
Marek: 8/10
Maria: 9.5/10
Mario: 7/10
Max: 6.5/10
Mike: 7/10
Mikhail: 4/10
Renske: 7.5/10
Rezo: 6/10
Sinan: 4.5/10
Steinunn: 4/10
William C: 2.5/10
Zakaria: 0.5/10
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 0 and a high of 9.5.
There is perhaps little point in me writing a musical analysis of “If I Were Sorry,” since the song is basically a few musical phrases and/or hooks wound together with some pauses in between. I think it’s grounded in E Major. There is ZERO choreography as well, so… What is the appeal of this song? Essentially it’s the story of a broken heart. The song is a storytelling device, nothing more and nothing less. Beyond that, Frans is young and perhaps hot to a certain audience. Having said all that, this entry is unique for ESC. I think this is… Read more »
Frams staging will be the same?
Bella, bets ad polls are just that. You know they constantly change from week to week. The reason he drops is because no one think Sweden will win since it’s almost impossible to win two years in a row these days. But they still believe it can’t be ignored and Frans will do well. We have to wait until rehearsal to see any change and there Frans might increase.
But yeah, there are more indications and more likely than not that he will end up really well. Despite fans saying it goes nowhere.
Loo, Denis Sweden is now fourth in betting odds.I think that is because people dont bet so much to Sweden because won last year.I still think that we cant ignore if I were sorry. Its a very strong entry.After the rehearsals and the semi finals bets will be different.
Selene – if Antranig is immature then he fits right into these reviewers, who throw their judgement out the window and give extra points for a hot male singer
@bella
I think they believe that Frans possibly CAN do it. Gothenburg better get ready in that case 😉
It`s boring and weak song. Frans can`t sing he talks lyrics. Sorry but in this year Sweden is weak and this country would be 15-20 th place.
Loo (one last question) do svt believe that there is a possibility for a 7th win this year;
This song is just beautiful.
I love all the haters slagging this off, knowing for sure it will fail cause they don’t like it. That’s not evidence nor is it indication of anything.That’s only an opinion and opinions are not fact What there is evidence of though, and very strong indication of, is the fact that it will do well. Music experts and juries have rated it very highly and various ESC sites have also praised it. That some fans don’t like it doesn’t mean anything cause like I mentioned the fans only want a certain type of songs and performances that ponder to them.… Read more »
Sweden has to be sorry for this lack of taste in music, originality and intelectual property with his cheap version of Justin Bieber. It’s boring, repetitive and annoying. Yeah, the song has it all to depress the audience during his performance. I hope Europe can apreciate how disgusting is Frans’ song and let him be at the bottom of the top 26, where he belongs, of course.
Friendly reminder: I’m not a hater, I have ears.
Surprisingly, this song is quite easy for me to rate 7.5 – 8 out of 10. You know it’s contemporary from the first few seconds and it belongs somewhere in mainstream song charts out there. The melody, the beat and the vocal in combination is good enough to give this an A. But the song has a very high chance of getting a much lower score when we see it performed on stage.
It has grown on me a lot since Melodifestivalen, but still is not in my top 10.
The main problem for me is Frans’ attitude. I really don’t like him at all.
I would rather put this somewhere between 5 and 5.5 points.
I just don’t see too much effort behind this song. You are going to a contest for God’s sake, and you prepare something like this? It is boring, too simple, not entertaining. It could still work if it could create some magical atmosphere around it, but that is missing too.
Wow, the first time I agree with most of the wiwijury. Well done guys!
Sweden is my winner this year, first time ever. I usually dislike Swedish songs, but this is amazing!
Denis you are right!!!!! Dear haters of Frans you forget something. Frans beat Molly Sanden who had a song with a youyououou sound.Amir has much better song tham Molly but he also has that youyouou sound .Maybe he can be beaten by Frans.Or maybe not.Robin Sternjbergs song had a yououou sound and he only achieved 14th place.
Honest simple radio pop song rarely goes well with the fans. Just take another example this year Netherlands: Simple honest catchy radio-tune that makes you believe in what the singer sings, much like Frans. But he’s nowhere to be find in the OGAE simply because it’s not schlager, stagy enough, lacks big numbers. The fans don’t like honest songs at all. Much like they loathed Calm Before The Storm in 2014 and said it would go nowhere. But anti ESC songs like thee two usually does well because it offers something new and is a breeze of fresh air. Same… Read more »
@EugeneESCUK: That “London gangsta speak”, as you call it, sort of reminds me of a U.K. artist known as The Streets.
it’s a pretty average entry, it will only do well because he has a cute face that pleases a certain public, 5/10 for me, not the worst but definitely not the best from Sweden, in my opinion.
SVT says that Frans is one of the big favorites, yes. He’s doing well on the charts, better than anyone. Sweden and France has the most “chart-friendly” songs of the year without a doubt 🙂
Loo svt said that Frans is favorite to win? What are the stats?
@bella
You are right.The Common Linnets and a LOT of other simple songs have had really good results with the jury. We seem to know better once again 😉
I’m getting sick of conspirations and so called “stats” without motive and credibility… Do some research, please.
Eugene calm after the storm was very simple also and finished SECOND!!!! And maybe he drifts in bets because people dont bet so much in Sweden due to the fact that won last year. Its been 22 years since a host country won BECAUSE host countries usually dont try to win again.Thats why.Also Frans is doimg well in Spotify and in itunes.There is an article in oikotimes whith the title:what bets and polls say in 21 April.There you will find about itunes.Sweden is doing better than Russia and France.Also a french electronic musician Jean Jarre (if I remember correctly his… Read more »
Sweden ALWAYS send the best songs, but this is terrible. No rhythm. The song didn’t catchy. I have a feeling that this boy gets tired while singing. Although I know he can sing. It’s a pity, because the song has the potential.
I am disappointed ;(
I don’t understand this frenzy around this song. How is it possible that it has more points than Denmark? Even Ireland has a cooler song…
I’ll start by saying I’m not the biggest fan of this no matter how much I’ve tried. I preferred Oscar’s song. That said this is a solid song. It’s super current and will resonate with many viewers and has the potential for being a hit outside the competition. It’s good to have music like this in here. I get why many fans hate it. MF has a cult following and ESC fans and Schlager fans are two almost interchangeable terms. This is the antithesis of Schlager. That’s not a bad thing. I myself hate Schlager but also find faux folk… Read more »
http://www.svt.se/melodifestivalen/har-ar-frans-etta-infor-eurovision-song-contest-2016
SVT has checked the latest stats and things are looking really good for him 🙂 We are certainly one of the frontrunners 😉
Don’t like it, nothing special but his performance convinced people to win melodifestivalen lol.
0/10
Dreadful excuse for a song.
Sweden apologists this year have become my main source of entretainment lately, the delusion is strong among them.
Loo , Denis did Swedish singers said something about Frans? SVT wants another victory now?
Sweden will do really well. In any other year we would have won by a landslide, but as the host country it’s not that easy this year I’m afraid. We’ll see 🙂 If not Sweden, I’m reeeeeeeeally rooting for Amir and France!
@bella
The answer to your question you can find in Denis comment 🙂
@Denis
i didn’t say that, he’s perhaps a good singer, but his song is a bit bland and dull for me
but he is a good singer, only the song is lacklustre, it doesn’t excite me
anyway you have a good opinion
let’s be honest here! The song is tipped to do well, extremely well even, and that’s what fans don’t like. The fact that it’s Sweden again doing well puts people off, but the biggest issue is that it doesn’t offer a big spectacular show with cages, drum and what not. And it isn’t a diva belting out a tune either. That’s what fans doesn’t like and why they think it won’t do well. And that proves the point: fans doesn’t really care about genuine songs but rather who has the biggest and best show, especially if it ponders to the… Read more »
@Deen
that wasn’t meant for you, it was for @GEF
but no, everyone can support their favourite in their own way they want, you can also support your favourite the same way like i do
so please can we be friends on this blog, i really like everyone on here 🙂 🙂
The problem with ”If I Were Sorry” is that it’s too simple and bland! There are some simple songs which are also effective (like Germany this year), but this is just indifferent. It’s kind of catchy, but still nothing more than that! There were much better songs in Melodifestivalen this year and I’m sad that they chose this! It’s not bad, but it’s still Sweden’s worst entry since a long time ago!
6/10
Loo can you tell me which people have said that Sweden will win? Im really curious. I have heard a statement from a french electronic musician Jan Jarre (I think his name is something like that) he believes that Frans can win.
@ esc 2016
why you said that? Russia’s song isn’t the most successful song this year, it’s not even charting in their own country and Sergey is not unkwown there.
Hopefully will and should win a song which sounds 2016.
But Europe will decide, I’m just a bit worry about western countries spliting their votes and all east voting massively for Russia. We’ll see.
Awful ,if this even manages to crack the top 20 it will be a disgrace !
Swedes knows that people hate us because of jealosy 😛 We don’t mind. Ignorance never hits us.
A lot of people from the music industry thinks that Sweden will win again. People with more knowledge than the fans. People who knows real music and taste.
Loo what swedes are saying about the hate Frans receive?
@bella
This is not the case. People KNOWS that the song is strong and that’s why they tries to deny it’s chances. Sweden is strong this year, and has a big winning chance. Just look at the stats 🙂
@Marc
According to your opinions you think that this year should win Russia??
Loo I am almost scared.I have visited many eurovision fansites and people who support Frans are few.I hope for him to be another common linnets or another Conchita.
@bis
You may be like but this is not the only wrong thing in ESC…Australia is one…the new voting system is another….also the way that juries votes and others…
*success
Melfest songs sucess this year so far (based on Spotify)
1. Frans: 26,5K
2. S&V: 14,3K
3. Saraha: 9,6K
4. Robin: 8,9K
5. Wiktoria: 8,7K
6. Panetoz: 8,5K
7. Oscar: 6,8K
8. Lisa: 6K
9. Boris 5,8K
10. Molly 5,7K
11. Ace 5K
12. David 3K
The best song won. It’s a fact, numbers don’t lie.. start to deal with it and stop saying Sweden had better songs to send.
@esc2016 I do not like the generic Eurovision factory pop that has become a whole industry in Sweden over the past 15 years. This includes both “Heroes” and “Popular”. Plus loads of entries from Azerbaijan, Russia, Spain and other countries that have either bought Swedish songs or re-produced the same concept. The Austrian moderator Andi Knoll once put it very well: “Sweden at Eurovision is like Coca Cola: It sells very well and always tastes the same”.