't Wanna Fight UK wiwi jury

The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of musical unprofessionals — hasn’t had time to stop for breath ahead of Eurovision: You Decide. With the show taking place on Friday night, we’ve been listening and reviewing — and we’re finally up to the penultimate act. Selena Mastroianni is here to get us up on our feet with her pop dance number, “I Don’t Wanna Fight”. Is she in with a fighting chance though? Check out the reviews below!

Salena Matstroianni — “I Don’t Wanna Fight”

About Salena Mastroianni

Her gorgeous complexion, fiery artistry and distinct last name are just three of the signs that Salena is of Italian descent. She also happens to be a distant relative of the famous Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni. She briefly appeared in the X Factor auditions stage in 2012, but didn’t feature after that point. She has worked with Robbie Williams during his live concerts, and lists Jill Scott as one of her influences.

“I Don’t Wanna Fight” Reviews:

Robyn: I like the big energy of this song and it could provide a really enjoyable live performance. The song could have really broad appeal with its mix of a traditional pop song and modern production. My only concern — Europe expects the UK to deliver big pop icons. Is Salena going to measure up?

Score: 7/10

William: Grenades, semi-automatic weapons, ballistic missiles — there are certain things I don’t want covered in a pop song. But along comes Salena with her modern take on a peace anthem. The “I don’t wanna fight” riff is tolerable. The refrain of “put down our weapons” is not. Words matter — and they can ruin an otherwise catchy and likeable song when misused.

Score: 5/10

Anthony: Considering Georgia went for a peace theme not so long ago, this couldn’t come at a worse time for the UK to follow suit. It has the tropical house vibes of Brequette’s “No Enemy”, mixed with a Trijntje-esque hook of “why-oh-why-oh-why”. With another former X Factor contestant, I’m hoping for a better result than the one in 2008.

Score: 6.5/10

Bernardo: “I Don’t Wanna Fight” is no lyrical masterpiece — actually in some parts it’s plain sloppy. It needs a strong instrumental to compensate, because the voice is already there. Salena’s vocals are actually the only stand-out part of a forgettable song.

Score: 5.5/10

Florian: Salena could be another strong contender for Friday’s win. “I Don’t Wanna Fight” is a straight-forward, well-built pop piece. Salena has a great voice, which of course gets to shine in the chorus. Overall, “I Don’t Wanna Fight” could be more than just Eurovision material and would definitely bring the nation back to the left-hand side of the scoreboard.

Score: 10/10

Salena Mastroianni I Don't Wanna Fight LyricsChris: If all of the lyrics to this song were changed, I’d probably enjoy it a lot more. It feels like the writing team were briefed to somehow include a peace message against all odds. Because this song is actually good, beneath it all. You’re taking a tropical fruit salad and pouring salad cream over it. They just don’t go together, honey.

Score: 5.5/10

Matt: This is a classic peace song that oozes club anthem charm. Traditionally these songs do well by themselves — and this song is no different. With a catchy hook in there too, it may get votes. Still, I worry this theme has been played out one too many times

Score: 7/10

Dayana: “I don’t wanna fight.. We can make it right.. Only love survives”? Feels like I’ve heard it somewhere already (like the Eurovision 2013 final featuring Ireland and Russia). But if you abstract yourself from the lyrics and focus on the song and the voice instead, then you’ll probably love this entry. After all, we all love energetic songs we can dance to, don’t we?!

Score: 7/10

In our UK Wiwi Jury, we have 18 jurors but only room for 8 reviews. The rest of our scores can be found below:

Andy: 4.5/10

Antranig: 7/10

Edd: 7.5/10

Forrest: 5.5/10

Josh: 6/10

Jovana: 5/10

Kristin: 6/10

Luis: 6.5/10

Sinan: 6.5/10

Zakaria: 4/10

Before calculating the average score, the highest and lowest scores are dropped. This is to remove outliers and reduce potential bias. We have removed a low of 4 and a high of 10.

WIWI JURY VERDICT: 6.13/10

SEE OUR LIST OF UK 2017 RANKINGS HERE

FOLLOW ALL OF OUR UK EUROVISION NEWS HERE

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fikri
fikri
7 years ago

i could dance to this song if i’m drunk enough.

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
7 years ago

It has the same lyrical problems as all of the other UK songs but I don’t actually dislike it. Catchy in places and not boring at all. I think it is the second best in the UK selection and a good alternative choice.

Charles
Charles
7 years ago

@Chance: Probably as drunk as anybody else dancing with the Russian grannies backing bread …

Polegend Godgarina
Polegend Godgarina
7 years ago

I can’t at some of you guys praising her vocals… The way she produces noises with her mouth (I just can’t call it singing for the respect of those who have actually studied this art) is exactly the result of the way they teach you NOT to sing at vocal classes. A nightmare.

Polegend Godgarina
Polegend Godgarina
7 years ago

This is a joke, right? She’s completely unable to sing. One of the worst techniques I’ve ever heard, and I’ve studied lyrical singing for years. She sounds like she’s struggling throughout the entire song, and I feel bad for her. The song reminds me of Josh Dubovie’s disaster with its cheap production, and there’s nothing to save about this trainwreck. The fact that she’s a fellow Italian doesn’t make me any less merciless.

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
7 years ago

Side note: Has anybody else noticed that the melodic hook in this song (“fi-i-i-i-ight”/”sur-vi-i-i-i-ives”) sounds like an old Microsoft Windows start-up melody from the early 2000s?
Or even a Nokia ringtone from the same era?
Just me then…

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
7 years ago

Peace, Peace, Love, Love – echoing that fine tradition we have “Put down our weapons,” in which we “exhale our mental tale(!)” and even “I don’t wanna fight; we can make it right” (*throws up*). Why-oh-why-oh-why was this song written with such cheesy cliches for lyrics?! But… that melodic hook (“I don’t wanna fi-i-i-i-ight”) is a DELIGHT! [Oh sh*t, that rhymes, sorry.] Basically, that hook is what makes this song work miracles. The big risk is that for much of the Chorus, Selina is audibly struggling to reach those high notes with her vocals. Compounding this problem, the delightful hook… Read more »

UKEestiKid
UKEestiKid
7 years ago

I like this one a lot actually as it’s one of the three that I could remember after first lesson. I don’t really see this as a peace anthem, in my mind it’s about a relationship that’s struggling/failing where they’re both constantly arguing and she wants them both to put down their metaphorical weapons and not fight. But that’s just my interpretation and it’s most probably wrong but still… Overall while the UK selection isn’t anything special they’re all decent entries that will save the UK any blushes come may time and Salena, Holly or Olivia would all be a… Read more »

Chance
Chance
7 years ago

How drunk was Florian when he rated this?

(J)ESC Fanatic
(J)ESC Fanatic
7 years ago

My favourite. This song is insanely catchy and memorable and with a good performance it could slay at Eurovision. It’s basically the only entry in the bunch which could easily appeal to televoters all over Europe. Yes, it’s completely cheesy, but I like cheese. And after all, it has a message, it’s not some meaningless trash.

8/10

beccaboo1212
7 years ago

Why should anyone complain about “peace anthems”? 😮

Jim H
Jim H
7 years ago

The more I listen to them the more i realise that unless the live performances are dramatically different, I would be fine with anyone but Nate winning.

Isaac Visser
Isaac Visser
7 years ago

Isn’t Olivia’s song also a peace anthem more like Georgia? This is a slice of Euro-cheesecake and I want more!!

Pablo
Pablo
7 years ago

I think they confused Olivia’s lyrics and Salena’s melody.

Obviously the most current and better music, but it needs a complete rewriting for it to really work without it being clunky.

Colin
Colin
7 years ago

@Chris (for the Jury): ”If all of the lyrics to this song were changed, I’d probably enjoy it a lot more.” If all of the lyrics were changed, it wouldn’t be this song. Lyrics are, like half of it. That is why I get so pissed at all of those inaccurate English translations. Because, melody + lyrics = song. For example, if the worst Croatian entry (Celebrate, 2011), was properly translated from Croatian, the lyrics in the chorus would go: ”Oh, breeze, take away my pain”, and instead we got: ”Celebrate, every step you take”. Not even remotely similar. The… Read more »

Colin
Colin
7 years ago

There is SO MUCH happening in this song. I am between does it make it richer or messier. I usually like anti-war songs with a lot of meaning. This one is just…okay. ”Put down our weapons” part is good, but literally putting ”only love survives” seams tad too cheesy even for me. It might just be that Olivia’s song is better, but this seams like an average choice overall. However, it’s better than all 3 Spanish songs that lead the poll.

PS. Judging by the score, I’d say that Wiwi jury actually has some confidence for the UK this year.