Earlier today, the Wiwi Jury – our in-house panel of music unprofessionals – gathered in Grindavik to have a very relaxed meeting in the Blue Lagoon. The topic of discussion? Söngvakeppnin 2017 contestant Hildur and the amazingly-titled “Bammbaramm” of course!
Hildur – “Bammbaramm”
About Hildur
A former member of the band SUNDAY, which competed at Söngvakeppnin 2015, Hildur has decided to go solo this time with her feel-good anthem “Bambaramm”, a vastly different tune from the dramatic “Fjaðrir (Feathers).” Can she make it by herself?
“Bammbaramm” reviews
Robyn: As far as onomatopoeic songs about heartbeats go, “Bammbaramm” is good, but it’s no “Düm tek tek”. If a song is based around the heart-racing feeling of falling in love, it doesn’t help if it’s plodding along at a sedate pace. Hildur delivers a nice performance, but there’s just something missing from the song.
Score: 5/10
Jason: “Bammbaramm” is cute for about a minute and then the screechy chorus becomes annoying, so I am not sure how it will come across live. I actually quite like the very current electro beat, which at times compliments Hildur’s voice nicely. Unfortunately, there are plenty of stronger choices for Iceland this year.
Score: 4.5/10
Chris: There’s only so much “Bammbaramm” that I can hear before I want that heartbeat to end. There’s repetition in a song and then there’s overkill. This falls definitely in to the latter category. The song reaches the chorus and then just stays there on a mild plateau. There’s a modern sound and Hildur’s a good vocalist for the song, but there’s only so much to compliment here.
Score: 4.5/10
William: Contemporary sounds are not always good ones — especially when they’re strung together with onomatopoeia. I appreciate the avant-garde, experimental quality of this. But as any scientist knows, experiments can go horribly wrong. All the electro sounds wash away the emotion and feel like I’m listening to a robot, not a person. Still, an enjoyable song from a daring artist. Well done!
Score: 5/10
Sami: Just like many others in the Icelandic selection, Hildur has a voice sweeter than sugar. Sadly, the song isn’t really interesting enough. There isn’t much happening here. The electro beat is nice and modern, but not many would remember the song at Eurovision as there isn’t anything to latch on to.
Score: 5/10
Kristin: I was head over heels in love with “Fjaðrir” in 2015, and wanted to see more from Hildur in the process. I got my wish, but I was slightly disappointed. “Bammbaramm” does not live up to its predecessor. But this is still one of the best songs in Söngvakeppnin 2017. There are a lot of ballads this year, and “Bammbaramm” is nothing but refreshing in its fun loving beat and Hildur’s vocals are flawless. This has to go to the finals. Simple as that.
Score: 8/10
Matt: This song should literally mean a drumroll but the anticipation is somewhat pleasantly surprising. This takes its inspiration from the 80s synthpop which is bang on trend right now. It is a good effort but there needs to be a bit more oomph for it to wow me.
Score: 7/10
Josh: “Bammbaramm” is one of the few songs in the Icelandic selection that I find myself tapping my foot to. It has a slow build, but the first chorus brings that EDM beat through and I really like it. Hildur has a uniquely charming voice that suits that electronic Scandinavian sound so well. One of my favourites this year.
Score: 7/10
In our Söngvakeppnin 2017 Wiwi Jury, we have 20 jurors but only room for 8 reviews. The rest of our scores can be found below:
Antranig: 7/10
Bernardo: 6.5/10
Dayana: 5.5/10
Deban: 6.5/10
Florian: 6/10
Forrest: 7.5/10
Jordi: 7.5/10
Luis: 6/10
Mikhail: 3.5/10
Patrick: 4/10
Sinan: 6.5/10
Steinunn: 7.5/10
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 3.5 and a high of 8.
This is tied in first for me. She’s a great singer, it’s catchy and fun, but has an edge to it. This is in my top two.
Not my type of song. I don’t like the chorus and the sound is annoying.
This is stuck in my head but that’s not enough to make me like it, it’s quite weak.
I’m surprised to see all those 5s. I thought this song would get only 0s and 8s because it seems to be so polarizing. It has the most annoying rhythm ever, but that’s just me.
Usually I hate onomatopeia titled songs, but this one is really cute. Not a heavy-hitter when it comes to Icelandic line-up, but really enjoyable nonetheless. 🙂