The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — comes to the end of our journey listening to and reviewing the eight competing acts in France’s Destination Eurovision 2018. Finally we take a look at the duo Madame Monsieur and their song “Mercy”. What did we think of their moving ballad? Read on to find out.
Madame Monsieur – “Mercy”
“Mercy” reviews
Antranig: There is a beauty in the simplicity of “Mercy”. Simple can often be boring but that is definitely not the case here. The staging echoed that and brought the song to life. Madame Monsieur are doing everything right and this could go far for France. This feels like the perfect song to follow up on the achievements of “Requiem”. France can’t go wrong with this one.
Score: 9.5/10
Robyn: This didn’t seem like a stand-out track coming into the semi-final, but what was flat in the studio version gained some life on stage. The emotional lyrics might be lost on non-French speakers (as might the play on merci/Mercy/mercy), but Madame Monsieur bring a lot to their performance and staging could illustrate some of the song. This isn’t the best France has to offer this year, but it would do well at Eurovision.
Score: 7.5/10
Chris: In its simplicity, “Mercy” becomes a standout in the national final season and — hopefully — at Eurovision. It would be easy for the song to become contrived, like so many “songs with a message” have before. But by keeping the staging, production and even lyrics pared back, the mood captured is just beautiful. It’s not a Eurovision winner, at least at this stage, but an incredibly worthy song.
Score: 9/10
Jonathan: “Mercy” was a deserved winner of the second semi-final, but whether it’s France’s best choice for Eurovision is less clear-cut. Subtle yet sophisticated, this contemporary, electronic track cleverly deals with an important subject matter. However, it would need even cleverer staging for the message to get across to an international audience (beyond that of The Netherland’s 2017) and would rely heavily on the national commentators to explain it’s meaning. If they pull it off though, it could be a bit of a dark horse.
Score: 8/10
Josh: The quiet quality of “Mercy” is appreciable and it’s easy to see why it’s a favourite amongst many Eurovision fans. However, the lack of dynamism and build towards the end of the song makes it feel very flatlined the whole way through. The lead vocalist has a stunning voice and great stage presence, but on stage in Lisbon — and mark my words — this will get lost in the crowd and will not place top ten. A fabulous radio friendly song, but not right for the stage.
Score: 7/10
Luis: This is how you tackle social issues at Eurovision. No clichés, no ‘Love Love Peace Peace’, just authenticity and gusto. Madame Monsieur bring the finest entries in Destination Eurovision. “Mercy” is smooth, clever and polished, and you could have it on repeat for ten hours without getting tired. Its lyrics are a punch on the face of Europe and connect with what many Europeans believe: our governments are doing nothing to prevent the Mediterranean from becoming a cemetery. As harsh as it sounds, that’s one of the many strengths of this entry.
Score: 9/10
In our Destination Eurovision Wiwi Jury, we have 15 jurors but only room for 6 reviews. The rest of our scores can be found below:
Bernardo: 7/10
Bogdan: 7.5/10
Deban: 6/10
Jovana: 8/10
Kristin: 8/10
Lukas: 9/10
Natalie: 6.5/10
Steinunn: 7/10
William: 9/10
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 6 and a high of 9.5.
I’m not feeling it. I wonder if it is going in the way of Italy’s 2016 entry No Degree Of Separation.
Well, OK song, but not so much more than that. I think it’s a bit thin, and the vocals could undoubtedly be stronger. Still I have it above Albania which is rather over-the-top performance-wise.
OMG…. this song is so good.
I love the voice. Great sound production !
10/10
This is solo Boring. 2/10
10/10 – Beautiful, touching and deep.
Such a charming song here. Instantly current and memorable too. For me this is the best song in the competition from France. It’s going to be a tough race between all the contenders on Saturday but i do want this to represent France. Even if you don’t speak French its very likely everyone will understand the words Mercy/Merci and je m’appelle Mercy and even the artists names Madame Monsieur is universally understood too. I hope the French public likes this too.
Hella overrated song!
My 2nd least liked song of the 8.
I really hope that it won’t win tomorrow on France Destination Final.
Even though i fear that it will…
I love sooooo much this song….
***WINNER ALERT****
I find it very dull, repetitive as well. I hope France won’t choose this.
Impressive vibe here, regardless of lyrical content. Her vocals and production in song complement each other. Not a fan of constant ‘mercy’ repeat at the end – I think there should be a phrase or two instead, but rest works really well. A very good option for France.
I became a huge fan of this act, it’s my favorite of all the NFs so far… I see them performing in a very natural, authentic, yet highly professional way and that’s why I wouldn’t call them merely singers, but “artists”… I have the same feeling with Maló… Plus I like that they take a current topic without using it just as headline, but look at it from a different angle, an usual perspective and shape it with sensible and effective lyrics… The whole package gives me goosebumps. It’s alright that it doesn’t appeal to everyone, but for me, in… Read more »
My heart ached when i first heard this song in full – it’s so good. What no-one has talked about yet is the length issue. The full track is 3:48. A 48-second cut for Eurovision is going to be a massive challenge, so please bear that in mind. On its own though, it’s perfect. 10/10
Long version (video lyrics):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT2G60kv4F0
they’ve cutted it to exact 3 minutes on Destination Eurovision, nothing to worry about, it works
Oh they have? Great, thanks. 🙂
Live (Eurovision) version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-5UnMdKg70
Thanks. I didn’t even realise they had shortened it. That’s how amazing it is!
France please send Nassi
UK please send Jaz-You
If you don’t want, it’s fine with me, these are not my countries.
Nassi has the right voice, he has a problem with breathing. If he is a smoker he should quit at least 24 hours before the show. If this is not enough, maybe he should reduce his dancing.
Jaz-You is something British, I don’t know why but I can tell is from UK without any other information.
I can’t vote because I’m Canadian, but I really hope the French get behind this song. When I look for a good Eurovision song to support, connection is key to me. When I first heard the snippet for “Mercy”, something clicked instantly for me, and then when I heard the full version I was totally in love with it – the live performance in the semifinal was one I had been looking forward to and didn’t disappoint me either. It’s simple, it does have a hook that some say doesn’t, and if chosen it could do really well. In this… Read more »
For me it is a impressive 8/10.
The song is nice, but I thought her live performance was quite underwhelming. I also think that they overplay the “human element” in their story making it all sound rather melo in the end. Lisandro also does the same with the “she is a single mother” line.
It’s nice to finally read some valid and constructive criticism over this song here. But some people still seem to hate it for petty reasons. Some do it because they prefer other songs (and they think that it requires you to hate others), because they still resent Salvador’s win (move on, folks) or even for political reasons. Sending “Mercy” to Eurovision wouldn’t be a safe choice. As Kyllito pointed, the mid-tempo zone is dangerous. Especially when everything is so polarized and we can notice that some call boring everything that’s not uptempo. Colin also has a good point: the staging… Read more »
Very well put. Thank you. And I completely support your point on Salvador.
Thank you for your comment, you took the words out of my mouth…
Thank you both 🙂
I agree. Sure, it would be a risky choice, but risk is the price you pay for opportunity, as we say. 🙂 In the end, we can’t be sure that a song like “Eva” would fare that well either. (I love Malo too. His live peformance, though…)
I think the same way. Didn’t you like Malo’s performance? I think he was great on the semifinal. But I admit he can be “a little too much”.
A little “too much”, yes. 😀 And I found his voice rather thin, especially in the high notes, and shaky at times. The song needs more power to have a real impact. But there’s potential. 🙂
I agree that he needs some work on his high notes, but I think he did a good job overall. I liked the energy, but it also can be part of the “too much” haha
I have my doubts here. I feel the song has a heavy message which may not be good for Eurovision at this time. Also, I’m afraid the staging will be too simple and the song will be lost. They need a beautiful and clever presentation. Not to mention the French language may not help get the message across. However, I really like this song personally. I like the lyrics and the message which is delievered in a way that’s not depressing. The ending is great, it gets more up-beat, vocally on point , the composition is original. I don’t know… Read more »
I agree 100%.
Two comments….first, one wiwi jury member last year would criticize songs down last year because they mid-tempo. And I agree that the tempo can be a danger zone for songs. I wish the song was a little slower and emotional or faster because it can be a little flat and sleepy. The second comment is the crowd really responds to the song cheering when they hear the chorus for the first time and have an extended response when the song concludes. The audience really embraces the song, which may go a long way to it possibly representing France. The other… Read more »
I’d really like to love this song as much as everybody else seems to do, but I sadly don’t. I think it would be a good choice, but not the best one.Doesn’t mean I don’t like the song, I just find it slightly overrated 7.75/10
And France will flop with the staging as usual no matter what song they send. Making their artists and songs dull.
There is *some* merit to what you are saying. France has a custom to have a very minimalist staging in the last few years. Combine it with a lot of wide angles, and the stage looks really empty. Also, not all songs are suited for a minimalist approach. While Amar pelos dois would suffer from a more crowded staging, songs like Lie To Me or You Are the Only One need a lot of props and dynamics to work properly. As for Mercy, I have zero ideas of how to stage it to it’s fullest potential. It’s not an obviously… Read more »
Good song but seriously though, it is overrated. It is not going to do better than Alma did last year.
No song in this final is going to do better than Alma last year. She had a better song than all of them, period.
I have a problem with this song. In theory it has everything a good entry needs, but I still find it overrated. It’s nice and well-produced, but in my opinion it still misses something special. I really like songs without message and this one has a strong message, but I just don’t feel it… What is more I was professionally and emotionally involved in the refugee crisis, so it should go straight to my heart but it just doesn’t.. Maybe it will grow on me.
Agree 100%
My vote will go to them next saturday and if they don’t win (which with Lisandro’s fan-bas is quite certain), I’ll still listen to them. I love this duo so much. They’re doing “clever music” it’s so rare.
France’s best choice out of the ones I’ve listened through. Haven’t heard OK ou KO yet because they were silly and region restricted the song on Spotify.
Seriously, this song is catchy as hell. And meaningful too. The selection is great this year but this song is a true standout.
Where do you live?
You can hear « Ok ou KO » on yout*be
7.88???? You guys must be joking.
That sounds about right to me. ‘Eva’ is just a better song.
Je ne suis pas d’accord….
So “Lie to me” has higher rating than “Mercy” ???? WTF wiwi jury
‘Lie to me’ is better than ‘Mercy’
So, for example, a mediocre song among the abysmal ones will be rated a 9/10, while a nice song among masterpieces will be only 5/10??? Definitely not the way I rate it (my highest rating for Belarus is 5.5, while the lowest one for France is 7.5), but everyone is free to rate it as they please.
So you are saying you rate by comparison and not by inner quality? That’s… disappointing.
Sorry but this doesn’t make sense…
Yeah this is disappointing to know….takes away the entire credibility of the NF Wiwibloggs’ jury then
Right, but I too had always thought that you give your marks out of ten on the merits of that one song itself, not in comparison with anything. For example, if you gave mercy 7.5 out of ten in the national final, I would expect the same score come Eurovision time. No?
While I really like it, I can see how many might find it flat and going nowhere. It could either stand out or get lost among the other songs. It’s no winner but still… why not? 🙂
I agree about liking it but seeing it as flat. However there no way in hell this song will stand out at Eurovision. Lisa Angell was better than this.
Lol compare Lisa Angell song to Madame Monsieur song is like compare Mans Zelmerlow “Heroes” to Twin Twin from France who ended last of ESC 2014
Video Lyrics (Long version):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT2G60kv4F0
Madame Monsieur made it about politics, then what about those who need help because they didn’t have thousands of euro to buy a place in the rubber boat? This topic makes me sick to my stomach. I hope will have the fate of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2016 with their barbed wire as staging. Unfortunately, this Madame Monsieur is in big5 and will be in the final anyway.
It’s a very human story that goes beyond petty politics.
Politics aside. The song is flat and forgettable.
People always use the word humanist to hide the face that it’s political.
*fact
stop thinking in the place of others. Not everyone hides but you seem to hide behind your bitterness .. breathe deeply
lol you’re literally bitter about my comment. You’re the one who needs to breathe, friend.
The people who really need help are still in the middle of the war. The ones that arrived in Europe are rich men (rich in their country, pretended poor in Europe)
Will vote for this toorrow ?
I’d vote for ‘Eva’, ‘Ciao’ and ‘Ok ou Ko’ over this song.
Her black soberness is so refreshing in Eurovision. She slays. Indeed she has incredible vocals. The song has a nice chorus, with quality but catchy at once. And of course, I would support this song very much in Eurovision stage, even only for its message. That would be a great narrative! (Would it be disqualified by EBU, I wonder?…) We need more of that! But also musically it would add value to the show in Lisbon. Is it winner? I don’t think so. There is a certain “je ne sais quoi” that is missing in the overall act. But I… Read more »
Yes, some wiwi jurors are right it’s not a winning eurovision song because of the flatness of the rythm, because in Lisbon it would be lost, Josh is right, because it could be a controversial song about the message, because the echo with the voice of madame makes the song too artificial, France will never win with this song, so France you have to choose another one, mrs and mr are not a good option.
Last year the jury wiwi had given the average score of 6.56 / 10 for Salavador Sobral !! I dreamed or won the competition? lol
and so?
So … it is very pretentious to assert in a peremptory way that this song will not win the Eurovision song contest!
Oh god, people will always bring last winner to prove their points. Can you stop please. I mean, we could apply your logic to other contestants with low ratings. Salvador didnt have a political song, his gestures were quirky, he had a different look, his song was different from the rest too. He didn’t need backing vocals or instruments like Madame Monsieur. Mercy is a typical pop song you’d hear on the radio, except with a controversial message.
Ina, there is nothing political in the song of Madame, Monsieur. It’s just a humanist chronicle. I did not know that singing the story of a life saved was controversial.
Once again…people use the word to try to hide the fact that it’s political. You gotta be naive if you dont think it’s controversial, specially if you pay attention to what’s going on in europe.
That song deserved lower!! I was shocked Wiwibloggs’ jury rated that so high. More like a 5 would have been apt
kris and his irony…….a love story
Well, ho-neeey, even if Wiwijury would rate 0/0 it stil would have won. So stop whining already and get on what is in store this year!
If he doesn’t like it, he won’t. Simple. He’s free to dislike a song.
Thanks Ina!!
Just because a song won doesn’t mean it should be automatically liked by everyone.
Yes of course he is. But I am also free to react to what for me is bad taste, especially expressed in such an arrogant way.
If televoters were allowed to vote like the Jury then the winner would have been different. In the current voting system it doesn’t matter how many people hate the song. So just because a song won it doesn’t mean it was the best song.
That is a completely wrong assumption. If that would be the case, people putting Amar pelos dois in first positions would obvisouly outnumber the ones who hated it, so he would still win. You are of course free to hate the song. I really don’t care. But to dissmiss his victory with this kind of fantasy is ludicrous.
For me it’s amongst the best songs in this national final. The fact that it’s based on a true story is irrelevant for me. I like the melody and especially the ending. The two verses are a bit repetitive though. She conveys a lot of emotion in her vocals.
A 8.5/10.
For me it’s the best choice for France this year…. My prediction with that song : 3 to 7 in final !!!
For me most overrated song in any national fnal till now. With that song , France wili be flop in final . My prediciton with that song France from 16 to 22 place in final.