The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — travelled to Iceland to review the acts of Söngvakeppnin 2018. Up first is Heimilistónar performing “Kúst Og Fæjó”. The only song intending to go to Eurovision in Icelandic — did it grab our attention? Read on to find out!
Heimilistónar — “Kúst Og Fæjó”
“Kúst Og Fæjó” reviews
Antranig: I was expecting a group of gutsy grannies performing the biggest hit of their local lawn bowling club. Instead I got one of the most exciting songs of the Icelandic selection. These ladies have a lot of personality and flair and it translates well into the song. I expect this to have the most interesting staging of Söngvakeppnin 2018 and this could be a serious contender to go to Eurovision.
Score: 6.5/10
Robyn: This is very much a Melfest casting — a local comedy group, delivering a fun song for the local audience. This isn’t, let’s assume, a serious contender for Lisbon. But it’s here to add a bit of levity to Söngvakeppnin. And when you consider how uninspiring many of the songs are this year, the ladies of Heimilistónar are a welcome addition to the lineup.
Score: 6.5/10
Jonathan: This is at least bringing something a bit different to the selection and has a nice retro feel. Unfortunately, it’s a bit too laid back to keep you engaged throughout, and the second half of the song doesn’t really add anything to it that you haven’t heard already. While it doesn’t quite have the same appeal as Nina’s “Caroban”, it could at least be an interesting one to watch staging wise at the national selection.
Score: 4/10
Aline: This song is one big time capsule to the 50’s – 60’s, I really like the retro vibe in it. This song is really happy and uplifting. I have no idea what they are singing, but I heard that the song is about cleaning. Thinking the meaning of the song away, this could be a really nice act to watch. I wonder how this will do in the competition.
Score: 7.5/10
Luis: Under normal circumstances, entries like this should be a guaranteed bottom three in their semifinal. Given this year’s Söngvakeppnin, they could even contend for the superfinal. This is retro, this is niche and we’ve heard it all before, but it works. It’s well executed and it’s refreshing to hear an entry completely in Icelandic. Thank you for existing.
Score: 5.5/10
Natalie: These girls seek to prove that the Icelandic language can be bouncy, and they’ve definitely convinced me. I just imagine the Vikings bopping around to this little ditty. I know that this isn’t exactly award-winning music, but surely no one can deny the pleasance in it – it’s pure innocent happiness. That harmonica too is seriously a great touch. I know Iceland can do much better, but I’m so glad to have these ladies in Söngvakeppnin.
Score: 7/10
In our Söngvakeppnin 2018 Wiwi Jury, we have 10 jurors but only room for 6 reviews. The rest of our scores can be found below:
Barnabas: 6/10
Bogdan: 7/10
Chris: 4.5/10
Sebastian: 3/10
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 and a high of 7.5.
Definitely different from the rest! I’m not a huge fan, but I like it’s fun.
6/10
I think it could work.
Oh, congrats girls, you made me laugh! This is a great comedy act. The song itself sounds like a typical 70s radio song that would be playing in a background of a film flashback, while the mother smokes on a porch, before the father arrives. Overall, I find it very joyful. The lyrics are hilarious. If you use google translate, you will be rolling on the floor.
7.5/10
I kinda understand the unimpressed reviews, by just hearing it this song doesn’t say much, but I’m confident the stage performance will elevate it. I love how they look like three bored housewives who created a band overnight and did their own apparel and make-up and looks!
It’s apparently meant to be funny. Since they are intending to sing in icelandic the message of the song is lost upon me. A sweet song though.
A 5/10.
Look, it’s better like this than most of the songs in English where you can understand the HORRID lyrics.
That shirt won’t get you laid tonight!! Yeah you pack a punch like a pack of wolves with a heart of gold…..you should know….
Totally agree.
Even within the Icelandic selection itself there are a few abominations.
Come on guys, it’s not like they have professional songwriters working on these…..oh wait…..