The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — travelled to Iceland to review the acts of Söngvakeppnin 2018. Our final song is Aron Hannes performing “Gold Digger“. Was this our choice for Eurovision? Read on to find out!
Aron Hannes – “Gold Digger”
“Gold Digger” reviews
Antranig: I can see why this would appeal to some people and why it would be a popular choice for Iceland. Personally, I find the entire thing a tad annoying. The rap section lacks the finesse and execution I’d want to see from a Eurovision rap. The lyrics are really unappealing too. I feel like he’s a poor man’s Mikolas Josef — and if Iceland chooses this, he’s competing in the same half of the same semi-final as the Czech Republic. It’s not going to end well.
Score: 4/10
Robyn: Oh look! A Söngvakeppnin entry that is lively and actually feels current-ish! I can’t help wonder how much “gold” a young guy like Aron has to be dug. But perhaps it’s just a metaphor for the huge burden of having a girlfriend who expects him to pay for her McDonald’s. This song isn’t perfect, but it’s the best of the 2018 lineup. There’s potential for a fun national final performance, which should add even more.
Score: 10/10
Jonathan: Aron is back with a bang! “Gold Digger” is great piece of catchy Scandipop and stands out by miles amongst all the other entries in this year’s Söngvakeppnin. Iceland has failed to qualify with three female performers in a row, so maybe it’s time to send a male to shake things up. The only problem I foresee is they’ll have the Czech Republic’s Mikolas Josef competing in the same half of semi-final one with a similar product, which may split the votes. But nevertheless, Aron’s onto something good here.
Score: 8.5/10
Aline: I feel a Bruno Mars vibe here! Besides Aron is a real cutie, this song stands out the most in this selection to me, because it’s so uplifting and modern. It gives me a big smile on my face when listening to it. I can see this song getting stuck in many people’s head, so that could be also a good sign to do well on the Eurovision stage. My favourite song in this Icelandic selection.
Score: 9/10
Barnabas: “Gold Digger” is a track destined to set the stage on fire, so with proper choreography, it actually could be the uptempo track we’ve been waiting for.
Score: 7/10
Chris: Such a breath of fresh air in the Songvakeppnin field. “Gold Digger” hardly brings anything new to the table, but it doesn’t really need to. It’s three minutes of enjoyable pop music, and even the mini-rap breakdown works in this context. A little bit more production right at the end might help separate things a bit more, but this could maybe just get Iceland back to the final.
Score: 7.5/10
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:
Bogdan: 6.5/10
Luis: 8/10
Natalie: 1.5/10
Sebastian: 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 1.5 and a high of 10.
Idk about yall but with good staging, this could win ESC.
I enjoy listening to this song. It’s up-beat, it’s fun. But I want to see it live to see where it’s going.
I think Aron was great last year and “Tonight” is much better than Bruno Mars wannabe “Gold digger”. This guy is so talented, he deserves better.
Well, it’s catchy and dance-able. 7/10
“This song isn’t perfect”… 10/10
Really?
The 10/10 must have been due in part of the reviewer’s personal preference. Regardless, the highest score given is not part of the average score awarded by the Wiwijury to “Gold Digger”.
My FAVORITE! 😀
This song is AWFUL in every sense. The try-hardness, the poor man’s Bruno Mars sound, the problematic lyrics… all is so cringe-inducing.
The jury has spoken Poledancer godgarina… so has every single poll everywhere. It’s Aron for Iceland.
It’s no final for Iceland I guess.
You could compare this to ”Lie to me”….But on the other Hand I have to say, that Lie to me is much better than this here. The most good Things about Lie to me aren’t included here PLUS Golddigger is kinda annoying… Still 7.25/10 Points when you think about how bad the other icelandic Songs are…
This doesn’t stand a chance against Czech entry. Will expose its less catchiness and blander fun quotient further.
A 6.5/10
This is SO bad. Annoying doesn’t do it justice. I hated his song last year and didn’t think he could top it. Well, he managed it!
Right? He’s a major offender to our ears.
It reminds me so much of Uptown Funk.
After listening to the song (well, the Icelandic version at least), I can see why there could be concerns with Iceland sharing the same semi with Czechia, which is sending a song of a similar vein, minus the jazz swing element.
But I think this one has a more 80’s/90’s throwback bop that’s quite pleasing to the ears while still keeping it contemporary for everyone to enjoy.