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.

Wiwi Jury Verdict: 7.25/10

READ ALL OUR SÖNGVAKEPPNIN 2018 WIWI JURY RANKINGS

READ MORE SÖNGVAKEPPNIN NEWS

16 Comments
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Kinie
Kinie
6 years ago

Idk about yall but with good staging, this could win ESC.

AngieP
AngieP
6 years ago

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.

Gol
Gol
6 years ago

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.

Colin
Colin
6 years ago

Well, it’s catchy and dance-able. 7/10

Takasa
Takasa
6 years ago

“This song isn’t perfect”… 10/10
Really?

James
James
6 years ago
Reply to  Takasa

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”.

beccaboo1212
6 years ago

My FAVORITE! 😀

Polegend Godgarina
Polegend Godgarina
6 years ago

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.

Happy go joy joy
Happy go joy joy
6 years ago

The jury has spoken Poledancer godgarina… so has every single poll everywhere. It’s Aron for Iceland.

Polegend Godgarina
Polegend Godgarina
6 years ago

It’s no final for Iceland I guess.

Weißbrot
Weißbrot
6 years ago

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…

Kris
Kris
6 years ago

This doesn’t stand a chance against Czech entry. Will expose its less catchiness and blander fun quotient further.
A 6.5/10

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
6 years ago

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!

Polegend Godgarina
Polegend Godgarina
6 years ago
Reply to  Briekimchi

Right? He’s a major offender to our ears.

Christian
Christian
6 years ago

It reminds me so much of Uptown Funk.

James
James
6 years ago

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.