The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — continues to rate and view the six entries competing in the UK’s Eurovision: You Decide. Next up we take a look at accomplished songwriter Anisa and her take on “Sweet Lies”. Were we seduced by her soulful version? Read on to find out!
Anisa – “Sweet Lies”
“Sweet Lies” reviews
Antranig: Of the three songs in the UK, I think two have potential to be revamped into something strong. “Sweet Lies” is not one of them. I find both versions to be incredibly stale and lyrically uninspiring. Both artists are incredibly talented and make the song a lot better than it is. Anisa has a beautiful voice but there is no saving this dismal entry. They’d be better off sending something from a Belarus live audition.
Score: 5/10
Chris: Anisa delivers what would, effectively, be a Live Lounge cover of Kerri-Anne’s superior version of the track. Undoubtedly, Anisa has a vocal talent — but it’s just entirely blown out of the water by what it’s up against. However, if she can steal the show live (and that’s happened before at You Decide), it might not be all over for Anisa.
Score: 5.5/10
Julian: This is my least favourite in the whole selection. It starts as a beautiful ballad but after one minute I get really bored. I did not think that two versions of one song could be so different that I would love one and hate the other. Sadly, the version I hate is Anisa’s. There is nothing happening in this version and I definitely prefer Kerrie-Anne’s version. It used to be a beautiful ballad but I ain’t feeling any emotions.
Score: 2.5/10
Luis: I wish I could start with a “sweet lie”, but I have already lost too much time with these three minutes: this is dull. Those three minutes felt like ninety. Anisa’s vocals are fabulous, but this version is little more than a lullaby. There’s no progress, no build, no nothing. This is wet lettuce, and at Eurovision you need condiments, salt, sauce, sugar, SOMETHING. Gurl, spice up your life and come back with a better song.
Score: 3/10
Pablo: There’s no doubt that Anisa has a beautiful voice that is similar to that of the Ariana Grande but this version… doesn’t work. Anisa’s “Sweet Lies” sounds more like a one-off remix of the original dance version the singer did for a special tour stop (or pre-party, if you may). It’s great for a one-night to impress with versatility, but we will gravitate to Kerrie-Anne’s pop banger version. This one sounds coerced and disengaging in comparison. Anisa’s talent is a saving grace that can’t save much.
Score: 3/10
William: In real life, Anisa is a giver of laughs, a giver of life. She’s bubbly, buoyant and you can’t help but smile when you’re around her. Unfortunately this song does little to convey her vitality — in fact, it renders her fifty shades of beige. Not even her sultry voice, which oozes sensuality and soul, can save this.
Score: 3/10
In our Eurovision: You Decide Wiwi Jury, we have 12 jurors but only room for 6 reviews. The rest of our scores can be found below:
| Angus: 7/10
Barnabas: 4.5/10 Jonathan: 4/10 |
Kristin: 4.5/10
Lucy: 3/10 Robyn: 6.5/10 |
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 2.5 and a high of 7.
10/10 idk why I love it so much
I have this ranked 2nd in my preference.
She sounds like Leona Lewis / Emilie Sande singing an Alicia Keys song. (praise indeed!)
As beautiful as the vocals and the arrangement of the song are, it’s still a forgettable song. Strong verses, weak chorus.
I am looking forward to seeing this performed live though.
Still my “favourite” because it is the least embarrassing of the entries.
Forgettable, Kerrie-Anne’s version is on another universe compared to this one. Just bland and doesn’t stand out whatsoever!
The lyrics were written by Lise Cabble, who has written many Danish attempts before… I think, the UK should focus on own composers. They shouldn’t be ashamed of their own talents.
Cheap attempt at copying Shontelle’s Impossible. The song goes nowhere, Kerrie-Anne’s song blows this out of the water.
Lmao people dislike my comment because I said facts
Go on sweetie keep disliking
Thanks for encouraging. But agree, that Kerrie Ann will win the duel. I’d personally prefer Anisa, but I like Kerrie’s song as well.
This is honestly my personal favorite of the entries. The 90s R&B vibes are so sweet. But the main problem is – how would they pull off those super important and precise backup vocals live? They had better have a good plan for the performance.
As Chris rightly alludes to, there is a reason why “Live Lounge” was such a success for the BBC. The raw live style of singing is “real performance” and is not fabricated through over-production. In this manner, Anisa has the best vocal of the selection and a big shot at elevating her live performance. Unfortunately for her, she is doomed to fail. Why? Because the format of the show would have her sing the same song up again Kerri-Anne’s much more exciting dance track – that is simply not fair on Anisa who, frankly, should have been given a different… Read more »
Agreed. It’s clear she’s talented and can communicate the emotions of a song with her voice. It’s a shame this song’s arrangement is so dull for the potential she has, which goes untapped. Anisa deserved better for sure.
Wiwibloggs, please, when are you going to review the Portuguese selection? We need your feedback mainly on Conan Osiris. 🙂
So dull and flat, will go absolutely nowhere. Kerrie-Anne outsells this version!
I’m warming up to this but something has to be done to make the song not feel like a drag. I understand that is meant to be sensual and emotional but adding some momentum for an epic finish of Lucy Jones-levels would make all the difference.
Anisa: Sweet lies – It is relaxing and nice, but also quite monotone. Some lyrics (“sweet, sweet highs”) also blend better with the other version. It’s pleasant, Anisa sings amazingly well, but it’s not that memorable. – 5/10