The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — has travelled to Norway to review the songs competing in Melodi Grand Prix 2019. Ten years on from their last win, we are looking for the next Norwegian “Fairytale”. Our next artist is Hank von Hell with the song “Fake It”. Is Hank faking it or did he actually make it? Read on to find out.
Hank von Hell — “Fake It”
“Fake It” reviews
Izhar: When I started listening to this song, I felt that it was full of vivacity and that it can stand out compared to most of the songs in this Melodi Grand Prix. Hans also looks like someone with a cool attitude that can bring the party to Tel Aviv. But then I realised that it reminds me of Lordi’s “Hard Rock Hallelujah” which might just be a coincidence? Nevertheless, it’s still quite a good song with a very catchy chorus. With the right staging, I can see this as the dark horse of the contest. Overall, if I put aside my “resent” due to the familiarity to Lordi, this song is one of my favourites in this year’s MGP.
Score: 6.5/10
Julian: This is a cool mixture of rock, pop and a little bit of anthem. The melody is very simple and gets easily in the viewer’s ears. If I have something to criticise, it would be the chorus being not that powerful in the studio version. The background singers could be more present here. But I think with good staging, this could be a good choice for Norway.
Score: 6.5/10
Antranig: I really enjoy this song but in a national final filled with such high quality, it just doesn’t stand up. I love the outlandish performer and the equally absurd nature of the song itself. It is truly refreshing to see amid a sea of strong contenders. There’s always room for a novelty act in a national final, especially one with a decent song. However, it must be noted that Hank ain’t going to Tel Aviv.
Score: 5/10
Antony: This song is an interesting addition to this national final. It might stand out based on the eccentricity of the performer or maybe the rock genre that the song is going with. However, the song runs a bit flat with minimal excitement. In a national final with more competitive songs, it is crucial that vocals and staging are perfect so it does not get forgotten.
Score: 5/10
Robyn: “Fake It” sounds like some 2000s-era garage rock, dressed up in the outrageous persona of Hank von Hell. Mr von Hell is a seasoned performer and whatever shortcomings the song may have, live on stage he will surely be able to lift it above and beyond the studio version. “Fake It” promises to be a fun addition to the grand final and would be thrillingly welcome in the superfinal.
Score: 7.5/10
Oliver: While I appreciate the attempt at trying to bring variety, Hank’s entry into MGP just does not light any spark for me. It could lend itself to explosive staging but the song itself is nothing special. The vocals felt, at times, to be washed out by the backing track and during the moments when the vocals were loud enough, they came across as rather shouty. In short, this would need a bit of work to reach the level of some of the other entries in the contest.
Score: 5.5/10
In our Melodi Grand Prix 2019 Wiwi Jury, we have 14 jurors but only room for 6 reviews. The rest of our scores can be found below:
| Sebastian: 4/10
Deban: 5.5/10 Florian: 2/10 Pablo: 7/10 |
Luis: 6/10
Renske: 5.5/10 Steinunn: 6/10 Bernardo: 6/10 |
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 and a high of 7.5.
I’m curious to know, do people know who Hank von Hell is and which band he was the frontman of some years ago?
This entry is my second favouriteif MGP, after KEiiNO!
The person who rated it as 2/10 is tastless!
Rock on Norway! And rock on ESC! To quote a MGP from last year – I Like I Like I Like
Hank’s personality seems like it may be a little too purposefully flagrant for my taste, but I must say I find this song and its chorus so, so catchy. This is the perfect mixture of rock and pop for Eurovision.
Still waiting reaction to Lithuanian final which will be this Saturday
Eurovision.de wrote Do not jeopardize the credibility of the ESC The Wiwi case should raise alarm bells among television executives across Europe. The Eurovision Song Contest lives from the fact that its results, if not always comprehensibly, are at least credible. The EBU has done much to ensure that the composition of the country juries is based on transparent criteria designed to ensure fair voting. If this credibility is undermined in the national preliminary decisions, because these criteria are ignored (and the husband of a participant sits on the jury, as in Estonia, or two members of the same fan… Read more »
Thank you. That is the most relevant comment on the situation that I have read so far. Please do feel free to contact your broadcaster or the EBU with that explanation. It is most informative.
”husband of a participant sits on the jury, as in Estonia” – Had no idea, but this sounds like an easily investigated foul play. But whoever it was, he obviously had no influence on the outcome, as Victor Crone won solely on televote. EDIT – Absolutely true what they say. Jury member Karl-Erik Taukar is the husband of participant Kerli Kivilaan who, interestingly won a jury vote in her semi. However, it really had no bearing on the finals, in which she ended-up 9th, 4th on the international jury vote. I haven’t read it in detail, because it’s in Estonian,… Read more »
Also, Estonian wiki says something that I think translates to that he was the host in the finals, which is a completely different thing, unless he did both. So, one of the pages might be wrong in what part Mr. Taukar did in the show.
cool story, but have you seen the jury of the 90s ESC? those were the fully un-transparent glory days where casual fans and OGAE could have gone on board. Have you seen some of the national selections lately (Belarus, Ukraine’2011, Russia’2010, Moldova auditions and the list goes on)?
Fake It – This is a song to listen to if you want a really wild party. It feels authentic and straight-forward in being a fun entry! The chorus is quite catchy! It’s also a bit unrefined and kind of feels like it’s produced in someone’s garage. Considering MGP’s track record of fun acts, I expect something really over-the-top (in a good way) in live. Also, Hank *von Hell* Ha ha ha – 7.5/10
what kind of people are you there wiwi if you discriminate a 16 years old girl.. i hope you go bankrupt
Last time I checked, Hank von Hell wasn’t a 16 years old girl.
Yep, it’s highly commendationable what they did. I agree. BUt not this thread. But they are not the only ones being bad…look at youtube!
this is in my top 5 fave national final songs this year whew
This is a lot of fun. It very much reminds me of the 1990s tv theme song “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers”. Since the song is about faking something, the music is surprisingly authentic for its genre – the counter-melodies on the electric guitar in the third minute sound plausible, for example. What this will bring to Norway is a lot of fun to what will otherwise be quite a serious night. Thanks be for that, at least.
Not for me. Definitely one of the entries that’s there to prop up the others.