The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — continues to rate and review the songs competing in the andra chansen round of Sweden’s Melodifestivalen 2019. Next up, we listen to Eurovision 2010 star Anna Bergendahl and her comeback track “Ashes to Ashes”. Did it light our fire? Read on to find out!

Anna Bergendahl – “Ashes to Ashes”

“Ashes to Ashes” reviews

Florian: This marks a really strong comeback. While 2010 didn’t play out in Anna’s favour, this track has all the potential to get her where she belongs — the grand final of Eurovision. The country vibe is well translated into the production, giving it a high value overall. The stage presentation seems very fitting, too. And her vocals guide us through what is a great comeback appearance.

Score: 8.5/10

Angus: In some ways, “Ashes to Ashes” feels like an anthem to the Anna Bergendahl of nine years ago — a loud cry of vengeance against cruel injustice. And the performance in Gothenburg has shades of brilliance to it… until the point Anna got stuck amongst the shrubbery in Christer Bjorkman’s cabbage patch. The studio cut has fantastic progression, bite and Nashville defiance to it, but that was largely squandered on stage. If they can find more energy and pace for the stage at Andra Chansen, we might rekindle a fire yet from the ashes of 2010’s non-qualification.

Score: 6.5/10

Antranig: Anna Bergendahl holds an unwanted distinction in Swedish Eurovision history but she certainly makes up for it here. “Ashes to Ashes” is tailor-made for her rugged country diva vocals. The strength of the entry lies in its clever lyrical arrangement and Anna works the stage commandingly. Whether or not she makes it back to Eurovision, “Ashes to Ashes” is a powerful entry for Anna.

Score: 8/10

Ron: After a rough few years in the showbiz wilderness, Anna is finally back and it feels great to see her glowing on the Melodifestivalen stage again. She shines, she glows, she’s the spark. This performance is so beautiful and empowering and Anna’s voice fits it perfectly. She is looking stunning and delivers the song so well, however it feels that something is missing to get the maximum impact of the performance. But this song should get his respectful place in the final. It might not scream “a winner”, but it does scream “quality”.

Score: 8/10

Luis: “Ashes to Ashes” is instantly likeable, and Anna’s gusto and finesse while singing it made this entry pop like no other in this semi-final. It’s possibly not a strong enough entry to win Melodifestivalen and take revenge at Eurovision, but Anna Bergendahl can be proud of entering Melodifestivalen again with a quality song. Who would have said a song between country and schlager would actually work without being cheesy?

Score: 7.5/10

Cinan: Anna is back with a BAM! My soul is loving this record and the live performance is just amazing. The way she sings the song, I’m loving it. I didn’t really remember her 2010 entry from Oslo, but I’m definitely going to remember this one. Though I don’t know if Sweden will send this song to Tel Aviv, there’s nothing negative about this song and Anna. Good luck, girl!

Score: 8.5/10

In our Melodifestivalen Wiwi Jury, we have 12 jurors but only room for 6 reviews. The rest of our scores can be found below:

Anthony: 7/10

Bernardo: 6/10

Deban: 8/10

Lucy: 7/10

Robyn: 6.5/10

Tobias: 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 5 and a high of 8.5.

Wiwi Jury verdict: 7.3/10

Read all our Melodifestivalen 2019 Wiwi Jury rankings here

Read more Melodifestivalen news here

18 Comments
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Lieke
Lieke
5 years ago

This song is fantastic, and by far my favorite of all entries. It probably won’t win, but I’ve been humming this song to myself for the past four weeks and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one. That in itself is probably a huge achievement for Anna!

Colin
Colin
5 years ago

Ashes to Ashes – Strong song with a catchy beat and amazing lyrics. Anna truly owns the stage and it’s a pleasure seeing her returning with a much better entry. It’s perhaps her time to win. If any AC act deserves to pull a ”Robin Stjernberg”, it’s either her or Lisa. The staging could have been more uplifting, but she is still a star to watch! This song is truly empowering. – 9/10

Sabrina
Sabrina
5 years ago

I think it’s one of the best songs of this Melfest and Anna’s vocals are just gorgeous. But I agree that something was seriously off during the live performance. It would probably qualify if it was in the second or third semi and I’ll believe it will be in the final, but they’ll need to find a different way to make it glow, shine and burn.

Héctor
Héctor
5 years ago

The song itself is weak. You are not doing good overrating her. I don’t think she can win Melfest, but if she wins, do you think it will be enough to qualify? Imagine if she doesn’t qualify again…

Jonas
Jonas
5 years ago
Reply to  Héctor

That would be awful! If she did end up in Tel Aviv, the pressure on semi-final night would be so much worse for her than for any regular Swedish entry. It wouldn’t be so bad if even somebody else had failed to qualify since 2010…but nope, it’s just her. I’m not sure I would wish that stress on anybody!

Mr. Vanilla Bean
Mr. Vanilla Bean
5 years ago

I wants to be so much more than it actually is.

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
5 years ago

One of the best songs of the season so far. It was sad that the performance wasn’t quite right in the Heat.

Nikki
Nikki
5 years ago

Love the song but the stage doesn’t convince me at all. But, alas, I’m a huge nerd, I would have just worn an 80s perm and a white leather jacket and called it a day.

impressiveinstants
impressiveinstants
5 years ago

I love the instrumentals here. The performance needs to be elevated.

Polegend Godgarina
5 years ago

she has the voice n the face of a 50 year old. i get it melfest sucks this year but ladies lbr…. ashes to ashes n trash to trash

Escfan
Escfan
5 years ago

Ok, sure thing. Mello is great this year, much better than the crap nf from all the other countries

Benigno
Benigno
5 years ago

So being ageist is your thing?

M_K
M_K
5 years ago

The song is my second favourite overall (even though I still dislike the lyrics) but I fear that Anna’s presentation felt a bit distant on the night of the semi final. I guess she has to work out how to connect better with the audience.

esc stan
esc stan
5 years ago

QUEEN

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
5 years ago

Absolutely should have went DTF. Still waiting for the Mello song that is definitely better than this, this year.

Pablo Nava
Editor
5 years ago

The more I listen to this one the more I enjoy it. And unpopular opinion: I adore its staging. Maybe the styling could use a bit of a spiff up, but she should be in the final for next week. The violin touch does bring up what could be a standard country song, and gives it an interesting spice. Anna can be proud of this entry. (Off topic, nano: This has all the makings of greatness, but something is missing. I feel he sorta mumbles and strays away from the chorus, where it can be real powerful. The song is… Read more »

olvresc
olvresc
5 years ago

She’s my favourite from Mello this year, too bad she didn’t go direkt till final 🙁

Pablo Nava
Editor
5 years ago
Reply to  olvresc

it was a tough as nails Delta. The best four songs made it, but the best two lives prevailed