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”. Today we take a look at Anna-Lisa Kumoji with the sassy number “Holla”. Are we heeding her calls or are we saying goodbye? Read on to find out.
Anna-Lisa Kumoji — “Holla”
“Holla” reviews
Steinunn: Anna-Lisa is one sassy woman. And this is one sassy song. And I like it! This is catchy, fun and sexy and makes me want to shake what my mama gave me. I can‘t wait to see how this turns out live, because if Anna-Lisa manages to deliver on stage, this is a serious contender.
Score: 8.5/10
Bernardo: I’m super curious to see how “Holla” translates live. The studio cut is full of sass and solid vocals from Anna-Lisa and you can see she is going to bring that sass to the live shows. The song is nothing new but it’s also a formula that we don’t see every day at Eurovision. This could be a good surprise.
Score: 6.5/10
Izhar: That’s how you write a song! I simply love this one. It has all the ingredients to become a Eurovision hit — it is catchy, sassy and modern. Anna-Lisa has solid vocals and I can already imagine how she and her dancers will be lifting the arena. I also like that Norway is finally aiming for something more bold than their usual style. We are definitely gonna party with this!
Score: 8/10
Julian: This is a banger! The first few seconds hearing it, I already found it very promising. When the song starts, Anna-Lisa immediately gets the viewer’s attention. The verses and chorus follow that path. The problem I have with this song is that after the first chorus, there is nothing more happening. “Holla” has so much potential but I think they could expand more. Nevertheless, this is a cool song and I’m looking forward to the live performance.
Score: 7/10
Antranig: “Holla” may not be the best entry in Norway but it sure is the sassiest. This has attitude for days and I hope it is delivered with the same ferocity on stage. Anna-Lisa Kumoji breathes life into an entry that many artists would struggle to deliver. It is a bit repetitive and can get old after a few listens, but at MGP (or subsequently Eurovision) viewers listening for the first time will be floored by the instantaneous high impact nature of this entry.
Score: 7.5/10
Antony: This song certainly packs a punch! It has sass and attitude which is supported by Anna-Lisa’s powerful vocals. I feel, however, that the song could be a bit too boisterous and therefore not palatable to some viewers. This could be redeemed by effective staging which the song allows for.
Score: 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:
| Robyn: 9/10
Oliver: 5.5/10 Sebastian: 8.5/10 Deban: 6/10 |
Florian: 8.5/10
Pablo: 6/10 Luis: 7/10 Renske: 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 5 and a high of 9.
Total banger with a generous dollop if peppery mash, I do believe this is a very saucy dish. Anna-Lisa looks very naughty, and totally up for fun. I’m blown away, Norway please pick this. We need it!
https://wetransfer.com/downloads/d4244ac82ee7151f7cd6a8cb596f2f9920190224170105/af0ab0/preview/e5d45beef3bcf1436aeaedaf7e13b58920190224170105
“Replay” (Cyprus 2019 with Tamta) has leaked.
I like it! It was expected that this year would have a lot of Feugo wannabes but so far it seems to be ballad city so a few uptempo bops will actually stand on their own this year and be remembered. This would be a good entry for Norway.
Love it, if Norway somehow decides to not send Keiino, this would be a great option as well. 8,5/10
Holla – Oh, hai Lisa! The song is quite catchy. She indeed brings the sass and the energy. However, it gets really repetitive really soon and the lyrics are just typical (outside of the sexualized onomatopoeia). – 6/10