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 1993 stars Arvingarna with “I Do”. Did it make us say yes? Read on to find out!
Arvingarna – “I Do”
“I Do” reviews
Anthony: It’s understandable that Björkman has clamped down on joke acts. But this feels like Arvingarna has been added for the sake of variety, especially to the older viewers. “I Do” may not be the strongest entry of the competition, but it’s a pleasant earworm of a song and the group continue to charm and entertain us all since their “Eloise” heyday.
Score: 6/10
Bernardo: There is always one disposable track that advances to andra chansen. This year, that song is “I Do”. They’re trying to be the Herreys of 2019 with LEDs and pyro but fail miserably with a constant repetition of “I do” and an instrumentation that arcs back to early 2000s. The song clearly connected with the Swedish audience, hence the qualification but I assume it was more in the basis of a feel good throwback than actually quality.
Score: 3.5/10
Deban: This daddy trio are a bundle of fun. Clearly in the game to broaden Melodifestivalen’s catchment, Arvingarna play to their strengths. A snazzy wardrobe, a catchy chorus, good vocal harmonies and a simple choreography all work a treat. They look like they’re having fun too. I love “I Do” for what it is.
Score: 6.5/10
Lucy: The official Melfest Twitter had discussed how the new age-based voting system has increased older voting making more elderly-favoured entries going through, and this is a big example of this. This isn’t a bad thing, of course, but in this case I feel a dated entry made it ahead of something that could qualify in Eurovision.
Score: 2/10
Robyn: I love Arvingarna and I am totally here for “I Do”. Casper Janebrink is a brilliant and likeable frontman and brings the right kind of energy to the performance. Yeah, the song is a bit old-fashioned (and not as catchy as “Eloise”) but these guys perform it with so much gusto that it’s impossible to not get caught up in the joy. Amid all the serious pop, it’s nice to have some sunshine in the form of Arvingarna.
Score: 8/10
Tobias: I have a kind of love-hate feeling towards “I Do”. As much as it annoys me, I still can’t get it out of my head, which is a good sign, I guess. It’s nothing I would listen to or add on my Spotify list but Arvingarna sure do know how to make a catchy, memorable refrain. I was just hoping they would surprise us with another big hit such as “Eloise” was but I guess not this time. Their staging feels very outdated. It’s their usual style — the band members standing on a line and singing. It’s just very predictable and nothing interesting to watch.
Score: 2/10
In our Melodifestivalen Wiwi Jury, we have 12 jurors but only room for 6 reviews. The rest of our scores can be found below:
| Angus: 3/10
Antranig: 4.5/10 Cinan: 3.5/10 |
Florian: 2/10
Luis: 3/10 Ron: 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 and a high of 8.
I Do – A fun and old-fashioned schlager with an earworm of a chorus. It is a bit tacky and a bit repetitive, but so what? It’s one of the rare truly funny ones this season. Seriously, Bjorkman, bring back Samir & Viktor and bring back Dolly Style’s usual, funny and provocative image. We are desperate for a good joke act for ESC in ages (well, since few of them in 2014, to be precise). 🙁 Meh… Well, this is the next closest thing, so… 6.5/10
I love it. I recognize that it sounds “dated”, but I don’t care. I hope the get to the final and achieve a good enough placing that encourages them to come back another time.
J’aime bien leur chanson…très positive….pour moi…j’espère pour eux une finale avec Anna….
A hook, some harmony, and a lot of pep… this is the music that made Eurovision what it is. It’s so infectious you’ll need to visit the free clinic. Yes, it’s old school, but in a song contest of 42 songs, it’s ok if not every entry is a modern pop banger…
we don’t need another lighthouse x
thank heavens for robyn spilling the tea….. this is the swedish schlager i signed up for !
It’s not the best song, but it’s the type of fun that’s been missing from melfest this (and last) year. It’s become very worthy… there’s been no Blame It On The Disco/Lay Your Love On Me/I Can’t Go On unabashed fun for two years which is a great shame. At least this comes close even if it is a bit dodgy.
I feel “I Do” could be overlooked by the general public since it is not traditional ESC, but looking at it through a Swedish POV, a classic band who has seen a massive revival effort last year and this one won’t be overlooked, especially since it is not going against a lock like Anna or Lisa