The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — continues to rate and review the songs competing in the grand final of Sweden’s Melodifestivalen 2019. Next up, we listen to former Alcazar singer Lina Hedlund with her song “Victorious”. Did it have us shouting for victory?
Lina Hedlund – “Victorious”
“Victorius” reviews
Robyn: Schlager is dead; long live schlager. It’s a genre that’s struggled to find a place in the 2010s, but here’s Lina from Alcazar showing that it just takes the right performer with the right song (easy, huh?). “Victorious” isn’t a big ol’ bucket of originality, but there’s comfort in its style and the professionalism and sparkle that Lina brings to the performance. This is a fine addition to the Melfest grand final.
Score: 7.5/10
Tobias: I like that Lina, a former band member of Alcazar, is doing a solo performance in Melodifestivalen. The whole performance feels very powerful and very Melodifestivalen/Eurovision-friendly. The style is not as schlager as Alcazar, which from my point of view is good — it is more pop with just a twist of schlager. Although this is not my cup of tea, I do think it’s catchy and a good performance.
Score: 5/10
Deban: A cleverly crafted Swedish pop banger, thumping a message of inspiration and self-assurance. Victorious’ club-ready feel is the perfect mood-lift for any situation. What’s not to love? Alcazar’s relevance on the music scene spans two decades. Lina Hedlund comes with enough experience and talent to take this track to the top of the charts, and to win Melodifestivalen in tow.
Score: 9/10
Lucy: Lina hasn’t shied far from the Alcazar’s fanbase, and brings that much-needed injection of a Eurofan favourite genre — yet with that modern drum sound to bring it more in to 2019 than I expected. It’s shameless pop and completely enjoyable. Would it win Eurovision? Definitely not, but it’s fabulous nonetheless.
Score: 7.5/10
Anthony: Alcazar may have gone into retirement, but former member Lina has shown that schlager is far from dead and buried when it’s done right. Victorious by name, victorious by nature, she delivered the goods as a solo artist on this occasion. The chorus packs a schlagertastic punch and with enough glamour and attitude to take us on a Alcazar nostalgia trip.
Score: 8.5/10
Bernardo: A nice throwback to the years where schlager dominated Melfest, but with a hint of 2019 in it. Lina’s career experience makes wonders when on stage. “Victorious” is a number that demands a confident performer and she delivers. Having said that, I predict a fate similar to what Jessica Andersson achieved last year. Virtually being forgotten in the finals.
Score: 6.5/10
In our Melodifestivalen Wiwi Jury, we have 12 jurors but only room for 6 reviews. The rest of our scores can be found below:
| Angus: 5.5/10
Antranig: 9.5/10 Cinan: 9/10 |
Florian: 8.5/10
Luis: 7.5/10 Ron: 7/10 |
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 9.5.
My comment criticizing the wiwibloggs jury got removed lmao so much for freedom of speech on this site. Hatrið mun sigra I guess, right guys? Well done, you clearly can stand up for your opinions regardless of what other people think
Her entire hair/outfit/look, …it reminds me so much of Svala back in 2017…
Hideous schlager
love schlager
These has to be one of the most basic lyrics I’ve ever heard. Cheesy and dated, not even a good song… but it is in the final and has a 7.65/10. What’s wrong with humanity? T . T
Seriously this ain’t cutting it any more I know they have made an effort to tart it up from just another old cheesy schlager tune, but just feel that I have heard this 100 times before over the past ten years or so at Meledoifestivalen. The whole show looks and sounds like it is running out of ideas.
Wiktorious
I think Lina did a very good job on stage and, for what it is, she presented the song in the best way possible. Still, the song is nothing special.
Victorious – It’s very re-listenable and fun on stage. Lyrics might be typical, but as Lina manages to own the stage, she even makes them sound meaningful. Kudos for that. It’s a ”guilty pleasure” type of schlager and I am glad it exists. It’s not one of the top songs this year, but it would certainly bring something new for Sweden.(It’s totally 2000s, but I thought it would vary from all of their recent songs.) – 7/10
It’s impressive how when Tobias gives his “high” score, he is still the low outliner. I guess he really dislikes this year’s Melfest.
Omg why did you rank it so high, even above Ashes to Ashes. I agree the song is a guilty pleasure but the sound is really 2005-2010…
issa guilty pleasure n pretty much this year’s party voice but 7.65 ? over two units above where this dated bop should be sksjsk
This song is so underrated by the fans. 🙁
“i won’t give up on my generation”
I feel like this song was written for a millenial but eventually passed down to lina xD
The song that was actually dated yet never got out of my head–Victorious!
I really like this song. But it is not a winner, amd it will likely be forgotten about in the final. Lina is a great performer… And will do her best
Seriously ? That song has more points than Wiktoria and Anna’s ones ? Wow.
Didn’t Wiktoria get a higher score? Above 8? Or do I remember wrong..
No, the 8,05 score is for Lisa’s song. Wiktoria’s one is 7,45 and Anna got 7,3.
And yes, you remember wrong x)
This song is just a failed attempt at copying Jessica Anderson’s Party Voice and we all know that song was a BOP
I am still obsessed with that song.
Me too
I think it’s not just Jessica Andersson. Many middle aged female singers in Melodifestivalen sing songs like this. It’s like a phase for them.
a poor copy of Jessica Simpson too
Of course I love this. Why wouldn’t I?
I guess some people still live in the mid 2000s..
If “Toy” was reflective of 2018 then maybe, the mid 2000s weren’t all that bad. 😉
Honestly? My favorite. This is the future of schlager, plain and simple and Lina is our pioneer. Fun, retro yet 2019, carefree, I’d love to see this in Tel Aviv and really explode the stage. I’m so into this, this is awesome, hoping this has some shot