The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — continues to rate and review the 41 songs that had been selected for Eurovision 2020. Next up, we take a look at Norway‘s Melodi Grand Prix winner Ulrikke and her song “Attention”. Did we want to give it our attention? Read on to find out!
Ulrikke – “Attention”
“Attention” reviews
Antranig: A stunning Nordic beauty lamenting “I just want your attention” may just be the least relatable song ever to grace the Eurovision stage. But there are plenty of positives here. A fantastic performance, a brilliant vocalist and an excellent musical composition. While the lyrics could use a lot of work, I have to focus on the positives because I’ve seen enough here to suggest that Ulrikke has the ability to win Eurovision if they can find the right song for her in 2021 or beyond.
Score: 7
Florian: Ulrikke did have my attention from the very first note that she sang at the Norwegian national final. While “Attention” itself isn’t the most remarkable song in Eurovision history, it’s her passion and expression that makes this a stand-out moment. There’s a lot of emotion and rawness in this performance which makes Ulrikke come across not just as a solid performer, but also a person — at once fragile and inspired.
Score: 9.5
Lucy: I’m really not understanding where all the hype for “Attention” came from this year. It’s a decent song, sure. And Ulrikke is an incredible artist. Her voice on that big moment where she belts out “So why, why do I think it’s okay” is perfection — an awesome moment combined with the pyro curtain. But this just feels extremely safe and ironically not attention-grabbing other than that one moment. There’s high emotions but I can’t buy into them.
Score: 5
Luis: Isn’t the key change in “Attention” the perfect Eurovision moment? It’s all I would ever want if I was a singer: belting out a note with pyros falling from the sky and all the lights igniting the stage. Ulrikke’s song is formulaic, but it’s an excellent take on your regular Eurovision ballad. I just want to clap for her every time I hear this.
Score: 8
Oliver: During the Norwegian national selection, I did not really pay this song too much attention (sorry), as I was not too blown away by the studio version. However, upon Ulrikke performing her entry live on stage, it added an extra dimension to the song brought about by her emotion and charisma on stage. The flawless vocals and juxtaposition of mellow against the powerful chorus really create a wonderful atmosphere that draws the listener in.
Score: 9.5
Ulrikke – “Attention” rankings
In the Wiwi Jury we have 22 jurors but only have room for five reviews. The remaining scores are below:
| Angus: 8.5
Åri: 9 Barnabas: 8.5 Bernardo: 7.5 Calvin: 4 Deban: 7 Esma: 8 Jonathan: 8.5 Natalie: 8.5 |
Pablo: 7
Renske: 8.5 Robyn: 7.5 Ron: 7.5 Sebastian: 7.5 Tobias: 7.5 Tom: 8.5 William: 9 |
We have removed the highest and lowest scores prior to calculating the average. This is to remove outliers and potential bias. We have removed a low of 4 and a high of 9.5.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 7.9/10
What do you think of this song? Share your own score and review below!
8.5/10
I will give a 9.5/10 for this
7,9/10??? No freaking way!!! I really don’t understand the hype about this one!
Good song, but overrated af
I like the song and Ulrikke ‘s beautiful voice very much.
This song is just so unoriginal. I don’t even like Tears Getting Sober that much and I’ll never understand how this beat it in WWJ.
Shouty unoriginal ballad. First place in the Wiwi Jury.
Ight Imma Head Out.
7.9??! In what world?! It’s a nice song but that’s the best you can say about it. It’s nice. If the UK or France sent this it would be derided for being too middle of the road!
This surely would be this years shocking non qualifier. I don’t understand the hype around this and have actually ranked it as my 41st. I can’t stand it.
I’ve never been able to appreciate what you are praising. For me this is is just another eurovisive ballad with all the typical elements: diva, key change, fireworks… It’s not even tryingto sound modern. I guess that’s what the fandom wants. That or a bop. So bored and tired of the basics. The song itself isn’t bad and she can sing but it’s so annoying how fans have been overrating it. And now this, the best reviewed entry so far. 2. Australia – Montaigne – Don’t break me (8) 4. Romania – Roxen – Alcohol You (8) 5. Spain –… Read more »
You fail to understand that this is no place for Eurovision fan contest. They are great, yes, but it isn’t for here. So stop spamming.
No use arguing with you. Goodbye
I don’t agree with you about Norway but I TOTALLY agree with you about Russia being 41st. Repetitive which makes me not connect to it at all.
@Hector: I completely agree
I think you’re missing the point about Eurovision. Scoring is not so much about the songs it’s more about the political landscape. Unless the song is completely camp then it will be an eastern Vs Western Europe scoring battle.
Vocal, vocal, vocal. And pyro. 9/10 and 6/41.
Rating all 41 songs today, this is the 3rd one, I already did before 😀
Formally:
Norway – 9/10 (6th/41)
I understand why people like it. But it’s too ordinary, too much of a typical ESC powerballad cliche for my liking. Generic and boring.
So, what do you choose to listen to?
Both, or either.
To save us time, I’ll just say that my main interests are Classical Music and piano-based singer-songwriters. 🙂
(There is so much music out there to like that it would turn into a very long post if I went into great detail. Besides, I am still working, cough.)
NORWAY – A very good, carefully crafted power ballad sung by one of the most beautiful voices of this season. Lyrics are relatable, instrumental is lovely and the vocal delivery is impeccable. By all means, this is a top ten candidate right here. Even so, I feel like there is some extra “oomph” missing to make this a winner for me and I can’t put my finger on it. I tend to love well made power ballads. Through years, several of them have been in my very top. Attention is objectively a high quality song. It is among my qualifiers,… Read more »
My 6th favourite. A beautiful ballad from start to finish, and Ulrikke is wonderfully expressive on camera. I personally connect with this song very much, as an attention-seeking performer. (Duh.) Musically the song fluctuates between F minor and A-flat major. My favourite effective chord used in the song is the D-flat7; such a good chord, oh yes. The string accompaniment is perfect, the finger snaps work, the instrumentation works, and the melody is both emotive and attention-grabbing at the same time. Very nicely done.
My favorite this year. I love everything about this. This is a beautiful power ballad with wow moments and a beatiful woman with an amazing voice is singing it. This is a masterpiece. Some say it’s a overrated but I have to disagree. For me this is perfection. This is just pure vocal slayage with pure and raw emotions. I’m really sad that Norway was sooooo stupid to not select her internally and I respect her decision not to perform next year. I hope she comes back with something as good as this or as her 2017 MGP entry and… Read more »
It was the only choice in Norway. The entry was all about the vocalist. The song was never meant to be more than a platform for Ulrikke, and in that, it was almost like a blank canvas. Her presence, voice and power were what made this work. A good comparison is actually the song that Morland wrote for Rebecca Thorse in 2018. They’re similar but Ulrikke just shows what a top-class singer can do with something like that, whereas Rebecca’s entry shows what happens when the vocalist isn’t quite up to it. I still think “Attention” is slightly overrated (it’s… Read more »
It wasn’t the only choice: i think Pang would have done very well. Pang was my winner, and a very close second with Attention.
“Pang” was my #3 (and made my NF top 25 list) so I definitely see its merits. However, it got knocked out in the first round of voting so wasn’t really an option, unfortunately.
I wasn’t a fan of either Rebecca and Ulrikke and their songs.. yet your comparasion in not fair for Rebecca. 2018 had Rybak factor + 100% televoting unlike 2020. There were different conditions in those votings to make a fair comparasion.
I wasn’t making a comparison in terms of result, just rather the package. Also, my point was rather than Rebecca wasn’t bad, she just wasn’t that great.
7.9?! Thank you so much! It’s not my favorite entry we’ve sent but a solid one. I think top ten would’ve been a good result and within reach for this one.
She has a beautiful voice, but I never understood why this was so overrated.
Very classic, almost cliché ballad, but very good as well. It would bring another top 10 result to Norway.
The most overrated entry since Ell and Nikki. Seriously, this needed to finish 7th with the juries and 24th in the televote and I would have poured a glass of wine.
It’s kinda overrated imo, but I see it has fans, maybe it’s just doesn’t resonates with me. Decent ballad with simple, but effective lyrics and Ulrikke is the one who elevates this song with her heartfelt performance, credits to her. She performs very well and sincere, makes you interested for her story, as if I’m listening it from a friend, in the end I just want to hug her and comfort her 🙂 Very beautiful entry overall.
8/10
One of the better ballads, for me. I think Ulrikke’s voice makes it really good and I feel like it would have maybe made the top ten.
This would have easily made the top 5, another excellent song from the class of 20′ that the damn coronavirus stole from us.
it’s a very well written and well produced song, but it doesn’t really grab anyone’s “attention” in the end. as the subtitle says, it’s very regular.
“Attention” is perfecty produced, perfectly sung, perfectly structured and perfectly written. It’s an impeccable, ideal example of a power ballad. It’s got all the things one would expect – violins, key changes, fireworks, big notes, dramatic love story. It’s… too perfect. ‘Cause when every note and every line is planned with a robotic precision, what’s missing is the genuineness, authenticity, depth and feeling. If it hadn’t been for Ulrikke’s outstanding voice and terrific performance, I would have already forgotten about this song. And despite my big sympathy for her as a person, to me it’s just a decent entry. 6.5/10
Thank you for this review, Skiwalko. I really like Attention. It is my MGP winner and I believe she should’ve qualified had the contest proceeded. Still, there is just *something* I miss to make this WOW. I really don’t know what it is, and believe me, I tried to explain. Basically everyone is over the moon in their reactions and occasional negative comment was just a generic “boring ballad” one. I was looking for someone who thinks this song is so-so, or even good, but less than amazing, to explain it. This is the closest I got to it.
I think I know what you mean. There are times when while listening to a song I get a strange tingle or a weird feeling that I can’t name or even pinpoint what’s causing it, and it’s very frustrating. Regarding “Attention”, to me it kinda feels like a very good song trapped inside a generic power ballad’s structure. There are a lot of moments in the song where I wish it would go a bit further, or in a slightly different direction. I had a similar problem with “A Monster Like Me” – it’s a quality song, but in the… Read more »
Monster Like Me was my favorite song of 2015, so it didn’t apply for me there. I also have power ballads like Undo and Never Give Up On You in my top 5 of their respective years. It’s just that something would have too do a slight push to Attention. There are more examples for me too, though. Sound of Silence comes to mind. Dami Im was outstanding herself, but the song was just very good. I think I prefer Attention as a song.
“Sound of Silence” is a classic example of a song elevated by the performance and the performer. I did not care for it prior to the contest, but on the Eurovision night it gave me such goosebumps, and it was hard not to cheer for Australia when they finished second (I generally have very fond memories of watching ESC 2016, I was on a trip to Prague during the final, and Dami Im’s performance was definitely one of the highlights). I noticed that almost everyone loves “A Monster Like Me”, but I just cannot connect with it emotionally, unfortunately.
I totally agree with you. I didn’t pay mucb attention to MGP but I was hearing about Ian excellent song that “could win Eurovision”. Then I heard it and I was like, “I mean it’s a nice ballad but win Eurovision”. It just doesn’t give me tingles. I agree completely on all the other songs you talked about. “Undo” was my 3rd in 2014, Monster Like Me my 1st in 2015 and Never Give Up On You my 1st in 2017. It had to do with either the song being a killer one, the performer being outstanding and conveying his/her… Read more »
Still don’t get the hype….
And the award for the most overrated song goes to…..Norway!!
It definitely goes to Lithuania for me. Sure, it’s a really catchy song, but people are overhyping it to the max. Sorry if I get downvotes..
How? How did Norway manage to send a song like that? It’s a classic ballad, not my type, but i LOVE it somehow. I can’t see why.
Overall: 8.5/10 (12th)
1. Norway – 10/10 – an excellently crafted song which rises and falls in all the right places. Add to that a stunning vocal which offers an exemplary conveyance of the fragility and desperation that a human being can sometimes feel. This song speaks directly to those parts of me that I keep so expertly hidden. I am left in contemplative thought and close to tears whenever this song comes on. As someone who barely ever cries, this is no mean feat. The words and the way they are delivered so painfully and accurately describing how I was feeling at… Read more »
Stop spamming.
Or perhaps it’s just….could it be…..maybe…..different taste in songs?
It really is a type of ballad we have heard many times before at Eurovision, but it has a certain appealing aspect that made me love it a lot. As always Norway serves quality!!! My top so far: 1. — 2. Italy 3. Romania 4. Bulgaria 5. Croatia 6. United Kingdom 7. Norway 8. — 9. -–10. Denmark 11. Russia 12. Australia 13. Albania 14. Israel 15. — 16. –17. Ireland 18. Moldova 19. — 20. –21. Belgium 22. — 23. Poland 24. Georgia 25. Czech Republic 26. — 27. Slovenia 28. –29. Portugal 30. Armenia 31. Spain 32. Austria… Read more »