The Wiwi Jury — our in-house team of music unprofessionals — is reviewing and rating the 40 competing songs in Eurovision 2022. Next we review Sweden, who have chosen Cornelia Jakobs with “Hold Me Closer”.
Were we embraced tightly by the song? Read on to find out!
Cornelia Jakobs – “Hold Me Closer” (Sweden Eurovision 2022)
Review: Cornelia Jakobs – “Hold Me Closer”
Ron: I rarely give 10s in my Wiwi Jury scores, but this one is just so good! Cornelia sings the song but each one of us can identify with the lyrics and see himself/herself in her shoes (that she’s not wearing). Everything here is perfect – the beautiful touching melody, the really well-written lyrics, Cornelia’s powerful voice, and the simple effective staging. Cornelia’s lovely raw voice fits this song so well that every imperfect note just makes it shine. You can really feel the pain in her voice and it feels so genuine and sincere. She’s just talking to you and telling her story and you just gotta love her and hug her. I really wish you the best, gurl.
Score: 10
Deban: The lyrics here are of particular importance. They tell a personal story of finding the perfect one at the wrong time. A clever take on love lost within the context of seeking love. Unfortunately, much of this isn’t enunciated with clarity — and Cornelia’s vocals are inconsistent at the best of times. Eurovision fans (most of whom show love to all entries in equal measure) won’t find imperfections here. However, reality often rolls the dice differently. But with the right tweaks and vocal uplift, this has the potential to surprise everyone at the grand final.
Score: 7
Tom: I am man enough to admit when I am wrong, and I was wrong. In my Melfest top-three video I said that “Hold Me Closer” (though I liked the song very much) wouldn’t finish particularly high if it were to get to Eurovision. Again, I was very wrong. Cornelia’s performance, charisma and her gritty vocals won me over at Melfest. After the final I understood that “Hold Me Closer” had to go to Eurovision. Now recently seeing her live at LEP I got goosebumps – I knew that this could win. The song touches me on a different level now I really listen to the lyrics and feel the emotion in her voice, I believe every word Cornelia says. I would be delighted if this won.
Score: 9.5
Robyn: “Hold Me Closer” is a good song but somehow it never sticks with me. I want to like it more, because I can see all the ingredients are there — Cornelia brings a lot of personality to the performance, while the song is dynamic, builds and packs emotional heft. But it’s not a song that’s become an earworm for me. It seems to exist only when I’m listening to it — and a good Eurovision song needs to be stickier than that.
Score: 6
Pablo: “Hold Me Closer” just feels right. It feels right that it earned its way to be in Eurovision, and it for sure will feel right if this takes the crystal mic. It has that quality of maybe not being your number one song, but managing to hit the right buttons so precisely, you can’t help but love it in the end. Robyn meets Adele, Swedish pop at its best. Cornelia’s husky yet youthful voice smoothly travels through the tender and thumping parts of this song and every single part feels extremely satisfying. With this song, Sweden firmly cements the fact that it wants and will try to get that seventh win.
Score: 10
Sweden Eurovision 2022 ranking
In the Eurovision 2022 Wiwi Jury, we have 18 jurors but only have room for five reviews. The remaining scores are below:
|
Angus: 9.5 Antranig: 9 Cinan: 9 Jonathan: 8 Josh: 10 Lucy: 9.5 Luis: 10 |
Natalie: 8.5 Oliver: 9.5 Renske: 7.5 Sebastian: 9 Suzanne: 7 William: 10 |
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 6 and a high of 10.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 8.94/10
What do you think of Sweden’s Eurovision 2022 entry? Share your own score and review for Cornelia Jakobs’s “Hold Me Closer” below!
It is curious but it seems these Wiwi reviews make only ‘non likers’ to react.
I am not mad about this song but it is ok if other people like it.
To be honest I prefer this one to intense and pretentious girls singing about pains and existential depths
I really don’t get it, sorry. This song is quite average to me and doesn’t grip me at all.
I agree!
Sweden used to send better songs than this song; at least they were more original
That has to be one of the biggest scores in WiwiJury history!! I love it – but I think what this song has going for it is that even if it’s not your favourite, many still don’t mind it. The jury will lap this up anyway but having a song like this will help boost that jury score once they rank all the songs.
Thé best song that won Melodifestivalens. Thé best entry from Sweden in year’s. Will it be a contender for the victory ? YES!!!Will it be a worthy winner? NO!!!
YESSS
If it wins, it is worthy… Or is it that Esc winner is only worthy if you like the song??
Hold Me Closer is not a song that I’m in love and it’s not my favorite Swedish Eurovision entry. However, it is a good quality song and I think it would be a deserving winner. Eurovision 2022 is a weak year in my opinion and Sweden is the only song this year that really gives me winner vibes.
I don’t think Eurovision 2022 is weak year and I don’t think Sweden’s song gives winner vibes
It’s an ok song, very radio friendly, but I don’t think it deserves to win.
What’s the hype about this? It’s just ok. You listen to it one time and go with your day.
Best song of the year, according to the wiwi jury (even among the best songs ever for them), to the Eurojury poll, and to Ogae poll too, ok I gave up this fandom for months and now I come back in a parallel universe, lol I want to wake up!!
She will win and she deserves it 🙂
Since I first heard it it gave instant winner vibes, which has not left me yet. This is the perfect Eurovision song. It tells an emotional story, with a great melody, a great crsescendo and (IMAGINE!) it has authenticity! The fact that Cornelia co-authors the song gives it a much truer dimension. For me this is the 21st century Hold me Now by Johan Logan. The exact same story (give me just one more night) and the same feelings. Even her small imperfections in the vocal delivery makes the song so much more intense emotionally. At kudos for not falling… Read more »
Absolutely love this song, definitely my favourite Swedish entry since 2014. I have it as my 2nd place for the year but I am predicting Sweden to win it all in Torino.
I personally want to see another country to win this year contest because I got bored with the Nordic bloc voting 🙂
Spain for a change?? Next year we would do the festival on the beach in the outside.. And you know why? Because we can.
I listened to all favorite songs of Eurovision 2022 including Sweden’s song and I have once again reached to conclusion: Sweden’s song is overrated; although accepting that it is a nice song; well designed for ESC.
I wish Italy, Poland, UK would all get better results 🙂
I think Poland is more constructed for Eurovision. It is a product for his voice. Italy might win it is really good, but when it comes to the UK I don’t think the song is strong enough. It is not relatable in the same way as Sweden and Italy.
Swedish recent entries were becoming too slick, formulaic and it was hard to find a soul behind them. In the opposite direction, “Hold Me Closer” is warm and engaging, with its painfully relatable lyrics. Its staging carries the beauty of imperfection with the wired mic, the way Cornelia interacts with the camera and messes with her hair. Plus her smoky tone makes us believe she spent the whole night crying and bargaining with a lover. Winning Eurovision or not, this could be a welcome change of cultural mindset for Melfest. 9/10
It is exactly these small imperfections that I find so endearing. That, the storytelling and the melodic line
I agree. Though we have to admit these things stand out more in Melfest than in Eurovision. So let’s see. But I think both juries and televote will give Cornelia a lot of love.
It fits the time honoured Swedish formula…. the lyrics are heartfelt- at first I thought her voice did not suit the song- but I have warmed to it now. It’s certainly in my Top 5- not sure about being a winner though- nevertheless Sweden is back in the game again with a legitimate entry this year and that is a wonderful thing.
Gold star.
This is my 4th this year but you lot are clowning yourself with a 8.94
I wpuldn’t mind Sweden winning the contest this year, at all. They brought back their authenticity and Cornelia’s ballad is a masterpiece.
HOWEVER! This total OGAE top-3 was massively overrated compared to the rest of the competition, it literally didn’t have ANY OTHER competition! Bias and lack of individual mindset originality played a big role here.
Ffs, wrong post to write this, lmao.
My winner. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it doesn’t need to. What it excels in is showcasing Cornelia as an emotional powerhouse who only needs a mic and a camera to connect. At its heart, music is a form of communication and no one this year delivers the message of their song as completely or as simply. There’s nothing about this song that I would change or that rings hollow. It also doesn’t struggle with the three minute limitation like a few of my other favorites who I wish had an extra 20-30 seconds to finish their journey. It’s… Read more »
cant understand what makes this nice but average song unique:/
Most Eurovision songs aren’t unique. It’s just that we aren’t all exposed to the same genres so anything that is outside what we individually listen to will stand out to us. Swedish pop is some of the most consumed music in the world; as I pointed out, this song isn’t trying to be different, but quite the opposite: it wants to be relatable. Whether you relate to it or not might determine whether you find it one of the best entries of the year or overrated. I’d also like to point out that “unique” =/= good, but the music world… Read more »
If this wins the whole show, it will be the worst winner song ever! I said what I said!
I raise you one clucking chicken lady. If you think that is better than this (or any of the top contenders this year for that matter) you really do need your ears checked ?
Well, my ears just can’t stand that choking voice of hers, and song is just nothing special. I mean, comparing to previous winner songs, it would be a big disappointment. Sorry
Overrated
First song from Sweden I have liked since Euphoria. Part of me wants this to win, only because Sweden puts on great Eurovision shows. Part of me doesn’t want it to win because Mans might be a co-host. I doubt it will win. I found the Melfest staging sort of meh, and I wonder if they can stage it better at Turin.
Beautiful song but not as life-changing as some people considers it. To me is good, very good for Sweden’s usual generic standards, but is not a winner. Why everyone always overrates Sweden?
Definitely agree 🙂
Life changing? Has any ESC entry been life-changing?
They don’t need to be life-changing or re inventing wheels or create something new,as long as they communicate well to audiences which is what winners do
In my opinion, I don’t think Sweden will qualify with this song in Turin. It might not even reach the top 20 if it does qualify
Lol, some people really are too much
Haha…hilarious…let’s get back to this May 14!
The usual Sweden overrating.
Also, very clever: leaving the drama for last (Spain).
To me it sounds a lot like “Shallow” in parts. It’s OK. Not amazing. But as it is Sweden it will probably win the jury vote. Top 5 overall
expected score from the wiwi jury but i don’t think this song is all that. the lyrics are decent (for sweden at eurovision standards), albeit cliché in many parts. i’m not a fan of cornelia’s forced indie girl voice (she sounds completely different in her other songs on spotify). overall it’s a good package, but it doesn’t stand out in any way. rewarding this song means encouraging sweden to keep being mediocre.
Agree!
I agree
Sweden also won the Euro Jury and OGAE polls, so…..
This song is really really good, but that score is unrealistic to be honest
It deserved something around 8,3-8,5
This is my runner-up for 2022. It is my favourite MelFest winner to date, because the lyrics exactly mirror a recent break-up in my own personal life. “Hold Me Closer” has the benefit of a beautifully-produced string track opening providing heartwrenching emotion in the first Verse and Chorus. After that, the electric guitar and drums drive the rest of the song home, and it’s all so cool, efficient and perfect. Cornelia’s voice cracking adds the perfect flaw to the song, and provides a connective conduit to the audience. This is the only other song, apart from “Brividi”, that makes me… Read more »
I am quite happy to see that 6 of my top 10 are rated high to you as well – Poland, Estonia, Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Greece. As for Norway, Serbia and France, they really are divisive, so I perfectly understand loving them or not. UK is a song I thought you’d like (as your first reaction was rather positive), but still, I get it. These are the songs because of which I find 2022 to be a very solid year after all. Sure, we have some mediocre and weak ones too, but every year has them. Even 2018 had a… Read more »
I just cant understand why Wiwi jury ranked Estonia, Greece and Sweden with high points
Because they are great songs. To each their own, though. But I agree with the Wiwi Jury. Actually, in the case of Estonia, I find it very underrated. Should have scored over a 7.
I think Armenia lyrics are more fitting to a breakup. This is just too soap opera for me, stay with me one more night etc. Snap is exactly how it feels after losing someone.
Break-ups are very different, depending on many circumstances. Some exes still deeply care for each-other, sometimes it’s one-sided, and sometimes they become resentful. There’s no universal pattern. Sometimes it’s Hold Me Closer, sometimes Snap, and sometimes That’s Rich.
Oh I 100 percent agree. Perhaps the that’s rich and snap reactions are more common I dunno lol
Snap might be how you feel but that is not representative of all. Every break up is different.
Do the lyrics tell the same story as Johnny Logan’s 1987 winner?
Oh that’s an interesting comparison. For me, Logan’s song is much more “in the moment” of the intimate emotion, whereas Jacobs is more clear about the circumstances of it. Jacobs writes that the break up is not what she wanted, there’s nothing to regret, they said it isn’t her but “how does that ever help” and that they are the best she’s ever had. All of Jacobs’ circumstances in the lyrics apply to my most recent ex, so “Hold Me Closer” resonates with more more than Logan’s does. It’s just the coincidence of similarity to my own life that reaches… Read more »
9.5/10 I’m so happy that this is what is representing Sweden. Firstly, a WOMAN! (wow), no but honestly this song and Cornelia’s presentation of Hold Me Closer at Melfest just overflows with emotion it’s really incredible to watch. I know everyone talks about Sweden always sending plastic pop songs, but it’s true it’s not a bad thing but it’s true and that is another reason why i’m so happy to see this representing Sweden, they are long overdue an entry that is this personal to the artist.
We all know this song is overrated as hell hahah
This year Melodifestivalen’s quality wasn’t too high but Sweden needed just one good song. “Hold Me Closer” is probably the most radiofriendly song in the field alongside “Slow Mo”. It is also the kind of songs the juries tend to favour, even more if it is a Swedish entry. Have potential to attract both the juries and the audience. The song itself has some melody twists in the chorus that reminds me a little bit of “Shallow” by Lady Gaga. It may be made on purpose to make the audience’s head click during the performance without being a copy-and-paste. “Heroes”… Read more »
We all expected the score, but still, yikes.
People (including me) are judging Sweden in the contest and the treatment by ebu and everyone BUT, hold me closer is one of their most authentic and quality entries ever. For swedish standards this is out of the box so they deserve to do well
That is your own fault for being so judgmental then! Sweden should be judged the same as everybody else, not harsher! Funny how that concept seem so difficult for people, including you! Sweden are not getting any favours by EBU , nor are they getting any “treatment” by them! No wonder Swedes are so defensive when every Average Joe on here dumps on them!
4) Sweden – It’s been a loooooong time since I’ve rooted for Sweden, and this song really does feel like winning material. Cornelia’s voice is raw and full of pain during the chorus which really works well. My one tiny little nitpick (and it’s barely anything mind you) is that the staging maybe could have a little more oomph but it probably is fine as it is. I wouldn’t say it’s perfect, because what is? But it’s a superb song from Sweden. 9/10
I like this song, but I don’t love it. I can’t understand how come it’s rated so high by most people, as I feel their are many better entries this year. Maybe it’s just me.. 6.5 out of 10 for me
Exactly what I rated it. They went too high (just like how Eurovision juries tend to do with Sweden so I guess they’re emulating that).
13.Sweden – Finally something that breaks the streak. Her voice is interestingly raspy, perhaps weak. The song seems like a classic. I wouldn’t say it’s a massive swing away from Swedish cleanliness, but it’s baby steps.
Agree!
Pretty good entry. Is it so much better than the other songs in the competition? Prolly not, but still winning-worthy
Woah, that score was … a high one!
Stunning. Sweden delivers again and again.
Sweden hasn’t delivered since 2015!
Overrated copy of Shallow, sang by Lana Del Rey wanna be. Still cute song though.
cringe at that comment
This is what it is for me. Whoever likes this song good for them, it’s not my cup of tea.
The best sobg this year. Its a clear winner. 10/10
8/10 For someone who is not a fan of the soulless Swedish factory pop that has flooded Eurovision in recent years, this a true breath of fresh air! Genuine, real and well performed. The song itself lacks the edge to be a winner in my book, but a top 5 it is.
There is without a doubt lots of potential in it, but still I can’t connect to it, I simply can’t.
In my opinion, she is in the mix of the open race for victory (I can’t see a clear winner or Top 3), but it all depends now on how rehearsals are going (but to be honest, right now, I don’t want her to win, but that might change over the next two weeks we will see).
I like Sweden’s song but I think live performances of this song until now didnt leave the impression that this song is contender to win. It’s different from previous entries since 2015 but some of them were better than this 🙂 There is something lacking in this song (6/10)
Sometimes I think that Wiwi and most fans will root for Sweden even if their song was a 3-minute mumbling in jibberish.
They have not had Sweden in top for several years, so you are wrong.
They still tend to overestimate most Sweden songs.
No – ne when in comparison to the result. Facts please.
You know that Sweden is a jury favorite whatever they send, don’t you? Do you remember how happy everyone was when Ingrosso tanked in televoting especially given his over the top jury placement?
I’d agree with you to a point, last years they were mentioning the message etc even though there wasn’t a message. There’s this phenomenon with swedens entries where people try to find the reasoning for the entry choice whether it’s mentioning it’s out of the box approach, it’s message, it’s singers outfit because they can’t accept that Sweden would enter a mediocre song which they’ve been doing since “undo”. Maybe Sweden are just as much at calibre as every other country in the competition and it constantly shows in the disparity between the juries and the public vote with all… Read more »
Överskattade!
I’m really sorry but I completely disagree with this. Sweden is almost in my bottom 5. Cornelia is of course the star of the song but I just don’t feel anything at all when I listen to the song. Hope some people agree with me because I see 90% of the people having it in their top 3 while I just don’t see it
If it is a ballad this year I hope this wins over Greece, Netherlands or any other intense gal singing about their pain and suffering.
I’m hoping that Greece will win
I just checked and this is the 4th highest Wiwi Jury score ever, after Euphoria, Arcade, and Occidentalis karma. Congrats, Cornelia! You deserved it!