Earlier today, the Wiwi Jury – our in-house panel of music unprofessionals – binge watched all 107 episodes of Lazy Town, before sitting down to review Aron Brink and “Hypnotised”, his entry for Söngvakeppnin 2017. Did his mind tricks work on us?
Aron Brink – Hypnotised
About Aron Brink
Aron is a first-timer in Söngvakeppnin, but the contest runs through his veins. His father was Sjonni Brink, who tragically passed away in January 2011, right before he was due to enter Söngvakeppnin 2011, with his song “Coming Home”. As we all know, his close friends carried on his legacy at Eurovision and the song made it all the way to Dusseldorf. Will Söngvakeppnin 2017 be the first step in a huge career for Aron?
“Hypnotised” reviews
Robyn: “Hypnotised” is a really fun song and Aron is a good singer, but it’s just not working. Hypnotised is too generic, like any song coming up in Spotify’s new music algorithm. It’s evocative of sunny beaches on tropical islands, but I’d rather be reminded of geothermal pools on one particularly chill island.
Score: 5/10
Jason: The bouncy summer vibes of “Hypnotised” are not what you would expect from Iceland at Eurovision, and they really make it standout in the national final dominated by slow numbers. This would totally get the crowd moving in Kyiv, and with a fun stage show, it could really impress. The competition in Söngvakeppnin is stiff this year, but it marks a great début from a promising young singer.
Score: 6/10
Chris: There’s something that just feels so out of place here. From Aron’s Voice Iceland performances, I get this is a genre he goes for. But it really doesn’t work for him here. Sometimes you have to pick your songs a little more carefully for the setting. I don’t want a Shawn Mendes song on amphetamines.
Score: 4/10
William: Calypso sounds, electro-beat, carnival feel — this tropical ditty does not scream “volcanic island in the North Atlantic”. And that may be why I find it so uplifting and fun. Nodding to Jessy Matador, Stella Mwangi and SaRaha, this makes me go kizunguzungu. Söngvakeppnin too often feels like a dour folk festival, so it’s great to have a flash of unadulterated pop.
Score: 7/10
Antranig: This sounds like a tropical summer hit that I wouldn’t associate with Iceland. It sounds like something I’ve heard a million times before — there’s nothing special about it, even though his vocals are great. It gets more interesting after the second chorus and it definitely improves with the key change. Putting it all together, it’s an average effort at best.
Score: 5/10
Mikhail: The moment I heard that bell sequence I started dancing unconsciously. It is pure joy. I like Aron’s voice, it is so sweet. Give me a coconut and I will go dancing on the beach! Oh wait… it’s Iceland. Whatever, this song will definitely make you forget about all the snow and ice. It brings sun and happiness into your fantasy.
Score: 9/10
Luis: Aron has a youthful and sweet voice, but this song is not the best way to showcase it. “Hypnotised” is a bit like those people who take selfies in front of a poster of a Caribbean beach and pretend they are on vacation. It’s “Love love peace peace” meets “Haba haba”. That means cheap, cliché and even laughable. Seriously, it doesn’t do justice to Aron. He should come back another time with a teen hit, and not with something Adelén would have rejected.
Score: 3/10
Deban: There is a playful quality to “Hypnotised”. Although it’s firmly EDM, it also bears a distinct tropical carnival quality. Aron is on the brink of something great here. Rather than playing to the strengths of Icelandic folklore, he is blowing up volcanoes with canned Caribbean pop.
Score: 7/10
Aron Brink ???????? has us thinking of Jamaica ???????? with his @songvakeppnin song. We react to the entire selection today on https://t.co/5h8eJxEI9B! pic.twitter.com/uk8Qngniqk
— William Lee Adams (@willyleeadams) February 15, 2017
In our Söngvakeppnin 2017 Wiwi Jury, we have 20 jurors but only room for 8 reviews. The rest of our scores can be found below:
Bernardo: 7.5/10
Dayana: 7.5/10
Florian: 3/10
Forrest: 6/10
Jordi: 7.5/10
Josh: 4/10
Matt: 5.5/10
Kristin: 7/10
Patrick: 6/10
Sami: 7/10
Sinan: 7/10
Steinunn: 5.5/10
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 3 and a high of 9.
I just love this song. It’s so funny and happy. it makes me smile and dance.
Choose happiness Iceland! Be different!
The equivalent of Iceland’s “Contigo”.
I like it a lot.
I don’t see a song in Iceland that is actually better than it this year. Songs like “Paper” and “I’ll be gone” have already been done better and selected by other countries.
Iceland are going to have a hard time getting out of the semis and this would at least give them a chance.
I can easliy see a beautiful performance of this song! It has the potential.
Maybe it’ll be one of the few non-ballads, if chosen. That’s a good thing.
It has good vibes, summer at the beach etc.
I’m not thrilled though!
I don’t get the appeal at all. He’s a good singer but this song is cheap and cheesey.
This might shock some people, but I can’t stand this year’s Icelandic selection at all. I’m really sorry!
P.S. Aron Brink looks a lot like someone I went to school with. (And no that’s not a fantasy. Or, maybe… :D)
Hmmm… No, thank you! I forgot the song immediately after it finished playing… Next! And by ‘Next!’ I mean Svala! 🙂
Yeah. The studio version is beyond great. If he would flop it would be because of his poor performance perhaps.
I’m really surprised at the mediocre reviews from you guys. It’s not easy to make a song sound so easy. This is the runaway Icelandic entry to me – so bright, appealing and full of joy.
So any young male vocalist == Shawn Mendes now? Haha. Plus this doesn’t sound cheap at all (maybe except for that bridge). It’s probably one of the best-produced songs in this selection. It’s a fun, sweet, happy song.
This or Svala’s would be Iceland’s best choices… unless he’s horrible live, then well… :))
@Marc – Easily top 10 in televoting indeed! If Iceland goes with Aron, he would easily be the ‘Zoe’ of 2017. Sweet, charming and unpretentius, okay with juries, but big with fans.
Iceland has several good ballads and mid-tempo songs in their line-up, but *this* is the song that would make them instantly distinctive among the competition. Last time Iceland was in the finals, it was precisely with a feel good, “non-Nordic” song No Prejudice.
And it’s the second most catchy tune this year (Ofc Occidentali’s Karma is the first).
It’s the only good song in Iceland.
Not surprise about wiwi score.
It’s simple, funny, joyful, charming and it’s not pretentious. But yes, it’s not a diva screaming.
This is an easy Top 10 in the televoting.
It’s the only good song in that selection imo, and yet, nothing that’ll get Iceland in the final. I don’t think it sounds cheap at all as some of you guys said.
Such a low score for a song I assumed was one of the favorites to win. I guess a song doesn’t have to be a ballad to be underrated it here, it just has to be different. I wish if just once the highest scoring song of NF wasn’t a mid-tempo pop with female vocal.
This song makes me happy as no other since Sebalter’s Hunter of Stars, and if chosen, would definitely end-up in my top 5. I only hope he can deliver it in live, since a song this fast seams very difficult to sing.
I love this! It makes me happy.
8/10
I really hope this would win. I’m sick of all the ballads this year. I think Svala is the favorite because of her vocals and experience but her song is balladish and I doubt it would go to the final. Even with moderate vocals I’m seeing this in the final though. Please Iceland. Choose wisely