Stockholm 2016

Xtra Review: Ira Losco – Walk On Water (Malta)

It’s been a long time coming – some would say 3 months, others would say 14 years – but we finally have Ira Losco’s Eurovision comeback song. ‘Walk On Water’ was revealed earlier today after Ira won the Maltese national final in January with ‘Chameleon’ and decided to change her song.
It is written by Tim Larsson, Lisa Desmond, Molly Petterson-Hammar and Ira Losco herself. Was it worth the wait? Our team have had their say!

Nathan: Best Maltese entry in their existence. The funny thing is that this is better than anything Molly Pettersson Hammar has ever sung in her life – perhaps why they chose to give it away to a very competent vocalist to get some recognition for their excellent songwriting. This is going to be a big player when we get to Stockholm in May.
Nick: If you followed Melodifestivalen in 2015 and 2016, you’d know who’s behind this. It drips Molly Pettersson Hammar, it really does, but then suited for Ira Losco. I quite enjoy this entry and I think it’ll do reasonably well in Stockholm. That is, if it works out live (voice, visuals, that kind of deal). Malta show that they care for Eurovision and that’s worth something.
Rodrigo: It’s better than Chameleon. Then again, anything would have been. Predictable from beginning to end, not a bad effort but also not corresponding with the hype created around it. Properly staged could do well.
Peter: Wow, this just sounds like both of Molly’s Melodifestivalen entries – I didn’t think we’d actually hear her influence in this, but I can practically hear her demo shining through here. It’s rather good, but I think since they knew what most of the rest of the line-up was going to be like, they might have been better served from a competitive point of view not choosing something in the Jess Glynne ballpark which Finland and Spain already have got pretty sewn up. It’s good enough to get into the final, but it could struggle in the incredibly competitive semi-final 1 full of pop females.
Wivian: I’m still doing the “not listening to the songs more than once until all songs have been released”-thing. While I listened to “Walk on Water” I was thinking something like “this is a decent, fairly contemporary pop song”, and a couple of times I was taken by surprise by the direction the song took. Which for me is a good thing. But when it was over, it was gone. There is no way I can remember any of it after one listen, and that’s not a good thing.
Simon: I am pleased that we have a fair stab of a début victory in this years’ contest after Malta treading familiar ground recently. Walk on water feels comfortably top 5. It could well be a winner- not because it has that standout special something, but among the 2016 field it has a combination of a contemporary sound, professional performer, pan-European appeal and a memorable hook. I’ll forgive Ira for picking her song off the shelves of Ikea and the unimaginative lyrics, as Walk on Water feels like it would make commercial radio playlists. Very Emeli Sandé. However they got there, the Maltese have made the right choice. See you there in 2017.

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