The Wiwi Jury — our in-house team of music unprofessionals — is reviewing and rating the 37 competing songs in Eurovision 2025. Next we review Iceland, who have chosen VÆB with “RÓA”.
Are we excited to join the rowing duo? Read on to find out!
VÆB – “RÓA” (Iceland Eurovision 2025)
Review: VÆB – “RÓA”
Tom: Is “RÓA” an Icelandic sea shanty? A pop song? Rap? Who cares!? It’s a banger! It is fun, catchy and has an irresistible charm. I love the strings, the key change, the cheese, the classic bridge where they slow everything down before giving the final big chorus. Is this going to win Eurovision? No of course not, but VAEB are bringing the party and the good times. They allow us all to forget our problems and just have a good time for three minutes. Sometimes, that’s all we need.
Score: 8
William: Iceland’s entry is a nice throwback to Eurovision of the 2000s — it’s cheesy, loud, brash, and very silver. It also melds euro-dance with a difficult-to-identify instrument, forming the perfect Eurovision cliché from the era. Younger viewers will find a lot to love in the spirited delivery of the Nordic Jedward. Older viewers may think of simpler times, when a key change and a wind machine were enough to set pulses racing. As for me, this is not a song I would choose to play. Yet when it does, I can’t stop humming it for hours — and I’m OK with that. Call me a willing victim of a musical calamity.
Score: 4.5
Pablo: Epa-Dunk/Russ in Eurovision? Iceland got ahead of their Nordic neighbours! “RÓA” is unabashed fun and Gen-Z happiness channelled in the right way, presenting what could be a typical wacky Eurovision entry in a pretty authentic way for everyone involved. While it can feel a bit repetitive or shrill, and could do without the key change, it’s a fine piece of party pop that’s bound to put a smile on people’s faces. For its success, it needs to find a way to ensure control is kept through the stormy sea they traverse, as well as portray VÆB’s innate likeability. It’s impossible to not root for them!
Score: 7
Lucy: We have “RÓA” representing Iceland this year, and I can’t say I’m all aboard. I’ve never been a massive Scandi-banger person (don’t boo me!) so this fits right into the bracket of “not my cup of tea”. The vibes just give Jedward in 2012, or PeR in 2013 — neither result was exactly forgiving. I don’t know why this is opening the semi, it’s just a bit too full on for that role. Maybe their staging will save it for me, but I won’t be counting on it. I get why people love it, but I’m just not one of those people.
Score: 3
Iceland Eurovision 2025 ranking
In the Eurovision 2025 Wiwi Jury, we have 17 jurors but only have room for four reviews. The remaining scores are below:
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Andreas: 5.5 Antranig: 9 Bernardo: 5 Burak: 1.5 Cinan: 3.5 Deban: 6 Jonathan: 8 |
Jordi: 5 Ruxandra: 7 Scarlett: 3 Simon: 7.5 Suzanne: 3 Tomas: 6.5 |
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 high of 9 and a low of 1.5.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 5.50/10
What do you think of Iceland’s Eurovision 2025 entry? Share your own score and review for VÆB’s “RÓA” below!
