As only one song has won the Melodifestivalen crown coming from the first semi-final since the 2002 format change, Loreen’s Europhia, these songs will need to work very hard to get that Eurovision ticket this year.  These are my thoughts and the results of last night’s show.

Molly Pettersson Hammar – “I’ll Be Fine” – Eliminated (6^th Place)         

Molly’s song starts out promising with a diva in red and a wind machine but her screeching through parts of the song made parts of her performance painful.  A bit of practice could make this song much better.  I imagine it would translate well into Afrikaans.

Daniel Gildenlöw – “Pappa” (Dad) – Eliminated (7^th Place)

A sad song about his father but it feels a bit devoid of any emotion and like a bloke wander in from the street and found himself in the middle of the Swedish selection process.

Rickard Söderberg & Elize Ryd – “One By One” – Eliminated (5^th Place)

A very typical Eurovision entry with the combination of different music styles, ballad and classical.  The main issue with this entry is that the singers’ voices don’t complement each other.  The girl is flat in several places.

Dolly Style – “Hello Hi” – Advances to second chance

A very saccharin sweet child-like number with three wannabe children presenters that is annoyingly catchy.  You can’t get it out of your head sort of songs.

Behrang Miri feat. Victor Crone – “Det rår vi inte för” (We don’t control it) – Advances to second chance

A boy band style singer with a Swedish rapper doesn’t sound like a good idea but it works.  The song needs a stronger chorus to make it stand out more though.

Jessica Andersson – “Can’t Hurt Me Now” – Advances direct to the final

A gorgeous golden gown with a wind machine sets the stage for this lovely ballad.  It’s a lovely song but I feel Jessica needs to sell it with more emotion.  A previous Eurovision participant with the duo “Fame” in 2003 placing 5^th, this is Jessica Andersson’s 4^th solo attempt and her first directly qualifying song.  Easily translates into Afrikaans.

Eric Saade – “Sting” – Advances direct to the final

A very lavish production number by the white cladded dance machine known as Eric Saade was clearly the favourite of the evening before a single note was sung.  Also a previous Eurovision participant who came 3^rd in 2011 with “Popular”, did his fans justice by delivering a very up-to-date number.

What do you think of the results?