Fred and Liam have sent through all the action from the Final of Melodifestivalen and the After Party they attended. Our own heroes provide an opportunity for the rest of us to share in the excitement of the night and of Måns great win with “Heroes”.
Tag Archives: 2015 Swedish national selection
Melodifestivalen Final 2015 – Sweden Decides Tonight
In Stockholm tonight at the Friends Arena the Swedish public and international juries will choose this year’s Swedish entry for the 60th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna. With a special performance by last year’s winner, Conchita Wurst.
Twelve songs will be competing for the title this year as four, instead of two, songs proceeded to the final from last week’s Andra Chansen (Second Chance) round. The standard of songs this year and the lack of a clear front runner are making the prediction element a difficult one but I’ll give it a go.
Watch it live at SVT Play at 20:00 CET Click Here!
Who will win?
1) Samir & Viktor “Groupie” – Predict 10th place
This song joined the final by winning its duel against Behrang Miri in the Second Chance. This song is still a novelty one and they have added a falling into bed scene at the end but that doesn’t change the song. The public do like this song especially the teens and will do well in the televoting but most of the juries will shun this song.
2) JTR “Building it Up” – Predict 12th Place
This boyband won their place by directly qualifying from the fourth semi-final and are popular with the masses of children screaming for them but the song and performance are still a bit luke warm. Without that showstopper edge and a bad draw in the running order this song will fail to finish well. The juries will have too many songs to choose from which will make some of the entries unmemorable. I believe this will be one of them.
3) Dinah Nah “Make Me (La La La)” – Predict 9th Place
Dinah Nah won her place by beating Dolly Style in her Andra Chansen duel. This typical Europop club hit is popular across many of the international fans of the contest but unfortunately they can’t vote. The voting public won’t back this song as much as some of the others as Loreen has still cast a shadow on all subsequent dance hits from Sweden. It will take awhile for this to pass and believe it is still too early for the Swedish public buy in. The juries will like it but like isn’t good enough to place well.
4) Jon Henrik Fjällgren “Jag är Fri (Manne Leam Frijje)” I am Free – Predict 2nd Place
Jon Henrik won his place in the third semi-final and has been one of the hot favourites. The song hasn’t changed apart Jon Henrik’s wardrobe but it doesn’t matter the atmospheric song will do extremely well with the Swedish public having recently won Sweden’s Got Talent. The main area of contention is the international juries, will they or won’t they go for it? I believe it will do very well and if the juries get behind it will win. I believe it is a two horse race at this point between John Henrik and Måns Zelmerlöw.
5) Jessica Andersson “Can’t Hurt Me Now” – Predict 8th Place
Jessica won her place in the very first semi-final and has been forgotten mostly since then. The song and performance haven’t changed but it is still missing that dramatic build or climatic edge. It is a shame as the song and performance are beautiful but simply forgettable. Ballads always do well but this year with so many songs competing for points it will leave many in the dust and unfortunately this song will fall in that category.
6) Måns Zelmerlöw “Heroes” – Predict Winner
Måns qualified directly to the final from the fourth semi-final and is the odds on favourite to win. The innovative performance and sheer popularity of the song will make the public pick up their phones to vote. The juries will fall for this as well as the feast for the eyes is also met with its Guetta-like styling which stands against club based hits like “Europhia” as something entirely different. It is a refreshing performance that you won’t forget and believe he can only be beaten if the juries fall for Jon Henrik.
7) Linus Svenning “Forever Starts Today” – Predict 7th Place
Linus beat Andreas Weise in the second chance to win his place in the final. His performance and song are solid and a change of direction in styling to last year’s “Bröder”. His main issue again are that there are too many songs competing for those all-important points. The ethnic feel to the song will get the juries backing it and his sincere performance will get the public voting.
8) ISA “Don’t Stop” – Predict 5th Place
ISA won her place in the third semi-final and gained many children followers. Her song is mainstream pop and is very well written. I believe she will pick up votes from the juries and she will certainly have the backing of most children out there. The only issue she will face is that there is crossover appeal from Eric Saade’s entry which means they both could lose out on points to each other. ISA is definitely one to watch and if she participates again she could take the crown.
9) Magnus Carlsson “Möt Mig I Gamla Stan” – Predict 11th Place
Magnus achieved his place in the final directly from the second semi-final and his absolute Schlager hit is extremely popular with the gay audience. This is the type of song that could of won ten years ago but time has moved on since then. The song has lots of appeal but the juries and public will opt for his more contemporary counterparts. This is the sort of song I love and so glad that this style is represented in the final as it means that Schlager isn’t dead just not as mainstream as it once was.
10) Eric Saade “Sting” – Predict 4th Place
Eric qualified for his place way back in the first semi-final and showed that his “Popular” fan base hasn’t diminished. Honestly Saade could enter and do well with almost any type of song due to his popularity. The song is a grower and I have grown to like but for the majority of viewers and juries this will be the first time listening to it which lies part of the problem. The stylised performance with dancing shadows, rising platforms, pyrotechnics and glitter will be hard to forget but will the voters like it enough to pick up the phone to vote, I don’t think so. The majority of his points will come from his dedicated fan base.
11) Mariette “Don’t Stop Believing” – Predict 3rd Place
Mariette won her place in the second semi-final with her atmospheric and mesmerising performance. Nothing has changed here but it also didn’t need to as promotes its dark side feeling very well. The international juries will love the song and performance. The Swedish public who don’t care for the mainstream pop style of Måns, Eric and ISA will go for this and in a big way. With her debut performance in Melodifestivalen, I believe Marietta will be pleased with her placing and in a less competitive year this could win.
12) Hasse Andersson “Guld och Gröna Skogar” Gold and Green Forests – Predict 6th Place
Hasse beat Kristin Amparo in the Second Chance to win his place in the final. His sheer likability of a happy song in the sight of Spring approaching just makes people smile. It is very Swedish and the public love this and will go for it in a big way. The juries will overlook this as filler because it isn’t a style of music that many countries listen to as mainstream. All his points will come from the televote but just how many will decide on his overall placing.
Do you agree?
On The Ground at Melodifestivalen
Everyone seems to be at the leadup to Melodifestivalen this year. Fellow Queueing Group member from Copenhagen Eurovision 2014 and great comedy talent Kevin Lee was at the Welcome Party for the Final. After globetrotting all over the world with performances in recent months he has found himself back in Stockholm just at the right time.
Melodifestivalen Second Chance 2015
Tonight Sweden will chose their last 4 songs for the final next Saturday. Helsingborg is this year’s hosts and are getting into the spirit all of things schlager.
Watch it tonight at SVT Play at 8:00 pm CET – Click Here!
| 1 | Andreas Weise | “Bring Out the Fire” | |
| 2 | Linus Svenning | “Forever Starts Today” | |
| 1 | Hasse Andersson | “Guld och gröna skogar” (Gold and green forests) | |
| 2 | Kristin Amparo | “I See You” | |
| 1 | Dolly Style | “Hello Hi” | |
| 2 | Dinah Nah | “Make Me (La La La)” | |
| 1 | Behrang Miri feat. Victor Crone and Malena Ernman | “Det rår vi inte för” (We can’t help it) | |
| 2 | Samir & Viktor | “Groupie” | |
Duel 1 – Predict Linus Svenning
Andreas Weise reminds me of a cocky egotistical used car salesman but there are some Swedish that obviously like it. The song is not horrendous actually but I believe that it is good enough for Eurovision or to win Melodifestivalen due to the lack of like-ability. Linus Svenning’s song and performance feels much more genuine and the quality is much higher. With Svenning being a finalist last year as well he is clearly in with a great chance of going through to the final.
Duel 2 – Predict Hasse Andersson
Hasse Andersson is like that old friend you have seen it a long while and comes in a springtime happy song that just makes you smile. Even if you don’t care for danseband music, it is almost impossible not to smile at least once during his performance. The Swedish love Andersson and the audience participation in the arena is electric. Kristin Amparo is an Adele-like songstress and her performance is flawless. The setting and lighting just add to this atmospheric song. This is my favourite song of the evening and it slightly kills me to predict anyone to win against it but I believe Andersson’s popularity is win over Amparo moving performance.
Duel 3 – Predict Dinah Nah
Dolly Style is the saccharin sweet trio of wannabe children presenters performing one of those songs you can’t get out of your head. The song is instantly catchy and will be a favourite of anyone under 12. The battle is arguably the closest to call but it will depend on how much the parents drink this evening. Dinah Nah is a summer-drenched club anthem with a great chorus. What makes this song stand out is the simple special effect of shaking the camera during the all male dance performances given that earthquake effect.
Duel 4 – Predict Samir & Victor
Behrang Miri has been to the second chance round before and lost out previously to proceed to the final. The song is a bit lost amongst the other songs this evening due to the lack of sparkle. There has been a sneaky change here as Malena Ernman has been added as backing vocalist. I still don’t think Ernman’s addition will change the popularity behind Samir & Victor. Samir & Viktor are easily the most popular song of the evening. Unfortunately, the song and vocals aren’t up to the popularity of this novelty song. This won’t stop the Swedish kids and teens voting for the rather good looking duo.
Melodifestivalen 2015 Semi-Final 4 Results
On Saturday, Sweden hosted its last semi-final in Örebro. In my opinion, it was the best show of the four. With Måns Zelmerlöw and JTR securing places in the final on the 14th March.
Midnight Boy – Don’t say no – Eliminated (7th Place)
A popular song writer in his own right, Midnight Boy has produced a typical 80’s gay anthem that wouldn’t be out of place in any retro discotheque. His performance is very good only noticed one off note. Unfortunately the Swedish public didn’t agree placing it last.
Caroline Wennergren – Black swan – Eliminated (5th Place)
This is Wennergren’s second attempt in Melodifestivalen she qualified previously to the final and finished 5th overall with “A Different Kind of Love.” I found this song a bit boring actually Wennergren’s raspy voice was the only character I noticed in the performance.
JTR – Building it up – Advances direct to the final
JTR are a Swedish boy band made up of three brothers that actually rose to fame by participating in X Factor Australia. They finished in 7th place but have subsequently released an album that has charted in both Sweden and Australia. I honestly didn’t think much of this song and found it to be the most boring of the evening. The song wasn’t interesting enough and has a fairly weak hook. I believe popularity and good looks possibly haven’t hurt their result. I was shocked that the qualified directly for the final.
Hasse Andersson – Guld och gröna skogar (Gold and green forests) – Advances to the second chance
For 35 years, Hasse Andersson has been performing his Swedish country music achieving chart success mostly in the 80’s. This jolly traditional country number was refreshing and sweet. The dancers and staging just brought together the sense of spring. Andersson’s overall performance was fairly solid for the 67 year old and with a catchy hook I easily hummed along to the melody. It clearly won’t win any awards but still welcome to see and hear some happy, well written music.
Dinah Nah – Make me (La la la) – Advances to the second chance
This is Nah’s first Melodifestivalen entry with the simple but effective staging she has managed a ticket to the second chance. The song isn’t as strong as Midnight Boy’s but it is repetitive and the dance sequences with the earthquake effects works very well. Definitely another club style song, “Make Me (La la la)” lacks that super strong chorus that a club track needs. Still an impressive first outing.
Annika Herlitz – Ett andetag (One breath) – Eliminated (6th Place)
Herlitz is a singer and voiceover actress, most famous for being Elsa in the Swedish version of Disney’s Frozen. She has perform the Swedish version of “Let it Go”, “Slå Dig Fri” for the film and countless times to the Swedish public. With such a powerful song, I was expecting a WOW from Herlitz which she delivered a lovely performance but wasn’t quite the diva power of “Let it Go”. Arguably this was my favourite song of the evening. It built well and had all of the traditional touches of a classic Swedish Schlager hit. I think it was missing that overly dramatic big note that these songs are built on.
Måns Zelmerlöw – Heroes – Advances direct to the final
This is Zelmerlöw’s third entry to Melodifestivalen, finishing 3rd with “Cara Mia” and 4th with “Hope & Glory.” He also co-hosted the contest in 2010 which he gained lots more popularity. This was clearly the favourite to win the semi-final and SVT often put the hot favourite to win the crown in the last place of the 4th semi-final. Being named Sweden’s sexiest man several years in a row probably doesn’t hurt your chances either. Honestly the song is OK, it’s growing on me. The first 30 seconds is dreadful, sounding something like an old fashioned folk singer. What makes this amazing is the staging and special effects of the performance. This could well win but I still think that the Semi orphan might walk away with the victory.
Melodifestivalen 2015 Semi-Final 4
Tonight the fourth semi-final of Sweden in Örebro, Sweden starts at 20:00 CET in on SVT Play.
For today only! You can also listen to 2:30 second studio snippets here!
Which 2 songs will proceed to the final? Which 2 songs will have a second chance and which 3 songs will be eliminated? You decide.
- Midnight Boy – Don’t say no
- Caroline Wennergren – Black swan
- JTR – Building it up
- Hasse Andersson – Guld och gröna skogar (Gold and green forests)
- Dinah Nah – Make me (La la la)
- Annika Herlitz – Ett andetag (One breath)
- Måns Zelmerlöw – Heroes
Melodifestivalen 2015 Semi-Final 3 Results
On Saturday, Sweden selected another two acts to go direct to the final and two to go to the second chance round (Andra Chasen). Östersund was on fire with arguably the best run of songs so far in the Swedish selection but it was Isa and Jon Henrik Fjällgren that advanced to the Friends Arena for the final on the 14 March 2015.
Ellen Benediktson – Insomnia – Eliminated (5th Place)
Benediktson was a finalist in last year’s final with “Songbird” placing 7th. This year’s entry is very different and has a new-look Benediktson performing the number. With dramatic lighting, fairly good building beat and lots of rubber “Insomnia” should of qualified easily. The issue is that the song builds but doesn’t really climax at any point. It is missing that dramatic diva moment that this song needs. With such stiff competition this song just wasn’t enough to go through.
Kalle Johansson – För din skull – Eliminated (6th Place)
This young male singer doesn’t seem old enough to carry off a number at a national selection. Johansson seemed awkward on stage and he failed to lift what was a boring performance. The song was ok but nothing special. Definitely not something you would remember in five minutes time.
Andreas Weise – Bring Out the Fire – Advances to the second chance
Weise comes across as a bit of an arrogant performer who has scantly clad women all over him. This former Pop Idol finalist, I believe lacks the charisma that this type of performance really needs. The song is fairly mediocre but is easily hummable after the first chorus. Saying that, I needed the recap to remember this one as well.
Andreas Johnson – Living To Die – Eliminated (7th Place)
Arguably the most disappointing song of the evening, Johnson’s sixth attempt at the Melodifestivalen crown was his weakest. The song starts like it will build into a dramatic rock power ballad but it just falls flat. Johnson’s performance of the song also left the audience feeling cold. There was simply no engagement or passion from Johnson, maybe he didn’t like the song himself.
Isa – Don’t Stop – Advances direct to the final
This isn’t Isa’s first attempt at Eurovision in 2010 she tried to represent Sweden in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. As a co-writer this bubble-gum pop entry is a instantly catchy number. Reminiscent of early Britney or Christina Aguilera, is also a professional dancer and uses this ability to give this song a boost. Along with her gold-winged trainers, Isa manages something that most performers dream of achieving a finalist place on her first attempt at the crown.
Kristin Amparo – I See You – Advances to the second chance
This Swedish X Factor participant has in my opinion the best song of the night. Very much in Adele-like style, Amparo delivers the track the way it should be with real passion. The staging and production are flawless and creates a truly atmospheric performance. Her voice is a little shaky in places which is possibly why she doesn’t advance directly to the final but I believe she a real shot at winning a place during the second chance round. I could easily see this song covered in Afrikaans and many other languages.
Jon Henrik Fjällgren – Jag är fri (Manne Liem Frije) – Advances direct to the final
Grab your tissues! This performer and song has a story and who doesn’t like a story. Last year’s winner of Sweden’s Got Talent, Fjällgren won the hearts of Sweden by singing his traditional Joik music for the masses. The Sami or Laplander people are known for this type of simple style chanting style music. Adding to the fact that Fjällgren is a Columbian orphan adopted by a Sami family who was bullied as a child because of the colour of his skin is also a reindeer herder which is very typical of the Sami people. The performance and staging of his song is enchanting and exceedingly difficult not to feel something for this number. If you pair all this along with the message of his song “I am Free” I believe that we might not of just heard the winner to Melodifestivalen but to the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna.
Third semi-final in Sweden
The third semi-final of the Swedish Melodifestivalen has taken place in Östersund. Two acts automatically qualified for the final and two more went to the Andra Chansen phase.
The seven acts competing were –
- Ellen Benediktson – Insomnia
- Kalle Johansson – För din skull
- Andreas Weise – Bring Out the Fire
- Andreas Johnson – Living To Die
- Isa – Don’t Stop
- Kristin Amparo – I See You
- Jon Henrik Fjällgren – Jag är fri (Manne Liem Frije)
The two acts to make it the final are Isa and Jon Henrik Fjällgren. The two acts that get another chance are Kristin Amparo and Andreas Weise.
Source: www.eurovision.tv
Melodifestivalen 2015 Semi-final 3
Tonight the third semi-final of Sweden in Östersund, Sweden starts at 20:00 CET in on SVT Play.
For today only! You can also listen to 2:30 second studio snippets here!
Which 2 songs will proceed to the final? Which 2 songs will have a second chance and which 3 songs will be eliminated? You decide.
- Ellen Benediktson – Insomnia
- Kalle Johansson – För din skull (For Your Sake)
- Andreas Weise – Bring out the fire
- Andreas Johnson – Living to die
- Isa – Don’t stop
- Kristin Amparo – I see you
- Jon Henrik Fjällgren – Jag är fri (Manne leam frijje) (I am Free)
Melodifestivalen 2015 – Semi-final 1 Results
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 (6th 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 (7th 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 (5th 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 5th, this is Jessica Andersson’s 4th 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 3rd in 2011 with “Popular”, did his fans justice by delivering a very up-to-date number.
What do you think of the results?