We have a long history with Melodifestivalen here. I don't mean here in the UK, or that there are a number of us here on this blog (there's just lonely little me! Happy Valentine's Day, said noone). The first time I had any idea what this strange 'Melody-festival' concept was, was in the darkest depths of the Ola phase. Not that this has really passed, but it's significantly less… strong, shall we say, although I feel myself slipping. He competed in 2010 with Unstoppable (turns out I didn't blog back in 2010, which is kind of upsetting as I usually have a past blog post link to refer back to in times like this!). If you want, you can watch his performance below, I'll embed it (if I can find it!). ***I probably won't leave this up for very long. I'll either get made to take it down, or I will run out of space where I've hosted it. If you find this page and underneath this paragraph there is a witty comment or an exposing screenshot about where this video has gone, please send me a message and I can hook you up***
So as I sat in my room, trying desperately to read and translate the complicated rules of this strange, enormous concert, (it's not as anglicised as it is now!) Ola performed in a very cold place called Örnsköldsvik and got through to the final. By the end, I was hooked, and I am even more upset that I didn't blog in the beginning of 2011 either because I watched it then too! That was the year Eric Saade won with Popular. At the time, a personal favourite lad of ours hahaha. We were so obsessed with Eric…
This is turning into a very long intro, but basically we took the trip ourselves in 2012 to the final in Stockholm (finally a link!), and for four years after that too! Amazing. I was so utterly hooked on this very strange, Swedish phenomenon it's literally engraved into my life now. Interwoven into the very fibres of who I am(!)
So now, 2017!
Let's first look at the first heat. I am not a super fan and hadn't done any 'research' into the acts. I listened to both the 30 second and 2:30 previews of the songs in the week, and after just those previews, and based on the 'popular vote', as I'm calling it, my gut told me:
Nano & Ace Wilder direct to Final.
Dinah Nah & De Vet Du to Andra Chansen.
I didn't like Nano's song 'Hold On', but it had a Hozier / Rag'n'Bone Man vibe, and I'd seen a lot of hype around him. The staging for it too, had clearly a lot of effort put into it and it looked good. He was likeable too, and just seemed like a big cuddly teddy bear…
Ace Wilder is a diva, and she competed in Melodifestivalen in 2014 and 2016 too, so she was a familiar face. With both previous times progressing directly to the Final, she was clearly doing something right with her likability. She reminds me a lot of Zara Larsson, and should anyone have watched any interviews with her in the lead up (to any year!), they would have found that she is very down to earth, but so sassy. Wild Child is just a pop hit, regardless of its participation in Melodifestivalen. It would have been a shock for her to have not advanced in any way.
Dinah Nah is for me, not as exciting and fun as Ace appears. She also competed in 2015 with Make Me (La La La) and progressed to Andra Chansen, and subsequently to the Final. Both her and Ace's songs were similar in certain aspects. It was big, poppy and filled the arena. I don't think the audience provided the response expected, and I feel the song fell flat on the crowd and voting public, as a result, she actually came 5th, and didn't progress to any further rounds.
De Vet Du. Where to start. The token 'FL Studio' band. Sweden seem to produce a lot of these, some good, some bad, some down right ugly (see Sweden's viral top 50 on Spotify for some examples!). They just want to have a good time! With some creative staging and a hot DJ, they dabbed every melfest bingo board square! With a key change thrown in for good measure, honestly, what's not to love?! It's a personal favourite of mine, and it's made it in the playlist. I accidentally came across their stuff in the past actually, conveniently whilst searching the viral top 50!
So although Dinah Nah didn't get through, Boris René did. His song 'Her Kiss' sticks most in my mind, and almost has an Andy Abraham vibe about him, I think. It's not really a favourite of mine, and I don't think it'll succeed in Andra Chansen, but it'll still stand a fighting chance.
Okay so second heat - Malmö.
Again, I listed to the 30 second and 2:30 previews and I predicted:
Mariette & Lisa Ajax direct to Final.
Benjamin Ingrosso & Dismissed to Andra Chansen.
Wrong again! I've been very slightly off in my predictions this year, but I don't know if I'm hoping more than predicting. The polls on SVT's website seem accurate this year, and both polls have predicted both winners and Andra Chansen's. Benjamin was very slightly ahead of Lisa in the polls and it showed!
Mariette's song A Million Years was good, but I can't remember any of it. Not even the melody. She too had competed in 2015 and advanced directly to the Final with 'Don't Stop Believing', so she also had a rapport with the Swedish voting public. The song was well ahead in the poll too, so it clearly sat well. I didn't like it as much as the others, but I feel this was a weak round, so… I can't write any more about this one because I literally have no recollection of the song!
Lisa Ajax is a canny lass! Another former competitor, in 2016 with 'My heart wants me dead' she returns with 'I don't give a', with no prizes for what word comes next. The song is fairly 'vanilla' and nothing too wacky, but still nice and tuneful (and therefore memorable!), and she holds the high notes well. She is only 18 too, so give her some credit! Of course I can't mention this song without quietly mentioning that the songwriters behind this entry are almost more exciting than poor Lisa herself. The team consists of Linnea Deb, Joy Deb and Anton Hård af Segerstad collectively known as The Family (they wrote You by Robin Stjernberg and Heroes by Måns Zelmerlöw) and none other than OLA SVENSSON HIMSELF. Yes, he's back ladies and gentlemen, but this time as a songwriter, and not as the singer. Although sources do tell me he sang the demo, which I would kill to hear!! If you listen carefully in the middle 8 you may be able to hear the ghostly identifiable voice of Ola. Although it's not confirmed that he is actually singing in the backing, it certainly sounds like him! At least now we can dream! Lisa unfortunately didn't qualify to the Final as I had predicted, but to Andra Chansen, so not all is lost.
Benjamin Ingrosso seems like a perfectly nice gentleman (at 19!) but I appear to have taken an instant dislike to him. The song was alright I guess, but nothing special. Again, only one line from the chorus sticks in my mind so it didn't leave a lasting impression on me. I think he reminds me too much of Anton Ewald, and although yes, we were huge fans of Anton, but in recent years he's turned unlikeable, and a bit cocky (although he always was), and a bit of a twat really. Plus he's a dancer, not a singer. You don't attend the Kungliga Svenska Balettskolan to become a singer do you? Anyway, back to Benji. Just a kid really. He's never competed in Melodifestivalen before but his other songs are decent enough too. I think he's a hit with the girls, if anything. If you were wondering about that name too, he's actually Benjamin Wahlgren Ingrosso, and son of Pernilla Wahlgren (one third of melfest (dis)band(ed) Swedish House Wives). She's big in Sweden and a household name for many. He's also Sebastian Ingrosso's cousin. Yeah, him from Swedish House Mafia. Maybe Benjamin should have renamed himself as Swedish Heart Throb, to keep in line with the family bands' aliases.
| svt.se |
Dismissed are also an interesting bunch. I have to admit I wasn't paying full attention for their section, but they're four guys who like to wear dresses, makeup, high heels etc for their performances, and it makes for an interesting watch! They're a bit of a rock band and their song 'Hearts Align' was good, and I actually remembered this one! It gets a bit samey after a while and they continue to sing the words 'and our hearts alight' in the same tone over and over again. For the sake of diversity, they should certainly be in Andra Chansen, to mix things up a bit so that we're not just watching guys with guitars singing about heartbreak. Their song was also one of the strongest in this heat, so they deserve their place for that fact too.
If I may also make a point about Etzia and song 'Up'. The song was excellent. She was not. So boppy and feel good, and made you want to dance, but she gave it no justice. She was just so boring to watch, and her voice had no zing to it. Just singing words to a tune, as though she was doing her weekly shop. I'd love to hear the demo for that one too, since I think it could be better than hers. She seemed a nice woman, personality wise, but since so many people have drawn parallels to SaRaha's 'Kizunguzungu', this song had a singer that justice which proved successful as it made it to the final! Unfortunately Etzia just wasn't the gal for the job.
Next week's 3rd round and 4th the following week will have their own post, and so will Andra Chansen and a reaction to the Final.
Jordanavia :)
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