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Tag Archives: Melodifestivalen
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 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.
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)
DANCING DEODORANTS – HERREY’S FROM SWEDEN
In the run up to the Swedish selection, we will be looking at several interesting covers of vinyl singles by Swedish melodifestivalen singers/groups. First up will be four different ones by THE HERREY’s who won Eurovision in 1984. Do you agree with a Norwegian paper who called them the DANCING DEODORANTS?
