Melodifestivalen 2018 - An Initial Preview
I was planning to write a piece on the United Kingdom and Eurovision. However, that was before the gift came into our lives that is the official announcements of the Melodifestivalen 2018 artists. For anybody who isn't a Eurovision super fan or a Swede, Melodifestivalen is the Swedish national final that decides the Swedish Eurovision act each year. When I first started getting into national finals, I was very hesitant about drinking the cool-ade on the contest, but have ended up giving into how bonkers, brilliant and infectious the Melodifestivalen bug is. The contest is six shows (4 semi finals, a "second chance" round known as "andra chansen" and a grand final). The shows take place in different arenas around the country with the final always taking place in Stockholm. The acts chosen are a combination of comedy, folk, schlager, pop, rock and many others whilst the production values are one step off the production values of the actual Eurovision finals. I have many songs from Melodifestivalen history that I love and particularly since I have finished watching every Eurovision final in history, I have really begun delving into the world of Melodifestivalen. Having gone through every artist on the list, I will walk through my predictions for who will go through based on the calibre of the artist and their suitability to the Melodifestivalen format. Please take these predictions with a pinch of salt as we do not yet know the running order nor what the songs sound like (we only get a preview on the week of the performances).
Semi Final 1
Renaida
Benjamin Ingrosso (Finalist)
Edward Blom (Andra Chansen)
John Lundvik
Kikki Danielsson
Sigrid Bernson (Finalist)
Kamferdrops (Andra Chansen)
I would just like to start by pointing out that these first seven artists are very reflective of the diversity of the competition with different genres across the board. Let's get stuck into my analysis of this! Benjamin Ingrosso is a definite finalist. If his fifth place finish last year with 'Good Lovin'' wasn't enough of an argument, his funky pop style will go down very well with the voters who are also very supportive of returning artists. He will be one of the hot favourites to win the whole things this year. Sigrid Bernson is a controversial pick to be the other finalist as she has only actually released one single in her career. However, I encourage everybody to listen to 'This Summer' which is a classic accessible pop song. If she puts anything of the same vein forward for Melodifestivalen, she will have a lot of success. She is also a professional dancer which bodes well for a good, exciting uptempo performance and song (which we know is called 'Patrick Swayze'). She will take the votes that MelFest-veteran Ace Wilder normally gets.
Every year at Melodifestivalen, there is always a song that gets through off simply being a fun, upbeat song and performance. Edward Blom was the surprise package of the list, with his viral single 'När Man Festar Festar Man' really impressing me and making me want to dance. He will get the voters that last year went to De Vet Du and his chances of making the grand final will hinge on who he gets drawn against in Andra Chansen. Joining him, I have Kamferdrops who makes ethereal, dreamy synthpop songs. This artist definitely has a place to be successful today, but I struggle to see how her style and performance type will translate onto the Melodifestivalen stage.
The other three artists are of a decent enough quality. Kikki Danielsson has experience of representing Sweden at Eurovision a number of times, however I can't see how in a contest as energetic and modern as Melodifestivalen that any song by Kikki Danielsson has the potential to make any kind of impact. I would love to be proven wrong though as she is a Eurovision legend.
Semi Final 2
Ida Redig
Jonas Gardell
Margaret (Finalist)
Liamoo (Andra Chansen)
Samir & Viktor (Finalist)
Mimi Werner
Stiko Per Larsson (Andra Chansen)
This semi final happens in Gothenburg and it will be by far the best semi final. I have a fair bit of confidence to predict that Jonas Gardell will come last but after that it is anybody's game. Margaret goes into the competition as arguably the favourite. As I have already expressed in previous posts, her 2016 song 'Cool Me Down' was a winner waiting to happen and I'm sure that she will be determined to set the record straight and launch herself onto the Eurovision stage in Lisbon as the Swedish act. Samir & Viktor have participated twice at Eurovision and twice had to qualify for the final through Andra Chansen, however they won both of their andra chansen duels by a big margin. Their audience and their number of fans has grown significantly since 'Bada nakna' came last in 2016 and though I may be biased as one of their fans, I am predicting that 'Shuffla' will do enough to give the duo direct qualification to the final.
As previously mentioned, the Andra Chansen spots are anybody's game. Liamoo is a strong contender having won Swedish Idol in 2016. Some people would tip him to get one of the automatic spots ahead of Samir & Viktor but from what I have heard of his music, I am not sure if it will be memorable enough to give him automatic qualification. If he doesn't get one through the semi, I am sure he will get a spot through Andra Chansen. It came down to Mimi Wener or Stiko Per Larsson for the other slot, but I am banking on the Swedish down to earth folk music outdoing the bigged up country sound of Mimi. Ida Redig could also have a shot with a decent song, but everything on youtube that you can hear by her sounds like something that wouldn't be out of place in a John Lewis advert and therefore, not memorable enough to do well on the night.
Semi Final 3
Martin Almgren (Finalist)
Dotter (Finalist)
Moncho
Mendez (Andra Chansen)
Kalle Moraeus & Orsa Spelmän
Jessica Andersson
Barbi Escobar (Andra Chansen)
The Malmo Semi Final will be difficult to call because there are no obvious names who stand out as being certains to go through. This is partially because all the acts are either debuting this year or last performed at Melodifestivalen in the early noughties. Dotter is my first bet to go through. She wrote Mariette's 'A Million Years' last year and her style of music is very similar to that of Mariette. What makes her stand out on songs like 'Evolution' is her bravery to push the type of music and vocals that typically get put into songs of this genre. Her Florence + The Machine-esque hair and creative song will be topped off if she gets the performance right on the night (which I believe she will). I've picked Martin Almgren off the basis that he will pick up the votes that Nano managed last year with a deep soulful voice. A lot will come down to the song and the performance but in a very unpredictable semi final, I am going to take a punt on Martin.
For Andra Chansen, I will take a bet on Mendez, the Swedish-Chilean DJ who came 2nd at Melodifestivalen in 2002. He was literally big in the noughties and many of his newer tracks have their air of being made by a DJ who hasn't kept up with the times. With that in mind, I can imagine that with the right kind of song and performance, he can nick one of the Andra Chansen spots, but I would be surprised if he made the final. For the other slot, I have gone for Barbi Escobar, a risk given that she literally has nothing on youtube or spotify. I have a gut feeling that she will be the debut act that really makes a splash on Melodifestivalen. In a fierce and exciting competition contested by the biggest names in Sweden, Escobar only would have made it onto the list if she had a good song and potential good performance to match. I'm not convinced that she won't go automatically through to the final, but for now, I am going to set the bar for her at Andra Chansen. It says a lot that I am putting somebody completely unknown above three well known acts, but having listened to what's out there, I just don't think anybody speaks to me as going places.
Semi Final 4
Felicia Olsson
Felix Sandman (Andra Chansen)
Mariette (Finalist)
Rolandz
Emmi Christensen
Elias Abbas (Finalist)
Olivia (Andra Chansen)
Mariette is another fan favourite who is welcomed onto the list. Her presence in the last semi final will further help her chances of winning the whole thing with her song 'For You'. If Mariette didn't qualify from this semi final it would be seen as a massive upset. There are a lot of potential acts who could join Mariette but I am counting on Elias Abbas to serve up some fresh tropical Swedish language realness and a professional performance to match.
Felix Sandman will give Elias a run for his money and it will be interesting to see what happens when the two go head to head in this semi final. I just don't think his voice is strong enough for direct qualification, but if I had to stick my neck out, I think he would be a typical act to qualify for the final via Andra Chansen. I have Olivia down as a pretty good bet to take 4th spot because she is safe enough and will serve up a good enough pop song to make it to Andra Chansen, but I struggle to believe that she will go any further than that.
Andra Chansen
Edward Blom
Kamferdrops (Finalist)
Liamoo (Finalist)
Stiko Per Larsen
Mendez
Barbi Escobar (Finalist)
Felix Sandman (Finalist)
Olivia
Four varied semi finals will lead to a very diverse Andra Chansen round. We can't really predict this as it hinges on so much that we don't know. However, if I had to pick four of these acts to make the final, I would bet on Kamferdrops making it with her wispy and ethereal pop voice enough to make it. I would bet on Liamoo's reputation and decent performance capabilities being enough to send him through. Felix Sandman will ride on what is bound to be a wave of teenage girls picking up the phone and voting for the former boyband member. Finally, it comes down to Barbi Escobar or Stiko Per Larsen and whilst I would like to see Stiko Per Larsen go through, I have a feeling that people at home will be more likely to vote for an RnB song in English than a Swedish folk song.
Predicted Finalists
Benjamin Ingrosso
Singrid Bernson
Margaret (Winner)
Samir & Viktor
Martin Almgren
Dotter
Mariette
Elias Abbas
Kamferdrops
Liamoo
Barbi Escobar
Felix Sandman
I will go out on a limb and predict that the Pole (Margaret) will be chosen to represent Sweden in Lisbon next year but there is a lot riding on that which we can't tell now (namely that we haven't heard the song). In any case, I am looking forward to an exciting, energetic, diverse and crazy Melodifestivalen next year. What do you think of my views? Let me know in the comments below and thanks for reading!
Semi Final 1
Renaida
Benjamin Ingrosso (Finalist)
Edward Blom (Andra Chansen)
John Lundvik
Kikki Danielsson
Sigrid Bernson (Finalist)
Kamferdrops (Andra Chansen)
I would just like to start by pointing out that these first seven artists are very reflective of the diversity of the competition with different genres across the board. Let's get stuck into my analysis of this! Benjamin Ingrosso is a definite finalist. If his fifth place finish last year with 'Good Lovin'' wasn't enough of an argument, his funky pop style will go down very well with the voters who are also very supportive of returning artists. He will be one of the hot favourites to win the whole things this year. Sigrid Bernson is a controversial pick to be the other finalist as she has only actually released one single in her career. However, I encourage everybody to listen to 'This Summer' which is a classic accessible pop song. If she puts anything of the same vein forward for Melodifestivalen, she will have a lot of success. She is also a professional dancer which bodes well for a good, exciting uptempo performance and song (which we know is called 'Patrick Swayze'). She will take the votes that MelFest-veteran Ace Wilder normally gets.
Every year at Melodifestivalen, there is always a song that gets through off simply being a fun, upbeat song and performance. Edward Blom was the surprise package of the list, with his viral single 'När Man Festar Festar Man' really impressing me and making me want to dance. He will get the voters that last year went to De Vet Du and his chances of making the grand final will hinge on who he gets drawn against in Andra Chansen. Joining him, I have Kamferdrops who makes ethereal, dreamy synthpop songs. This artist definitely has a place to be successful today, but I struggle to see how her style and performance type will translate onto the Melodifestivalen stage.
The other three artists are of a decent enough quality. Kikki Danielsson has experience of representing Sweden at Eurovision a number of times, however I can't see how in a contest as energetic and modern as Melodifestivalen that any song by Kikki Danielsson has the potential to make any kind of impact. I would love to be proven wrong though as she is a Eurovision legend.
Semi Final 2
Ida Redig
Jonas Gardell
Margaret (Finalist)
Liamoo (Andra Chansen)
Samir & Viktor (Finalist)
Mimi Werner
Stiko Per Larsson (Andra Chansen)
This semi final happens in Gothenburg and it will be by far the best semi final. I have a fair bit of confidence to predict that Jonas Gardell will come last but after that it is anybody's game. Margaret goes into the competition as arguably the favourite. As I have already expressed in previous posts, her 2016 song 'Cool Me Down' was a winner waiting to happen and I'm sure that she will be determined to set the record straight and launch herself onto the Eurovision stage in Lisbon as the Swedish act. Samir & Viktor have participated twice at Eurovision and twice had to qualify for the final through Andra Chansen, however they won both of their andra chansen duels by a big margin. Their audience and their number of fans has grown significantly since 'Bada nakna' came last in 2016 and though I may be biased as one of their fans, I am predicting that 'Shuffla' will do enough to give the duo direct qualification to the final.
As previously mentioned, the Andra Chansen spots are anybody's game. Liamoo is a strong contender having won Swedish Idol in 2016. Some people would tip him to get one of the automatic spots ahead of Samir & Viktor but from what I have heard of his music, I am not sure if it will be memorable enough to give him automatic qualification. If he doesn't get one through the semi, I am sure he will get a spot through Andra Chansen. It came down to Mimi Wener or Stiko Per Larsson for the other slot, but I am banking on the Swedish down to earth folk music outdoing the bigged up country sound of Mimi. Ida Redig could also have a shot with a decent song, but everything on youtube that you can hear by her sounds like something that wouldn't be out of place in a John Lewis advert and therefore, not memorable enough to do well on the night.
Semi Final 3
Martin Almgren (Finalist)
Dotter (Finalist)
Moncho
Mendez (Andra Chansen)
Kalle Moraeus & Orsa Spelmän
Jessica Andersson
Barbi Escobar (Andra Chansen)
The Malmo Semi Final will be difficult to call because there are no obvious names who stand out as being certains to go through. This is partially because all the acts are either debuting this year or last performed at Melodifestivalen in the early noughties. Dotter is my first bet to go through. She wrote Mariette's 'A Million Years' last year and her style of music is very similar to that of Mariette. What makes her stand out on songs like 'Evolution' is her bravery to push the type of music and vocals that typically get put into songs of this genre. Her Florence + The Machine-esque hair and creative song will be topped off if she gets the performance right on the night (which I believe she will). I've picked Martin Almgren off the basis that he will pick up the votes that Nano managed last year with a deep soulful voice. A lot will come down to the song and the performance but in a very unpredictable semi final, I am going to take a punt on Martin.
For Andra Chansen, I will take a bet on Mendez, the Swedish-Chilean DJ who came 2nd at Melodifestivalen in 2002. He was literally big in the noughties and many of his newer tracks have their air of being made by a DJ who hasn't kept up with the times. With that in mind, I can imagine that with the right kind of song and performance, he can nick one of the Andra Chansen spots, but I would be surprised if he made the final. For the other slot, I have gone for Barbi Escobar, a risk given that she literally has nothing on youtube or spotify. I have a gut feeling that she will be the debut act that really makes a splash on Melodifestivalen. In a fierce and exciting competition contested by the biggest names in Sweden, Escobar only would have made it onto the list if she had a good song and potential good performance to match. I'm not convinced that she won't go automatically through to the final, but for now, I am going to set the bar for her at Andra Chansen. It says a lot that I am putting somebody completely unknown above three well known acts, but having listened to what's out there, I just don't think anybody speaks to me as going places.
Semi Final 4
Felicia Olsson
Felix Sandman (Andra Chansen)
Mariette (Finalist)
Rolandz
Emmi Christensen
Elias Abbas (Finalist)
Olivia (Andra Chansen)
Mariette is another fan favourite who is welcomed onto the list. Her presence in the last semi final will further help her chances of winning the whole thing with her song 'For You'. If Mariette didn't qualify from this semi final it would be seen as a massive upset. There are a lot of potential acts who could join Mariette but I am counting on Elias Abbas to serve up some fresh tropical Swedish language realness and a professional performance to match.
Felix Sandman will give Elias a run for his money and it will be interesting to see what happens when the two go head to head in this semi final. I just don't think his voice is strong enough for direct qualification, but if I had to stick my neck out, I think he would be a typical act to qualify for the final via Andra Chansen. I have Olivia down as a pretty good bet to take 4th spot because she is safe enough and will serve up a good enough pop song to make it to Andra Chansen, but I struggle to believe that she will go any further than that.
Andra Chansen
Edward Blom
Kamferdrops (Finalist)
Liamoo (Finalist)
Stiko Per Larsen
Mendez
Barbi Escobar (Finalist)
Felix Sandman (Finalist)
Olivia
Four varied semi finals will lead to a very diverse Andra Chansen round. We can't really predict this as it hinges on so much that we don't know. However, if I had to pick four of these acts to make the final, I would bet on Kamferdrops making it with her wispy and ethereal pop voice enough to make it. I would bet on Liamoo's reputation and decent performance capabilities being enough to send him through. Felix Sandman will ride on what is bound to be a wave of teenage girls picking up the phone and voting for the former boyband member. Finally, it comes down to Barbi Escobar or Stiko Per Larsen and whilst I would like to see Stiko Per Larsen go through, I have a feeling that people at home will be more likely to vote for an RnB song in English than a Swedish folk song.
Predicted Finalists
Benjamin Ingrosso
Singrid Bernson
Margaret (Winner)
Samir & Viktor
Martin Almgren
Dotter
Mariette
Elias Abbas
Kamferdrops
Liamoo
Barbi Escobar
Felix Sandman
I will go out on a limb and predict that the Pole (Margaret) will be chosen to represent Sweden in Lisbon next year but there is a lot riding on that which we can't tell now (namely that we haven't heard the song). In any case, I am looking forward to an exciting, energetic, diverse and crazy Melodifestivalen next year. What do you think of my views? Let me know in the comments below and thanks for reading!
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