Heat 4 of Melodifestivalen takes place in Malmö this weekend, in which we’ll find two more finalists and two more second chancers.
The fourth and final heat has traditionally been the strongest of the contest every year, and we’re hoping that this year is no exception. As for most of the “traditional” fans, well they’re hoping for something of a miracle in terms of quality, to save this year’s Melodifestivalen from being their least favourite of all time. The drama! And then there’s the regular Swedish viewers, and it’s pretty hard to tell what they’re hoping for, as last week’s show continued this year’s trend of providing record breaking viewing figures. So they seem to be pretty happy.
Whichever category you fall into though, below you’ve got our introduction on what to expect from the eight songs and artists.
Check back here on Friday for our full report from the afternoon’s rehearsals, and then on Sunday for our breakdown of the results.
And as it gets closer to the release date, don’t forget that you can already pre-order the Melodifestivalen 2013 CD, containing all 32 songs, from our store.
So then. Here’s what we’ve got to look forward to this weekend;
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Army of Lovers – Rockin’ the Ride
Låtskrivare: Alexander Bard, Henrik Wikström, Per QX, Andreas Öhrn, Jean-Pierre Barda
One of Sweden’s biggest pop exports of the 90s are back with a new song for the first time in over ten years. Wow! Seeing the revelation of the three of them participating together was a bit of a surprise, as it’s been so long since they’ve been a group, and they now all have their own things going on. But they say that ‘Rockin’ The Ride’ is amazing, so why not? Also, they’ve made it pretty clear that they’re along for the ride that they’ll be rockin’, just as much for the LOLZ as for the hope of winning. This is Alexander Bard though – he doesn’t like to lose. So expect all the proverbial stops to be pulled out in order to guarantee them a place in the final. The performance promises to be a showstopper, and the song has been described as Swedish House Mafia meets ‘Gangnam Style’, on crack. Absolutely marvellous. Let’s hope that this isn’t some classic hyperbole though. This year’s final NEEDS Army of Lovers.
Lucia Piñera – Must Be Love
Låtskrivare: Peter Kvint, Jonas Myrin
A contestant on 2012’s True Talent TV show, which featured this year’s MF host Danny Saucedo and this year’s MF finalist Tommy Körberg as judges/mentors. Lucia brings to the table with her two songwriters who have both achieved huge levels of success in separate fields. Peter Kvint as a Melodifestivalen composer with a good past form, and Jonas Myrin as a recent American Grammy Award winner (albeit for ‘Best Gospel Song’, which doesn’t really lend itself well to our own personal excitement levels). Lucia confidently describes her song as strong, and “a hit”. But then we can’t imagine her boasting of the opposite either.
Robin Stjernberg – You
Låtskrivare: Robin Stjernberg, Linnea Deb, Joy Deb och Joakim Harestad Haukaas
Robin is most well known in Sweden for finishing second on the most recent series of Idol – behind Amanda Fondell. His song is likely to be a lot more palatable than her entry last week though, as his two original singles since Idol, ‘Scars’ and ‘On My Mind’, have both been mid-tempo and melodic, hugely radio friendly numbers. So we’re expecting more of the same here. Plus, when we spoke to him a few months back (interview on the site later this week), he told us that he had saved his best for this. ‘You’ is a stadium poprock number, with an instant melody and a soaring production. And Christ, if State of Drama can get to the final with that bile they subjected us to last week, then by rights, it should be a breeze for Robin.
Sylvia Vrethammar – Trivialitet
Låtskrivare: Thomas G:son, Calle Kindbom, Mats Tärnfors
Slightly ridiculous schlager dame of yesteryear. It’s been a while since she released anything, but she returned to the mainstream a few months back as part of the latest season of Så Mycket Bättre. Having said that though, it didn’t seem to do her popularity any favours, as she came across as a bit of a cow at times, and none of her cover versions performed anywhere near as well as her co-stars’ releases did on the iTunes charts. Still, Melodifestivalen 2013 has been somewhat lacking in the ‘fun old dear’ department. And personally, we’re really looking forward to seeing Sylv trot around the stage belting out a latin flavoured Thomas G:son song.
Ralf Gyllenhammar – Bed on Fire
Låtskrivare: Ralf Gyllenhammar, David Wilhelmson
Frontman of hard rock outfit Mustasch, Ralf Gyllenhammar comes to the contest with all guns blazing and declaring that most Melodifestivalen entries are a load of old toss. He intends on saving us all from it. What a massive bell-end. Personally, we hope that this goes down the Joacim Cans route, results wise, as opposed to Nicke Borg. NEXT….
Behrang Miri – Jalla Dansa Sawa
Låtskrivare: Behrang Miri, Anderz Wrethov, Firas Razak Tuma, Tacfarinas Yamoun
Get ready for a song that we think is gonna be a real dark horse in the competition. We’ve already heard ‘Jalla Dansa Sawa’ and despite not really knowing what to expect, we were delighted to find that we actually bloody well loved it! It’s a hell of a lot like France’s Eurovision entry in 2010, Jessy Matador’s ‘Allez Ola Ole’. A similar sound and a similar energy. And if the same ilk but inferior ‘Gosa’ could make it to 5th place in Heat 1, then this should have no problem qualifying this week. We expect this one to get the kids vote – and we all know how well that went for Sean Banan.
Terese Fredenwall – Breaking The Silence
Låtskrivare: Terese Fredenwall, Simon Petrén
The winner of P4 Radio’s Svensktoppen Nästa competition in 2012, thus earning her an automatic slot in this year’s contest. She describes ‘Breaking The Silence’ as a love song to those who have been in a destructive place in their life and have now decided to make it better. And as well as working a lot with former Ace of Base frontwoman Jenny Berggren, Terese has also written music for Danny Saucedo’s forthcoming album. We’re hoping for a really good song from Terese this weekend. However, at this stage we think it’s very fair to say, especially after Elin Petersson’s result at the weekend, that if ‘Breaking The Silence’ tanks this week, then competition winners should once and for all be banned from Melodifestivalen for good. The webbjoker format and all its variations have been just that – an absolute joke.
Ulrik Munther – Tell the World I’m Here
Låtskrivare: Peter Boström, Thomas G:son, Ulrik Munther
Last year’s highest placed debutante, finishing third in the final, has been brought back and groomed as this year’s winner. He’s currently equal with YOHIO as the betting agencies’ favourite to win, and he’s apparently armed with a corker of a song. We’ve not actually liked anything that Ulrik has ever released before, but we’ve been told by his ‘people’ that we will definitely like this one. And we believe them. It’s been described as a poppier, catchier version of one of Coldplay’s more commercial songs. And it’s been called big. He seems like an absolute certainty to make the final.
