Ok, so what went down? After last night’s first heat of Melodifestivalen, we now have two finalists, two andra chansers, and three artists and their songs that we’ve had to say goodbye to (though they’re already out on Spotify, so really it’s more of a hello).
Who was victorious? The clue’s in the name, but Wiktoria. Her third time competing in Melodifestivalen, and her third time going straight to the final. This time, she did it with a stripped back ballad. Well, the ballad was stripped back – the performance was anything but. Though after being doused in stage rain for all of those rehearsals this week, we really do hope that Wiktoria won’t be catching herself a cold. It ain’t hot over there in Gothenburg right now!
Who joins her in the final? Another elaborate staging. Sorry, ‘Hello’ by Mohombi.
And who *might* be joining them in the final? Through to the second chance round are Anna Bergendahl and Nano. For us, Anna gave the best song of the night. ‘Ashes To Ashes’ is an absolute tune and a half. And we’ve never been so happy to see Anna Bergendahl on a Melodifestivalen stage. Nano’s entry, ‘Chasing Rivers’, seemed more like it was chasing the former glories of the last time he competed here. We waited for it to build and go somewhere. It didn’t. Though it does go to Andra Chansen.
And who is that at the expense of? The icon, the legend, the one, the only – Arja Saijonmaa. Though in fairness, she finished in dead last, so it wasn’t even close. What was a lot closer, and what was a song and performance that we actually thought deserved to go to the final, was the rip-roaring and rousing banger from Zeana feat. Don Demina. Tough heat. Them two finished in 5th place, with the newcomer girlband High15 bouncing energetically into 6th.
Nice. So that’s that then. No that’s not that then. Last night, the seven competing songs were mere filler fodder for what was going on around them – the four incredible hosts. Engaging and enjoyable enough in the roles they were actually assigned in the first place, but then flipping everything on its head and delivering one of the best interval acts we’ve seen at Melodifestivalen in years. And if you’ve been watching Melodifestivalen for years, you know that that’s no small praise. You have GOT to watch it, over on SVT’s website. Even if you saw it last night – watch it again.
You can find all of last night’s songs (aside from the two that made the final – they’ll be released after Heat 4) on our Best New Pop playlist.
