On Saturday night just gone we had the second semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2024 – as the Swedish song contest rolled into Gothenburg and gave us two more finalists.
LIAMOO and Maria Sur scored the tickets to the final, with Dear Sara and Fröken Snusk making it into the second-chance round. C-Joe and Engmans Kapell were eliminated from the competition.
This coming Saturday, we head to Växjö for the third semi-final!
You’ll be able to watch it live at 20:00 on SVTPlay.se – and that’s also where you’ll be able to hear snippets of the songs from 07:00 on Thursday morning, as well as clips from rehearsal performances at 07:00 on Friday morning.
SVT gave us a preview listen of all six songs ahead of the weekend’s third semi; so to get an idea of what it’s all gonna sound like – read on…
‘Effortless’ – Jacqline
(Dino Medanhodzic, Jacqline Mossberg Mounkassa, Jimmy Jansson, Moa ”Cazzi Opeia” Carlebecker, Thomas G:son)
An artist who found fame on the 2021 series of Idol, and now makes her debut Melodifestivalen turn backed with some impressive songwriting calibre alongside her.
A funked-up pop tune that takes aim at a shameless heart-breaker. It’s a song that in places brings to mind ‘Here Comes The Night’ from Sweden’s own Agnes. And honestly, there is really no finer point of reference in pop over the past couple of years.
It’s got a rhythm that is only going to be elevated to the level it deserves via a sass-filled performance with bags of both confidence and attitude. So let’s hope Our Jac’ has it in her!
‘Aldrig Mer’ – Clara Klingenström
(Bobby Ljunggren, Clara Klingenström, David Lindgren Zacharias)
She made an almighty impression on Melodifestivalen 2021 with her smash hit ‘Behöver Inte Dig Idag’, now Clara makes the return to Melfest that we’ve all been expecting from for since then.
She’s back with another tune that sees a strong melody paired with a lyric about finding strength and self-worth moving forward. And we all know she’s got form for conveying such a message live.
Comparisons to its predecessor will be inevitable. And on record it’s not quite up there. So its success in the competition will largely come down to just how strong she sells it on stage.
‘Take My Breath Away’ – Kim Cesarion
(Albin Johnsén, Christoffer Johansson, Kim Cesarion, Mattias Andréasson, William Segerdahl)
He’s had a string of hits and countless more live shows in the past decade, now Kim Cesarion makes his very first Melodifestivalen appearance 11 years after his debut single.
The song he competes with is not similar to anything he’s released before. For the contest, he’s pivoted to a more dance-pop sound, but with a little of the funk that he’s known for now incorporated into this fresh new soundscape for him, so that it’s not a total surprise to his fans.
Rather than being an all-out dance track, however, it’s instead a more chilled-out effort, which doesn’t really go OFF, nor try to. It will no doubt do great things on Spotify, but it’s much less clear how Saturday night app voters will respond to it.
‘För Dig’ – Klaudy
(William Schenberg, Åke Olofsson)
An artist who had his breakthrough in 2023, and releases his very first EP on Friday.
His Melodifestivalen effort has a production which sounds not unlike the more wistful moments from Benjamin Ingrosso’s most recent Swedish-language album. Melodically, however, it’s been composed with a song contest in mind, with a chorus that can appeal to voters in the three minutes the song has to impress.
Not a front-runner, by any means, but it has enough charm to make it competitive on Saturday night.
‘I Won’t Shake (La La Gunilla)’ – Gunilla Persson
(Fredrik Andersson)
The Swedish Hollywood Housewife who made her name on the reality TV show over a decade ago after showcasing the kind of personality that gets you very far in that world!
On her Melodifestivalen debut she performs a comedic diss track dedicated to her haters, with a message about rising above it all. It’s a message that’s delivered quite half-heartedly, vocally speaking. But we suspect that this will only add to the appeal for anyone who’s here for Gunilla entering this arena.
Production-wise, it’s not the bonkers dance track we were expecting, but rather a barn-dancing country romp – so actually twice as bonkers as we’d suspected, which is an impressive feat in itself.
‘Give My Heart A Break’ – Cazzi Opeia
(Ellen Berg, Jimmy Jansson, Moa ”Cazzi Opeia” Carlebecker, Thomas G:son)
She reached the final of Melodifestivalen in 2022 with her first entry, ‘I Can’t Get Enough’. Then she co-penned the winner of Melodifestivalen 2023 (and of course the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 winner!) ‘Tattoo’ by Loreen. So it’s very intriguing to hear what she’s returning to the competition with in her own right.
Fans of her previous Melfest entry (and there were many of us!) will find plenty to love here, too. It’s got the strings, it’s got the banging dance beats and it’s got the effortlessly catchy melody to sing along to.
This one strikes a different kind of chord though, with a lyric that’s particularly relatable right now – about the world being a hell of a lot to handle, in both heart and mind, and needing a bit of respite from it all. “Not a single drop, got no more tears to cry – so give my heart a break”. Voters should easily put this through to the final, if only to hear its much-needed message again in a few weeks!
