Melodifestivalen’s second heat took place in Malmö last night. And in a rare display of voting Swedes getting it 100% correct – the best two songs went to the final, the next best two ended up in Andra Chansen, and the least impressive three of the seven songs, remained at the bottom of the table.
The big story of the night was the triumphant return of SCHLAGER. A jaded genre with diminishing support was brought back to life and popularity by Magnus Carlsson. He hip thrusted his way through three minutes of solid schlager pop ‘Möt Mig i Gamla Stan’, and made everyone question just why this kind of music is no longer at the forefront of the contest every week. Sweden responded with a resounding roar of appreciation that finally everything which made Melodifestivalen the contest it is today, was being given the time of day again. And Magnus Carlsson was the perfect candidate to bring the sound back to its glory. He sold everything about the song, and taught some of Sweden’s younger pop acts a lesson in being able to perform energetic choreography without compromising the vocal. What a star.
Mariette may have had a bit of a Loreen moment last night when she performed ‘Don’t Stop Believing’. A brilliant track with a show-stopper of a performance – and therefore a thoroughly deserved finalist. It did seem as though we all witnessed something a bit special with that performance. And she’s the first real contender to emerge to upset the two horse race that Melodifestivalen 2015 has been looking like as soon as it was revealed that Eric Saade and Måns Zelmerlöw were competing.
Through to Andra Chansen is Linus Svenning‘s ‘Forever Starts Today’. A vast improvement on his entry from last year, which also ended up going to Andra Chansen, and then on to the final. We’re not his biggest fans, but we’re glad to see him progress further in the contest with this song. There’s a lot to like about it.
Samir & Viktor‘s ‘Groupie’ nabbed the other Andra Chansen slot. A hyper novelty dance number that probably won’t age very well, but fits in with the 2015 contest perfectly. And while it’s not something we’re going to be listening to much beyond March, it’s hard to begrudge it its place in Andra Chansen, as they delivered a fun performance in a week that otherwise had its tempo mostly set to minimum.
Rock songs at Melodifestivalen are never EVER our bag – but they nearly always cause upset on the leaderboard, with Sweden tending to vote them further into the competition, and eliminating one of our faves in the process. Last night however, Neverstore stalled in 5th place with ‘If I Was God For One Day’. And thank fuck for that. It’s cool – they need Melodifestivalen about as much as Melodifestivalen needs them.
Emelie Irewald‘s ‘Där Och Då Med Dig’ was one of those entries that we liked, but didn’t want going anywhere near the final and therefore taking the place of bonafide pop gem. And we’re glad that the Swedes agreed. The song has its charms, the performance was a bit of a stunner, and there’s definitely a place for it in Melodifestivalen’s heats. Just not the final. No way.
It’s a lot harder to find something positive to say about Marie Bergman and Sanne Salomonsen‘s entry ‘Nonetheless’ though. A dull country ballad with no redeeming features – the three minutes were almost as much of a snorefest as Filipa Bark’s filler time. Two ladies with very respectable careers to their name – but 7th place was absolutely right for this dirge.
Here you can watch the performance of the songs (except the two finalist, which will be released at a later date), and listen to the studio versions;
