This Saturday it’s the big one. Ironically even bigger than Eurovision itself, going by Swedish TV ratings over the past decade. It’s the Melodifestivalen final. And after five weeks of songs competing with each other to make it to this stage – it’s the biggest Melodifestivalen final of all time, with 12 songs playing to win and therefore represent Sweden at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
If you’ve been reading this site of late then you’ll probably be well aware of each of the songs already. But below is your guide to this Saturday’s final. We look at all of the songs (in the order that they’ll perform on the night), their chances of doing well in the contest, and the varying successes they’ve had so far on Spotify – which nowadays is far and away the most accurate indicator of how much Sweden is loving a certain song.
You can listen to all 28 songs of Melodifestivalen 2015 on Spotify (less if you’re not living in Sweden), and you can buy the official CD from our store (and that’s wherever you are in the world).
Here though, is what Saturday night’s final is going to look like;
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Samir & Viktor – Groupie
These chaps have delivered one of the catchiest gems of the season. With more than DOUBLE the Spotify streams of any other song (although in fairness, this and the number 3 most streamed song have been available on Spotify for over three weeks, in comparison to the one week that the other ten songs have been available for), you’d have to search long and wide for a Swede who wasn’t familiar with the notion that “nu är det dags igen, min vän”. The boys themselves – a reality TV star and a fashion blogger – could easily have come across as a couple of tits. But instead, they’ve been nothing but engaging and loveable, and looking like they’re enjoying every second of the Melodifestivalen circus. We expect them to be in the upper echelons of the public vote, perhaps even in the top three. But the international juries will most likely fail to be as enamoured with the song. And so a mid-table finish is probably the most likely outcome for ‘Groupie’.
Spotify streams: 4,129,000
Scandipop ranking: ‘Groupie’ is our 8th favourite of this lot
JTR – Building It Up
The teen vote saw these chaps progress straight to the final, from a heat that didn’t really offer any other youth-friendly songs. Now though, it finds itself up against the likes of Isa, Samir & Viktor, and Eric Saade. And we’d be very surprised if this song could hold its own against that lot. The boys themselves are great – but we can’t see anyone remembering the song once all twelve entries have been performed. And so Sweden will have to work harder for those 12 points from Australia – the nation who made JTR famous a couple of years back via their X Factor.
Spotify streams: 198,000
Scandipop ranking: ‘Building It Up’ is our 10th favourite of this lot
Dinah Nah – Make Me (La La La)
Guaranteed to be three of the most exhilarating minutes of the two hour spectacle this Saturday night, Dinah Nah’s performance of ‘Make Me (La La La)’ is one of the ones to really look forward to. Friends Arena will be transformed into a warehouse rave that ends far too soon. And we’d expect the Swedes to respond with the same enthusiasm they have for her over the last couple of weeks. It’s not a winner, but we think it could end up doing a lot better than most people expect, with both the public televote and the international jury vote.
Spotify streams: 204,000
Scandipop ranking: ‘Make Me (La La La)’ is our 3rd favourite of this lot
Jon Henrik Fjällgren – Jag är Fri (Manne Leam Frijje)
A potential winner of the public vote, but there is absolutely no way that it is going to win the whole thing. The international jury vote will see to that – not least because its charm is so Sweden-centric, but also because we would not be in the slightest bit surprised to learn that SVT had instructed them all to steer well clear of it. It’s the only song of the twelve that would in all likelihood see Sweden languish in the Eurovision semis and fail to make the big final. And while it does sound better on record, it’s an absolute shit-show on stage. A man wandering around awkwardly with a vocal that’s almost as hard to find as his uncompromisingly concealed personality. Sweden loves him of course, but nobody else is going to be falling for that shtick.
Spotify streams: 299,000
Scandipop ranking: ‘Jag är Fri (Manne Leam Frijje)’ is our 11th favourite of this lot
Jessica Andersson – Can’t Hurt Me Now
It might be the only ballad of the twelve, but even that won’t help this tune vacuum stand out on Saturday night. As pleasant as she is, and as pleasant as the song might be, it pales in comparison to the standard that Kristin Amparo went on to set for ballads in Melodifestivalen this year. It’s dull. And we’d go so far as to say that it’s only in the final by default – as a result of Heat 1’s app-gate fiasco. It’s got the least amount of streams on Spotify out of all the songs in the final, and we’d be surprised if anyone even remembered it in six months’ time. It’s a total non-starter.
Spotify streams: 197,000
Scandipop ranking: ‘Can’t Hurt Me Now’ is our 12th favourite of this lot – our least favourite
Måns Zelmerlöw – Heroes
Widely regarded by most as the obvious winner here. It’s the hot favourite to triumph on Saturday and it would in all probability see to it that Sweden gets yet another top 3 finish at Eurovision (its fourth in five years) – although in fairness, the same could be said about quite a few of the songs in this Melodifestivalen final! The staging is in a league of its own, the song is pretty awesome, and the performer is both talented and charismatic. We just can’t help but watch this video and feel a bit sad that a Melodifestivalen winner could leave itself open to such comparisons……
Spotify streams: 1,992,000
Scandipop ranking: ‘Heroes’ is our 6th favourite of this lot
Linus Svenning – Forever Starts Today
The boy done good. Returning to Melodifestivalen one year later with a song that’s much better than what he brought to the competition before. And once again he finds himself in the final. And we wouldn’t be surprised to see him finish in 5th place again either. But for Christ sake, can someone please get him out of that tunic dress thing and into a nice fitted jacket? Or a vest. Or a singlet. Swoon.
Spotify streams: 1,828,000
Scandipop ranking: ‘Forever Starts Today’ is our 9th favourite of this lot
Isa – Don’t Stop
We’re *screaming* at the fact that Isa is in the final with this total jam. Yes we find ourselves singing “HEY HEY HEY” at the end of the second chorus too, before shaking it off. And no, a song with so many similarities to an American hit should not be representing Sweden at Eurovision. But we don’t really think it’s in the running to win anyway. Instead it’s the perfect springboard for the launch of ISA – THE POPSTAR. And we’re mega excited about what will be coming next from her.
Spotify streams: 712,000
Scandipop ranking: ‘Don’t Stop’ is our 4th favourite of this lot
Magnus Carlsson – Möt Mig i Gamla Stan
The saviour of schlager. His progression to the final was probably the sweetest moment of the Melodifestivalen season so far. And while we don’t think that Sweden will be voting for it as the song to represent them at Eurovision, we don’t think they they’re going to have him finish in the bottom half of the table either. And even better news – we most certainly won’t have to wait another eight years for the next Magnus Carlsson Melodifestivalen entry. He’s more than proved his worth with this song, and the reaction to it. We reckon the international juries will provide even more vindication for him too.
Spotify streams: 505,000
Scandipop ranking: ‘Möt Mig i Gamla Stan’ is our 5th favourite of this lot
Eric Saade – Sting
Out of any song here, it’s ‘Sting’ that manages to sound like all three things it needs to be – a radio hit, a Eurovision hit, and a Melodifestivalen hit. It has a catchy melody and an intense production on record, and a suitably dazzling (and that’s just the white suit) performance on stage. It’s not the favourite to win on Saturday, however. But it’s not to be counted out of the race either. And for the first time in his life – Eric Saade finds himself the underdog! Who’d have thought it.
Spotify streams: 1,284,000
Scandipop ranking: ‘Sting’ is our absolute favourite of this lot
Mariette – Don’t Stop Believing
Considered a front runner upon its triumph in Heat 2, it’s unfortunate to see that a lot of the buzz around it has since subsided. It’s a brilliant song, given an awe inspiring performance. It’s not all that unlikely that Sweden’s love for it would be reawakened on Saturday night after she performed it for them a second time. And if any of the twelve songs is a dark horse, it’s this one. It’s also one of the few that stands a good chance of picking up a high volume of votes from both the Swedish public and the international juries. It’s a thoroughly deserving winner, but it does feel like it approaches Saturday’s contest as an also-runner.
Spotify streams: 524,000
Scandipop ranking: ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ is our 2nd favourite of this lot
Hasse Andersson – Guld Och Gröna Skogar
A charming number that the Swedes would of course vote for in their droves to ensure that it makes the final, but would never in a million years vote for it to represent them at Eurovision. They’ll enjoy watching it on Saturday night, but that’s where it politely ends. See also Kikki Danielsson in 2006, Anna Book in 2007, Christer Sjögren in 2008, Björn Ranelid in 2012, and so on.
Spotify streams: 975,000
Scandipop ranking: ‘Guld Och Gröna Skogar’ is our 7th favourite of this lot
Happy #melfest everyone. Tell us your pick of the bunch AND who you think will win, in the comments section below;
