Saturday night saw us witness another spectacular Heat in Melodifestivalen – what is becoming closer and close to being our favourite show on earth – surpassing even it’s older sister, the Eurovision Song Contest. It was Heat 2, and the great acts were out in force again. Most of the performances were a treat to behold, and as always, the results segment was beyond exciting and nerve wrecking. And in the end, three of our four favourite acts went through, so it was actually a result that we were 75% happy with, as opposed to our 25% satisfaction last week, when only one of our favourite acts progressed from the first heat!
Lili & Susie opened the show with ‘Show Me Heaven’, and it was just stunning stuff. Thomas G:Son composed the track and it had all the elements included that we love him for. The dramatic intro gripped us straight away (echoes of ‘Diva’ by Dana International), the chorus had a hook that was as contagious as the girls’ obvious excitement at being back onstage, and the middle eight was just awe inspiringly amazing!!! Lili & Susie gave a performance that was heart warming to anyone who’s followed their music before. They were clearly delighted to be performing on primetime television again and the performance was infused with a mixture of their ecstatic bewilderment and a highly polished dance routine that befitted the camp nature of the song. Pure. Bliss.
Amy Diamond was the next ‘classic’ lined up for our entertainment. ‘It’s My Life’ was even catchier than her 2008 entry ‘Thank You’, and her vocal delivery had vastly improved too. The song came complete with a silence splitting drum beat that launched the final chorus – the essence of every great schlager song. And her outfit was inspired too – a silver/glitter sequined hooded cape that came off to reveal a corset based look. Very good indeed. And then Mans Zelmerlow gave the final electric performance of the night with ‘Hope and Glory’. All suited and booted, he was then joined onstage by six hooded backing dancers who threw off their overcoats to reveal skimpy clothes and proceeded to flex and pose at a metal fence all Pussycat Dolls like. The final note was greeted with a victorious air punch – a nod to last year’s winner, Charlotte Perrelli.
Markoolio and Jennifer Brown both sang ballads that we absolutely loved, the former accompanied by a Eurovision parody comedy performance, the latter a heartfelt jazz-esque number. The other three performances weren’t of any note.
In the end, qualifying directly to the final were Manz Zelmerlow and H.E.A.T. And getting through to the second chance round was Lili & Susie and Amy Diamond. Amy also picked up the International Jury vote – essentially giving her a third chance should she fail at the second chance round.
But as with last week, we’re going to show you the comedy photos from the after party, rather than the show itself. Thanks again too www.qx.se
