Clips of the songs for this weekend’s first round of Melodifestivalen are now available to listen to on the MF website. Of course, I must review them!
Emilia – You’re My World
This is the best thing Emilia has ever done! A great start to the competition. You will probably remember Emilia Rydberg’s Uk top 5 hit about 10 years ago, Big Big World. Since then she hasn’t done much of note, but this song is really fun and catchy, so I wish her luck with it.
Shirley Clamp – Med hjärtat fyllt av ljus
A Melodifestivalen legend, Shirley is back for another try and sure to have a good chance at getting into the final. This is a bit of a wimpy ballad, so I don’t like it as much as her schlager-poppy past entries such as Min Kärlek och Att Alska Dig, but I expect it will be popular with MF’s older viewers.
Alcazar – Stay The Night
Alcazar are back in MF, with a song that sounds more like a mix of BWO and A*Teens than themselves. It’s great of course, and I can’t wait to see them perform it. In their previous line-up, Alcazar were one of MF’s most popular acts, but it’s been a while, so we’ll see if they still are.
Nina Söderquist – Tick Tock
I’m not familiar with Nina, but this is quite fun and catchy for a rock song. I like it! Wikipedia tells me she won a TV series called West End Star (she got a role in Spamalot), so she is probably popular and able to sing live. She could surprise non-Swedish MF fans and do quite well.
Jonathan Fagerlund – Welcome To My Life
A sweet and jolly pop song, but the chorus is unimpressive. It’s catchy and likeable but I doubt it’ll make a big enough impact to get him to the final. Although he’s pretty (and was in a band with Donal, an old online friend of mine), Jonathan isn’t a big star, but this is his best song yet and could at least be a Rix FM hit.
Marie Serneholt – Disconnect Me
Yay, Marie is back! Her hair colour has changed, but her musical style hasn’t. She’s also deserving of all the envy in the world since she is dating MF hottie Måns Zelmerlöw. He is also entering again this year, so it will be interesting to see which of them has the most success. I think Måns, but we’ll see!
Caroline af Ugglas – Snälla snälla
She’s a bit boring, but her name means “Caroline of Owls”, so I wish I liked her music more. There is nothing interesting here, so I’ll move on…
Scotts – Jag Tror På Oss
This lot are a popular dansband, which Scandiphiles will know does not mean that they make dance music in the sense we Brits know it. This is a really nice, jolly Swedish song with a good vibe about it, that upbeat Swedish songs often have. I reckon this is going to do very well, but I don’t think it’ll win overall.
I also recommend that you go to the ESCToday YouTube channel, where you can see interviews with Shirley, Alcazar and a few others. Tomorrow is going to be excellent!