This is the final round before the second chance and the final, so it’s the last time we’ll hear new songs. Let’s hope there are some great ones, although maybe not too good as they’ll ruin BWO’s chances!
Niklas Strömstedt – För många ord om kärlek
I don’t know much about Niklas but he seems terribly uncool in a Cliff Richard but Swedish kind of way. It was interested to hear that he was in a “boyband”, a term I put in inverted commas since even at the time he was 36.
Calaisa – If I Could
This female quartet are supposed to be a Swedish version of The Corrs or Dixie Chicks, and I guess the comparison is fitting. Still, those 2 bands both have several songs more interesting than this one. It’s certainly no Not Ready To Make Nice. A pleasant enough song, but not going to bowl anyone over.
Daniel Mitsogiannis – Pame
This guy (who I’ve never heard of before) seems to be going for the Greek/Cypriot audience. However, the song was actually the creation Fredrik Kempe and Henrik Wikström, regular MF contributors, and those behind last year’s great success (in the Swedish charts and hearts at least), Cara Mia by Måns Zelmerlöw. If you imagine Cara Mia with a hint of southern hip-swivelling and a chorus in Greek, you’ve got Pame. Watch out for the super-gay backing singers!
Linda Bengtzing – Hur svårt kan det va?
I’ve loved Linda’s past entries to MF, especially her first, Alla Flickor, so was naturally very excited about this one, and very pleased to find she’d stuck to her usual style of cute schlager-pop with a great chorus. The backing dancers were rather over-choreographed, and I’m not sure if it’s quite up to Alla Flickor, but still I’m very much in favour of this going through to the final, as I’m also quite confident it will.
Nordman – I Lagornas Sken
I really disliked the last song Nordman did for Melodifestivalen and was annoyed that it got to the finals, but I didn’t remember them being this scary! What’s with the mopey girl wandering aimlessly about the stage in her nightie?
Sibel – That Is Where I’ll Go
I heard Sibel, an Idol contestant from 2005, on Rix FM last week singing a fun cover of Hard Rock Hallelujah, so I was interested to hear what her song would be like. Sadly it’s a boring ballad, which tries far too hard to be dramatic.
Fronda – Ingen mår så bra som jag
Apparently this guy is a rapper but that’s all I know since I can’t find the song anywhere to listen to (I’m reviewing after the event as I was out, not actually watching the UK finals).
Charlotte Perelli – Hero
It’s nice to see she’s doing a glittery disco-pop song instead of the ballad I feared. This is typical Melodifestivalen music, and I’ll be very surprised if it doesn’t get through… although nothing is predictable in this contest after the Androla drama! I don’t think it’s as good as her Eurovision-winning entry from 1999, Take Me To Your Heaven, but it’s still certainly one of the best entries of 2008, and would be a perfectly acceptable winner of MF. Exciting fact: Charlotte is pronounced somewhat like “hwarlotte” in Swedish!
The results are in and I’m fairly content: Linda and Charlotte are through, but Nordman and Sibel are into Andra Chansen. Both the ladies should do well in the final but I do believe Charlotte will have the edge, and she along with Sanna Nielsen are my ones-to-watch when said final occurs in two weeks’ time, although of course I also have hopes for BWO and would like to see Amy Diamond and Linda do well.
Now I’m just going to ignore what’s going on closer to home in relation to Eurovision. It is too, too depressing.