In four online preliminary heats a total of 31 amateur songwriters have been competing about one spot in next year’s run to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest in Baku in May. Minutes ago it was decided that Maria BenHajji won the final of this Webbjoker competion.
Swedish broadcaster, SVT’s webbjoker competition is for amateurs who have not yet have anything publicly released. Just as the competition started a month ago four songs were disqualfied. Three of them got replaced leaving 31 songs instead of 32 competing for this one slot for Melodifestivalen 2012.
Not many days later one of the three replacement songs had to be disqualfied too as it was found out that the songwriter previously have had songs comercially released and as such breaking the entire foundation of this amateur competition. That song got replaced again, but none of the songs that was not initially in the competition made it to today’s final.
In the final 8 songs – the two highest placed from each round – were up against each other. The songs have been online on SVT’s website and today they were also played on the radio at the same time as the voting was open. People only had one hour to vote; between 13:00 and 14:00 local time.
The 8 songs in the final finished in this order:
1. I Mina Drömmar (In My Dreams)
Artist: Maria BenHajji – Songwriter: Nanna Bing, Thomas Cars, Uppsala
2. Need To Know
Artist: Bowties – Songwriter: Erik Andergren, Erik Källner, Växjö
3. Beautiful Love
Artist: David Nestander – Songwriter: Erik Kohl, Stockholm
4. Marilyn Monroe
Artist: Never Alone – Songwriter: Christofer Erixon, Joakim Björnberg, Trollhättan
5. All Day All Night
Artist: Grand Slam – Songwriter: Andy Swaniz, Peter Andersson, Malmö
6. A Heartbeat Away
Artist: Demoröst – Songwriter: Jonas Lundström, Stockholm
7. Ingenting, Ingen (Nothing, No one)
Artist: Caroline Coquard – Songwriter: Caroline Coquard, Gävle
8. Forever By Your Side
Artist: Trison – Songwriter: Tony Andersson, Martin Johansson, Helsingborg
Producer of Melodifestivalen 2012 Christer Björkman says that he is very pleased that the winning song is in Swedish with focus on the text, something he sees as a trend now. Christer himself represented Sweden at the 1992 Eurovision Song Contest finishing second to last with a song, also in Swedish, titled I Morgon Är En Annan Dag (Tomorrow is another day).
The 2012 Melodifestivalen will start on the 4th of February in the city of Växjö and end with the grand final in Stockholm on the 10th of March. The winner will follow in the footsteps of Eric Saade who finished third at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf with the song Popular.
