Tomorrow night we will know which of the 12 finalists that will represent Sweden in this years Eurovision Song Contest. The show contains the 12 finalists performances as well as a performence of norwegian group Ylvis and last years winner of Eurovision Song Contest, Conchita Wurst.
Since the running order was announced last weekend there has been a lot of discussion among the Swedish fans. There are few things that are considered as holy as the running order. For example, the first and the last artist has always been the two favourites. This year those spots has been given to two acts that can not be considered favourites for victory tomorrow, Samir & Viktor and Hasse Andersson and it has been heated discussions about this in social media and among fans. Tomorrow we will know if the running order did have any effect on the result at all.
The songs
Song number 1: Samir & Viktor – Groupie
(Anton Malmberg Hård af Segerstad, Kevin Högdahl, Maria Smith, Viktor Thell)
Last year this duo had a hit single called Success, a song with very similar sound as Groupie. This is one of the Swedish kids favourites, Groupie is one of the most played songs on Spotify in Sweden. During the semi final Samir & Viktor had a lot of difficulties with their performance. They didn’t seem to remember what to do and where on stage they should be. For them it was probably good to have to go through the second chance heat to come to the final since that gave them the opportunity to rehears their performance a lot. The performance really has become better since the semi final, the only worry now seems to be at the end when Samir & Viktor are climbling their box pyramid since they don’t always seem to trust that it’s solid enough.
The audience cheers and claps along to the song and the duo gets lots of applause after their performance.
Song number 2: JTR – Building It Up
(John Andreasson, Tom Lundbäck, Robin Lundbäck, Erik Lewander, Iggy Strange Dahl)
This group first made their name in Austrailan X-Factor in 2013. Since then we have seen them in Swedish tv show like Lotta på Liseberg and as a warm-up band for The Fooo Conspiracy. This is another of the kids favourites and there is a lot of cheering and claping along in the arena during JTR’s performance. The guys seems to get a lot of energy from the audience support and really seem to enjoy their time on stage. But even if they enjoy it they also seems a little bit nervous, the song is a little bit shaky from time to time.
Song number 3: Dinah Nah – Make Me (La La La)
(Dinah Nah, dr alban, Jakke Erixson, Karl-Ola Kjellholm)
This is a very heavy and powerful and the lighting, the production, the song and the dancers movements all comes together to a obscure performance which gets you to think about a dark night club. During yesterday’s rehearsal Dinah Nah was flawless in every single run through and she is tonight as well. She also seems to get a lot of energy from performing for a real audience and not just journalists. You would think that it would be an unrewarding task to perform after Samir & Viktor and JTR, especially with a song that is a little heavier than the other two songs. But Dinah Nah gets a lot of support from the audience in the arena both during and after her performance.
Song number 4: Jon Henrik Fjällgren – Jag är fri (Manne Leam Frijje)
(Jon Henrik Fjällgren, Erik Holmberg, Tony Malm, Josef Melin)
Jon Henrik Fjällgren was one of the two finalist in the third semi final, and immediately after he qualified he was the favourite for winning Melodifestivalen this year. Unfortunate for Jon Henrik there was a semi final left and after that the odds have been in favour for Måns Zelmerlöw instead. Jon Henrik’s voice fills the whole arena and you can tell that he makes an impression on the audience however the response is still a little cooler than during the three first performances. During yesterday’s rehearsal Jon Henrik looked a little bored or scared, but now he smiles into the camera, he will certainly go through the tv screens tomorrow and get a lot of votes from the viewers. But will he get votes from the international jury?
Song number 5: Jessica Andersson – Can’t hurt me now
(Aleena Gibson, Fredrik Thomander)
In a huge arena like Friends arena it’s really hard to really reach out to the audience. Especially with a soft ballad like Jessica’s. But Jessica is a great artist and manage to catch the audience. They are asked to light their cell phones to add extra feeling to Jessica’s performance. Jessica’s rehearsals have been flawless so far and this one is no exception. She gets a lot of support in the arena after her performance.
Song number 6: Måns Zelmerlöw – Heroes
(Anton Malmberg Hård af Segerstad, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb)
Måns has had a lot of trouble with his performance, both during the semi final and during the rehearsals. His performance is very technicaly advanced and demands precision from his side. He needs to be at the exact spot for the light and the backround to interplay with him as planned. To have a technicaly advanced performance and on top of that be favorite to win Melodifestivalen sets a lots of pressure on Måns. During yesterday’s rehearsal he looked alittle bit resolute on stage, but not today, he looks in the cameras and smiles a lot. This will be a very strong contender for victory tomorrow if he manages to repeat an equal performance tomorrow night. The audience clap and cheer along and Måns is without a doubt the most popular artist so far tonight.
Song number 7: Linus Svenning – Forever Starts Today
(Aleena Gibson, Anton Malmberg Hård af Segerstad, Fredrik Kempe)
Just like Dinah Nah, Linus Svenning has the unrewarding task to perform after a popular artist. The audience have not had time to calm down after Måns performance yet but tomorrow that will probably effect the audience in the arena more than the viewers at home. But I can’t help feeling a little sorry for Linus who has to start his performance while the audience still have Måns on their mind. However Linus does a really good job and if he’s affected by the audience still being focused on Måns he doesn’t let it show at all.
Linus have been calm and confident during the rehearsals so far and this is another great one.
Song number 8: Isa – Don’t Stop
(Isa Tengblad, Johan Ramström, Gustaf Svenungsson, Magnus Wallin, Oscar Merner)
This is a supercool 16 year old. The has given 100% on each and every rehearsal and tonight with real audience in the arena she seems to pick it up even one more level. The kids in the arena loves this and claps along, sings and cheers. Isa added pyrotecnics to the last minute of her performance but actually the performance was better without it. It takes to much focus away from Isa.
Song number 9: Magnus Carlsson – Möt mig i Gamla Stan
(Thomas G:son, Lina Eriksson)
During yesterdays rehearsal Magnus both had trouble with the sound during the reharsals and had to save his voice. At SVT’s Melodifestivalen website they say that has caught a cold. The audience at tonight’s rehearsal have payed a lot for their tickets and expects the artist’s to perform 100%. Also, the international jury groups awards their points after seeing tonight’s performances.
As the professional artist he is Magnus delivers a solid perfromance during the rehearsal but he sounds a little out of breath from time to time, specially towards the end of the song. Also, in the arena Magnus singing is drowned by the music, lets hope it sounds better on tv tomorrow. The audience relly likes this and cheers a lot after his performane.
Song number 10: Eric Saade – Sting
(Arash Fahmi, Fredrik Kempe, Hamed ”K-one” Pirouzpanah, David Kreuger)
Eric really had to struggle with his voice during yesterdays rehearsal. Today it sounds a little better but he is still out of breath. You can tell that he enjoys being on stage and that positive energy covers up most of the false notes. Eric is one of the favourites and his energetic song really catches the audience in the arena. To be able to really contend for the victory tomorrow he needs to focus and try to put a little more energy into the song and a little less into the dance. The dance part is already perfect but the singing would get the extra little touch if he doesn’t sound as out of breath as he did today.
Song number 11: Mariette– Don’t Stop Believing
(Miss Li, Sonny Gustafsson)
With Mariette’s song Don’t stop believing the pace is lowered drasticly and the audience is very quiet. During yesterday’s rehearsal Mariette had problems with the fabric attached to her wrists and had to struggle not to blow away herself. Today those difficulties seems to be sorted out and Mariette can focus on singing.
During yesterday’s rehearsal there was a few false notes, but today the performance is flawless.
Song number 12: Hasse Andersson – Guld och gröna skogar
(Anderz Wrethov, Elin Wrethov, Johan Bejerholm, Johan Deltinger)
With the 12th and last song the pace is up again. Even if Hasse is not a contender to win tomorrow people really seem to enjoy this. A lot of people in the arena are claping and singing along. Hasse is very confident on stage and delivers a solid performance. Hasse is one of few artists that got the audience going right from the start and he also gets lots of cheering and applause after his performance.
The show
The show is opened
with a recap of all 12 finalists. After that the hosts are welcomed on stage with special guest Christer Björkman as Conchita Wurst. Together they sing Europes song The Final countdown. The hosts leaves the stage and Christer sings last years winning song of Eurovision song contest Rise Like A Phoenix.
Don’t worry, the viewers at home tomorrow will not have to see Christer Björkman, they will see Conchita Wurst.
After all 12 acts have performed there are a recap of the songs with information about which telephonenumbers to call to vote. After the recap the character Filippa Bark does interviews in green room, which for the final have been moved from the space beside the stage to the far back of the arena. It looks a little like the green rooms they usually have in Eurovision Song Contest. It looks a little bit lounges. The lounges are separated with an ile which makes the artists sit opposite from eachother.
The first interval act is the Swedish group Dirty Loops which does a totaly unique version of Sanna Nielsen’s song Undo together with a lot of dancers and a lot of lazer. Don’t miss this tomorrow.
After Dirty Loops performance it’s time to announce the result of the international jury groups votes. During the semi finals the Swedish viewers has all the power who to vote through but in the final there are also international jury consisting of jury groups from 11 European countries. The viewers and the international jury each have 50% of the votes. If two songs ends up with the same point the song with highest amount of votes from the viewers wins. The international jury awards their points after seeing tonight’s dress rehearsal.
The second interval act is norwegian duo Ylvis
sings their song Stonehenge accompanied on stageby a big choir and former Melodifestivalen participants Lili & Susie. After Ylvis performance the hosts Sanna and Robin sings a song about this years Melodifestival together.
Tomorrow the winner will sing his or her song at the end of the show. But as we have no winner tonight two members of the choir sings Alcazar’s song Stay the night.
