Dubbed as the Semi Final of Death by most analysts, the evening proved to be quite deathly for at least one of the better five songs, where only four spots were available to proceed.
Charlotte Perrelli – The Girl
❗ Personal Favourite
Charlotte is back and with a huge punch. Rumoured to not be able to afford doing the production again, perhaps it’s just as well she didn’t qualify, but really in all honesty I firmly believe that this song was cheated out of qualification. Schlagertastic, and nearly the only true schlager hit of the year, Charlotte sounded great, looked amazing, and embraced the “Go Big, or Go Home” attitude. She looks the same as she did 10 years ago, and she sounds better even still. I think it’s a tragedy that she didn’t qualify as she clearly deserved spot in lieu of, say “Don’t Let Me Down.”
OPA – Allting blir bra igen
I really was at a loss for words for this song and what it was doing in the competition. I can see that it would appeal to southern Mediterranean people, but it’s not really a song for Sweden, even though it’s sung in Swedish. There isn’t anything that stood out for me, and at the end of the evening the only thing I could really remember abut it as they they all scream OPA like the typical Greek people (or people trying to imitate Greek people). Further to this, I was slightly more drawn to watching the bass player, than the actual singer on whom the camera was focused.
Dynazty – Land of Broken Dreams
=> Andra Chansen
❗ Personal Favourite
I’m really not sure what to say about this one. It’s a melodic rock song, and against all odds I believe it should have been to the final. However, I think there should only be one rock song in the final, and since there already is one, it’s a shame that the better one of the two (this one), likely won’t qualify. And if they do, the boyfriend of the teenyboppers will spilt the hard rock vote. I did enjoy this number, however I don’t really think it should go anywhere.
Lotta Engberg & Christer Sjögren
=> Andra Chansen
Well we got exactly what we all expected: cheese. This song is the absolute reincarnation of the cheesy number. My mother and aunt listened to it, thought “wow this is horrible” and my response to that is “you know, the older generation will eat it up” and sure enough they did. The lyrics are ridiculous, but Lotta and Christer are staples in the cultural world of Melodifestivalen so it does make sense that they were put into Andra Chansen. Having said that, I hope it burns it’s bright flame there and is never spoken of again
Hanna Lindblad – Goosebumps
❗ Personal Favourite
I like Hanna’s high energy. I liked her as a dominatrix a few years ago, and I like her in neon yellow with a steroids induced performance. The song is catchy enough to possibly be a radio hit but I think that the lyrics were a bit of a miss-step on this one. A lot of ‘repetition’ of the same word to me implies that the songwriters couldn’t find any words that rhyme or make sense in the song, and for that I give less points but I still love the enthusiasm and the performance that Hanna always seems to put on for the people.
Axel Algmark – Kyss mig
I’m really not sure what to say about this one because it’s just so typical. Typical guy with the same typical Swedish voice, with the same typical not-sure-what-he’s-doing performance. I felt like I was watching an 18 year old that knew somewhat how to sing, but didn’t really have any purpose or drive other than jumping around on stage and then falling onto the ground at the end. With my low quality bandwidth I couldn’t really see what he looked like, but I’d guess he’s somewhere in his 20s, and a song like this doesn’t really fit to his age. I say this because moments after I made that assessment his hat came off to display a lot of balding I was left confused in general.
Lisa Miskovsky – Why Start a Fire?
=> Globen
❗ Personal Favourite
Yes, yes, and yes. This song is by and far the best song of the competition. It’s so simple, (read not boring like other people are saying) and it speaks to me and surely it speaks to other people. Lisa has been a radio star for quite a few years, and before she came on stage I wasn’t sure what to expect. Who knew that you could turn bedsheets into something interesting to watch, yet not draw away from the talent of the song. Quite honestly I can say that this song brought me to tears, and it features some awesomely rare sounds from instruments that I can only guess as wind-pipes or a billabong?! Bring it on, baby!
Danny Saucedo – Amazing
=> Globen
❗ Personal Favourite
Tipped by the bookies to be a winner this year, there is no doubt that this entry was qualifying. It was the most packaged show of the year, and it deserves to be in the final. He wants to win, and despite looking like he didn’t think he would qualify, I think deep down there was too much press around it to not go. The performance, was however flawed. Singing issues, matched with creative and funky dancing and wardrobes, it will be a lasting favourite in the final. Everyone thinks that Danny is Amazing, and instead of him telling us that we are amazing, we are telling him that he’s amazing instead!
So the semi-final of death progressed with little to no controversy, depute Charlotte and her “situation” which I will mourn for years to come. Now we all fight it out in Andra Chansen for the final two spots. Off the top of my head (since the draws haven’t been announced), I want two of the following to qualify: Timoteij, Sean Banan, or Dynazty.
Weird, but yes that’s how I feel.