Stockholm, 12 March 2022
Heja Europe! 2022’s NF season finally concludes tonight with Sweden, Iceland and Portugal picking their entrant for Turin. This also means we owe you one last round of reviews, and boy is it a big one. In this artcle, our Editor team will delve deeply into their biggest assignment yet: Sweden’s direct finalists.
Eight acts, all of which earned the right to perform in the final of Sweden’s prestigious Melodifestivalen. We’ll be reviewing them in all brutal honesty. Is Sweden up to something for Turin, or are they about to enter a flop era?
As such, here’s the disclaimer: “The opinions in this review article belong to the person quoted and do NOT represent the opinions of ESCUnited as a whole. “
On today’s panel we find:
- Arnaud Abadie, our French correspondent here to help hone is English
- Boris Meersman, our Belgian critic and one-man David Mitchell tribute band.
- James Maude, our resident drunk metalhead guncle, originally from Yorkshire
- Roy Postema, our Dutch correspondent and starring Mattitude cast member.
- Sean Tarbuck, our second-in-command and annointed musical nerd from Derbyshire.
- Tyler Griffith, our Alaskan correspondent and resident review monkey.
- William Carter, our Texan correspondent who is filling in for Connor Terry today.
What reviews do this motley crew have in store for you today? Well, let’s jump in without any further ado.
(If you want to hear the songs, right-click the banners and open in a new tab)
Arnaud – 8
“Cornelia is another big favorite to win Melodifestivalen 2022, and I must admit I wouldn’t be mad to see her represent Sweden in Turin. “Hold me closer” stands out among the rest of the songs, it has a unique atmosphere and could do well in Eurovision imo.”
Boris – 9
“The concept of ‘A Cornelia‘ is hardly novel; Scandinavia is teeming with raspy-voiced indie wenches that bring emotionally raw break-up songs. What I’m more curious about is why it took this long for one to show up in Melfest? Does Christer have a vendetta against these sort of songs? “Hold me closer” is something Sweden could have/should have put in their selection years ago, instead of allowing Melfest to be hijacked by mediocre men with mediocre pop songs. Because, Christ what a good song this is. Merely typing out lines such as “Most of all I wish I could love you less” and “So before the sunrise, could you just hollllld me tiiiiight” give me chills. I’ve been in that situation, emotionally and physically and I fucking FEEL it. Hopefully Sweden can FINALLY break this goddamn’ female artist curse with this beautiful, sincere and emotionally intelligent ballad whose message is relatable to anyone who has ever felt love. It truly is Eurovision winner material.”
James – 10
“If you were wondering what Bulgaria’s Victoria would sound like as a 30-year-old and burdened by more adult problems, Melodifestivalen presents Cornelia Jacobs to answer your question. This indie electropop lament of moments with the right lover at the wrong time will surely be a frontrunner for Eurovision 2022 should Cornelia win Melodifestivalen. Speaking of wrong times, she reminds me of a young Bonnie Tyler, and is possessed of the same on-stage charisma. Despite her not doing much during her performance, she is captivating and a natural stage performer, with little gestures like tugging at her own hair when despairing about holding onto her lover, pulling her arms into her body when she transitions from chorus to the more introspective verses.”
Roy – 6.5
“Cornelia is such an absolutely phenomenal singer and performer! The lyrics of the song are nice and the way she sings it is great as well. Still, the song feels empty at times and it doesn’t much to enhance Cornelia’s talent in that regard. The chorus especially is just a very standard instrumentation that you see in many ballads. Don’t get me wrong, Cornelia has the potential to be a future Eurovision winner, but it would nearly be a bit of a waste to send her with this song.”
Sean – 10
“One of two songs in this year’s Melfest that I have been utterly obsessed with. The key word here is authentic – Cornelia wears her heart on her sleeve and her rasping, unpolished vocals really add something to this, not to mention a great staging and just overall engaging package. Overall, this is a major contender and could possibly be the winner of Eurovision in May if chosen, the way things are going. The smart choice for Sweden’s renaissance!”
Tyler – 8.5
“The emotions can be felt in Cornelia’s vocals in “Hold Me Closer” and it’s quite good! She sounds controlled, and quite good, and I really also like the staging for the song. The wall that spins is nice and the cinematography gives us interesting angles and shots. I don’t think Cornelia needs to interact with the audience and bend down to their level, but the song itself is quite good and can capture the hearts of a lot of people. I don’t know if this would win Eurovision, but this would at least bring Sweden to the left side of the board in the Grand Final, so. If selected, this would be my favorite Swedish entry since “Heroes”.”
William – 10
“Forgive me for being the 700th person to sing this song’s praises, but it is SO GOOD. It’s got the level of professional production typical of Sweden’s Eurovision entries, but it’s not cookie cutter. There’s an x factor here that’s undeniable but hard to describe. The staging, as simple as it is, is a total homerun. I wouldn’t change a thing. Cornelia sounds amazing and looks just as great. The songwriting, the vocal, the presentation, the styling … it all just works. Sweden, don’t pass up this opportunity. If a song this OBVIOUSLY superior to everything else can’t win Melfest, something is very wrong.”
Total: 62/70
Highest: 10 (James, Sean, William)
Lowest: 6.5 (Roy)
Average: 8.9
Arnaud – 5.5
“Just like John Lundvik, Robin is back again in Melfest after winning it in 2017. But he still chose to sing in English with a modern pop music. Haven’t we seen it all before? We sure did. I like Robin’s song, but I really think it doesn’t bring anything special to Eurovision.”
Boris – 6.5
“Victor Crone must have been too busy min-maxing his Interstellar NFT profits to perform his newest Melfest song, so the new Mello director recruited Plank Man to sing it instead. I mean, what do you want me to even say about Robin Bengtsson that hasn’t been said already? He has always struggled with emoting properly and this upbeat personality-driven song just doesn’t fit him. He tries alright, and it’s as vain as someone trying to fit a muzzle on an angry tiger. One could argue (literally ‘one’, because only William thinks this) that Robin is brought down by his song, but either way this mildly pleasant experience is just a bit too listless to really snag and retain my attention.”
James – 2
“Maybe it’s because I took Robin’s advice from the lyrics and took a little sip from the ocean that I am so salty. Robin is a symptom of the larger malaise of Melodifestivalen – it’s the same performers doing the same songs over and over again. Robin is no longer interesting, the Scandipop he trucks in is no longer interesting, and this stuff is making Melodifestivalen feel more like a chore as the years pass. I don’t want to review songs like this anymore, and when Boris asks me to review Melodifestivalen next year I will learn how to say “Shove it” in both Dutch and Swedish. Unless Cornelia wins, in which case cynicism has lost and hope has prevailed.”
Roy – 2.5
“This is very melfest. Very inoffensive and insanely predictable… Not my style..”
Sean – 7
A combination of “Reach For The Stars” by Steps and “Kids in America” by Kim Wilde was not how I expected the latest Robin Bengtsson submission to begin, but here we are. Despite feeling like it is one mis-sung note from a major plagiarism case, this isn’t too bad a pop-rock track and possibly the most I’ve enjoyed a Bengtsson entry! The staging is decent to boot.
Tyler – 7
“Innocent Love” has a pretty good 80s vibe to it in the music, and I like that a lot (some might say to a fault). Robin is definitely a performing and seems to be giving it his all here, but I think leading the audience to clapping feels a little…hokey? Doesn’t fit the vibe of the song to me at all. I’m not that impressed with the lyrics for the song either, but the performance is pretty good and I can see why this got enough telephone votes to make it to the final. It’s above-average!”
William – 3
“As someone who looooved “Take a Chance”, his 2020 Melfest entry, I was excited to hear what Robin was serving this year. I’m still waiting. This is aggressively fine. It’s a pleasant listen, but ask me to hum a single bar of this tomorrow, and I could not do it. Robin’s a pro. He’s doing his job. But the material is thin. ”
Total: 33/70
Highest: 7 (Sean)
Lowest: 2 (James)
Average: 4.7
Arnaud – 9.5
“Right from the preview we had a couple weeks ago, I loved the song. And I still like it a lot! Although now that we’ve heard the full version, I get that it’s quite repetitive but I don’t mind since I enjoy this kind of music. It could have had a better / more different ending to really shine. But I won’t bluff about it: I love this song from Liamoo.”
Boris – 5.5
“I don’t dislike Liamoo this year! Small baby steps, I guess. Naturally, I don’t actually like him yet, but I’ve heard way worse than this generic house banger. Hopefully Sweden do their duty and ensure “Bluffing” doesn’t win, so that I can appreciate the lolfactor of the “I JUST KEEP ON BLUFFIN’ ::lamedance::” chorus at its fullest once he has lost to any woman of choice.”
James – 9
“Every selection needs a great club banger, especially one with manwhore lyrics. There’s a clever little nod to his Filipino heritage with the dragons that also double as his demons he’s trying to suppress. Additional hilarity can found with his pronunciation of “heartless,” which sounds like “horny” in parts. I also like the organ riffs that come in towards the end that hint at salvation (or him leaving with another one nighter). This is very shallow, but I can’t help but love it. A soundtrack to my next night out at Lance Bass’s new night club in West Hollywood (where Rage used to be… RIP to an institution).”
Roy – 7
“This song really needs a revamp. Not a major one, but just enough to really get that beat in with a punch! Right now it feels very watered down and it could be a club banger. The staging is awesome and there are some amazing moments in this performance. Sweden really need to ‘revamp’ this for that final punchiness that it desperately needs. We are talking about Sweden though, so it is highly unlikely that this will happen..”
Sean – 10
“This would be my personal choice if it was up to me, despite the fact it is less competitive than Cornelia. This is just WONDERFUL and sounds very much like what is in in Britain right now. The deep house vibes are immaculate, LIAMOO gives a visually pleasing performance and it has such an addictive quality to it that it’s been on repeat for me all week. One of my favourites of the whole season!”
Tyler – 4.5
“The EDM vibes are kinda good in “Bluffin'”, but I just don’t care for this song at all. I don’t care for Liamoo’s vocals at all, as it feels too high and feels unnatural to me for this song. Don’t care for the lyrics either, and I’m left with judging this song based on the staging. And it’s pretty decent, but Sweden does put effort in staging, so that’s not that much of a surprise. Sometimes a song just doesn’t click with you, and it doesn’t click for me at all with this. It doesn’t sound good to me at all and the staging only saves it barely.”
William – 3.5
“There is absolutely nothing wrong with this song … I just do not care about it. Sweden has sent way too many of these already. It’s better than “Popular”, worse than “Dance You Off”. It’s clear that no expense has been spared, and Llamo is a very affable, charismatic performer. This song and whole package, though? We’ve seen it. We’ve heard it. It’s more of the same. ”
Total: 49/70
Highest: 10 (Sean)
Lowest: 3.5 (William)
Average: 7.0
Arnaud – 5
“He’s back again, but this time with a ballad in Swedish. I appreciate him singing in his native language, which is stil quite rare in Melfest among the big artists, but the song is super generic. It’s beautiful, but we’ve seen and heard it a million times already in Eurovision and Melodifestivalen history.”
Boris – 3.5
“The defining moment for this year’s Lundvik journey came during the preview video, when Farrah asked his preschooler daughter whether she thought her daddy could win Melfest and she immediately replied with a inappropriately loud “NEJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ“😂. Out of the mouth of babes. True enough, “Änglavakt” has zero chance of winning so I’m not quite sure why Lundvik was even allowed another chance to prove “Too late for love” was the fluke in his otherwise insipid répertoire. Singing inanely while dressed up like Jacob from LOST has been done before and never has it ever been interesting. Oh well. Less competition for Queen Cornelia, I guess.”
James – 8
“This sounds like an early ‘90s Adult Contemporary song, with a vocal melody that sounds reminiscent of Richard Marx or Bryan Adams. That’s actually meant to be a compliment, as Lundvik really sells his “Guardian Angel” romantic ballad. It’s a great vocal performance, and with the underlying track being subtle (occasionally punctuated by heart beats), it takes big stones for him to sing in Swedish. Additionally, with the track being bare, it exposes him if he makes a mistake live, so his confidence has to be commended.”
Roy – 5
“This is definitely a nice ballad in Swedish and a nice change of pace from John compared to his previous attempts. You can notice that he really feels this song, but yet there is something missing. It is perhaps a bit too simple instrumentally and his vocals also might not show as big of a range as he can. A decent effort, but shouldn’t represent Sweden this year.”
Sean – 6
“I really couldn’t connect with John Lundvik in 2019 – he was the personification of “show them that you’re lovable not desperate” in Tel Aviv and the song just didn’t really click with my taste. So, how refreshing, then, to see he is back with a heartfelt ballad in Swedish (at least, I think it is heartfelt?) It at least hides any lyrical quality for me and adds a mystique to the track. It’s not really my cup of tea still, but I connect with this more than his previous effort.”
Tyler – 6.5
“Änglavakt” is a pretty decent ballad, and it’s in Swedish! This seems like it would be dead in the water, but it is performed by John Lundvik, so curious to see this here in the final. I think it’s fine, I’m distracted by the frayed hem around the neck of John’s sweater though–it’s like he’s performing in his pajamas! Or is this fashion nowadays? I dunno. The staging is fine, doesn’t need a whole lot more, and I like the moments with the heartbeats. But overall, I think the song is just okay, and it’s elevated by the staging so this score it gets.
William – 4.5
“You know what? At least we’re getting something in Swedish. There are a handful of Melfest regulars that are gonna go DTF no matter what they do, so giving us a native language entry is the least those performers could do to keep the contest interesting. Melodically, the song is solid, and, as a vocal showcase, it gets the job done. At least John’s not being upstaged by his backing singers this time …”
Total: 38.5/70
Highest: 8 James
Lowest: 3.5 (Boris)
Average: 5.5
Arnaud – 7.5
“He’s one of the big favorites to win, but not my favorite to win Melfest 2022. It’s a very good song, don’t get me wrong, but it has nothing special to me. It has a empowering feel and Anders has a very good voice, but I don’t see it making a top 5 result in Turin.”
Boris – 3
“I will take a moment to reflect on the ~brilliant~ penmanship put on display here:
This guy is an award-winning top-tier record producer. Why is he forcing this (self-written????) trash upon himself? LOVE YOURSELF. I just don’t get the appeal behind this song. Puffy middle-aged guy shows up, conjures up a stock footage LED drop, sings some theatrical bullshit about life being like a symphony and somehow Sweden convince themselves it’s a serve. Has eurolife still not learnt its lessons from Axel Hirsoux? This would be a good Melfest winner if the objective were to do even worse than Tusse did.”
James – 5
“On the plus side, if you want a guy who looks like a wrestler but sounds like Johnny Logan at Eurovision, Anders is your man. It is just a pity that his song is a boring, dated, “bigger than us” Scandi-ballad pile o’ tripe. The lyrics do have some odd moments, like they’d fit in a ballad composed by Jim Jones right before he asked his flock to drink the Kool-Aid. “Just take my hand, put your trust in fate. Let us leave this world for a better place.” Say what now? “Forever young, join the ride with me. There’s an open road to eternity.” Alrighty then. Whatever’s being sold here, I don’t want it.”
Roy – 7.5
“This seems very Swedish and I am pretty sure that this has a good shot at winning on Saturday. The lyrics are a bit odd at times, but the way they are structured make it have a wonderful flow in sound to it. Anders performs it really well and this package might be and feel the most complete out of all songs in the running this year. Not sure how it would do at Eurovision, but I wouldn’t mind this winning at all.”
Sean – 6
“This is getting a lot of hate online which makes me sad. No, it shouldn’t be Sweden’s Eurovision entry. But, Anders seems like a great guy does sing the hell out of it and it has plenty of soaring optimistic moments to make it a solid listen. To reiterate though – please don’t do it Sweden, think with your head. You have better options.”
Tyler – 5.5
This score could have been lower, but I like that the staging provides me the experience of riding on “Soarin'” at Epcot. The graphics are very pretty, even if it feels Disneyesque to include animals and butterflies and stuff in them. I guess the message of “Bigger Than the Universe” is nice, but I’m usually bored of those kinds of songs at Eurovision, so. I’ve seen a lot of dislike of Anders since he’s a threat to Cornelia in the odds, and that feels a little inappropriate. Dislike the song because it’s just kind of blah! I wasn’t that impressed with Anders’s performance as it’s just standing onstage and making sweeping gestures to the music though.
William – 3.5
“I mean, look … Anders seems like a sweet, talented, genuine guy who deserves good things. If he wins, I will enjoy watching him have a fun time in Turin. But this song? These lyrics? This contrived children’s choir backing track? I don’t like either of the songs he’s written for Eurovision in the past, so I guess I should have seen this coming. ALL OF THAT BEING SAID … there’s a chintziness to this whole performance that is charming in a way Melfest and Sweden’s Eurovision entries usually are NOT. There’s a warmth and humanity to it. At any other national final, these Windows Vista screensaver graphics would be alarming. But, at Melfest, they’re almost refreshing? I’m sick of Sweden’s teacher’s pet era. At least this choice would be idiosyncratic … but, just to reiterate, Sweden, please do not send this.”
Total: 38/70
Highest: 7.5 (Arnaud, Roy)
Lowest: 3 (Boris)
Average: 5.4
Arnaud – 7.5
“What a beautiful ballad with such a beautiful voice! I’d have loved to have a bigger ending musically, maybe some extra layers to build a fantastic climax. But overall, it is stil a very good song.”
Boris – 4.5
“Conceptually speaking “Freedom” isn’t too bad. The apotheosis and interactions with the backing choir at the end are a display of empowering leadership that I can get behind. The problem however, is the getting there bit. “Freedom” is one of those ‘build-up ballads’ that take two full minutes to get going and this is *as a trope* just rarely works. You need a performer with really high charisma to create the tension for you and Faith, while a good vocalist, just doesn’t have the on-stage presence to sell it. This changes once she takes charge of her bare-footed gospel singer cabal, but by that time I’ve already given up on “Freedom” and am already waiting for the next song to come on.”
James – 6
“Faith is a great singer, but this song is just weak sauce. Sin # 1 is the obvious touch back to Aretha Franklin’s classic “Think” (with “Freedom!” chanted in the chorus). Aretha is a legend who had Motown’s best churn out classic after classic. Faith could be a legend in time, but for now has the usual Melodifestivalen mercenaries. The Motown greats knew how to tailor their songs to particular artists, whereas this song could, with a couple of tweaks, easily be a Paul Rey entry. This is just another assembly line Melfest song, and this one stings a bit more because you know the artist doesn’t deserve this.”
Roy – 3.5
“Faith is lovely, but this song really feels like it belongs to an X-factor final rather than at Eurovision.”
Sean – 7
“Faith has a beautiful voice and the lyrics to this one actually feel heartfelt, which is more than can be said for other songs in this final. The staging is also tasteful and really well done. I don’t think it should be the choice for Sweden as there are stronger songs here, but as far as emotional ballads go this is one of the more enjoyable ones.”
Tyler – 6
I think “Freedom” is about average, and could be elevated a bit higher with more interesting staging. At the same time, I’m not sure exactly what it needs. Faith seems capable (mostly, she sounded nervous to me) to capture attention and not need to do choreography or anything, but I liked the inclusion of the back-up singers/dancers to surround her and then back her up. The song itself is fine, not one of my favorites, but not that disappointed to see it in the finals.
William – 4
This is very … expected? But it’s not unappealing. It’s another in a long line of Melfest message songs that have no real message, which, ya know, isn’t great. But the actual performance is, I think, very well put together. The staging is simple, but it sells a bit of drama and emotion that the song itself really doesn’t have. And Faith lights up the stage. She’s a star. This song isn’t.
Total: 38.5/70
Highest: 7.5 (Arnaud)
Lowest: 4 (William)
Average: 5.5
Arnaud – 10
“This is perfection. I really didn’t expect that from her, that kind of EDM vibe, and I must say I’m impressed. I was scared for the live vocals as the studio version has a lot of autotune, but she delivered in her performance. It stands out in the selection and doesn’t feel dated, even if EDM was a thing a couple years ago. I just have one thing to say: Klara for the win!”
Boris – 9
“After Daði Freyr wrapped the world around his finger two years in a row with a Nintendo Nerd’s Dork Dance, the Swedish songwriter maffia set their biggest challenge yet: compose the ideal gaming soundtrack. Enter “Run to the hills“, which is the gaymer’s platonic wet dream. It speaks for its greatness that I’ve instantly named a Pathfinder character after Klara (she’s a Bard specializing in War Hammers ofc), playing the game while looping her song. The live presentation also works well for me. The hyperactive rhythm that outpaces almost every nightcore out there! The LED background that has Klara absorb Power-Ups from the mystical tree behind her! The act that has Klara throw balls of energy around and toss her body double around like a rag doll! The outfit which AIMS to emulate a J-RPG companion but in reality looks more a Moje 3-style storm demon nightmare! Everything about this EDM track is iconic and I am OBSESSED.”
James – 7
“A serviceable self-empowerment club banger, though the chorus is admittedly the catchiest part. The green dancer, presumably Klara’s demon, being pushed aside after the bridge was a memorable element of the staging, and I hope that remains. Yes, I will always be reminded of Iron Maiden’s far superior metal anthem of the same name, but Klara looks better suited to a body suit with a flame bodice piece than Bruce Dickinson, so I will let that slide.”
Roy – 7.5
“The issue with Melodifestivalen is always that concepts and genres need to be watered down immensely if they want to be competitive. This happens here as well, but not to an insane extend. This could have been an absolute banger of a psytrance song and it is still great to have this variety. I think the biggest gains could be made in the staging. Right now the staging is very static while psytrance is a genre of the complete opposite. With some tweaks, this would be a great entry for Sweden!”
Sean – 6
“Klara peaked with her first entry unfortunately. I have to say it is a decently dark electro-Scandipop track and she has great vocals, but there’s not much substance in this track for me. Also, what on earth is the staging? What’s with the stage costume? I think Swedish stage directors now just think quick camera cuts and random close ups can elevate any track but it isn’t working in this case.”
Tyler – 8
“Barring the fact that Klara stole Silky Nutmeg Ganache’s look (and would win the Barbara Dex Award if she makes it to Turin!), “Run to the Hills” is a pretty good performance! It’s hard to not sound out-of-breath with how fast the song feels with its electro/nightcore/EDM vibe, and Klara does a good job with it! I also liked the part of the performance where Klara yeets the backup dancer with just a wave of her hand. G0ddess. This song is a lot of fun, even if it isn’t that modern to me, but pleasant to watch.”
William – 7.5
“Sweden doesn’t typically overhaul their stagings for Eurovision. If Klara wins, hopefully she’ll be the exception? If nothing else, burn that outfit. Otherwise, this entry is a delicious piece of rock candy. It’s sweet. It’s colorful. It’s crystalline. Klara is a fantastic, energetic performer, and it’s always a pleasure to see her in the mix. ‘Run to the Hills’ isn’t identical to ‘Ecstasy’ from this year’s MGP, but it’s playing in the same sandbox, and I liked Norway’s version just a little bit better. That’s my biggest reservation … aside from the outfit. I cannot stress this enough: burn that outfit.”
Total: 55/70
Highest: 10 (Arnaud)
Lowest: 6 (Sean)
Average: 7.9
Arnaud – 9
“I LOVE THIS! From the very listen I immediately liked the song and I still do to this day. The epicness completes perfectly the very dynamic tempo of the song to me and doesn’t leave you unbothered. Would it do well in Turin? Maybe, but I’d love to see it on the big stage in May. ”
Boris – 8
“This oriental sea shanty had me worried for a moment when it busted out the instrumental stadium siren drop, but even that didn’t seem to stop the Swedes from voting it into the final. Good. A Melfest final is nothing without its token male-fronted party anthem, and “In i dimman” is a great addition to this illustruous list. Personally, I’d like “In i dimman” more if the (excellent) tension built up by the verses wasn’t deflated so abruptly by the sudden vuvuzela interlude, but Sami and Ali delivered a fun and engaging party anthem that I will gladly revisit after the NF season has concluded.”
James – 6.5
“Swedish lyrics over a hip hop track with Arabian musical flourishes? Okay, it works to a degree. Could do without the cringe Italian phrases dropped in at random, though. There’s working your audience and then there’s pandering. This entry does have a lot of potential and given a revamp with more of a power-up at the bridge could transform this into a top shelf act. Right now it’s a little pedestrian, and no amount of dancers and oil drums on fire can hide that. The Medina duo grace the stage effortlessly – more so than some of the more nervous young acts we’re seeing in this final – and their experience and crowd-working will be a huge benefit for Sweden. But they’re top tier car salesmen trying to shill a Skoda. They should be given better cars to sell.”
Roy – 6.5
“This chorus and pre-chorus is really strong. It gives an arena-like feeling to the song. The drop however, is perhaps not the best ever. Sure it gives it a bit of a world-cup feeling, but it also comes across as a bit more amateurish as what it could have been. I would have preferred a different drop and a more professional route, but these guys sure know how to entertain and how to give a great show!”
Sean – 8
“This is brilliant! A Swedish-language pop-rap pearler with a lot of sing-along moments, a driving passionate beat throughout and just enough reggaeton/latino flavour to make it interesting, but not overbearing. This isn’t going to be Sweden’s choice but what a fun entry this would be in Turin!”
Tyler – 6
“I’m not usually a fan of songs that feel like they could be football anthems or just whooping party stuff, but “In i dimman” is fun! I’m not a huge fan of the staging, but the fact that this is in Swedish and other languages could be fun and connect with people. The song is definitely upbeat and could make people want to vote for it. But this song just isn’t my thing, sorry. This could do decently televote-wise, which is something that Sweden has been struggling with in recent years though. I don’t care for this too much though!”
William – 8.5
“Now this is cool. The beat is fire. The dancers are serving. The song is catchy and unusual for Sweden. ‘In i dimman’ is the party anthem of this year’s Melfest, and it’s not even close. The Mediterranean flair never feels contrived. Any other year, this would probably be my Melfest winner by a healthy margin. It just works.”
Total: 52.5/70
Highest: 9 (Arnaud)
Lowest: 6 (Sean)
Average: 7.5
The Verdict
For the ultimate ranking, we’ve combined today’s scores with those we collected for the semfinalists. According to our team, the finalists ought to be ranked in this order:
- Cornelia Jakobs – “Hold me closer” (89%)
- Klara Hammarström – “Run to the hills” (79%)
- Cazzi Opeia – “I can’t get enough” (77%)
- Theoz – “Som du vill” (76%)
- MEDINA – “In i dimman” (75%)
- LIAMOO – “Bluffing” (70%)
- Tone Sekelius – “My way” (64%)
- John Lundvik – “Änglavakt” (55%)
- Faith Kakembo – “Freedom” (55%)
- Anders Bagge – “Bigger than the universe” (54%)
- Anna Bergendahl – “Higher power” (53%)
- Robin Bengtsson – “Innocent love” (47%)
If Team ESCunited had its way, Cornelia Jakobs would be the Swedish representative in Turin, with Klara Hammarström and Cazzi Opeia rounding up the top three. Robin Bengtsson brings up the rear, the only act our team disliked as a whole.
Whether Sweden will provide a similar result tonight awaits to be seen.
Reviews on the four acts that qualified through the Semifinals can be found HERE:
Do #YOU agree with our verdict. Which act will #YOU support tonight? Let us know in the comments, on social media or on our forum HERE. Alternatively, join the discussion on our Discord HERE.
