Those pesky Swedes are at it again. Showing the rest of us how to turn Eurovision into a money-spinning national event that everyone gets behind. This weekend is the first of five semi finals – four bring us seven new songs, one ‘second chance’ for the runners up – all leading to the Melodifestivalen final on 11 March.
| Song | Performer(s) | Jury | Televote | Total | Psn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| My Dreams | NAPOLI | 29 | 7 | 36 | 6 |
| Angel | Lis | 17 | 2 | 9 | 9 |
| Love Is My Colour | Dariya | 14 | 0 | 14 | 11 |
| I Believe In a Miracle | Gunesh | 59 | 3 | 62 | 3 |
| Tolko tantsuy | Muzzart | 18 | 12 | 30 | 7 |
| Summer Love | Valeriya Sadovskaya | 28 | 0 | 28 | 8 |
| Electric Toys | Rostany | 9 | 0 | 9 | 13 |
| Supernova | Janet | 5 | 0 | 5 | 14 |
| Stand As One | Alexey Gross | 40 | 5 | 45 | 5 |
| Accent | Milki | 37 | 10 | 47 | 4 |
| Time | Uzari & Maimuna | 68 | 8 | 76 | 1 |
| Fighter | Beatrees | 10 | 6 | 16 | 10 |
| Drive | Vitaliy Voronko | 1 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| Don't Save My Name | Anastasiya Malashkevich | 62 | 4 | 66 | 2 |
| Giving Up | Tasha Odi | 9 | 1 | 10 | 12 |
With that in mind, let’s turn OnEuropean ears towards Gothenberg and pass opinion on the extracts shared with eager fans this very afternoon. Keep in mind, these were one-minute clips and the songs might come to life when heard in full.
First up it’s Boris René with ‘Her Kiss’. It’s got all the hallmarks of the average 1990s b-side. Retro might well be back when it comes to interior décor, but this bit of shabby chic doesn’t grab me.
19 year-old Adrijana Krasniqi’s ‘Amare’ appears to be stuck on a loop, and the poor lass sounds knackered. It wants to be a big old yankee classic, but the word dirge springs quickly to mind.
Dinah Nah’s ‘One More Night’ has Eurovision stamped through it. It’s one of those beepy beepy verses with a chorus that builds and layers. There have been better attempts at much the same song in previous Swedish national finals.
Du vet du look (and sound) like the novelty act. Some dire white boy rap and nasal vocals with a heavy dose of ‘wo-ho’ chants (much of this in Gothenberg this year). There’s really very little to like here.
Charlotte Perrelli seems determined to show the Eurovision world she isn’t all about big banger choruses and schlagertastic sing-along moments. As you’ll see from the picture above, Charlotte 2017 is a serious gurl with a geetar. Shame.
Ace Wilder brings us ‘Wild Child’ – one of those songs you can imagine The Saturdays turning down. Once it gets going though, it has appeal. I’d like to think the whole song can maintain the promise.
Nano might look like a bin man living the dream, but ‘Hold On’ takes us from traditional ballad territory into an epic chorus. If staged well, this might actually be in the running.