Franko: It pains me to say this but Charlotte Perelli is not only going to qualify but guaranteed top 5. If Iceland were note perfect, Charlotte was beyond perfect. It’s slick, well choreographed without any stupid props as others have used. Okay her idea of casual day wear is quite clearly from Ann Summers but you can forgive that with what we’ve just seen. I’m clearly not a fan of hers but if I’m being honest I speak as above and the fan polls are not tooooo far off the mark. I have an inkling of a doubt where it can win but it’s certainly the typical safe Swedish result that they seem to go for every second year these days.
Phil: I’m sat in air-conditioned comfort in the press centre and I suspect that I may well have seen a winner … Of what, I am not sure, but I think definitely qualifying, possibly winning this bit and potentially winning the whole damn lot. If you will have seen the Melodifestival, you know exactly what is going to come and as such the performance and staging holds no surprises for hardened fans of this thing. Franko said “Is she singing, it could be the recording.” It was totally perfect at the first attempt, something that is very rare and also, she has the added advantage that she has known what performance she was going to do for the last three months – something that others have not had. However, and it is a big however, will Europe be tired of the “same old” Sweden? That is the key question here – because she has answered every other question that has been posed of her.
Nick: Sweden’s very, very good. There are absolutely *no* surprises here, it’s the self-same routine that Charlotte’s been using for nearly three months now on this song. All the elements are in place, the blue chroma-keyed opening, the lasers, the gradual arrival of the backings. Trust me, there’s nothing I can tell you here that you don’t already know – except that she’s performing with total confidence, and yet you can just tell that she’s left plenty in the tank for when it matters. I’m almost *certain* that an each-way bet here is going to return a profit on current odds. I’m not going to make said bet though! 🙂