Melodifestivalen, many people’s idea of what a national final should look and sound like (though not mine) started this evening, with the first heat from Linköping.
The format hasn’t changed, but just to remind you: there were seven songs taking part in two rounds of voting. The first round eliminated two contenders and the second round ended all hope for one more song. The top two have won places in the Grand Final that takes place on 7 March. The third- and fourth-placed songs go through the Andra Chansen round, which airs on 29 February.
The winners and losers are below.
Shock alert: Felix Sandman, beloved of many fans hasn’t secured his final place … yet and will sing once more on leap day.
| Artist | Song | Votes | Points | Jury | Total | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milan Bujaković & Olivera Popović | "Niti" | 2544 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 9 |
| Hurricane | "Hasta la vista" | 12 | 12 | 24 | 1 | |
| Neda Ukraden | "Bomba" | 2965 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 7 |
| Andrija Jo | "Oči meduze" | 10 | 1 | 11 | 6 | |
| Igor Simić | "Ples za rastanak" | 3923 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 3 |
| Thea Devy | "Sudnji dan" | 0 | 4 | 4 | 10 | |
| EJO | "Trag" | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| LIFT | "Samo mi kaži" | 3454 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 11 |
| Ana Milenković | "Tajna" | 8 | 3 | 11 | 5 | |
| Naiva | "Baš, baš" | 4825 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 2 |
| Marko Marković | "Kolači" | 5 | 6 | 11 | 4 | |
| Bane Mojićević | "Cvet sa Prokletija" | 4650 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 8 |