Peter30

Right I caved, so I may as well give my opinions: 1. Dilba - Try Again: Well this isn't quite the big reinvention everyone had assumed. Dilba looks very uncomfortable with the type of song she's been given to sing, and with the choreography, and the years have not been kind to her. I do like the song, and considering she was singing very little in this rehearsal clip, it's probably not a reflection of what it will sound like tomorrow night, although I don't think this is qualifying. 7/10 2. Swingfly - Me And My Drum: Glad that the annual token rap song is out of the way fairly early this year! :lol: It is one of the better examples of the genre for me personally, and the chorus is quite contemporary. That being said I do think the rapping itself would be a bit out of place in the UK, it sounds a bit dated. Perfectly listenable, but this is one that I feel fairly confident ruling out. 5/10 3. Jenny Silver - Something In Your Eyes: Visually Kylie, auditorily Abba. I love it. I can see this being the one to get lodged in my head for days (something I'd expected Le Kid's song to do but we'll get onto that...) and it's the kind of schlager largely missing from last year's competition! To be honest I can definitely see Sweden putting this in the final, as it's what they associate with Melodifestivalen, despite the general disdain for this type of music in the press. 9/10 4. Jonas Matsson - On My Own: I liked this when it was chosen as the web wildcard, and I still do, although it hasn't been given as drastic a makeover as Come And Get Me Now, just a little bit of polishing productionwise. Not that it needed much work done to it. This would be pleasant contrast to everything before it, but as it is, they appear to have given it a bit of a silly stage performance. It would be much better with just Jonas and a guitar. His vocals aren't great either, so I'd say this won't make the cut either. 7/10 5. Le Kid - Oh My God: I was expecting big things here. This is their chance to make their big breakthrough in Sweden so I figured they'd have held back one of their best songs for the occasion. Alas, no. It's a solid effort, and I can see it being a grower, but it's not catchy or instant, and as I said in a previous post, they look like they're relying purely on their "quirkyness" to get them through to the final. It won't, but if it's performed well tomorrow this might scrape into Andra Chansen. 7/10 6. Rasmus Viberg - Social Butterfly: Fairly pleasant folky pop, well performed by Rasmus, and the staging is quite effective. Still, it's just alright, nothing to write home about, and he is a bit of a nobody. I was ready to rule this out, but it's been getting a fairly good reception online, so maybe it just has something I'm not seeing. Another one that could make Andra Chansen. 5/10 7. Pernilla Andersson - Desperados: Another pleasant song, and one I'm looking forward to hearing in full. It probably won't go anywhere but it's a pleasant listen, and different to anything else in here. Very "Radio 2." Pernilla is a pretty big deal, and the song could benefit from being the only song in Swedish this week, as well as picking up "anti-schlager" votes. A contender for the final. 6/10 8. Danny - In The Club: The most contemporary song of the lot, and when I read descriptions of this, I worried that it might meet the same fate as "Stop" or "Manipulated" from last year. However it is very catchy, and obviously Danny's vast fanbase means he won't have to worry about disqualifying. I get the feeling this will be much better recorded than live, and if it made Eurovision I'd be very worried about the 100% live vocals, but out of the eight songs here I'd say this is the safest bet for the final. I hope his rapping is confined to those few lines though. 8.5/10 Right well writing all that has helped me digest things a bit more and I feel a bit more confident with my predictions, but it's still not totally clear cut. At the moment I see Danny winning the heat, with Jenny Silver and Pernilla Andersson battling for the remaining place in Globen. Obviously whichever one doesn't make it will go to Andra Chansen, along with either Le Kid or Rasmus. I'll predict Swingfly for last place, although none of the songs are particularly bad. Prediction (not personal favourites): 1. Danny 2/3. Jenny/Pernilla 4/5. Le Kid/Rasmus 6/7. Dilba/Jonas 8. Swingfly I'm looking forward to seeing Jenny Silver and Danny in full, but especially Le Kid to see if the whole thing is any better. I really hope it is, because right now I can see them missing the cut :(

I figured it didn't count since it was a spin-off so let it through. I'd be in favour of keeping the no covers rule just...because. :P It is a SONG contest after all, and if the song has already competed then...well...yeah.

I watched the rehearsal clips with the sound turned off, so as not to spoil it for myself just yet! However from what I hear about Le Kid's song, it's certainly not as instant or catchy as their usual material, and it seems from the staging that they're relying on their "quirkyness" to get them through. I think they could miss out. I'd not be surprised if Jenny made it straight to the final either. The only one I'd count out right now is Swingfly. I reiterate though, this is purely based on seeing the staging, the artists, and based on what others have said about the songs.

Well your inbox is full AGAIN Rob :P I've sent my confirmation to Tom just as proof that I've made the deadline but if you can clear your inbox before he gets back online I'll just send it onto you myself :)

Five 8.5s? Bloody hell most Melodifestivalen finals don't even have that kind of hit rate... :mellow:

This one sounds a bit dated...not a fan. I do think I Like You could be ESC material to be honest. Understated songs like that have done well in the past and she has got the recognition factor.

Oh now this one I really like! It would be a really good contrast to Satellite, and it reminds me of Can't Wait Until Tonight, which did pretty well.

So what are they going to do to "level the playing field" in the final? That's what I wanna know :mellow: It could be worse, it was very well performed, almost touching, and it's the second best song in there IMO. Still, poor brave Yohanna :( Sjd6k_5Drow

It's usually midday on the Friday, although rumour has it that we'll get to see rehearsal clips on Thursdays this year.

Hmmm I dunno, they just don't really come across as being likeable. In their eagerness to put across their camp happy clappy funness it all seems a bit cold. They take their "not taking themselves too seriously" very seriously if that makes any sense.

Has anybody been reading the Le Kid blog on Scandipop? I'm really hoping they have a corker of a song because the blog has served to put me off them quite a bit. They really are incredibly up their own arse, but try and cover it up by sounding "quirky" and for anybody who doesn't believe me, you should have a read. http://www.scandipop.co.uk/?cat=1117

I'm going to wait until I hear the song before I fully get upset about this. After all, A1 tried out for Norway last year and I think most of us would have been very happy for them to have gone to Eurovision, and on paper that's pretty much as bad as Blue is sounding right now.

It's a very strange time to make an announcement. It gives me the feeling it's not something good or exciting...

No

Prime Minister - Northern Girl?

I take it you mean outside Sweden :P But yes like Jack said, SVT put all of the heats up on their player, but only after all of the heats are done. That said you could probably get hold of a torrent somewhere.

Neither can I as it turns out. After posting that last night I looked up a couple of videos of his, and to be honest I could barely hear him singing over the sound of my brain melting at how utterly punchable he is.

I'd say, if we're getting a single artist national final, it's likely to be a singer who already has a relationship with the BBC, which narrows it down to Alesha Dixon, John Barrowman, Jodie Prenger and Charlotte Church. None of whom I'd have a real problem with, except that John Barrowman is a bit of a turd. But if he was willing to actually step forward and put his reputation on the line by actually singing for the UK rather than just talking about it then he would earn brownie points from me, and to his credit he can sing.

Could anybody provide a translation of Sjonni's lyrics by any chance?

Oh dear... I think we have a winner. It is nowhere near as good as Yohanna's song, but Aftur Heim will be very sweet with Sjonni Brink's friends singing it.

As I suspected... From ESC Today.

True, in Sweden, when a song is in Swedish, it's usually with good reason. Nótt is in Icelandic because it's in the rules of the competition. Considering Yohanna releases most of her music in English, I'm sure the English version will be on her next album. In fact it wouldn't surprise me if it was originally written in English and then translated in order to be eligible for the Icelandic selection.

A part of me is now hoping that Yohanna is just put out of her misery tonight. Along with the rest of us!

I just saw that. As far as I'm concerned that's game set and match. Yohanna doesn't stand a chance.

Aww they're doing a tribute section to Sjonni Brink :(