VoR
Take it or leave it
Queen of evil Pernilla Wahlgren was one of the more successful Swedish pop stars of her late 80s heyday, with numerous chart successes, best-selling albums and even the odd success in the other Nordic countries. But her Melfest scoresheet looks oddly underwhelming compared to her fellow 80s queens Carola and Lena Philipsson. Her best-known entry is also her signature song, Piccadilly Circus, which came 4th in 1985 but became a massive hit anyway.
After this her pop career took off, with big hits including Svindlande affärer and the Army of Lovers-penned C'est Demon, but she waited until 1991 to return to Melfest with the underwhelming Tvillingsjäl. After that it was another decade, before she finally came close to winning with the sugary Let Your Spirit Fly. She famous demoed Linda Bengtzing's Alla Flickor, but was humiliatingly dubbed too old for it by that vicious old queen Christer Björkman (you can hear her demo here) Another likable schlager, I min värld was rejected around 2008.
All of which is to say that by 2010, Miss Pernilla was HUNGRY, which was very much reflected in the gimlet-eyed VOTE FOR ME OR I WILL KILL YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY vibe of the Jag vill om du vågar performance.
To be honest, I feel the song is a little beneath her, but she certainly elevates it through sheer force of will, and she managed to reach the finals via Andra Chansen.
Since then she's mostly focused on her more lucrative career as one of Sweden's premier reality TV personalities and tabloid fixtures. She of course spawned Benjamin Ingrosso, and her daughter Bianca is also a leading Swedish influencer. She made one more Melfest appearance in 2013 with the ill-fated Swedish Housewives project, and she displayed a knack for physical comedy during her hosting gig in 2021. Something tells me we're not quite done with her yet...
5th: Pernilla Wahlgren - Jag vill om du vågar
6th: Jessica Andersson - Party Voice
7th: Lina Hedlund - Victorious
8th: Anna Book - Himmel för två
After this her pop career took off, with big hits including Svindlande affärer and the Army of Lovers-penned C'est Demon, but she waited until 1991 to return to Melfest with the underwhelming Tvillingsjäl. After that it was another decade, before she finally came close to winning with the sugary Let Your Spirit Fly. She famous demoed Linda Bengtzing's Alla Flickor, but was humiliatingly dubbed too old for it by that vicious old queen Christer Björkman (you can hear her demo here) Another likable schlager, I min värld was rejected around 2008.
All of which is to say that by 2010, Miss Pernilla was HUNGRY, which was very much reflected in the gimlet-eyed VOTE FOR ME OR I WILL KILL YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY vibe of the Jag vill om du vågar performance.
To be honest, I feel the song is a little beneath her, but she certainly elevates it through sheer force of will, and she managed to reach the finals via Andra Chansen.
Since then she's mostly focused on her more lucrative career as one of Sweden's premier reality TV personalities and tabloid fixtures. She of course spawned Benjamin Ingrosso, and her daughter Bianca is also a leading Swedish influencer. She made one more Melfest appearance in 2013 with the ill-fated Swedish Housewives project, and she displayed a knack for physical comedy during her hosting gig in 2021. Something tells me we're not quite done with her yet...
5th: Pernilla Wahlgren - Jag vill om du vågar
6th: Jessica Andersson - Party Voice
7th: Lina Hedlund - Victorious
8th: Anna Book - Himmel för två
[high-kicks small child]
It hasn't even been a week, we're not near the usual vote count yet, and it's still close...