ButterTart's 100 Greatest Melodifestivalen Songs - 2002 to 2024

So what the actual FUCK has won? There are some BIG songs yet to appear in the rate - have I gone with one of them or have I just gone 'lol rockin the ride was quite good let's go with that'?
 
I stand with you. I mean, it wouldn’t be in my top 50, but I get it.

The post chorus has the makings of a really great separate song of its own

Hela landet spinn
När kingen glider in
Diggi ding ding ding
Här glider kingen in
 
Suomi said:
I stand with you. I mean, it wouldn’t be in my top 50, but I get it.

The post chorus has the makings of a really great separate song of its own

Hela landet spinn
När kingen glider in
Diggi ding ding ding
Här glider kingen in
Click to expand...
This is what I mean - there are so many different elements to it :disco:
 
WINNER! Charlotte Perrelli – The Girl (2012)



Heat 4 – 5th place. Sweden belongs in jail.​



THEN:

“Schlager is dead ”
@VoR 25/02/2012

“She knew. At least she had some dignity about it.”
@D5K 25/02/2012

“all that build up and dreams and expectations
i feel like killing myself”
@Suomi 25/02/2012

“STOP SAYING THINGS! We are tearing ourselves apart!”
@Kratz 25/02/2012

“I'm so sorry for your loss gays ”
@Star 25/02/2012

“I'm so upset. That reduces my interest in the final to Loreen and VoR.”
@Alla 25/02/2012

“I'm calling it. This is the worst Melodifestivalen ever.”
@VoR 25/02/2012


NOW:

“TALK ABOUT A SONG to KICK THE PREGNANT DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS TO”
@Penelope 05/04/2024

“Seeing this performed live last year remains the highlight of my life.”
@ZenGiraffe 05/04/2024

“it might be my favourite entry EVER of hers now. It's ABSOLUTELY GLORIOUS.”
@Sheena 05/04/2024

“Like being ran over by a disco train, still being alive and ready to have your body parts be found to do it all again over and over.”
@straightorbroken 05/04/2024

“If a better pop song exists, I haven't heard it”
@dUb 05/04/2024

Even for ME, this was a surprise.

I knew I loved this song and I knew it would do big business in this rate, but as I was compiling it I realised there was NOTHING - not even God-king Sean Banan – that I could justify putting above it. So here we are: Charlotte Perrelli’s ‘The Girl’ is my favourite Melodifestivalen song of all time.

It’s easy to see how I came to this decision; ‘The Girl’ is THE perfect Mello song:

  • Performed by a gay-interest middle aged woman
  • Blatant ABBA references
  • A key change that could skin a rhino at fifty paces
  • Strutting
  • Sweden being cunts and paying it absolute dust
  • @VoR investing his current and future mental stability in its success
It’s also about as good a pop song as you’ll ever have the fortune to hear. The verses are engaging and memorable for everyone except their singer, and the chorus is otherworldly brilliance – this is a song that CANNOT and SHOULD NOT be sung at socially acceptable volumes. I have no qualm with singing ‘I was the gi-i-irl’ out loud, as @COB can attest to (His slightly concerned ‘Oh, you’re doing the key change?’ as I was idly singing this in a Glasgow street is an abiding memory I have of this song). I’ve called almost everything on this list a stomper up to now, but this is a fucking STOMPER, a pop juggernaut, a song which reaches a crescendo seconds in and somehow just gets bigger from there.

We also need to talk about that key change. Holy shit, it should be taught in schools. If Dignitas played it in their waiting room, they’d go bankrupt within a week. 2:26 in the video above IS Melodifestivalen; it’s why we love this dreadful contest and make our pilgrimages to that ungrateful little country. This is pop being done exceptionally well – a singer who knows her audience with a song that fully earns such a MOMENT of a key change. You know I love my songs big and daft and I can’t express how SATISFYING every second of ‘The Girl’ is – it’s so cohesive, it’s so spectacular, it’s so very, very destined to go unappreciated by the Swedes.

The Girl is the most expensive musical performance ever staged, costing approximately £3.4 billion, most of which was spent on a projector and some dancers dressed like off-duty pink Power Rangers. Charlotte is Charlotte, and Charlotte is incredible at selling a song like it’s the most important thing she’s ever done. She brings such an eagerness and joy to any performance (Mitt Liv a possible exception). It would be remiss of me to not mention the colossal fuck up in the second verse; I LOVED reading back through the thread as everyone frantically tried to pretend it wasn’t noticeable. It was, let’s be honest. She literally stops singing and then just mumbles indistinctly until she’s back on familiar ground and can bellow ‘THAT’S CHANGIIIING’. Still, Charlotte botching a verse still manages to put on a better show than pretty much anyone else, so needless to say she goes on to bring this bitch home, kicking absolute fuck out of the final chorus to give us a moment for the ages. Jesus, this goes MASSIVE.

So there we have it. I don’t think it could have been anyone else walking away with the crown, in fairness. A Melodifestivalen classic is about more than just the song – it’s about the singer, the performance, the mark it left on the contest and how long @VoR was in hospice care following its failure. Charlotte delivers on every front… not just delivers, EXCELS. She’s truly in a league of her own in the contest, a showstopper regardless of what she sends or how well she does on the night. This is the perfect marriage of singer and song which, quite rightly, is now regarded as an all-time Mello classic. God bless you, Charles, and all the millionaires who sail in you.

Feel the power of dancing :disco:
 
Despicable. The Girl is nothing but a concoction of stilettos and cliché's stitched together. With no sense and no context, the entire creation is constantly ripping apart at its seams.
 
Hak said:
Despicable. The Girl is nothing but a concoction of stilettos and cliché's stitched together. With no sense and no context, the entire creation is constantly ripping apart at its seams.
Click to expand...
Motion to BANISH HAK PERMANENTLY from the Melodifestivalen forum.
 
ButterTart said:
2. Sean Banan - Sean den förste Banan



AC – Lost to some horrible, no-name old cunt​



“If that UNMITIGATED SHITE qualifies in any form, I officially lose all faith with Sweden.”
@VoR, 04/02/2012

“Sean Banan can FUCK OFF!”
@Penelope 18/08/2014

“Sean Banan for CUNT OF THE MONTH I don't think I have EVER hated a MF contestant MORE”
@VoR, 04/02/2012

“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?”
@Sheena, 21/04/2024

CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARL den sexentonde Gustaf

Håll ett ögat på din tron

För här kommer kingen

Sean den förste Banan

HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAA

Look, I know you’re very upset with me right now and I appreciate how cruel it was for me to tag the people who are likely to be the most enraged about this, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist.

You see, I love ‘Sean den förste Banan’. I love it to the point that it’s legitimately one of my favourite songs of all time. I love it so much that I started this rate fully prepared to crown it the winner; I’m still in shock that another song turned my head to the point that THIS had to settle for silver.

Every single aspect of this feels like it was engineered to appeal specifically to me. It’s a Europop song with an incredible, disgustingly catchy chorus. It’s a comedy song about an Iranian immigrant who wants to be king of Sweden. It boasts my favourite Melodifestivalen performance of all time. It slags off Carola. If you took all of my wants, hopes and ambitions and shaped them into a three minute bop, it would sound like this.

‘Sean den förste Banan’ is designed to clamp itself to your brain after one listen and never release its grip, a function it accomplishes flawlessly. Like it or not, the ‘Diggi Diggi Diggi’ chorus is an absolute masterstroke; even if you hate this song and haven’t listened to it in bare time fam, I bet you still remember EXACTLY how it goes. Musically and lyrically, ‘Sean den förste Banan’ is packed to the rafters with little moments and details, from the line where he introduces himself as being from a country made of beards and sand, to the sort-of-middle-8 where he announces that meatballs and Ikea (but NOT Carola) are fucking good, to that genuinely fucking brilliant spoken word challenge to the actual reigning monarch. This is why I love it so much, it’s just so FULL. I don’t think a single idea was left in the editing room; Sean fires moment after moment at us for three minutes and, for me at least, every one of them lands :disco:

As I mentioned before, I truly ADORE the performance – it was one of the first Melodifestivalen songs I ever took notice of and I don’t think it’s been bettered since. Sean has BAGS of charisma and delivers this with matchless enthusiasm. He’s a born performer. The choreography during the chorus is fun and ridiculously slick, but again it’s the level of DETAIL which properly sells ‘Sean den förste Banan’. Every lyric seems to have a corresponding visual, every second commands attention – this is a three-act play in a three-minute song, evolving and building in a genuine effort to steal the entire show despite being the first song of the first heat. Whether in studio or live form, everything from 2:19 in the video is – hands down – my favourite thing ever to have happened at Mello. It’s JUST. SO. GOOD. The spoken word threat to Carl Gustav is delivered with such manic energy it feels massive, like a winner’s reprise (especially juxtaposed with the cut to the audience looking thoroughly nonplussed straight after), and he follows this by IMMEDIATELY dropping into a key change, somersaulting across the stage under a blizzard of confetti and then dances in front of his golden throne while being flanked by showgirls. It’s more akin to an interval act than a competitor in scale, a masterclass in making your moment count. You’ve got three minutes to sell the living cunt out of your product, Gunilla, THIS IS HOW YOU FUCKING DO IT.

I’m shaking and crying just describing this, to be honest. I love the very bones of it. From the comments at the time, only @Apoca and @Suomi don’t think me a raging cunt for alleging that this is the second best song ever sent to Melodifestivalen. Even so, this is my rate; there is not - nor will there ever be – any situation where ‘Sean den förste Banan’ wouldn’t achieve a podium placing.

Hela landet spin när kingen glider in
Click to expand...


Look I don't hate it but that doesnt mean I don't think you're RAGING for putting it second :basil:
 
Last edited:
Alla said:
I don't believe for a second that's BT's number one. He's fooling you.
Click to expand...
Shit, the secret's out.

REAL WINNER: Rejhan - Haunted (2023)



WINNER!
​

"Haunted by Rejhan makes me cry from my willie every time I hear it"
@Hak, 04/02/2023

"If Rejhan doesn't qualify I will SET FIRE TO A NURSERY"
@Penelope, 04/02/2023

"Wow :disco: Turns out cocks ARE for my ears"
@Kala, 04/02/2023

"Tihs songis vrery god"
@Tisch, 04/02/2023 (after 5pm)

"The amount of time I've wasted on ANCIENT BOILERS when I could have been listening to this instead."
@VoR, 04/02/2023
 
Here's the FULL ranking :disco: Stats to follow at some point.

1 Charlotte Perrelli - The Girl 2012
2 Sean Banan - Sean den förste Banan 2012
3 Linda Bengtzing - Alla Flickor 2005
3 Cornelia Jakobs - Hold Me Closer 2022
4 Lili & Susie - Show Me Heaven 2009
5 Loreen - My Heart is Refusing Me 2011
6 Jenny Silver - Something in Your Eyes 2011
7 Love Generation - Dance Alone 2011
7 Charlotte Perrelli - Hero 2008
8 Anna Sahlene & Maria Haukaas Storeng - Killing Me Tenderly 2009
9 Mendez feat. Alvaro Estrella - Vamos Amigos 2020
10 Roger Pontare - Silverland 2006
11 Sanna Nielsen - I'm in Love 2011
12 Star Pilots - Higher 2009
13 Anna Bergendahl - Kingdom Come 2020
14 Timoteij - Kom 2010
15 Scarlet - Circus X 2024
16 After Dark - (Åh) När vi tar saken i egna händer 2007
17 Smilo - Weight of the World 2016
18 Smash Into Pieces - Six Feet Under 2023
19 Eclipse - Runaways 2016
20 Jessica Andersson - Party Voice 2018
21 Krista Siegfrids - Snurra Min Jord 2017
22 Marcus & Martinus - Air 2023
23 Linda Bengtzing - E det fel på mej 2011
24 Danny Saucedo - In the Club 2011
25 Magnus Carlson - Möt mig i Gamla Stan 2015
26 Elysion - Golden Star 2006
27 Alcazar - Stay the Night 2009
28 Lillasyster - Till Our Days Are Over 2022
29 Björn Ranelid feat. Sara Li - Mirakel 2012
30 Linda Bengtzing - Ta Mig 2014
31 Samir & Viktor - Shuffla 2018
32 Melody Club - The Hunter 2011
33 Sean Banan - Copacabanana 2013
34 Medina - In I dimman 2022
35 Wiktoria - As I Lay Me Down 2017
35 Loreen - Euphoria 2012
36 Behrang Miri ft. Victor Crone - Det rår vi inte för 2015
36 Lena Philipsson - Det Gör Ont 2004
37 Dilba - Try Again 2011
38 Charlotte Perrelli - Still Young 2021
39 Martin Stenmarck - När änglarna går hem 2014
40 Arvingarna - I Do 2019
41 Klara Hammarström - Run to the Hills 2022
42 H.E.A.T - 1000 Miles 2009
43 Arc North, Jon Henrik Fjällgren feat. Adam Woods - Where You Are 2023
Eric Saade - Popular 2011
44 SaRaha - Kizunguzungu 2016
45 Samir & Viktor - Bada Nakna 2016
46 De Vet Du - Road Trip 2017
47 Rickard Engfors feat. Katarina Fallholm - Ready For Me 2005
48 Shirley Clamp - Burning Alive 2014
49 Maria Sur - When I'm Gone 2024
50 Oscar Enestad - I Love It 2019
51 BWO - Lay Your Love On Me 2008
52 Oscar Zia - Human 2016
53 Mimi Werner - Songburning 2018
54 Elisa Lindström - Forever Yours 2024
54 Fame - Give Me Your Love 2003
55 Eric Saade - Sting 2015
56 Måns Zelmerlöw - Cara mia 2007
57 Isa - I Will Wait 2016
58 Tennessee Tears - Now I Know 2023
58 Malena Ernman - La Voix 2009
59 Jessica Andersson - Kalla nätter 2006
60 Drängarna - Piga och dräng 2020
60 Marcus & Martinus - Unforgettable 2024
61 Sanna Nielsen - Vågar du, vågar jag 2007
62 Kristin Amparo - I See You 2015
63 Panetoz - On My Way 2023
64 Medina - Que Sera 2024
65 Kamferdrops - Solen lever kvar hos dig 2018
66 Linda Bengtzing - Jag ljuger så bra 2006
67 Pagan Fury - Stormbringer 2019
68 Hanna Lindblad - Goosebumps 2012
69 Ralf Gyllenhammar - Bed on Fire 2013
70 Sarek - Genom eld och vatten 2003
71 Anniela - Elektrisk 2011
72 Roger Pontare - Himmel och hav 2017
73 Anton Ewald - Begging 2013
74 Smash Into Pieces - Heroes Are Calling 2024
75 Dolly Style - Hello Hi 2015
76 Theoz - Mer av dig 2023
77 Martin - Du och jag (i hela världen) 2002
78 Samir & Viktor - Groupie 2015
79 Arja Saijonmaa - Vad du än trodde så trodde du fel 2005
80 Mimi Oh - Det går för långsamt 2012
81 Molly Sandén - Why Am I Crying? 2012
82 Jan Malmsjö - Leva livet 2019
83 Erik Segerstedt & Toni Damli – Hello Goodbye 2013
83 Carola - Evighet 2006
84 Katrina and the Nameless - As If Tomorrow Will Never Come 2005
85 Dinah Nah - Make Me (La La La) 2015
86 Felicia Olsson - Break That Chain 2018
87 Sara Lumholdt – Enemy 2011
88 Shirley Clamp - Att älska dig 2005
89 Clara Klingenström Behöver inte dig idag 2021
90 Eden - Comfortable 2023
91 LIAMOO - Bluffin 2022
92 Jon Henrik Fjällgren - Jag är fri (Manne Leam Frijje) 2015
93 Molly Sandén - Youniverse 2016
94 Emil Henrohn - Mera mera mera 2023
95 Timoteij - Stormande Hav 2012
96 Petra Nielsen – Tango! Tango! 2004
96 The Mamas - Move 2020
97 Brandsta City Släckers – Kom Och Ta Mig 2002
98 Michael Feiner & Caisa - We're Still Kids 2013
99 B-Boys International feat. Paul M - One Step Closer 2005
100 Elecktra - Banne maj 2024
101 Martin Almgren – A Bitter Lullaby 2018
102 Eddie Razaz - Alibi 2013
103 Fröken Snusk - Unga & fria 2024
104 EMD - Baby Goodbye 2009
105 Kikki, Bettan & Lotta - Vem é dé du vill ha 2002
106 Sonya - Etymon 2006
107 Danny Saucedo - Happy That You Found Me 2024
108 Alvaro Estrella - Bailá Bailá 2021
109 Evan - Under Your Spell 2006
110 Lisa Miskovsky - Why Start a Fire? 2012
 
ButterTart said:
44. SaRaha – Kizunguzungu (2016)



Finalist – 9th place​



“This does feel weirdly racist.”
@GinAg (39), 12/03/2016

Of all of the journeys taken by the songs in this top 100, Kizunguzungu’s is easily the most wholesome and heartwarming. Nobody expected a thing from this, yet it qualified to Andra Chansen where it beat the much-favoured ‘I Will Wait’ to secure a place in the final, becoming a firm fan-favourite along the way.

Being a song in Swahili by a white Swedish-African woman, this had a huge and perilous mountain to climb – is it a bit problematic even though SaRaha actually IS Tanzanian? It’s testament to the sheer effervescence of the great woman that she not only overcame this but went on to be one of the true successes of the 2016 contest.

I loved this from the moment I heard it; it’s just so different. There’s a palpable JOY to Kizunguzungu which makes it impossible to deny as a contender. The vocals aren’t amazing and the dancing isn’t flawless, but when it’s delivered with such genuine, almost naïve enthusiasm it’s hard to resist its charms.

Kizunguzungu is pure pop with a stonking chorus and a top drawer key change. Beyond the vaguest possible nod to Afrobeat, there are no bells and whistles here; it’s pure, insanely catchy fun which captured the attention of the Swedish public for those very reasons.

SaRaha has yet to return to the contest, which is surprising considering she had an undeniable smash on her hands and reached the final on her first go. Maybe that’s for the best, mind. There’s something brilliantly nostalgic about Kizunguzungu, and about SaRaha’s once-and-done record in the contest. This could never be repeated without sounding contrived, so why bother trying?
Click to expand...

This is EVERYWHERE at the kids club on our current Tenerife holiday. So happy they're infiltrating the kids even if they're doing it ten years too late. Caracola next!
 
Really simply MUST go over this whole thread and reply to it properly over the next two months to give it the due justice it deserves (even if I'm still furious Swedish House Wives - On Top of the World didn't make it in AS PROMISED) :disco:
 
Penelope said:
Really simply MUST go over this whole thread and reply to it properly over the next two months to give it the due justice it deserves (even if I'm still furious Swedish House Wives - On Top of the World didn't make it in AS PROMISED) :disco:
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It VERY NEARLY snuck in. It was down to my last six hundred before I had to cut it in favour of that one time Fab Freddie sang during an interval.
 
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