VoR
Take it or leave it
A new venue this week, and our final batch of hopefuls. Last week of course, Linda Bengtzing gave a beautifully controlled yet euphoric performance which deservedly qualified for the finals and now everything is just fine with the world. 
*breathes heavily into paper bag*
ANYWAY, here are your players this week...
1. Anna Bergendahl - Higher Power
(Anna Bergendahl, Thomas G:son, Bobby Ljunggren, Erik Bernholm)
Considering how it all began, Dr Anna's Melfest second act has been remarkably good to her so far. Both Ashes to Ashes and Kingdom Come made strong showings, and she's managed to carve out a modestly successful sideline in Radio 2-friendly country-pop bangers like her recent hit Thelma & Louise. Really, she'd probably be just fine to hang up her stetson for now - but clearly the ghost of 2010 still haunts her, and I have a feeling that she just won't be able to rest until Sweden gives her another chance.
So far the buzz on this has been... modest, but with the songwriters from Kingdom Come all present and accounted for, she should be in a strong position this week. Though given previous voting breakdowns suggest her face is actively repellent to small children and teenagers, it might be squeaky bum time for Team Bergendahl if she has to go via the demographic breakdown...
2. Lillasyster - Till Our Days Are Over
(Jimmy Jansson, Palle Hammarlund, Ian-Paolo Lira, Martin Westerstrand)
Representing the affable office IT engineers who play punk in provincial pubs on the weekend and care just a little bit too much about Marvel movies, Lillasyster were a bit of a breakout in 2021, scoring a big streaming hit with 'Pretender' despite a surprise knockout in Andra Chansen. Getting a big hit outside the Contest almost always gives you a free pass for one more crack, so while it's no surprise to see Lillasyster back in the race, it is perhaps a touch surprising to see them tossed out in second - incidentally, the same position they were in last year. Counter-programming? SABOTAGE? Or have they just come back with a weak song? We'll know soon enough but let's face it, for every Moopy poster whose name doesn't end with 'tart' this is likely to be prime loo break fare.
3. Malin Christin - Synd om dig
(Jonathan Lavotha, Oliver Heinänen, Malin Christin)
Seen here misunderstanding how necklaces work, Malin Christin is probably the most unknown quality of this heat. She's the sister of Wiktoria, but she's also had a decent career as a pop songwriter, with credits including Destiny's Je Me Casse and Steps' Wasted Tears. Her recent solo EP is quite poptastic, so there's plenty to be optimistic about here. I do worry things might get a bit Whatever Happened To Baby Jane with big sis if she actually wins, but that's probably not too likely at this stage.
4. Tenori - La stella
(Dan Sundquist, Kristian Lagerström, Marcos Ubeda, Bobby Ljunggren, Sarah Börjesson Wassberg)
Serving 'mid-thirties millennials using papa's money to launch an ill thought-out startup', Tenori are in fact bringing the most 'could go either way' of all genres to this week's heat, operatic pop! They both have extensive stage credentials, and they claim to be mixing their classical impulses with 'with something slightly kitsch and pop-orientated'. La Voix part two incoming? Colour me intrigued, for now...
5. Medina - In i dimman
(Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt, Sami Rekik, Dino Medanhodzic, Ali Jammali)
Pictured here serving classic 'Gay or European? (Dalston scene queen mix)' realness, Medina are a bit of a casting coup for Melfest, having enjoyed a string of massive local hits in the early 2010s. They've been focusing on solo projects of late, so Melfest is a suitably high-profile launchpad for their comeback. SAMI (yellow shirt) was actually here last year with the surprise NQ 90-talet, but he probably didn't mind too much as it went on to be one of the biggest hits of that year's Contest anyway. A quick sampling of their hits suggests this probably won't really be for US, but they are promising 'Dance, joy, trumpets and shouting!' so at least they probably won't bore us to death. Unlike...
6. Angelino - The End
(Angelino Markenhorn, Julie Aagaard, Melanie Wehbe, Thomas Steengaard)
Oh lord. We may have seen off one acoustic drear-merchant last week, but don't think for one moment that we're out of the woods yet - there's always more. This one is relatively little-known to the Swedish public, and as far as we know Anna Bergendahl never noshed off one of his parents, but nevertheless there's been a building rumble of hype around this entry as one of the strongest competitors of the year. Obviously I will attempt to keep an open mind until I've actually hear.... oh who am I kidding? KILL IT WITH FIRE!
7. Klara Hammarström - Run To The Hills
(Jimmy ‘Joker’ Thörnfeldt, Julie Aagaard, Anderz Wrethov, Klara Hammarström)
Last and certainly not least, our great blonde hope for 2022! Klara of course had a bit of a breakthrough year in 2021, battling through AC to score a very respectable 6th place with her bacofoil-wrapped power-pop anthem Beat of Broken Hearts. For her third consecutive appearance, she's promising something 'bigger and better' - and the fact that she's been handed this running order position suggests this might be more than hot air. The last time the pimp slot recipient failed to go Direkt was Loreen in 2017. Hopefully this won't prove to be Klara's Statements moment, although on reflection that might actually be kind of iconic?
Schedule
Wednesday: Press reviews
Thursday: SNIPPETS
Friday: Rehearsal clips
Saturday: LIVE SHOW (7pm UK time)
*breathes heavily into paper bag*ANYWAY, here are your players this week...
1. Anna Bergendahl - Higher Power
(Anna Bergendahl, Thomas G:son, Bobby Ljunggren, Erik Bernholm)
Considering how it all began, Dr Anna's Melfest second act has been remarkably good to her so far. Both Ashes to Ashes and Kingdom Come made strong showings, and she's managed to carve out a modestly successful sideline in Radio 2-friendly country-pop bangers like her recent hit Thelma & Louise. Really, she'd probably be just fine to hang up her stetson for now - but clearly the ghost of 2010 still haunts her, and I have a feeling that she just won't be able to rest until Sweden gives her another chance.
So far the buzz on this has been... modest, but with the songwriters from Kingdom Come all present and accounted for, she should be in a strong position this week. Though given previous voting breakdowns suggest her face is actively repellent to small children and teenagers, it might be squeaky bum time for Team Bergendahl if she has to go via the demographic breakdown...
2. Lillasyster - Till Our Days Are Over
(Jimmy Jansson, Palle Hammarlund, Ian-Paolo Lira, Martin Westerstrand)
Representing the affable office IT engineers who play punk in provincial pubs on the weekend and care just a little bit too much about Marvel movies, Lillasyster were a bit of a breakout in 2021, scoring a big streaming hit with 'Pretender' despite a surprise knockout in Andra Chansen. Getting a big hit outside the Contest almost always gives you a free pass for one more crack, so while it's no surprise to see Lillasyster back in the race, it is perhaps a touch surprising to see them tossed out in second - incidentally, the same position they were in last year. Counter-programming? SABOTAGE? Or have they just come back with a weak song? We'll know soon enough but let's face it, for every Moopy poster whose name doesn't end with 'tart' this is likely to be prime loo break fare.
3. Malin Christin - Synd om dig
(Jonathan Lavotha, Oliver Heinänen, Malin Christin)
Seen here misunderstanding how necklaces work, Malin Christin is probably the most unknown quality of this heat. She's the sister of Wiktoria, but she's also had a decent career as a pop songwriter, with credits including Destiny's Je Me Casse and Steps' Wasted Tears. Her recent solo EP is quite poptastic, so there's plenty to be optimistic about here. I do worry things might get a bit Whatever Happened To Baby Jane with big sis if she actually wins, but that's probably not too likely at this stage.
4. Tenori - La stella
(Dan Sundquist, Kristian Lagerström, Marcos Ubeda, Bobby Ljunggren, Sarah Börjesson Wassberg)
Serving 'mid-thirties millennials using papa's money to launch an ill thought-out startup', Tenori are in fact bringing the most 'could go either way' of all genres to this week's heat, operatic pop! They both have extensive stage credentials, and they claim to be mixing their classical impulses with 'with something slightly kitsch and pop-orientated'. La Voix part two incoming? Colour me intrigued, for now...
5. Medina - In i dimman
(Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt, Sami Rekik, Dino Medanhodzic, Ali Jammali)
Pictured here serving classic 'Gay or European? (Dalston scene queen mix)' realness, Medina are a bit of a casting coup for Melfest, having enjoyed a string of massive local hits in the early 2010s. They've been focusing on solo projects of late, so Melfest is a suitably high-profile launchpad for their comeback. SAMI (yellow shirt) was actually here last year with the surprise NQ 90-talet, but he probably didn't mind too much as it went on to be one of the biggest hits of that year's Contest anyway. A quick sampling of their hits suggests this probably won't really be for US, but they are promising 'Dance, joy, trumpets and shouting!' so at least they probably won't bore us to death. Unlike...
6. Angelino - The End
(Angelino Markenhorn, Julie Aagaard, Melanie Wehbe, Thomas Steengaard)
Oh lord. We may have seen off one acoustic drear-merchant last week, but don't think for one moment that we're out of the woods yet - there's always more. This one is relatively little-known to the Swedish public, and as far as we know Anna Bergendahl never noshed off one of his parents, but nevertheless there's been a building rumble of hype around this entry as one of the strongest competitors of the year. Obviously I will attempt to keep an open mind until I've actually hear.... oh who am I kidding? KILL IT WITH FIRE!
7. Klara Hammarström - Run To The Hills
(Jimmy ‘Joker’ Thörnfeldt, Julie Aagaard, Anderz Wrethov, Klara Hammarström)
Last and certainly not least, our great blonde hope for 2022! Klara of course had a bit of a breakthrough year in 2021, battling through AC to score a very respectable 6th place with her bacofoil-wrapped power-pop anthem Beat of Broken Hearts. For her third consecutive appearance, she's promising something 'bigger and better' - and the fact that she's been handed this running order position suggests this might be more than hot air. The last time the pimp slot recipient failed to go Direkt was Loreen in 2017. Hopefully this won't prove to be Klara's Statements moment, although on reflection that might actually be kind of iconic?
Schedule
Wednesday: Press reviews
Thursday: SNIPPETS
Friday: Rehearsal clips
Saturday: LIVE SHOW (7pm UK time)
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Well not so much the one on the left OBVIOUSLY
