Melodifestivalen Semi Final 2 Preview
I usually like to do a brief review of last week’s action but I’m not sure how much value that has considering the app vote failure- we’ll never really be certain what would have happened. Cornelia has moved into favourite however following that semi win and a fair amount of hype and positive reviews. Anyway, on to this week…
Liamoo - ‘Bluffin’
Our weekly Weeknd wannabe this time comes from Liamoo and it’s a stronger one. His bigger name and the songwriting team meant that was always more likely but there’s nothing too special here and the lack of staging is a little curious. I never thought I’d be calling for svt to throw more at something but I’m not convinced by his stage presence to carry a fairly repetitive song. This is all for further down the line however- he’s going direkt and as winner of the semi.
Niello & Lisa Ajax - ‘Tror Du Att Jag Bryr Mig’
On the one hand, Lisa is one of the more well known names and Niello boosts that but on the other I do get the impression she’s not as popular as is made out- she certainly falls into that b tier of melfest regulars rather than the top dogs who you expect to be challenging. If this was in unknown hands we’d be saying this was gone so I’m not too optimistic, this will do very poorly with older app users and has to pray that the app is in use too.
Samira Manners - ‘I Want To Be Loved’
You get a lot of variance with these at Melfest and Samira isn’t a million miles away from Cornelia Jakobs last week in terms of a hit or miss and understand it either way. Samira looks a bit uncomfortable up there and the eye contact is a bit much at times, as is the accent possibly.
Alvaro Estrella - ‘Suave’
Alvaro is happy in his little groove and this is a better package than his previous efforts with a lot more being thrown at this too in terms of production. I don’t think this as much of a glow up as others do- the main difference this year is the debate is 2nd or 3rd rather than 3rd or 4th…
Browsing Collection - ‘Face In The Mirror’
I quite like the intro here and some of the lighting effects but find this finds its zone a little too much as it goes on- becoming a bit more ‘standard genre entry’ than anything interesting. Understandable if it does come last but not the worst package in the semi.
John Lundvik - ‘Anglavakt’
Like Bengtsson last week, we have an act here pushing his luck if he wants to keep his fine record going. John is a great performer and much liked by the Swedish public which is the main thing going for him here and despite this clearly being his weakest effort yet, I’d also say he has overachieved previously too given his material and is dangerous to oppose.
Tone Sekelius - ‘My Way’
This is a real test of external factors (fan base, narrative, even running order) vs song, staging and performance. The latter three are poor and it’s a particularly poor staging for the last slot which I don’t expect to win over any casual viewers.
Once again the market looks pretty right in that we have a clear frontrunner followed by a group of 2 and 4. My guess for the final standings is:
Liamoo
John Lundvik
Alvaro Estrella
Niello & Lisa Ajax
Browsing Collection
Samira Manners
Tone Sekelius
I’m not really interested in what’s almost a coin toss for 2nd/3rd or trying to find the last entry for the semi. Tone offers value for last if you believe the higher quality of every other act will make the difference.