Semi-Final 4 of Melodifestivalen 2016 was all about genre-hopping. From japanime-inspired pop to tropical dance to old school schlager, SVT treated us to seven more (mostly) high-energy acts. But from the haze of flashing lights and smoke and thrusting bodies, only two acts have won and advanced direkt till final: Molly Sandén with “Youniverse” and Frans with “If I Were Sorry”. Two more acts — Dolly Style with “Rollercoaster“ and Panetoz with “Håll Om Mig Hårt” — may join them in the March 12 finale. They made it to Andra Chansen — the second chance relegation round, which will take place next weekend.
MELODIFESTIVALEN 2016: DELTÄVLING 4, Gävle
SEMI FINAL 4 WINNERS: DIREKT TILL FINAL
Frans with “If I Were Sorry”
Easily the most likeable act of the night, Frans didn’t need fancy pyros or backing dancers to slay. He stood alone on a dark stage with a simple black screen that occasionally illuminated to spell out words. His voice seemed wistful and hurt, and yet strong and empowered, building out the deceptively simple lyrics, which actually tell a nice story of being hurt and remembering to put yourself first afterwards. It felt real, authentic and soulful — qualities that the technically perfect acts at Melfest sometimes lack. The man felt this and it showed.
Read the full “If I Were Sorry” lyrics
Molly Sandén with “Youniverse”
I didn’t like the snippet that leaked, but the staging really elevated this. In the opening moments Molly seemed to be submerged in smoke. The lighting was stunning and the effect magical. As the song progressed, however, things started to look a bit tatty and cheap — as when we saw the oversized house fans blowing up her dress. The song itself is rather bland. All the bookies hype must stem from the staging because the melody is quite generic and, after a while, a tad irritating. The production, of course, is top-notch. But this song seems to lack soul.
Read the full “Youniverse” lyrics
ANDRA CHANSEN
Panetoz with “Håll Om Mig Hårt”
Finally — a group more concerned with having fun than looking polished. This is a hot mess — especially the white guy who is always out-of-step — and that’s why it’s so endearing. The chorus feels very authentic to them and it brings a tropical — but not kitsch — vibe to chilly Sweden. This feels slightly cheap but is just so inviting. Visually they gave this texture by stepping into the audience and actually engaging with the crowd. From the platform island to the runway down the side, they made this pop no matter where they were. My favourite shot was when they turned around on the main stage and you could see the audience behind them.
Read the full “Håll Om Mig Hårt” lyrics
Dolly Style with “Rollercoaster” 
The lights went down and the glow sticks came out! Musically and visually this was bright, bright and brighter. The girls wore reflective skirts that wouldn’t be out of place on a solar field in Spain, and they teamed those thigh-skimming pieces with their signature neon pastel wigs and bunny ears. It was honestly like a cotton candy factory exploded in Gävle. At times they seemed to ride a roller coaster courtesy of some amazing LED effects and their unstoppable energy. The lyrics are simple — yes, they are on a rollercoaster, oh whoa whoa whoa — but the song is a major earworm, whether you like it or not.
Read the full “Rollercoaster” lyrics
ELIMINATED ACTS
FIFTH PLACE
Eclipse with “Runaways”
They stoked controversy when they claimed that all the other Melfest acts think the same. Well here’s some news for Eclipse — your rock entry looked like every other rock entry we’ve ever seen at Melodifestivalen! Red lights, white strobes a bit of fire and the drummer seated on an elevated platform — been there, done that. Of course, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it! This looked great and they have strong vocals. Plus the song has a vintage feel that is somehow still contemporary. They may nod to Jon Bon Jovi but it feels very Eclipse.
Read the full “Runaways” lyrics
SIXTH PLACE
Martin Stenmarck with “Du Tar Mig Tillbaks”
Martin is a sexy bitch, but this performance is just so cruise ship. The staging is non-existent, the melody uninspired, and the overall feeling one of, “Can this end already?” I’m beyond disappointed. The “blurry” camera effect, whereby he and everything else goes out of focus, probably reflects the nostaglic feel of his song and the fact memories fade in and out of focus. But it just gave me a headache since I don’t understand the lyrics. This belongs on an Oldies radio station — not at Eurovision!
Read the full “Du Tar Mig Tillbaks” lyrics
SEVENTH PLACE
Linda Bengtzing with “Killer Girl”
Linda rocked a shaved head as she played the part of empowered man-eater. It was very believable and grew quite a bit in my estimation over the rehearsal clip. It felt dated and got a tad repetitive, but Linda has natural swagger and energy that you can’t help but love — even if you dislike the song. I won’t download this, but I’m happy to watch it again during the recap.
Read the full “Killer Girl” lyrics
READ MORE MELODIFESTIVALEN NEWS
So, here now my observation of the 4th heat: 9.363 Molly Sandén (finalist) It seems like everyone is into curtains this year, yes? I gather that her stage director was using a few pages from the Loreen playbook, no? In any case, I was impressed. 9.325 Panetoz (Andra Chansen) Suffer no delusions; they are fun to watch, and they spare no expense at putting on a show. Dirty shame that they, among the strongest of A.C. contenders, wound up paired with another very strong A.C. contender in Molly P.H. I didn’t want to lose either of them before the final.… Read more »
Ace Wilder will win it all
Isa will win the whole show.
Frans is this year Sweden’s secret weapon, right? I think he will win Melodifestivalen and be the host in Stockholm
Out of the four qualifiers, I have to say I like Dolly Style’s song the best, and I actually think it’s the best of all this year’s qualifiers (!). Just a perfectly written dance pop song that reminds me of Nicki Minaj’s collaborations with RedOne, minus the innuendo and explicit lyrics. Not trying to be too original or too modern, just going for it. Kind of like Dinah Nah last year. And they did it. Frans has a good entry too. He misses notes a little too often for my tastes, but he has a folk style of singing so… Read more »
Ace or Robin must win.They are the best! Ace has a very good presentation. Robin a very good song.Please Sweden sent one of them and you will win again.Frans or Oscar would be a great risk because their songs are weird.
Frans seems so…straight. That’s not a bad thing, of course, but he is so….I dunno, something. He could do with just a touch of “gay”. I like him, though.
Yassss! Very happy with Frans. Let’s see what the final bring us. My top:
1. Robin
2. Frans
3. Oscar
4. Boris
The girls really dissapointed in general.
I really don’t get why people are trashing Molly’s song just because she was an early favourite and you all have already another song you like. Her voice is incredible, production is great, staging good (a little messy with that wind machines). There is no lack of soul in this tune, it definitely depends on the listener. I understand and feel every second of it. Frans’s song is nice, a bit repetitive, I don’t know how he managed to win the audience. I think he will lose the international jury. At this point the winner of melfest can be everyone’s… Read more »
OMG the final will be close, with ace, wiktoria, oscar,molly, robin, and possibly some more singer vying to actually win. I am not sure how the final will turn out..
Ughh why do they start to hype that Frans guy. His song is cute but after one minute its getting very repetitive.
Loved Frans, had much more personality than Molly. I think he even made her look a bit old and fake.
All in all good choices and I feel that the final is rather open at this point.
Love Dolly Style! Hope they make it to the finals!
Everyone in Sweden knows the song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxaxO3vQo_0
For those who wonders why he is so well known in Sweden:
He did a very famous song about Zlatan Ibrahimovic 10 years ago when he was 6. Everyone knows him. As Sweden sees Zlatan as more of a King than our actual King, Frans has a very special place in our hearts. Frans song is very unique for the competition as well, so I want him to win!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fRNIdZe05I
Its a year with mediocre songs so Sweden maybe can win eurovision with Ace, Robin or Frans.There is a possibility of that.I know that is early but Sweden , Norway or Holland will win these year!
Am I the only one who thinks Molly was similar to Loreen? The styling, the staging, mysterious lights, similar hook? Only with a lesser song?
There’s something about Molly I can’t stand. She feels polished and perfect, not real. A good singer and song but not worth the hype. Where’s the authenticity?
Frans surprised me. The best song of the contest, so different from the usual stuff and fresh on it’s own right..Should win but knowing Swedish people he probably won’t win.
I must say “Youniverse” grew higher on my estimation on the live version. Molly’s vocals were excellent, emotional but strong at the same time. Really nice verses and a catchy chorus to end with a euphoria type key change make up for a 9/10 from me. I can see why people like Frans, but I find the song to be quite irritating. Actually, my second favorite was Linda, I think it was the best schlager in the contest, it was really catchy. Martin and Eclipse left me indifferent; Dolly Style were better this year, I think they kinda deserved the… Read more »
Duels will probably be:
Samir&Viktor VS Albin&Matthias
SaRaha VS Panetoz
Molly PH VS Boris René
Isa VS Dolly Style
@Loo: After his performance and the public reaction specially the explanation provided by the host on the kid … it became clear that regardless the song, the kid is hugely popular in Sweden … and that always catches ESC fans off-guard Based on this I do believe that Frans is clearly the closest rival to Robin from the 1st semi final. No other acts had such a big hall reception as those 2 nor even Wiktoria nor Oscar. But as fat as juries voting is concerning it’s not so clear as sadly MF 2016 has proven to be a very… Read more »
I am so frustrated that Frans qualified for the final, for real No me gusta…..
You guys outside Sweden don’t understand the swedes relationship with Frans. He became a huge phenomenon in Sweden when he was six. He will win the televoting in the final with a landslide!
Btw guys! In the program Gina Dirawi just revealed that Lynda Woodruff will be back in a couple of weeks!
Now does that mean in the final of Melodifestivalen or also Eurovision?!? No matter what, it´s prolly gonna be awesome and hilarious! 🙂
Molly will likely not win the final. Wiktoria and Oscar are front-runners..with ace wilder
Still would have put dolly style and panetoz to the final because they entertained me the most and they were my favourites of the night but I’m happy they both made it to AC
Weakest semi in my opinion. Youniverse is completely overrated, although I see the merit in the production of the act. Frans is another “pretty boy” that will battle it out for top 5.
And Dolly Style is a damn earworm, hope they can make it to the final!
I wanna see an AC duel between Samir och Viktor and Panetoz. That would be interesting and plausible, actually, since they’re virtually similar, at least they share voters. Besides, putting Samir och Viktor with any other act would be just cruel.
How did Frans make it through? I don’t see why it’s so hyped – the accent was put on and irritating, the song is incredibly dull and he’s not even hot! Panteoz or Dolly Style deserved DTF more than Frans in my opinion.
And of course ‘Youniverse’ was going to qualify – its Molly Sandén.
I liked both of them, although I didn’t LOVE any of the songs in this semi.
None of them is a winner though (hopefully).
So glad for Frans! He deserved it! Together with beautiful Molly, she was amazing!
That was very quick, Wiwi. I too was surprised by Molly’s performance. She rocked the stage live than the teaser. Franz was so-so. But at least Panetoz and Dolly Style made it to Andra Chansen. Dolly Style only need to work on their performance.
If I were Sorry deserved it, would be nice to see him in ESC, even though it is almost impossible.
I’m very surprised with Molly, turned out to be far better than I expected! Still not a winner, but also not a disappointment!
And Frans is the Jon Henrik of 2016, I feel like.