It’s one of the most anticipated national finals of the season. Now Swedish broadcaster SVT has revealed the running order of the four semi-finals in Melodifestivalen 2017.
The running order was unveiled in a special presentation hosted by Melfest 2017 co-host Clara Henry. The big announcement was made by show boss Christer Björkman on the live stream.
In a change from recent years, three of the four the coveted closing slots have been given to Melodifestivalen newcomers. 2012 champ Loreen is the only returning artist to get a closing slot.
While the last position is has previously been considered as reserved for songs likely to win, that’s not always the case. 2016 Melfest winner Frans performed fifth in his semi-final, 2014 winner Sanna Nielsen performed sixth in hers, and 2013 winner Robin Stjernberg performed third. In short, anything is possible.
Much effort goes into determining the order of the songs. Each show contains songs in a mix of genres and languages, and thought is given to ensuring the overall song order creates an entertaining television show.
The running order was presented using the traditional Melfest sticky note system. Songs are colour-coded according to genre, with a red asterisk denoting songs with Swedish lyrics and a blue asterisk denoting a song with a female writer. This year’s song colours are:
- Bright pink: upbeat, female artist
- Light Pink: mid-tempo/ballad, female artist
- Green: upbeat, male artist
- Yellow-green: mid-tempo/ballad, male artist
- Orange-yellow: Traditional (includes the darker orange given to Jon Henrik)
The entries are then carefully arranged to ensure each of the four shows has a good blend of styles, and that each episode will provide a good night’s entertainment.
Startordningen i #melfest klar! @BorisLumbana inleder, och sist ut blir @LOREEN_TALHAOUI. Se varför här: https://t.co/qAguleyBJu pic.twitter.com/uueKIwZYy4
— Melodifestivalen (@SVTmelfest) January 9, 2017
Semi-final 1: Gothenburg (4 February)
- Boris René – “Her Kiss”
- Adrijana – “Amare”
- Dinah Nah – “One More Night”
- De Vet Du – “Road Trip”
- Charlotte Perrelli – “Mitt liv”
- Ace Wilder – “Wild Child”
- Nano – “Hold On”
Semi-final 2: Malmö (11 February)
- Mariette – “A Million Years”
- Roger Pontare – “Himmel och hav
- Etzia – “Up”
- Allyawan – “Vart haru varit”
- Dismissed – “Hearts Align”
- Lisa Ajax – “I Don’t Give A”
- Benjamin Ingrosso – “Good Lovin'”
Semi-final 3: Växjö (18 February)
- Robin Bengtsson – “I Can’t Go On”
- Krista Siegfrids – “Snurra min jord”
- Anton Hagman – “Kiss You Goodbye”
- Jasmine Kara – “Gravity”
- Owe Thörnqvist – “Boogieman Blues”
- Bella & Filippa – “Crucified”
- The Fooo Conspiracy – “Gotta Thing”
Semi-final 4: Skellefteå (25 February)
- Jon Henrik Fjällgren feat. Aninia – “En värld full av strider”
- Alice – “Running with Lions”
- Les Gordons – “Bound to Fall”
- Wiktoria – “As I Lay Me Down”
- Axel Schylström – “När ingen ser”
- Sara Varga and Juha Mulari – “Du får inte ändra på mig
- Loreen – “Statements”
What do you think of the Melfest 2017 running order? Are you surprised by any of the placings? Share your thoughts below!
Malin I have been watching it since last year. Much more interesting than “JuJu on That Beat” I must say.
Is there really persons outside sweden that watch the swedish melfest?
Kinda loving how much of a bloodbath this entire MF season will be—even without any previews, it’s probably safe to say Sweden can easily land in the top 5 again this year based on both performer/writer talent and how nicely the acts are distributed.
@Robyn Gallagher Yes I loved YOUniverse <3
Dang so many big names again this year! I wonder if Sweden will go for another fresh newcomer lile Frans or get behind a well known comeback artist like Wiktoria, Ace Wilder or Loreen??
I would point out that while it is in Loreen’s favour to qualify from the Semis, it won’t necessarily be in her favour come the draw for the Final. We’ll still have to wait and see for that.
Undeniably, MF has incredible talent, especially this year. I wonder if I can move to Sweden one day… 🙂
http://blogg.svt.se/melodifestivalen-expertbloggen/christers-hemliga-fargkod-ger-nya-ledtradar-infor-melodifestivalen-2017/
link to the notes and descriptions (in swedish) but the coloured notes are there.
Ultimately singing in last just means they’re the most hyped up artist of the year, so they wanna save them for last to ensure everyone’s watching, nothing more nothing less.
This is gonna be one of the toughest Melfest years ever, there are so many great names, and a lot of interesting newcomers who may surprise too! 🙂
Does Jamine Kara’s song count as upbeat? Just wondering cos she has a darker pink stickie note.
Sweden never has time to change it. Their final is normally just two days before the songs need to be sent into the EBU. SVT puts the Melodifestivalen final on the preceding Saturday before the Monday Head of Delegation meeting when the songs should be submitted. They would only have one day to work something out. That’s not enough times to do anything.
@EugeneESCUK, Eugene, body, sad to read that you not vlogging any more. It was always fun to read you. But hey, maybe a lineup of 2017 hopefuls will be so amazing that you decide to come back? 🙂
I’m not sure what to expect from Loreen (who already is kind of being overrated by lots of people before Melodifestivalen has even started). She hasn’t exactly had much hits yet since she won Eurovision, and anything is possible, so who knows what she may compose or perform.
@Jonas: as you can see in the article, Loreen’s song is called “Statements”.
Though very likely to get through her semi, Loreen is not a shoo-in to win. In fact, I think there are so many talented singers this year, it’s really difficult to call! The semi positions don’t favour many of best bets, so we’ll see! My fave is Jon-Henrik! 😀
The fourth semi-final should be good.
Loreen is not actually certain to go through!
Is Loreen’s song called “Statement” (like in the post-it notes) or “Statements” (plural)?
Why am I not surprised? Jon Henrik to open the last round and Loreen to close it out. Those two will probably head straight to the final, with Wiktoria a possible Andra Chansen nod.
And am I mistaken, or did Måns get to sing last in the 4th round of MF 2015?
Hmm … I guess Loreen wins then, with the super-talented-so-she-never-has-to-mime-to-a-hidden-“backing”-vocalist Ace Wilder coming in a distant second. Thanks, all you fortune tellers, for saving me the trouble of watching Melfest this year.
Remind me again … how many hits has Loreen had since Euphoria? Because whenever I tally them up, I keep coming up with a really, really low number. Just sayin’.
Feelin’ snarky today, I is.
Loreen has never been conventional, so it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if her entry is something unexpected. Perhaps a quirky, somewhat inaccessible slow-burner, or a subtle avant-garde performance piece. Who knows? It could be a comple 180 from “Euphoria”.
The only reason it’s in the final perfomance slot is because it is the most anticipated, and will ensure people keep watching to the very end. In my view, it’s not by any means certain that Loreen will come out as the winner.
Eurovision winner and singer who sang for Sweden and Eurovsion sometimes flop at Melodifestivalen.
Carola flop in second chance in 2008 and after that she did n t compete again
Charlotte Perrelli flop in semi in 2012, she didnt got ticket for second chance
Nanne Gronvall flop in second chance 2007 and like Caroal didn t compete again.
Afro dite flop in semi 2012
We have so few singer who represented Sweden at Eurovision and after that never get ticjket to represent Sweden second time at Eurovisiion.
Has the Post-It board (like the color coded one one last year) been posted yet?
A lot of people are WAY OVERHYPING Loreen 2017. Even if she performs a good song, I’m sure many will be disapointed due to elevating and comparing her to Euphoria.
Keep your standards low, so, if the song is actually great, you’ll feel great euphoria about it.
Loreen and Charlotte Pirrelli are both there to promote new albums. I don’t think they really care about if they win Melfest 2017 or not to be honest!
MEANWHILE IN RUSSIA
In an interview to RIA Novosti news agency, the head of Music division of Channel One Russia stated that “We haven’t yet decided who will represent our country at ESC. Several candidates are considered and Alexander Panayotov could be among them.” https://ria.ru/culture/20170109/1485320977.html
As stated bellow only Måns managed to win MF starting last in the 4th semifinal. It’s not a sure fireproof way to win. The last act is usually reserved for the most hyped, talked about entry BEFORE the actual contest. Last year Molly was the most talked about, until Frans happened. Danny was the most talked about in 2012 before Loreen surprised people. So someone starting last doesn’t guarantee win, it just means that Björkman is well aware of the hype! That being said, I’m not going to say she’s already won and no one can catch up, but I’m… Read more »
Are they gonna release the sticky note board so that we can have an idea of what style of song each artist is performing?
Mans is the only person to from 2010-16 that won Melfest from singing last in the 4th semi. So let’s all calm down about anointing Loreen the winner. Most recent Melfest winners have been someone who performed in the 4th Semi, who has come close to winning before. So that would make Wiktoria the odds on favorite.
Love how people are claiming SVT want Loreen to win cause of her draw. Reminder that not everyone who performs last in the 4th semi are automatically winners (Example: Ulrik, Danny, Molly Sanden, Love Generation etc) Wait tI’ll we hear the songs folks, we all thought Molly would win last year, but Frans surprised us all
Go Loreen! Go Ace Wilder!
Melfest is the best NF.
_Peyton22
producers are preparing Danny to win in 2012 and he finished on 2 place two time in raw. He sang last in semi 4 and last in final 2012 , Loreen sang lasti in semi 1 and 6 of 10 in final.
In past first and last song in semi and final is not classic ballad and last spot in semi 4 and final most time got hot favorite for win. When start of voting start from begginig hot favorite got to sang 1 in final, when star of voting start after last song, hot favorite got to sang 10 .
I think the producers are preparing for Loreen to win the whole thing. She has the last slot in the last semi-final; who can blame them? Everything Loreen does is amazing and there is already so much hype surrounding her.
I think that giving the last slot to newcomers is a good change. It creates uncertainty, because we expected Charlotte Perelli, Ace Wilder, Wiktoria and other big names to take the last spots (bar Loreen because she actually did). The opening acts sound exciting based on past songs, but my god is semi final 4 the bloodbath this year.
If Loreen’s song is not good (which is almost impossible), I will be utterly disappointed.
It will be painful and i cant wait.
My prediction right now before we hear the songs (Based on past entries, discography and fandom):
Semi 1 – Ace Wilder and Nano
Semi 2 – Mariette and Lisa Ajax
Semi 3 – Robin Bengtsson and The Foo Conspiracy
Semi 4 – Loreen and Wiktoria
Nano is going to do better than ppl think, could be a contender and reach top 5 in the final. I think Benjamin Ingrosso could flop and miss out on the final, Lisa Ajax and Mariette is far more appealing to me as a swede..
Believe the winners in each heat will be Nano, Lisa Ajax, The Fooo Conspiracy and Loreen
@Eurovizijos, Rigging how? Having the last spot just means they’re usually the artist that everyone’s the most hyped about, it doesn’t make you more likely to win just because you’re in the last spot.
I’m concerned for Jön and Mariette since they got the first slot… and srsly Loreen got the last one… give me a break…
My winners for each semi-final are: Ace Wilder, Lisa Ajax, Robin Bengtsson, and Loreen.
Loreen is gonna be strong fav to win and the ludicrous position to perform is totally rigged
So Loreen song will be ”Statements” ? Are they allowed to change the song ?
I admit I’m not Loreen fan, and I don’t believe in her chances, but I wonder about rules.
Damn I’m concerned for Ace, Lisa and especially Wiktoria with those slots
It’s funny how they’re rigging this into Loreen’s favour
That last semi final is gonna be by far the most spectaculair.