Sweden often take a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach at Eurovision. And that’s the thinking behind their staging for Benjamin Ingrosso’s first rehearsal of “Dance You Off”. They’ve shipped over his LED-light tube staging and have kept the colours almost exactly the same. The white light that was almost blinding at times in Melodifestivalen has been toned down ever so slightly — ultimately meaning we can see more of Benjamin.
He’s also dumped the exact jacket that he wore in Melfest, or at least for now. He’s still wearing a shiny black leather jacket, but the dangling straps were absent on this particular garment. One other change was the introduction of a wider camera shot. It makes it obvious that Benjamin is in the arena and not just in a music video. It might be necessary for some people to buy that this is truly live, but at the same time it also takes us out of his “world” that’s been created on stage.
Benjamin’s vocal also grew in confidence as each run through went on. If you weren’t a fan of the track and staging before, then there’s nothing new to win people over — but it could certainly be effective on people who have yet to see it at all.
Benjamin Ingrosso — “Dance You Off”: Reviews and Reactions
Sweden: First rehearsal at Eurovision 2018
Sweden: First press conference 2018
Read all of our Eurovision rehearsal reviews
Read all of our Sweden Eurovision news here
Photo & Footage: Courtesy of EBU & RTP
It was more or less what we expected. They brought the structure they had in MF. Sleek performance.
Elevator music
Look at the amount of comments about Sweden compared to example Ukraine. Sweden seems to be more interesting than Ukraine and some other countries.
I noticed that aswell! I looked on the comments of every country’s first rehearsal and Sweden has the most commented post.
Everybody talk about genetric pop as something bad. Why? If a lot of people like some kind of music in a country, what’s wrong whith that? Even for wiwi it isn’t good enought. Is’n that a little snobby attitude?
If most people listen to pop in sweden, why is’t it ok if we send those kind of songs?
Just wanted to say that it´s a good comment. Well said. And I agree with it.
Since this is the kind of music that many (not everyone) listens to. Both in Sweden and many parts of the world. It´s trendy. Can understand that this isn´t everyones type and taste of music.
Me for an example know many who likes to listen to BTS and Kpop, and i´m not the biggest fan of it. But I respect that people like that.
Unless there are some subtle subliminal messages in those light stripes, staging does not look like much. Generic staging for a generic pop song that the huge Swedish propaganda is trying to sell us every year as the most contemporary and innovative and trendy cool thing that ever existed.
Why are people so hateful. I don’t mean to be rude but… have you been sleeping well or eating something bad, perhaps a lemon. I thought of what I saw was really good. Think that he can poll this of. So PLEASE don’t hate me. Don’t answer this comment. IMO
Background song.
It’s time to take your medication sweetie.
Great presentation as always. Mediocre song though. They had a weak Melodifestivalen this year. Sweden is usually favored by the juries but at least they love Eurovision. They always took it seriously when the majority of western european countries were too lazy to send something interesting (but kept complaining about how the eastern countries were dominating the contest). I am glad this has changed and we now see more and more countries stepping up their game.
There is a youtubeclip where the 20 most favored and disfavored songs by the jury is shown. Sweden has one on the list; Robin with You . I think Eric Saade was more liked by televoters than by the jury.. It is a myth that juries always favors Swedn. The most favored is Malta. The least are Austria and Poland. I also seen a chart where voting bias are calculated. The voting bias in the Nordic countries exist but is much less than the Balkan and some other countries especially in eastern Europe. Please stop hating Sweden for taking the… Read more »
not a winner to me..bad song with good staging
the swedish eurofans can be really annoying with all that ‘fast food is back’ talk. It’s literally on every video of ESC now.
Stop making stupid people famous, Wiwi.
Looks good…
That outfit tho…big NO from me.
I think that video is from Montenegro’s rehearsal, or it’s just showing that to me.
Boring. At least Norway is fun. Dotter should have gone to Lisbon instead.
Sweden is a rich country and they take pop music and Melodiefestivalen( or whatisname) very seriously, they are kinda experts in this field, when they announce the winner it’s already fired up and ready to go, and this also contributes to high ranking with the bookies, with OGAE, with Wiwis. Other countries are doing it much more low budget, with garage bands, new comers without big production teams, not really prepared for the big game, and they come across as clumsy, ridiculous even and they have to painfully rise in the eyes of those judging Eurovision step by step. Entries… Read more »
(Praying this doesn’t sound objectifying or rude, but wow he has a nice backside.)
It’s a good song, I guess. I’m impressed with their ability to transition the Melfest performance onto the Lisbon stage. His vocals are a little shaky and could do with some work. But it’s nothing that I don’t think he could fix by Thursday. We’ll have to see, though.
What vocals? He barely sings… And it’s not a hidden choir contest 😉
@Davve
He has a very weak and thin voice, which is why he permanently needs 5 people doing backing vocals for him during practically the entire song,,,
His backside gets a workout for sure 😉
It’s like they purposly chose that shot of his bubble butt:)
I don’t understand why y’all keep bringing up the reaction video all the time. That’s his opinion like you guys opinion on here. still not a reason to hate on the song tho.
I think this is a definite top 5 in the final. KOM IGEN SVERIGE!
Wel you seem to be a big fan of Swedish crap; you love IKEA and H&M as well ?
Needing the bring the LEDS with him just goes to show how uncreative his song and his team are. He still needs to rely on them for success even though everyone else has found a way not use them
There is no LED here, only lights
I’m just here to throw shade. And I still’ve got plenty of shade to throw.
He sucks.
Sweden’s great, always creative performances.
But he sucks.
There. Said it. Imma gonna move one now.
LOL
Is it you?
Yes, it’s me honey Yaa. (You have a weird name but I love you anyway. Hallsways, fóreber, en mi corazón.)
My “move one” was kinda unfortunate tho, just read it “move uóne”.
Héllô?! Is it me who you’re looking for?…
Probably not…
Ok, no more trolling from me.
Don’t you all kill yourselves too badly. Do it gently.
Sleep well Yaa, and everyone else. Honestly. 🙂
No surprises here… It’s the same performance from the national final.
The staging is spectacular and looks like a music video.
His vocals are shaky.
I am not a fan of this song either, but this is a sure qualifier.
The song is ok. A nice pop song too focused on visuals. But I guess we also judge the artist before voting…. and after what he said he lost a lot of support from eurofans (and maybe the juries). 19-yeared old Amaia from Spain was asked some days ago which her favoutite artist and song was this year. She answered very humbly…. Please dont ask me that question. Benjamin should learn that humble attitudes spread more authenticity than your truth itself.
And you should learn that no one outside Wiwibloggs cares about ESC. Hell no one in real world cares about it. Juries especially
Spread it a bit out honey. Wiwiblogs and many eurofans at thousand of private parties to tell them all about him… More than you think. And honestly Denis, it’s about him only. I loooove Sweden and Sweds.
You do know Wiwibloggs is only for fan-boys right? Most don’t even know about it.
But keep telling yourself everybody is talking about it and some statements he said
Thanks Davve!
He will win the semi. Period.
Not sure about the judges… He is barely singing.
Somehow I feel that judges will go on Rybak…
However, Scandinavia will be strongly represented in the final… In my opinion, beside Iceland, we’ll see them all.
He showed his true colors in that reaction vid… He and his robotic performance are lucky to be in the second semi.
Get a hobby.
Yawn. Move on.
Absolutelu true !
I think Sweden, Russia and Australia are the most hated country in every comment section of YouTube or Wiwibloggs since I started following this 3 years ago. Overrated has been the most used word for their entries throughout these years. I’m curious if any of these three end up top 5 or top 10 in the final, how much hate will they get this year? By the way, I’m just an ordinary Asian fan.
Swedes gives us so much sugar that people just start to become diabetics…
Russians treat pople like sh**
Australians… why them and not Canada, Japan, Egypt, South Africa (that I would like to see in this contest)
Well.. the hate comes from the decisions… and somehow I think it started in 2008 thanks to.. yeeep -Russians.
With Sweden and Australia, its just resentment att their success.
saying Australia and Sweden are overrated is not hate.
They are indeed overrated. Not all the time. But most of the time.
From my perspective, they are just sending jury friendly songs every year. That doesn’t mean they are overrated, imo.
Never mind the rudeness if Benjamin. He was just being a dumb kid. What matters is that this entry is soooo boring!!! This will be my toilet break. If it qualifies it will be so undeserving!
*of
He wasn’t “just being a dumb kid”. It was regarding almost every song except his. A “dumb kid” would just say something stupid about one or a couple of them. Like the fart thing, could have been said by a dumb kid. But saying that the guitar is the artist and not the artist itself? It was mean-spirited. That video shouldn’t have been hid. Is it that bad if Sweden gets a bad position for one year? At least it would be a deserved bad position. And he should have made a sincere apology and not a five minute draft… Read more »
Excuse me! With all the comments you make here and so many of them so hurtful it’s easy to see that you are the desperate one.
“Buddy” you are the one that has to seek professional help as the only thing you do is trashing anyone that doesn’t like Sweden. Enough already of that!
Ser lovande ut med bakgrundsbelysningen. Är lite besviken över soudet från kören, men går kanske inte att få till det närmare det förinspelade?
Föredrog förra jackan även om det fanns irritation när den var nerhasad.
Skriver på svenska för jag orkar inte med sverigehat och tjafs. Mer intresserad vad ni från Sverige tycker?
Hoppas inte Benjamins misstag och det hat han får påverkar honom allt för mycket.
Detäralltidsverigehathär. Jag tycker precis tvärtom! Jag är besviken med bakgrundsbelysningen. Nu ser det bara ut som rör och inte LJUSrör. I melodifestivalen lös dom ett så häftigt sken, nu ser det mer ut som om det bara är vanliga rör i röd färg. Hoppas verkligen det ser annorlunda ut på TV för herregud vad besviken jag kommer bli annars, det knyter sig i magen allvarligt. Och tvärtom så älskade jag kören, tycker det låter helt perfekt. Och jag tror inte han påverkas av hatet alls. Det är bara vissa sidor där det är mycket hat. Han får hur mycket kärlek… Read more »
Första gången jag såg rören blev jag även skeptisk. Gick och jämförde samma parti i sången från mello, så då kändes det mer ok och lovande ut. Men lite orolig. Man såg även skarvarna tydligt. Det var inte så snyggt.
Hmmm. Nä, kören måste jag vänja mig vid.
Starting to get tired of Swedes who blame foreigners for being a ‘hater’ just because you don’t like the song or have opinions that is not 100 % positive to the Swedish entry. Tells more about you rather then they you call haters. Grown up and enjoy the diversity! Greetings from Norway and who admit that I skip the Norwegian entry when I hear it, just because I don’t like it. Good luck to both Sweden and Norway!
Vi har ju alltiid förinspelade körer i Mello vilket alltid blir spännande när man kommer till ESC. Jag tror inte det blir så fruktansvärt som det blev 2009. Jag tror vi fixar detta 🙂
Ja, det är ju som det är. Tycker lite känsla går förlorad, men samtidigt blir det ju lite mer organiskt, vilket blivitvså trendigt inom ESC.
It’s hate when you call a country horrible names. Tells more about you who give people a free pass rather then people who is against that kind of treatment.
Snälla, skippa tjafs Fan.
Alexander vän från Norge. We are people from sweden discussing things we like and don’t like whith our entry. i choose to do that in swedish so I don’t have to focus on hateful comments. Isn’t that ok?!
Davve. Ja, helt ok att tycka olika! Skönt bara att få tycka på svenska när man är usel på engelska som jag! Men visst kan vi ha schyst ton gentemot varandra. Ursäkta om du uppfattat mig som otrevlig, inte avsiktligt. : )
The problem is that you Swedes take this competition too serious. Please relax, have fun! Good luck to both Malin and Benjamin. And Mr. Rybak. And all the others. My favorite btw; Austria!
Do it like i do, downvote every comment written in swedish and move on. They do it cause they’re cowards.
Tyckte kören var osammanhängande (?) och lät för högt ibland. Hoppas de löser det!
Ja, var något med kören. Om det var osammanhängande eller vad vet jag inte. Men det är kanske små detaljer. Gillar man musikstilen så tror jag inte det påverkar om folk lägger en röst eller ej. Hoppas det. : )
Äsch, han vinner semin ändå!
So we in Sweden have become the new Macedonia i see when i read the comments. I think its great for us and Macedonia that we get EXTRA EXTRA attention every year from you guys. i love you<3
As for the staging only – why are the horizontal stripes so mindblowing to some people? I guess I’ll never know..
It’s simle. Not even LED, so I suppose any country could do the same if it would fit the song.
It’s just to copy ; )
Hands down best staging in the competition this year.
OMG this sucks … big time
So are you a person that cant write things like a mature person? sad to see…..
Get a life
The few changes are positive. It was indeed hard to see Benjamin’s face on Melfest and those fringes on his jacket were hideous (please, don’t bring them back). I still think that there should be a moment where he leaves his props behind and interact with the audience, because the whole thing sounds cold and not spontaneous enough. But yeah, the visuals are stunning, immersive and first time viewers will probably like it and won’t overthink about it like we do here.
The swedish audiens expect that the winner shall have very simular staging in ESC as in melfest. We would be “furious” if we vote for something that won’t be the same in ESC ; )
It makes sense, Elin. And usually Melfest winners’ performances are so polished and professional, that there aren’t many ways to improve them anyway. But I really think this entry lacks that moment in “Heroes” where Mans just left the choreography behind and had a great time with the audience. Though it was of course also choreographed. But I miss this “explosion”.
At the same time there has been critics from wiwi forexamle that there are camera angles that show the arena. They think that the feeling of the musicvideo get lost. It’s difficult to please everyone.
But if I’m not mistaken the Melfest performance also had a wider camera angle showing the arena towards the end. Maybe it lasted longer this time.
Yes, no ide how it will look like in Lisbon
Ha, ha that’s true. I have to admit a little embarest that I was a little dissapointed on Robin last year. To purple. That wasn’t how it was in melfest. ; )
Super….second best song after Belgium for me.
This is soo boring and calculated.
This is so winning the semifinal! And reaching top 10 like that, no problem. This could and will bring Sweden another top 5!
Yep.
Don’t count out Ukraine yet. They might be the winner of this semi.
Yeah no.
I just don’t care about this entry anymore after seeing Benjamin’s reaction to all Eurovision songs (still on the internet if you look for it). It was such a “privileged pretty white boy from a wealthy western european country makes fun of other countries and his colleagues (women especially).” I just don’t want to support such a person. What a je-je-je-je-jerk.
Here was me thinking it was a song contest, and that everyone is entitled to their opinions. BUT HEYYY.
Opinions – yes. Making fun of others in a rude way – not so much. Anyways, he voiced his opinions, and some people are now voicing their opinions of him
Absolutely! What a douche. Others would be more deserving of winning the semi-final.
The most succesfull people I know are douchebags, so of course he will do well, lol!
You’re probably right, unfortunately. But not getting a lot of public votes could be actually a nice humbling experience for him.
And yet they wont
Im pretty sure he will come higher in life then you ever will. So you are a saint that have never done something wrong in your life? the next jesus christ maybe?
You don’t have to be Jesus to have a basic human decency you know
He should have thought about what hes doing
Its SOOO over now. I dont even remember it anymore. It was so last week.