We are are just days away from the Andra Chansen round of Melodifestivalen 2019. That means we’re heading into the home stretch of the contest. And with that comes freshly updated predictions about who will win and how the public is leaning. And as we gaze into the Spotify charts, it appears that John Lundvik has emerged as the favourite to win the Song Bird trophy.
Melfest acts on Spotify
After Semi Final 4 this past Saturday, all of this year’s Melfest songs were unleashed upon the Swedish public to stream to their hearts content. And with Sunday’s daily listens just released it’s “Too Late For Love” belter John Lundvik who came out on top. He’s followed closely by Mello debutant Bishara and his song “On My Own” and Idol alums Hanna Ferm & Liamoo with their duet “Hold You”.
Spotify isn’t the best predictor of the winner. For example, last year in the days leading up to the final it was Samir & Viktor who took the top spot with “Shuffla” while winner-to-be Benjamin Ingrosso sat at #6 with “Dance You Off”.
Melodifestivalen 2019 betting odds
And what do the betmakers have to say about all this? We looked at Sweden’s online betting site Unibet and their top picks somewhat align with Spotify.
They’ve placed Lundvik first in the odds, Hanna Ferm & Liamoo second, and Bishara third. It’s tight, suggesting a three-horse race.
Interestingly, Anna Bergendahl and Lisa Ajax make the Top 10 of Unibet’s odds chart even though they must survive their duels in Andra Chansen this weekend. Could this indicate the Bergendemption train making it all the way to Stockholm next week with “Ashes To Ashes” along with “Torn” — the ballad that Loreen supposedly turned down?
It Takes Twice To Victory
It is fun to note that the last two winners of Mello were both artists that made a strong debut their first year in the contest and then came back to win it. Robin Bengtsson placed 5th with “Constellation Prize” in 2016 and then came back the next year to win it all with “I Can’t Go On”.
Benjamin would debut in 5th place as well with “Good Lovin'” in 2017, but then in 2018 would haul his giant tanning bed to Eurovision to dance the world off.
Is this a sign that John will be taking his Close Encounters of the Third Kind – esque lighting gear and gospel choir to Israel? If so he could possibly be up against his own song that he penned for the UK — Michael Rice‘s “Bigger Than Us”. Perhaps Laurell Barker won’t be the only person needing a rotating platform for the green room.
Do you think John Lundvik will win Melodifestivalen 2019? If not who do you think will win? Let us know in the comment section below.
wiktoria is overrated. john is the best option for sweden, it gave me winner vibes. It’s a hit, his voice is AMAZING and his charisma shines through. Also stop comparing it to austria, this is way better and different
Really?! Am I the only one who roots for Malou? Oh well…
He will likely win! And then win ESC!
I think John will win with Jon Henrik as a second and LIAMOO/Hanna Ferm or Mohombi as third place. Wiktoria will not score as high as y’all think lol
This is a SONG (!) Contest. John Lundvik is already competing for the UK. He shouldn’t be allowed to compete for another one – although it is not forbidden to write a song for mutliple countries, only the artist are not allowed to do that. The ESC is not a talent show, it is a competition about music. The EBU/Reference Group should apply the same rule for both, artists and songwriters, that they can compete for just one country.
For me, this is the weakest Mello…since I don’t remember when. I am OK with any of the top 3 faves, or Wiktoria, Or Anna, or Lisa winning it.- because I do not feel any connection to any of the songs. I am also sure any of the 6 songs will easily qualify, but I feel any of them probably end up outisde top 10, a la Robin 2013.
same
I am sure John will win the jury vote and Wiktoria/Liamoo and Hanna will take public jury.
I find myself singing along “Too late for love” though I find it a bit too similar to Cesar Sampson last year.
It is up to Swedish viewers,
Best from Spain
People find it similar just cuz they black
As much as I hate to say it I think Bishara has the televote in the bag, especially given the new system where all the grannies and children will vote for him
The new system only allows 5 votes per person so I don’t Think so. I dont think you can be so sure how people vill vote. In 2017 everybody thought Jon Henrik would win the tele vote and he didn’t. Jon Lundvik could get televoters too.
And even if Bishara gets most televotes Jon Lundvik could still win on jury support. Of course Bishara could get most jury votes too.
similar? dont be pathetic. John is way better. Just because you dont see black people performing in ESC often doesnt mean it’s similar.
FYI my comment below was in reply to a message that has since been deleted, so the context of my reply is no longer relevant to this post at all. We were discussing a different topic.
In fact, I would like to directly ask Wiwibloggs for an explanation as to the deletion of the comment I was replying to. Also, why has my now non-relevant comment been “locked”?
mehh, good vocals but the song was heard million times before, not unique, not a winner
Is any song in ESC unique? A winner?
I once posted four times on such an article. Three of the comments were in-jokes, and the fourth was the same message without the joke. The fourth message stayed, while the other three never returned. Someone obviously does not allow humour posted under this topic.
I hope John is winning. The song is very uplifting and John has a glowing charisma and great vocals. So have his amazing choir. I think we would do a great result with him in esc too. I don’t get why people compare it to Austria’s last year. It’s not the same song at all. Far more memorable as well.
Hanna Ferm & Liamoo much better than John Lundvik.
Agree!
no. cheesy and boring.
Good.
I want him to win MF.
Him or Rebeca.
Since they destroyed Maruv, it’s now only Slovenia that interests me… so come on Sweden!
Give me something pleasant.
Wrong, margaret is leading spotify with nearly 1 million streams
Why are we all so bloody sure that the public will hate it? Every single person I have shown it to outside the Eurovision fan bubble (my guinea pigs on a yearly basis) have loved it. It’s fun, it’s catchy, you want to dance, it makes you smile. I think some people on here just have to get over their anti-Sweden-bias they’ve developed these past few years….
They think that because Austria didn’t do very well in the tele vote with a gospel/soul song that every song in that genre wont do well. Appareantly it’s established fact.
That plus it’s Sweden. Some people want nothing more than Sweden to flop every year. It would give them joy, instead of cheering for their own country
In a year with quite a few great female acts (Lisa, Anna, Wiktoria) the last thing we need is another generic male jury magnet. Please Sweden, it’s been 5 years since Sanna Nielsen for god’s sake. At least send the duo!
YES I AGREE!!!!!!!
I want John Lundvik to win. He has the best song, in my opinion. I have a hard time seeing anyone else to win this. This in my opinion is the most vocally perfect live performance. And If the pattern of second times the charm. Then he´ll win for sure. I could see this go well. If not him, then Liamoo and Hanna or Wiktoria(for once I like her.). And absolutely not Malou or Bishara. Since I think they´re too young and they don´t have strong enough songs. Non of their songs speaks to me. It´s just rubbs me the… Read more »
I’ll vote for John Lundvik in the final! A lot!
Will do as well. ???
I have weird feelings about this song, its catchy, uplifting and has a gospel choir (whom I adore), John is a great and charismatic singer but somehow I Dont feel it, I Don´t connect with it, the thing is, the exact same thing happened to me when he was singing “my turn”, that song was manufactured to make people emotional and I felt nothing. On the other hand, while Wiktoria´s song has this “dejá vu” feeling, I connect with it, she sings brilliantly but at the same time she EMOTES like never before (previously she was good but now she… Read more »
Completely agree with everything you said about John and Wiktoria!
Meh. An inoffensive church song with good vocals. Jury will love this. Sweden is playing safe again with these pop songs.
Having listened more to the songs, I would actually be happy with either John Lundvik or Wiktoria. Either could do wonders for Sweden.
John Lundvik’s song is like a mix of Austria and Australia 2018. I haven’t made my mind yet about it, but surely the performance elevates it a lot.
It’s the Cezar Sampson-gospel effect but they forget how poor the televoting results were for Austria
So just because it didn’t work for Austria it wont work for Sweden or what? And also wont work for every country that sends gospel?
It didn’t work for Austria, that doesn’t mean it wont work for Sweden. Things don’t work like that, its not set in stone it’s not working
I want Anna Bergendahl, Malou Prytz or Lisa Ajax to win 😀
I agree it’s probably John Lundvik, I cant see Anybody else stealing his momentum.
Problem with it though is that the song itself isn’t that interesting, its the performance that lifts it.
Still anything is better than last year and most of the songs should do better than last year. Especially in a mediocre year.
But in ESC it isn’t just the song that counts. It is the feeling people get when they see the whole thing that is the important thing. That’s why the winner isn’t automatically the song that is the most successful in the charts after ESC.
Yes, and that’s something John Lundvik is Good at doing: the package. It’s not just the song. That is something most countries still struggle with.
i believe john n bishorror are leading on spotify bc they performed their songs hours before their release….. either way john sounds like someone juries will cream themselves over so i agree with the betting odds on his potential victory
Stop negative namecalling Bishara! You are the reason many teens around the world commit suicide because of hate!
I hope you feel better about yourself.
I guess John Lundvik was the obvious choice even before we had heard any of the songs. John may be likable, but I just don’t seem to be able to connect to his songs which always seem to be quite… boring.
John and Wiktoria have the best packages overall, I love Lisas song but the staging is out shined by the other ballad performance (Wiktroia)
My prediction is: 1st John Lundvik, 2nd Wiktoria, 3rd Liamoo and Hanna, 4th Jon Henrik, 5th Lisa
My prediction
1. John 2.Liamoo and Hanna 3. Jon Henrik 4.Bishara 5.Mohombi 6.Wiktoria…
Top 5 with juries
1.John 2.Wiktoria 3.Liamoo and Hanna 4.Jon 5.Lina…
Top 5 with televote
1.Liamoo and Hanna 2.Bishara 3.Jon 4.John 5.Mohombi…
My prediction:
Jury:
1- John Lundvik
2- Wiktoria
3- Jon Henrik
4- Liamoo and Hanna
5- Bishara
Televote:
1- John Lundvik
2- Wiktoria
3- Bishara
4- Jon Henrik
5- Liamoo and Hanna
Why Wiktoria all the time?? Only fans root for her.
My Prediction:
1) John Lundvik
2) Hanna & Liamoo
3) Bishara
4)Jon Henrik Fjällgren (I don’t like his song but the swedish ppl seem to love him enough to vote for a bad song)
5) Wiktoria
Juries 1.John 2.Bishara 3.Hanna and Liamoo 4.Jon Henrik 5.Mohombi
Televote 1.Hanna and Liamoo 2.Wiktoria 3.John 4.Jon Henrik 5.Bishara
Overall 1.John 2.Hanna and Liamoo 3.Bishara 4.Jon Henrik 5.Mohombi 6.Wiktoria
Just my prediction
man, all decent songs IMHO, but I miss the days when a Melfest finalen had three or four super happy, party songs and total bops…Melfest always felt like a celebration that opened with a huge get everyone in the audience up and dancing and clapping…now its all spotify-friendly songs with mostly ballads or mid tempo songs
So tired of all the ‘Too Late For Love’ and ‘Nobody But You’ comparisons tbh. They’re just the same genre – gospel/pop/soul (whatever)… The melodies aren’t the same (in my opinion)…
Yes, I think there’s quite a few of us who are tired of hearing that two POC are exactly the same.
These two songs and their voices sound completely different.
I agree with both of you. Their voices aren´t the same. Neither are their songs. The only similarities they have is that both are people of color and sing pop /gospel/ soul. Too Late For Love is more towards a ballad. While Nobody But You is more uptempo. I have listened to both , to see if I could find why people thought they sound, alike. But I couldn´t. It´s like the way people say that every dance song now sounds like Fuego. The only things that these songs usually have ,in common with the song, people are comparing them… Read more »
THANK YOU. Italy’s Irama also had a contemporary ballad with a gospel choir and NO ONE compared him to Cesar. And some people even compared OT’s Famous with Cesar when their songs were completely different. It’s really exhausting…
you’re right…Nobody But You was infinitely better and sounded incredibly more modern
John is my favourite but the comparisons are obvious and natural.
It’s like Robin/Benjamin or Eleni/Tamta. It will just happen.
Or Wiktoria/Lisa in this Melodifestivalen.
I can’t find half of the songs on Spotify lol
They aren’t all out yet for those of us outside of Sweden. Though you should have access to at least 20 songs I would think. I have 20 of them on my spotify playlist and I live in Canada.
Bishara’s song is hideous, and that duet thing is among the most old-fashioned songs I’ve heard in a melfest, so I hope John Ludvik will manage to win this. I don’t really like any song in this final except for Lina’s, and maybe Lisa or Wiktoria’s, but John is the lesser evil.
However Sweden seems to LOVE mediocre but cute male singers so congrats Bishara!!
Cute? I must be blind then..
Juries will overrated so hard John in points in MF and ESC. Thanks to them he will win MF and ESC In ESC he will collect more points than Cesar from Austria last year. My prediction from 320 (like Australia 2016) to 390 points (like Portugal 2019) from juries. From 1-3 in final ESC thanks to juries.
Between John Lundvik, Bishara and Hanna och LIAMOO, my favourite is John Lundvik by FAR! I have trouble imagining the jury ranking Bishara that high tbh (and I’m sort of questioning Sweden’s taste in music if he gets the most votes).
If it was up to me, I would probably chose Wiktoria to rep Sweden.
Bishara is fantastic, but the song is not good. It sounds like a 90’s boyband ballad. He’s too young for those lyrics. But if he nails those high notes he will be dangerous anyway. But he won’t get any votes from me. My votes go to John!
Yes I think the juries will favour John more than Bishara. And I will vote for John. Nobody else 🙂
I do hope its John in the end. Really worried though. Bishara has totally destroyed competition regarding youtube views.
Bishara looks out of place on this stage for me — and the song doesn’t seem to fit him at all.
YouTube views are misleading. Of all Mello songs this year, Habibi by Dolly Style ranks highest. I presume that is because of interest from Middle Eastern communities outside Sweden. Same with Bishara and the sizeable Syrien community in Europe. Although, I do worry that Bishara won the televote in semi final 4 🙁
About Dolly Style – I think it’s moreso that they have a HUGE child / pre-teen audience in Sweden rather than the Middle Eastern communities
Yeah I was gonna say I have trouble imagining the stereotypical middle eastern family jamming to Dolly Style (not saying they don’t, but I think uff is right in pointing out their appeal is primarily to a young audience, regardless of background).
But the commentsection is not as positive as with John. Many come just to dislike.
well youtube views isnt everything…dolly style has 1 million views already and that went to hell…
I am sorry but John Lundviks song doesnt do it for me… Wiktoria, Hanna Ferm and Liamoo and Lisa Ajax are the best options!
Well, I’m glad they’ve finally been released! Win or lose, a few of these will be staying on my ESC 2019 playlist.
I reckon it’s going to be a top 2 between Wiktoria and John, but I would not be surprised if Mohombi or even Hanna&Liamoo win. I still believe Anna has an Andra Chance to pull a 2013 too.
Couldn’t be a more cliché europop/gospel song. This will score high on jury unfortunately like Austria did last year but thanks the televote this can’t win ESC.
Will Sweden be smart enough to send something else ?
If we even have that power, could be the international jury that decides for us again this year since it is a close race..
Austria’s song last year was really good. This is…music I guess…
They have pagan fury with something different but they still stick with pop songs.
Hopefully its just the final heat hype.. Hanna Ferm & Liamoo or Wiktoria are much better options to name two
RIP ESC 2019 , the most disgraceful contest ever , in my opinion.
Not even half of the Eurovision-Songs are revealed yet. Literally every single year people are like “this is gonna be the worst year” and in the end it’s gonna be a great year with amazing songs and artists. Just have a little faith.
No. 2017 was also really bad this time and it turned out it’s still really bad overall. 2019 might be the same.
Better than last year. For me, at least.
yuck, stop drinking pls
Those betting are sleeping on Wiktoria. Other than that, it is as expected I think. My favourite is John Lundvik and I wish him all the best.
Yes, I agree 😉
It’s probably going to be a top 2 between Wiktoria and John. My favourite is John too 🙂
I’d be happy with either those singers.