The road to the final of Sweden’s Melodifestivalen 2021 may be long, but boy has it gone by fast! Semi-Final 4 — the last of the semis — has now come and gone, and with it the bulk of the final is now complete. The Top 2 spots went to former Melodifestivalen winners — Eric Saade (“Every Minute”) and The Mamas (“In the Middle”) will advance “direkt till final” — while Efraim Leo (“Best of Me”) and Clara Klingenström (“Behöver inte dig idag”) will fight on in the Second Chance round Andra Chansen.
Melodifestivalen 2021: Semi-Final 4 Winners (direkt till final)
Eric Saade “Every Minute”
Eric describes his song as “a sexy, addictive pop song – with a stroke of darkness in it”. He sings about a passionate relationship, loving it the morning, the evening and on the weekend. What he lacks in subtlety he makes up for in sex appeal. “Every Minute” definitely follows in the footsteps of Eric Saade’s previous Melfest entries, with a more intimate hook — our favourite “Manboy” is all grown up.
“Every Minute” was written by Eric Saade, along with Linnea Deb, Joy Deb and Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt. Joy and Linnea Deb have penned a plethora of Melfest hits, including two winners. Among them is Eurovision 2015 winning song “Heroes” and they have entered four songs in this year’s edition of the contest. Thörnfeldt has co-written five of this year’s songs and has worked with major artists such as Jennifer Lopez, Pitbull and One Direction. He has also written “El Diablo”, the song which will represent Cyprus at Eurovision 2021.
The Mamas “In the Middle”
The Mamas — that’s Ash Haynes, Loulou Lamotte and Dinah Yonas Manna — may have sung “In The Middle”, but they were definitely at the top! This act starts with an epic costume reveal, with these ladies moving from their all-black costumes of 2020 to their new and wondrous, glitter-of-life numbers in all gold. This is a journey. They spend much of the performance in a circle, singing to each other and drawing attention to a gorgeous swirl on the floor.
“In The Middle” is about hope and kindness. The Mamas sing about having a person you can turn to when you’re feeling lost and lonely — a person who will pick you up if you fall down, so you know you’re never really alone. With lyrics such as “my whole world’s brighter when you’re here” and “I know I’ll be alright as long as you’re by my side”, the track is a majestic ode to the power of sisterhood.
“We were in the studio with Robin Stjernberg, finishing our EP. He played the song, we liked it a lot and wanted to try to record it”, The Mamas say. “When we did, it was a magical moment, like we have to do this. We cried, it was very emotional.”
Melodifestivalen 2021: Semi-Final 4 Andra Chansen
Efraim Leo “Best of Me”
“I can’t go on like this,” Efraim sings. “Knew you were trouble / Ever since your first kiss.” This modern pop song has shades of Harry Styles but leans more One Direction. It’s a modern pop song, but there is something quite generic about it as a studio cut. Thankfully SVT served eye-popping staging as ever, with lots of bright white and blue-purple panels in the background, and some monochrome costumes that popped against it all.
Clara Klingenström “Behöver inte dig idag”
“Behöver inte dig idag” has a folky-pop sound, a little bit Anna Bergandahl, a little bit Taylor Swift. And banjos, y’all! The chorus is especially good with a really uplifting feeling. The lyrics carry an uplifting message: “The strength that is in me / Makes me free from you.”
Eliminated Acts in SF4
Tess Merkel “Good Life”
The only thing I love more than pleather is pink pleather paired with red trousers — and on this front our girl Tess delivered! The former Alcazar star served modern disco, with playful lyrics like, “You woop my honey / I’m gonna hypnotise you / I’m freaking crazy / And I will mesmerise you.” Musically there are plenty of moments to remember, including a seductive spoken word part (“Love… live… and dance!). The bridge sounds especially mighty. It’s a strong and obvious opening number for this semi-final.
Lovad “Allting är precis likadant”
In a brave move showing off her lovely voice, Lovad starts off a cappella, with just Lovad and a backing choir. The song is a heartbreak ballad with Swedish lyrics. (“Have we gone and lost everything / We only live in old memories”). Instruments slowly join the song, but the backing remains fairly minimal. Lovad’s voice is the star of the performance. That to say there wasn’t all that much staging, bar a lot of smoke and an unfortunate mic stand covered in flowers. The hologram visual of her lost love was a nice tough though.
Sannex “All Inclusive”
Don’t hold my beer. Hold my bright orange cocktail! “All Inclusive” was a blast of Ibiza Weekender, replete with the all-white costumes, sun-worship and clichés you expect on a package holiday. The lyrics sum up the depth of the song: “Now we are lying by the pool and everything feels so good / We have dumped all the kids in the ball pit, hurrah!”
While Sannex is a dansband , this is not a traditional dansband song. Some of the song’s (Swedish) lyrics are humorous, but the song itself doesn’t have a comedy sound (say, like De Vet Du’s “Roadtrip”). It’s a fairly straight pop song, expertly sung by Sannex. Swedes — who love their international travel — may have felt a dose of nostalgia given the current curbs on travel.
As a Swede my wish would be that we for once stop sending safe entries like Tusse, Eric Saade and so, no matter if they are good. I want us to challenge Europe, like we did with Loreen and even Måns. To make people say “woow”. I feel like since Måns we have gone comfortable, lazy even. The songs have been nice and good but that’s it. Nothing special. Nothing that will make people vote, which was evident by the televotes. I feel this year is no exception. And then wonder why no one votes for us..
Måns was a safe choice as well, I was surpised he even won ESC…
But understand what you mean, but we don’t have a good history in sending risks, look at The Ark, Malena Ernman, Anna Bergendahl to mention a few…
I wouldnt agree Måns was safe. It was a very difficult performance to pull off. You have to both sing, move and interact with the figure and he made it look easy.
I fear that we this year again will get very low televotes compared to juryvotes and then say “oh they hate us”..
That has nothing to do with the actual song, though – Eric also has a difficult performance this year.
Eric will kill it in the televote with that performance if hes goes to Eurovision.
Tusse and Mamas, even Dotter, wont.
I think the problem is that every year the songs are written by the same songwriters, Thomas G:son, Linnea Deb, Laurell Barker, etc. And they write almost solely for Eurovision. This makes the songs really uninspired and bland.
Agree with you there! That is the reason the songs sounds the same every single year… We’ll see after Christer has moved on what type of songs we will get because after this year Mello will enter a new era hopefully… my only fear is that it will get worse…
As a swede its always so funny when people from other countries think that melodifestivalen is a competition with the best songs we have…. the most of the songs is bad even in our ears and thats the thing with melodifestivalen. Its huge in Sweden as you know but its a show for all in Sweden thats why we have songs that is for the kids like Samir and Viktor and Eva och Eva and we have old acts (Also Eva and Eva) so you can get the wievers from 2 years old and 80 years old. The biggest acts… Read more »
Since the release of the melfest songs this saturday Clara Klingenström have bern on the no 1 spot on swedish itunes. Pretty interesting… she is followed by Tusse and Eric.
I love Queen of Light Dotter to death but I’ve accepted shes not going to win.
Little tot is a powerful bop but her entry overall is a bit anonymous compared to Bulletproof. She should have won last year 100%, that was a crime but this year,
Tusse and Eric are going to finish above her, probably Mamas too. Eric has a stronger package overall, and juries will love Tusse/Mamas way more than Little Tot. Please fans prepare yourselves, no one is here for meltdowns and hate ( Poor Tix )
For you guys who doesn’t understand Eric’s performance/staging. Someone wrote The song has deeper meaning (because some say it is dull). It is about loving your life in a relationship. This is symbolized thru “white” Eric who wants to live “every minute” of it. Then, there is a black alter ego, who wants to bring you down, like obstacles in your life can do sometimes or depression can, so that you don’t enjoy your life anymore. The “White Eric” is in a fight with the “black him” and the black parts gets defeated as the curtains falls. The light comes… Read more »
Can someone explain me what’s that good about Eric’s staging? I really don’t get it. It’s very slick and all of that like always in Sweden.. Not a surprise. Being slick doesn’t make or mean a good staging for me or for audience. You need something else to make a connection. Needs to move me somehow or make me smile or something. Perfection can be cold or soulsess. That’s how I feel. I really like Eric but it’s him doing all those moves then the dancer like Euphoria. And again it feels like Sweden trying too hard. I really don’t… Read more »
I think the song’s success relies solely on Eric’s image and popularity. replace him with any other singer and the song would have flopped. Sweden puts all the effort into staging but not the songs while other countries don’t have that luxury
I like minimalist, cold and soulless. That’s why I like Eric’s staging. You need something that makes you move and smile, that’s why Eric is not for you. Preferences, it’s that simple. What don’t you get?
Every Minute isn’t cold and soulless. Lol
It will be a battle between Eric and Tusse, one of these two will go to Rotterdam.
I don’t know why, bur Eric’s song reminds me of something I’ve heard before. Especially the nanana part.
Nevertheless not that impressed with MF this year :/
yeah Enrique Iglesias b-side from 2003!
I knew it crystal clear. I do have some doubts with the 4th qualifier but this went how I predicted and it is how they were in my top too.
Eric’s staging is so good but that song is terrible. The Mamas were amazing! I prefer this to « Move ».
Eric Saade, my oh my, fantastic performance and great song to sing along or just to play in a car, reminds me of Regard Ride it or Meduza’s top tracks, just an instant hit, for me he deserves the ticket to Rotterdam the most.
Eric’s staging is a bit wasted on that song. His performance looks Loreen-like in its simplicity and effectiveness. But the song is a grown man trying to sound like a teenager. Too bad.
Damn, now Loreen has to call Zara, that has to call Mia and Mia has to call Alice that has to call Cyprus…this loop will be never ending
Finalists are more than predictable. However, I expected more from the Mamas, and i don’t see them as a potential winner anymore. For me it is a clear battle between Dotter and Eric. I still love Little Tot, and Dotter is my favorite but Eric’s performance is also very interesting. I don’t find his song special or cool but overall performance gives us something interesting. Unfortunately, for obvious reasons none of them will win and the winner will be Tusse. Hope Sweden wakes up and won’t make such a mistake
#prayfordotterdam
If The Mams win MF, again, Sweden are not go to the final this year. Its sooo boring. I hope Dotter gonna win, then we have a top 3.
Well deserved DTF winners tonight! The Mamas and Eric had the best songs and best staging tonight. I was shocked to see Tess come in 5th (I think she should’ve gone to AC instead of Clara), but it should now make for an exciting final. I think Sweden would have a much better chance winning ESC with either of this semi-final’s two winners.
I’m rooting for the Mamas in the final, wooo hooo
i think tusse, dotter, eric, and the mamas are in the running to win. if either tusse dotter or the mamas win i will be thrilled. if eric wins i will be disappointed the song is so bland and will bring sweden to the bottom of my list while all the others would easily be top 5 for me
Same
After tonight show in my head – I love you every minute nanananana
Tess Merkel was the best one for me. Tusse is going to win overall I think. Dotter and Tusse are contenders as well. I love Anton but I do not think he is going to win. Songs of Eric and Danny seem too old-fashioned for me
So Dotter is winning
Hey y’all. Our head-to-head polls for your Andra Chansen favourites are now open. Here’s the link!
https://wiwibloggs.com/2021/02/27/poll-who-should-win-each-andra-chansen-duel-melodifestivalen-2021/262528/
Suddenly dawned on me.. The Mama’s staging kinda looks like OG3NE’s staging for Lights and Shadows.. Throw in that they are a three piece vocal group and the comparison is made.. Been done before and better unfortunately.. Eric or Dotter ftw
Just wanna give a little shine to Clara – loved her song, andra chansen well deserved.
She was good!
Clara’s song was the one that surprised me the most, it’s so catchy and it’s one of my favourites of the whole contest. Whether she can get past the two Eva’s in Andra Chansen is anyone’s guess, but i wouldn’t be mad if she did.
I absolutely adored her.
I’m in the minority xd. I like his song but I didn’t like that staging and performance. Was cold and confusing for me.
Well its cool visually without any actual connetcion to the song. Like the beloved Lazarevs staging from 2016. I mean, the song is pretty much about sex and he’s dancing with that shadow dude that was borrowed from the Cyprus video. I don’t get the story.
I feel like Eric’s performance and song are a Eurovision winning combination
The staging reminds me a bit too.much of Loreen”s Euphoria.
eric’s perfomance would be amazing if his song had a powerful message. These outrageous lyrics destroy the package.
No the thing Eric is missing is what your nickname is, a voice, he has a really nasal voice and it is not pleasing to hear…otherwise the song is quite modern, and what songs today have good lyrics…WAP?
lol I feel like Eurovision fans are so hard on men having sex reference in songs. I remeber Robin got bashed like that in 2017. If it’s a woman sing a bop with a sassy attitude talking about wanting a man in bed, people will say “Yes Queen”. Double standards much.
I mean, I get what you’re saying, but usually, in music, it’s the other way around where Men are praised for singing (or rapping) about having sex and left and right. Meanwhile, most female singers are called derogatory terms. So I don’t mind that for once we’re holding male singers to the same standard.
Have you heard Bad Bunny? Yeah the number one selling singer. His lyrics are full of sex references… and not classy ones. And there you have him…breaking all records. my point is, why are we having this conversation?
Saades song with other lyrics and a bigger voice but with the stage performance could be a eurovision winner
Erick’s performance is excellent. Here and there some things don’t really work, but this whole package is good to go.
Eric’s charisma is irreplaceable and the song is very radio friendly. I have high hopes.
I’m not a fan of Eric Saade’s song but he might just steal away some voters from Dotter or Tusse. looks like the MF winner is going to be unpredictable with 3 strong contenders
A little analysis about Andra Chansen: Usually, the duels consist of a song that placed 3rd and one that placed 4th. Based on that, let’s look at the first duel: Alvaro vs Lillasyster Lillasyster was not a popular act among the Eurovision fandom, so I think that they placed 4th. Based on that, Alvaro got 3rd. Paul Rey was in the same semi as Lillasyster, so I think Paul placed 3rd. Based on that, Frida Green got 4th. Following that logic, Eva & Ewa got 3rd, and Clara got 4th Klara got 4th and Efraim got 3rd If it was… Read more »
Indeed, if that was the case, it would be. This is just the result of my brainstorming, and I started it all with a speculation, which could be totally wrong.
Lillasyster had the most views on YouTube though so they could possibly be 3rd in their heat. Also I think it’s quite common that the 4ths beat the 3rds, because songs can grow from listening to it more, or they may have a better day in terms of voice or charisma etc. And obviously each semifinal is uneven so one may have plenty of good songs unlike another. So not really possible to say that all the songs that came 3rd will automatically win it.
Someone pls tell Tusse to release his song on Spotify not only in Sweden!!
it is out, I’m In UK. Even on Youtube he released it.
No one will listen to it outside of Sweden anyway.
Well…I’m from the UK and I’ve listened to it so that proves your point wrong
I am from The Netherlands and I listen to it.
I’m waiting for an article listing the andra chansen duels, but here they are and my predictions:
Duel 1: Alvaro Estrella
Duel 2: Paul Rey
Duel 3: Eva & Ewa
Duel 4: Klara
We’ll see next week if my predictions are accurate.
I’m not surprised that Eric and the Mamas made it straight to the final, it’s what I expected.
I was actually surprised that Efraim is in andra chansan and Tess is out because I thought it would be the other way around.
TUSSE FOR THE WIN!!!
The best two acts won! I’m definitely Team Eric for the Final – such a sexy pop song and a great performance. His voice has really matured beautifully, and he has too! Mamas excellent vocally but Move was a better song – and that costume reveal must have been prerecorded which won’t be allowed at Eurovision. I thought Efraim was excellent, a really good pop song. Clara’s song does nothing for me. I would have ranked Tess and Sannex over her. But Go Eric! #Eric Saade!! He will be Popular!!
Eric to Rotterdam. Fantastic performance.
Jag gillar inte båda låtarna faktiskt inte så illa. For mig är de de bästa låtarna hittills.
Are you kidding me? She did the show tonight! The one they should exclude from presenting ever again is Christer
Eric is my favourite, what a song! For me its between him and Dotter but we all know Tusse will win everything and give Sweden 55 tele votes or so
Min vinnare var Fredrik Benke Rydman !! Vilken konstnär/dansare den mannen är och Erik gjorde bra ifrån sig med koreografin. Låten var värd final bara baserat på dansen. Megjskt. Saades låt sätter sig på huvudet och jag tycker den är riktigt bra efter någon lyssning. Har inte varit ett fan av Erik Saade, men denna låt gillade jag.
Kul för mammas, de ger sådan glädje. Inget jag vill ska vinna dock.
Tyckte lite synd om Tess och hade hellre sett henne framför Efraim till andra chsnsen.
En fråga. Av alla valda låtar, vem skulle du skicka till Rotterdam?
Jag är osäker. Om jag utgår från min egen smak blir det Dotter, Erik eller Eva och Ewa. Känner mig osäker om Eriks låt skulle fungera i Esc, Evorna tror jag skulle glädja många européer och kul om den var med utan tanke på resultat. Dotter tror jag skulle få högst placering i ESC. Men tror vi inte har någon som kommer topp 5 i år. Möjligen topp 10. Tusse kan jag inte bedöma eftersom jag inte är så förtjust i den låten. Eftersom många andra gillar den mycket så måste den ha potential. Om denna funkar i ESC? Har… Read more »
Uppriktigt sagt vet jag inte. För mig finns det inte riktigt em säng som jag tycker “wow”. Men jag tror att Sverige kanske har de bästa chanserna för ett bra resultat med Dottir. Men jag är inte säker.
Tess was robbed…But you know what Jessica Anderson started her Melodifestivalen solo carrier in 2006 as 5th in her semi so you never know. And as she just said this is just the beginning so I hope she will comeback stronger!
If you are going to go for some interpretive dance why would you dress yourself from the J Crew catalog? No wonder he was all sweaty at then end.
Yes think he might need a costume change for the final! I personally liked his outfit, but he looked like he was sweating to death before he even started performing.
I like this though. I guess he thought people might thought he was trying to be sexy and young with some slick leather jacket or leather pants or some one-piece tight outfits.
Eric saade trying so hard physically to fit into small song. No soul it’s like pushing forcing giraffe in bird cage lol lol it stress me out. Is he challenging euphoria that won in 2012?
Tonight’s Eric Saade stage show, will be tomorrow’s Cyprus Eurovision staging
LoL
YIKES
It’s gonna be a similar voting segment to when Robin Bengtsson won melodifestivalen with Eric Saade as the eventual winner of melodifestivalen.
This most be the semi with the lowest amount of votes righ? Anyone knows? Just one good song – The song from Clara
Well I’m very happy after seeing Eric tonight, amazing production and performance. Was a little unsure after hearing the snippet, but the song has really grown on me now, can see it doing well in the final. The Mama’s song for me was a little dissapointing, not bad, but definitely doesn’t pack as much of a punch as last year’s efforts. Can’t see them winning this year (but then I didn’t see them winning at all last year either). Very dissapointed for Tess, she was my unexpected favourite of the night! Efraim had a good song, a little pitchy vocals… Read more »
Andre Chanssen pairings already posted on Twitter btw. Clara will have the honors to go against The Grandmas lol ouch!..
my top 2 are against each other next week 🙁
The mamas are amazing and the song is amazing. Love it.
I have the feeling that many underestimate Tusse. But let’s see.
I mean he’s favourite for a reason.
For me it’s 1. Anton Ewald 2. Tusse 3. Eric Saade
Fine with the people who disagrees with me but those songs are on my repeat much love Sweden.
Same top 3, but different order. For me it is 1. Eric Saade; 2. Tusse; 3. Anton Ewald. With Dotter as 4th.
Excellent, even the 4th spot we got same haha.
Underestimate? He is the favourite to win..
He probably means that eurofans underestimate him instead of Swedish people and/or the odds.