Melodifestivalen semi-final three kicks off on Saturday, and SVT has just released the one-minute snippets of the songs that will be competing. From a man locked in a cage to hip-hop artists bathed in neon lights, it promises to be a colourful evening (even if it’s a huge letdown following the 2012 and 2013 contests). We’ve embedded the preview videos below, where possible, but three of them are not yet embeddable. We’ll update the post as soon as we can. Now on to our brief reviews….
Outtrigger — “Echo”
You can watch the preview video here.
Jumping in a cage and screaming may be appropriate during Halloween, but we’re still in February. I don’t like the song and I don’t like the staging, which includes a man wearing a straight jacket behind bars. This is frightening and I hope Swedish parents put their kids to bed before 20:00 CET.
EKO — “Red”
You can watch the preview video here.
When she says “I will follow you to the end” it sounds more like a threat than a statement. There’s an other-worldly Bjork vibe to this. The only emotion this stirs in discomfort. Not a fan.
Oscar Zia — “Yes We Can”
You can watch the preview video here.
Generic, disposable pop. And his vocals sound rather weak during the chorus. He may be popular with the people, but this would not go down well with the international jury in the Swedish final. Luckily for him it’s all televoters at this point.
Shirley Clamp — “Burning Alive”
Do y’all rememeber Melissa Ethridge, that American country music singer from the 1990s? She had a super powerful raspy rock voice, and so does the unfortunately named Miss Clamp. Her voice has major edge, and suggests that she has lived on that edge. This is among my favourites, which probably means the Swedes won’t send it through.
State of Drama — “All We Are”
State of Drama is gearing up for a revolution, and the lead singer has even worn the turn-of-the century Russian cadet outfit to prove it. This has a real anthemic quality, and it feels like a step up from their song from 2013, which went straight to the final. I’m pleasantly surprised.
CajsaStina Åkerström — “En enkel sång” (A simple song)
She has a lovely voice. It’s just a shame she’s singing a song flatter than Anton Ewald’s stomach. Some of you may think she is capable of pulling a Louise Hoffsten 2013. I’m not so hopeful. Boring. I much prefer Ellen Benediktson’s ballad from the first semi.
Ace Wilder — “Busy Doin’ Nothin'”
At first this reminded me of Icona Pop’s “I Don’t Care”. But then she started singing solo and the song lost all of its energy and I lost all interest. She says she’s “busy doing nothing at all.” I agree. She definitely isn’t making proper music here. Needs to go.
Dr. Alban & Jessica Folcker — “Around the World”
This song may be called “Around the world”, but this song is not headed to Copenhagen. I’m struggling to identify a melody, and I can’t help but think this pales in comparison to the hip hop from Panetoz we saw in Linkoping. I’m not buying the hype with this one.
Who are you cheering for? Is this a weak semi-final or what? Let us know below!
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Photo: SVT
I have a sense that as it’s the weakest semifinal so far then fourth semifinal will be the strongest. 😀
This is definitly the weakest semi-final, but every year everyone says “this is the weakest year for melfest/mgp/eurovision/etc.” I’m sure there were people who thought 2012 was the weakest year for melfest at one time, and that one gave us Loreen, who is still very popular.
Anywho, I really only like State of Drama and, surprisingly, Ace Wilder (I haven’t liked any of her other singles so far). I’m hoping for better next week with Alcazar, Anton Ewald, and Janet Leon.
I think Melodifestivalen’s golden years were from 2003 to 2006. The songs and performances were amazing and it was really difficult to guess who would win. After 2006, the quality of songs gradually became worse. That doesn’t mean that there haven’t been good songs – of course there have. But… just not as good as before.
Ace Wilder! <3
Shush, William. Or else I will come there and turkey slap you!
All the songs in Eesti Laul are available in full, and the first of only two semi-finals is tonight. Make of that what you will.
Yup.. this looks bad. People were saying 2013 was a let down too. How far down can we go? D; lmao @ “I wanna make money in my sleep” tho hahahaha. I like Oscar, EKO & State of Drama. Others not so bad. Outrigger too loud lol. CasjaStina’s look in the vid really reminds me of Caroline af Ugglas & so does the music to a small degree. Doesn’t really do anything for me..
I think this is by far the best semifinal.. I am rooting for EKO. Maybe is a bit similar to CHVRCHES, but hey they make an interesting music. I hope this goes straight to the final.
The other acts I love are State of Drama, Outtrigger, and Shirley Clamp. It would be interesting to see them in the final. The rest are so blah, especially Oscar Zia. We don’t need that kind of song anymore…
I’m seriously starting to wonder what were they thinking when selecting the songs for this year competition. Like, seriously! MF this year is the weakest by FAR from all of the recent events. From the above 8, Oscar Zia sounded like “I’ll take all the teenage girls votes” while EKO sounded mature and interesting. I’ll go with this two for the final. And I’ll be wrong. Who the hell I’m kidding? I dislike all 8 of them. Nearly 3 million people tuned last Saturday for the MF2, but after this Saturday & these songs (all together with the boring hosts),… Read more »
I think the first Semi Final has had the best songs so far.
Like: -“All We Are” by State of Drama – I don’t necessarily like this song, but out of the rest of them it’s one of the best we got. It’s generic, yes, but not terrible. The singer does make me uncomfortable at parts though lol. -“En enkel sång” by CajsaStina Åkerström – The title says it all, simplicity at its best. A nice, folky song. I hope it doesn’t win, but it isn’t bad. Might have the “Ellen Benediktson effect” and win the semi if she sounds good live because most of the songs are below par. Eh: -“Red” by… Read more »
In this heat; I’m really rooting for Ace! I think the review above is way to harsh and I really hope that the swedes will send her somewhere; at least to the second chance. I’m gonna vote for her many times!
Sanna Nielsen or Anton Ewald (next week) will probably win. Would be fun though if Alcazar could surprise us all and win on their 5th attempt.
Swedish Melodifestivalen has lost good songs. This is not good!
shirley clamp is great!
Outtrigger, Ace & Shirley <3 <3 <3 :3
WHAT A WEAK SEMI-FINAL!#MELFEST IS TERRIBLE THIS YEAR