Sweden takes Melodifestivalen very seriously, spending a lot of time, money and effort into producing the magnificent national selection for Eurovision. It’s no wonder that acts return year after year. But being successful one year doesn’t guarantee future triumphs. Here are 10 acts who found things didn’t go so smoothly the second time around.
1. Ellen Benediktson
Melfest fans were shocked in semi-final three this year when fan favourite Ellen Benediktson failed to reach not only the final but also the Andra Chansen round. She made the finals last year and reached a respectable seventh place with the coma-inducing “Songbird”. Ellen’s offering this year, “Insomnia”, reached fifth place in the semi-final and many argue that her new pop diva style just doesn’t suit her. Better luck next time, Ellen.
2. After Dark
Popular drag act After Dark debuted in 2004 and reached the final, coming in a fantastic third place with “La Dolce Vita”, a song with elements of schlager that really appealed to hardcore MF fans. In 2007 they returned with “(Åh) När Ni Tar Saken I Egna Händer”, a song similar in style to 2004’s entry but – according to some – this one had a slightly rude undertone. It bowed out of the semis in fifth place and they haven’t returned since.
3. Anton Ewald
Anton Ewald is like the Marmite of Melfest – you either love his voice or hate it. Once just a professional dancer for the likes of Danny Saucedo, he then caught the bug and entered the contest with a song entitled “Begging”, which came fourth in the final after qualifying through Andra Chansen. In 2014 he returned, and although he reached the final with “Natural” he came tenth – last – and has been quiet since, except for the endless selfies he takes in bed.
4. Timotej
The contest was conquered by folk-pop girl group Timoteij in 2010 with “Kom”. It was a fresh sound with lots of string instruments and drums whilst remaining in the Swedish language and it really got a lot of support, qualifying direkt til Globen. They came fifth and released a string of hits soon after, until 2012, when they entered again with “Stormande Hav”. But this Swedish sea shanty didn’t make the final, losing out to Top Cats in Andra Chansen.
5. YOHIO
Everybody loved YOHIO first time around when he entered with “Heartbreak Hotel” in 2013. His anime-inspired look worked wonders for him and his catchy song transported him to the final with ease, where he came runner-up to Robin “Second Chance” Stjernberg. Then he pushed his luck and entered the year after with “To The End” and reached the final again. He was the bookies’ favourite for a while but that wasn’t enough for him to win. In fact, he came sixth.
6. The Moniker
Le Kid entered in 2011 with “Oh My God”, but so did The Moniker so let’s talk about him instead. His song can be considered a mixture of pop and randomness and was performed with a strange yet wonderful LED video in the background. He got to Andra Chansen, and after winning a ticket alongside Sara Varga he came third in the Globen, which seems to be a common theme. In 2012 he tried again when he wanted to be Chris Isaak but it didn’t work for him and he came last in his semi.
7. Amy Diamond
Thank you, Amy Diamond, for your delightful song in 2008. Although it was considered to be the cheesiest thing since a big chunk of Edam wedged in a shoe it made the final and came eighth. Making the final is a big deal, so obviously she wanted to do the same in 2009 with “It’s My Life”. She got passed from pillar to post with the semi-finals, Andra Chansen and then the European Jury considering giving her a place in the final, but alas, they didn’t. And for that Amy didn’t thank them.
8. Martin Stenmarck
Martin Stenmarck debuted at Melodifestivalen in 2005 and ended up winning with his song “Las Vegas”. But on stage in Kyiv, he didn’t repeat that success, placing a miserable 19th. Sweden basically disowned him right up until 2014 when he returned to MF with the Swedish pop/rock anthem “Nar Anglarna Gar Hem” which reached Andra Chansen, but lost out at the last minute to Linus Svenning.
9. David Lindgren
David Lindgren is one of those acts that sounds the part but doesn’t look it. He looks like a geography teacher, especially with that waistcoat and tie. He participated in 2012 with “Shout It Out”, a cast-off that Danny Saucedo didn’t want (not really surprised, he found something ‘amazing’). David went to the final and came fourth, which is pretty good for a debutante who wasn’t well known before the contest. In 2013 he came back and milked his newfound fame for all it was worth with “Skyline”. It got to the final, yes, but it didn’t set the scoreboard alight and came eighth.
10. Christer Bjorkman
Last but not least we have Christer Bjorkman, King of Melodifestivalen and future EBU Supervisor (if he has his way). He won the Swedish festival in 1992 and was the home entrant for his country after Carola won the year before. His song “I morgon är en annan dag” came 22nd in Malmö. He returned to defend his crown in the 1993 edition of Melodifestivalen with “Valkommen till livet” but his song wasn’t placed in the top five, unfortunately for him. Not that he’s bothered, he’s the puppet master pulling all of the Melodifestivalen strings nowadays, and he’s doing a fantastisk job.
These are just some of the acts that didn’t do themselves justice for a second time. Who else would you include?
Comebacks also works…
Måns Zelmerlöw failed twice, succeded now.
Sanna Nielsen failed (how many times?) before she won.
I am waiting for Amy Diamonds comeback. (She won Minimello 2014 with Livet Ut http://open.spotify.com/track/3IWj59txeAgLi4PmemDFTo )
By the way wasn’t it Amy who introduced Pop dance in Melodifestivalen?
I wish one of my teachers at school had looked like David Lindgren!!
Ehm.. I don’t agree with that one sentence you wrote about Anton. “In 2014 he returned, and although he reached the final with “Natural” he came tenth – last – and has been quiet since, except for the endless selfies he takes in bed.” Did you forget about his EP in June 2014? 4 brand new songs with one song being featured with Medina, danish pop star? It was a success, even outside Sweden with being placed in the iTunes Charts in Denmark, Norway and even Germany. At the moment he’ll release a single called “Higher” in April and he’s… Read more »
You forgot about Andreas Johnson! ;-)!
Where is Alcazar?
And if Sanna Nielsen didn’t win last year’s Melodifestivalen, she will be the big highlight of this article.
Comebacks are a gamble, sometimes they work and work very well, there you have Saade and Loreen, but can also fail miserably. I think the key is not coming back with the same thing, the same sound, because people already heard that, so they will be expecting something else, I think that was the thing with Anton, David Lindgren and Timoteij for example. (That’s also why I don’t think Saade will win again this year, Sting sounds like a song from his first album), though there are also cases when changing a lot won’t pay off either, there you have… Read more »
Charlotte Perelli deserved a spot xD 2012 didn’t qualify ! haha lol
… and Australia will win.
Charlotte Perelli’s for me is the biggest fail lol but tbh i was kind of pleased ‘The Girl’ was weak
OMFG if Christer will be EBU supervisor…. I dont want backing vocals to esc. I want live sing and 6person in stage is enough!!! NO no no.
I hate Christer B “Father of the idea that I WANNA decide the running order”
Where is the justice, Running order must be DRAW in the future
If Christer goes to be the next EBU Supervisor, well, we’ll have backing vocals pre-loaded into the ESC tracks as in MF. For starters.
Then, we may have a change in the voting system, MF style.
Then, we may have 8 instead of 6 artists on stage.
Then, we may have more gay extravaganza than now.
Jon Ola Sand does a great job, as did Svante before him. Sietse, as someone mentioned below, is not suitable for the role because the did supervising of the JESC of only one year and he didn’t actually shine there.
@hannes, true that 🙂
Plus…To add myself few more words here on the article.. Christer Bjorkman might not be than young anymore and the other Dutch babe Sietse Bakker is the hot favorite to succeed Jon Ola Sand in the seat as EBU Super Visor but i truly think that its a fair deal to give the job to Christer 4 lets say 8 years before he gets too old because he is simply the best boss in ESC and he will offer much prosperity & magic to our beloved Vision.. 🙂 Sietse is only 30 years old and he will have his own… Read more »
Where is Charlotte Perrelli’s return in 2012, Or Afro-Dite 2012?
So surprised to see fans of christer bjorkman. He is breaking down Mf and esc wherever possible for the sake of viewing rates and commercialism, his own in-crowd and career. If something went wrong it’s bjorkman himself. After revivalling Mf he is now killing it.
Christer Bjorkman should 4 real become EBU Supervisor and there is no doubt that he WILL find his way 4 that..! 🙂 He just deserves this spot.. 🙂 Personally although i like Jon Ola Sand and i think he is cool too i prefer more Christer 4 this occupation.. 🙂 He does indeed amazing job on running the Melodifestivalen and he organized a wonderful dream Vision in Malmo 2 years ago.. 🙂 4 me Malmo’s Butterfly Vision will always be the no1 best contest of its own special kind! <3 ——————————————————- I really preferred all the way the wolfie babe… Read more »
@davved Do not forget about Loreen 😀 2011 she lost in andra chansen and then won mello AND eurovision 😛
Interesting article, but I’ve found some mistakes…
1. This year Ellen Benediktson participated in third semi-final, not 1st.
2. In MF 2013 Anton Ewald came 4th, not 3rd.
3. In Andra Chansen in 2014 Martin Stenmarck lost to Linus Svenning, not Helena Paparizou.
Overall I think comebacks are destined to fail.
perrelli made a successful comeback in 2008, carola in 2006, etc etc….so there are successful comebacks as well..ofcourse.