The last of the four semi-finals for Melodifestivalen 2016 ended less than 24 hours ago, and it seems that the people of Sweden are lapping up the songs from this year’s contest. All the songs from #MelFest went online on iTunes, Spotify and YouTube, and we’re here to break down the numbers for you and to fuel speculation about who could take out the crown and represent the host nation in May.
#Melfest on iTunes charts
Checking the iTunes chart the morning after the last semi-final of Melodifestivalen is always a treat, because it gives us Eurovision fans a bit of insight as to what the Swedish public are wanting to throw their beloved Krona behind. As of the 28th of February, these are the remaining #Melfest songs that are currently charting on iTunes:
1. Frans – “If I Were Sorry”
2. Molly Sandén – “Youniverse”
3. Robin Bengtsson – “Constellation Prize”
4. Samir & Viktor – “Bada nakna”
5. SaRaha – “Kizunguzungu”
6. Oscar Zia – “Human”
7. Wiktoria – “Save Me”
8. Ace Wilder – “Don’t Worry”
9. Lisa Ajax – “My Heart Wants Me Dead”
10. Panetoz – “Håll om mig hårt”
11. Isa – “I Will Wait”
14. David Lindgren – “We Are Your Tomorrow”
15. Dolly Style – “Rollercoaster”
18. Boris René – “Put Your Love On Me”
22. Albin & Mattias – “Rik”
51. Molly Pettersson Hammar – “Hunger”
The surprise here is that two songs in the top five on the iTunes Chart in Sweden at the moment both belong to songs sent to Andra Chansen. We must also factor in that, given semi-final 4 took place only yesterday, the songs from that show are likely to still remain in the audience’s memory.
However, if the chart was a key indicator to the results of Andra Chansen this upcoming weekend, predictions would indicate that Panetoz would beat Molly Pettersson Hammar, Boris René would win over Albin & Mattias, SaRaha would be successful over Isa, and Samir & Viktor would crush Dolly Style.
All the finalists and acts sent to Andra Chansen were also uploaded on the SVT YouTube channel immediately after the fourth semi-final, and we can now see which acts are receiving the most love on YouTube in terms of views.
Below is a list of all the acts in order of most viewed to least viewed. Please also bear in mind that the songs that qualified to Andra Chansen have been online since their semi-final, however the direct finalists were only uploaded yesterday.
1. Samir & Viktor – “Bada nakna” (1,958,472)
2. Albin & Mattias – “Rik” (281, 110)
3. Isa – “I Will Wait” (188,078)
4. SaRaha – “Kizunguzungu” (183,818)
5. Boris René – “Put Your Love On Me” (73,723)
6. Molly Pettersson Hammar – “Hunger” (69,407)
7. Frans – “If I Were Sorry” (47,033)
8. Molly Sandén – “Youniverse” (17,472)
9. Dolly Style – “Rollercoaster” (17,293)
10. Wiktoria – “Save Me” (16,105)
11. Robin Bengtsson – “Constellation Prize” (14,638)
12. Ace Wilder – “Don’t Worry” (13,656)
13. Lisa Ajax – “My Heart Wants Me Dead” (11,392)
14. David Lindgren – “We Are Your Tomorrow” (11,117)
15. Oscar Zia – “Human” (7,739)
16. Panetoz – “Håll om mig hårt” (5,198)
It’s clear that Samir & Viktor have a huge margin of YouTube views over any other song in Melodifestivalen, but the video has been online for several weeks now, giving the song a bit more of a head start. It’s important to note that regardless of the amount of views, the song has 8,523 thumbs up versus a large 4,827 thumbs down. Ouch!
What do you make of these statistics? Do you think that SaRaha or Samir & Viktor could win Melodifestivalen 2016 and give Sweden back-to-back wins at Eurovision? Let us know in the comments below!
I like Frans’ performance the best. The song reminds me of a poem I wrote when i was younger, so it reaches me. I also like the other Swedish entries in different ways. I’m looking forward to the final. 🙂
Regardless of iTunes, Youtube, etc, I really believe the contest will come down to a battle between Oscar Zia, Molly Sanden, Ace Wilder, Wiktoria and Robin Bengtsson. Frans a dark horse? Not sure the international juries will be that fond of him. My fav right now is Oscar Zia…it’s an awesome song with great staging. 🙂
@ Denis I’m with you!!! We know best for ourselves what’s good for us or not. No cynical Eurovision fan should tell us what to do. After all, we’re doing pretty well atm. 😉
Every time I get in here I almost always regret it. This is like a list of the most cynical and bitter people ever coming together to be bitter over nothing really. And being expert on what’s work for other countries, apparently. Yes,we Swedes do take it extremely seriously every year. As should every country. This isn’t a playground to send your local pub or folk act . But sadly that’s what many countries do. None of the acts chosen to compete in MF are chosen just because, there is a thought behind every single one. Just because we are… Read more »
@Loo I guess you’re right. Sweden should just send someone they feel they love. You’re the host country anyways. I personally would like to see Ace Wilder or Molly PH because their songs are fun & might get into Top 10 at least.
Frans is getting a lot of buzz because of his story…
Update:
According to itunes store Frans has sold more copies of the song than Molly, Robin and Wictoria has done TOGETHER. He will also be no.1 on spotify at the end of the week I believe.
Anyone still believe he might not win? How much can the juries hurt him if he gets, let’s say 40-50 % of the votes?
From the remaining songs :
1. Save me 9.8
2. Human 9.8
3. Youniverse 9.5
4. Hunger 9.2
5. I will wait 8.8
6. Don’t worry 8.0
7. Put your love on me 7.9
8. Constellation prize 7.8
9. My heart wants me dead 7.3
10. If I were sorry 7.0
11. Kizunguzungu 6.5
12. Rollercoaster 6.4
13. Bada Nakna 6.4
14. Hall Om Mig Hart 6.4
15. We are your tomorrow 5.0
16. Rik 4.0
I think the victory us between Wiktoria, Oscar, Frans, Ace and maybe Molly Sanden.
I’d be fine with a lot of these songs, but I REALLY liked Isa’s staging.
Just to see that on the Eurovision stage, I want her to win.
@Milla you have extremely similar nickname to mine 🙂
I think the level of Melodfiestivalen this year is very poor 🙁 I don’t really have a favorite.
Frans doesn’t even sing, he speaks in an off-tune, overly British accent to dull, empty music. And the only good thing about Bada Nakna is two shirtless men at the end. Should Sweden send them? No. And will they? No. This is one of fhe best years of Melfest, and there are better choices. I would be happy with:
– Isa
– Wiktoria
– Robin
– Ace
– Molly PH
– Boris
– SaRara
@loo
I’m actually a big fan of Swedish songwriters of the past, not so much of their current ones… but just listen to the song by Matt Simons in the Deepend remix and you’ll know what I’m talking about. He could even sue for plagiarism.
And btw Frans was born in Ystad, Sweden but grew up in the UK. His mother is swedish and his father is nigerian. He has both swedish and british citizenships. He does NOT copy anything, he got influenced by a lot of different artists, just as ALL artists do and the song is very current. He doesn’t overact or anything like some people commented on either. He is just who he is and THAT’S what we love about him.
I have never witnessed more bitterness in one place than among wiwibloggs comments xD @EugeneESCUK The whole of Scandinavia would laugh you right in the face for your recent comment. Scandinavians and especially swedish songwriters are killing it atm. and if you look at the result the last couple of years in Eurovision you can see that it’s quite obvious who takes this competition most seriously and who’s sending the best songs. Sweden have won two times in four years. Stop with all your bitterness and convince your own country to send something good like Scandinavia does almost every year… Read more »
On spotify, this is the top 5:
1. Bada Nakna
2. Kizunguzungu
3. Rik
4. Put your love on me
5. If I were sorry
I’m happy for SaRaha because I fell in love with her song from the beginning and thought she would be forgotten immediatly, but it seems she’s gaining popularity. The bad thing is that if these charts are an accurate prediction it will mean Isa will miss the final and surprisingly, I’m also loving Isa. (I wasn’t expecting to like her since I didn’t like her that much last year) Now, I’m just hoping this popularity for Frans washes away before the final, because I didn’t like his song at all. It’s not bad, but overall the whole act is incredibly… Read more »
@Österrike
ABBA’s songwriting was actually firmly rooted in Swedish schlager. But yeah, with their current songwriters they’re like the Japan of pop music: rip off ideas everywhere and commercialize them.
@dutchie, was there ever an original song coming from Sweden? Their whole music industry is a rip-off and the reason for their pop culture is their lack and negligence of own cultural heritage.
@LATVIA @Loo @Tha I’m with you and remark every single word you said. Also, some people here don’t know how to defend their fav without insulting the other’s fav. You have to understand that some people (a lot at it seems, atleast in Sweden) like Frans and his song so maybe it’s not that bad. The fact that you don’t like it because he isn’t a yelling wind machine diva, doesn’t mean you have the right taste or that Frans can’t sing. And don’t like Ace, Isa, Molly or any of them, but I respect your taste. Having said that…… Read more »
And some countries need that thought more than ever..
Among the overproduced trash of this year’s Melfest I found a pearl. It is Frans.
@loo
Frans’ song is alright, but it’s a ripoff from Catch & Release by Matt Simons. But it seems that is Swedish songwriting new style: take some good ideas and change them to such an extent that it’s not quite plagiarism.
Yes of course Sweden should pick what they want without thinking too much about what Europe wants. But I actually believe that when songs (not all) get selected to compete in Melodifestivalen there is some thought behind it, if it would work for the rest of Europe. Maybe that thought is one of the keys to Sweden’s success in ESC lately?
I think both Robin and Frans bring a simplicity, charm and down-to-earthness that has the potential to please. Especially compared to elaborate, over-the-top visual productions for songs that verge on nothingness, like Ace Wilder, Isa and Wiktoria. I try to understand why Ace needed the tower of Babel on stage, while Lisa Ajax’s much better song only deserved some toilet paper. It is hard to read the minds of those MF wise heads… My feeling is that the MF result this year will be highly unpredictable, since no song clearly towers over the rest and the vote will be messy… Read more »
Robin or Oscar!!
Saraha has squeaked above ISA in views too! That matchup could prove to be a lot closer than anticipated!
Frans is my favourite so I would love if he won. He’s fresh on his own right and brings something new. But knowing Sweden and the competition he probably won’t win. We probably send Molly or someone.
Wiktoria or Ace Wilder! PLEASE
I was going to made a comment, but somebody already said what I had to say, so I will just copy and paste here: Oh, a lot of typical eurovision fans commenting. Frans is the best! Seems like all Eurovision fans want is glitters, crazy vocal acrobatics that turns into screaming, dramatic, detail overloaded melody and all those things that makes Eurovision unliked in music industry. Singers like Molly and those shirtless guys is one of the biggest reason why Eurovision singers aren’t taken seriously in music industry and are forgotten within few months. You want to create hit that… Read more »
@LATVIA I’m with you all the way !!! Haters gonna hate. People here are just cynic and limited in their view. I would not say that Frans is the only song I like, but it’s one of very few in this years MF that are really good.
The song has been played all day long on the radio. It will be the biggest hit of the year here.
Btw, the reaction from the audience in the hall was very telling. I can’t remember that much cheer for a contestant like… ever?
GO FRANS!!!
I thought Isa would be miles ahead of SaRaha (which makes me sad because SaRaha is my favourite) , but SaRaha is now beating Isa on both Youtube views and iTunes.
As long as Wiktoria and her overhyped projection show don’t win, I’ll be happy. There are quite a few good “average” songs in the final, but no real standouts like last year. Sweden won’t be winning again this year, that’s for sure, but Robín, Ace, Oscar, Lisa or Molly would give them a safe top 10.
Perhaps when Bjorkman said there were two songs he thought could win Eurovision he meant it the same way Katrina did when she said the UK could win this year.
Frans is irritating me , idk what he does in Final , Isa should’ve been …. I really dont want to think that he vould make a good result in final of Melodifestivalen . Molly , Wictoria or Ace
Oh, a lot of typical eurovision fans commenting. Frans is the best! Seems like all Eurovision fans want is glitters, crazy vocal acrobatics that turns into screaming, dramatic, detail overloaded melody and all those things that makes Eurovision unliked in music industry. Singers like Molly and those shirtless guys is one of the biggest reason why Eurovision singers aren’t taken seriously in music industry and are forgotten within few months. You want to create hit that will stay on charts for a longer time than 3 weeks? Frans is just that type of singer that could drop a song after… Read more »
I dont think that we will find the winner from the views O.o Anyway, the song ”Human” with Oscar Zia is the best! Goooooo Oscar for the win…. ?
Pretty sure there’s no winners here.. Who wants a country to win two years in a row anyway.
Frans is the only song I like.
I can’t even understand why Frans is on the run. Dull song, uncharismatic performance. Same with Molly Sandén, it would be absolutely average in Eurovision!
Please Sweden choose Oscar or Ace Wilder, those are KILLER songs!
Samir and Viktor have a cheesy, deliberately absurd and funny entry this year needs so badly. Usually host entries go for a safe (sometimes bland) choice of song and this one would be different. It would say: We don’t want to boost for winning again, but welcome to Sweden and have a great time! We have enough good ‘cold’ Nordic entries and this one would be my pick to represent Sweden.
Totally agree with @Nitzan, hopefully Europe is smarter than eurofans.
I also don’t know which two songs Bjorkman thought could win eurovision. But, quality of the songs is basically ridicoulous so far. However, right now I see like 4 or 5 songs that could win for Sweden (which it wouldn’t be so difficult). My hopes are with Netherlands and Australia at this point because it looks so bad this year.
Samir & Viktor have clearly most popular song on itunes and youtube and that’s why they are absolute favorites of televoting. The only problem is jury, which will hate them and they will give all 12 points to Ace Wilder!!!
I think Oscar’s views are quite low because his song was uploaded as if it was ‘a week ago’ when in fact it was uploaded with the rest of them. Therefore it’s not classified as a new upload and so isn’t getting much attention. I really hope it won’t affect him though because I want him to win. My other choice would be Robin.
Anyone else confussed as to what 2 songs bjorkman thought could win Eurovision?
I don’t see any potential Eurovision winners in this year’s melodifestivalen.
A few of the songs are top 5 material but no winners.
Its like a nice box of chocolates they all taste good some better than others but one doesn’t make you go mmmmmm…
Do you know what I mean?
There isn’t a caramel among them.
Spotify is what it counts in Sweden, not iTunes.
I don’t understand why people here assume they know what’s “Best for Sweden” or what “Europe wants”. Juries must judge according to what they like, period. Frans is a great promising singer and his song is wonderful. Current, catchy, great melody and lyrics, simply a SONG rather than an over-the-top-overly-dramatic-no-melody-soulless tune with too many pyros and led screens like most countries seem to have this year. I think he is a fresh breath of air and could do a great job for Sweden. I also support the wonderful Wiktoria, Ace and Oscar, and aside from Molly I could actually go… Read more »
Swedish people should vote what they really like and not thinking about what Europe or eurofans would like or which song could work better. So every country.
If Frans wins, at least it would be something different from what we have so far and what usually goes to Eurovision. Anyway, Sweden has some interesting acts to pick.
Yes, it would be embarrassing if Frans won. Sweden listen to what Europe wants! Well, most of them 😀
Really looking forward for the International jury to take down Frans just as they did with Yohio. If Frans manages to win, Sweden will end up like Germany and Austria did last year.
both Ace Wilder and Frans are probably screwed since we have an international jury. I think Oscar Zia will end up winning with help from the international jury. but it’s a real tight competition this year so who knows anyone but Frans…
Robert should win, such a classy and melodic song.
Wiktoria is my second opinion.