The wind machine is greased, the smoke machine is charged and the pink and purple balloons have already been blown up. Yes, the final of Melodifestivalen 2016 finally takes place tonight inside Stockholm’s Friends Arena.
While the buzz surrounds Frans and his song “If I Were Sorry”, it looks like Ace Wilder is going to give him some serious competition. Ace and her song “Don’t Worry” has topped the combined results of the Wiwi Jury and reader’s poll, predicting her to make an impact at the grand final Melodifestivalen 2016.
Melodifestivalen 2016: Combined results of Wiwi Jury and reader’s poll
Ace was the second favourite of the Wiwi Jury with an average score of 8.06/10, but topped the reader’s poll with 19% of you picking her as your favourite. In second place overall was Robin Bengtsson and his song “Constellation Prize”. He was the third favourite with the reader’s poll on 13%, but as a consolation prize (ha!) he may be comforted to know that he was top with the Wiwi Jury with an average of 8.25/10. In third place is Oscar Zia. His song “Human” was the third highest pick of the Wiwi Jury on 7.56/10, but in the readers poll he was your second favourite pick, with 14% of your liking the message of his song most.
Wiwi Jury results
Ahead of the final, the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of musical unprofessionals — rated each and every song. Our 26 jurors for this edition hail from the Australia, Romania, the Netherlands, Austria, Georgia, New Zealand, Israel, Finland, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Bulgaria, Spain, Poland, Ireland, Iceland, Sweden, the UK and the US. Each juror rated the song from 0 to 10 and the scores were averaged to determine our rankings. This is how we ranked the songs, along with excerpts of our reviews. To read the full reviews just click on the song title.
1. Robin Bengtsson “Constellation Prize” (8.25)
The best: “I love it. I think I watched this performance at least 10 times on the night of the show and just couldn’t get enough. It’s not just the beautiful singer or the amazing eyes, it’s the total package of the song and the staging. As the lyrics say: It is just “beautiful, beautiful”. I hope Robin will get his deserved place at the top of the chart in the final. Well done.” (Ron, 9.5/10)
The worst: “Robin Bengtsson pleads with his lover, saying that he wants to be her constellation prize — *yawn*. This lacklustre performance comes across as a consolation prize, and probably won’t fence off the other acts. The harmonica moments are a rather lame gimmick for this cookie-cutter act. Europe expects more.” (Deban, 4.5/10)
2. Ace Wilder “Don’t Worry” (8.06)
The best: “Ace Wilder is the single greatest performer alive. Not only can she sing and dance better than most people, her facial expressions are to die for. This is not just a regular song — it’s an entire four-dimensional entertainment experience. ‘Don’t Worry’ is lyrically impeccable, performed to perfection and it is insanely catchy.” (Antranig, 10/10)
The worst: “I was 100% Team Ace in 2014, I love ‘Riot’, ‘Stupid’ – all her stuff, basically – but maybe for that reason I’m a disappointed by ‘Don’t Worry’. It’s a great, fun pop song, but it feels like a step back from Ace’s other stuff. The cool sound and secret social commentary of ‘Busy Doin’ Nothin” is gone, and in its place is a generic ‘It’s gonna be ok’ message. It’s still good – most national finals would kill for a song like this – but it could be so much better.” (Robyn, 7/10)
3. Oscar Zia “Human” (7.56)
The best: “Wow! The direction of shots in this number is just amazing and reminds me a bit of ‘Euphoria’ . The song has a very strong message that really touches your heart. Oscar’s vocals, especially in the verses, are not that good and I hope he will improve this for the final — but that’s the only thing to improve.” (Ron, 8.5/10)
The worst: “I like Oscar and I think he’s a fantastic performer, but this song does nothing for me. It’s a matter of camera work and special effects attempting to mask a truly empty song. It’s lyrically cliché and musically forgettable — and adding another synth or flash of lightning won’t change that. I understand why people are taken with the presentation, but I feel like I’m going to have an epileptic fit. But at least in that unfortunate scenario I’d feel something.” (William, 5/10)
4. Lisa Ajax “My Heart Wants Me Dead” (7.19)
The best: “I don’t think I’ve ever fallen in love with a song as quickly as I fell in love with this. From the very first second I heard the Oriental sounds come in, my body just wanted to feel that beat. The chorus is spectacular and Lisa’s vocals are phenomenal. This is a song I could have on repeat for hours on end and never get sick of.” (Antranig, 10/10)
The worst: “The promise of the first 30 seconds is swept away by a truly mediocre chorus. To make matters worse, everything about the stage show is cheap — from the smoke machine, which is clearly broken, to the cheap toilet paper in the background. It’s forgettable at best. Easily my least favourite in the final.” (William, 4/10)
5. Molly Sandén “Youniverse” (7.17)
The best: “This is the bomb. Everyone was watching and waiting for Molly, and predictably the super-hype has resulted for many in a super let down. For me, ‘Youniverse’ nailed everything it set out to do. It is more sophisticated than ‘Why Am I Crying’, Molly’s vocal is killer and the performance is out of this universe. If Molly’s starpower can get her the ticket to Stockholm, then SVT has plenty of time to iron out any kinks in the song and win again on home ground.” (Angus, 10/10)
The worst: “First of all I just can’t get over how ridiculous the title of the song is. It’s wordplay gone oh so wrong. I’m sure it’s supposed to be some very deep metaphor of someone being someone’s universe, but girl, get over it. Nobody’s that amazing to excuse this kind of language. I made the effort to look past the word-butchering and guess what, I still don’t like the song, I just think it’s pretentious. Molly sure tries her best but I’m not buying it. Plus I don’t understand the ending, it’s like she just thought “Jag orkar detta inte mer” and decided to stop singing.” (Steinunn, 4.5/10)
6. Wiktoria “Save Me” (7.08)
The best: “This teen queen is my Melodifestivalen dream in 2016! Born in Sweden but channeling Nashville realness, she sounds like an authentic country star — albeit one cast in the mould of Taylor Swift rather than Faith Hill. Her breezy song speeds by, driven by her grit and emotion. Upping the ante on the LED projection dress, she takes us through fire and water and outer space as she uses staging to elevate an already amazing song. This deserves to win — and to slay the pack at Eurovision.” (William, 9.5/10)
The worst: “Wiktoria is new to the Swedish audience but charmed us all and went straight to final. I think the staging and the technical effects are great but unfortunately the song is weak and boring. It was one of the best songs in semifinal two in Malmö but it won’t be one of the best songs in the final. A great voice and staging but the song is just… boring.” (Tobias, 5/10)
7. SaRaha “Kizunguzungu” (6.77)
The best: “I genuinely exploded when I first heard this. It just has everything I love – colourful costumes, catchy nonsense lyrics, a killer dance beat, African chanting, a key change, confetti, etc, etc, etc! Just because something is cheesy doesn’t mean it’s bad – that’s just something that society has (annoyingly) decided. This is pure fun, and what is life without fun? My favourite song of the national final season. BY FAR.” (Edd, 10/10)
The worst: “‘Kizunguzungu’ is so insatiably perky that it’s borderline irritating. This is partly down to the song itself. Even taking its bilingual nature into account, the lyrics make no sense. “You give me kizunguzungu… runaway, runaway, keep coming back for more” – what? I’m also not sold on SaRaha as a serious performer – she’s too kids’ TV for my liking. If Melfest must insist on dosing us with cartoon-like females, I’ll take it Dolly Style.” (Padraig, 6/10)
8. Boris René “Put Your Love on Me” (6.69)
The best: “This is my jam. I love the updated take on early ’90s Belgian techno-pop, beefed up with Boris’ substantial R&B vocals. He’s a supremely charismatic performer, and brings delicious double entendre to the line ‘If I go down, are you down with me?’ (Oh, stop it!) Yeah, it’s just a dance track and doesn’t have the deep meaning of other Melfest entries, but what a dance track it is!” (Robyn, 9/10)
The worst: “I’m unsure as to why I hate this song so much. I feel a little protective of my country because so many things about both Boris and ‘Put Your Love On Me’ remind me of Guy Sebastian. The performance was low budget. Boris’ song is low on originality. I’d rather have After Dark qualify to andra chansen over this.” (Josh, 3/10)
9. Frans “If I Were Sorry” (6.31)*
The best: “At the fourth semi-final, I thought this was just an adorkable guy singing a cute folk song (with a twist!) that wouldn’t translate to Eurovision. But it’s stuck with me. I am now convinced that if this wins Melfest, it will go on to give Sweden their seventh Eurovision victory, the second in a row – all with a song that’s going ‘lol, not sorry’. And, ok, even if it doesn’t win ESC, it’s still the perfect Swedish entry to follow Måns’ victory – an anti-‘Heroes’ of sorts.” (Robyn, 10/10)
The worst: “I would’ve appreciated ‘If I Were Sorry’ more if its chilled, laid-back vibe was driven with a ska beat. In its current state, it is rather underwhelming, too repetitive and sounds like a lazy pop effort. Frans’ attitude works well within the parameters of what he’s given. However, overall this entry is suggesting ‘Let’s Participate’ not ‘Let’s Win’.” (Deban, 5/10)
10. Samir & Viktor “Bada nakna” (6.31)
The best: “There’s whistling, there’s an EDM post-chorus, and watered down six-packs – it’s heaven. The fun that they have on stage brings me joy – and I think it’s about time Sweden sent something fun. And could you get more Swedish than a blonde and an Arab guy singing about skinny dipping? If they can whip off those trousers, too, when they get to the final, I honestly think this could win the whole thing!” (Edd, 9.5/10)
The worst: “It’s flat, repetitive and generic. The song does nothing for me at all. They know it and that is why they decided to rely on their naked bodies instead. The song should be good and bodies can enhance it. Here the reverse is in play.” (Mikhail, 3.5/10)
11. Panetoz “Håll om mig hårt” (6.28)
The best: “Honestly? This is the best performance in all of Melodifestivalen 2016 for me. Note that I said performance there and not song, though. ‘Håll om mig hårt’ is miles better than ‘Efter solsken’ was at least and it’s very catchy. For me, this is the best legitimate effort out of all of Andra Chansen.” (Chris, 8.5/10)
The worst: “This is doing absolutely nothing for me. The styling is off, the choreography is messy and the song is stale and repetitive. Panetoz do deliver an energetic performance, but this doesn’t stop the performance feeling unsatisfying. It’s catchy, but not nearly on the level of an entry like ‘Kizunguzungu’. Molly P-H must be thanking her lucky stars that she’s duelling against this uninspired entry.” (Max, 3.5/10)
12. David Lindgren – “We Are Your Tomorrow”
The best: “I’ve always liked David ever since he debuted in Melodifestivalen 2012 as a total newcomer and reached the final. ‘Skyline’ must be one of the my favourite songs ever and it was almost impossible for ‘We Are Your Tomorrow’ to top that. It didn’t, but it still is a damn good song. Everything here works — the music, the message and that amazing staging. David is very confident on stage and he really enjoys performing. I know this doesn’t have a chance against some of the big favourites, but it is still my clear favourite to win this year’s Melodifestivalen.” (Sami, 10/10)
The worst: “He sings of tomorrow, but David is so yesterday. Everything about the track screams early ‘00s boyband. It’s dated, derivative and repetitive. The laser show adds a little Melfest sparkle, but if this was in any other national final we’d all be writing it off as tripe. Song aside, David doesn’t convince as a pop star. Saade, Saucedo et al possess an aura of both boldness and charm. Lindgren, on the other hand, exudes nothing but beige. How this managed to survive elimination, let alone reach the final, is completely beyond me.” (Padraig, 4/10)
Fan poll results
1. Ace Wilder – “Don’t Worry” 18.97% (1,075 votes)
2. Oscar Zia – “Human” 13.93% (789 votes)
3. Robin Bengtsson – “Constellation Prize” 12.69% (719 votes)
4. Wiktoria – “Save Me” 11.33% (642 votes)
5. Molly Sandén – “Youniverse” 10.47% (593 votes)
6. Frans – “If I Were Sorry” 9.5% (538 votes)
7. Lisa Ajax – “My Heart Wants Me Dead” 6.04% (342 votes)
8. Samir & Viktor – “Bada nakna” 5.56% (315 votes)
9. SaRaha – “Kizunguzungu” 4.66% (264 votes)
10. Boris René – “Put Your Love on Me” 2.56% (145 votes)
11. Panetoz – “Håll om mig hårt” 2.38% (135 votes)
12. David Lindgren – “We Are Your Tomorrow” 1.91% (109 votes)
Total Votes: 5,666
What do you think? Do the combined results spell good news for Ace Wilder? Or is Frans an unstoppable force? Share your thoughts below
Unfortunately she doesn’t stand a chance tonight, but I really like her song, it’s my 3rd favorite.
By the way LOVED that interview!
Eurovision Song Contest is not “The Voice”!!! I hope this will be most popular final of Melodifestivalen in history with greatest crowd of viewers and voters. It can reverse odds.
Ace Wilder, good song and she looks really pretty
10/10
Ace must win! Please don’t let Frans get this.
I really have a love-hate relationship with Frans song. In the end although I like most of the Melodi songs, I just think If I were sorry is the only swedish song capable of winning Eurovision this year. Ace Wilder, Robin, Wiktoria or Molly would only make a Top 10-15. But there´s something bland about the song that´s make feeling meh!
My personal top 12:
1. Wiktoria
2. Molly
3. Oscar
………………..
4. Ace
5. Boris
6. Robin
……………..
7. Lisa
8. Frans
……………..
9. Samir & Viktor
10. SaRaha
11. Panetoz
………………….
12. David
I think actually it will happen a surprise tonight, Frans will win the televote, but I think Oscar Zia will win the international jury vote and end up 2nd in televote and win whole melfest, but I would rather see Frans winning, but mostly Boris or Ace.
But none of these will beat my favourite in Eurovision, who is actually performing in my semifinal. Estonia, I don’t have a word to describe how good it is. Italy is my 2nd, but she is performing in the final
Greetings from Sweden!
Having just listened to them all or the first time I pretty much agree with these ratings, although I suspect Samir & Viktor might well be my guilty favourites, they really do put on a great show. Looking forward to tonight, no real stand out songs here and a few stinkers but Melodifestivalen is always one of the highlights of the Eurovision season.
Why there wasn’t poll of Latvian “Supernova”?
Ace or Robin for the win!!! Don’t send to Frans, Oscar o S&V please!!!
The world is just so unfair, after repeatedly listening, Frans style in singing is just like Serhat at all. They were both saying a rhythmic poem not singing at all but because it’s Sweden it became so overrated while San Marino is being laugh of their entry.
Results of 37 surveys ( over 45000 votes )
1- ROBIN BENGTSSON
2- FRANS
3- WIKTORIA
4- MOLLY SANDEN
5- SAMIR & VIKTOR
6- ACE WILDER
7- OSCAR ZIA
8- SAHARA
9- LISA AJAX
10-PANETOZ
11-BORIS RENE
12- DAVID
Not sure if the readers and jury of Wiwibloggs are reflective of how international juries will vote, but if so, it looks like Frans will be lucky to get 1st! If he does, Sweden will barely make the top 10, if that. There are much better songs/singers in this year’s contest than him! 😀
Ace’s song is too good for Sweden. They should send Frans to the ESC, so they’ll be able to enjoy a cute place in bottom 10.