God jul! A spread of stars from Sweden’s Melodifestivalen have released seasonal singles, all aiming to capitalise on heightened holiday interest on Spotify and the charts as the year draws to a close.
Melfest 2018 host David Lindgreen, 2017 semi-finalist Jasmine Kara and two-time finalists Mariette and Wiktoria have all got in on the Christmas spirit.
Keep scrolling to see what we made of the wintry releases from snowy Sweden.
Wiktoria “Not Just For Xmas”
She pleaded “Save Me” in 2016 and dreamt of a saviour on “As I Lay Me Down” back in the spring.
And now she’s marking the birth of the original saviour — Jesus Christ — with “Not Just For Xmas”, although the Lord doesn’t get a look in.
The track begins like so many other Yuletide efforts — bells jingle, the wind blows, and there’s even some Mariah Carey style whoo-ing. But like they say, if it ain’t broken why fix it.
Lyrically, it’s also fairly standard fare. Wiktoria sings of her love for a significant other. And of course, her love is not just for Christmas, but the whole year around. Much like our love for Eurovision. (Steinunn)
David Lindgren “Christmas Everyday”
Last year he released the Swedish language seasonal song “Til alla som längtar hem”. Now, David Lindgren is celebrating the festive period once more with “Christmas Everyday“.
He said his experience last year has given him a “taste” for Christmas music and for 2018 he might even consider a full holiday album.
We can hear the super-festive remix of “Shout It Out” with added jingle bells already!
Jasmine Kara “Dear Mr Santa”
Out with the dubstep, in with the ding-a-ling-ding! This is a total 180 from Jasmine Kara’s Melfest track “Gravity”.
Instead of dubstep and electro-pop, Jasmine is channeling sixties seasonal soul for all its worth.
Full of sultry appeals for Santa to grant her one wish and bring her baby back to her. Not the most original seasonal story to tell – Mariah’s been asking Santa the same for twenty years and he ain’t helped a sister out – but an enjoyable effort nonetheless.
Mariette “Pillow”
If Mariette did a song for the holidays… it’d probably sound exactly like this.
Which is not to say “Pillow” is a bad song in and of itself, but it doesn’t feel as inspired as it could be.
It has neither the ethereal grandeur of “Don’t Stop Believing” nor the icy electro cool of “A Million Years”.
Instead it feels more like a piece of festive filler from her My Revolution EP two years ago.
What do you think of the holiday songs? Are you in the seasonal spirit? Let us know in the comments below!
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Why does Wictoria’s album cover have the wonder woman logo on it?
I’m fond of Wiktoria’s song <3 I hope her love could be for me too ^^