Hej, Malmö! Melodifestivalen 2018 rolls on to its third week. This time, we’re re-visiting the home of Eurovision 2013, as the seven acts take to the Malmö Arena stage for Semi-Final 3.
History suggests that we might not be seeing the Melodifestivalen winner in this semi-final, though. Since the current Melfest format was introduced in 2002, the overall winner has only come from Semi-Final 3 twice. Eric Saade won in 2011, as well as last year’s winner, Robin Bengtsson.
Can one of Martin Almgren, Barbi Escobar, Moncho, Jessica Andersson, Kalle Moraeus & Orsa Spelmän, Dotter or Mendez add to that list? We’ll get out first hint with the release of the one minute snippets of their songs!
You can listen to the snippets below — simply click on the each artist’s name or song title.
Later on tonight at 19:00 CET, SVT will also release the thirty second rehearsal clips. Plenty of teasing to get us ready for Saturday, y’all!
MELODIFESTIVALEN 2018: DELTÄVLING 3 MALMÖ
- Martin Almgren — “A Bitter Lullaby”
- Barbi Escobar — “Stark”
- Moncho — “Cuba Libre”
- Jessica Andersson — “Party Voice”
- Kalle Moraeus & Orsa Spelmän — “Min dröm”
- Dotter — “Cry”
- Mendez — “Everyday”
What do you think of the one minute snippets? Has your favourite changed as a result of them? Let us know all your thoughts in the comments section below. Remember to check back later today for the rehearsal clips as well!
It looks like Sweden really doesn’t want to win again and Melodifestivalen is held just because it’s a tradition to have a musical competition at this time of year. I have never seen MF as weak as this one. Didn’t even watch the MF last weekend because all the songs were so boring jundging from their snippets. I doubt that I’ll watch it this evening too. What happened to Sweden?
I can hardly find 2 songs in each semi final that I like. Don’t know what happens with Sweden this year.
“Stark” and “Cry” my favourites here.
All songs sound nice, but Dotter is my favourite, she’s great! Beautiful voice, I like the lyrics too.
1. Dotter — “Cry”
2. Barbi Escobar — “Stark”
3. Mendez — “Everyday”
4. Martin Almgren — “A Bitter Lullaby”
5. Jessica Andersson — “Party Voice”
6. Moncho — “Cuba Libre”
7. Kalle Moraeus & Orsa Spelmän — “Min dröm”
Barbi probably has the only decent song in this semi. What’s with all the Latin-inspired songs? You’re Sweden, not Spain!
It’s sad to see that a country that used to set the music trends for all the world is now following them. But they’re doing it right at least.
A Bitter Lullaby – not a bad one at all, good voice and good vibes, but I can’t see the Swedes getting this thru. Stark – super duper basic. Ugly drop after the chorus. Cuba Libre – schlager-tropical bop that’s not overproduced and that doesn’t even sound lame. Enjoyable. Party Voice – cute throwback to 2012. I expected it to bop harder. Vocally weak which is weird from her. Min dröm – better than the other pure schlager entries, very folkloristic I would say. Cry – as I’ve been telling y’all it’s a literal Julia Michaels copy. She sings better… Read more »
“Cry” and “A Bitter Lullaby” are obviously the best songs here — all the Latin influenced ones cancel each other out –“Everyday” at least makes me want to hear more of the song, but yet i can’t see this doing well at Eurovision — and can we talk about Jessica’s song — rhyming “dance like a mother” with “other” is just laughable/cringeworthy…
Decent enough semi, but still prefer Shuffla from last week as my fave of all.
I can see Mendez and Dotter going direkt till final, and perhaps Jessica/Barbi/Martin to andra chansen…they are too close to cal. No song I dislike, but no song I’m crazy for, either! Mariette next weekend?
Finally! A semifinal I actualy look forward to! With songs I want to cheer for and wish they won!
Sweden this year is just trying to get on the bandwagon of the songs that are being successful lately and they are doing it without any success, in a very forced and artificial way, especially with Latin songs. Mello2018 is cringeworthy!! It’s sad to say, but I think that for this year they should just send Samir and Viktor to Eurovision, who have the only song that sounds current (as Sweden apparently want so bad) without sounding forced.
I know it’s nothing original, but Dotter’s song is the only one I really liked so far. Not just on this semifinal, but in all Melodifestivalen. I still hope they’re saving the best. But I’m losing this hope.
This is the first year in 10 that I have not even watched the melodifestivalen. Not being able to hear the songs properly makes me not interested. The show is short lived (or I’m busy) on SVT website. Or keen on the host and none of the songs have grabbed me from what I’ve heard. I’m disappointed in myself. Maybe Sweden needs a year off.
am i the only one who thinks cuba libre sounds like under the sea from little mermaid
What a boring Melli this years
This semi has 3 Latin music entries. Interesting! looks like my prediction will be off. Now I can totally see Mendez, Barbi and Moncho making it in Andra Chansen to face off against Margaret. Dotter’s song is surprisingly good it gives me Halsey-vibes. Martin’s is the only contemporary entry in this semi which will be an advantage along with being a Swedish Idol winner like LIAMOO. So I guess both of them will directly qualify.
NeXT weekend its Mariette. I hope she have a good Song.
These 6 minutes gave me a terrible headache. What lack of quality! And what is it with the fake Latin music? God!!! Only Dotter is vaguely bearable.
What’s fake? Mendez and Moncho are both of Latin descent. Nothing fake about them.
They might very well be, but their music is certainly not.
1. Martin Almgren – A Bitter Lullaby (10/10)
2. Barbi Escobar – Stark (9/10)
3. Mendez – Everyday (8.5/10)
4. Dotter – Cry (8/10)
5. Jessica Andersson – Party Voice (8/10)
6. Kalle Moraeus… – Min Drom (7/10)
7. Moncho – Cuba Libre (1.5/10)
overall, melodifestivalen seems to have started this week… but my top 5 overall have to be:
1. Liamoo – Last Breath
2 – Sigrid Bernson – Patrick Swayze
3 – Martin Almgren – A Bitter Lullaby
4 – Samir & Viktor – Shuffla
5 – Barbi Escobar – Stark
My top 7:
1, Mendez – Everyday (bettér than expected)
2, Barbi Escobar – Stark (MUCH bettér than expected)
3, Jessica Andersson – Party Voice (better than expected)
4, Kalle Moraeus & Orsa Spelmän – Min Dröm (i expected that)
5, Dotter – Cry (didn’t live up to the hype)
6, Martin Almgren – A Bitter Lullaby (eh)
7, Moncho – Cuba Libre (i really don’t like it)
My top 7:
1, Mendez – Everyday (bettér than expected)
2, Barbi Escobar – Stark (MUCH bettér than expected)
3, Jessica Andersson – Party Voice (better than expected)
4, Kalle Moraeus & Orsa Spelmän – Min Dröm (i expected that)
5, Dotter – Cry (didn’t live up to the hype)
6, Martin Almgren – A Bitter Lullaby (eh)
7, Moncho – Cuba Libre (i reális don’t like it)
Don’t you guys think Dotter has a world-class voice? She will win this semi easily.
Anyway, I also agree with below comments that Samir and Victor have the best song so far.
Soooo did they save the entire winning material for semi final 4 or is that really as good as it gets? Kinda playing fast and loose with the word good.
“A Bitter Lullaby” and “Min Dröm” sound nice to me, though.
Positives:
Mendez song is current and direct. This could be dangerous even in the final
Barbi Escobars song sounds really good, almost a bit like Adrijana last year
Jessica Andersson, is this the same girl that sang “Cant Hurt Me Now”? Wow!
Dotter has a good song but I was expecting more, maybe she has a killer act
Negatives:
Martin Almgrens song is bland and boring
Kalle Moreus, not good enough for a traditional song in the contest
Cuba Libre, worst one so far after Jonas Gardell
I have a feeling Olivia Eliasson will win it all, she is on next week.. Same team behind her as Wiktoria have had and she will have a big staging.
What a terrible year for MelFest. Sure its better than the last two weeks but this Semi final is not great.
My top 7
1. Dotter
2. Mendez
3. Moncho
4. Martin Almgren
5. Jessica Andersson
6. Kalle Moraeus & Orsa Spelmän
7. Barbi Escobar
“Life in plastic, it’s fantastic!”
That’s all I wanna say about this MF Semi (the previous two were the same, if not lower – yeah, #2, looking at you).
Two “latino” influenced songs here. Because of that, they r the most interesting. Far from quality ones, of course, but you have to hold on to something in order to pass through this nonsense.
Strongest semifinal so far but the last one is the strongest if MF is to follow traditions.
I can see Dotter going straight into final and even be a candidate for win. Not sure she will though..
Must say I liked Martin the most and hope he will make it. Jessica is good but think time has passed for schlager pop. Mendez is fun and Kalle and the others are happy just to be there. Sounds promising
I do agree though that a lot of songs in MF sound like songs we find in the charts. Some call it taking inspiration from, others will call it being a copycat 😉 Whatever you think of it, they are clever. The average viewer will vote for songs that sound familiar to them.
Mendez is so winning tomorrow’s audience poll and the semifinal on Saturday.
It sounds super old Enrique Iglesias style but turn into current Swedish production. I wanna hear its drop, sounds very promising.
Swedes gonna love to hear this on Spotify along witg Shuffla.
OMG that chorus of Everyday is BIG. Love it! I also love Jessica and Martin. Dotter sounds good, but its not for me.
Esc is in trouble if taste can’t reach further then to Barbi Escobar among these 7. I feel sorry for you guys..
Ukraine’s Vidbir second semi is also on Saturday, but no songs preview, no poll, no nothing. Of course, we have polls on what Melfest act people are most excited of, then we have song snippets, then we have rehearsal snippets, then we have a poll, and another poll and another. No bias of course. And Ukraine’s Vidbir this year is one of the strongest NF.
Hey, this is Melwiwifestblog.
C’mon!
So TRUE! Ukraine’s songs are WAY better. Such a shame Wiwibloggs 🙁
Right??? Vidbir is so strong this year! Most Songs are better than what Melfest produced this year. Ukraine should get the Hype that it deserves.
Give it a rest guys! Other countries are mentioned all the time. No one complains about that. But MF is written about for the first time in ages, since the contestants were announced. Suddenly it’s biased.’
You suffer from inferior complex or what?
As for Ukraine, have they released snippets? Are people outside Ukraine invested in it? Do people outside Ukraine care about it’s national selection?
That should answer the question..
My comment wasn’t especially against Melfest but against the fact that they feature every national final except Vidbir. And for your knowing: Yes! The Songs are already released. At least most of them 🙂 How do you know if People outside of Ukraine care for it? I do and I’m not ukrainian. You seem to be very salty, why tho?
Really surprised by Mendez’s song – that was my favourite
At the first listen I’m underwhelmed. Martin Almgren – verses are very promising, great voice, then in the chorus it strongly reminds of “All I Want For Christmas Is New Years Day” by Hurts Barbi Escobar – I actually liked this, it’s just slightly forgettable Moncho – nothing new, seen many times before Jessica Andersson – good schlager, does she say “I’m gonna party like a mother” ? XD also reminds a little of Madonna’s “Hung Up” Kalle Moraeus – 7th place reserved Dotter – Julia Michaels’ “Issues” meets Noah Cyrus “Make Me (Cry)”, dissapointing Mendez – Enrique Iglesias meets… Read more »
Best semi so far…..
If Dotter has a great performance that song could be Eurovision winning material. Mendez has a killer feel-good chorus. Predict these two direct to final and second chance for Jessica and Martin Almgren. Really like Barbis song as well, but Sweden won´t vote for it. Moncho wil be last in my book.
I hope Sweden will be open minded enough to send Viktor and Samir. Is their year, they will stand out in a year with many serious songs. There is no point to send something melancholic when the final already has Mercy and…whatever the Italian song is called.
Viktor and Samir year is 2018.
Exactly… Many People probably still see them as a joke, but they actually have the best song and they’re fun. Sweden should go for it imo.
They wont win, no chance lol
Of Course they don’t have a Chance, I guess everybody knows it.
It’s not a matter of Sweden being open-minded…even if it tops the televote, the international juries are likely to sink any Swedish-language song.
Totally underwhelming!!
Seems like Melfest is completely geared up for Mariette to win and that’s without hearing her song!!
No winner here.
Haters gonna hate.
This seems to be a great semifinal.
I love the songs of Dotter, Mendez, Jessica and Kalle.
It’s just so underwhelming…
Martin is a grower, I expected something like Jonas, but this is enjoyable Barbi is the one I like the most, I’m waiting for the “full” version I don’t know what Moncho smokes, probably cardboard, because this is the least enjoyable way to sing this song I wanted something more from Jessica. I know, it’s ok, but it doesn’t really stand out, it’s like Imri Kalle & Orsa – To be fair I thought this is going to be another grumpy man singing grumpy song about dinosaurs, but it seems to be cool. Jon Henrik-alike probably ? Dotter is nice… Read more »
Dotter is good with her song ‘Issues’. Oh sorry, ‘Cry’. I am warming up to ‘Stark’. Purely because since ESC songs are rarely radio hits, they can at least be club hits.
melfest is weak so weak can we have desination eurovision back again my god
: (
In a field of very EDM entries, Dotter stands out. This was poised to be the direct till final qualifier. I really cannot tell who else is qualifying to the final or andra chansen this time
These snippets have left me pretty underwhelmed!! I don’t hear any winner material from dotter ‘s snippet!
Everyday and Cry for the final please
yes!!
weakest melfest ever.
Here, we go again…
I like Dotter’s Cry, but I can’t shake the thought off that it sounds a bit like Julia Michael’s Issues…
I thought the same… It’s kinda sad
Definetely, and it also reminds of Noah Cyrus’ “Make Me (Cry)”
A Little Bit??? This is 70% copied!! That’s a sham. Like if I were sorry and hero
This Semi is so much better than last week! Every song is at least somewhat enjoyable to listen to, unlike last week where I was bored after Samir and Viktor and utterly disappointed by Margaret after all the hype. But still on the fence about whether to watch Melfest or Eesti Laul this weekend.
Well well.. I just love Dotter’s Cry. It’s the most modern song of all so far and I think the full song will be amazing. And together with a strong performance I think we might have a winner candidate. And Mendez sure has THE chorus in this semifinal, but the verses are not as good. The rest sound as expected. I like Jessica as well. But not one song is really bad. Can’t wait to see the rehearsal clips.
More like Mendez sure has A corus, more precisely Despacito’s one played at 0.8x :V
Well at least Sweden live here and now with our songs and try to keep up with what trends in the music business. Call it copies or what ever. But Sweden is a big part of the music industry. If we don’t respond to what trends then THAT is a tragedy. Someone’s gotta do it. It’s not 1950 *cough Portugal.
Here and now were Loreen, Loïc, Aminata or Douwe Bob. This is living in someone else’s creative effort rather than here and now.
A legal way to do things, yet incredibly beneath a country’s music industry’s dignity. Stealing ideas is a dubious thing to be proud about.
Despacito was last year – we’ve all moved on. Also, it’s kind of ridiculous to take a pot shot at Portugal when they won.
My top 3:
1. Barbi Escobar — “Stark”
2. Kalle Moraeus & Orsa Spelmän — “Min dröm”
3. Dotter — “Cry”