The long awaited Melodifestivalen 2021 kicks off this Saturday.
Seven artists will take the stage, attempting to secure two spots direkt till final. Two other artists will head to Andra Chansen for a second chance to reach the final.
Now, we get our first look at this year’s Eurovision hopefuls in the form of snippets of their songs.
Melodifestivalen 2021 Semi-Final 1
Song Snippets
Click on each act to hear their snippet:
1. Kadiatou – “One Touch”
2. Lillasyster – “Pretender”
3. Jessica Andersson – “Horizon”
4. Paul Rey – “The Missing Piece”
5. Arvingarna – “Tänker inte alls gå hem”
6. Nathalie Brydolf – “Fingerprints”
7. Danny Saucedo – “Dandi dansa”
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Clips from each act’s stage rehearsals follow later tonight. These give us our first impression of how the acts will look on Saturday night. We’ll only see the full performance and hear the full songs during the live show. In the meantime, you can also read our first thoughts of the entries.
Melodifestivalen 2021 Semi-Final 1 Running Order
Kadiatou has the honour of opening this year’s edition of Melfest. The Mamas famously won last year’s edition of the contest from this position in the running order.
Lillasyster were formed in 2007 but are Melodifestivalen newcomers. They are up second with their song “Pretender”.
Veteran Jessica Andersson is bringing her party voice to Melfest 2021. Her song “Horizon” marks her eighth Melfest appearance.
Paul Rey is up next with “The Missing Piece”. He made it to the final last year with “Talking in My Sleep” but had to go through Andra Chansen to get there.
Arvingarna return to Melfest after a one year absence. They made the final in 2019 with “I Do”, also via Andra Chansen. The group won Melodifestivalen in 1993, representing Sweden at Eurovision and finishing seventh. They were also inducted into the Melfest Hall of Fame in 2020.
Nathalie Brydolf participated on Swedish Idol in 2018 and makes her Melodifestivalen debut in 2021. She is the penultimate act of the night with her song “Fingerprints”.
Danny Saucedo hasn’t competed at Melodifestivalen since 2012. He has finished in the top three on all three previous attempts, including finishing second behind eventual Eurovision winner Loreen in 2012. He closes out the first semi-final.
What do you think of the snippets? Are there any potential winners among them? Let us know in the comments below.
Danny Saucedo sounds like Simlish.
I only liked Nathalie Brydolf’s song.
The one’s that got my attention were Nathalie Brydolf, Lillasyster, Paul Ray and Kadiatou
Related to Melfest: apparently, the Spanish network TEN wants to broadcast the final. It’d be pretty neat, and it’d probably be the first national final since Sanremo to be shown in multiple countries.
NRK and YLE have shown it before, and probably will again.
Yes Yle will show all shows.
Does anyone by chance know when the rehearsal preview clips come out?
Ah it was friday? In my mind I thought it was thursday, haha.
even the most average songs in Melodifestivalen will always be elevated by top-notch performance, staging and lighting/camera work…on first listen they seem like perfectly fine songs…none jump out at me and are immediate earworms…but I’m sure all will acquit themselves quite nicely and we will be in for a top-notch show…I do like there is variety in genres, styles and tempos
1: Jessica Anderson
2: Kadiatou
3: Nathalie Byrdorf
4: Paul Rey
5: Danny Saucedo
6: Arvingarna
7: Lillasyster
will there ever be music to come out of sweden that isn’t corporate and stale?
My top judging just by the snippets: Nathalie Brydolf – “Fingerprints” (6.75) Lillasyster – “Pretender” (6.75) Paul Rey – “The Missing Piece” (6.75) Kadiatou – “One Touch” (6.5) Danny Saucedo – “Dandi dansa” (6.25) Jessica Andersson – “Horizon” (5.5) Arvingarna – “Tänker inte alls gå hem” (5) My prediction: FINAL Kadiatou – “One Touch” Danny Saucedo – “Dandi dansa” ANDRA CHANSEN Nathalie Brydolf – “Fingerprints” Paul Rey – “The Missing Piece” ELIMINATED Arvingarna – “Tänker inte alls gå hem” (maybe they’ll go to the Andra instead of Paul) Lillasyster – “Pretender” Jessica Andersson – “Horizon” I predict a very close… Read more »
9 years waiting for a Saucedo’s comeback and he comes with this? It’s a cute tune and probably with good staging, but gurl… #choices
I don’t think the winner is in this Semi
Nathalie and Arvingarna will be going directly to the final.
It looks like Danny would lose from another new colour artist with a banger song
new colour artist?
1. Kadiatou
2. Nathalie Brydolf
3. Arvingarna
4. Jessica Andersson
5. Danny Saucedo
6. Paul Rey
7. Lillasyster
None really stood out.
My favourite probably is The missing piece which probably will get better and grow with more listens like Talking in my sleep did.
I always like Arvingarna so I enjoy them again like locals in Sweden will probably do.
The best thing is that it feels a very open SF and we might have some fun with results.
Sounds very Swedish… but Pretender is going to be interesting 🙂
One touch is literally the verses of molly sanden’s youniverse and the beat drop of sandro’s running.
Haha, I knew that I know it from somewhere. You’re damn right 😀
Is it wrong/weird that I don’t vibe with any of those?
I absolutely adored ‘I Do’ by Arvingarna and I was hoping for something as catchy as that.
These songs are decent, but there’s no #wow factor here, in my opinion.
I think I’m the only one who would never get the hyper for melfest!
Ditto.
And me, wake me up when the winner has been selected
You’re not. I like Swedish music, but Melfest doesn’t excite me at all. You already know what to expect 10 years in advance.
One Touch 100%
Not bad. I like the songs from Jessica Andersson, Arvingarna and Nathalie Brydolf most.
Danny and paul. Are my 2 choices.
Before see it on stage.
None of them are bad but not winners either, standard first semi final 1 stuff. Solid songs. Kadiatou was absolutely the best, could see her pass with flying colours. Dont be surprised if Danny only reaches AC, its really not a stage song. But he is not there to win so
Y’all are sleeping on Paul Rey’s song. The song is good (Talking in my sleep is better, but that doesn’t change anything). One Touch is generic, just like Danny’s and Avirngarna’s song. Nathalie will surely qualify for the finale(doesn’t matter whether it is directly or via Andra Chansen). Pretender is bad, but for me it is a guilty pleasure song. Jessica’s Horizon is a dark horse in this semi. Overall, a strong semi in my opinion, but weaker than the usual first semifinal. Despite that I think that The Missing Piece is being slept on, none of these songs will… Read more »
I love One Touch and Fingerprints. They are amazing!
My favorites also 🙂
Kadiatou had the best song in this semi-final but the drop sounded too much like Meduza’s Lose Control
Danny and paul. Are my 2 choices.
Before see it on stage.
Danny Saucedo is about to pull a Loreen and go to AC! LMAAOO Loreens “statements” was so much better tho
I loooove ‘One Touch’! Didn’t expect it to be this good. It could be my overall winner of Melodifestivalen for sure!
Same 🙂
I have always had problems with snippets. I can’t decide if it’s good or bad with only one minute. Because songs usually build up to something after a minute or so. I remember Bulletproof last year didn’t make any huge impact from the first listen. But later it did together with the performance. The same was with Kindom come. But based on the snippets I like Fingerprints and One touch the most. I’m sure Danny will make a solid performance and probobly sail direclty to the final. But he can also end up in AC. The song doesn’t sound as… Read more »
Yes! I agree with you 100%! 🙂
Thank you for being a reasonable voice. Usually this time of the year Sweden is more of a punching bag than usual on this forum when the wiwimob listens to snippets and quickly declares how bad Sweden will do at Eurovison.
Snippets work as a good teaser to warm up the audience, but I also have problems judging them. I guess the only song I loved right from the snippet was “Ktheju tokës” (and that was something, because the snippet even had Jonida talking over the music). I had the exactly same experience with “Bulletproof”. The snippet left me disappointed, but the performance completely satisfied me. So I’ll avoid making assumptions this year, unless I hear something very special to my ears.
Is the hype train burning again?
All these are bland af.
But of course the fans will consider these the best since sliced bread.
Decent songs, but nothing outstanding … I hope to see Kadiatou win this semi though, the best in this bunch for me.
My faves are One Touch and Fingerprints, they’re amazing
oof y’all right “Dandi Dansa” really sounds like “Thats How You Write a Song” nnnnnn mess. Kadiatou is the best of the bunch tho
1. Kadiatou – off all 7 songs, this one seems most likely to do well outside Melfest bubble. It is contemporary, it has all the qualities to be a radio hit. 2. Lillasyster – I’m surprised I liked this one ! It begins in a rather traditional way, but then they sing MOOOOUTH and all the crazyness comes in (to me, this part of the song resembles Viszlat nyar). Tho it’s somehow strange to be shouting the word ‘mouth’. 3. Jessica – idk, the snippet sounds somehow lazy. Maybe the whole song will have some more climax because now I… Read more »
Based on the snippets , I am pretty sure the mello winner is not here.
I liked “One touch ” best but not a fan of the drop chorus. Paul Rey’s song is not as good as last years . Jessica , Arvingarna have returned with weaker songs too. Dandi Dansa is not as bad as people are making it out to be. Need a bigger excerpt of Fingerprints to comment on it. Pretender is no “Dark Side”
Based on these I’ll definitely think Kadiatou will go to final. The other three spots are all open .
None of these songs do anything for me. There is no song I would rate above a 6/10 . The winner is definitely not coming from this semi.
Delete this lol
First of all these are all decent songs, there is not a single song among them that someone could characterize as a bad song. However, I don’t think that the winning song is in this semi. I could also add that in my opinion Saucedo has the weakest song among those 7 (based on the 1 minute snippet though). I think the ones with the most potential are the ones performed by the newcomers of the Melfest, One Touch and Fingerprints. Based on the 1-minute snippets my winner is Kadiatou. Saucedo, Arvingarna and Paul Rey had better songs the last… Read more »
Yes. Names are most important. Songs comes second. Saucedo is young enough and his name is big enough for the song not to matter much. But I agree it’s not that good to be honest. I can imagine a proper dance number to raise the experience
Frankly, I don’t see the winner coming from this semifinal. The ones that actually stand out to me are the two Swedish language songs, but I couldn’t tell you which songs Will go directly to the final, Andra Chansen, or be eliminated altogether. We’ll have to wait until Saturday.
Agreed, I find this semi less predictable than last years first semi final.
Kadiatu has a really cool song and the production is very good. Didnt expect to like this that much
Danny’s song is better in the chorus but generally it gives good vibes. Cant wait till Saturday to see who’s going to qualify
One Touch: Well, produced bop. I really love the drop, it’s very current, like Cyprus’ Running but less derivative of Meduza. It’s AC for sure, possibly DTF. Pretender: No. Just bad. Moving on. Horizon: It’s nice, but this is not anywhere as good Party Voice. A little schmaltzy, but well-sung. Idk why but it feels like a 5th place in the semi. The Missing Piece: Great percussion. Some potential but this chorus is not memorable at all. It’s not bad, tho, AC is possible. But this is not DTF. Tänker Inte Alls Gå Hem: Really overdone chord progression. But this… Read more »
Kadiatou is an Idol 2018 runner up while Natalie Brydolf came 6th place same year. Kadiatou also made some buzz being around on major Spotify playlist since the competition.
Kadiatou is a name, while people probably don’t remember Natalie. So in your most likely scenario you should swap the two
ur probably right
Okay, let’s go over these: Kadiatou: Good song, probably not going to win mello but it’s most likely qualifying for the final. Lillasyster: What to say other than not qualifying. Jessica Andersson: It’s going to andra chansen, needs a lift somewhere in the song though. Paul Rey: Makes it sound like talking in my sleep was the best song ever produced. Arvingarna: Surprisingly not catchy, like at all. Nathalie Brydolf: I think there’s a big note just after the snippet ended, might be very good. However, what’s with the annoying repetition of words in the verses? Still going to the… Read more »
Saucedo just had all his 2020 tour cancelled and said this was his only chance to perform his music. No clear intent of winning.
oof I’m getting “Thats how you write a song” vibes from Dandi Dansa…and that’s not a good thing!
Surprisingly my top 4 to qualify are: Arvingarna, Paul Rey, Nathalie Brydolf & Kadiatou when going into it I was guessing Danny & Jessica would be my faves.
First off, I am *really* looking forward to Melfest. I know it’s popular on this board to talk bad of it (”plastic”, ”too mainstream”, or whatever), but each year I enjoy it. There’s a debate on whether it’s musical content is the best of all, but it’s entertainment and production values definitely are. It’s the best paced NF (along with MGP, probably), best staged and best shot. Also, even if I don’t understand the language, I get entertained by the hosts, who provide more than just announcements here. So, thank you, Sweden and let’s take this ride! 🙂
No-one was saying those things when the song quality was the level it was in 2016-2017. However, that wasn’t really sustainable. I think it suffers a bit from having a relatively small pool of songwriters having to produce 28 different songs every year. Makes it really difficult to come up with a selection where songs don’t start to sound a little same-y.
I’m looking forward to it though. It won’t be my priority watching each week but I’ll probably catch it the day after. As you said, the production is always excellent.
Oh, I agree that 2016-17 editions were a bit better than 2018-2020 on average. 2016 was especially amazing. I think that year got me hooked to national finals. I also very much agree that the songwriters should rotate a bit less. Not that I have problems with any of them. In fact, most of them are very talented and each has produced several songs I really like. But the closed rotation of same names makes it feel less open to new ideas. I’d love to see more newcomer writers. Sure, some songs can feel a bit same-y, but it’s certainly… Read more »
Alright. Here we go. 1) One Touch – this didn’t hit as hard as I expected it to, but it’s perfectly serviceable and Kadiatou sounds lovely – 6.5/10 2) Pretender – I like the contrast between the acoustic and electric portions of the song – 6.5/10 3) Horizon – It’s cheesy but there’s enough sincerity in Jessica’s performance of it that I don’t dislike it – 5.5/10 4) The Missing Piece – I actually liked this. The lyrics are a bit forced, yes, but the track sounds modern and like something you could hear on the radio all over the… Read more »
1) Danny Saucedo (didnt expected that it would be that good)
2) Jessica Andersson
3) Nathalie Brydolf
4) Kadiatou (i really like it but i dont think that it will work in stage)
Danny song would be relevant 10 years ago. Kadiatou song is a proper bang. That’s what you listen on radio right now
I can’t understand why Danny Saucedo is leading in the odds for heat 1 ….his voice is nothing special and that song is softened Sweden-Pop …..we had that 100 times before in the ESC. No, thank you! In this heat 1 is not one song that is better than a 7/10. The winner for the Mello will not come from heat 1 – that is for sure.
Because it’s Danny
Some initial thoughts: Kadiatou’s drop was worse than even Robyn’s description prepared me for. Kills the song dead. She definitely looks the part though. Lillasyster didn’t really understand how snippets work. You’re not supposed to use 50 of the more boring seconds of your track and then squeeze in 10 seconds of energy at the end. Can’t judge it yet. Jessica Andersson seems to have a nice little song here. Nothing special but she should be able to deliver a nice performance with it. Paul Rey has some AWFUL lyrics to deliver here. It’s almost as if it’s written by… Read more »
lmao I think Kadiatou’s drop is the best part of the song
Agree with Robyn and brie
um ok
*Only good part