Fans won’t get to have their first taste of Melodifestivalen 2020’s fourth semi until Thursday lunchtime when the first snippets emerge. But accredited media in Malmö were given a first-listen to all seven competing songs on Wednesday evening.
Based on these early reviews — taken from Aftonbladet and Schlager Profilerna — Hanna Ferm and Victor Crone look like the two to beat in deltävling four. Here’s a full round-up of what both publications had to say about each of the acts.
It’s worth noting that these reviews are written based on two listens of each audio track. As we all know, a winning package consists of much more, including staging, live vocals and charisma. Therefore, a lot can change between now and Saturday.
Melodifestivalen 2020: Semi-Final Four Previews
1. “We Are One” – Frida Öhrn
Those disappointed by Anna Bergendahl’s slight shift in genre should be happy. Because, according to Schlager Profilerna, Frida’s song is “the natural continuation” of Anna’s 2019 entry “Ashes To Ashes”. The blog describes it as “arena country” and says it has “broader appeal” than Frida’s band Cookies N Beans. Aftonbladet praises her raspy voice, drawing comparisons to Bonnie Tyler.
2. “Molnljus” – William Stridh
Schlager Profilerna calls this “bland” comparing it to something from Ted Gärdestad — a Swedish singer and Melfest star from the 1970s. Although the writer does concede that it’s better than Anton Hagman’s similar effort from 2019. Aftonbladet also hears Ted while branding the song excessively “sugary”.
3. “Carpool Karaoke” – Nanne Grönvall
Aftonbladet says this comes like an “alarm clock”. While “thrilling” and “filled with playfulness”, it has so many Nanne-isms that it “almost becomes a parody”. Schlager Profilerna describes it as a mixture of her 2005 hit “Håll om mig” and her more recent “crazy text based songs”. Despite struggling to identify a target market for the number, it predicts that no one will have a “boring time watching this on stage”.
4. “Troubled Waters” – Victor Crone
Both outlets compare this to Avicii. Aftonbladet says it starts quieter than Frida’s show opener but picks up nicely during the chorus. Schlager Profilerna boldly declares that the track is “much better” than “Storm”. Victor is said to be the male act to watch in this semi, and possibly in the final too alongside Robin Bengtsson.
5. “Surface” – Ellen Benediktson & Simon Peyron
Both say that this is Mello 2020’s take on Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s all-conquering “Shallow”. Aftonbladet calls it “atmospheric and nicely produced”. Schlager Profilerna says the duo sound great together and “it is just a really good song”.
6. “Om du tror att jag saknar dig” – Jakob Karlberg
Schlager Profilerna can’t decide whether this is better or worse than William’s entry — “It is OK. More guitar… Falsetto”. Of the two entries, Aftonbladet feels that Jakob has the edge — “a little more poignant and more direct”.
7. “Brave” – Hanna Ferm
Schlager Profilerna is in love! It loves Hanna’s voice, her artistry and “this kind of simple, quirky, pop song”. It draws comparisons to Marina & The Diamonds, Ava Max and Girls Aloud singer Nicola Roberts. However, it’s by no means a guaranteed winner. It doesn’t have the “in-your-face-schlager” of Anna Bergendahl’s “Kingdom Come” or the “I-recognise-this-from-the-radio vibe” of Dotter’s “Bulletproof”. Also, being song number 28 of the season brings its own pressures. Aftonbladtet is equally impressed — “wonderful fun and unexpected woohoos”. The paper thinks international fans will lap this up.
What do you think of this semi’s line-up? Who are you most excited to see live? Let us know in the comments.
[…] You read the media reviews, heard the snippets and watched the rehearsal clips too. We asked you to vote for your favourites and you made your voices heard. […]
[…] things off with an “arena country” entry. “We Are One” has drawn direct comparisons to pre-qualified finalist Anna Bergendahl’s 2019 entry “Ashes To […]
Well it looks like Hanna and Victor might go DTF- I can’t wait to hear their songs
The thing is with the app-voting is that songs that usually get good results are songs that works with all ages since votes are counted and ranked within the age groups. If it’s been forgotten. It was introduced last year so that not only young people would have a say. That was a problem before. And that is really good, because then a song will be selected that works for most ages. The international juries are also of different ages. So very good thinking.
Well i have 3 accounts, one as a teenager, one as an adult and one as a senior 😉 15 votes in total so the system is not really without faults 😉
Ok?? Cheaters do excist of course, but then you must really be obcessed. And if you are one of those who ruin the system you even mess up for others.
So far my Top 3
1. Bulletproof
2. Move (The Mamas)
3. Ballerina
I’m so looking forward for Andra Chansen.
I really hope Malou mproves even more.
Quirky pop? I can’t see Swedes going for it that much. It’s not our style. Plus it’s written by a non- Swede and we don’t want non-Swedish citizens to represent!
I think Dotter will be the likely winner, although Hanna will probably the Margaret of the season and be international fan favourite.
Dance you off had non-Swedish writers I think.
With Felix was probably too much this year and in your face but Hanna has mostly Swedish writers behind. I’m a bit tired of Laurell being everywhere tho xd
Anyway I hope Swedes will not go for the safe/jury bait entry this time.
Dance You Off was mostly written by Ingrosso. I just think it was “polished” by American.
And I think most songs this year would bring in more televotes. Maybe not Bergendahl:)
the fact that they put marina and ava max in the same sentence is horrifying already… like… one is a girl with four albums and an artistic growth, the other is a girl with an ugly wig who makes cookie cutter pop music and who can’t release an album bc she doesn’t have a fan base due to lack of artistry. sometimes i wonder if these journalists know anything bout music at all.
We often disagree but I fully support your defence of Marina. Also, didn’t Aftonbladet claim that Bulletproof would be Sia and Marina inspired, but the song bore no significant resemblance to anything in Marina’s discography.
By the way, I think Marina is probably the biggest artist the BBC could convince to do ESC if they gave her creative control.
Not out of the question, I think. Her style is well-suited for Eurovision, so long as the BBC let her do her thing.
Side note (can’t wait to hear Victor btw): some info was just given about how the shows are going to work in Rotterdam. Big takeaways: – There are going to be performances not just in the venue but around Rotterdam by Dutch Eurovision contestants and winners like Getty Kaspers and Lenny Kuhr, taking advantage of a strong ability to cut between live TV and pre-taped bits. They’re big on emphasizing Rotterdam as a city. – The opening ceremony is going to be way shorter since it tends to drag on and on a bit – Biggest thing I noticed (and… Read more »
Gigliola Cinquetti!
I didn’t know what you meant until I saw the list. Holy crap, what a cool line-up! No real obvious picks except Duncan Laurence and Alexander Rybak. Paul and Charlie getting a moment also makes me happy – still an amazing winner. For those curious: the artists performing in the medley (which will apparently be similar to the medley from last year) are Gigliola Cinquetti, Lenny Kuhr, Getty Kaspers, Sandra Kim, Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan, Alexander Rybak, and Duncan Laurence. (It took me typing this out to realize that besides Gigliola, they’re intending to represent each decade of Eurovision… Read more »
Sandra makes sense in that she won for Belgium, and with the Dutch having no winner from the 80s, would be the next best choice as it were.
I kinda wish they had one representative of the 50’s as well, but sadly all winners from that era are no longer with us. Out of curiosity I checked which singers from the first four editions are still alive, and there are 10-12 of them (there are two artists I couldn’t find any information about), though obviously they don’t perform anymore (maybe with the exception of Kessler Twins).
I think Giglilola is the oldest living winner with any capacity to still perform. (Host, not so much, but no shade). I believe Jacqueline Boyer is the oldest living winner, period.
Jacqueline Boyer is still alive and well! Last year she was interviewed by “L’invite” and she continues to release new songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA2uujpXHA8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HPUHVUlqIM
PS Gigliola was still a better host than Toto.
How about that! Good to hear. And true, Toto was way worse.
I think Isabelle Aubret is the oldest living winner. Jacqueline Boyer was only 18 when she won so that would make her 78 now, which is not so old really.
You’re right, Aubret is 81 now, and thus 3 years older than Boyer. I think Emil Ramsauer is the oldest ESC artist overall (he’s 102 years old).
I am still in shock that Vamos Amigos didn’t make it though to the final. That was such a fantastic party song, I’m surprised it didn’t connect with the audience.
It’s the kind of party entry that Swedes seem always to really enjoy and do well with Audience Poll and families I guess but when it comes to app voting it doesn’t translate that well idk.
I’m curious what Swedes would have done if the Swedish version of Keiino or Rasmussen were in Melodifestivalen.
I’m sure audience poll would love it but real voting I dunno :s
Klara missed out on AC in that heat with 951,815 votes, implying that Vamos Amigos got close to or exceeding 1m votes. That shows me that Vamos Amigos connected big time! I don’t think them going to AC tells you anything other than that heat was just a really tough one.
Maybe Klara got more votes but she didn’t make it due to older audience and calls.
I have a feeling these past 2 SF were all super close to AC and to DTF.
I hope Hanna has a good song!
It looks like Victor Crone and Hanna Ferm will go direct to the final, while the duo singing “Surface” and Frida will go to the Andra Chansen.
VICTOR CRONE, HANNA FERM, FRIDA and ELLEN are obvious top four.
Everybody were able to point out the top four at the day of presentation the acts, nothing exciting or new.
Victor only got to Andra Chansen on his last appearance, and then later went on to place 20th in Tel Aviv representing a different country. I’m not sure why everybody is so confident about him making the final this time.
Hanna – DTF
Nanne – DTF
Victor – AC
Ellen & Simon – AC
Frida – 5
Jakob – 6
William – 7
The songs haven’t even been released… please stop.
No, I won’t stop. I’m fully aware the songs have not been released, that’s why I’m making a prediction – for fun. It’s easy to make predictions after hearing and seeing the performances.
I’m hopeful for Nanne! I loved Hal om mig. I hope this will be great too!
For the nine begrudging upvoters, all I was doing was guessing – the way people might guess the amount of jellybeans in a jar, or what date a baby will be born. I guess that’s not allowed.
I can’t wait to hear the rest of Melodifestivalen songs. I have good expectations for Hanna and Victor. So far, best Swedish songs are from Anna Bergendahl, Dotter, The Mammas and Faith Kakembo (who unfortunately won’t be seen in the finals).
Oh wow, do we have a different top when it comes to Melfest this year…!
I am looking forward to seeing your list. (Any spoilers in advance?)I have nothing officially listed yet, but these were the ones I found to be quite good on first listening. 😉
Well, I’ll have it up sometime on Sunday hopefully.
Spoilers? I’ll give you one. Two of the songs you mentioned might be in the bottom half of my ranking! 😉
Not below Suzy P, I hope? 😉 Ha ha ha
There are songs below Suzi’s!
Fortunately, none of them are your favourites.
Looking forward to the snippets. I’ll be honest haven’t really liked Sweden’s songs the past three years, so I really hope there’s a song in this fourth semi which blows me away. I do like Anna, Dotter, and Mariette’s songs though I’m not like in love with them. Anyway I’m looking forward to the snippets tomorrow so fingers crossed.
MELODIFESTIVALEN is really overrated… I think only Ellen and Hanna’s songs will be they and they get into the finale.
The rest is gonna be SHAME.
Victor for the win!
If a Eurovision winner is going to come out of this year’s Melfest, it has to be Hanna.
Dotter disagrees
Dotter’s song is like a Sia copycat, especially the chorus. Sweden better send somebody else.
Expect to see this comment disliked about ten times…
….not by me though because you are right, sir!
Sometimes I wish a wild card like Ace Wilder did in 2014 would come and surprise us, but seems like this is rather a disappointing Melfest compared to the previous versions.
I’ll look forward to listen Hann Ferm and seem like either Anna or Dotter will pick up the flag for Sweden this year.
Nanne-isms are exactly what I want from Nanne. I can’t wait!
You could fart in a bucket and it would be better than “Storm”
Nanne shouldnt come back as the joke entry of the year while she won televote by a landslide in 2005 and juries send Stenmarck. Dignity above all.
Nanne once competed with Mr. Spock ears.
It wasn’t exactly a landslide win though. By then it was all fixed scores so she got 132 points. Ultimately Stenmarck won with two points difference.
Overrated, as all the Swedish songs. And in the end, this semifinal will be as boring as the others… Same generic Pop songs…………. It’s a Meh from me
Who says I’m watching???????
Not translated very well. Nanne’s song is a joke this year and her song is not what you want hear when she returns to Melodifestivalen. Nr. 6 is music for no one, dead last. Schlagerprofilerna couldn’t even remember the title. And they also think that Hanna’s starting position is not quite fair. Perhaps will the expectations be too high, even though it’s one of the best songs this year acording to them, it’s maybe not what you expect. If Hanna’s performance and staging is great then we will probobly have only women fighting for that nr.1 spot in the final.
I don’t trust these journalists after their reviews in the previous weeks, so I’ll make my judgements tomorrow when the snippets are out
Hope these reviews are not as accurate as the one who said that Mohombi’s song sound like Sertab…
That’s not what he said, he said that the intro kind of reminds him of early 00’s Eurovision entries from Turkey, not specifically Sertab.
If Hanna has something fun and enjoyable then I’m all for it. Sweden really needs something like this for a change I feel. Anna was also very enjoyable.
Send something that people at home will simply enjoy without being or feeling pretentious.
Hol up, Nicola Roberts is a thing in Sweden? Please god be the U.K. Eurovision entrant, I loved GA, she was brilliant on The Masked Singer, and more importantly doesn’t really have a career right now lol
Lol she really isn’t. This was only a music journo trying to sound like they know more than they do.
“Brave” is simple and quirky? Well The Roop have found their match! Excited to hear “Surface” has shades of “Shallow” and I’m really looking forward to hearing “Carpool Karaoke” and how the legendary Nanne will stage it.
Gosh when will this nf marathon end?
Probably around may 8
Anyway yall aren’t ready for Ireland’s BOOPP Bjorkman will be SHAKING when he realises Ireland will add another win to their tally
Ireland sent a singing turkey 12 years ago because it was and still is ICONIC. It only takes 1 year for a turn-around – look at Portugal, NQ every year and then BOOOM a sudden victory
They had luck??? They simply wan with the highest percentage of votes in the history of esc….