#SWEDEN: Live blog of Melodifestivalen Final – JOIN US from 20:00CET

By ajmained on March 10, 2018 • ( Leave a comment )

SWEDEN– LIVE BLOG of

Melodifestivalen Final from 2000 CET!!!

Sweden– Join us today at 20:00 CET for our LIVE rolling blog of the Final 2018 of Melodifestivalen where 12 acts will compete for the golden ticket to represent Sweden in Lisbon in May. The Final is being beamed live from the Friends Arena in Stockholm. The host of the show will be David Lindgren after doing it also last year. He is ably assisted by Fredrik Svensson.

You can watch the show live here at 20:00 CET. Just refresh our page here to get the views, comments and points of view from Andrew Main who you will know from previous musings here at Eurovision Ireland and his sparkling charm and witty repartee should keep you entertained… or bored to hell, who knows!!

The 12 Finalists tonight are

Mendez with “Everyday”
Renaida with “All The Feels”
Martin Almgren with “A Bitter Lullaby”
John Lundvik with “My Turn”
Jessica Andersson with “Party Voice”
LIAMOO with “Last Breath”
Samir and Viktor with “Shuffla”
Mariette with “For You”
Felix Sandman with “Every Single Day”
Margaret with “In My Cabana”
Benjamin Ingrosso with “Dance You Off”
Rolandz with “Fuldans”

The results will be decided by a combination of International Juries and public voting. Soon we will find out who will succeed in taking on the Swedish golden ticket from Robin Bengtsson who finished 5th in the Grand Final last year.

So sit back and get ready for Andrew to give you his spin on tonight’s offerings from Sweden – JUST REFRESH THE PAGE for the up to date comments – at your own risk!

ROLLING BLOG

Good Evening and welcome to Final of Melodifestivalen 2018 live from the Friends Arena in Stockholm. So who is going to win the golden ticket to Lisbon? In the build up to tonight Benjamin Ingrosso has emerged as the favourite.

The show begins. Friends Arena is packed with enthusiastic fans and our host David is in the crowd singing the opening number. There is a bunch of silver clad dancers with him onstage.

We are introduced to all of the artists. David is explaining the voting and that there is an international jury deciding part of the result. Then he introduces the voting lines for the public vote. Then we meet the flamboyant Freddie in the green room.

Song 1 Mendez – Everyday

First up is Mendez fresh from winning through from Anderen Chansen. To be honest here he has a good uptempo song here but his vocals are quite awful. It is noticeable at the beginning of the song before the heavy beats kick in to disguise his vocals somewhat. He has backing dancers and a golden waterfall pyro to help it along but I think this will not do that well tonight.

Song 2 Renaida – All The Feels

Another song that came through Anderen Chansen is from Renaida. Dressed all in orange she looks great with her big luscious lips. Its another decent pop song with a good feel to the beat. Her singing is not too bad albeit a bit shaky in places. Her backing dancers are also in orange track suits. I cant see this going to Lisbon though.

Song 3 Martin Almgren – A Bitter Lullaby

The song has a distinct country feel to it. It is a very uplifting almost anthemic ballad. He has a good voice and sings the song well. He seems confident also which helps enhance his performance. If the voters want to go for something uplifting with a nice message then this is their song.

Song 4 John Lundvik – My Turn

John is sitting at the piano to start his song. He has a great sounding voice. He also has the best song so far and its a pleasant ballad. He moves away from the piano and sings the rest of the song standing centre stage. It has a bit of a gospel feel to it especially when the backing vocals kick in. He also have more golden pyros from the floor as well as from above. A good performance which might be rewarded.

Song 5 Jessica Andersson – Party Voice

A veteran from the Eurovision Jessica is no stranger to the Melodifestivalen stage. This is a very traditional Swedish schlager song sound very very Abbaesque. This is my kind of music to be honest I love it. She has 4 backing dancers dressed in a sort of pink number. This is very uptempo and is perfect for the disco dancefloor. Euroclub will playing this in Lisbon but will Jessica be there to hear it?

Song 6 LIAMOO – Last Breath

He is standing in a strobe light at the start. He sings the first part then kicks into rap. He has a fairly good singing voice and is on stage alone. This does not press any of my buttons am afraid. The combination of rap and singing is fine but I just find the overall feel of it a tad boring.

Song 7 Samir and Vicktor – Shuffla

Now this is my guilty pleasure in this years Final. So obviously I am going to love it and say it is great. Of course the boys have been here before so will it be their year? The performance is very lively and its so good to the boys give it their all. This would certainly be a welcome addition to Lisbon’s events in May.

Song 8 Mariette – For You

She starts off on a platform dressed all in white. The platform lowers allowing to move about. Her voice is good and the song is pretty lively and decent. The most obvious pop song so far tonight. She has good lighting effects to help it along. Overall package decent with fair chance of winning tonight.

Song 9 Felix Sandman – Every Single Day

Another Anderen Chansen winner and this one is fancied to do rather well tonight. Felix certainly has the pretty boy look about him. He is sitting on a lights box for this performance. A good singer with a lovely voice. A slow burner of a song it is quite simple in its construction almost pure in its delivery. Yeah I like this one and it has a chance tonight too.

Song 10 Margaret – In My Cabana

Our last Anderen Chansen winner is from Margaret who of course hails from Poland. This is very upbeat with a Latin feel and also is very up to date and modern. Again I like this song and think the Jury will mostly get it. But will the Swedish public vote for a Polish singer to represent them? I think probably not.

Song 11 Benjamin Ingrosso – Dance You Off

A great sounding song with good vocals from Benjamin it gives me memories of Michael Jackson in its feel. This is the big favourite and I can see why. It is well presented with simple lighting in the backdrop. Surely this going to appeal to all the voters. Yep it went huge in the hall I think this is our winner tonight.

Song 12 Rolandz – Fuldans

The only song in Swedish and this sure know how to jump out of the screen and bash you about the head. It is bright it is brash and it is so funny. This is a flash of silver on silver, it reminds me of dare I say it Gary Glitter with his Glitterband except in Swedish. It sure is entertaining and can see the public giving it good marks but not sure the jury will.