God kväll Europa! God morgon Australien!
Tonight we’re going to find out the first two acts to qualify for the Finals of Melodifestivalen 2019! In addition to that, we’ll also find out the two acts to have a second chance at andra chansen.

Tonight’s hosts will be Sarah Dawn Finer, Eric Saade, Marika Carlsson, and Kodjo Akolor. If the rumors are right, they will be doing a medley of Israel’s winning entries (including Sarah as the 2018 winner Netta and Eric Saade will also give his rendition of 1998’s Diva).

As for you dear readers, sit back and relax, and let Eurovision Ireland’s own Mr. B entertain and inform you. Feel free to tell me what you think and give your opinions about tonight’s Final and who your favourites are! I might even shout out to you in the blog.

This Semi-Final comes to us live from ‘Scandinavium arena’ in the beautiful city of Gothenburg, where 7 songs will be battling it out for a chance to get that ticket to Tel Aviv in May. The running order for tonight’s show is as follows:

1. Nano – Chasing rivers
2. High 15 – No drama
3. Viktoria – Not With Me
4. Zeana feat. Anis don Demina – Mina bränder
5. Arja Saijonmaa – Mina fyra årstider
6. Mohombi – Hello
7. Anna Bergendahl- Ashes to ashes

You can watch the show live here or here, but I do hope you’ll have a look to see what my opinions are.

You know the drill: Just refresh this page to get the comments, points of view and all that Eurovision Ireland goodness you know and love!

LIVE BLOG STARTS HERE!!

Hello everyone! Mr. B is here with you tonight to share his thoughts on the first Semi-Final of Melodifestivalen! Get your drinks and snacks and be ready for the show. Only a few minutes left!

Good evening, we’re live from ‘Scandinavium arena’ – Gothenburg!

Tonight’s hosts: Sarah Dawn Finer, Eric Saade, Marika Carlsson, and Kodjo Akolor are performing their own version of Dance with you Tonight 🙂

Welcome to Melodifestivalen 2019!

Our lovely hosts are trying to engage the public and they’re doing a wonderful job.

We are now being presented the 7th acts of tonight’s Semi Final as well as the rules and the number for voting your favourite (only if you live in Sweden).

We’re promised a show full of colour and great performances. Let’s hope Melodifestivalen won’t disappoint!

And now our first contestant

Nano – Chasing Rivers

Nano is giving us a soulful performance and we’re shown in parallel a younger version of himself. The show reminds me of what we’ve seen from Austria this year, but it has its own originality. From grown-ups to children and back, we are transposed into a feeling of regret or maybe it’s all meant to be some sort of words of wisdom.

High 15 – No Drama

Colour, neon lights and silver: High 15 are channelling some Little Mix energy on the stage. It’s a fun song, but something that I’ve seen many times. It’s quite quirky and it reminds me of ‘Hey Mikey’.

Wiktoria – Not with Me

If the memory doesn’t fail me, she’s at her 3rd attempt. Will the public ‘save her’? 🙂

What we having here is a classic Eurovision ballad. Wiktoria flirts with the camera and ho can you not love a song that has rain falling on the background and on the stage. The heavens are crying because ‘you’re not with me’. I see this song as the first real contender for one of those 2 spots in the Final. Great performance from Wiktoria!

Zeana feat. Anis don Demina – Mina bränder  (My Fires)

Lots of energy on the stage and as it’s a boppy song, this is exactly what we need. I don’t know why, but when Anis don Demina starts to sing his part, I’m having flashbacks to Origo if you know what I mean. It was a fun performance but more into a football cup category than at Eurovision. Or.. what do I know, maybe both?

Arja Saijonmaa – Mina fyra årstider  (My four seasons)

Arja is a well-known artist and much beloved by the public. She’s no stranger to Melodifestivalen. The song starts with a mandolin serenade and then it transforms into a schlager-ish anthem. Don’t know how well it will do, but the public is chanting her name.

Mohombi – Hello

We’re now at the penultimate song of the night and apparently the public’s favourite. Will Mohobi have a sooth or bumpy ride to the Final? 🙂

I like it, sound contemporary and his words ‘ where is the love that starts with Hello?’ get stuck to your mind. The act reminds me of Mans’s Heroes, but the song goes on another path. I think this one has a chance to get one of those 2 available spots in the Final.

Anna Bergendahl – Ashes to Ashes

Anna must be very brave to come back to Melodifestivalen. If you remember, she won it in 2010 and represented Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest, but failed to qualify.

For starters, I have to say she looks stunning in that silver -sparkly outfit. The song has a country feeling and you can see the growths in Anna as a performer. She’s no longer a teen she’s a lady and she has a point to prove. The staging underlines that too: form a sterile blue background to a lively nature surrounding her in the end. She could qualify as well.

We are now shown a recap with all the songs that we’ve heard tonight. For me, the two qualifiers should be Mohombi and Wiktoria, with Zeana feat. Anis don Demina and Anna Bergendahl/ Nano in Andra Chansen.

Do you agree?

The first round of votes finished and in pink are the ones that still have a chance to qualify! And are the acts that I predicted as well! 😀

The second round of votes is taking place now as we are shown again a recap of the songs that are still in the race for those two tickets to the final!

Well, that’s fun! Seeing all the presenters having fun on a Medly of Israeli’s entries. Don’t they look lovely?

How about this one? Loving the feathers 😀 Viva la Diva!

It’s time now to find out the finalists!

First to qualify to the final directly is Wiktoria – Not With Me

Bless her, she’s shaking and crying. I’m really happy for her. But her voice is powerful and convincing as she’s giving us another strong rendition of her song. We believe you girl!

Nano is the first to go to Andra chansen and so is Anna!

And the second finalist is: Mohombi!

I’m happy with the results. Are you?

Thank you all for following our blog! Good night and see you soon!

Author: Bogdan-Stefan Fedeles

Source: SVT