Tonight the 3rd semifinal of Melodifestivalen takes place tonight, the Swedish selection program for the Eurovision Song Contest. Linkoping is the lucky city to host tonight's highly anticipated show. The eight acts performing are battling for one of two direct tickets to the Globen final on the 12th March. The acts in 3rd and 4th place will go to the 2nd chance round on the 5th March.

The Show

The show will start on SVT1 at 20:00 CET. Hosts Marie Serneholt and Rickard Olsson will be presenting the songs alongside the usual highly anticipated guest performances/interval acts.

How to watch

• Live on SVT1 at 20:00 CET
• webcast(SVT official) / backstage of the green room

Participants

1. Linda Sundblad –Lucky you(Linda Sundblad, Johan Bobäck, Fredrik Thomander, Anders Wikström)
2. Simon Forsberg –Tid att andas(Fredrik Kempe)
3. Sara Lumholdt –Enemy(Niclas Lundin, Anton Malmberg Hård af Segerstad)
4. The Playtones –The king(Fredrik Kempe, Peter Kvint)
5. Shirley's Angels (Shirley Clamp) –I thought it was forever(Robin Abrahamsson, Alexander Bard, Bobby Ljunggren, Henrik Wikström)
6. Sebastian Karlsson –No one else could(Andreas Alfredsson Grube, Sebastian Karlsson)
7. Sara Varga –Spring för livet(Sara Varga, Fredrik Boström)
8. Eric Saade –Popular(Fredrik Kempe).

The third semifinal of the Swedish Melodifestivalen has just kicked off from the city of Linkoping. The presenters of the show Marie Serneholt and Rickard Olsson welcome everyone to Linkoping and present the names of the 8 participating hopefuls.

1. Linda Sunblad – Lucky you
   She comes on stage dressed in a black sequence outfit with a red sequince heart in the middle. She sings a very pop orientated melody, whilst shes flanked by 6 dancers who all dressed in black and red. The dancers groove to the song in an unique choreography accompanying the singer. This pop tune will go down well with the younger audience.
2. Simon Forsberg –Tid att andas
   Simon appears on stage dressed in a black suit, sings a ballad in Swedish showcasing his strong vocal skills.

3. Sara Lumholdt –Enemy
   Sexy Sara appears on stage on top of a table on stage dressed in black and red, seems to be the colour of the night. She sings a pop melody titled Enemy, and is accompanied on stage by 6 dancers dressed in blue and black (their outfits seem to be uniforms). A majestic performance and staging indeed!

4. The Playtones –The king
   An all male band all dressed in blue sing a Rock N Roll style The King are accompanied by 2 female vocalists. The staging of the song has a very 1950's feeling, Seems they have been inpired by Elvis Presley ( The King). Excellent staging along with fire on the piano set this performance ablaze.

5. Shirley's Angels –I thought it was forever
   Shirley Clamp is no new face on the Melodifestivalen stage as she has participated in Melodifestivalen many times and enjoys both name and fame at home in Sweden. Today she appears on stage with her angels. Shirley and her angels appear on stage dressed elegantly in black singing a very typical Swedish pop tune I thought it was forever. Shirley shows off her powerful voice during the performance. Shirley and her angels are accompanied by 3 male dancers half way through the song. Sexy, elegant and quaint! This is the one to watch out for!

6. Sebastian Karlsson –No one else could
   Sebastian appears on stage in black suit accompanied by 4 sexy dancers singing No one else could, another pop melody made in Sweden in the genre of Mans Zelmerlow's Cara Mia.

7. Sara Varga –Spring för livet
   Beautiful Sara appears dressed in a white dress, a fresh change from the other performers tonight who have all chosen black! Sara sings a ballad in Swedish Spring for livet. A very simple and elegant performance indeed!

8. Eric Saade –Popular
   Swedish hearthrob Eric Saade is back on the Melodifestivalen stage after last year's performance with his mega hit Manboy. Tonight he sings Popular, dressed in black and bordeaux. The sexy Swedish singer is flanked by 4 male dancers. An up tempo disco beat. Eric surely knows how to make the stage his own with his strong vocals, impecable performance and enigmatic dance routine. The explosion of glass window walls during the perfomance makes this the most impressive and mesmerising act of the night. Goes down very well with the audience. This could be a strong contender if it goes to Dusseldorf!
   

That concludes tonight's competitive performances and the voting lines are about to open. For the time being a recap of the 8 participating songs is being aired.

Lena Philipson, the 2004 Swedish Eurovision representative is back on the Melodifestivalen stage with Dead By April singing a rock song as the interval act.

The winner of the semi final and through to the final is: Eric Saade – Popular

Now Eric takes the stage and performs Popular one more time.

One more voting session begins for the following contestants:

4. The Playtones – The king
5. Shirley's Angels –I thought it was forever
6. Sebastian Karlsson – No one else could
7. Sara Varga – Spring för livet

To the second chance round on 5th March:
7. Sara Varga – Spring för livet
5. Shirley's Angels –I thought it was forever

2nd place tonight and through to the final on 12th March: The Playtones – The king

And this takes The Playtones up on stage to perform once again their song. Second Chance Contest will be held on the 5th of March in Sundsvall, the Melodifestivalen final will be held on the 12th of March at the Globen Arena in Stockholm.