At the end of the 4th Swedish semi final, Kristian Luuk, the Melodifestivalen host, announced that Andreas Johnson and Sarah Dawn Finer qualified to the final. Sanna Nielsen and Magnus Uggla get a new chance to qualify next Saturday in Andra chansen (The Second Chance round).

The first song to move on the Melodifestivalen final was Sarah Dawn Finer with the ballad I remember love. Sarah seemed overwhelmed with the success.

– I can’t understand what has happened! I believe that my song touched many hearts this evning, Sarah told esctoday.com after the show.

After a nerve-racking wait in the green room, it was clear that Andreas Johnson, last years number three, was the last artist to qualify directly to the final in this year’s Melodifestivalen. Johnson´s song A Little Bit of Love was the hot favourite before the show started. Clearly the song, with strong influences from the 60’s, appealed to many voters.

– This is totally crazy! It’s an amazing feeling to win again. I was so nervous before the final result was announced, he explained to esctoday.com.

The two songs to move on to Andra chansen next weekend were Vågar du, vågar jag and Kung och fosterland. Sanna Nielsen, who participates for the fourth time was one big smile this evening.

– I feel fantastic about the result and I feel so happy for Sarah who made it directly to the final. She’s such a great singer, Sanna said to esctoday.com.

Magnus Uggla was predicted to go directly to the final in Stockholm, something the poll made by esctoday.com last night also showed. However, the Swedish televoters wanted differently and sent Uggla to Nyköping instead.

– I am happy about the result. I had no idea about how the Swedish people were going to vote, Magnus told esctoday.com.

After Dark survived the first elimination of the contest but finally finished in the unfortunate fifth place with their happy up-temp song (Åh) När ni tar saken i egna händer. There was a lot of focus about the lyrics of the song before the show and Christer Lindarw, the singer, said to esctoday.com that it probably had affected the result in a negative way.

– It’s a happy schlager song and I’d like that to be the focus. The press has paid too much attention to the lyrics!

Eliminated after the first round of the contest were Carolina af Ugglas with Tror på mig and the newcomers Emilè Azar with Vi hade nåt and La Musica sang by Verona .

– It’s a relief that it’s over! I did my thing and I didn’t expect to move on in a competition that mainly consists of schlager and pop, Caroline af Ugglas said.

The newcomer Emilè Azar felt great support from the audience and is hoping for a career as a singer after Melodifestivalen.

– The most important thing for me is that my song lives on after the contest. I am so thankful for everybody who voted for me! Thanks!

Verona finished in last place with her Italian disco song. She told esctoday.com that she felt a bit disappointed to see her name on the bottom of the result list.

– It still is a schlager contest and my song was perhaps the only one that wasn’t a traditional pop or schlager song. This will be a memory for life, but it doesn’t feel like I’ll compete again.

The full result of the Melodifestivalen semi final in Gävle tonight:

To the final:

• Andreas Johnson A Little Bit of Love
• Sarah Dawn Finer I Remember Love

To Andra chansen (The Second Chance round):

• Sanna Nielsen Vågar du, vågar jag
• Magnus Uggla För kung och fosterland

Eliminated from the contest:

• 5. After Dark (Åh) När ni tar saken i egna händer
• 6. Caroline af Ugglas Tror på dig
• 7. Emilè Azar Vi hade nåt
• 8. Verona La Musica

The Gallery is now updated with many new photos from the semifinal in Gävle.