The final of Melodifestivalen 2010, the Swedish pre-selection to determine the country's representative at this year's Eurovision Song Contest, is about to be held. Ten acts will compete for the honour of representing Sweden in Oslo.
How to watch?
A webcast will be made available for international viewers on the official website here. The link will appear shortly before the show starts.
Participants
Composer/lyricist in brackets.
- Darin – You're out of my life
(Henrik Janson, Tony Nilsson) - Pernilla Wahlgren – Jag vill om du vågar
(Pontus Assarsson, Jörgen Ringqvist, Daniel Barkman) - Andreas Johnson – We can work it out
(Bobby Ljunggren, Marcos Ubeda/Andreas Johnson) - Timoteij – Kom
(Niclas Arn, Karl Eurén, Gustav Eurén) - Peter Jöback – Hollow
(Anders Hansson, Fredrik Kempe) - Ola Svensson – Unstoppable
(Dimitri Stassos, Alexander Kronlund, Hanif Sabzevari, Ola Svensson) - Jessica Andersson – I did it for love
(Kristian Wejshag, Lars "Dille" Diedricson) - Salem Al Fakir – Keep on walking
(Salem Al Fakir) - Anna Bergendahl – This is my life
(Bobby Ljuggren/Kristian Lagerström) - Eric Saade – Manboy
(Fredrik Kempe, Peter Boström/Fredrik Kempe)
LIVE
The show has started.
After the ususal procedure, four semi finals and a second chance- round, this year's Melodifestivalen marathon closes with the final show, where the ten remaining acts are competing to become Sweden's 2010 Eurovision Song Contest entry.
The show kicks off with some Hollywood action, in the form of a video greeting of the popular American actor Sylvester Stallone. Stallone has a connection with one of tonight's Melodfiestivalen hosts, Dolph Lungren, who acted together with him in the movie Rocky IV.
Now, the three hosts Dolph Lundgren, Christine Meltzer and Måns Zelmerlöv are on stage, performing Eye of the tiger. Next, the hosts will introduce tonight's ten hopefuls.
Now it's time to explain the new voting procedure. Us usually, 50 % of the outcome will be decided by the votes of the public. The 50% stake of the juries however is composed of five regional juries from Sweden and six international juries from France, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Russia and Serbia. The backing singers that have been supporting tonight's artists during the last Melodifestivalen weeks will be introduced as well and then it's time to start with the main part of the show.
1. Darin – You're out of my life
Current esctoday.com poll result: 5th (7.8%)
For his Melodifesitvalen debut, Darin has been given You're out of my life, a rather typical ballad about someone's state of mind after a break-up. Both the lyrics and the song are quite predictable and don't have any surprises in store. One might have expected a stronger song for Darin, who is wearing an all-white outfit tonight. The responsible people decided to let Darin open the show, which is considered to be the spot of the favourite, along with the last spot. It remains to be seen if this theory will also hold true tonight, as there are plenty of possible winners.
2. Pernilla Wahlgren – Jag vill om du vågar
Current esctoday.com poll result: 8th (4.5%)
THE typical Melodifestivalen entry of tonight has been placed at the unfortunate performing spot number two, which might indicate that Pernilla's Schlager does not stand much of a chance tonight. Jag vill om du vågar is remarkably dated but at the same time, that makes up a Schlager hence the song is intended to come across like that. Along with Hollow, this song definitely might be the least wise choice for the Eurovision Song Contest considering the results of Schlager songs in recent years. Pernilla is wearing a glittery golden dress and probably would be able to do her dance routine blindfoled by now.
3. Andreas Johnson – We can work it out
Current esctoday.com poll result: 10th (1.8%)
The order couldn't be more obvious: Of course it is time for another ballad. Andreas Johnson is dressed in a green leather jacket and the stage turns (dark-) green as well, creating a romantic atmosphere. As usual, he is vocally faultless but his song can hardly be called innovative and it is lacking some drive. After a third place in 2006, a second place in 2007 and a massive flop in 2008 together with Carola Häggkvist it doesn't seem very likely that Andreas will make it to the top this time either.
4. Timoteij – Kom
Current esctoday.com poll result: 1st (39.1%)
Timoteij probably are the shooting stars of this year's Melodifestivalen, together with Anna Bergendahl, following an unexpected victory in their semi final. Timoteij are being support by four male dancers with drums. Their song is very ethnic and overall quite catchy but doesn't go all the way.
5. Peter Jöback – Hollow
Current esctoday.com poll result: 9th (2.7%)
With Peter Jöback only placing second in his semi final, Fredrik Kempe's other song probably is more likely to win tonight. Hollow probably wouldn't be much of a loss as this year's Eurovision Song Contest already features quite many similar ballads lacking in real emotions with rather uninspired lyrics, which are rather common in Kempe's songs. Therefore, the song title could be seen self-explanatory: a "hollow" entry to the very core.
6. Ola Svensson – Unstoppable
Current esctody.com poll result: 6th (5.0%)
Ola is wearing a tight black leather outfit and a white t-shirt underneath. Instead of the usual glitter-glamour- routine for up-tempo songs, Ola is performing alone on stage (except for the piano player in the background), focussing on the vocal performance, which can only be a profitable decision. Unstoppable is quite a nice pop tune and Ola's performance is really good but it is questionable if he manages to beat all the favourites.
7. Jessica Andersson – I did it for love
Current esctoday.com poll result: 7th (4.6%)
Jessica Andersson already represented Sweden in 2003 as part of the group Fame with the song Give me your love. She is back at Melodifestivalen with the classical ballad I did for love. Considering that it is a rather typical Swedish pop song, it is quite emotional and the blue stage helps Jessica in bringing the message of her song across, which is not that difficult as it's a very simple song. Nice, but not a very likely winner.
8. Salem Al Fakir – Keep on walking
Current esctoday.com poll result: 3rd (9.0%)
Salem once again is alone on stage, starting his performance at the centre of the stage, sitting at the piano. His song Keep on walking certainly represents a genre that cannot be heard too often at Melodifestivalen and he is also standing out as an artist, having written the song himself. The chorus is instantly catchy but unfortunately, the song doesn't develop much after that, it actually gets quite repetitive.
9. Anna Bergendahl – This is my life
Current esctoday.com poll result: 4th (8.6%)
Anna Bergendahl took fifth place in the 2008 edition of the Swedish Idol and has been noticed as having one of the most distinctive and outstanding voices to ever compete in Swedish casting shows. Anna is accompanying herself with the guitar, wearing a white dress with black trousers for her Melodifestivalen debut. Her song This is my life is composed by Bobby Ljunggren. It's a rather old-fashioned "I-am-who-I-am-ballad", lacking some drive. While she still seems very genuine on stage, managing to capture the enthusiastic audience with her magnificent voice, it seems like she had decrease some of her talent to become Melodifestivalen- compatible. However, obviously, Anna is one of tonight's favourites, as her entry has been gaining immense popularity since her triumph in the semi final.
10. Eric Saade – Manboy
Current esctoday.com poll result: 2nd (17.2%)
As last year, the more or less "crowning" finish has been reserved for Mr Melodifestivalen himself, Fredrik Kempe, who once again has surpassed himself with the incredibly minimalistic lyrics. Besides the weird title Manboy, the mentioning of the word "halo", probably inspired by Beyoncé's smash hit does not change that at all. The performance features a lot of dancers, and Eric even gets wet at the end of the song, which will definitely cause plenty of teenage girls to pick up their phones for him. Will this win Fredrik Kempe Melodifestivalen for the third consecutive time?
This concludes the performances. Our poll will be closed in five minutes.
The interval act, once again introduced by Dolph Lundgren, features a little play where a series of Eurovision- related artists from Norway and Sweden are joining in a spectacular duel between the two nations. We can recongize plenty of familiar faces and ultimately, the play ends with last year's Norwegian Eurovision winner Alexander Rybak.
Our poll is closed now. You can find the updated results above.
It's time for the most exciting part of the show, the announcement of the results. First to go are the six international juries. The televoting lines are still open.
Salem Al Fakir has won the jury voting.
Anna Bergendahl has won the publisc televote as well as the national final and will represent Sweden in Oslo.
