Yesterday, the rehersals of the second semifinal started at Scandinavium in Göteborg. Eight new acts will be judged by the people on Saturday. The reharsals went very well both for the newcomers as well as for the more established artists. The standard of the songs is somewhat better than last week and the biggest name as well as favourite according to all magazines and newspapers is The Ark.

First out on stage yesterday morning was Regina Lund with her "Rainbow star" a song with a clear uptempo disco beat. Regina did ok at the rehersals but not more, there are some more things that need to be worked on before this number is as it should be.

After Regina it was time for the newcomer of the year Marie Lindberg who is going to sing her own song "Trying to recall" a very soft ballad with only herself and a guitarr on stage. She did very well . She also received a great deal of support from the press in the hall.

After a short coffea break, we had the chance to see Jimmy Jansson do his first rehersal with his song "Amanda". This song is an very uptempo number, very similar to the one he did in 2005 "Vi kan gunga", he also did very well performing this cathcy song with a choreography to fit it.

Cosmo 4 then took the stage to perform "What's your name" also a very uptempo number. The four girls did a great job on stage and delivered both the song and the dance in a very proffesional way. After Cosmo 4 it was time for the big Press Conference with all 8 artists being introduced on stage and then all 177 journalists had 50 minutes to speak to the artist.

Lustans Lakejer was now ready to take the stage and perform their own song "Allt som jag en gång trodde på" (Everything I once believed in). They sang a very 80's style song and for all their fans we can reveal that the song has that typical Lustan Lakejer sound. Then it was time for Jessica Andersson to make her comeback on the Melodifestivalen stage, last year she was not voted to Globen with her song "kalla Nätter". This year she is hoping that "Kom" (Come) will get her the ticket to Globen that she so desperately wants. She did a well choreographed number and she again showed us her great voice.

After a longer break, it was time for the big comeback act. Svante Thuresson who las participated in 1977 when he was second with "Johan B Lund". This year he is doing a duett with AnneLi Rydé in the song "Första gången" (First time) a jazz song. Svante Thuresson looks a bit lost on stage but he will probably be fine after a couple of rehersals. Svante had his 70th birthday yesterday so he is really the grand old man this year.

At last it was time for The Ark who delivered a uptempo number with a spectacular stageshow and an perfect performance from the guys and they also thought themseleves having the best song in this semifinal, they recived huge applause from the press, and it felt almost like when Carola did this last year.

Please enjoy our photogallery from the rehersals here.