I also wrote that I dare Sweden to snatch the title of having most ESC victories from Ireland within ten years of Loreen's victory. Maybe they could equal the record already next year?
After the 28 acts taking part in next year's Melodifestivalen had been presented, Christer Björkman was quoted as saying Sweden has a good chance of winning again on home ground. According to him the songs are really good and several of them could be potential ESC winners.
I'm glad he feels that way about the songs since the list of performers is a bit... Not disappointing. There are many good names, reliable people, likeable people. People who will entertain the masses. But the big surprises were few and far between.
For my liking, maybe there was one Anna Book / Samir & Viktor / Dolly Style entry too many but then again, I haven't heard the songs. Maybe I'll be surprised.
The biggest positive surprise was definitely Krista Siegfrids being among the 28 chosen ones. It really is a big deal for a Finnish pop act to get into Melodifestivalen.
I'm also glad to see songwriting trio Sven-Inge Sjöberg, Lennart Wastesson and Larry Forsberg back. They wrote many really catchy entries a few years back but had seemingly disappeared until now.
As for winning, then? Who do I think? Without having heard a second of the songs on offer, my bet is that Molly Sandén is the one to watch. The title of her entry is perhaps a bit on the cheesy side but still. I have a feeling this could be her year.
The complete lineup for Melodifestivalen 2016 can be found here.
I saw the line-up. Oscar Zia? Martin Stenmarck? Anna Book? Molly Sandén? And so on, et cetera. Did they just put the old names in a box, shake it a bit and pick out the same names over again? I am disappointed. They need new blood badly.
ReplyDeleteWell, it all comes down to how you want to see it. Sweden is a small country with a limited amount of singers. Most of the people in this lineup are at least competent but I do admit I could long for some more exciting and unexpected names here and there.
DeleteYes, competent. They will keep a certain standard, but this will result (once again) in the feeling that most of these artists are there just to fill out the field. Mello needs to take more risks with their artists and songwriters. Otherwise all these quarter- and semi-finals are completely unnecessary. It all becomes a competent brunsås with some glitter on it. There needs to be sushi, steaks and veggieburgers. I am confident that there are loads of other artists and songwriters who are willing to step up, but they do not seem to fit the agenda of Mello.
DeleteThe MF is a very artist orientated selection. People are already talking about their favourites, who should win, who is in and who is out months before we have any idea what their songs are going to be like. And even after we have heard the songs people and media talk how she, he or they did, who should have won and so on. When Sweden won the hela sjuttaballongen this year with a perfectly crafted combination of great artist, perfect song and ground breaking stage extravaganza, people shouted how great Måns was, how Måns did it and what a hero Måns was. In the same way when the result is bad the blame is put on the artist, what he/she should have done or should not have done. It seems that the songwriters and other musicians, choreographers and other people creating the performance as a whole are cleared of all the blame and the glory. If people remember them at all in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI guess it is much the same elsewhere too, but in Sweden the artists seem to carry (and they do carry it well, I must say) more than 100% of the responsability on their shoulders.