Melodifestivalklubben reviews
Grade | Act | Song |
4.5 | Victor Crone | Diamonds |
4 | JHF, Arc North feat. Adam W. | Where are you (Sávežan) |
3.5 | Tone Sekelius | Rhythm of my show |
3 | Rejhan | Haunted |
3 | Elov & Beny | Raggen går |
2.5 | Loulou LaMotte | Inga sorger |
2 | Eva & Ewa | Länge leve livet |
1. Rhythm Of My Show – Tone Sekelius
Songwriters: Anderz Wrethov, Dino Medanhodzic, Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt, Tone Sekelius
Lars-Kristian: Clubby pop song with rhythms from the oriental side of Europe. Tone sings in a lower register than last year and before long the body settles into a groovy state. The song is more modern than last year. Might as well have been from Greece or Spain because you want to dance and sing along. A perfect song to open this year's Melodifestival with.
Anton: Tone makes a song that is much more modern than the last one. It's a bit mysterious and has a powerful build-up to the chorus. The chorus consists of some parts that are instrumental, while Tone sings other parts of it. It's a clubby song that isn't nearly as happy and punchy as last year. There is room for a lot of dancing and it will be exciting to see how they do this on stage.
Grade:
Lars-Kristian: 4
Anthony: 3
2. Inga Sorger (No Sorrows) - Loulou LaMotte
Songwriters: Jonas Thander, Loulou LaMotte
Lars-Kristian: Swedish stripped-down mid-tempo song that could have been from a Disney movie and is also typical Swedish pop. Loulou also has an exciting voice. The song feels modern, but the style could also have been a Håkan Hellström song from the 90s as well. There's a possibility for a sing-along atmosphere on stage, but also in some ways a chant suitable for the Olympics or similar.
Anton: Loulou LaMotte has left The Mamas for this time and you can hear it. This is more pop with strings, clear beat throughout the song and she sings with a Skånsk dialect. This song is not unlike Tone Sekelius' "My Way" from last year. The song has a beautiful melody in the chorus and the lyrics are very uplifting. The song increases in intensity throughout the song and is not at all as calm as I expected.
Grade:
Lars-Kristian: 2
Anthony: 3
3. Haunted – Rejhan
Albin Johnsén, Mattias Andréasson, Pontus Söderman, Tilde RONIA Wrigsell
Lars-Kristian: The song is a stripped down mid-tempo ballad that can surprise on Saturday. If you remember Bishara from a few years back, this is pretty similar. Rejhan's voice is pleasant and beautiful to listen to. The soundtrack is also quite modern and could have been an Ed Sheeran song.
Anton: A song that is, in contrast to LouLou's, very calm is Rejhan's "Haunted". The song opens with vocals right away and continues with Rejhans singing well throughout the song. The question is whether this becomes a sleeping pill making watchers leave the TV to fill up on chips or whether they give Rejhan the attention required to appreciate the song. The song is beautiful, but will probably have a hard time in the competition even if it stands out in this starting field.
Grade:
Lars-Kristian: 4
Anthony: 2
4. Raggen går (The Ragg Marches On) – Elov & Beny
Songwriters: Johan Werner, Kristian Wejshag, Mattias Elovsson, Oscar Kilenius, Tim Larsson
Lars-Kristian: Here we have a modern Swedish pop song, the kind that have at least one contribution to MF every year. In Norway we would call it a "russe" song or a party song that can go high on the Spotify lists in Sweden. It's both a Swedish pop song and a bit of hip-hop too. These 3 minutes feels like a Formula 1 car going at 200 km/h. The song could even be elevated more when you see this on stage.
Anton: Elov & Beny continue with "Epadunken", which has become hugely popular in Sweden recently. The song is about them meeting a chick from the country who just wants to have fun. She can also go in reverse with a trailer and takes a snus. Sometimes honking sounds appear in the song together with oh-oh-oh loops. The middle eight is extra festive as it involves sausages with bread, ketchup, mustard and roasted onions. This is an earworm that will becom a hit on Spotify.
Grade:
Lars-Kristian: 3
Anthony: 3
5. Diamonds – Victor Crone
Songwriters: David Lindgren Zacharias, Peter Kvint, Victor Crone
Lars-Kristian: Today's best song according to Lars-Kristian. A very typical song from Victor Crone, poppy and with a modern soundscape. Even so, this is nothing new to Melodifestivalen or Victor Crone. The song's chorus is effective. It will be exciting to see how the stage show will lift this song, because right now it's just a definite radio hit.
Anton: This is very much inspired by Avicii's music. I get vibes of "Hey Brother" in the chorus. The song requires a strong vocalist and it will therefore be interesting to see how Victor handles it, he might need the choir to step in and help out at certain parts. If you have listened to Victor Crone's music before, even outside Melodifestivalen and Eurovision, you will recognize the sound. This is in the same range of sounds, albeit stronger. Smashing to come back to Melodifestivalen with this. I'd be very surprised if this song isn't played non-stop on the radio until New Year's.
Grade:
Lars-Kristian: 5
Anthony: 4
6. Länge leve livet (Long Live Life) – Eva Rydberg & Ewa Roos
Songwriters: Emil Vaker, Henric Pierroff, Kalle Rydberg
Lars-Kristian: Now we go back in time to the 60s jazz era or as one current entrant in Norway, Swingers to the 1920s. Pretty nice jazz song that makes you want to dance and this could be nice on stage too. Swingy soundscape.
Anton: Eva & Ewa do a couplé that is more in the style of "Livet på en pinne" than "Din Dong". This danceable and the ladies will have to dance hard if they want to keep up with the tempo of the song. The song doesn't have the same zing as "Rena rama ding dong", so it will take a very good stage number for this to go through on Saturday. Before the last chorus, there's room in the song for someone on stage to tap dance. I'd be surprised if it doesn't happen.
Grade:
Lars-Kristian: 3
Anthony: 1
7. Where You Are (Sávežan) – Jon Henrik Fjällgren, Arc North feat. Adam Woods
Songwriters: Arc North, Calle Hellberg, Jon Henrik Fjällgren, Joy Deb, Oliver Belvelin, Richard Lästh, Tobias Lundgren, William Segerdahl
Lars-Kristian: Jojk is back again in the Melodifestivalen, but it's at a disadvantaged with its heat not being in the northern parts of Sweden. Although Jon Henrik is back, this is a whole new vehicle on the same level as Keiino and the song designed for Eurovision. Even though we are in western Sweden in the first part of the competition, I think this could very well go straight to the final on Saturday because the joik is impressive and so is the modern beat.
Anton: The last song of the week starts with jojk by Jon Henrik. In the rest of the song there will be vocals by Adam Woods mixed with joiking by Jon Henrik. The verses builds intensively towards the chorus which has an EDM beat with joiking in the chorus. Before the last chorus, the beat gets very intense. Keiino in Norway could have done something similar outside of Eurovision, but this is more modern. This will most likely go straight to the final on Saturday!
Grade:
Lars-Kristian: 4
Anthony: 4
Summary
This is a good start to this year's Melodifestival. There are songs that fit the times and feel modern. There are also songs that are timeless. There is a lot of uptempo, which gives Rejhan the advantage of standing out. Eva & Ewa also stand out in a completely different way. In any case, it will be an exciting competition on Saturday and until then you are welcome to follow our reporting here on the website, but also on social media.