We have reached the half-way post in the preliminary heats of Melodifestivalen, and this week the contestants are in Västerås. Don’t expect Game of Thrones level drama, but rather harmless musical entertainment for your Saturday evening. Once again, the objective is to pick two entries going straight to the Grand Final of Sweden’s national Eurovision qualifications, plus one more for a second chance.
The Thursday rehearsals are on as I write this, giving a taste of what to expect in the actual competition. The songs will be released to the public at midnight to be included on Spotify’s New Music Friday, and we’ll add the links as they are available.
Now let’s have a look at the participants of week 3 in Västerås.
1) Greczula – Believe Me
Kristofer Greczula is a Swedish singer and songwriter with a background in the rock group Damn Delicious as a teenager. As a solo artist he’s released one album in 2022 and is working on his second one at the moment. His musical influences include legends like Prince, Queen and David Bowie. The Queen references are most apparent in his song, especially the guitar and piano parts. The staging includes him getting hoisted down playing a grand piano, which looks really cool. The rockstar poses around the stage sometimes look less than natural, but he sure has the rockstar looks. Big plus points for all the songwriters being brand-new names to Mello!
2) Malou Prytz – 24K Gold
Malou Prytz is already doing her fourth Melodifestivalen at 21 years of age, which makes her the youngest ever to reach that milestone. Her previous entries have been in the girlie pop genre, but the new entry is more in the electronic EDM vein. The live vocals sound rather breathy in the rehearsals, so hope they can improve for the final – this genre can be pretty difficult to sing live as we’ve seen in several Eurovision entries in past years… The staging looks golden indeed with hanging gold chains dividing the space and great dance moves with six female dancers in golden bodysuits like Malou herself.
3) Björn Holmgren – Rädda mig
Björn Holmgren originally made his name on TikTok, and gained a viral hit in 2022 with Ut med allt, which reached number one on the Swedish charts. For his Melodifestivalen debut he is bringing an emotional song about his sister, who got seriously ill with TBE and ended up in intensive care for months. She is still living with brain damage and that has affected Björn and the family fundamentally. The staging places Björn in the waiting room at the hospital, which really brings home the message.
4) Dolly Style – YIHAA
Dolly Style are also returning to Melodifestivalen for the fourth time, having had their big breakthrough back in Melfest 2015 with Hello Hi. The group was formed in 2014 and they are inspired by the Japanese kawaii aesthetic. The group has gone through more member changes than we could ever have kept track of, and the trio gained a fourth member in 2023, as Molly, Holly and Polly were joined by Yolly. The tune they are bringing is riding on the popular country wave, but this is actually not their first country-pop rodeo, as they did it already with Boom Boom Box in 2020. The cowboy hats and the horses on the LED screens all go in fun pastel colors like the rest of the staging. A given favorite of the six-year old girls (and their dads)… Giddy up!!
5) Angelino – Teardrops
Angelino made his Melfest debut in 2022 with the rather forgettable The End and is now back for another try. He says he wants to create an emotional togetherness with his music, where everybody can feel seen and heard. The sound is gospel-tinged Melodifestivalen pop in the vein of Tusse‘s Voices, and Tusse is indeed one of the songwriters along with the Debs and Jimmy “Joker”.
6) Annika Wickihalder – Life Again
Idol 2021 alumni Annika Wickihalder made her Mello debut last year and made it to the final. She has her musical roots firmly in gospel, while this tune is raising the tempo a bit towards a pop beat to give it even more joy and hopefulness. As usual, Annika is serving pretty flawless vocals. The number includes nice looking northern lights and dancers in flowing white dresses, with Annika joining in and moving her dress along with them.
All photos © Nina Uddin
