Melodifestivalen 2014 - Songs we will miss in the final

I'm kinda ok with the final's line up but I will miss some songs and I'd rather have them in Friends Arena instead of some finalists. So, just a quick post!

Alvaro Estrella instead of Yohio!
JEM instead of Ellen Benediktson!
Martin Stenmarck instead of Linus Svenning!
EKO instead of Ace Wilder! (One of this year's best songs!! How on earth did it came last in the semi?)
Jessica Folcker & Dr Alban instead of Oscar Zia! (I'm ok with Oscar but I'd rather have Jessica and Dr Alban in the final. I adore Jessica's vocals and I think it would have been better if she had sung this by herself)
Linda Bengtzing instead of Anton Ewald!
Janet Leon... I want to fit this in the final but there's no room. So we can have the "jury's choice" like in 2009. 11 songs in the final!

So the ideal 2014 final is like this (random order):
Alcazar
Helena Paparizou
Sanna Nielsen
Panetoz
Alvaro Estrella
JEM
Martin Stenmarck
EKO
Jessica Folcker & Dr Alban
Linda Bengtzing
Janet Leon

Ah I wish!

Melodifestivalen 2014 - Final's running order revealed

This is so sad! :(

1. Anton Ewald – Natural
2. Ellen Benediktson – Songbird
3. Alcazar – Blame It On The Disco
4. Oscar Zia – Yes We Can
5. Linus Svenning – Bröder
6. Helena Paparizou – Survivor
7. YOHIO – To the End
8. Sanna Nielsen – Undo
9. Panetoz – Efter solsken
10. Ace Wilder – Busy Doin’ Nothin’

3? 3?! 3?!?!??!?! Goodbye Copenhagen! :'(

Melodifestivalen 2014 - Andra chansen - Results

Photo: Christian Örnberg

I think the photo is more than enough but ok... Helena made it! She is in the final!! Wooohooo! Linus Svenning is the second finalist. Helena ("Survivor") beated Outtrigger ("Echo") in the first duel and Linus ("Bröder") beated Martin Stenmarck ("När Änglarna Går Hem"). Poor Martin! :( I wanted him in the final. And for him it's 2005 all over again. Actually the whole night felt like 2005. Helena and Linus were both in the first semi. Just like Alcazar and Linda Bengtzing who were also in the first semi in 2005 and both made it to the final through andra chansen...

The rest of the songs:

5. State of Drama – ”All We Are”
6. JEM – ”Love Trigger”
7. Ellinore Holmer – ”En himmelsk sång”
8. Ammotrack – ”Raise Your Hands”

Well Sweden, your next task: Alcazar to Copenhagen, Helena to be the runner up. :)

Melodifestivalen 2014 - First semi - Results

Photo: Lindwall Sven

I don't know what's wrong with me this year... :S The truth is that there is a lot of work to do with Paparizou's interviews. I need to translate them from Swedish to Greek for the official fan club. I had promised a post about Friday's dress rehearsal but I got back home at 3am, slept at 5am and was at work from 11am to 7pm so there was no point and no time to blog about it. Anyway...

Oh Sweden... You never get it right (except for 2012). To the final made it Ellen Benediktson ("Songbird") and Yohio ("To The End Of The World"). Really? Ok Yohio's place to the final was more than expected but Ellen? The song is too boring for my taste.

To andra chansen we have Helena Paparizou ("Survivor") and Linus Svenning ("Bröder"). Are you deaf Sweden? What on earth is Helena doing in andra chansen? She should have easily sailed to the final! By far the best song, vocals and performance! I don't get how you guys are thinking when it comes to voting! Linus was fine. I still don't like the song but whatever.

5. Elisa Lindström – ”Casanova”
6. Alvaro Estrella – ”Bedroom”
7. Mahan Moin – ”Aleo”
8. Sylvester Schlegel – ”Bygdens son”

What is Alvaro doing in the 6th place? The catchiest song of the night. Yes, pretty bad lyrics but the melody is catchy as hell! Had "Bedroom" been sung by a guy like Saade or Ewald, it would have been to the final before we even got to listen to it!

My ideal results would have been like this: Helena and Alvaro to Friends, Elisa and Mahan to andra chansen.

The rest of the night was ok. I liked the intro and there were some funny moments. Nour seemed to be very nervous during the entire evening. I don't know if it was because of the first dress rehearsal on Friday coz they had a lot of technical problems! But they should have fixed them in the second dress rehearsal on Saturday...

Let's see what will happen this week. Hopefully I will blog about it later tonight...

Melodifestivalen 2014 - Rehearsals of the first semi

I'm so unfaithful to my blog this year... And it's gonna be a hectic mello for me!

Rehearsal-day today and we have officially kicked off! All the rehearsals' clips are here.

Yohio - To The End
Yohio is so freaking fake. On everything. It's all about the image. Without it he's really nothing special. The song is average. It has nothing to do with his Japan material and yes, this might be Melodifestivalen but shouldn't he stay true to "his music"? Hopefully I won't see him in Friends Arena.

Mahan Moin - Aleo
Hm... ok... I don't know. Not a big fun of it... Sometimes I find some vocals annoying, sometimes I don't. It's a 50-50 for that 1 minute.

Linus Svenning - Bröder
It's really hard when you lose a family member. But I'm sorry. I think it's too much putting all these photos on the LED screens. People should vote for the song itself and not for story behind the song. I don't like it.

Elisa Lindström - Casanova
Schlager-ish but kinda old-ish too. It's fun but that's all. I won't get bored though. That's for sure.

Alvaro Estrella - Bedroom
I like it! Great music! But I'm not a big fan of the lyrics... And I wonder if he will able to pull it live...

Ellen Benediktson - Songbird
Nope. Not my cup of tea. I'm not a ballad fan unless it's a super wow ballad. Don't like this.

Sylvester Schlegel - Bygdens Son
Hey there 8th place! On my ranking at least!

Helena Paparizou - Survivor
How can I be objective here? "Objective"... that word doesn't exist in my vocabulary! Helena to Friends Arena! Now! The song is amazing! Smash hit! Can't wait until tomorrow! Love it love it love it! The more I listen to it the more I love it!

I'm off to Malmö for the general rehearsal. Once again! And it's Helena's birthday after all. How could I not be there? There will be a full post about this just like last year but I don't know when...

Melodifestivalen 2014: The artists, the songs, the composers - Heats 1 & 2

Here we are! The artists of the first two semis are revealed! And of course Helena Paparizou was one of them. ;) Also, the expected Yohio and Sanna Nielsen. And many unknown artists (to me).

Photo: Lina Siksjö

Semi-final 1: Malmö 1/2

• Aleo
Artist: Mahan Moin
Composers: Mahan Moin, Anderz Wrethov

• Bedroom
Artist: Alvaro Estrella
Composers: Jakke Erixson, Jon Bordon, Lauren Francis, Kristofer Östergren

• Bröder
Artist: Linus Svenning
Composer: Fredrik Kempe

• Bygdens son
 Artist: Sylvester Schlegel
Composer: Sylvester Schlegel

• Casanova
Artist: Elisa Lindström
Composers: Ingela ”Pling” Forsman, Bobby Ljunggren, Jimmy Jansson

• Songbird
Artist: Ellen Benediktson
Composers: Sharon Vaughn, Johan Fransson, Tim Larsson, Tobias Lundgren

• Survivor
Artist: Helena Paparizou
Composers: Bobby Ljunggren, Henrik Wikström, Karl-Ola Kjellholm, Sharon Vaughn

• To the End
Artist: YOHIO
Composers: Andreas Johnson, Johan Lyander, Peter Kvint, YOHIO

Yeah, apart from Helena and Yohio I have no idea who the rest are! And if I just stick to the names then it's Helena and Yohio to the final! It's all about the songs though so I can't be sure about anything. It's the Swedes who vote after all. If you know what I mean. ;) I'm sad that Helena competes in Malmö and not in Linköping. But I totally expected it right after I found out (last night) that she'd be in today's press conference. Now she will either open the semi or perform last. She and Yohio will be the ones who'll share the spots 1 and 8. Who knows... I might repeat last year's craziness... Love Malmö!

Photo: Lina Siksjö

Semi-final 2, Linköping 8/2

• Efter solsken
Artist: Panetoz
Composers: Johan Hirvi, Mats Lie Skåre, Nebeyu Baheru, Njol Badjie, Pa Modou Badjie

• Glow
 Artist: Manda
Composers: Joy Deb, Linnéa Deb, Melanie Wehbe, Charlie Mason

• I Am Somebody
Artist: Pink Pistols
Composers: Joakim Törnqvist, Nestor Geli, Per Ivar Hed, Susie Päivärinta, Tord Bäckström

• Love Trigger
 Artist: JEM
Composers: Thomas G:son, Peter Boström, Julimar ”J-Son” Santos

• När änglarna går hem
Artist: Martin Stenmarck
Composers: Andreas Öhrn, Alexander Bard, Martin Stenmarck, Peter Boström

• Set Yourself Free
 Artist: Little Great Things
Composers: Charlie Grönvall, Cristoffer Wernqvist, Felix Grönvall, Adam Dahlström

• Hallelujah
Artist: The Refreshments
Composer: Joakim Arnell

• Undo
Artist: Sanna Nielsen
Composers: Fredrik Kempe, David Kreuger, Hamed "K-One” Pirouzpanah

Ok I didn't get Helena in "my" semi but I got Sanna Nielsen! And Martin Stenmarck! Funny that the last time I got to see Sanna was in April 2011, with Martin in Kvällen Är Din! Now I'll get to see them again! What can I say about the second semi? Again, I only know Sanna and Martin! And I've just heard of Panetoz... I'd say it's Sanna and Martin to the final. Based on my taste, that is. :P Sanna's song seems to be a ballad. That's the vibe I get by the title. But then I see Fredrik Kempe's name there and it screams schlager. We'll see...

EDIT: I just watched a video from TV4 and Sanna confirms it's a ballad!

Generally I'm not too excited about the names. 16 artists are revealed and I only care about 3 of them. Hopefully the songs will be good.

On Thursday we'll know the rest of the contestants. Expressen and Aftonbladet are sure that Alcazar are in. I'm not. At all. Tess is supposed to be in Thailand for two months during the mello season. I doubt she'll be going back and forth for Melodifestivalen. And I've posted this on many groups on fb and on escunited.com. Imagine if they're actually in! xD That would be awesome but I'll also be pissed coz they'll definitely be in Gothenburg's semi (again!). And neither Helena or my Alcazar will be in "my" semi! Grrr!