Well last week saw the second Mello heat bring Liamoo as well as Samir & Viktor straight to the final, which basically means we have an all-male representation in there so far, which is a bit disappointing. But that is about to be rectified already this week, and certainly through Andra Chansen and obviously Mariette next week.
But let’s take a look at this week’s line-up, which was looking rather weak on paper, beside Dotter of course. But it seems we do have a few other decent songs as well.
The first one out is Martin Almgren, a pretty much forgotten Idol winner from 2015. He seems to be doing the kind of boring middle-of-the-road folk rock that you would expect. It worked well for him in Idol, and it worked for Chris Kläfford in the latest Idol season – but it doesn’t work for me. The na-na-na’s don’t cut it either…
The second one out is newcomer Barbi Escobar, who is doing a sort of urban uptempo pop song that still seems low in intensity and melancholy in the mood. The dance number is supposed to be rather artistic, but the song ain’t really going nowhere.
Third one out is Moncho, who just happens to be the brother of Swedish rap star Dani M and is doing hip hop (sometimes with reggae vibes) himself. The song he brings to Melodifestivalen is in the vein of something like Kaliffa has been having hits with recently. It’s a danceable good vibes kind of tune and Moncho brings out six dancing girls to go along with the Cuban vibes. The main thing I am wondering here, is why would Christer Björkman put this and Mendez in the same heat… just so the audience will have to pick one of these, coz we can’t have both?
Fourth to perform is Melodifestivalen veteran Jessica Andersson, who is participating for the 7th time and has also one win as part of the duo Fame in 2003. The Swedes will also remember her winning Let’s Dance. Jessica’s song is updated schlager pop and a grown-up dancefloor filler. It actually sounds much better than expected, maybe a sound reference could be Sweden’s own September.
Next in turn is Kalle Moraeus, who returns to Mello as an artist now that he can, after quitting his TV host job in SVT’s Så ska det låta. His sound is the same old familiar folk music thing that he already did better on his previous Mello run, but I’m sure this has a target audience of its own.
And then we finally get to the one we have been waiting for, Dotter. In case you missed our interview with her, do check it out right there. Dotter totally brings a breath of fresh air to this competition, sounding so up-to-date and current and right in time. The song is written by the people behind Sweden’s two latest Eurovision victories (Loreen‘s Euphoria and Måns Zelmerlöw‘s Heroes), so that pedigree and the interest in Dotter has actually put her on top of the betting odds tables for the whole Melodifestivalen even though she’s a first timer as an artist. She was, however, one of the writers behind Mariette‘s entry A Million Years last year. So what can you expect from Dotter? A quirky ballad, something in the vein of current favorites like Julia Michaels or Lorde, with emotional delivery and a minimalistic staging putting the focus on her artistry. This one will truly stand out and carry her to the final…
Finishing the show is Mendez, who returns to Melodifestivalen after something like 15 years. He had a string of latin-influenced hits in Sweden in the early 2000s, but has been living in his native Chile for quite a while now. The current latino trend spearheaded by Despacito makes Mendez a very good catch for Mello once again and he really takes his chance and brings out dance-friendly latin vibes.
