The second heat of Melodifestivalen brought a big surprise finalist in 15-year-old singer Malou Prytz, with an all-female power team behind her in everything from songwriting and production to staging and dancing. She is joined by the big favorites Hanna Ferm and Liamoo, who oozed chemistry on stage, as expected.
Heat 3 in Leksand is not looking to be a very strong one (well there’s the hugely popular audience favorite Jon Henrik Fjällgren), but let’s take a look at the entries one by one.
1) The Lovers of Valdaro – Somebody Wants
The duo consisting of Erik Gabriel and Adam Warhester got their Mello place through the P4 Nästa competition. The up’n’coming acts coming in through this quota spot have not done very well in the competition before, but this duo has created a bit more positive buzz among Mello enthusiasts. Their synth pop and styling take us back to the 80s. The song-writing is in steady hands with Peter Boström and Thomas G:son, who have written many a Mello hit, including the biggest of them all, Euphoria.
2) Dolly Style – Habibi
The girl group debuted in Melodifestivalen in 2015, although none of those members are still around. In fact the group is currently on their seventh(!) line-up change since then. But it probably really doesn’t matter who is behind those colorful wigs. The girls are bringing a cocktail of influences, not just the Arabic song title, but also bhangra beats from Punjab. And there’s a simple dance choreography to go along with the tune, so all the little girls can learn to dance along.
3) Martin Stenmarck – Låt skiten brinna
It’s the fourth time Martin in joining Mello, and he has actually won it once as well, back in 2005 with Las Vegas (that year when Nanne Grönwall was robbed of the victory, sorry Martin). One of the songwriters is Uno Svenningsson, and you can really hear it (not really our bag). In this heat he is going against his sister-in-law Lina Hedlund, so it’s a bit of a family affair.
4) Lina Hedlund – Victorious
Lina’s first solo effort since Sweden’s favorite disco defenders Alcazar called it quits after dominating their genre for 20 years. The songwriters include YLC’s big favorite Dotter as well as Melanie Wehbe. The song is catchy and glittery, what else. Definitely one that will go forward, maybe to Andra Chansen.
5) Omar Rudberg – Om Om och Om Igen
The remaining one third of the boy band FO&O still to make his Mello debut as a solo act. Felix did amazing last year with a second place finish, while Oscar ended up last in his heat last week. Omar is the one with loads of star power… He has previously released a couple of solo songs with latin rhythms and lyrics in both Spanish and Swedish. That is a formula he is repeating here, but maybe in a bit more tamed-down manner, with reggae influences thrown in. Among the songwriters we can find previous Melodifestivalen winner Robin Stjernberg.
6) Rebecka Karlsson – Who I Am
Rebecka was an Idol finalist in 2016, ending up in second place after Liamoo (whom we saw in last week’s heat). She made an impression with her strong vocals, so expect some power delivery in this tune. The song has Alessia Cara‘s How Far I’ll Go from the Disney movie Vaiana as a clear reference point, or maybe something like This is Me from the Greatest Showman on Earth. In other words, it’s all about self-empowerment! A strong contender to join Jon-Henrik in going straight to the final.
7) Jon Henrik Fjällgren – Norrsken
Jon Henrik’s earlier tally includes a 2nd and a 3rd place finish in Melodifestivalen, as well as that win in Sweden’s Got Talent. He is a clear audience favorite, so we’ll have to give him that. He brings in Fredrik Kempe, the songwriter known for his bombastic tunes that many Mello fans love. Jon Henrik will also be singing more this time, but he will not abandon his traditional Sami jojk. He’s surely looking at another top 3 spot in the final.
All the photos: Nina Uddin
