So we are already getting to see the last seven entries of this Melodifestivalen season! And the Mello circus is already moving from The Avicii Arena to the bigger Friends Arena for this fourth heat, as well as the semifinal and the final. Last week brought us new finalists Anders Bagge and Faith Kakembo, but let’s see who is getting up on that stage this week!
Anna Bergendahl – Higher Power
Anna Bergendahl is returning for her third installment of the trilogy of her recent Melodifestivalen entries that all have very religious-sounding titles: Ashes to Ashes, Kingdom Come and now Higher Power. Beside these she has of course won the Melodifestivalen at her first attempt in 2010, when she went on to being the only Swedish Eurovision entry not making it to the final so far…
This year’s song is clearly steering even more towards country pop than the previous one, and that feeling is further amplified by her giant cowboy hat and themajestic horses on the LED screen.
Lillasyster – Till Our Days Are Over
Lillasyster are the Gothenburg rock band that made their Melodifestivalen debut last year with Pretender and getting to the Andra Chansen round did well enough to be invited back right away.
We of course get a band number, with the LED screen showing an airport runway. The tune sounds like a rather generic and safe type of rock tune. The singer’s voice sounds a bit strained and the times he goes for a more growly vocal, it seems out of sync with this type of more melodious rock.
Malin Christin – Synd om dig
Malin Christin is making her first appearance in Melodifestivalen, but you may know her lillasyster Wiktoria, who has competed three times rather successfully. Malin’s debut as an artist was a duet with the hugely popular Myra Granberg in 2020, and she’s released her debut EP last year. She has also been writing songs for other artists internationally, including last year’s Eurovision bop for Malta, Je Me Casse.
Malin’s song is a piano ballad in Swedish, that unfortunately doesn’t really lift off in it’s chorus. Malin is behind the piano for most part of the number, and only gets up to stroll on the stage for the last minute.
Tenori – La Stella
Tenori are, as you might expect, a duo of tenors – called Alexander Grove and Kalle Leander. They are doing their take on pop opera with rather schlager-influenced beats. They can obviously sing, and sound good at least when they are singing together (not so convinced about their solo parts myself).
Their song has plenty of bits in Italian as they have set their aim at Turin. And the number is based on a huge shining star on that LED screen and plenty of pyro effects raining down on them at the climax.
Medina – In i dimman
Sami Rekik and Ali Jammali are back as Medina, having taken a break for around five years. They had a string of hits in the noughties with songs like Miss Decibel and Där palmerna bor. Sami and Ali are competing against themselves in this Mello, since they are also on the song-writing team for Liamoo’s Bluffin’ along with Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt and Dino Medanhodzic, who have also written on Medina’s song.
The tune is a curious concoction of different influences form Nordic folk songs to Latin guitars and trumpets. The sound has party anthem vibes but also sounds like some labor movement fight songs. They are singing about living like there’s no tomorrow and dancing until we die. Kind of fitting when the world situation is what it is.
Angelino – The End
Angelino is a newcomer to Melodifestivalen and also to the Swedish music scene, having released his debut EP last year. He sites Freddie Mercury, John Mayer and Frank Ocean as his influences. Angelino’s song writing team has some strong names, including Melanie Wehbe who wrote on The Mamas’ Melodifestivalen winner Move, as well as Thomas Stengaard, who wrote Denmark’s 2013 Eurovision winner Only Teardrops.
The song is a ballad, but clearly much less boring than some of the other ballads that have already been heard on this year’s Mello stage. Angelino has a pleasant voice and he can certainly sing, doing some vocal runs in the song that can’t be easy.
Klara Hammarström – Run to the Hills
Klara Hammarström is returning for the third year in a row (as is Alvaro Estrella), putting to rest the strong belief held by Eurovision fans that there was an unwritten rule that nobody could compete in Melodifestivalen in three consecutive years. Last year’s Beat of Broken Hearts was a big jury favorite and ended up in sixth place. Otherwise Klara is of course known for being a member of a big family that loves equestrian sports and had their own reality TV show.
Klara is continuing with her superhero attire as last year, looking rather like Wonder Woman with some flames in her suit. Her song is an uptempo tune with house/EDM beats, with plenty of positive energy. This type of music is not the easiest to sing live, but Klara has some strong backing singers. The number builds mostly on camera work, as Klara is mainly standing still in different poses (in other words, not running). She is singing about facing her demons, which is visualised by a dancer with a similar look but in different colors.
