Tim: Quick bit of admin: for some reason, SVT have decide to disable embedding on their YouTube videos, at least for the time being, so all we can offer is a link to the performance, SORRY. But back to the main part: Melodifestivalen’s a weird one to judge, as far as trying to work out why a track got rejected. In most other countries, we’ve just got one show, so it’s a “why would you pick that one instead of this?” With four heats, though, and four from the seven in each progressing through, it’s decidedly trickier. Take this, for example, binned off in fifth place:
Tom: Where the hell have I heard that intro and chorus riff before? Some pop-dance song, certainly, but I’m damned if I can place it.
Tim: A few places, possibly – it’s a thoroughly modern sounding song, and solidly deserved at least an Andra Chansen place. I find when predicting the results that there’ll be one definitely finalist, a couple of “either final or Andra Chansen”, and a couple of “might just make it through”. This, I had in the middle category, and was AGHAST when some others got ahead of it. Like I said: it’s modern sounding, it’s sensible, and it’s fun.
Tom: Mm. I’m not sure about modern-sounding: for me, this sounds just a bit Balearic, the sort of thing that did very well in the early 2000s, had a bit of a resurgence a few years ago, and has now died out again.
Tim: Well, you could be right, but I was hearing more those distorted vocal samples and tropical beats placing it squarely around everybody’s favourite current dance trope.
Tom: I really don’t think it’s a Eurovision winner, and I think the audience probably made the right choice.
Tim: Oh now don’t say that. I don’t quite know that her outfit was the best choice for it – it certainly doesn’t really go with the song – but other than that, I don’t get what it did wrong.
Tom: I think it’s more that it didn’t get anything right. I mean, a rap middle eight? Really?
Tim: Oh well yes there is that.