Melodifestivalen 2016 — Semi Final 3
Holy crap! How good was last week's Melodifestivalen? I’ve had Isa — I Will Wait on repeat and it’s come to the point where I wake up with it in my head instantly.
Let’s get straight into it and see what semi final 3 has in store for us.
Melodifestivalen Semi Final 3
(In running order)
To watch the entire Melodifestivalen Semi Final 3 performances, click here to watch SVT now!
#1 SaRaha — Kizunguzungu
Overall Rating: 3/5 sassy kids talking smack to old people
(Watch the SVT stream and you’ll understand within the first 10 minutes as to why I’m ranking acts based on children this week)
What does it sound like? Haba Haba by Stella Mwangi — Which is a good thing because all you want to do is shake your hips like Shakira.
Stand out moment: Simple staging so not much visually happened. The chorus was the best part of the song and the African inspired beat was fun to listen to. Overall it's not strong enough to even come last within the Melodifestivalen final.
How did she go? Andra chansen — which is great but damn there are a lot of good acts that will wipe this song out.
#2 Swingfly feat. Helena Gutarra — You Carved Your Name
Overall Rating: 2/5 sassy kids talking smack to old people
What does it sound like? High school rock/rap beat with a sassy woman on the vocals during the chorus. The chorus sounds like something from the Rogue Traders, I’m thinking: Way To Go?.
Stand out moment: The chorus was the only thing going for it. Also Swingfly needs to stop touching his crotch. It was highly disturbing and not very Eurovision like #NoCrotchGrabsAtEurovision
Swingfly has performed at Melodifestivalen before and let’s be honest that song was pretty shit too.
How did he go? Put out to the trash, no recycling for this mess of a song.
#3 SMAILO — Weight of the World
Overall Rating: 3/5 sassy kids talking smack to old people
What does it sound like? Kygo inspired tropical house with a pop chorus.
Stand out moment: When the sparklers go off — let it rain down fire! I would imagine that this song would be 50x better as a studio edit rather than on stage. Good effort by the team, now let me find you on Spotify.
How did he go? No dice.
#4 After Dark — Kom ut som en stjärna
Overall Rating: 3/5 sassy kids talking smack to old people
What does it sound like? A Schlager banger
Stand out moment: The two transformations.
#1: SVT interviews the artists before the song goes on stage. So After Dark’s interview was conducted as a man and by golly gosh what a gorgeous and lush beard he had. Imagine all the prep work beforehand, damn girl! Ru Paul would be proud!
#2: Was the costume change on stage. She went from flowy tassel realness to silver Kylie Minogue showgirl.
How did he go? Found out she came last, which is a shame because Swingfly should've taken that honour.
#5 Lisa Ajax — My Heart Wants Me Dead
Overall Rating: 4/5 sassy kids talking smack to old people
What does it sound like? Mid tempo pop ballad.
Stand out moment: She knows how to make love to that microphone stand. Woof! Also, did anyone think that the background looked like a bunch of toilet rolls thrown around school after muck up day?
As Sweden’s Pop Idol she looked very comfortable on stage. I think her song is a grower, wasn’t instantly caught up into it after listening to it once, but after a few tries it’s getting better and better.
She’ll do well outside of Melodifestivalen, I can feel it.
How did she go? Well deserved entry into the final especially compared to the average songs that came before her.
#5 Boris René — Put Your Love on Me
Overall Rating: 3/5 sassy kids talking smack to old people
What does it sound like? Finger tapping pop with an upbeat chorus.
Stand out moment: “If I go down, will you go down with me” — that’s all really. It’s a good song, but doesn’t really warrant another listen after tonight's performance.
How did he go? Andra chansen… wow. Hmmm.
#7 Oscar Zia — Human
Overall Rating: 4/5 sassy kids talking smack to old people
What does it sound like? Electro-pop power ballad that is all up in your face. Kinda similar to Tooji — Rebels. Massive build up, killer chorus that ascends into an anthem of beats and vocal amazingness.
Stand out moment: Chorus, chorus, chorus. It’s thunderous! He’s pretty as all hell and kinda brooding with that long side fringe. He’s also vocally talented especially to keep up the pace against that awesome production.
let’s talk a bit more about the people behind the song. Smith & Thell are superstars at this genre of music and they have just been signed to a major US label which is super exciting.
Just shows that the formula usual works: Killer vocalist + amazing production team = a great Eurovision song.
How did he go? Final, which was a no brainer. Will be interesting to watch/listen to his performance against the current 6. Looks like it’s going to be an awesome final.
