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Charlotte, Danny, Christer and Lotta. A very exciting Melodifestivalen semi-final approaches.

Tonight, 12points.tv was in attendance at a press conference held by SVT in a posh Malmö hotel. All 8 songs for Saturday's Melodifestivalen were played in their entirety for a room full of journalists. It was like a set up out of a science fiction movie - 3 rows of tables filled with people all staring at a giant portable stereo placed on a table on stage. But everyone was there for the same thing - to get a preview of this weekend's contestants. The songs for the most part did not disappoint.

Usually my own schlager/ESC opinion differs from how Swedes like their songs, so I had a look around the room to see what the journalist's reactions were, so you can get a varied opinion. The strongest songs came from Charlotte Perrelli, Christer Sjögren and Lotta Engmark, and Danny Saucedo, but most songs are at least intriguin. Here are our thoughts.

This week's Melodifestivalen songs had their first run through, and 12points.tv were at the arena to check it out.

The press were allowed into Malmö Arena today to watch a run through of Saturday's songs. Below are our initial impressions.

GLAMOUR. Charlotte Perrelli's song is, as you would expect, incredibly slick and sincere. If you thought the arm-ography for "Hero" was good, wait until you see what "The Girl" has in store for you. There's lots happening in under 3 minutes - screens dropping, catwalk action, wind machines turned on, lots of hair tossing, religious iconography and a great musical hook. To top it all off, for the rehearsal, Charlotte was wearing a shirt saying "I Will Always Love You" with a giant picture of a young Whitney Houston on the front. How fab. The current betting odds in the press room place Charlotte at 3,80 to 1, with 3 songs ahead of her. Does that mean being relegated to the second chance round? Don't be idiots, texting Swedes. Go here to see a one minute clip of Charlotte's rehearsal today.

CHARM. Greek-influenced group OPA! may not stand a chance, if typical Swedish voting is anything to go by. But that is a great shame because the song is totally charming and their mandolin player is quite a looker.

HILARITY. Christer Sjögren and Lotta Engberg's song "Don't Let Me Down" has the funniest lyrics I think I've ever heard in Melodifestivalen. They are so over the top that I laughed each time they ran through the song. If you're expecting another "I Love Europe", you won't find it here. There are a ton of string players and a lot of meandering back and forth. The press around me say this is their favourite.

GLOW IN THE DARK. We all knew that the last song at the last semi final was going to be something special, and Danny Saucedo brings out the unexpected with his song "Amazing". Danny and his backing dancers are wearing space-age costumes with lights that change colour and pulsate. It's likely you've never seen anything like this before. Danny is a super talent and has a very flexible tenor that suits an arena. Gimmicks aside, it's obvious this will go straight through to final. I know I will be in a minority here, but Loreen's song had no gimmicks or tricks and it worked better.

Other notes from today's rehearsal.

• Axel Algmark wore jeans so tight during his rehearsal, you can rule out thinking he may be a Muslim or a Jew.
• Hanna Lindblad needs a great song to match her talent. She is brilliant live but her song isn't doing much in the arena.
• Dynazty is not the usual kind of music most 12points.tv readers will go for, but their vocalist sang very well and unlike most contestants, without any playback.
• Lots of fabric in Lisa Miskovsky's song. Fans and fabric. But I don't discount it, it could be a sleeper hit.

We are at Malmö Arena for the rehearsals today - some songs improved, some songs crashed.

Melodifestivalen is about to start but here are some pictures to whet your appetite.