HOW IT WORKS. SVT, Sweden's state network, had been broadcasting Melodifestivalen since 1960, but for the last ten years the competition has settled on a strong fomat. SVT stages 4 weeks of semi-finals in four different cities. Each semi-final contains 8 songs. Each week, viewers vote for their favourites. The top 2 songs go directly to the final at the end of the competition, and the songs that place third and fourth go to a Second Chance round, held in the fifth week. Each of the semi-finals lasts 90 minutes, and the final is on for two hours. Sweden's three biggest cities - Stockholm, Göteborg and Malmö always host the competition, and three different cities across Sweden get a chance every year. When Stockholm hosts the final, the votes are split between viewers and a jury, which usually has me biting my nails to see what will happen.
WHAT KIND OF SONGS ARE THERE? SVT tends to choose something for everybody in order to keep interest high. Schlager used to dominate the contest, and every year you are guaranteed to hear a real foot stomper that has nothing to do with modern music trends but still sounds fantastic. In recent years however, the contest has opened up to include a lot more styles - street sounds, electroclash, new disco, old time ballads usually sung by old time artists. SVT releases 1 minute clips of each song the day before each semi-final, so you have a taster of what to expect, but all songs are kept off other media until after the semi-finals are over. Below is an example of a typical Melodifestivalen schlager song - poor Sanna Nielsen has competed 6 times in Melodifestivalen and never quite won (although came very close in 2008).
WHO COMPETES? Unlike some of ESC countries who choose someone who has come off a music reality show and never performed in front of a stadium-sized audience before, Sweden has 32 acts mostly of super-high quality. Well known artists from around the country compete, and if they didn't do so well the previous year, they usually come back and try again in a year or two. A mix of established and new artists will perform, and even those who have competed in the Eurovision final and won come back to try again. Yes, sometimes they just do it for a career boost knowing they will never get through to the final, but Melodifestivalen is anything but cynical and it's always great to see a real veteran not too proud to compete again. Despite the fact Sweden is a small country, they have a thriving music scene and you never know what you will get. This was a really pleasant surprise in 2004, when former backing singer Shirley Clamp came out of nowhere with this song, placing 2nd.
VOTING. Usually totally insane and nonsensical during the entire contest. It's impossible to predict who will make it through to the final in Stockholm because the Swedes are all probably heavily drinking as they text in their votes. Generally, being a non-risk taking kind of race, the Swedes tend to pick the safest songs that make them feel secure, while more fabulous or unusual tunes get put into the second chance round, or go out immediately. Here's a typical example: after winning the jury vote in the 2009 final and with every media outlet predicting cutie pie Måns Zemerlöw would win with his entry "Hope and Glory", watch what happens when the public vote is revealed. Go to the 3.00 mark to see Mån's total stone-faced reaction at the public who fucked him over. I mean, come on, he had very tall dancing girls doing gymnastics during his song!
WHAT'S SO FABULOUS ABOUT THE CONTEST? Exhibit A below, from 2003.
Or, you can try Exhibit B - a 1990 entry from Swedish schlagerqueen Carola. More people should do an entrance like this in their everyday lives.
