With just over 24 hours to go until the fourth night of Melodifestivalen 2024 kicks off, Kittens and Euan had a chance to watch some of the rehearsals for the fourth semi-final of the competition, where they give their opinions and predictions for Saturday’s show.
Albin Tingwall – ”Done Getting Over You”
Photo: Daniel Stridh | VDANDESIGN
Albin starts out alone on the stage in a leather waistcoat and a satin-y silvery shirt with black trousers with bright neon graphics in the background. For the chorus, he’s joined by two dancers in pastel pink and green tops and trousers, while the graphics in the background mirror the choreo. We get a stonking key change near the end and the lights burst to fill up the arena as it goes.
What did we think of the rehearsal?
| Kittens | Euan |
| The song is really catchy (reminds me of Robin Bengtsson’s “Innocent Love”) and much better than I expected, but Albin doesn’t look confident on stage – his choreo looks awkward and he seems overshadowed by the other dancers. I feel this performance suffers from the graphics in particular – something more subtle would have been better. Hopefully the confidence improves for the final performance, because the song is a lot of fun, but I think it will really struggle this week. | The song and the performance really seem like they’re lacking any ‘oomf’. Vocally, and visually it felt like it was just going through the motions as a Melfest-by-numbers mid-tempo man pop song. There’s not really a coherent visual identity here and I feel it’s just too much of a mishmash. |
| Kittens’s Prediction | Euan‘s Prediction |
| Out / 6th | Out / 6th |
Lia Larsson – “30 km/h”
Photo: Daniel Stridh | VDANDESIGN
Lia starts off in shadow lit by only yellow, progressing onto the stage where she’s instantly joined by 4 orange clad dancers. She’s wearing a pink embellished jumpsuit, and the dancers move away for the first chorus as the lyrics flash up on the screen behind her.
For the second verse, she jumps into a ‘car’ on the video floor which changes lanes as she sings. The car moves to the back video wall and she stands ‘in’ the passenger seat, which looks quite slick on camera. As the song ends, pyro goes off to the front of the stage and she ends with the dancers on stage with her.
What did we think of the rehearsal?
| Kittens | Euan |
| This couldn’t be more of a contradiction to Albin’s entry. Super high energy, super slick, she’s really comfortable on stage and everything feels really polished. The whole staging seems set up for audience and at home participation (singalong/dance routine) and it feels like a real crowd pleaser on that part. In another round I would have put this direkt till final, but with the competition here I feel like this might head to the finalkval round. | When taken into the context of the previous entry this is extremely polished and a very well rounded performance. Maybe not vocally the best performance, but still a solid performance from Lia here. This feels like the sort of song that deserves to be in the final, but is bound to be overlooked by Sweden. |
| Kittens’s Prediction | Euan‘s Prediction |
| Stay in competition / 4th | Stay in competition / 4th |
Dotter – ”It’s Not Easy To Write You a Love Song”
Photo: Daniel Stridh | VDANDESIGN
Dotter starts off barefoot in a distressed grey woollen top and trousers combo lying on top of a piano. The camera starts off super close to her face and then pans out and moves round the piano as she slowly gets up. A series of spotlights shine down on her on the stage and smoke adds the atmosphere. She drapes herself across the piano and runs around it, pausing to stop and ‘play’ the piano as the song breaks a little for the bridge. As the song reaches its peak she climbs back on top of the piano and stands up top for the last chorus.
What did we think of the rehearsal?
| Kittens | Euan |
| It’s definitely well done, well produced, definitely accomplished, and Dotter is truly a wonderful performer. But there’s something missing here for me personally – it feels like it simply doesn’t reach its peak, and it cuts off oddly abruptly. It’ll definitely have big commercial appeal and I can see it doing very well, but it’s just not that memorable for me. I’d love to hear it reach a huge crescendo with a giant gospel choir – but that’s unfortunately not what’s here. A little on the disappointing side, but still very refined, but I simply can’t see it not qualifying. | It’s Dotter so it is of course highly polished and performed extremely well (and I’d say one of the best staged in the competition this year) but this song is really lacking something for me. It builds to a moment that doesn’t have a satisfying payoff. The last 20 seconds feel like it’s waiting for this moment that just doesn’t arrive, and the abrupt end right after leaves a bit of sour note. I can’t help but feel that Dotter’s team have thrown away a winner this year because of this. |
| Kittens’s Prediction | Euan‘s Prediction |
| Direkt till final / 2nd | Stay in competition / 3rd |
Scarlet – “Circus X”
Photo: Daniel Stridh | VDANDESIGN
The performance opens in black and white with one of them on a swing with a single red balloon. The stage turns red and the other appears on the centre of the stage singing with stylised skeleton make up. The two begin singing across and at each other as the stage is filled with smoke. Four demonic dressed dancers surround them. The visuals become a lot brighter and turn to monochrome. The stage alternates between the colour palettes rapidly as the song progresses before an abrupt end.
What did we think of the rehearsal?
| Kittens | Euan |
| This feels like the most intelligently staged of the night. Definitely high on the visuals and the performance doesn’t suffer for it either. I really think this has the potential to be a dark horse in the competition – not just in this heat but in the competition at large if it makes it out. The song is really catchy and has enough of a mix of a gothic and poppy vibe to make it accessible to people outside of the genre, but the staging makes it really memorable. | It’s and unpolished chaotic mess and I am absolutely here for it. My major criticism with this performance is the odd approach to the dancers. There are definitely points where they feel underutilised and getting in the way of making the visuals of the staging really pop. While I don’t think this is in with a chance of winning, I do feel like there is a strong possibility of a good result here in the final. |
| Kittens’s Prediction | Euan‘s Prediction |
| Stay in competition / 3rd | Direkt till final / 2nd |
Lasse Stefanz – “En Sång Om Sommaren”
Photo: Daniel Stridh | VDANDESIGN
Lasse and his instrumentalists are grouped on stage close together with the backing visuals of the stage made to give the effect that they are standing on a jetty in a lake, with a wheat field behind them. The overall vibe of the staging is very happy and upbeat with the lighting and focus of the camera alternating between different performers on stage. There is little change in staging and visuals throughout the entire performance.
What did we think of the rehearsal?
| Kittens | Euan |
| The song is really sweet! This kind of cute bop always does moderately well at Mello, and it’s performed really well. Not sure I would playlist it but I’d be having a good time if it came on. Really interesting staging as well – not one to write off quickly! It’s nothing new, but this kind of song never really goes out of style. In a weaker semi I would say this would definitely make it to the finalkval but I really am on the fence for this one – I can definitely see it doing well with the older brackets, and it might squeeze through – but very uncertain. | This is dreadful. I’m already not a fan of country, but the overtly twee undertones and the too great a focus on the violin/violinist just isn’t it. I really struggle to remember anything about this song and performance as soon as it’s finished. There is nothing new; nothing interesting; nothing encaptivating. I think it’s a solid fifth place. |
| Kittens’s Prediction | Euan‘s Prediction |
| Out / 5th | Out / 5th |
Danny Saucedo – “Happy That You Found Me”
Photo: Daniel Stridh | VDANDESIGN
Danny is dressed in a grey tracksuit and white t-shirt, starting in the dark on stage as circular graphics splay out at his feet. The camera pans out to see a stage with an archway with steps up through it behind him, the graphics moving to fill out and include the archway at the back. The archway becomes lit like a sunrise, and Danny turns to head towards it and stands in the archway. A series of further archways appear on the screens behind him and pulse with the beat of the song.
As the second verse kicks in, the archways get a makeover and become decayed, but with the doorframes edged in neon, and then become classical, covered with ivy and then wood carvings. As the chorus kicks in, they become a swirling galaxy print instead. For the final moments, the (real) archway falls back and Danny stands on the stairs, dancing and posing as the graphics become clouds, and for the end we return to black with the circle on the floor from the start.
What did we think of the rehearsal?
| Kittens | Euan |
| A confident performer, with a banging EDM tune worthy of any club dancefloor, but the staging feels very overwhelming. The graphics feel heavily overused, and I would have loved to see a simpler, more delicate setup to them. The lack of dancers (especially with the archways, where it feels like they should naturally come from) and the lack of any pyro are really evident here. Still, it feels like a solid qualifier, the tune is very catchy and a hit, but the staging feels baffling. | For better or worse this is exactly what I expected from Danny. Given the lyrics of the song I find the lack of dancers a strange choice, because there are definitely points where the song would really call for it instead of the overreliance on the backing graphics. The song is a very familiar and safe dance number, but I don’t think that’s going to hur his chances here. The biggest contender for winner in this week I think. |
| Kittens’s Prediction | Euan‘s Prediction |
| Direkt till final / 1st | Direkt till final / 1st |
The fourth heat of Melodifestivalen 2024 is set to commence on the 24th February at 20:00CET. Don’t forget to follow That Eurovision Site to keep up to date with the latest coverage of Melodifestivalen 2024!
What we know about Melodifestivalen 2024
As revealed back in June – the Semi Final stage is no more. Two artists from each heat will go directly to the final (10 artists in total), and the two remaining places will be allocated via a run-off vote among the 3rd and 4th placers in each heat, bringing us to 12 artists in the final.
The dates and venues for this year’s competition are as follows:
- Semi-Final 1 – February 3 – Malmö – Malmö Arena (RESULTS)
- Semi-Final 2 – February 10 – Gothenburg – Scandinavium (RESULTS)
- Semi-Final 3 – February 17 – Växjö – Vida Arena (RESULTS)
- Semi-Final 4 – February 24 – Eskilstuna – Stiga Sports Arena
- Semi-Final 5 – March 2 – Karlstad – Löfbergs Arena
- Final – March 9 – Stockholm – Friends Arena
The shows will be hosted by Carina Berg. Tickets for this year’s edition of the competition went on sale in early November.
Sweden’s Eurovision Journey
In 1958, Sweden made their debut in the Eurovision Song Contest, with Alice Babs representing them with the song “Lilla stjärna” which placed fourth. Since their debut, the Scandinavian nation has managed to win seven times (1974, 1984, 1991, 1999, 2012, 2015 and 2023).
In 2023, Loreen returned to represent Sweden, who won the 2012 edition of the competition. She competed with the song “Tattoo”, which managed to qualify for the Grand Final, and placed 1st with 583 points. Loreen won the jury vote, accruing 340 points from the jury, earning an additional 243 points from the televote. This now means Sweden matches Ireland for the record of most wins in Eurovision history.
Are you excited for Melodifestivalen 2024? What do you think of the running order for this year’s competition? Let us know in the comments or on social media. Be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tik-Tok as we prepare for Eurovision 2024!
News Source: SVT
Photo Credit: Daniel Stridh | VDANDESIGN
Tim J