With just over 24 hours to go until the fifth night of Melodifestivalen 2024 kicks off, Daniel and Georgia had a chance to watch some of the rehearsals for the fifth semi-final of the competition, where they give their opinions and predictions for Saturday’s show.
Marcus & Martinus – “Unforgettable”
Photo: Stina Stjernkvist / SVT
The stage starts dark. Marcus and Martinus appear in a constructed tunnel with white curved lines flashing behind them. They are dressed in primarily black outfits with blue/purple accents. They are lit in red lighting while doing choreography in the first pre-chorus. They are joined by four dancers and remain in the tunnel of lights for another verse before the space expands. The dancers rejoin Marcus and Martinus for the final chorus. Throughout the performance, the staging is dark with white and red accents.
What did we think of the rehearsal?
| Daniel | Georgia |
| Looks and sounds like a Melfest winner, but one I REALLY don’t agree with. This is so polished you can probably see your reflection in it, but to me also the point it feels hollow and corporate, like it was factory assembled. It will have its fans for sure, but Marcus & Martinus’ entire genre is just something I’ve never been able to enjoy. Will be very far towards the bottom of my Eurovision rankings when it inevitably wins the whole thing. | Like Daniel said, this looks and feels like a Melfest winner, but I also don’t like it. Personally, I feel like the song is quite bland and generic. There’s no real substance to it. I do quite like the aesthetics of the performance, the dark and edgy staging fits in well with the song. Not a massive fan, but I feel like this will win the heat and probably the entire selection. |
| Daniel’s Prediction | Georgia’s Prediction |
| Direkt til finalen / 1st | Direkt til finalen / 1st |
Chelsea Muco – “Controlla”
Photo: Stina Stjernkvist / SVT
Chelsea starts on stage alone in a red jumper and tracksuit pants with a black background and purple LED palm trees. Six dancers accompany her for the rest of the performance. The graphics are a combination of purples, pinks, oranges and yellows throughout the rest of the song. The song’s title “Controlla” appears in large block letters on the back screen during the chorus.
What did we think of the rehearsal?
| Daniel | Georgia |
| Passed me by entirely. I have about as much to say after watching the performance as I did beforehand. Nothing about it stands out at all, it felt like background music despite the fact it was in the foreground. I already remember absolutely nothing about it. | Like my thoughts on many of the entries of this heat, it’s not bad by any stretch, but it’s just kinda there? To me, as a native Londoner, it feels like the kind of song you’d hear in a club in Brixton rather than on stage at Melodifestivalen. |
| Daniel’s Prediction | Georgia’s Prediction |
| Out / 5th | Out / 5th |
Jay Smith – “Back To My Roots”
Photo: Stina Stjernkvist / SVT
The stage starts dark with one single light illuminating from behind. Jay walks up to the mic stand and the lights come up. He is joined on stage by two guitarists, a bassist and a drummer. Each member is standing on a small platform. Behind them, a large sculpture depicts the song’s name “Back To My Roots” twice. The guitarists/bassist leave their platforms to join Jay at the front for the bridge before returning to them for the final chorus.
What did we think of the rehearsal?
| Daniel | Georgia |
| A country song (Now I Know by Tennessee Tears) was my favourite entry from Melodifestivalen 2023. The same is not true this year. Just very middle of the road for me, with nothing major to like nor dislike. All feels like something I’ve heard 1000 times before. As a fan of the genre it’s hard not to be disappointed. Could still see it getting some of the larger points shares from the older voting groups and the televote, enough to get it to the run off vote, but I think that is where it will stay. | In my livetweet of last week’s heat, I remember saying that Lasse Stefanz’s song was something that you’d expect Texas to have sent to the American Song Contest (if they were singing in English). This is exactly what you would expect Texas to send to the American Song Contest (this is not meant to offend any of our readers from Texas!). This will have its fans but for me, it’s fine. I don’t love it but I don’t hate it. It’s just kinda there. |
| Daniel’s Prediction | Georgia‘s Prediction |
| Still In Competition / 3rd | Still In Competition / 4th |
Elecktra – “Banne Maj”
Photo: Stina Stjernkvist / SVT
Elecktra starts out atop a short flight of stairs. She’s wearing an eccentric frilly floral pink jacket with light green and pink boots. She’s joined on stage by four dancers in tuxedo suits that wouldn’t look out of place in a relatively high end restaurant. The LEDs behind her show rotating diamonds. The dancers later take off her jacket to reveal a pastel green and pink dress, matching her boots.
What did we think of the rehearsal?
| Daniel | Georgia |
| Feels like an energetic performance but they forgot to give it the energy. I expected this to be something similar to Skrellex’s “Love Again” from last year’s MGP, but it doesn’t meet the same heights for me. I’ve been quite disappointed with the “crazy” entries in this year’s Mello, they all seem to be missing that last burst of energy to make them work. | I feel like having an audience will elevate this (somewhat) by giving it more energy, but for now, I have my reservations. I will say though, you gotta love a key change, it’s a Eurovision staple. |
| Daniel’s Prediction | Georgia‘s Prediction |
| Out / 6th | Out / 6th |
Annika Wickihalder – “Light”
Photo: Stina Stjernkvist / SVT
Dark staging for this one to make the lights stand out. She’s in a grey sparkly outfit with wings on the arms, and stood in-between two LED towers that resemble cairns or inuksuks. Naturally, the lights behind her pulse at appropriate times throughout the song, and there’s also a light fog effect at times.
What did we think of the rehearsal?
| Daniel | Georgia |
| Very okay. Annika’s vocals are by far the best part of the performance. That aside, you could tell me this was a performance of a song that had already been in the competition a couple of years ago and I probably wouldn’t bat an eye. Not memorable at all for me. | It feels like the kind of song that would normally do well at Melfest and I feel like this one will as well. I personally don’t have any strong opinions about it, like it’s fine? It’s just kinda there. But, again, gotta love a good key change. |
| Daniel’s Prediction | Georgia‘s Prediction |
| Still In Competition / 4th | Still In Competition / 3rd |
Medina – “Que Sera”
Photo: Stina Stjernkvist / SVT.
Very Medina. They know how to bring a party. It starts out with a woman riding a red bike fitted with LEDs, before cutting to the pair and their dancers standing both in front and on top of boxes, which are made to resemble speakers The spot lights are out in full force like a disco. We get a fun surprise around a minute in when its revealed that the bottom speakers act as doors, as Sam-E bursts through one and joins Alibi on the ground. The bike comes back around two minutes in, this time ridden by a dancer in yellow a bucket hat. For the climax of the song, we see smoke and pyro.
What did we think of the rehearsal?
| Daniel | Georgia |
| It’s mostly pointless trying to review anything these do that isn’t in front of a packed out crowd, because that’s where they, and their songs, truly shine. I think it’s a really fun performance that will really come alive on the night. The staging is like a party, and I really love how their staging has worked, there is a ton going on at the same time, but somehow it still doesn’t feel messy. Whilst I do think the song itself is measurably worse than their last attempt, (Which remains one of my favourite Mello entries!) the staging is a big improvement, and Que Sera is still my favourite of this heat by a country mile. | Easily the best song of this heat. It’s fun and it’ll just get elevated when there’s an audience on Saturday. I like the mix of languages and I think it’ll close out the show really well. |
| Daniel’s Prediction | Georgia‘s Prediction |
| Direkt Til Finalen / 2nd | Direkt Til Finalen / 2nd |
The fifth heat of Melodifestivalen 2024 is set to commence on the 2nd March 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 (RESULTS)
- 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, TikTok as we prepare for Eurovision 2024!
News Source: SVT
Photo Credit: Stina Stjernkvist / SVT
Rory Gannon