Måns Zelmerlöw - Hope & Glory



Or this, my second favourite, co-written with Frederik Kempe, as was Hope & Glory above (and Sarah Dawn Finer's song - he has three of the eleven!)

Malena Ernman - La Voix



I have narrowed down the field of eleven contenders in tonight's Melodifestivalen final to eight possible winners. It really is that wide open. I don't think Agnes, H.E.A.T. or Sofia can win, but anyone else could do it. And the juries will probably deny the public their choice once again. I won't be surprised. We'll be partying at Glitterball Mansions and I'll be cheering on Måns Zelmerlöw for a bit of Hope & Glory for himself, after he was so cruelly denied with Cara Mia - the most played song on my PC, according to my stats on last.fm.

I have a feeling that Måns may lose out narrowly again though. This could be the year that Sweden shakes off the schlager shroud and goes for the quirky song in Swedish, sung by a woman who seems slightly disturbed. It could well be Caroline af Ugglas's night. Or Sarah Dawn Finer's. Or EMD's. Or Molly's. Or anyone's really...

The finalists:

1 Måns Zelmerlöw - Hope & Glory
Schlagertastic, with hunky Måns and another tightly choreographed dance routine. One of the best breakdowns in modern pop, which makes me feel the need to get very drunk and shout it very loudly on a dancefloor. Pop perfection.

2 Caroline af Ugglas - Snälla, snälla
Slow and hypnotic, but a grower, not a shower. Strongly fancied.

3 Agnes - Love, Love, Love
Discotastic, but not strong enough to win.

4 H.E.A.T. - 1,000 Miles
Rocktastic, in that schlager-rock way that only Sweden can do.

5 Emilia - You're My World
Calm down Cilla, calm down! This is not your song of the same name. This is, however, the same Emilia who had a #5 UK hit a decade ago with Big, Big World. She likes 'world' songs, it seems. It's catchy and deserves to be in the final, Unfortunately, it's being supported by Carola and as she's the daughter of Satan, I can't go near it.

6 Alcazar - Stay The Night
A return to form for the newly-constituted Alcazar, voted straight into the final this time, but probably not strong enough, much as they deserve their turn at Eurovision. The biggest danger with this song is that if Amii Stewart is in the vicinity of Stockholm, she may rush onto the stage in some sort of Pavlovian response to the rhythm track, which steals the drum beats from Knock On Wood to magnificent effect.

7 Sarah Dawn Finer - Moving On
Classy and captivating. A worthy winner if it succeeds.

8 E.M.D. - Baby Goodbye
More Pop Idol refugees who are not exactly ugly. A great pop/cabaret performance and a catchy song.

9 Sofia - Alla
The international jury's choice, sung in Greek. Will flop, as it did in the heat before the jury rescued it. It just sounds a bit messy.

10 Molly Sandén - Så vill stjärnorna
Pure class, sung by a teenager with a voice beyond her years. One of those songs where it doesn't matter if you don't understand Swedish; it still sounds great.

11 Malena Ernman - La Voix
Popera! An amazing opera voice and an instantly hummable song. Her only weakness is the singing at the beginning, before she switches to opera, which is clearly her forte. By the end though, people will be so impressed that they'll have forgotten any initial shakiness.

Labels: Eurovision 2009, Melodifestivalen

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If you haven't watched Deal Or No Deal for ages, today is the day to watch it. (On 4+1, More4 and channel4.com, probably.)

Labels: deal or no deal, TV

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