MELODIFESTIVALEN 2005
THE SONGS - THE ARTISTS - FACTS
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SEMI FINAL 1 / GOTHENBURG 12 February
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Alcastar
Alcazar
Music & lyrics
Tobias Lundgren, Niklas Edberger, Tim Larsson, Johan Fransson & Anders Hansson
The first four composers are the team behind "Just like a boomerang", "Innan mörkret faller", "Runaway" and "Olé olé". Anders Hansson has produced many songs from Melodifestivalen, for example "Dansa i neon", "Det gör ont" and "Not a sinner nor a saint".
Alcazar is the disco group which reached the third place in the contest 2003 with "Not a sinner nor a saint". The three original members are Adreas Lundstedt, Tess Merkel and Annikafiore. In the end of 2002 Magnus Carlsson, former singer of the band Barbados, joined the group. Andreas Lundstedt participated in Melodifestivalen 1996 (2nd with "Driver dagg faller regn) and 1997 (7th with "Jag saknar dig, jag saknar dig"). Magnus Carlsson did three entries with Barbados: 2000 (2nd with "Se mig"), 2001 (2nd with "Allt som jag ser") and 2002 (4th with "Världen utanför").
Opinion after the first listening
Typcial Alcazar with a lot ABBA influences. Good voices and a catchy chorus. This song will take them directly to the final, for sure.
Opinion after the show
A great show; good song and dancing. How could they miss the ticket directly to the final?
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Var mig nära
Cecilia Vennersten
Music
Robert Åhlin
Lyrics
Calle Kindbom
Calle Kindbom wrote "Give me your love" 2003.
Cecilia Vennersten came 2nd in 1995 with "Det vackraste".
Opinion after the first listening
Not as good as "Det vackraste" in 1995. The verses are a bit better than the chorus - which is not a good sign. The song grows a lot in the end.
Opinion after the show
A beautiful ballad that deserved a better position. The performance was simple and naked - but oh so beautiful.
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| 3 |
My No 1
Papa Dee
Music
Bobby Ljunggren & Marcos Ubeda
Lyrics
Daniel Wahlgren
Bobby Ljunggren wrote the Swedish winners 1995 "Se på mig" and 1998 "Kärleken är".
Marcos Ubeda wrote "Never let it go" from 2002.
Papa Dee (Daniel Wahlgren) had some hits in the 90's. His style is reggae/pop/hiphop.
Opinion after the first listening
A little disappointment - Papa Dee has made better songs before. "My no. 1" is a midtempo reggae and sounds like UB40. His sings better than in the beginning of his career, though.
Opinion after the show
A standard performance in Papa Dee's typical outfit.
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Alla Flickor
Linda Bengtzing
Music & lyrics
Tim Larsson, Niklas Edberger, Johan Fransson & Tobias Lundgren
This quartet of composers has written "Just like a boomerang", "Innan mörkret faller", "Runaway" and "Olé olé".
Linda Bengtzing has performed at Wallmans Salonger, but also hosted the game show "Ordjakten" on TV4. Now she is one of the contestants in Fame Factory.
Hanna & Lina Hedlund were supposed to sing at first.
Opinion after the first listening
A classical "schlager" with a modern sound and rhythmic drums. Maybe Pernilla Wahlgren, who was supposed to sing, would have done it better. One of the better entries tonight.
Opinion after the show
She sounded a bit nervous on stage. A good performance and nice clothes.
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| 5 |
Invisible People
The Wallstones (Karl Martindahl & Johan Becker)
Music & lyrics
Karl Martindahl & Johan Becker
Karl Martindahl sang "Love turns water into wine" in 2004. Johan Becker wrote "Här stannar jag kvar" 2004. He also won Fame Factory 2004.
Opinion after the first listening
The Wallstones had a correct description of their song; a mix of Beatles, Queen and Frank Sinatra. I had hoped for more, but "Invisible people" is quite charming. And the guys can sing.
Opinion after the show
The journalists did not like them, but The Wallstones have their fans. A better performance than I expected.
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| 6 |
Refrain Refrain
Pay-TV
Music
Håkan Lidbo
Lyrics
Håkan Lidbo & Ulrika Lidbo
Håkan Lidbo, Ulrika Lidbo and Pay-TV made their debut in Melodifestivalen 2004 with "Trendy Discoteque".
Opinion after the first listening
Not a good as "Trendy discoteque". Too much of everything! And the chorus gets too repetitive after a while.
Opinion after the show
They are quite good at stage with a original coreography. But they had no chance in this semi final.
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| 7 |
Ödet var min väg
Nordman
Music
Mats Wester
Lyrics
Mats Wester & Danne Attlerud
Mats Wester wrote "En gång ska han gråta" in MF 1997. Dan Attlerud has written "Se mig" in 2000, "Sista andetaget" in 2002, "Älvorna" in 2004 and the Norwegian entry "High" in 2004.
Nordman is Mats Wester and Håkan Hemlin. They were popular in the mid 90's with their mix of folk music and pop.
Opinion after the first listening
Sounds typical Nordman, but the song is not as good as their hits in the 90's. The chorus is too monotonous. Do they have all the old fans they'll need?
Opinion after the show
A surprise they made it to the final. But still the chorus is too monotonous. And they could have made stronger effort when it comes to their clothes.
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Att älska dig
Shirley Clamp
Music
Robert Olausson, Bobby Ljunggren & Henrik Wikström
Lyrics
Sonja Aldén, Shirley Clamp, Bobby Ljunggren & Robert Olausson
Robert Olausson wrote "We're unbreakable" 2003 and "Soy tu Venus por esta noche" 2004. Henrik and Bobby wrote "Min kärlek" and "Efharisto" together. Bobby also wrote the Swedish winners 1995 "Se på mig" and 1998 "Kärleken är".
Shirley Clamp did not reached the final in 2003 with "Mr Memory". The year after, she got her big breakthrough with "Min kärlek".
"Att älska dig" was originally called "Miracle" when it was selected to the contest.
Opinion after the first listening
A huge disappointment. "Att älska dig" is more "Mr Memory" than her hit "Min kärlek". This mix of ballad and musical is quite boring actually.
Opinion after the show
A powerful performance which made the song better than before. Shirley seems to be very loved by the Swedish people now.
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SEMI FINAL 2 / LINKÖPING 19 February
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Du och jag mot världen
Fredrik Kempe & Sanna Nielsen
Music
Bobby Ljunggren, Fredrik Kempe & Henrik Wikström
Lyrics
Fredrik Kempe
Henrik and Bobby wrote "Min kärlek" and "Efharisto" together.
Bobby also wrote the Swedish winners 1995 "Se på mig" and 1998 "Kärleken är".
Fredrik Kempe sang "Finally" 2004. Sanna Nielsen came 3rd in 2001 and reached 5th position in 2003.
Opinion after the first listening
An ordinary song written by Bobby Ljunggren and company - a mix between "Efcharisto" and "Finally". Sanna and Fredrik sing fantastic. This entry is a winner in this semi but not in the final.
Opinion after the show
A nice and sweet performance. Their voices matched perfectly live. Still the song misses that little extra thing...
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Jenny
Camilla Brinck
Music & lyrics
Camilla Brinck & Tobias Karlsson
Camilla Brinck had a hit in 2001 with "Tell me".
Opinion after the first listening
An up-tempo pop tune. Quite okay but nothing special in this contest. "Jenny" lacks a real hook.
Opinion after the show
Nice dress, but the song was nothing special.
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Big Up (Find the Treasure)
Avalon
Music & lyrics
Mohombi Moupondo, Djo Moupondo & Marcus Landström
Mohombi and Djo are brothers and both members of Avalon. They have performed on scenes around Sweden, Congo and South Africa and won several music contests. The group also has a third member - Rigo - but he is too young to participate in Melodifestivalen (only 14).
Opinion after the first listening
Moupondo brothers are quite popular in Africa, so "Big up" has a lot of African influences. It is a good composition, but too modern for the average tv viewers, though. Can be a big hit at the discoteques this summer.
Opinion after the show
A very hot performance, but the song was too strange for the Swedes.
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Vad du än trodde så trodde du fel
Arja Saijonmaa
Music
Dan Sundquist
Lyrics
Dan Sundquist & Åsa Jinder
Åsa Jinder played keyed fiddle on the Norwegian winning song 1995 "Nocturne".
Arja Saijonmaa almost won with "Högt över havet" in 1987, only 1 point behind the winner.
Opinion after the first listening
Arja goes eruo-disco. There are some influences from her entry in 1987 "Högt över havet" and After Dark's "La dolce vita" from last year. A little funny, but we can not send this to Ukraine in May!
Opinion after the show
A huge surprise she missed the final. Though, her performance was not as good as I thought it would. And her voice was a disappointment live.
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Med hjärtats egna ord
Josefin Nilsson
Music & lyrics
Jonas Isaksson, Tommy Lydell & Lotta Ahlin
Tommy Lydell and Lotta Ahlin wrote "Not a sinner nor a saint" 2003.
Josefin Nilsson is usually a member of the quartet Ainbusk from Sweden's largest island, Gotland. In 1993 Josefin made a solo album with songs written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus from Abba. She has also made some movies.
Opinion after the first listening
Ballads have difficulties in getting to the final in Melodifestivalen. Josefin is a big favourite in the eveing papers and maybe the viewers see the qualities in this beautiful song, which sounds more than a psalm than an ordinary "schlager-ballad". Her voice is fragile and soft. Super!
Opinion after the show
Josefin was lovely on stage. Voice, dress - everything... And she has stolen Carola's wind machine from 1991! Beautiful!
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| 6 |
Roma
Cameron Cartio
Music
Cameron Cartio & Robin Rex
Lyrics
Cameron Cartio
Both composers and artist are debutants in the contest.
Opinion after the first listening
The language in "Roma" is Cameron's own invention. The song has much oriental influences - will that get enough points from the Swedish people? I doubt, but I hope so. The melody is catchy and makes you happy.
Opinion after the show
Wow! The viewers liked Cameron and his oriental dance-pop. This would get highest points from Greece, Turkey and Balkan in ESC.
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| 7 |
Gone
Bodies without organs
Music & lyrics
Anders Hansson & Mårten Sandén
Anders Hansson and Mårten Sandén are debutants as composers in Melodifestivalen. But Anders Hansson has produced many songs from Melodifestivalen, for example "Dansa i neon", "Det gör ont" and "Not a sinner nor a saint".
The members of Bodies without organs are Alexander Bard, Marina Schiptjenko and Martin Rolinski. Alexander Bard has written the lyrics to three previous entries in Melodifestivalen; "En dag" 1989, "Driver dagg faller regn" 1996 and "Jag saknar dig, jag saknar dig" 1997.
Opinion after the first listening
"Gone" is well produced and one of the best entries tonight. It could be a huge hit in Europe. The singer has a good voice. Maybe too repetitive in the chorus.
Opinion after the show
the song is still one of the best, but the performance was not any special. That's why they lost the extra points they needed.
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Higher ground
Sanne Salomonsen
Music & lyrics
Henrik Janson, Jeanette Olsson & Moh Denebi
The composers are debutants in the contest. Henrik Janson has been married to Danish singer Sös Fenger and Swedish singer Lisa Nilsson.
Sanne Salomonsen is one of Denmark's most famous and popular artists. She has never participated in this contest before neither in Denmark nor Sweden. But this time SVT's Christer Björkman convinced her to say "yes". Sanne is also well-known for the Swedish audience after several tours together with for example Björn Skifs and ex-husband Mats Ronander, and also some films from the 80's in which she starred.
Opinion after the first listening
I think the song is a bit angular. There are influences from Shania Twain and Anastacia - and it is actually good. Sanne has a strong voice and should do a good performance on stage.
Opinion after the show
Danish dynamite! Sanne is great on stage and the song grows a lot live. The best entry in the big final, so far.
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SEMI FINAL 3 / SKELLEFTEÅ 26 February
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Photo:
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Wherever You Go
NaNa Hedin
Music & lyrics
Larry Forsberg, Sven-Inge Sjöberg & Lennart Wastesson
These three composers has written "Kom och ta mig", "Hon kommer med solsken", "Crazy in love", "La dolce vita" .
Nana Hedin is mostly known as a background singer, for example Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears and Celine Dion. Her voice has been heard in two entries in Melodifestivalen; "Vi lever här vi lever nu" 2000 and "Paradise" 2004.
Opinion after the first listening
The first real up tempo this year! A classic pop schlager with inflences from "Walking on sunshine" and "Bra vibrationer". NaNa has an excellent voice but it does not show that much in this song. Can reach second chance...
Opinion after the show
A great performance, but sometimes I think NaNa screams more than she sings. Has a great chance in the second chance.
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Photo:
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Lovin' Your Feen
Kwanzaa
Music
Jean DC
Lyrics
Ayesha Quraishi
Kwanzaa consists of Ayesha Quraishi and Sona Jarjursey. Ayesha has also a solo career as a rap artist.
Jean DC describes "Lovin' Your Feen" as a hard love song.
Opinion after the first listening
This week's most "modern" entry with rap and hiphop-beats. But the song has not got that extra thing that grabs you. Will not have anything to do with the top positions tonight.
Opinion after the show
Nobody expected a success, so no surprise here. Nice attitude in the performance, though.
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Vi kan gunga
Jimmy Jansson
Music & lyrics
Tobias Lundgren, Niklas Edberger, Tim Larsson & Johan Fransson
This quartet of composers has written "Just like a boomerang", "Innan mörkret faller", "Runaway" and "Olé olé".
Jimmy Jansson sang "What difference does it make" with his group The Poets in 2002.
Opinion after the first listening
A happy pop schlager with a "la la la"-chorus that will appeal Jimmy Jansson's young fans. And it is quite good actually. He has a good voice and could do a great performance.
Opinion after the show
This song grew a lot during Jimmy's wild performance on stage. He has got so much energy. This will be very dangerous in the final!!!
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Nothing At All
LaGaylia Frazier
Music & lyrics
Mattias Reimer & Lars Edvall
Mattias Reimer and Lars Edvall were members of Crosstalk when they participated with "Det gäller dig och mig" (1999). They also wrote "Vi lever här, vi lever nu" (2000), "Om du var här hos mig" (2001), "Stronger" and "Ingen annan" (both 2003).
LaGaylia Frazier participated in 2004 with "It's in the stars" but missed the final.
Jessica Andersson (Fame) and Sanna Nielsen were also offered to sing this song, according to some papers.
Opinion after the first listening
A beautiful ballad that could have been sung by Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston. A well composed song and LaGaylia has the best voice tonight. But as always this kind of songs have difficulties to reach the final.
Opinion after the show
Her voice is fab. A soft and sedate performance. A surprise it reached second chance due to the fact it is a ballad.
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Rain
Josef Özer
Music
Henrik Wikström & Bobby Ljunggren
Lyrics
Annelie Martin & Martin Blix
Henrik and Bobby wrote "Min kärlek" and "Efharisto" together. Bobby also wrote the Swedish winners 1995 "Se på mig" and 1998 "Kärleken är".
Josef has been singing since he was a child, mostly traditional music from the middle east. "Rain" is described as a classical midtempo-schlager with a Turkish touch.
Opinion after the first listening
A mid tempo popsong with latino feeling and a Turkish touch. Quite okay, but I doubt the viewers will vote enough.
Opinion after the show
Josef and his dancers had a good show. Very much Sakis and "Shake it"!
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We got it all
K2 featuring Alannah Myles
Music & lyrics
Kee Marcello, Michael Blair & Zal
The Canadian singer Alannah Myles had a huge hit back in 1989 with "Black velvet". K2 is a hard rock band consisting of Kee Marcello, Ken Sandin and Snowy Shaw. Kee Marcello is known as the guitarrist in Europe.
Opinion after the first listening
The first time we will hear hard rock in the contest. Really awful!!! No verses and the chorus will frighten all the old viewers. No chance!
Opinion after the show
Terrible on stage. Alannah looked like a crazy hen. The worst entry so far.
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| 7 |
Om natten
Jessica Folcker
Music & lyrics
Niklas Edberger, Johan Fransson, Tim Larsson & Tobias Lundgren
This quartet of composers has written "Just like a boomerang", "Innan mörkret faller", "Runaway" and "Olé olé".
Jessica Folcker had a hit with "Tell me what you like" in late 90's. A few years ago she sang "Something's going on" together with Bomfunk MC.
Opinion after the first listening
One of the best entries this year. An up tempo pop song with a catchy chorus. Jessica's voice matches perfectly. Reminds me of Barbados old songs and the "aha"-part from "Min kärlek". This one goes directly to the final, anything else would be a scandal.
Opinion after the show
"Om natten" is a good song, but unfortunately Jessica did a very very weak performance. Her voice still suffered from her cold. And this entry would have done much better with some dancers around her and ... a more pretty dress.
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Las Vegas
Martin Stenmarck
Music & lyrics
Tim Larsson, Niklas Edberger, Johan Fransson & Tobias Lundgren
This quartet of composers has written "Just like a boomerang", "Innan mörkret faller", "Runaway" and "Olé olé".
Martin Stenmarck is a debutant in Melodifestivalen. He has starred in a lot of musicals. Recently he released an album called "Think of me".
Opinion after the first listening
Martin sings really good and is a great performer. "Las Vegas" is a type of song that never has been heard in the contest, so it is uncertain how the tv viewers will react. The songs a lot of influences from the 70's and Ratpack, but somehow it is quite fresh.
Opinion after the show
Nothing to complain about. Excellent voice, self-confidence on stage and an original song in this connection.
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SEMI FINAL 4 / VÄXJÖ 5 March
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Så nära
Anne-Lie Rydé
Music
Thomas G:son
Lyrics
Thomas G:son & Anne-Lie Rydé
Thomas G:son has had several entries in MF and wrote the winning song in 2001, "Listen to your heartbeat". He also wrote Anne-Lie's entry 2004 "Säg att du har ångrat dig".
Anne-Lie Rydé reached Andra chansen in 2004 with "Säg att du har ångrat dig" but missed the final. Now she is looking for revange.
Opinion after the first listening
Thomas G:son also wrote "Vem é dé du vill ha" to Kikki, Bettan & Lotta in 2002, and "Så nära" is the same type of song. A classic Swedish Eurovision-schlager. Annelie Rydé has a great voice, and together with this catchy tune she has a good chance for the final.
Opinion after the show
She gave a nice performance on stage with the boa. But a couple of dancers would have made this entry much better. Now I think these kind of "schlagers" are dead in this contest. Still it is a small scandal it did not reached the final!
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One Step Closer to you
B-Boys International feat. Paul M
Music
Niclas Arn, Karl Eurén, Gustav Eurén
Lyrics
Niclas Arn, Karl Eurén, Gustav Eurén, Peter Thelenius & David Seisay
Some of the composers wrote "15 minuter" in MF 2003 and "En gång för alla" in 2004. Gustav and Karl Eurén also wrote "Bara du och jag" in MF 2000.
Originally Ken Ring wrote the rap, but later the part was replaced with lyrics by David Seisay.
Peter Thelenius from B-Boys International was a member of Basic Element in the 90's.
Opinion after the first listening
Quite okay song with mix between rap in the verses and a catchy synth chorus with influences from the 80's.
Opinion after the show
The song is actually good and they did a good job on stage.
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Långt bortom tid och rum
Mathias Holmgren
Music & lyrics
Calle Kindbom & Thomas G:son
Thomas G:son has had several entries in MF and wrote the winning song in 2001, "Listen to your heartbeat".
Mathias Holmgren is the former singer of Barbados and entered Melodifestivalen in 2003 with "Bye bye".
The song was originally in English, called "Surrender To My Heart".
Opinion after the first listening
Sounds exactly like Barbados. Mid-tempo schlager with stupid lyrics. And Mathias Holmgren has such a weak voice and is usually very stiff on stage.
Opinion after the show
Mathias Holmgren is not an entertainer and there are better singers. Quite nice clothes, though.
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Ready For Me
Rickard Engfors & Katarina Fallholm
Music
Lars Dille Diedricson & Peter Nordholm
Lyrics
Dan Attlerud
Dan Attlerud has written "Se mig" in 2000, "Sista andetaget" in 2002 and the Norwegian entry "High" in 2004. Lars Diedricsen wrote "Take me to your heaven" in 1999, "Allt som jag ser" in 2001,
"No hay nada mas" in 2002 and "Som stormen" 2004. Dille and Attlerud also wrote "Älvorna" in 2004.
Rickard Engfors is a drag queen. Katarina Fallholm is an opera singer. Together they will create a performance you have never seen before.
Opinion after the first listening
What a horrible song. Rickard Engfors cannot sing and only talks, like J-P Barda in Army of Lovers. No melody, no hook... nothing.
Opinion after the show
The performance was too much of everything. And it could not save a terrible song.
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| 5 |
Hörde änglarna viska ditt namn
Date
Music & lyrics
Johnny Thunqvist, Fredrik Jernberg & Pontus Wennerberg
Johnny Thunqvist wrote Javiera's "Varje timma var minut" 2000.
Date participated in 2001 and 2002. Now the band has a new singer - Patrik Rasmussen from "Fame Factory".
Opinion after the first listening
Zzz... A boring ballad.
Opinion after the show
A standard performance. The singer has a good voice, though. But the entry was sooooooo boring.
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Håll om mig
Nanne Grönvall
Music
Nanne Grönvall
Lyrics
Nanne Grönvall & Ingela Pling Forsman
This will be Ingela Pling Forsman's 26th entry. Three times she has written the winning lyrics; 1985, 1995 and 1998.
Nanne Grönvall has entered the contest nine times before as either artist or composer. In 1996 her group One More Time won with "Den vilda".
Opinion after the first listening
A typical Nanne-song. Very strange it could win the female composer's contest. Was this really the best entry? A monotonous and repetitive song.
Opinion after the show
I must admit I regret what I wrote above... The song got much better after seeing Nanne on stage. It is a heavy groove in the chorus and Nanne lifted it with her energy and her little pink dress.
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A Different Kind of Love
Caroline Wennergren
Music
Joacim Dubbelman, Martin Landh
Lyrics
Sam McCarthy
The composers are debutants in Melodifestivalen.
Caroline Wennergren is born in Rio de Janeiro and was adopted at the age of 5 by a Swedish family. She made her tv debut as Ella Fitzgerald in a tv-show in 2002, where people could imitate their idols, and got a second position.
Opinion after the first listening
Caroline has an original and interesting voice. She sings a nice bossanova, but unfortunately without a necessary hook.
Opinion after the show
What a break-through for this young girl! Her charm knocked the viewers. Her voice matched the soft bossanova perfectly. And actually it does not need a hook as long as you like the flow.
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| 8 |
As If Tomorrow Will Never Come
Katrina Leskanich & The Nameless
Music & lyrics
Thomas G:son
Thomas G:son has had several entries in MF and wrote the winning song in 2001, "Listen to your heartbeat".
Katrina Leskanich won ESC 1997 representing United Kingdom with "Love shine a light". Her new band, The Nameless, will join her on stage. The group started as a cover band, Playboys, and consists of Per Johansson, Magnus Söderman, Chris Goldsmith, Patrik Selén and Bosse Lindmark.
Jerry Williams and Nanne Grönvall were mentioned to perform the song as a duo.
Opinion after the first listening
A brilliant rock song. The beginning grabs you totally and eventually it ends with a huge chorus. Has a good chance to reach the final.
Opinion after the show
The performance was nothing special, just okay. The chorus is so powerful that it is amazing it did not reach the final.
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