Medina: “We feel that our song is really made for the big arenas!” | Exclusive Interview

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Andreas Papayiannakis and EurovisionFun is accredited by SVT to follow the Melodifestivalen tour for a third year in-a-row. In Stockholm we got the chance to meet a few people involved in this year’s Melodifestivalen. Among those was the duo of Medina who are participating at the fifth heat of Melodifestivalen and had us over at the artist hotel in Karlstad and spoke with us on an extensive interview.

Medina were in a very fun mood and they passed it on to me, they spoke about their song, their staging and about them being potential winners of Melodifestivalen 2024. Their song “Que Sera” is going to involve an explosive show and a lot of things are going to happen. It’s gonna be about dancing and partying. It’s an arena song. What do they feel about their song?

“We feel that this song really is made for the big arenas. We didn’t want to waste our time there. We did the song in gibberish, like Spanish. And then we were gonna rewrite it in Swedish, but it didn’t feel good. It didn’t sound good. So we just kept it with the language that we just sang it in, Spanish, French and Italian that is not perfect but it’s just the vibe. It’s easy to sing with it.”

Medina will have a big speaker prop, as it is written in Melopedia. They’re gonna have dancers, bicycles but they don’t wanna say much. They tell us a bit more about the vibe of their staging though:

“Things will be around us. We have some choreography. But maybe we will see if somebody uses the bike or the drum. How things are gonna be interacted with. We don’t want to reveal that. We will see how we integrate with what’s on the stage and how it will be used. That’s gonna be the fun part.”

They made the chorus in the same sense as “In i dimman“, a big chanting chorus, like a football anthem.

“It’s three choruses. So for the last chorus maybe everybody has already learned the chorus and can sing along with us.”

How would they describe their song to those people that haven’t listened to it yet?

“It’s not that much different than “In i dimman”. The intro starts slow, we have the words like mama in it, but this is more explosive and this is more happy and it’s not so dark as “In i dimman”. We have parts of happy-sad moments in the verses, I can’t find the word in English, it’s a bit of deepness in it and then it evolves into that big happy thing, that’s what I wanted to say.”

They wrote the song together with Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt and Anderz Wrethov. They explain a bit how the creative process was like:

“They were with us in the studio and they created the track with us, so Jimmy comes in, I have this great idea and he started humming on the melody to this song, like we changed it a bit, but the first thought was him in the room, it was all silent, I have the song for you and he started singing that chorus and if felt like this was a football chant chorus and we started working on the song from there, from his vision.”

They are gonna close the fifth and last heat of the year. They feel very honoured that SVT chose them to be the closing act and they describe why they feel this way:

“Yeah it’s a bit pressure of course, because we heard afterwards that the last one out it was always artists like Loreen and Måns, all these big profiles and we feel like everybody is gonna expect you to get to the finals. We just want to do our thing, but it’s an honour to be last. It feels like they put the icons, how are we gonna carry that? That’s the pressure.”

They would be extremely happy if they won and got the chance to represent Sweden. They point out the fact that Swedish people don’t easily vote for entries in Swedish, like they would vote for example back in 2006 when they voted for Carola. And even then, the song was changed to “Invincible” with English lyrics. They could make the perfect host entry.

“Now I started thinking about it, I’ve never thought about it, because it’s so far away, now I just want to get to the finals first, you know, and do our best there, but to win, yeah historically it’s hard, but let’s be hopeful.”

They really hope they can do good in the international jury vote, like they did two years ago:

“If we come to the finals, then the party starts, because then Europe can also vote, and that’s the fun part. Last time we got a wonderful result from the international jury and we think the international crowd might like the song hopefully.”

Finally both Ali and Sami reach out to all their fans in Sweden and internationally and give their message:

“I hope you’ll have fun and our spirit will reach you and that you perhaps gonna stand up and dance and have fun. Que sera, sera, what happens, happens try to just enjoy life and accept what you can’t fix. And vote for us if you can.”

You can watch our exclusive interview with Medina at the video down below:

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun and don’t miss out on anything regarding this year’s Melodifestivalen!

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Sweden: Heat 5 and Final Qualification of Melodifestivalen 2024 tonight!

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Tonight marks the continuation of what may be the most anticipated national final of the year, Melodifestivalen 2024. The host of Eurovision 2024 aims for Sweden’s historic eighth victory on home soil in Malmo, and for this reason, SVT’s executives promise one of the strongest Melodifestivalen editions of all time, ensuring that the successor to Loreen achieves the best possible result for the Scandinavian country.

Format

This year’s Melodifestivalen introduces a new format, featuring five heats, each hosting six artists. From each heat, the top two contenders will directly advance to the grand final on March 9th.

However, artists ranking third and fourth in their respective semi-finals will participate in a voting after the fifth semi-final. This voting will determine the two remaining finalists who will “complete the puzzle” of the twelve artists competing in the grand final of Sweden’s national selection.

During the five semi-final rounds, the final results will be determined solely by the votes of Swedish viewers. This, of course, will change in the grand final on March 9th, where Sweden’s representative will be decided by a 50% vote from Swedish viewers and a 50% vote from an international jury, following the Eurovision Song Contest standards.

The dates of Melodifestivalen 2024

  • Heat 1: Saturday 3 February 2024, Malmö Arena, Malmö
  • Heat 2: Saturday 10 February 2024, Scandinavium, Göteborg
  • Heat 3: Saturday 17 February 2024, Vida Arena, Växjö
  • Heat 4: Saturday 24 February 2024, Stiga Sports Arena, Eskilstuna
  • Heat 5: Saturday 2 March 2024, Löfbergs Arena, Karlstad
  • Final: Saturday 9 March 2024, Friends Arena, Stockholm – Solna

Finalists

Eight artists have secured their spots in the grand final of Melodifestivalen 2024 following the first four heats. These artists are:

Eight artists will have another chance to qualify for the grand final of Sweden’s national selection. These artists are:

Fifth Heat

Six artists will compete in tonight’s fifth heat of Melodifestivalen 2024, appearing in the following order:

  1. Marcus & Martinus – “Unforgettable“
  2. Chelsea Muco – “Controlla“
  3. Jay Smith – “Back To My Roots“
  4. Elecktra – “Banne maj“
  5. Annika Wickihalder – “Light“
  6. Medina – “Que Sera“

The host of all six shows of this year’s Melodifestivalen will be Carina Berg.

The fifth heat of Melodifestivalen 2024 will start at 20:00 CET and will last one and a half hour. You can watch it through the SVT website by clicking HERE.

Τhe winner of Melodifestivalen 2023 and hence the Swedish representative at Eurovision 2023 was Loreen with her song “Tattoo“. Loreen went to become the first female artist in history to win the Eurovision Song Contest twice.

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun, for all the latest developments regarding Melodifestivalen 2024 and the Swedish entry for Eurovision 2024!

Sweden: From the stage of Melodifestivalen to The Voice of USA!

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Ashley (Ash) Haynes, one of the members of The Mamas, participated in The Voice of USA‘s Blind Auditions two days ago.

Although she impressed the audience and the judges with her performance of Tina Turner’s “The Best”, she failed to turn any of the judges’ chairs.

The Mamas served as John Lundvik‘s backing vocalists in Eurovision 2019 and were supposed to perform the song “Move” to represent Sweden at Eurovision 2020. However, the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of the competition. They made another attempt to represent their country in the competition the following year, but unfortunately they finished third in Melodifestivalen, with the song “In The Middle”.

The group, which consisted of Loulou Lamotte, Ashley Haynes, and Dinah Yonas Manna, has since broken up and is pursuing separate careers, however they do not completely rule out a reunion.

You can watch Ashley (Ash) Haynes’ performance in the following video:

The judging panel for The Voice of USA is made up of John Legend, Dan + Shay, Chance the Rapper and Reba McEntire.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the Eurovision 2024 developments!

 

Sweden: The general rehearsal of the Fifth Heat of Melodifestivalen 2024! (Live)

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The general rehearsal of the 5th and last Heat of Melodifestivalen 2024 has just started. It is sad but true, this is the last heat of the year and takes place at Löfbergs Arena in Karlstad, Sweden. We will be covering this rehearsal from within the arena, describing in detail what is happening during the show, for you to follow the entire process.

This article is being updated in real-time, all you need to do is hit the refresh button on your browser and all the rest is on us!

We will keep you up to date with all the latest information and images off this semi-final rehearsal, allowing you to get a glimpse of what you will get to see tomorrow March 2nd, at 20:00 CET, when you watch the actual show of the heat, on SVT and SVT Play.

The experts

New in Melodifestivalen this year is the participation of a couple of really knowledgeable music and Mello-experts – radio and TV profile Tina Mehrafzoon and Mello-oracle Ronny Larsson. During both the races and the final, they analyze the evening’s line-up and give their opinion on how they are doing.

The show

Carina Berg is the host of all the shows of the tour this year! With the next show of the contest on Saturday March the 2nd, Melodifestivalen will take place in Karlstad and then finally the final show in Stockholm on the 9th of March.

After the intro of Johan Östling, Carina presents this show’s contestants!

The numbers

  • “Unforgettable” – Marcus & Martinus

Two side walls for the twins, giving me vibes of the Loreen Smörgåsgrillen (toaster) but in vertical mode. In the beginning it is narrow, then they are moved further apart. Our favourite twins, Marcus and Martinus, are always super professionals and great vocally, however they kept their voice for tomorrow evening and didn’t even sing the high note of the “so good it hurts” part. Does this give me winner vibes? Hell yeah!

Photo: Andreas Papayiannakis

  • “Controlla” – Chelsea Muco

I am in the humid Karlstad at the moment, but this song gives me sunbed, cocktail, beach, swimming trunk vibes. I wanna dance to the beat. Palm trees and warm colours in the background, six completely new dancers one of which has a rather familiar surname (D’Mello). Chelsea is quite good for a debutant, good vocally, nice energy. However, I don’t this going anywhere. NQ for me, but let’s see what happens tomorrow.

Photo: Andreas Papayiannakis

  • “Back To My Roots” – Jay Smith

Large prop with the title of the song twice, his band behind him faking playing on a live gig and then it’s Jay with his amazing voice. The song reminds me a bit of Nickelback, a bit of the 00s, but as people say here this is a very familiar sound to Swedish people and in combination with Jay‘s amazing voice, this might go somewhere. The crowd is clapping along. Maybe this one goes to the finalkvalet (final qualifier) round.

Photo: Andreas Papayiannakis

  • “Banne maj” – Elecktra

She was at Drag Race Sverige and the people love her. She is fabulous, very much a Verka Serduchka style song, but not in the sense of giving me winning vibes. She just stands there, doing the bare minimum and then there are dancers that look how the best men on my wedding could look like. What I am seeing though, don’t understand, she is not a qualifier for me.

Photo: Andreas Papayiannakis

  • “Light” – Annika Wickihalder

Her song and aura gives me Faith Kakembo vibes. She has an amazing voice but she seems like the stage swallows her. She has two big deformed mirror props that don’t seem to add up to the whole staging. Typical Melodifestivalen or Eurovision ballad.  FQ round most likely for Annika.

Photo: Andreas Papayiannakis

  • “Que Sera” – Medina

Large speakers prop, bicycles, too many colours and too much going on, on stage, dancers are included. However they manage to make it somehow work. Their vocals are not the best in this run, but I am sure they will fix everything tomorrow. This is a football anthem, the crowd does move during their performance and they hum. Mission accomplished. Direct finalists for sure.

Photo: Andreas Papayiannakis

These were the six numbers of this week, a recap follows to show the voting numbers for the contestants of the heat.

The Intervals

When the fifth and final round of Melodifestivalen 2024 kicks off on Saturday, March 2, it will do so with a vengeance. It will be Värmland with an extra big V when Karlstad‘s son, actor and musician Johan Östling opens the broadcast with Sven-Ingvar‘s classic Torparrock. Carina is now at the arena and everything is ready to begin! It’s time to face the music!

Fredrik Kempe is also inducted into the Melodifestivalen Hall of Fame and since 2004 he has delivered 35 songs, including four winners: “Hero“, “La Voix“, “Popular” and “Undo“. The genre breadth of his song treasure is hard to beat.

From danceable pop via powerful ballads and rockabilly to opera, disco and dance bands. A song catalogue with Mello classics such as “Cara Mia“, “Manboy“, “Moving On” and “Bada Nakna” speaks for itself: Fredrik Kempe is one of Melodifestivalen‘s foremost hitmakers.

Actual Kristin Amparo performs “I See You” and Sanna Nielsen performs “Undo” and “Du och Jag mot Världen“, with Sanna Nielsen closing the interval.

The virtual Direct Qualifiers

First voting round virtual winner: “Banne maj” – Elecktra

The first voting round winner moves from the green room onto an intermediate small stage in the middle of the audience and sing their song.

Second voting round virtual winner: “Que Sera” – Medina

The second voting round winner does exactly what the first voting round winner did. Green room, intermediate stage, main stage.

Those who virtually remain at the contest

Second voting round virtual 2nd place: “Back To My Roots” – Jay Smith
Second voting round virtual 3rd place: “Unforgettable” – Marcus & Martinus

Second voting round results

Age-band 3-9 years old virtual winner:“Que Sera” – Medina

Age-band 10-15 years old virtual winner: “Unforgettable” – Marcus & Martinus

Age-band 16-29 years old virtual winner: “Que Sera” – Medina

Age-band 30-44 years old virtual winner: “Controlla” – Chelsea Muco

Age-band 45-59 years old virtual winner: “Que Sera” – Medina

Age-band 60-74 years old virtual winner: “Controlla” – Chelsea Muco

Age-band 75+ years old virtual winner: “Light” – Annika Wickihalder

Televoting virtual winner:“Que Sera” – Medina

The final qualifiers

The entries that came 3rd and 4th in the five rounds compete in the final qualifiers. Two of the ten competing in the final qualifiers will advance to the final. All of the competing artists are on the show, but they will not be performing again. Instead, a quick replay of their previous performances is shown.

The viewing age groups that we recognise from the competitions are not included in the final qualifiers. It is therefore the count of the total number of votes that counts in the final qualifier. The contestants take with them the votes they received in their heats, and these are combined with the new number of votes they receive in the final qualifiers. The final qualifiers begin with the entries being awarded points that are calculated based on how many votes they received in their sub-competition, weighted according to how many actually voted in each sub-competition. In other words, the number of votes cast for the entries is divided by the total number of voters in the competition. This is to avoid that those who competed in competitions with more viewers are favored or that those who competed in competitions with superior winners will be disadvantaged.

Based on the calculations we go through above, the artists will receive points. A total of 1,000 points will be distributed among the entries and we will know the status before the new voting opens.  When the new voting in the final qualifier ends, 1000 new points will be distributed among the entries. Just like in the final, viewers will be told who got the lowest score first.

In the end, the two artists with the most points will clinch the last two final spots and each will perform their entry. The remaining eight artists are eliminated.

First Virtual Final Qualifier: “Supernatural” – Adam Woods

Second Virtual Final Qualifier: “Unga & Fria” – Fröken Snusk

A prediction

First voting round winner:“Unforgettable” – Marcus & Martinus

Second voting round winner: “Que Sera” – Medina

Second voting round 2nd place: “Back To My Roots” – Jay Smith

Second voting round 3rd place: “Light” – Annika Wickihalder

 

First Final Qualifier: “Unga & Fria” – Fröken Snusk

Second Final Qualifier: “Back To My Roots” – Jay Smith

The schedule for the six shows of the Melodifestivalen 2024 tour

  • Heat 1: Saturday 3 February 2024, Malmö Arena, Malmö
  • Heat 2: Saturday 10 February 2024, Scandinavium, Göteborg
  • Heat 3: Saturday 17 February 2024, Vida Arena, Växjö
  • Heat 4: Saturday 24 February 2024, Stiga Sports Arena, Eskilstuna
  • Heat 5: Saturday 2 March 2024, Löfbergs Arena, Karlstad
  • Final: Saturday 9 March 2024, Friends Arena, Stockholm – Solna

Which two of today’s competing artists do you think will be the direct qualifiers to the finals, on the 9th of March?

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun, for all the latest developments regarding Melodifestivalen 2024 and the Swedish entry for Eurovision 2024!

Source: SVT
Photos: Andreas Papayiannakis/EurovisionFun

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Sweden: Problem with the voting in the first heat of Melodifestivalen 2024!

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As every year, one of the biggest national finals, which captures the interest of eurofans, is the one in Sweden, the Melodifestivalen. Many people vote for their favourite artists in order to represent the country in the Eurovision Song Contest. If we look at last year’s numbers of voters in all the Melodifestivalen qualifiers, the number was between 512,000 and 542,000.

However, this year in the first qualifying round that number has plummeted to just over 460,000. Has the public’s interest waned? If we look at the programme’s viewing figures in conjunction with the number of voting units (i.e. the number of applications and the number of phones that voted) in each semi-final, we would come to anything but that conclusion.

Specifically:

  • Round 1 – Spectators: 2.900.000
    Number of voting units: 460,794
  • Round 2 – Viewers: 2,858,000
    Number of voting units: 589,162
  • Stage 3 – Spectators: 2,755,000
    Number of voting units: 567,234
  • Stage 4 – Spectators: 2,753,000
    Number of voting units: 555,108

There was a problem with the voting and the Melodifestivalen app in the first heat.

More specifically, according to exclusive information from Aftonbladet and Tobbe Ek, about 100,000 votes were lost in the first preliminary round of Melodifestivalen. Many viewers contacted Aftonbladet during the first round of the competition and reported that they could not get into the app to vote. According to SVT, this has not affected the outcome of the contest. However, the data suggests that there may be a lack of votes from almost 100,000 people.

During the contest, SVT will no longer publish the total number of votes in the different contests. Instead, it will announce the number of voting units.

What project manager Anders Wistbacka says.

The day after the first round, Melodifestivalen’s programme manager Anders Wistbacka confirmed that there were problems with the application and that this was due to an overloaded server. At the same time, however, he said that this did not affect the result.

“It was a server that was overloaded. There was just too much traffic on it and then there were some app users who had logged out of the app and had to log back in”.

Asked how he is sure that the lost votes did not affect the final result, he said:

“The eventual drop, if I can call it that, affects all viewers. So there’s no one who stands out, pure and simple. Which means that if it’s the case that we’re affected, it’s affected everyone evenly”.

Anders Wistbacka pointed out that it is a big problem when the application does not work as it should.

The application should simply work and be secure and fit for the purpose for which the application is intended. There are always a few people who have problems, but this time there were a few more.”

Source: Aftonbladet.se

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun to get all the latest news about your favourite contest!

Sweden: Watch clips from the rehearsals of the Melodifestivalen 2024 fifth heat!

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As usual, a few hours before each Melodifestivalen heat, SVT published the rehearsal clips of all six competing artists of the fifth heat of March the 2nd, taking place in Karlstad.

A while ago, the first 30 second rehearsal clips of the upcoming heat got published! You can watch the published clips, by clicking on the song title links below:

In the meantime, you can read through the lyrics of all six competing songs of this heat in our previous article.

Carina Berg is the host of all the shows of the tour this year! With the next show of the contest on Saturday March the 2nd, Melodifestivalen will take place in Karlstad and finally the final show in Stockholm follows on the 9th of March.

The schedule for the six shows of the Melodifestivalen 2024 tour

  • Heat 1: Saturday 3 February 2024, Malmö Arena, Malmö
  • Heat 2: Saturday 10 February 2024, Scandinavium, Göteborg
  • Heat 3: Saturday 17 February 2024, Vida Arena, Växjö
  • Heat 4: Saturday 24 February 2024, Stiga Sports Arena, Eskilstuna
  • Heat 5: Saturday 2 March 2024, Löfbergs Arena, Karlstad
  • Final: Saturday 9 March 2024, Friends Arena, Stockholm – Solna

Which two of the above artists do you think will be the direct qualifiers to the finals?

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun, for all the latest developments regarding Melodifestivalen 2024 and the Swedish entry for Eurovision 2024!

 

 

Betting Odds: Croatia Takes the Lead surpassing Ukraine!

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With less than two weeks left until the official release of all entries for the 68th Eurovision Song Contest, we are entering the most crucial period of the pre-Eurovision season, with national finals and entry reveals multiplying day by day.

For this reason, one of Eurovisionfun’s most beloved and discussed columns returns, with the betting analyses for the Eurovision 2024 once again here.

While you prepare for the crucial weeks ahead with most entries being revealed for May, bookmakers have already begun their work, with the Eurovision 2024 winner section already being offered by some companies. Seizing the opportunity, we present to you the latest developments for the upcoming contest.

Upset at the Top

After a long time, the top spot in the betting odds for Eurovision 2024 has a new holder, with Croatia surpassing Ukraine just a few minutes ago. The sweeping victory of Baby Lasagna at Dora brought Croatia to the top of the betting odds for the first time in its history. The victory of Croatia is currently bet on at odds between 4 and 5, which have been steadily decreasing in recent days.

Thus, in the second place is now Ukraine. Alyona Alyona & Jerry Heil may have fallen from the top, however, their distance from the leading Croatia remains small, although the momentum currently favors Croatia. Ukraine’s odds are on the rise, with a potential victory more than quadrupling the bet.

In the third position, Iceland has risen again after the appearance of Bashar Murad in the Icelandic national final. “Wild West” seems to have impressed in recent days, with bookmakers significantly reducing Iceland’s odds, ranging from 7 to 9.

Reflecting the rise of Croatia to the top and Iceland to third, was the fall of Italy to the fourth position. However, this development does not mean an increase in the odds for Angelina Mango with “La Noia“. Italy is bet on at odds from 7 to 10, at the same levels as our previous analysis when it was in second place.

Completing the top five is the United Kingdom, which, however, has a considerable gap compared to the leading countries. With the release of “Dizzy” in the next few hours, it remains to be seen how bookmakers will be influenced by the finalized form of the British entry for Malmo. Currently, the UK’s victory returns up to 15 times the bet.

Top 10

In the sixth position and for the first time outside the Top 5 during this year’s Eurovision season, Sweden has fallen. The relatively low level of this year’s Melodifestivalen has raised the odds for the host country. A Swedish victory on home soil is offered at odds between 13 and 17, marking a slight increase compared to our last analysis.

In the seventh position is Belgium. The release of “Before the Party’s Over” by Mustii a few days ago seems to have thrilled betting companies, which now have the country outside the Top 5 a few days after its release. Belgium’s victory is bet on at odds between 13 and 17, at levels similar to Sweden.

In the eighth position, one finds France, which presents upward trends in recent days, especially after Slimane’s appearance in the Croatian national final a week ago. France’s odds return up to 21 times the bet with “Mon Amour.”

Ninth is now “Luktelk” by Silvester Belt from Lithuania, which may have dropped one position compared to our last analysis but remains within the top ten. Lithuania’s maiden victory is played at similar odds to those of France.

Finally, Switzerland completes the top ten, just hours after the release of “The Code” by Nemo. Upward trends for the country in Central Europe, as seen in the betting odds, with Switzerland possibly to climb even higher in the coming days. Switzerland’s victory is bet on at odds between 17 and 26.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBsgTJQFl9k

Do you think Baby Lasagna will give Croatia its maiden victory as an independent country in the Eurovision Song Contest? Let us know in the comments!

Sweden: Maria Sur was not allowed to include a dance-break on her Melfest final performance!

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Currently, the 19 year-old Ukrainian artist based in Sweden, Maria Sur, is the hot favorite to win Melodifestivalen 2024 and represent Sweden on home ground. Maria Sur qualified from Melodifestivalen’s second heat, with her dance entry “When I’m Gone“.

“When I’m Gone” has already gathered the attention of the Eurovision fandom, because of the traditional Swedish pop sound as well as the polished performance she and her team pulled out. As she mentioned speaking to “The Eurotrip Podcast“, her team was thinking of adding a dance-break to their final performance on March 9. However, this could not be possible as it was denied by the organizers of the show for being against the competition’s rules. In Melodifestivalen, it is not allowed to bring drastic changes to a performance mid-competition, especially when it comes to the timing of the song:

There’s not going to be so many big changes in the final. I wanted to bring this idea to the final, but unfortunately we’re not allowed to do it. 

I wanted to do a dance break. It’s not happening because of the rules. We’re not allowed to change the timing of the song. 

Moreover, there was another issue with the timing of “When I’m Gone“. Maria Sur’s entry for Eurovision 2024 sits exactly on three minutes. The maximum length of a Melodifestivalen entry, as well as a Eurovision one, is three minutes exactly. Adding a dance-break would either maximize the length of “When I’m Gone” or force the team to cut an existing part.

Regardless the issue, Maria Sur mentions:

We are very happy with the performance and the staging.

“When I’m Gone” is not Maria Sur’s first Melodifestivalen entry. She participated in last year’s edition with “Never Give Up“, where she finished ninth. This year she’s returned, claiming the Swedish representation in Malmö.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Source: theeurotrippodcast

Sweden: Listen to the song snippets of the fifth Heat of Melodifestivalen 2024!

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As usual, a couple of days before each Melodifestivalen heat, SVT publishes snippets of all six competing songs of the heat. A while ago, the song snippets of the fifth heat got released.

The competing songs of the fifth heat:

In the meantime, you can read through the lyrics of all six competing songs of this heat in our previous article.

Carina Berg is the host of all the shows of the tour this year! With the next show of the contest on Saturday February the 3rd, Melodifestivalen will take place in Malmö, then Göteborg follows and finally the final show in Stockholm on the 9th of March.

The schedule for the six shows of the Melodifestivalen 2024 tour

  • Heat 1: Saturday 3 February 2024, Malmö Arena, Malmö
  • Heat 2: Saturday 10 February 2024, Scandinavium, Göteborg
  • Heat 3: Saturday 17 February 2024, Vida Arena, Växjö
  • Heat 4: Saturday 24 February 2024, Stiga Sports Arena, Eskilstuna
  • Heat 5: Saturday 2 March 2024, Löfbergs Arena, Karlstad
  • Final: Saturday 9 March 2024, Friends Arena, Stockholm – Solna

Which two of the above artists do you think will be the direct qualifiers to the finals?

 

Chelsea Muco: “Expect a very, confident vibe. And I will flirt a lot with you guys on camera.” | Exclusive Interview

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Andreas Papayiannakis and EurovisionFun is accredited by SVT to follow the Melodifestivalen tour for a third year in-a-row. In Stockholm we got the chance to meet a few people involved in this year’s Melodifestivalen. Among those was Chelsea Muco who had us over at LoudKult HQ on an extensive interview, in the studio where she gets to spend many hours of her daily life.

Her surname is pronounced “Mucho” and not “Muko“. I would definitely pronounce it incorrectly, if we hadn’t discuss this beforehands. She is a fresh face at the world of Melodifestivalen, but now we get to meet her. Chelsea Muco is here with the song “Controlla“. Chelsea is one of the most successful Afrobeat singers at the moment in Sweden she will be using the platform of Melodifestivalen to become well known outside of Sweden. What should people know about her?

“I think that’s like a very wide question, but I’ve always been doing music and I love to be out there and spread my music because that’s what I’ve been working on and that’s what I do best. My style of music is Afrobeat. But lately, I’ve been doing a little fusion, a little pop a mix of the good stuff.”

What should we expect from “Controlla“? She tells us more about her participation this year:

“‘Controlla’ is a lot of dance moves. We will give a show, prepare yourselves to see colours, happiness because what I do think and like my thing is, I don’t like to be on stage only me. I like to bring people. I like to have dancers. I like to have a DJ. I’m very challenged right now, really, because I am not used to dancing. I love dancing, but you know, this time it’s dance on cameras, you know, it’s like a whole different thing. But I’m ready. I do think that we got this.”

She has worked a lot at LoudKult HQ studios that hosted us for the interview. She tells us more about the people behind this contribution:

“For the song, I worked with Pa Modou. He’s one of the writers, and Elsa Carmona as well, and then me. We wrote the song, and then we have, Fernand MP, and Karl Flyckt. So, we are six people total on this song. And Anderz Wrethov, he is really well known. He knows what he’s doing. He’s so talented.”

They wrote the song privately and not at a songwriting camp. They did two sessions with Anderz in Malmö. There were six people, two were producing, Chelsea was performing in the booth and as she says “there was a magical rotation in everything” they did that day. Chelsea is in a really strong heat in Karlstad. Is there any one of her fellow-contestants that she is looking forward to?

“Marcus & Martinus will deliver because their stage performance is always on point, their voice and the whole appearance, they are really good, and I do think Medina as well they’re really, really good. And I do actually think Danny Saucedo, he got it. And Adam.”

What are her expectations about her participation at Mello?

“My expectation is to have a great time. You know, literally, my first thing is to live in the moment. Because when you do such a big thing, or reach the milestone in your life or in your career, I do think that you tend to easily forget because it’s a lot of things happening and they drag you here, they drag you there, you just flow.”

Finally Chelsea gives her own message to those people that would like to get to know her and her music:

“Expect a very, confident vibe. And I will flirt a lot with you guys on camera, expect that as well. But in the end of the day, be ready to feel the warmth during cold seasons, because “Controla” is really here to make a show.”

You can watch our exclusive interview with Chelsea Muco at the video down below:

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