Sweden: Listen to the song snippets of the first heat of Melodifestivalen 2023!

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As usual, a couple of days before each Melodifestivalen heat, SVT publishes snippets of all seven competing songs of the heat. A while ago, the song snippets of the first heat got released.
The competing songs of the first heat:
  1. Tone Sekelius – Rhythm Of My Show LISTEN HERE
  2. Loulou LaMotte – Inga sorger LISTEN HERE
  3. Rejhan – Haunted LISTEN HERE
  4. Elov & Beny – Raggen går LISTEN HERE
  5. Victor Crone – Diamonds LISTEN HERE
  6. Eva Rydberg & Ewa Roos – Länge leve livet LISTEN HERE
  7. Jon Henrik Fjällgren, Arc North feat. Adam Woods – Where You Are (Sávežan) LISTEN HERE

The process

Two songs will directly qualify to the grand final of Melodifestivalen 2023, which will take place on the 11th of March. The songs that will place third and fourth will have to compete again, at the fifth semi-final, held on the 4th of March. There will be four heats in total.

As we have already informed you, the voting system of Melodifestivalen has changed following the announced changes by EBU regarding the voting format in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool!

The broadcaster now scraps the group division at the fifth show, known as the semi-final and all eight contestants will now have to face each other. Points will be awarded from the viewing groups and the four entries with the highest points will advance to the final!

The dates of Melodifestivalen 2023

  • Heat 1: Göteborg – Saturday 4 February 2023 (Scandinavium)
  • Heat 2: Linköping – Saturday 11 February 2023 (Saab Arena)
  • Heat 3: Lidköping – Saturday 18 February 2023 (Sparbanken Arena)
  • Heat 4: Malmö – Saturday 25 February 2023 (Malmö Arena)
  • Semi-Final: Örnsköldsvik – Saturday 4 March 2023 (Hägglunds Arena)
  • Final: Stockholm – Satuday 11 March 2023 (Friends Arena)

We remind you that Melodifestivalen 2023 is scheduled to take place between February 4th to March 11th and will be hosted by Jesper Rönndahl and Farah Abadi.

Which two of the above artists do you think will be the direct qualifiers to the finals, on the 12th of March?

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun, for all the latest developments regarding Melodifestivalen 2023 and the Swedish entry for Eurovision 2023!

Source/Photo: SVT

Eurovision 2023: The Semi-Final Allocation Draw Results!

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Liverpool’s Saint George’s Hall with a very nice event hosted a few minutes ago the draw for the semi-finals of the 67th Eurovision Song Contest.

The analyzes of the fans and not only, have been on fire for a few minutes now. Since the theories based on the pre-history of the countries in the competition, it is a first insight into how passable the qualification to the final is or not. In other words, it’s time to make our predictions, about who will go through to the final and who are the favorites to say goodbye to Liverpool early…

The presenters and the handover ceremony

The Eurovision 2023 semi-final draw was hosted by AJ Odudu and Rylan. Both are on the staff of the BBC, being some of the most loved faces of British public broadcasting.

During the draw, the ceremony of handing over and accepting the emblem of the contest took place. The mayor of Turin, Stefano Lo Russo, formally handed over the “keys to the event” to the mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson.

Draw Procedure

The 31 countries competing in the semi-finals were divided into five pots, based on the scores they have exchanged in recent years with each other. This is done in order to avoid, as much as possible, the alliances that appear every year in the voting.

Big 5 and Ukraine

With the big winner of last year’s competition, Ukraine, directly in the final, along with the Big 5 (UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain), the first part of the draw determined the semi-final that the direct finalists would vote for.

Will vote in the 1st Semi-Final:

  • Germany
  • France
  • Italy

Will vote in the 1st Semi-Final:

  • Ukraine
  • Spain
  • United Kingdom

In the semi-final that the six aforementioned countries were drawn to broadcast and vote for, the video from their dress rehearsal will also be shown. This was done at Eurovision 2016 for the first time, for reasons of equal exposure of the countries directly in the final and the countries that qualify from the semi-finals. Essentially, viewers see each entry twice during the shows.

Semi-Final Allocation Draw

The allocation draw for the two semi-finals had two parts. In the first part the 31 countries participating in the semi-finals were drawn in which of the two they will compete in. Fifteen countries will compete in the first/second semi-final and sixteen in the first/second semi-final.

In the second part, each country learned whether it will appear in the first or second half of the semi-final in which it will compete. The exact order of appearance will be determined by the EBU and the show’s producers at a later date.

1st Semi-final (9 May):

1st Half

  • Serbia
  • Latvia
  • Ireland
  • Norway
  • Portugal
  • Croatia
  • Malta

2nd Half

  • Sweden
  • Moldova
  • Switzerland
  • Israel
  • Netherlands
  • Finland
  • Azerbaijan
  • Czech Republic

2nd Semi-Final (11 May):

1st Half

  • Armenia
  • Cyprus
  • Romania
  • Denmark
  • Belgium
  • Iceland
  • Greece
  • Estonia

2nd Half

  • Albania
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Lithuania
  • San Marino
  • Slovenia
  • Georgia
  • Poland

Liverpool will host the 67th Eurovision Song Contest from 9 to 13 May at the Liverpool Arena. The motto of this year’s event, as chosen by the organizers, is “United by Music“.

You can see the draw again through the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HAY-qpDTnY

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments regarding Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool!

Eurovision 2023: Today the semi-final draw!

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At 20:00 CET and live from Saint George’s Hall in Liverpool, the Eurovision 2023 semi-final draw will take place.

During today’s event, there will also be the delivery-receipt of the emblem of the organization from the city of Turin to that of Liverpool. For this reason, today’s draw will be attended by both the mayor of Turin, Stefano Lo Russo, and the mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson.

Presenters

The draw is expected to be hosted by AJ Odudu and Rylan, both BBC presenters.

Draw Procedure

The first part of the draw will determine the semi-final that each of the six countries that are directly in the final (Italy, France, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, Ukraine) will broadcast and vote for.

The second part of the draw will determine which semi-final and which half the other 31 participating countries will compete in. As in recent years, the exact order of appearance will be determined by the event’s producers at a later date.

The 31 countries have been divided into five pots, based on historical voting patterns as calculated by official TV partner Digame.

Pot 1
  • Albania
  • Austria
  • Switzerland
  • Croatia
  • Serbia
  • Slovenia
Pot 2
  • Denmark
  • Australia
  • Finland
  • Iceland
  • Norway
  • Sweden
  • Estonia
Pot 3
  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Georgia
  • Israel
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
Pot 4
  • Cyprus
  • Greece
  • Ireland
  • Malta
  • Portugal
  • San Marino
Pot 5
  • Belgium
  • Czech Republic
  • Netherlands
  • Moldova
  • Poland
  • Romania

In the evening, therefore, we all tune in for the draw of the semi-finals of our favorite competition. You can watch the draw on the official Eurovision YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HAY-qpDTnY

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments regarding Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool!

Sweden: The lyrics of the songs competing at the first heat of Melodifestivalen 2023!

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Melodifestivalen 2023 starts the forthcoming Saturday, February the 4th! The first heat of the national selection process of Sweden, will take place at The Scandinavium in Gothenburg.

A while ago, SVT, the Swedish national broadcaster released the lyrics of all seven competing songs, of the first heat, but also the first photos from the rehearsals.

You can read the lyrics of the first heat songs below:

Read more

Sweden: This is what the Melodifestivalen 2023 Stage looks like!

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The design of this year’s Melodifestivalen stage has been completed and SVT unveiled a sketch/working image of how the final stage looks like, before it gets constructed at Scandinavium Arena in Gothenburg. It can now be seen in a post at the official Melodifestivalen Twitter account of SVT.

Instead of two stages like last year, there will instead be one well-sized stage. The record-breaking staircase to the front of the stage is recognisable, but is split in two and offers a pointed stage where the performers can be close to the audience. The record-breaking staircase to the front of the stage is recognisable, but is split in two and offers a pointed stage where the performers can be close to the audience.

As for this year’s Greenroom, it will be similar in appearance and placement, as the big party place on the parquet in the middle of the crowd, and almost as generously scaled during the tour as well as in the final.  

The construction of the stage will be livestreaming next week starting Monday 30 January 12:00 CET, at SVT Play with the show “Den stora scenriggningen“.

Changes in voting system

As we have already informed you, the voting system of Melodifestivalen has changed following the announced changes by EBU regarding the voting format in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool!

The broadcaster now scraps the group division at the fifth semi-final and all eight contestants will now have to face each other. Points will be awarded from the viewing groups and the four entries with the highest points will advance to the final!

The dates of Melodifestivalen 2023

  • Heat 1: Göteborg – Saturday 4 February 2023 (Scandinavium)
  • Heat 2: Linköping – Saturday 11 February 2023 (Saab Arena)
  • Heat 3: Lidköping – Saturday 18 February 2023 (Sparbanken Arena)
  • Heat 4: Malmö – Saturday 25 February 2023 (Malmö Arena)
  • Semi-Final: Örnsköldsvik – Saturday 4 March 2023 (Hägglunds Arena)
  • Final: Stockholm – Satuday 11 March 2023 (Friends Arena)

We remind you that Melodifestivalen 2023 is scheduled to take place between February 4th to March 11th and will be hosted by Jesper Rönndahl and Farah Abadi.

Melodifestivalen 2022 was won by Cornelia Jacobs with the song “Hold Me Closer”, representing Sweden in Eurovision 2022 and coming 4th with 438 points.

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun, for all the latest developments regarding Sweden’s entry for Eurovision 2023!

Source: SVT
Scene Graphics: Viktor Brattström

Sweden: The running order for Melodifestivalen 2023 is announced!

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The the running order for the semi-finals of Melodifestivalen 2023 was just revealed by SVT!

The running order is determined, each year, by the production team of Melodifestivalen, taking into consideration both the competing songs’ musical qualities as well as stage performance and other production considerations and can be read below:

First Heat: Göteborg, 4th February 2023

  1. Tone Sekelius – Rhythm Of My Show
  2. Loulou LaMotte – Inga sorger
  3. Rejhan – Haunted
  4. Elov & Beny – Raggen går
  5. Victor Crone – Diamonds
  6. Eva Rydberg & Ewa Roos – Länge leve livet
  7. Jon Henrik Fjällgren, Arc North feat. Adam Woods – Where You Are (Sávežan)

Second Heat: Linköping, 11th February 2023

  1. Wiktoria – All My Life (Where Have You Been)
  2. Eden – Comfortable
  3. Uje Brandelius – Grytan
  4. Panetoz – On My Way
  5. Tennessee Tears – Now I Know
  6. Maria Sur – Never Give Up
  7. THEOZ – Mer av dig

Third Heat: Lidköping, 18th February 2023

  1. Paul Rey – Royals
  2. Casanovas – Så kommer känslorna tillbaka
  3. Melanie Wehbe – For The Show
  4. Nordman – Släpp alla sorger
  5. Laurell – Sober
  6. Ida-Lova – Låt hela stan se på
  7. Marcus & Martinus – Air

Fourth Heat: Malmö, 25th February 2023

  1. Kiana – Where Did You Go
  2. Signe & Hjördis – Edelweiss
  3. Smash Into Pieces – Six Feet Under
  4. Mariette – One Day
  5. Emil Henrohn – Mera mera mera
  6. Axel Schylström – Gorgeous
  7. Loreen – Tattoo

Jesper Rönndahl and Farah Abadi will present Melodifestivalen 2023. The Semi-Finals will follow the touring concept again, after SVT had pulled back last year due to health restrictions in Sweden, with the finals being held at Friends Arena! With the opening of the contest in Göteborg, Saturday February the 4th, Melodifestivalen will be held in Linköping, Lidköping, Malmö, Örnsköldsvik and then in Stockholm on the 11th of March.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments related to the Swedish national selection for Eurovision 2023!

Sweden: On January 11 the announcement of the Line-up for Melodifestivalen 2023!

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The countdown has officially begun! A little while ago it was announced through the official account of Melodifestivalen on Instagram that on Wednesday January 11 at 12:00 the official running order for the semi-finals of Melodifestivalen 2023 will be announced. Let us remind you that the order of appearance is determined every year by SVT with television, musical but also other criteria related to the production of the television show, in order to give the best possible result in each semi-final for all contestants.

The detailed programme of Melodifestivalen 2023

Heat 1: Gothenburg, 4 February 2023 (Scandinavium)

Heat 2: Linköping, 11 February 2023 (Saab Arena)

Heat 3: Lidköping, 18 February 2023 (Sparbanken Arena)

Heat 4: Malmö, 25 February 2023 (Sparbanken Arena)

Heat 5: Örnsköldsvik, 4 March 2023 (Hägglunds Arena)

Grand Final: Stockholm, 11 March 2023 (Friends Arena)

As a reminder, Melodifestivalen 2023 is scheduled to take place from 4 February to 11 March with hosts Jesper Rönndahl and Farah Abadi.

 

Stay tuned to Eurovision Fun for all the news regarding Sweden’s participation in Eurovision 2023!

 

Eurovision 2023: Semi-final allocation draw scheduled for the end of January!

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In the latest episode of ” The Euro Trip podcast”, Councilor and Deputy Mayor of Liverpool Harry Doyle was a guest and spoke among others things, about the preparations for Eurovision 2023.

The allocation draw for the semi finals is any important date, since it marks the official start of the Eurovision season. During the event, the draw to determine in which semi finals countries will perform and which out of the two semis Big Five must broadcast and vote takes place, as well as the host city insignia exchange.

Mr Doyle revealed that preparations are underway for the ceremony which is gonna take place at the end of January. Furthermore, meetings with representatives of local and Ukrainian communities of Liverpool will also take place, to explore ways of collaboration. We remind you that as part of the agreement of BBC to host Eurovision 2023 on behalf of Ukraine, is to include Ukrainians and Ukraine culture as part of the shows.

Even though Mr Doyle did not reveal the exact date of this years allocation draw, it is expected that it will be at the last Tuesday of January, as it happened the two previous years, meaning January 31st.

Below you can listen the full episode of the podcast:

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the latest updates on Eurovision 2023!

Source: The Euro Trip Podcast

Eurovision 2022: These are the 50 most-watched performances on YouTube!

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For yet another year, just some hours before the New Year, Eurovision TV reveales the 50 songs that got the most views throught the year, on the contest’s official YouTube channel.

On the list, there are 13 winning songs, while 23 more from the 40 songs that took part in Eurovision 2022.

Let’s see the songs that the TOP 50: Most watched in 2022 is consisted of:

50) 🇱🇻 Citi Zēni – “Eat Your Salad” – Latvia 2022 

49) 🇦🇿 Efendi – “Mata Hari” – Azerbaijan 2021

48) 🇫🇮 Blind Channel – “Dark Side” – Finland 2021

47) 🇦🇿 Nadir Rustamli – “Fade To Black” – Azerbaijan 2022

46) 🇬🇷 Helena Paparizou – “My Number One” – Greece 2005

45) 🇹🇷 Mor ve Ötesi – “Deli” – Turkey 2008

44) 🇫🇮 The Rasmus – “Jezebel” – Finland 2022

43) 🇷🇸 Marija Šerifović – “Molitva”– Serbia 2007

42) 🇩🇪 Lena – “Satellite” – Germany 2010

41) 🇸🇪 Måns Zelmerlöw – “Heroes”– Sweden 2015

40. 🇲🇩 Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira – “Run Away” – Moldova 2010

39) 🇮🇹 Mahmood – “Soldi” – Italy 2019

38) 🇬🇷 Amanda Georgiadi Tenfjord – “Die Together” – Greece 2022

37) 🇧🇪 Jérémie Makiese – “Miss You” – Belgium 2022 

36) 🇺🇦 Ruslana – “Wild Dances” – Ukraine  2004

35) 🇷🇺 Sergey Lazarev – “You Are The Only One” – Russia 2016

34) 🇦🇿 Aysel and Arash – “Always” – Azerbaijan 2009

33) 🇺🇦 Jamala – “1944” – Ukraine 2016

32) 🇷🇺 Manizha – “Russian Woman” – Russia 2021

31) 🇵🇹 MARO – “saudade, saudade” – Portugal 2022

30) 🇩🇪 Malik Harris – “Rockstars” – Germany 2022

29) 🇫🇷 Barbara Pravi – “Voilà” – France 2021

28) 🇵🇱 Ochman – “River” – Poland 2022

27) 🇫🇮 Lordi – “Hard Rock Hallelujah” – Finland 2006

26) 🇸🇪 Loreen – “Euphoria” – Sweden 2012

25) 🇨🇾 Eleni Foureira – “Fuego” – Cyprus 2018

24) 🇨🇾 Andromache – “Ela” – Cyprus 2022

23) 🇫🇷 Alvan & Ahez – “Fulenn” – France 2022

22) 🇹🇷 maNga – “We Could Be The Same” – Turkey 2010

21) 🇳🇱 Duncan Laurence – “Arcade” – Netherlands 2019

20) 🇸🇪 Cornelia Jakobs – “Hold Me Closer” – Sweden 2022

19) 🇺🇦 Verka Serduchka – “Dancing Lasha Tumbai” – Ukraine 2007

18) 🇹🇷 Hadise – “Düm Tek Tek” – Turkey 2009

17) 🇦🇹 LUM!X feat. Pia Maria – “Halo” – Austria 2022

16) 🇲🇩 Zdob şi Zdub & Advahov Brothers – “Trenulețul” – Moldova 2022

15) 🇳🇱 S10 – “De Diepte” – Netherlands 2022

14) 🇮🇹 Mahmood & BLANCO – “Brividi” – Italy 2022

13) 🇦🇱 Ronela Hajati –“Sekret” – Albania 2022

12) 🇮🇱 Netta – “TOY” – Israel 2018

11) 🇦🇲 Rosa Linn – “Snap” – Armenia 2022

10)🇷🇸 Konstrakta – ”In Corpore Sano” – Σερβία 2022

9)🇷🇴 WRS – ”Llámame” – Ρουμανία 2022

8)🇺🇦 Go_A – ”Shum” – Ουκρανία 2021

7)🇳🇴 Alexander Rybak – ”Fairytale” – Νορβηγία 2009

6) 🇮🇹 Måneskin – ”Zitti E Buoni’‘ – Ιταλία 2021

5) 🇳🇴 Subwoolfer – ”Give That Wolf A Banana” – Νορβηγία 2022

4)🇬🇧 Sam Ryder – ”SPACE MAN” – Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο 2022

3)🇷🇺 Little Big – ”Uno” – Ρωσία 2020

2)🇪🇸 Chanel – ”SloMo” – Ισπανία 2022

1)🇺🇦 Kalush Orchestra – ”Stefania” – Ουκρανία 2022

 

What do you think of the TOP 50, do you agree with the results? Write us in the comments below!

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Eurovision Song Contest!

Eurovision 2023: The odds after the Ukrainian national final!

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A few hours have just passed since the first national final of this season and as expected, there are not a few rearrangements in the betting tables. That’s why your favorite column is here again, to give you a first taste of the betting odds ahead of the 67th Eurovision Song Contest.

While you are preparing for your Christmas break and a “hot” Eurovision winter, the bookers are already busy, with the Eurovision 2023 winner section already being offered to some companies. So, we’re taking this opportunity to present to you what we have so far for the next contest.

Winner and Top 5

Despite the dominance of an underdog in yesterday’s Ukrainian national final, TVORCHI, the Eastern European country still remains at the top of the betting tables. Nevertheless, the odds for a possible fourth Ukrainian victory are “rising”, approaching 4.40 in some companies.

This is a clear increase compared to the previous time period, where a victory of Ukraine barely tripled the money of the bettor. The Ukrainian back-to-back is currently being played at odds between 2.75 and 4.40.

Behind Ukraine, in the Top-3, are Italy and Sweden. The Eurovision 2022 host and the six-time winner of the competition are among the heavy favorites for Eurovision 2023, with bookers relying mainly on the long tradition and quality of entries at Sanremo and Melodifestivalen respectively. Italy’s win is offered at 8 and Sweden’s win at 10.

Spain and the United Kingdom complete the top five. These are two countries that impressed in Turin and in which the betting companies show confidence that they can achieve an equally successful result in Liverpool in May. Bookers give the British victory at odds between 7 and 18, while the corresponding Spanish one between 15 and 16.

Top 10

Greece is seen as the sixth favorite to win Eurovision 2023, with bookers recognizing the positive results of the 2021-2022 biennium and the change of approach by ERT within the current decade. Greek victory is played at odds between 17 and 20.

In seventh and eighth place, with similar odds, Norway and Australia are playing. Both are played at a maximum of 21, making two respectable sizes for our favorite contest. Ninth is France, which is called upon to prove that the 2nd place in 2021 was not a “firework”, while the first ten are jointly completed by Belgium and Serbia. Both the Central European country and the Balkan country return 34 times the money of those who bet on them.

Do you think Ukraine can make it back-to-back and become the first country since Ireland in the early 90s to achieve back-to-back wins in our beloved contest?