#melodifestivalen 2018

[everythingeurovision]

Iconic & Notable Eurovision Performances

In 1956 the European Broadcasting Union launched “Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson Européenne” or in English, the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Prix, as a way to test and launch international live broadcasting.  It also became a way to unite the countries together after the chaos of World War II ended in 1945. 

The initial format for the contest based on the Italian music festival “Sanremo”. Active members of the EBU and various other associates are invited to participate in the show. The most notable ones are France, Germany, the UK, Spain and Italy. These countries are known as the Eurovision's “Big 5” and make the most notable financial contributions to the EBU.  Over the years Eurovision has evolved and is now the longest running international contest that is televised. 

Despite its huge success, Eurovision has had its fair share of backlash and hatred thrown its way, some people think the music broadcasted on the show isn't good, and that the show is only using art as a way to profit from it. Others say that it’s  too long and cringeworthy. In recent years politics has become the main reason for peoples disdain towards the contest, with Russia invading Ukraine in 2022 being a huge part of the contest to as recently 2024 where many performers spoke out in support of Palestine. 

But regardless of all this, the impact the show has is undeniable, I’ll be taking a look into a few of the most impactful and noticeable performances from the competition. Some of these are winners of the contest, and some are not. To be clear, these are just what I personally feel are important Eurovision performances.

You might disagree, and that's okay

Refrain - Lys Assia (Switzerland 1956)

1956 was the first year of the competition and the only year where countries could have two entries, and Lys Assia sang both songs that were chosen to represent Switzerland; “Refrain” which was originally sung in French & “Das alte Karussell” (The Old Carousel). Originally sung in German. Since the voting was kept secret, it's unclear where Switzerland's second entry placed in the competition. 

Refrain is a chansen style song that is about lamenting the loss of adolescents and youth. It was composed by jazz pianist and composer Géo Voumard and written by Émile Gardaz, a swiss author. 

Lys Assia was still involved in the Eurovision even after her iconic win. She performed at the 50 year anniversary show in 2005, and also presented the winning trophy in 2009. She even attempted to enter the competition again in 2013, but didn't qualify.

She passed away in 2018 but is still remembered for her bittersweet performance of “Refrain”. 

Waterloo - Refrain (Sweden, 1974)

Abba could arguably be the most successful participants of the contest to date, you can say you don't listen to them, but you certainly know who they are whether you remember them from their work on the soundtrack of “Mama Mia!” or for this iconic entry that marks the first of Sweden's seven victories. 

The group was formed in 1972 when 2 married couples combined their talents together,Despite not being very well received by Swedish audiences,  the group had some moderate success before the competition, releasing songs and playing at festivals around sweden. 

They entered the Melodifestivalen (Sweden's way of picking their Eurovision entry) in 1973 with their song “Ring Ring” but didn't qualify, afterwards the band began working on their entry for the following year as they saw the potential the contest had to launch the group into the industry, and to open themselves up to an international crowd. since then the band have skyrocketed, having received many Grammy nominations and even winning various awards such as a Brit award and the AGVA's Vocal Entertainer of the Year award in 1981.

Dana International-Diva (Israel, 1998)

The 1998 Eurovision was a huge moment for LGBTQ+ representation, as it was the first time in the competition an only transgender person would compete and also win the competition. 

Yaron Cohen, known also as “Dana international” began her career in 1987 as a drag queen and had her first notable success when she launched a satirical version of Whitney Houstens “My Name Is Not Susan”. She legally changed her name and underwent gender affirming surgery in 1993 and took on the stage name “Dana international”

She first entered the Eurovision Qualifying Contest for Israel in 1995, as it had been a childhood dream to compete, but her entry for the year came second in the preselection. She would go on to release an EP and album in the following years before being chosen in 1998 to represent Israel in the 43rd year of the contest's runtime. 

Despite huge backlash from conservative communities in Europe, Dana overcame all of the pushback and took home the trophy with her song “Diva”. A song praising many strong powerful women throughout history. 

Many orthodox jews were opposed to her presence in the contest and she received a lot of death threats. This entry was the first time a Trangender person had not only been seen on the contest stage but had also won the show, making it a huge celebration for the LGBTQ community. 

Conchita Wurst - Rise Like The Phoenix (Austria,2014)

2014 was another memorable/controversial time for the contest, Austria's chose to send a drag artist as their entry for the 58th Eurovision. This made her the first drag artist to take the stage, as well as being the first artist to perform on the stage without backing vocals or dancers. 

Conchita Wurst, real name Thomas Neuwirth, is a drag artist and performer originally from Styria, Austria. Before taking on the persona of “Conchita Wurst” Neuwirth competed in an austrian talent/scouting show in 2006 and finished third, later he would go on to form a boy group known as “Jetzt Anders!”, the group would disband later the same year

It was after this he developed the persona of “Conchita Wurst” and would go on to place second place in the Austrian Eurovisons selections for 2012. Two years later she would be selected to represent Austria in the 2014 Eurovision contest with the song “Rise Like A Phoenix”, a powerful ballad about overcoming difficulties. 

Her presence and success sparked a lot of controversy among viewers, with a lot of more conservative groups taking great offence to the performer's presence. Some countries even went as far as to create and sign petitions to have the performance excluded from the broadcast. This controversy highlighted the ongoing disagreement between Eastern and Western Europe on homosexuality, but her win once again shone a positive light onto the LGBTQ+ community.

Sandra Kim - J'aime La Vie (Belgium,1986)

Belgium's Sandra Kim (real name; Sandra Caldarone) became the youngest person to compete and win the competition in 1986 at only 13 years of age. 

Born in Montegnee in Belgium, Kim started singing when she was only seven years old.  In March of 1986, she won the national selections and performed at the 30th Eurovision Contest held in Norway and took first place for Belgium making it their first and only win so far. 

The song “J’aime La Vie” is an upbeat bubblegum pop song about the joys of life and living, though at the time the song made Kim appear to be 15 years of age. Once her real age had been revealed the Switzerland began a petition to have the song disqualified from the contest. After this all a rule was brought in that all contestants had to be over 16 to compete (at least on the day of the Finals)

Dave Benton, Tanel Padar & 2XL - Everybody (Estonia, 2001)

Dave Benton made history by being not only the oldest person to claim victory at the contest, he was also the first person of colour to win the show.  The performance is Estonia's first and only win to date in the competition, which also makes it the first of the Baltic states to take home the title.

Born in 1951 on the Caribbean island Aruba, He moved to the US and performed as a backing vocalist and drummer for many artists. Afterwards, Benton would move to Estonia after marrying his wife in 1997. He has had a broad musical career partially due to his ability to speak 8 different languages. He has also had career in acting appearing in films "The Dissidents" and "Infinite Summer".

The win was a shock as Estonia didn't place in the top 10 of oddsmakers and betters. 

Despite the song's victory, it was not immediately available as a single and could only be found  as part of a compilation album released by BGM Germany. Dave Benton initially declined to perform on the song, but changed his mind a few days later when asked again.

Paul Oscar - Min Hinsti Dans (Iceland, 1997)

In 1997, Pall Oskar Hjalmtysson (more commonly known as Paul Oscar) joined the international spotlight as the first openly gay man to perform in Eurovision. Having already had national success, he was chosen to represent his home country of Iceland at the 42nd iteration of Eurovision hosted in Dublin Ireland.

Born in 1970, Oskar was a very musical child, singing and performing a lot, but was deeply affected by bullying in school. This only worsened when at the age of 16, he came out to his family as gay. In 1993 he released his album “Stu “ he soon after joined the band Milljónamæringarnir and released 2 albums with them, in 1995 he began his solo debut with the album “Palli” released under his own recording company. It went on to be the best selling Icelandic album of that year. 

He co-wrote and performed the song “Minn Hinsti Dans” representing Iceland, the performance featured four women performing with him latex acting suggestive on a sofa, while the performance only placed 20th in the semi finals, it captured the attention of viewers for its boldness, particularly among the LGBTQ audience. 

Lordi - Hard Rock Hallelujah (Finland, 2006)

The audience of the 51st iteration of Eurovision got quite the shock when Finnish metal band Lordi took to the stage with their song “Hard Rock Hallelujah”. The band are known for their extravagant monster outfits and are even known as “the Finish monsters”. The band would be crowned winners and take home Finland's first and only victory in the contest.

The band originally formed in 1996 after meeting at a KISS concert the year before. They knew early on they wanted to perform with crazy pyrotechnics and be dressed as different monsters. The costumes are heavily inspired by KISS and Horror elements. The band are never seen without the masks on, no matter what. 

Up until this time, the songs in the contest were more predominantly europop, pop or ballads. heavier and alternative genres were not seen in the contest until Lordis performance. Many called the group devil worshipers. In fact, a group of Greek priests were certain the band were satanic and told Kerrang magazine the group wasn't welcomed in the country. 

Despite this Lordi’s performance opened the doors of Eurovision for more non mainstream artists, their win and performance have had a huge impact on the way people would perceive the contest. And undoubtedly paved the way for other non mainstream artists to succeed in later shows. 

Joost Klein - Europapa (Netherlands, 2024)

This years eurovisions had a lot of really notable performances, some for good reasons, some for more controversial, I found it hard to pick one to talk about, but felt i needed to mention this years contest due to everything surrounding it, and I think the story of Joost Klein makes the most sense to mention. 

Despite many viewers choosing to boycott the show this year due to Israel's presence amidst the political climate, “Europapa” took the world by storm and spread like wildfire over social media. It was exactly the type of song you’d expect at Eurovision, an upbeat techno song about loving Europe and needing to come together during tough times. with wild and quirky stage production. 

The sentiment of needing to unite against hate was incredibly strong this year, with many performers voicing the same message in their shows. but Joost’s stage charisma and established popularity as a dutch performer made him stand out amongst the rest. Making his sudden disqualification from the contest a huge shock.

After qualifying for the grand final, a female camera woman claimed Klein allegedly made threatening remarks towards her, and after an investigation into these claims, the EBU released a statement disqualifying Joost from the final. Many fans were shocked by the news as it's the first time an act has been disqualified from the contest. 

Since then, speculation around the EBU’s decision has mainly centered around a prior incident during a press conference between Klein and Eden Golan, the Israeli representative. During this event Klein would not make eye contact with the Israeli singer, and when she was questioned on if her presence at the contest was a safety issue. Golan refused to answer but Klein pushed back, adding he felt she should. 

Joost's disqualification added even more tension to the contest this year, especially with ongoing outcry for the EBU to take a firmer stand on Israel. With the 2025 Eurovision already scheduled to take place in Basel, Switzerland, many fans will be waiting to see whether Israel will be cut loose from the competition or if History will be repeating itself.  

[rhubarbpiearomantic]

lyssnar på gamla melodifestivalen låtar och. varför är alla nya mello låtar bokstavligen dynga?? asså ALLA bidrag har high key sugit röv sen 2018/2019. finns ju vissa undantag såklart, men de undantagen kan jag fortfarande inte lyssna på frivilligt.

SNÄLLA introducera nya artister som inte skriver sketna ballader jag BER ER SVT!

jag är trött på liamoo. cazzi opeia är mid. dotter är mid. jag avskyr smash into pieces. ALLA SUGER OCH DET GÖR MIG SÅ LEDSEN! INGA SKRIVER ROLIGA, KREATIVA, CATCHIGA LÅTAR LÄNGRE! ALLT ÄR MASSPRODUCERAT POP-SKIT SOM SPELAS PÅ RIX FM! jag pallar bokstavligen inte mer jag tror jag tappar det snart.

aja vem kollar ikväll? 😍

[omarera]

I got an ask a while ago with a question regarding if Edvin or Omar is the one most known in households in Sweden. I didn’t answer but the ask has stayed with me though and I have elaborated on it. (Yes, I am comparing again…)

My take on this is that their exposure to the Swedish audience is completely differently. One has been an actor most of his life and the other an artist since teenager. The audience connection to them and how people relate to them is very different.

Edvin has been in some major shows on national TV, like Julkalendern (2018) and literally ALL kids and most of their parents watch an episode each day of December leading up to Christmas. Gåsmamman is also a loved show seen by many and it ran from 2015-2022. He has also been in shows like Älska mig (2019-2020) and Fröken Frimans krig (2013-2017 a big loved Christmas holiday series for several years) and several more. I know these titles don’t mean much or nothing for non-Swedes and some of them also not for younger Swedish audience. But the point here is that he has been an actor in several shows that has also run for several years and it has been shows with a large audience and shows for all ages. I think many Swedes recognize him and has followed him growing up through the roles and shows he has been in. In YR he met an international audience as well and his character is the main role and the one they want us to emphasize with the most. The storyline and also him breaking the fourth wall makes the audience connect and empathize with Wille deeply and also somewhat to the actor.

Omar has been in Talang when he was a kid, a boyband with fans of a limited age span and mostly girls and then he has made his own music. His TV exposure in large national shows seen by many has mainly been Melodifestivalen. So,3 minutes with FO&O and then 2x3 minutes as solo. And there are 28 artists being presented in Mello and though the attention is intense, it’s also many artists that get the same at the same time and it’s short and a lot of people watch it briefly and don’t always remember the artists. And people do not make a connection to most of them. I can’t name many of the artists that participated last year and I don’t create a bond to them. The mainstream artists that become household names are mostly the ones that get a lot of radio time I think. Yes, he has gotten media exposure through his music when doing some releases but it’s not the same as recurrent be in large TV productions over many years. I am happy Omar has done Sommarprat, got best dressed award and will also be in SMB where he has a chance to reach a new broader audience. And hopefully people will relate/connect to him more.

Basically, I think people have created a stronger connection to Edvin and he is more known in Swedish households in the way that more people have seen him more, and have seen him grow up on screen and are curious of his career. A lot of people also know Omar’s name but he is more dependent on getting his songs played on radio and media exposure and he is for many people one of many artists in the music industry. And there are a limited number of music artists that get massive attention and a big breakthrough in Sweden. Omar has not. Yet.

And there is also the difference that Edvin is Nordic “boy next door” looking and straight passing so it is easier for more Swedish people to relate to him.

[eurovision-revisited]

Eurovision 2006 - Number 58 - The Poodles - "Night of Passion"

Look at this. Melfest in HD! 1080p! And it's only 2006. Eurovision has done it for a couple of years now, but the TV technology is spreading down into the national finals now.

What better way to celebrate than with some glam-schlager metal from The Poodles. Despite their name being the least metal band name ever, they are the remnants of a band called Talisman, and also a Lord of the Rings themed power metal band called The Ring. All of which is utterly perfect. Forming the band in 2005, they almost immediately set about becoming part of the Swedish pop-rock mainstream, took a song written in one of the earlier song-writing camps, and got into Melodifestivalen 2006.

Night of Passion is by a group of miscellaneous song-writers including Sonja Aldén who is also singing in the competition this year and Johan Lyander who wrote Denmark's 2012 Eurovision entry. The Poodles take what could be a standard Melfest pop number, turn most of it up to eleven, add some guitar licks and all of the cymbals, set light to part of the set and generally give it some welly.

It's a one-night stand song, but a one-night stand that leaves lead singer Jakob Samuel wanting more. He's wearing standard metal uniform of bandana and white one-piece trouser suit. There's a wonderful moment when he goes down to the crowd to sing the middle eight and there's a really tall Swedish dude standing right in of him clapping out of time like an overly enthusiastic seal. Yes, there's an unexpected shipping moment in this too. What else could you want?

After the success of Wig Wam last year, several national finals had their metal and rock moments this year, Sweden included - although Sweden were no strangers to this having had E-Type performing in 2004. There was an appetite for something heavy. In their heat, The Poodles won, beating favourites BWO (Bodies Without Organs going sensibly for the acronym this year). They couldn't quite keep up that level of performance in the final, but they did finish fourth - and perhaps more importantly everyone in Sweden and the Swedish music industry knew who they were.

Their next single was a duet (Metal Will Stand Tall) with Therese Merkel from Alcazar - and if that's not an sign of acceptance in the Swedish music industry, I don't know what is. They returned to Melfest in 2008 pairing up with E-Type and maybe that will feature in a forthcoming top sixty-four. Founder member, bass player Pondus Norgren left the band after this, but the remainder of them kept on trucking until 2018 when, as with so many bands, their cohesion was undone by solo and other projects.

A song called Nights of Passion by The Poodles still makes me chuckle. I can't help it.

[radioactive-worm-on-string]

Största rånen i melodifestivalens historia:

3. Vilka som än var med 2016-2018 när de tre tråkigaste, mest intetsägande, uslaste, bedrövligaste låtarna vann tre år i rad.

2. Jon Henrik Fjällgren alla gånger han har deltagit.

1. Yohio 2013. Kommer aldrig sluta vara arg över detta. Vi hade Yohio med sin ikoniska klassiker Heartbreak Hotel och skickade ROBIN STJERNBERG????? HUR VAR DET ENS MÖJLIGT???????

Edit: senaste 10 åren ish

[whats-another-song-contest]

If Loreen does win tonight, expect me to peace out, because there will be Disc Horse™ and I've frankly had enough of people hating on Sweden for breathing in the wrong direction these past few years.

It's fine to not like an entry, but there's no need to be essentialist about it. Does Sweden do well with the juries? Generally, yeah. But we also do well in the televote most of the time.

In the 6 years we've had this new split voting system, where they announce the jury and televote separately, there have only been two (2) years where the juries gave us disproportionately more points than the televote (2018 and 2019, when we came 2nd in the jury vote but 22nd and 9th in televote respectively). These years happened to be consecutive though, and directly preceded 2020 when the contest was cancelled due to Covid, which I suspect is how the narrative of "Sweden: the juries' pet" was able to take root the way it did.

Apart from those two years though, we've only had two years where we received moderately more points from the juries than the televote (2017 and 2022, nether of which we were even close to the respective "worst offenders" - Australia and Portugal), and in the remaining two years (2016 and 2021) we received more points from the televote than from the juries.

Have we been doing well in the past few years? Undoubtedly. But that is not in spite of the televote, it is because our national selection (Melodifestivalen) consistently favours entries that will do well with both the public and the juries, of which the juries happen to be slightly more predictable. Does it result in our entries being somewhat soulless and corporate "widest market appeal possible"-sounding? Yes, I think that's often the case, and I'd love to see more musical diversity from us too.

Again: it's completely fine to dislike our entries! What I do take issue with however is the insinuation that "urgh, Sweden could send literally anything and the juries would still put them in the top 5!"—because it carries conspiratorial undertones that do not hold water when you look at the actual results. It's not our fault the general public are basic bitches, nor that you expected them not to be.

All I ask is that if and when you take issue with the juries, or a perceived "bland-pop-isation" of eurovision, direct that frustration at the actual problem rather than singling out Sweden or any other country as a scapegoat. This is a structural issue with the contest itself, not a plot to favour or undermine any specific country. In the end, this is a popularity contest. Take it for what it is, and if you are interested in more diverse or specific musical styles, perhaps lower your expectations or look elsewhere. And if you want to see actual change, Tumblr isn't the place you'll achieve it.

The only thing that posting and tagging your hate on Tumblr, or sending anon hate, will achieve is poisoning the fandom community, and as a Swedish eurovision fan I can say that this has made me reluctant to participate in the fandom for several years. Being considerate and respectful of each others' opinions, while focusing on the positives of your interest, are the keys to everyone having a good time in fandom—so I say let's strive for that, yeah?

[sunevphoria]

IF YOU LIKE ANY OF THESE EUROVISION SONGS, PLEASE BE MY FRIEND (sorry if this is long, i have way too many faves plus it has some oldies but goodies):

-Évidemment (🇫🇷 2023)

-Den Vilda (🇸🇪 1996)

-Sentimentai (🇱🇹 2022)

-Hold Me Closer (🇸🇪 2022)

-My Sister's Crown (🇨🇿 2023)

-När jag blundar (🇫🇮 2012)

-Dinle (🇹🇷 1997)

-Hombres (🇪🇸 1993)

-In Corpore Sano (🇷🇸 2022)

-Oro (🇷🇸 2008)

-Lapponia (🇫🇮 1977)

-Fantasiaa (🇫🇮 1983)

-Hunter of Stars (🇨🇭 2014)

-La Mia Città (🇮🇹 2014)

-Moja štikla (🇭🇷 2006)

-Oniro Mou (🇬🇷 2018)

-One More Day (🇬🇪 2011)

-Crisalide (🇸🇲 2013)

-Hemel an aarde (🇳🇱 1998)

-Vrede (🇳🇱 1993)

-De Troubadour (🇳🇱 1969)

-O meu coração não tem cor (🇵🇹 1996)

-Ai coração (🇵🇹 2023)

-Cvet z juga (🇸🇮 2007)

-Vrag naj vzame (🇸🇮 2008)

-Forogj vilag (🇭🇺 2005)

-Story of My Life (Belarus 2017)

-La vie à vingt-cinq ans (🇨🇵 1974, idc if it withdrew last minute, it's still a masterpiece <3)

-Both of Loreen entries 🇸🇪

-Both of Go_A's entries 🇺🇦

-Any Greek entry from the 90s (especially 🇬🇷 1992, 1993, 1995, and 1996)

-Any French entry honestly (with some exceptions, but they're always ironically high in my rankings.)

-Any of the older Swedish entries mostly (bonus points if you like the older Melodifestivalen classics, ESPECIALLY if you like any Nanne Grönvall entry. <3)

Aaand that's it mostly, but I like wayyy to many ESC entries to compile them all into one post so yeah :')

[white-eyed-girl]

For no other reason than because I think about them a lot, my not-in-order top 5 songs that should have made it to Eurovision but ripped my heart in half instead Electric Fields - 2000 and whatever

I'm pretty sure this song exists outside of the space-time continuum I feel like Australia in Eurovision either goes very sleak or absolute circus, and what's in between kinda gets lost on the way This one was fresh, flowy, very millennial in a way, also hearing bits of australian aboriginal languages in ESC would have been hella cool Madara - Esamība

If you've ever stumbled upon my blog in 2018 you may know how mad I was that Latvia didn't choose this (and no deep crush on Laura Rizzotto ever managed to heal that anger asdfghjkl) This is just one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard :" It's existential, it's symbolic, it's ethereal, it has a slow but mighty fine build-up, and plus it was composed on that wonderful cello sound, which, AHHHHHH Loreen - Statements

At this point I get it, in Melodifestivalen songs need to be awesome "on the spot", because its audience doesn't really like to have to think about them more than once to understand them This probably sounds insulting lol but I think it's just a big cultural difference (I don't think it's a coincidence that there was a part of the Italian fandom who actually did root for this at the time, it was much more up their alley than Euphoria ever had any chance to be) The choral, deeply meaningful performance, the raw power in her voice, the historical references...this was never going to win Mello, in hindsight it was clear to see, but I'm still glad Loreen brought it to life and showed she isn't just cool beats and dancey vibes KEiiNO - Monument

This isn't even a scar, it's an open wound and it's still bleeding :" They didn't have to be in the 2021 line-up to win, they had to be in it because 2021 was the strongest year since 1991 and they were literally the only great thing missing from it and deserved to be there to make it even stronger Hands down the one that hurt the most out of all of these Tosca - Il terzo fuochista

I am cheating a little bit with this one because this competed in Sanremo 2007, so even if it had won it wouldn't have gone to ESC anyway because we were still on voluntary exile :" 2007 was my first Sanremo, I was just a kid and this mesmerized me to the point it has lived in my head ever since, there's only Tosca singing it but it's basically a choral reenactment of a typical italian country fair that culminates in fireworks (yes you could say this song is literally about fireworks AND feelings lol it can be done Salvador!) This is a peak of musical creativity that Sanremo, even in its mostly recurring attention to quality, doesn't reach very often My favourite Sanremo song ever

[columba1234]

Okay, while I agree with the first and third points, I do not agree with your second point, especially winning artists returning in national selections (I'll only talk about the artists that are selected through national preselections only in this post, eg.: Loreen and Alexander Rybak (because they are the only winning artists that returned to Eurovision through a national final that I remember of, but both of them would be making good points in this context. Any correction and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is appriciated )

Often when a winning artist returns to Eurovision, the fandom views them as stealing the spotlight, the road to fame from other artists. But (a really big BUT here), the viewers in the national final, the people in the country they would represent VOTED for them to win, to BE in Eurovision. The artists are not stealing anything from other artists (except if the votes aren't fair and plagiarism, which is a radically different story I'll not discuss here.). If other new artists failed to do that, try better luck next time then. Improve the vocals, songwriting, staging, etc. Let's have some examples, and I'll take 2 of the most recent returning winners of Eurovision: Loreen and Alexander Rybak, especially Loreen. Both of them receive a lot of negative reactions in the Eurovision fandom when they win their national selections/ Eurovision again (Loreen): The full scoreboard of MGP 2018 (Gold duel)

"That's How You Write A Song" has WAY more votes (televotes) than "Who We Are", so Rybak won MGP 2018 and represented Norway in the song contest in Lisbon that year. Nothing stealing from here. The full scoreboard of Melodifestivalen 2023:

Same story as Rybak here. Loreen won both the televotes and juries in Melodifestivalen 2023.

The detailed scoreboard of the grand final of Eurovision 2023 :

Sweden is 1st with the juries and 2nd with the televotes (it's worth noting that Sweden's 243 points are really far off Finland's 376 points) and the runner-up, Finland is 1st with the televotes but only 4th with the juries. So Tattoo did score well with the televotes, but not as close as Cha Cha Cha. The juries and televoters are still voting in accordance with the rules in Eurovision, but the juries did have a HUGE bias towards Sweden (Tattoo scored the most 12 points overall, with 15-12 points from the juries, so it's clear why other countries such as France, Spain (both have jury-friendly entries this year) cannot score as high). So absolutely no stealing here.

It is understandable why the Eurovision fandom is disappointed at the results (me included, I really want Cha Cha Cha to win, Finland also has the 2nd most televote points of all time (376, tieing to Portugal 2017 and second only to Ukraine 2022 )), but when we are discussing how to make Eurovision better, we should discuss it with facts and data, not just opinions.

Changes we need to bring to 2024 Eurovision:

– Reduce jury votes: I get that eliminating them completely is not a possibility. The EBU wouldn't agree to that. However, maybe their importance should be lower. Make the vote 70% Public + 30% jury. In the end, people should be the ones selecting the winner, not a 5 person jury often selected in a non-transparent manner.

– Winners shouldn't be allowed to come back. And not only past winners, but also consolidated artists. Harry Styles shouldn't represent the UK nor Rosalía with Spain. They already have the spotlight. Past winners also had their moment and enjoyed the momentum. The opportunity should be offered to those who haven't tasted it yet.

– Israel shouldn't participate. This one is self-explanatory. It's hypocritical for the EBU to ban Russia from competing and not Israel. They should do better.

[utvarpcity]

här är mitt årliga ”intryck av låtarna”-inlägg

vad gäller programledarna är det kul att vi återigen har skåningar på scenen. brukar tycka jesper rönndahl är rolig men som melloprogramledare dippar han rejält - hans typ av komedi funkar inte riktigt i dessa sammanhang. tycker farah var bra dock, hon har bra energi och flera av hennes repliker landade för mig.

jon henrik et al: jag har backat jon henrik varje gång han har varit med men känns som det tåget har gått nu… vi kan inte skicka han nu för då kommer alla tro vi härmar norge och deras eurodiscojojk från några år sedan. tråkigt för hans tidigare bidrag har i stort sett varit mycket bättre än de vi faktiskt skickat. den här är bara tråkig generisk edm, jojken är det enda bra (varför han har med sig två random stekare vet jag inte).

tone: känns som en mellanmjölksversion av östeuropeiska eurovisiondivor. hennes röst räcker inte till för den här typen av låt. har svårt för influencer till popstjärna-pipelinen och det här är ett bra exempel på hur det tar sig uttryck: mycket hype men lite kvalitet. men kan säkert få en del röster i eurovision även om hon inte är känd internationellt (vad jag vet).

mariette: på tal om tåg som gått… hon känns som en sån som dyker upp år efter år i tävlingen men aldrig riktigt lyckas, och nu tror jag att hennes peak har passerat, så blir nog svårt för henne att ta hem det om hon inte gör något ovanligt storslaget. det är inte detta. anthempop, tycker inte heller hennes röst räcker till riktigt (även om hon faktiskt sjunger skickligt har hon inte den styrkan som behövs för att lyfta låten)

m&m: eftersom jag är över 20 har jag aldrig hört deras musik innan, så var positivt överraskad över att de faktiskt verkar kunna sjunga. återigen en helt ok electropoplåt, men lite för likt det vi skickat innan… europa kommer HATA oss (lol det gör de redan) om vi skickar ännu en ung kille med en modern poplåt. och jag kan inte låta bli att nämna elefanten i rummet: kan vi verkligen skicka två norska killar att representera oss…?

panetoz: DE ÄR TILLBAKA! och vilket lyckopiller sedan?! känns nästan bättre än deras tidigare bidrag? otroligt catchy refräng (och ja panetoz är de enda som får ha svengelska i sina låtar för mig). bonuspoäng för att anders ”skrattar hela vägen till banken” wigelius är med som låtskrivare. gud vad härligt. skicka panetoz, kom igen, för min skull om inget annat!!!

maria sur: hon har en snygg röst som låter bättre i de lägre partierna än på höjden. låten är väldigt intetsägande dock. sympatiröster räcker långt men troligen inte hela vägen. ukraina vann eurovision förra året inte bara på grund av sympatiröster utan för att de också hade en grymt bra och unik låt.

smashed: hatar att det varje år är med nåt generiskt radiorockband i melodifestivalen och de målar upp sig själva som underdogs och verkar jätteöverraskade över att folk uppskattar deras ”svåra” musik som om rock är något underground och inte världens största musikgenre lol. personligen hatar jag sån här modern electroradiorock. sverige har bra rockband (vi är ett land med lång rocktradition…) men de är inte med i mello.

kiana: åh nej, hennes timing… hon är väldigt grön, rent ut sagt. (och vems idé var det att klä henne i 2000-talets mest sunkiga babydollklänning?) vet inte hur hon tagit sig till finalen, är detta ytterligare en influencer? hon är tillräckligt duktig för att vara popstjärna men skulle nog behöva mer erfarenhet innan hon är med i dessa sammanhang (och en bättre låt).

nordman: visste att de var med, för hur kunde man undvika att höra att nordman var tillbaka? känner mig gammal för kommer så väl ihåg när de var med, känns som att det var tio år högst men är tydligen mycket längre än så. var aldrig ett fan men de hade sin grej, så vet inte varför de nu kör med ett sönderanvänt housebeat (är SÅ trött på dessa anthem-refränger. trodde vi gick över till lågmält elektroniskt iom benjamin ingrossos vinst 2018 men…).

loreen: helt omöjligt att missa att hon var tillbaka såklart. har svårt för när folk som är så gott som eurovision royalty kommer tillbaka för de lever aldrig upp till sin legendstatus, är dessutom orolig för att resten av europa ska tycka att vi är desperata att vinna igen… men gud vilken vacker låt. modern produktion, snygg dynamik med det lågmälda till ett explosivt klimax, otrolig känsla (det ÄR ju loreen), häftig scenshow… hon sopar banan med konkurrenterna. men omöjligt att ha samma effekt som euphoria.

theoz: inte för att jag vet något om tiktok men det här är väl en sån tiktokvänlig låt, va…? sättet han dansar och uppträder säger mig det iaf. låten är inte alls så dålig som jag trodde, den är catchy och han sjunger helt ok, och den är lite småroligt arrad med rytmerna och blåsinstrument med retrokänsla. inte min grej men en av de bättre ikväll.

paul rey: vafan är liamoo med som låtskrivare? hade gillat om han var med istället, här är ju nån som faktiskt kan rappa. låten är… meh. verserna hade varit nice om det inte vore för dunka dunka-beatet som känns lite ivägen. och som sagt, har svårt för den här typen av refräng, tycker det blir alldeles för lökigt. en av de sämsta ikväll, sorry, att han är skåning hjälper inte honom nu.

[kailuabunny]

I have a FO&O Discord server if anyone would like to join. I would love to meet more fans of FO&O. Here's the link if you're interested or know someone who would be interested.

https://discord.gg/zmuWnGk

[comicaloverachiever]

Because of Gaza, which is occupied by Israel. Carina Berg seems to be implying that if Palestinians just peacefully protested none of them would be dead now. (Palestinians tried in 2018 and over 200 of them were murdered by Israeli forces)

I was hesitant about watching Melodifestivalen this year because Israel is allowed to compete in Eurovision, and the fact that she started the show like this turned me off right away.

Melodifestivalen talking about the Baltic Way with apparently no reason?

[eurovision-revisited]

1997 Dublin - Number 3 - Andreas Lundstedt - "Jag saknar dig, jag saknar dig"

Oh, Andreas! Perennial Melodifestival contender. Never the winner. In 1997 I think you were really done dirty. Jag saknar dig, jag saknar dig (I Miss You, I Miss You) is so much better than almost anything else in Melodifestivalen 1997 and your televoters only gave it enough votes for 7th place.

It's more restrained and downbeat that its rivals. It's an introspective, quiet yearning for a love who's moved on (literally - they moved house), who Andreas can't forget, even if he has let go. The last ember of a relationship that's about to be extinguished by the early morning drizzle, as he retraces the steps that used to take him to their front door.

This is Andres's second attempt at Melfest. The first was the previous year when he came second. He tried solo on two other occasions, in 2007 and 2012 but he didn't make it into the final.

More significantly, the year after this he was a founding member of Swedish group Alcazar. Not only were they big in Sweden (selling huge number of albums and singles throughout the 2000s), but they tried to win Melodifestivalen on five separate occasions. In 2003 they reached the viewers' choice final, winning that by miles before finishing third. In 2005 they thought about trying for the UK national final, before SVT came in with a better offer. They had exactly the same result as 2003.

After a two year break, they reformed in 2008, in 2009 they finished fifth, in 2010 they missed the final, then after another break they tried for one final time in 2014. They came third again! They wanted to enter in 2018, but Christopher Bjorkman said no. Andreas and Alcazar are the Melfest supergroup. I'm certain they're going to be featuring regularly in forthcoming top 26s for the next few years.

Despite never winning in Sweden, Andreas has sung on the Eurovision stage. He was part of the Ralph Siegel Euro supergroup Six4one that represented Switzerland in 2006. Jag saknar dig, jag saknar dig is different from most of the other music Andreas was involved with at Melfest and Eurovision, and I'm happy to place it high in my 1997 list.

[kailuabunny-art]

Earlier i drew Felix Sandman.  I love his Melfest entry.  It’s so good, his other music is great too.  Idk how many of you know, but i’ve been a big fan of FO&O since March.

[raevfitta]

The pain ends tonight

I don’t care who wins as long as it’s not that little shit Bishara. Fucking shoot me in the face if he wins.

That being said, I’m on team Fjällgren. I also really like Mohombi’s song and Wiktoria. But all of the bettors are on Lundvik. 

But again: Fuck you, Bishara. I don’t care if you’re 16. I will put my fist through my tv if you fucking win. 

[ammycharizard17]

I agree too!

Like mentioned above, Loreen participated in Melfest 2017. She didn’t qualify to the final, she qualified to the semifinal (or ”Andra Chansen” as it was called then) and lost to a complete newcomer. She was even predicted to end up in the final and yet she didn’t qualify! Her being a ESC winner didn’t help there.

Sweden has sent previous ESC winners to ESC twice, and didn’t win either time. Yes, they placed 5th in 2006 with Carola, but they still didn’t win. They did not do very well in 2008 with Charlotte Perrelli. Oh, and while I mention those two, both of them have also participated in Melfest a few times after winning in ESC (as well as after their second participation in ESC), and failed to win every time. Being an ESC winner is NOT guaranteed to make you win or even place high even in Melodifestivalen.

For a non-Swedish example, Norway sent Alexander Rybak in 2018 and they didn’t win either, and Rybak is generally known as a very iconic ESC winner, is he not?

I 100% agree that someone else should win over Sweden and that while I think ”Tattoo” is great, it isn’t THAT great (Eurphoria is WAY better)… But I don’t fully understand the anger. At least compared to what else Melfest had this year, her song (and Marcus and Martinus but that’s just IMO) were the best out of them all. As much as I would find it hilarious if she indeed won, I do not fully believe it’s a guaranteed win or even an easy one.

What bothers me a lot is the fact that Loreen knew very well that nobody would stand a chance if she participates (due to her status in the history of Eurovision), that their chances would be instantly killed and that nobody would get to experience what she already has & still went for it. Why? Only to experience it all again herself.

Give new artists their space, the space you too were once given. Thank you for killing Eurovision 2023.