My National Finals Experience in 2018….

Hey Everyone,
First of all, just wanted to say thank you for following our coverage so far at ESCXTRA. Today I’m writing my personal experience of the national finals I have attended this year. Travelling around for these shows had been fun, and I cannot wait to do the same thing again in 2019.

Eurovision: You Decide 2018

Me and Eurovision 2015 winner Måns Zelmerlöw

Kicking things off, I started in the UK, where we had our new annual tradition of having Eurovision: You Decide.
I am admiring how the BBC is making an effort, into ensuring that the UK is trying to make sure we score a great placing in Lisbon this year. Personally, I think they have upped their game and the six songs selected were outstanding.
On the night itself, I think the BBC did a great job. Måns and Mel had great chemistry on screen and Edward af Sillén did an awesome job writing the script for this; he really got the humour of the British people.
As for our representative SuRie, some Eurovision fans may disagree with me, but I think she is great, has the experience after Eurovision 2015 and 2017, she’s got a great stage presence and got the crowd going. I wish she achieves a great result for the UK.

Melodifestivalen 2018

Ever since I started my detailed fandom (because of Loreen), I started watching Melodifestivalen. This was the big bulk of the shows I have attended this season. I attended two deltävlings and the final in Stockholm. This just goes to show how much I’m obsessed with this country.

Göteborg

Gothenburg was my first experience watching Melodifestivalen live, and I will not ever forget it. The show itself was my favourite, as it had my personal favourite of the evening Margaret, who was the runner-up in the Polish national selection in 2016 with ‘Cool Me Down‘.
As I have mentioned in my vlog, this was a good one, as I had the right four people going through. Samir & Viktor went through to the finalen for the very first time, LIAMOO had a successful debut in Melodifestivalen, Margaret was the first non-Swede to make it past a semifinal for a long time and Mimi deserved her Andra Chansen qualification after she failed the last time.
I ended my Gothenburg trip on a high. Whilst I was waiting in the airport, I managed to find a familiar face, whilst I was waiting for my flight. Why don’t you click here to find out?
I will never forget Gothenburg and I hope the tour next year stops here again!

Malmö

After Gothenburg, I went to Malmö the week after. I was a bit sceptical in the beginning, as I did not know any of the acts, but maybe it was more fun doing it this way, as I got to know the artists much better.
As for the results, I think it was unanimous that Jessica had to get through. I was really surprised that Martin got direkt til finalen, and Mendez got to the Andra Chansen. Personally, I did not like Moncho and I think that Dotter should have gotten that spot for Andra Chansen.

Stockholm

After waiting a couple of weeks, I made my way to Sweden for the last time and watched the final. I would say that this has to be the biggest show I have ever watched in my entire life. SVT did an awesome job, with the Finalen once again.
I only had one obvious choice as to who I would send to Lisbon and I was glad that Benjamin Ingrosso won the show. The staging itself looks sleek and well choreographed, I cannot wait to see how they will set it up in Lisbon.

Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK)

Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu holds a special place in my heart and it was the most fun experience I have had out of all the shows I have watched or covered this year. As you all know me and Sami covered UMK this year.
In addition to me watching the live broadcast, me and Sami had the chance to watch the dress rehearsal, which gave us a taste of what to expect from the live broadcast.
Personally, I would have been happy, regardless of what songs they have chosen and I am glad Saara is finally getting her dream to go to Eurovision. I really hope she brings Finland back to the Grand Final, after failing to qualify every year since 2014.

To conclude

This has been a fun experience for me, watching all these shows. I want to thank everyone who has been watching the vlogs and I hope you enjoyed watching them, as I did making them for you. As always, don’t forget to subscribe to our Youtube Channel for our coverage of the pre-parties and the contest itself.
I hope you enjoyed my personal insight into my experience watching and covering these national selections. Don’t forget to follow us on social media @ESCXTRA.