With rehearsals for the third semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2021, currently underway, the press were allowed to watch the rehearsals of the seven competing artists, who will take part in Saturday’s show.
In the lead-up to Saturday’s show, you are now able to listen to the one-minute clips of the songs right here. Ahead of Saturday’s show, Nick and Dominik, review today’s performances and share their thoughts.
Charlotte Perrelli – Still Young
Nick: Charlotte Perrelli is back. Not just physically back, but properly back. This is much more of a serious contender than either “Mitt Liv” or “The Girl”, her previous attempts. The staging is dark, yet shiny. The song is a schlager, yet modern and fresh. And it has to be said: She has a stellar vocal in this song, the big notes are spot on. Shall I go as far as calling this a contender for the ticket to Rotterdam? Yes.
Dominik: The performance has everything a schlager heart wants. A catchy tune, easy to sing-a-long & glamorous. Charlotte is joined by four dancers on stage. She is playing with the camera and I really like it when the whole angle shifts from the camera at the front of the stage to the side of the stage. For the third chorus we do not get a key change but a catwalk from her backing dancers. Looks good and should do well on Saturday.
Emil Assergård – Om allting skiter sig
Nick: If you want a dansband entry, this is probably as you’re going to get. It’s an anthemic Swedish pop song with a band staging, where simplicity really does the trick. However, there’s not a great deal to draw your attention.
Dominik: After I listened to his released music so far I knew this is something I would enjoy. It is Swedish, very uplifting, and gives me a feeling of being back at a concert. Emil uses snippets from his previous live performances as LED backgrounds. You can see he is usually more of a live performer and it is still weird to have no audience here. Hard to sit still while listening to it. It is a song I will definitely listen to more in the next weeks and months.
Klara Hammarström – Beat of Broken Hearts
Nick: Klara enters the stage as a knight in shining armor, with a song slightly reminiscent of early 2010s Taylor Swift – not a bad thing. They’ve upped their game with a good amount of Swedish pop production, which makes this a very decent Melodifestivalen entry. Other things making this very Melfest: A pyro curtain and decent light effects. This could go anywhere on Saturday!
Dominik: She can sing, she can perform, and has a very catchy song. Her outfit reminds me of Sailor Moon and Superheroes. During the verses, the stage is darker so her dress is shining while it’s brighter during the chorus. I think I prefer this over “Nobody” and I hope her journey continues this time. Many other countries would love to have an entry like this. Very radio-friendly.
Mustasch – Contagious
Nick: Lots of zooming in on the instruments here, because we’re dealing with a typical band set up on stage. Does the job, really! “Contagious” is much more ‘in your face’ than Lillasyster were in Deltävling 1 or than Ralf Gyllenhammar himself was back in 2013. There’s a relatively big audience in Sweden that will go for this kind of thing, but it sort of doesn’t pack the punch I was hoping for?
Dominik: Rock needs to be catchy to get me. The chorus here is. I do not really connect with the verses. It is very energetic. I LOVE the bridge. The performance has a typical rock band staging, fast camera shots, and instead of real pyro they use LED pyro at the back during the end. I think many will enjoy this on Saturday. I prefer Ralf’s song “Bed On Fire”, but that was totally different 😀
Elisa – Den du är
Nick: Well, that was competent! The style of “Den du är” is a Melodifestivalen staple: An anthemic, polished ballad. If there will ever be another sequel to Frozen, this could happily feature there. It’s a 180-degree turn from her 2014 entry “Casanova”. I struggle to see where the votes for this would come from, but I would love to see it back in some show.
Dominik: Frozen goes Melodifestivalen. At least the LEDs and her outfit kinda remind me of that. Her song is a schlager ballad we heard before but somehow is still interesting and it gets epic towards the third chorus with a nice build-up. Her vocals are good and it is really a complete performance. Might make it to AC, but I’m not too sure about it.
Alvaro Estrella – Baila Baila
Nick: It won’t surprise you that this is a very decent throwback to the Enrique Iglesias bops of the 00s. The performance is not as dynamic or vibrant as I would have hoped, but I’d say Alvaro Estrella will really be responsible for the happy party tone on Saturday night. I expect this to eat up votes in most age groups.
Dominik: Loved “Bedroom”, “Vamos Amigos” and yes also love “Baila Baila”. Easy lyrics to sing-a-long, makes you wanna dance to it. This is such a change from the Frozen ballad before to the summer Latino party. I am here for it. I would say this is going somewhere on Saturday and I don’t think he is going home. This is a party song and I think it is the only one in that style. Alvaro is an experienced performer and he knows how to work the camera and this will look great in the live show. Don’t know why the prop is so green at the front side tho… kinda makes it look like they forgot to add the green screen effect, but maybe that’s just me 😀
Tusse – Voices
Nick: Of all the names in the semi, I was least familiar with Tusse. However, it has to be said: If there’s justice, this will go through. I could see this at Eurovision. The red suit works well with the light blue water in the background. When, during the bridge, the lights change to red, it really makes an impact. A contemporary pop song with gospel influences. Tusse can be proud!
Dominik: If someone is going to the final 100% on Saturday it is Tusse. The perfect song that also could be an Idol winner song. Very modern and I love his red outfit. Works perfectly with the blue-ish LEDs. His backing dancers appear like the Mamas did for John in 2019. This is Top 3 material for the Melfest final and would be Top 5 in Eurovision. The harmony with Tusse and his dancers works so well. You can see how much he enjoys performing on stage. Very charming, powerful, and stands out a lot.
Our Predictions:
Based on the performances we saw today, we are predicting the following result on Saturday’s show:
| Result | Nick | Dominik |
| Direkt til finalen | Tusse Voices | Tusse Voices |
| Direkt til finalen | Charlotte Perelli Still Young | Charlotte Perrelli Still Young |
| Andra Chansen | Alvaro Estrella Baila Baila | Emil Assergård Om allting skiter sig |
| Andra Chansen | Mustasch Contagious | Klara Hammarström Beat Of Broken Hearts |
About Melodifestivalen 2021
As previously reported, due to COVID-19, all the shows will take place in Annexet in Stockholm. You are able to find out more about this week’s show, by reading our guide here.
The third semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2021 will start 20:00CET on February 20. Two songs will qualify to the final and two songs will be sent to the andra chansen (second chance) round.
Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest
Sweden has participated in the contest 59 times since its debut in 1958. They have missed only three contests since their debut (1964, 1970 and 1976). Since 1959, the Swedish entry has been chosen through Melodifestivalen. In 1997, Sweden was one of the first five countries to adopt televoting, and have continued to innovate the technology behind the contest whenever they host.
Sweden is one of the most successful countries at the contest, winning six contests so far. Notably, their wins span their participation history; their victories span five decades with ABBA (1974), Herreys (1984), Carola (1991), Charlotte Nilsson (1999), Loreen (2012) and Måns Zelmerlöw (2015). They currently have the second-highest number of wins, behind Ireland’s seven.
What are your first impressions of the competing songs this week? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram, and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to see our reactions to the news in the upcoming months.
