XTRA DECIDES: 🇸🇪 Melodifestivalen: our semi-final 3 direct finalists

Welcome to XTRA Decides! In this feature the team here at ESCXTRA rank the national final songs, giving our choice of the winner. Specially for Sweden’s selection Melodifestivalen 2021 we are scoring each semi-final. Later we will choose our Andra Chansen (Second Chance) duel winners and score the grand final. We’re scoring using the Melfest style scoring system. (12-1)

This week we score the seven songs of semi-final 3. After giving our scores, the team has chosen Tusse and Charlotte Perrelli to go direct to the final. In addition our choices mean Alvaro Estrella and Klara Hammarstrom would go to the Second Chance (Andra Chansen) round. Check out the scores and thoughts of some of the team below.

Our Scores

Tusse – Voices 12: Tom O, Sami, Maria, Angelos, Costa, Bente, Dominik, Tim, Nathan W	1 DTF	143
Charlotte Perrelli – Still Young 12: Nick, Sean, Nathan P	2 DTF	126
Alvaro Estrella – Baila baila 12: Lisa	3 AC	124
Klara Hammarstrom – Beat of Broken Hearts 12: Tom R	4 AC	104
Emil Assergård – Om allting skiter sig 12: Aline	5	96
Elisa – Den du är 12: Issac	6	67
Mustasch – Contagious	7	28

Reviews

Tusse – Voices

Costa

I’ve been waiitng for a song to hit me like One Touch did (in studio), and I think I might have found it. Despite the pre-show hype, this has been yet another disappointing edition of Melfest, but I believe Voices will be a contender to challenge Little Tot for the win. Tusse has a gorgeous, rich vocal and from the snippet alone I can sense that this will be an excellent and captivating package.

Tim

Just listening to the snippet alone, you can really tell the difference between the songs he’s released so far, and he talkes it up a notch quite a lot. I can just tell that this will be spectacular and the viewers would really enjoy watching this on stage. Being an Idol winner, I really hope the Swedish viewers will once again see his potential like they did when they voted for him in Idol.

Charlotte Perrelli – Still Young

Lisa

Still young indeed and still delivering the quality! God loves a trier and thank goodness I worship at the chapel of Schlager. All the early signs that this wasn’t ‘Mitt Liv’ 2.0 have been rewarded with what will hopefully be a triumphant comeback. From the snippet and the rehearsal teaser, Charlotte is coming to put on a show and make sure you never forget what made her a Eurovision winner back in the day. The stage lighting and the way she fills an empty room… (I’ll see myself out!), sells this tribute to Melodifestivalen’s Schlager power-ballads of past and present, perfectly. Many will ask why this isn’t ‘The Girl’ or ‘Hero’, but those have been done and gone. This is a showstopper and a vocal performance designed to bring out the best of Charlotte. Much like Carola’s return in her later years with ‘Invincible’.

Nick

The Queen is baaaaaaack! A whole new Charlotte Perrelli has emerged. We should all sing Hallelujah for the fact that this is not the schlager of 2012 of the ballad of 2017. No, it is contemporary, fresh and yet still very schlager and very Perrelli. It’s like you merge Hero and Invincible and give it a nice dusting of 2021. This is an absolute cracker and she is exceptional vocally. My goodness, I had no idea this could happen, but we’re seeing a contender. This is what we needed in Melfest 2021!

Xtra Decides so far

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