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 have been scoring each semi-final. Now we will choose our Andra Chansen (Second Chance) duel winners before scoring the grand final. We’re scoring using the Melfest style scoring system. (12-1)
For Andra Chansen we simply each voted for our duel winners. After giving our votes we choose Lillasyster, Paul Rey, Eva Rydberg & Ewa Roos and Klara Hammarstrom to go through to the final. Check out the scores and thoughts of some of the team below.
Our Scores
| Song | Votes |
|---|---|
| Lillasyster – Pretender Tom O, Aline, Sami, Nick, Bente, Costa, Sean, Issac | 8 |
| Alvaro Estrella – Baila baila Maria, Angelos, Tom R, Lisa, Dominik, Tim | 6 |
| Paul Rey – The Missing Piece Aline, Sami, Maria, Angelos, Tom R, Bente, Costa, Dominik, Tim | 9 |
| Frida Green – The Silence Tom O, Nick, Lisa, Sean, Issac | 5 |
| Eva Rydberg & Ewa Roos – Rena rama ding dong Tom O, Aline, Sami, Angelos, Tom R, Nick, Bente, Lisa, Tim, Sean, Issac | 11 |
| Clara Klingenström – Behöver inte dig idag Maria, Dominik, Costa | 3 |
| Klara Hammarstrom – Beat of Broken Hearts Tom O, Sami, Maria, Angelos, Tom R, Bente, Costa, Lisa, Tim, Sean, Issac | 11 |
| Efraim Leo – Best of Me Aline, Nick, Dominik | 3 |
Reviews
Aline: Lillasyster – Pretender
Pretender has a slow and exciting start. This part was the snippet we got to hear from SVT before semi final 1. I remember people not being as excited as I hoped for, because I knew that the best part was yet to come. And that happened! The chorus exploded and ‘Pretender’ started to gain love from the audience. I loved seeing that!! It wasn’t enough to go DTF (which should have happened imo). I truely hope Lillasyster will make it to the final, because a rock song in Melodifestivalen is something I have been waiting for for 5 years now. The power in Pretender is everything and the rough voice of the singer fits amazingly in it. The only missing thing here is a good guitar solo, but you know, three minutes. 
Sami: Paul Rey – The Missing Piece
“The Missing Piece” is such a sweet song and the lyrics are very touching, especially knowing the backstory of the song for Paul himself. I really like the idea behind the staging as well and Paul really seems to enjoy performing on the stage. This song could be a worldwide hit if it was performed by some more well-known artist, but I really hope that at least in Sweden this song gets the success it deserves.
Nick: Eva Rydberg & Ewa Roos – Rena rama ding dong
From the first seconds of hearing this, my friends knew I was going to be living for this. Ewa and Eva are everything I need in a year where this pandemic has been draining the joy out of life. Rena Rama Ding Dong is, obviously, not the global chart hitter other Melfest entries could be. But God, these two are a bundle of joy and I love every second of it. So, as this is exactly what I needed, please let this qualify. Komm, allihoppa, nicka-docke med Ewa och Eva! Go for it, Sweden. You have one job. One. Put this through to Finalen. Please?
Tom R: Klara Hammarstrom – Beat of Broken Hearts
I’m so happy to see Klara in the Andra Chansen round this year, after the complete robbery of “Nobody” last year. I love Klara’s entry again this year, and without giving too many spoilers just in case she makes the final, it’s in my top 5! Her vocals are so powerful and would perfectly fit into this year’s final. The stage performance is also wonderful – she has so much control over the stage, she seems so talented and secure on stage. I would really love to see this song qualify, but also do really well in the final. This song has a lot of potential and I think is being underrated by too many people. Fingers crossed for a good result on Saturday!
Xtra Decides so far
Check out more from our Xtra Decides feature with the links below…
- 🇸🇪 Melodifestivalen: our semi-final 4 direct finalists
- 🇧🇬 We choose ‘Imaginary Friend’ for VICTORIA
- 🇪🇸 We choose ‘Memoria’ for Blas Cantó
- 🇸🇪 Melodifestivalen: our semi-final 3 direct finalists
- 🇳🇴 We choose KEiiNO
- 🇫🇮 We choose Telfon Brothers x Pandora
- 🇳🇴 We choose ‘Vi er Norge’ as the Melodi Grand Prix wildcard
- 🇭🇷 We choose Bernarda with ‘Colors’
- 🇸🇪 Melodifestivalen: our semi-final 2 direct finalists
- 🇭🇷 We choose Bernarda
- 🇸🇪 Melodifestivalen: our semi-final 1 direct finalists
- 🇱🇹 We choose The Roop
- 🇫🇷 We choose Barbara Pravi
- 🇮🇱 We choose ‘La La Love’ for Eden Alene
Do you agree with our decision? 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 for reactions and interviews.
