Melodifestivalen with the final scores and my own take on what really happened last night.
This blog post won’t cover any of my views of the touring monster called Melodifestivalen, I will just look at the results of the Melfest2019 but promise to get back to the changes I feel is needed to keep the Melodifestivalen as an relevant TV show.
The juries, all of them obviously went all in for John Lundvik, all jury groups gave him the top score of 12 points (not happened since Carola 1983?) so I will focus more on what happened behind his perfect score.
What surprised me most was Nano and “Chasing rivers” to end up as the runner up with the juries. I would have thought his points was coming from the Swedish public who know about his history and his extremely well planned spreading of how hard life has been for him and a shameless use of his son to draw attention to it. A tactic that works world wide. But the international jury groups actually placed this excuse of a song second? You never know how “experts” vote.
I was also very surprised to find Finland trashing Jon Henrik song, if not 12 points I was sure they were the once to understand it and give it a 8 or 10… In the same way I was 100% certain that Israel would give 12 points to Bishara, not happened either.
But the big surprise, Anna Bergendahl, train wrecked with the jury and I must say also with the public. This is the big surprise of the evening for me. Together with the fact that I really want to sit down with some people who actually took their phone and placed calls on Malou Prytz, Mohombi and Hanna & Liamoo – what where you thinking?
But Anna Bergendahl returning to the Melodifestivalen with a amazing song, fantastic staged and soo much airplay before the final completely run into a full stop yesterday. The juries had her 11th out of 12? And the public 7th? Since everything pointed on success she must be so disappointed and I must admit I am too. “Ashes to ashes” is a amazing act well worth a final placing 1 – 4. So what happened? And what happened during the rehearsals that made the juries (who voted from the rehearsal performances) place her in the bottom 2?
A 10 from UK to Arvingarna was also a surprise, but a happy one. Cause songs in Swedish is needed in the Melodifestivalen to not turn it into a 100% English contest. I actually also welcome more of other languages on the line up to void everything sounding the same. But this is more for my upcoming blogpost on the contest and changes I feel needed.
I also think the jury got Bishara better judged than the public and also proof of my point yesterday that if you don’t know the story behind his break he is not that special even if extremely talented.
From my point of view who gave my own 12 points to Arvingarna I must say to the people trashing me for this that I am fully, 100% aware they most likely would have ended up outside top 10 in Tel Aviv, but still, the song made me happy and I liked it. At the same time, with no connection to yesterdays result I get a bit worried why Nanne (one of ht composers) not even turned up during the final. She’s been sick for a long time bur from what I am aware feeling fine again. Her absence worries me for real.
Lina Hedlund must also be a bit disappointed but she will have years of being a favorite in the SchlagerBars in Sweden in front of her but for example Malou Prytz must feel her career in music died yesterday while Wiktoria, as I wrote yesterday will get few jury votes since the Eastern states not invited to vote this year. Her song and performance kind of screams 100% Ukraine (withdrawn from esc by the way), Belarus, Azerbaijan and Russia. And since she is one of the singers in a group of performers in Sweden only having a career based on Melodifestivalen participation she most likely will need to sit down and think about her next moves in the industry.
But the show ended with a well worthy winner, John Lundvik will fly the Swedish flag in Tel Aviv with honor and I am actually sure he will end top 3 during the final night. Based on what other countries presented up until now. It won’t come as a surprise if Eurovision Song Contest will be back in Sweden 2020 and listen to the second half of “Too late for love” what a amazing song to end a Eurovision Song Contest TV broadcast from Israel in May. With an arena singing along in the gospel tune.
Björn
