Melodifestivalen 2025: Deltävling Three (Västerås) (2 Viewers)

VoR

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After an underwhelming opening week, Melfest 2025 mercifully kicked up a gear last weekend with Klara Hammarström and Erik Segerstedt joining Jon Lundvik and Maja Ivarsson in the finals. Can anyone offer up a serious challenge to Måns Zelmerlöw for the win though? Let's see what week three has in store...

1. Greczula - Believe Me
Kristofer Greczula, Amanda Nordelius, John Russel
KristoferGreczula3.jpg


Despite being a relatively low-profile name, Kristofer Greczula is currently third in the odds to take the whole Contest this year (behind Måns and Klara). He seems to take himself rather seriously - I recommend reading his Spotify bio if you fancy a snort of derision - but he's eschewing the usual G:son, Jimmy Joker, Debs etc songwriting warhorses in favour of a self-penned number with two fellow Melfest debutants. So if this is as strong as the bookies predict, it may well be something that stands out among all the carefully calibrated Swedish pop.

2. Malou Prytz - 24k Gold
Julie "Kill J" Aagaard, Malou Prytz, Jimmy "Joker" Thörnfeldt, Anderz Wrethov
malou-prytz-Magnus-Liam-Karlsson-SVT-min.jpg


Spare a thought for poor Malou, still only 21 and already looking increasingly like a latter-day Linda Bengtzing on her last role of the Melfest dice. The good news is she'd have to work pretty hard to do worse than the last time she entered, when the lyrically bewildering Bananas (aka: B-A-N-A-S) scored fewer votes in its heat than a sad, sad Shirley Clamp ballad that even I couldn't feign much enthusiasm for. 24K Gold doesn't have the most promising running order slot, but the songwriting pedigree looks decent enough. If she can eke out a face-saving trip to Andra Chansen we can probably all consider this a job well done.

3. Björn Holmgren - Rädda Mig
Björn Holmgren, Jens Hult, David Lindgren Zacharias
Bjorn-Holmgren.jpeg


Björn Holmgren ticks two seemingly essential boxes for a modern Melfest debutant. 'Tiktok personality' and 'act that had a big hit a few years ago and now needs a bit of a boost'. The hit was Ute med allt, a perfectly pleasant bit of radio beige that went to #1 in Svensktoppen in 2022. Given the presence of MOR king David Lindgren Zacharias on songwriting duties, we can probably expect much more of the same here.

4. Dolly Style - YIHAA!
Caroline Aronsson, Herman Gardarfve, Patrik Jean, David Lindgren Zacharias, Mikaela Samuelsson, Melanie Wehbe
0691c9dc-d833-4dd8-b04e-dea3ddfed200.jpeg


The existence of Dolly Style continues to defy all logic, reason and good taste. Ten years and as many members since their 2015 debut, they return for a fourth roll of the dice. Not that it particularly matters, but of the four girls who were last seen at Melfest in 2019 with the bouncy Habibi, two remain in the lineup, though these things seem to change so rapidly that I may have to update those statistics by Saturday. Anyway, despite their remarkable tenacity they've never actually managed to get to the finals before. Will this be the year?

5. Angelino - Teardrops
Tusse Chiza, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb, Jimmy "Joker" Thörnfeldt
1a6f95e9-af41-4c38-bce7-a11d13bbb7a5.jpeg


Not to cast potentially legally actionable aspersions, but if anybody on the Melfest lineup this year screams INDUSTRY PLANT, it's the mysterious Angelino. He emerged from nowhere in 2022 with a much-hyped Melfest debut 'The End' which was talked up as a potential winner, only to completely tank when people were actually confronted with a terribly boring song and a fairly charisma-free performer. For no reason that I can gather based on his career (or apparent lack therof) in the intervening years, he's back with an all-star songwriting team and threats of another 'emotional ballad'. Needless to say, nothing about this entry screams Moopy favourite.

6. Annika Wickihalder - Life Again
Herman Gardarfve, Patrik Jean, Annika Wickihalder
Annika-Wickihalder3_Foto_Dennis-Wernersson-1-scaled.jpeg


Class of 2024 debutant Annika Wickihalder infamously benefited from the staggeringly ill-conceived format of last year's Andra Chansen and took a slot in the finals that surely rightfully belonged to the effervescent LA GUNILLA. Somehow she's survived to tell the tale and now seems poised to build on that success with a victory lap pimp slot in one of the weaker heats. Even I couldn't muster much enthusiasm for her last year, but hopefully there's a bit more pep in her step this time around.
 
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I suspect Dolly Style could solve their staff retention issues by sacking the stylist. The INDIGNITY.
 
I can’t say it looks like the most exciting week…
Exactly what I want to hear for the only heat that I'm able to watch live this year.

Though I'm excited of course for Dolly Style, and cautiously optimistic that Malou and Angelino will both deliver something better than last time (how could you go wrong with the Debs?!)
 
I'm already weeping in anticipation at the thought of Dolly Style, having made the finals through the second round of voting, climbing back on stage where they'll be joined by Malou Prytz (winner of the heat) to perform all together their smash-hit-chart-topping-single "YIHAA!".
Saturday can't come fast enough!
 
Hoping the purple Dolly Style will be upholding the grand tradition of REMEDIALITY her predecessors set :disco:
 
Greczula - Apparently doing his best Freddie Mercury impersonation :zombie: Some reviewers feel it veers too close to pastiche, but most agree with a strong performance it's likely to stand out on the night.

Malou - Surprisingly warm reviews, some calling it her best entry to date. Dark dance pop with comparisons to Tove Lo and Dua Lipa. Apparently she had to fight really hard for this not to be given to a bigger artist.

Bjorn - A sweet singer-songwritery tribute to his sister, who has had a lot of health problems. Very Swedish radio friendly but possibly not hugely competitive in this context.

Dolly Style - Insanely catchy country pop, but much more in the 5,6.7,8 mould than last week's po-faced Swedish cowboy offering.

Angelino - A generic X Factor winners ballad. Blatantly something co-writer Tusse couldn't be arsed entering with himself.

Annicka Wickihalder - A rousing inspirational ballad that showcases her vocals and could very well qualify, but sounds exactly as expected and not much to get excited about.
 
Annicka Wickihalder - A rousing inspirational ballad that showcases her vocals and could very well qualify, but sounds exactly as expected and not much to get excited about.
😍
 
Greczula - Apparently doing his best Freddie Mercury impersonation :zombie: Some reviewers feel it veers too close to pastiche, but most agree with a strong performance it's likely to stand out on the night.

Malou - Surprisingly warm reviews, some calling it her best entry to date. Dark dance pop with comparisons to Tove Lo and Dua Lipa. Apparently she had to fight really hard for this not to be given to a bigger artist.

Bjorn - A sweet singer-songwritery tribute to his sister, who has had a lot of health problems. Very Swedish radio friendly but possibly not hugely competitive in this context.

Dolly Style - Insanely catchy country pop, but much more in the 5,6.7,8 mould than last week's po-faced Swedish cowboy offering.

Angelino - A generic X Factor winners ballad. Blatantly something co-writer Tusse couldn't be arsed entering with himself.

Annicka Wickihalder - A rousing inspirational ballad that showcases her vocals and could very well qualify, but sounds exactly as expected and not much to get excited about.
Sounds like a lot of dreck to sit through for the pay-off of Malou creaking into AC.
 
Yeah it's being talked down as a fairly weak heat. If the Swedes are predictable then Greczula and Annicka will sail through, but Malou and Dolly Style are both getting good reviews.

Angelino and Bjorn are likely filler, unless Bjorn's tiktok popularity and sympathetic back story strike enough of a chord.
 
Does Sweden actually care about Annicka? I’d thought last year she was just in the right place at the right time.
 
Malou having another shock DTF from the second slot in a weak heat where everyone else throws their chance away is absolutely what the doctor ordered. I remain of the view she's a good, likeable enough performer that when the material lines up, Sweden will happily vote for her.
 
Also love Melanie Wehbe quietly getting booted from the usual team for Annika Wickihalder :eyes: I wonder if there were any STUDIO HANDBAGS involved there?
 
Oh Malou - how did you nab that after Bananas? :disco:
 
God knows where the reviews got the Freddie Mercury comparisons for Greczula. It’s closer to lowest common denominator US AOR.

Malou far and away the standout/saving grace of an awful sounding heat.

Wickihalder’s song sounds like it was written by AI.
 
Malou is the only one in here that I consider it non-offensive to listen to instead of On and On and On.
 
DRACULA - Started well but fell right the fuck off a cliff into Swedish nonsense territory. Awful
BANAS - Sounds ace, and the only one that deserves to reach the final from the snippets. If she can't qualify from a round as shit as this, she needs to sack it all off.
BJORN - Fucking DIRE
DOLLY STYLE - They've done far, far better since Habibi but I won’t pretend it’s not a bop
ANGELINO - Lol fuck you
ANNIKA - Proving @Kratz wrong by stepping into a white-knuckle role as a female John Lundvik/Victor Crone.

Definitely worth upping to number of songs to 30 to ensure we don’t miss out on generational classics like these.
 
Some utterly generic sounding songs in this heat.

Malou's occasionally unintelligible tune FTW.
 
GOOD GRIEF I had to switch Greczula off after 10 seconds.

Dolly Style 4.0 (whatever iteration they're on) obviously haven't heard of DIGNITY or SHAME.

Bjorn and Angelino are probably DOA.

Malou and Annika are the best of a relatively weak heat.
 
This has got to be the worst heat in years. That lesbian needs bringing in for emergency talks.
 
Actually, having just heard 24K Gold, there could be some saving grace for this year if it still pulls together a pretty solid final.
 
Malou said keep your last 20 seconds

I think the production is great but I'm not so sure about the nursery rhyme chorus melody MYSELF

 
THAT SAID, I want her in the final along with Annika obviously
 

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