WHEN? 7pm UK time Saturday 12 February 2022

WHERE? Avicii Arena, Stockholm

WHERE DO I WATCH? SVT Play 

Last week Robin Bengtsson went direkt till finalen but we predicted little else right with the 3 eliminated acts all having MF history and the newcomers doing well at their expense.

• Read on for reasons including finalen and Andra Chansen predictions

Show opener LIAMOO Bluffin’ (Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt, Sami Rekik, Dino Medanhodzic, Ali Jammali) PREDICTION: Direkt Till Finalen

The vocal’s going to be a challenge not least because it sounds a little vocodered on the studio mix but we think this is the biggest hit here. LIAMOO finished 6th and 3rd previously in 2018 and 2019, the latter as part of a duet with Hanna Ferm.

2. Niello & Lisa Ajax Tror du att jag bryr mig (Do you think I care?) (Yvonne Dahlbom, Niklas Grahn Linroth, Jesper Welander) PREDICTION: Andra Chansen

The success of Danne Stråhed last week shows there’s an appetite for ska and we think the chorus here is really catchy. We’ve read that the lyrics of this duet are a little spiky and our hopes are high for this too. Ajax finished 9th in both 2017 and 2019.

3. Samira Manners I Want To Be Loved (Samira Manners, Fredrik Andersson) PREDICTION: 6th

The vocal sounds a little too affected and exposed for us. A jaunty indie sound which doesn’t quite go as far as Face In The Crowd.

4. Alvaro Estrella Suave (Linnea Deb, Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt, Joy Deb, Alvaro Estrella) PREDICTION: 5th

It’s business as usual for Estrella with the Spanish pop sound we love. It’s his 4th MF appearance and he has 2 finalens under his belt, finishing 11th and 10th. In a less competitive heat this might have just snuck through. Not a patch on the absolute banger Spain selected in controversial circumstances for Eurovision this year however.

LISTEN TO ONE-MINUTE CLIPS OF THESE SONGS

5. Browsing Collection Face In The Crowd (Carolina Karlsson, Mimi Brander, Moa Lenngren, Nora Lenngren, Sandra Bjurman, Jimmy Wahlsteen) PREDICTION: Direkt Till Finalen

An aggressive female vocal and a pop/rock song with an urgent and immediate hook – this is right up our alley. MF newcomers and, in the spirit of what happened last week, we predict bright things for this.

6. John Lundvik Änglavakt (Angel guard) (Anderz Wrethov, Elin Wrethov, Benjamin Rosenbohm, Fredrik Sonefors, John Lundvik) PREDICTION: Andra Chansen

Lundvik won in 2019, finishing 5th in that year’s pre-Covid Eurovision. It’s My Turn made 3rd in 2018 and so Lundvik clearly has an audience. This we would suggest is a gentle reminder of what he does best but without the need for it to go particularly big in the hall as Terry Wogan might say.

7. Tone Sekelius My Way (Anderz Wrethov, Tone Sekelius) PREDICTION: 7th

We’re not convinced that the vocal for this is going to be strong although the song sounds entertaining enough. We suspect it might struggle but so did we with our predictions last week.

• Picture via YouTube courtesy SVT Melodifestivalen
• Have you heard any of these songs or seen any of these shows? Let us know what you thought in the comments below Heat 1 preview Heat 2 preview Heat 3 preview Heat 4 preview Heat 1 predictions
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