By Neil Durham

WHEN?: 7pm (UK time) Friends Arena, Stockholm Saturday 9 March 2024

WHERE DO I WATCH?: SVTPlay

Norwegian twins Marcus and Martinus are the best shot Sweden has of winning Eurovision for a record breaking 8th time. UPDATE: Marcus and Martinus won Melodifestivalen.

• Read on for reasons including how we think the finalists would fare in Eurovision in Malmo in May

12 points: Marcus & Martinus Unforgettable (Jimmy ‘Joker’ Thörnfeldt, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb, Marcus Gunnarsen, Martinus Gunnarsen) PREDICTION: 1st to 5th

Last year’s runner-up Air was good but Unforgettable is next level. Co-writer Thörnfeldt has 4 other songs in this year’s finalen and this is a pulsating slice of Faithless-style dance music that is presented memorably with the stage restricted as Tattoo‘s was and something visually magical created that is as busy as the song. There’s a lot going on in the songs already selected for Eurovision 2024 but so far we see this as Croatia’s biggest challenge for the win.

10 points: Dotter It’s Not Easy To Write A Love Song (Dino Medanhodzic, Johanna Jansson) ESC PREDICTION: 2nd to 5th

Barefoot, draped over a piano tinkling beautifully in the background over a love song reminding of Dotter’s 2020 MF runner-up Bulletproof. Potentially too subtle and delightful to triumph in the hoopla Melodifestivalen has become but we can but hope. Almost a potential Eurovision winner we think although perhaps not quite killer enough.

8 points: Jacqline Effortless (Dino Medanhodzic, Jacqline Mossberg Mounkassa, Jimmy Jansson, Moa Carlebecker, Thomas G:son) PREDICTION: 11th to 15th

Reminding of Donna Summer’s I Feel Love from its opening this is Dotter squeeze’s Medanhodzic’s 2nd song in the finalen and also Opeia’s 2nd. This reminds more of 80s disco than Unforgettable‘s 90s and we love the ‘Call the police!’ hook.

7 points: Danny Saucedo Happy That You Found Me (Kristoffer Fogelmark, John Martin, Michel Zitron) PREDICTION: 6th to 10th

Saucedo reminds us of the arena-thrilling hits that filled his most successful period of his career thus far. ‘I was hiding in a dark place now heaven’s all around me’ is a quite unexpectedly moving lyric in a song of this type and this other Melodifestivalen runner-up beat Dotter in Heat 4 and we’re hoping for a good result for him.

6 points: Cazzi Opeia Give My Heart A Break (Ellen Berg, Jimmy Jansson, Moa Carlebecker, Thomas G:son) PREDICTION: 11th to 15th

G:son’s 2nd song in the finalen and you can’t beat a good sock puppet in Melodifestivalen. We’re enjoying the perky vibe and upbeat strings with Go West-type reminders. The lyric is also a welcome plea for calm in the current ocean of insanity that is the world. Not quite as good for us as 2022’s  I Can’t Get Enough but this should do better than its 9th.

5 points: Medina Que Sera (Ali Jammali, Anderz Wrethov, Jimmy ‘Joker’ Thörnfeldt, Sami Rekik) PREDICTION: 16th to 20th

This Swedish hip hop duo with Arabic influences previously finished 3rd in MF in 2022 with In i dimman (Into The Fog). Que Sera‘s position as heat 5 closer was a little misleading because it wasn’t quite the big finish to the show that we were hoping for and, in fact, was a bit of a mess. Bicycles, quite simply, have no place on a Melodifestivalen stage.

4 points: LIAMOO Dragon (Anderz Wrethov, Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt, Julie “Kill J” Aagaard, Liam Cacatian Thomassen) PREDICTION: 16th to 20th

The ‘MOO’s 4th MF appearance and for us this is Melodifestivalen at its most predictable. The lyric is a relentless sea of dragon references and, although slayed singing wise, we think this could be the year LIAMOO finishes lower than his previous worst result of 6th.

3 points: Maria Sur When I’m Gone (Anderz Wrethov, Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt, Julie “Kill J” Aagaard, Maria Sur) PREDICTION: 16th to 20th

Ukranian refugee Sur finished 9th last year after winning her heat. Wrethov also co-wrote 2 other entries in this year’s finalen. This riffs on 90s dance again and is well performed by Sur and more uptempo than her previous effort but in this company will do well to manage last year’s result without the reminder of the Ukranian refugee lyric.

2 points: Lisa Ajax Awful Liar (David Lindgren Zacharias, Sebastian Atas, Victor Crone, Victor Sjöström) PREDICTION: 21st to 26th

Ajax last competed in MF in 2022 with the Niello duet which we loved and was called Tror du att jag bryr mig (Do you think I care?) which finished last in its heat. Ajax competed in 2016 when she was 7th and in 2017 and 2019 where she made the finalen and finished 9th on both occasions. A rather beige ballad.

1 point: Smash Into Pieces Heroes Are Calling (Andreas “Giri” Lindbergh, Benjamin Jennebo, Chris Adam, Hedman Sörbye, Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb, Per Bergquist) PREDICTION: 16th to 20th

This rock band competed in MF for the 1st time in 2023 with the song Six Feet Under and finished a creditable 3rd. This year the band collaborates with similar writers on the band’s 2nd entry. Rock bands don’t traditionally do well at MF but this group have been releasing music since 2009 and Thörnfeldt co-wrote Loreen’s Eurovision winner Tattoo. We’re not quite feeling it in the same way as we did last year.

Jay Smith Back To My Roots (Jay Smith, Jonas Jurström, Jonathan Keyes, Maria Jane Smith, Victor Thell) PREDICTION: 21st to 26th

The hurried andra chanson-type selection of 2 additional songs this year rather benefitted the tunes just performed with both heat 5 runners up making the finalen at the expense of better entries that just missed out. Back To My Roots is rather over-earnest country.

Annika Wickihalder Light (Annika Wickihalder, Herman Gardarfve, Linnea Gawell, Patrik Jean) PREDICTION: non-qualifier (although, clearly, as hosts she’d make the finalen!)

Wickihalder’s gospel-type number was rather nervously performed which rather counted against it for us. We would have chosen the schlager joy of Elisa Lindstrom’s Forever Yours and Scarlet’s Circus X whose song boasts the most thrilling climax to a song we’ve heard all Eurovision season.

• Keep an eye on monstagigz.com during January as we’ll be previewing 2024’s 30 entries.
• During February this site will predict how each heat will go on the Friday after we’ve heard the songs before the Saturday events. Heat 1 preview Heat 2 preview Heat 4 preview Heat 5 preview Heat 1 predictions Heat 2 predictions Heat 3 predictions Heat 4 predictions Heat 5 predictions
• In March we’ll forecast how the finalen will go and how each of the 12 qualifiers would do in May in Malmö at Eurovision.
• Picture via Facebook courtesy Marcus and Martinus, Melodifestivalen and SVT
• Have you heard any of these songs or seen any of these shows? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
• Enjoyed this review? Follow monstagigz on Twitter @NeilDurham, email neildurham3@gmail.com and check us out on Instagram and Facebook