WHEN?: Saturday 6 February 2021
WHERE?: Annexet, Stockholm
Last year’s winners The Mamas were the 1st of 28 Melodifestivalen entries in what was a topsy-turvy year that was the 1st since 1956 without a Eurovision Song Contest.
Spraggan won our gig of the year monsta in 2020 and we said then: ‘Her warmth and empathy really shine bright in the guitar-based, folk-influenced material that she writes and performs.’ Her 6th album Choices is released 26/2/21 and includes Sober, a song of the month for us in November. Tickets were on sale for an April tour which has now been cancelled because of Covid-19 but you can watch that gig of the year. Details
WHEN?: Saturday 27 February 2020
WHERE?: Annexet, Stockholm
Tess Merkel (3rd from left above) is the 4th member of supergroup Alcazar to compete in Melodifestivalen individually with Magnus Carlsson (2nd from left above performing Alcastar) making the final in 2006 and 2015 and Lina Hedlund doing so in 2019.
WHEN?: Saturday 20 February 2021
WHERE?: Annexet, Stockholm
This year’s Melodifestivalen features no less than 4 former winners however only 1 of them actually went on to triumph in the entire Eurovision Song Contest and it is Charlotte Perrelli (pictured above) who opens this heat.
WHEN?: Saturday 13 February 2021
WHERE?: Annexet, Stockholm
The biggest story of Melodifestivalen 2021 is the return of 2020’s top 2, The Mamas and Dotter, who were separated by only 1 point back in March 2020.
WHEN?: Saturday 6 February 2021
WHERE?: Annexet, Stockholm
It’s business as usual for Melodifestivalen in 2021 as Heat 1 opens with the pre-contest favourite, this year Danny Saucedo (pictured above), as it did last year when Felix Sandman could only make Andra Chansen.
Our obsession with Melodifestivalen, Sweden’s Eurovision selection show, started in 2003 when we learned that Alcazar were taking part.
WHEN?: 7/11/20 UPDATE: England’s second lockdown means the RVT show is cancelled but there will be an online show 14/11/20
WHERE?: Royal Vauxhall Tavern, London, and online
Former Melodifestivalen winner Anna Bergendahl (pictured above) is arguably the biggest name in November’s Second Cherry 2020 song contest which concludes, fingers crossed, with a live event in London next weekend.
WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2
OUT: now
It’s quite something that pop star and songwriting genius Sia thought her tune What The Future Holds would be best sung by this reformed boy/girl band quintet.
WORTH A LOOK?: *****
OUT: now
Fingers Crossed goes immediately for the pop jugular with a hook that is so captivating in its high-pitched kookiness it could be a sample of Kate Bush or Florence Welch at their most commercial – but probably isn’t.
