The Best or the Worst? It Depends.

The song contest creates a reaction and immediate opinion, no matter who you ask. You may hear disgust or delight or even apathy. This year's contest has brought record viewing numbers, yet I initially had difficulty finding people who have watched the program - or will admit to it anyway.

The people at Friends Arena were fans, clearly. They wouldn't have paid money otherwise to be there. Two of those fans are Joakim and Mia. They saw the final last year and decided to watch again this year. The contest is something they grew up with and still enjoy watching today. When they're not watching the final at the arena, they are usually home watching it with friends. Mia thinks the concept of the contest, with six weeks of programming, is a uniquely Swedish idea since other countries in Europe don't spend as much time finding their Eurovision entries.

Joakim and Mia think Yohio will win the contest this year.

Across town, fans at Torget celebrating the contest with a club sponsored Melodifestival evening. These fans mingled and danced to a mix of old and new Mello songs. I met a young gentleman dressed in a Brooklyn NYC jacket outside. I didn't catch his name, but we spoke at length about the contest. He felt it has become too commercial and felt that the artists weren't real. He thinks the artists should both perform and write their own songs. (Several of the artists did so this year, although he was not aware of this to begin with). He even told me Sweden does not deserve to be in the contest and felt the international jury was a bit much. "It is just too much all around", he said. 

I also met a woman named Johanna, who had lived in California. She had been hanging out with several gentlemen from London who had come to Sweden to see the contest too. She introduced me to them and I found out they usually come to Sweden every year to watch! Apparently, the contest has many British fans since Scandinavian pop music is booming, thanks to sites like Scandipop.co.uk.

I also met David and Alexander outside the club just as I was leaving. David started by saying, "This must be the worst year the contest has ever had". "Despite the best ratings in history?", I asked. He told me there is nothing wrong with the music itself, but he is a fan of the classic schlager sound and songs from the 80s. Those genres are nearly nonexistent this year. He feels the music is more pop and electro these days, but he still thinks it's good since Sweden gets more votes at Eurovision later. David also said the contest itself isn't Swedish but the concept itself is Swedish since it gives people a good reason to gather around on Saturday nights and go out afterwards. Alexander thinks the pop music in the contest is typically Swedish since the country has had so much success within the music industry, both nationally and abroad.

Late night photo. David and Alexander outside Torget.