Testosterone City

Two more teen heartthrobs, Anton Ewald and Robin Stjernberg, made it through to the final during Saturday's Second Chance round. Their win means the final on Saturday will be the most manly Mello since 1965. Out of the ten finalists, only one is a woman. Louise Hoffsten is the lone survivor among all the female contestants.

The lopsided result is something of a shocker for the contest. There haven't been so few women in Melodifestivalen since 1965 when Ingvar Wixell sang all six entries. Back then, one artist sang all the entries and an in-house jury voted on the winner for Eurovision.

This lack of estrogen has caused something of a stir in the press and on social media sites like Twitter. Swedes are known for their progressiveness on equality between men and women. Sweden has worked to get women into areas of society like government and business where they would have difficulty breaking through otherwise. And Sweden is one of the most progressive nations when it comes to women's rights. All this is to say it surprised many when the final turned out to be nearly all men.

When it seemed this year's final would heavily favor men, some speculated in the press that the contest was stacked. Others considered officially launching a complaint with the ombudsman of equality. Still, it's the viewers who vote, so the final was created by the people watching. And they've made sure this particular final is full of men.

The finalists for Stockholm are:

1. "Tell the World I’m Here" – Ulrik Munther 

2. "Skyline" – David Lindgren 

3. "Falling" – State of Drama 

4. "Begging" – Anton Ewald

5. "Only the Dead Fish Follow the Stream" – Louise Hoffsten

6. "Bed on Fire" – Ralf Gyllenhammar 

7. "En riktig jävla schlager" – Ravaillacz 

8. "Copacabanana" – Sean Banan 

9. "You" – Robin Stjernberg 

10. "Heartbreak Hotel" – YOHIO

Having Fun is Hard Work

My plane to Copenhagen got in early, thanks to SAS and a nice tailwind along the way. My new EMV card worked perfectly when I went to buy my train ticket to Malmö. No problems. No issues. It saved me from a thirty person deep line at the teller window.

I was able to find the hostel easily thanks to a little Google Streetview research beforehand. I checked into the hostel at 5 pm and got to the arena around 6:30 pm. It took some work figuring out how to get there and back using the buses. I made it in one piece thanks to the helpful bus drivers one each line.

 I'll take you on a short tour of the arena before, during, and after the program.

Before:

Welcome to the show. An ad from my favorite program sponsor.

Shirts, caps, stars, feather boas, and baby clothes for sale.

The audience finding their seats. The catwalk for the artists splits the section in two.

The Green Room where the artists hang out after their performance. 

You have to get snacks for the show.

The house band entertains the crowd before the big show.

One of the producers of the show came out and spoke with the crowd, joked, and explained what he wanted us to do at different times. He gave us signals when we could clap and when we should quiet down. Another gentleman spoke with our section directly, letting us know that we should try to stay put during the performances between 8pm and 9pm, but if we had to leave, we should try to step gingerly around the recording equipment. We were so close to the camera cranes, we could have reached our hands out and grabbed them. Our section also sat next to an HD display showing what the TV audience would see.

During:

The opening of the show was in English with a smidgen of French mixed in for the Eurovision sketch. The sketch joked about Sweden hosting Eurovision this year and poked fun at how Sweden is seen abroad. You'll see it tomorrow during the live show.

Here are a few snippets of each artist's performance on Friday (pardon my camera's audio/video drops). These clips give an idea of what a live audience sees and what TV viewers at home see since our section sat near an HD screen with the live TV feed.

Army of Lovers - Rockin' the Ride

Lucia Pinera - Must Be Love (The songwriter just won a Grammy in the US!)

Robin Stjernberg - You

Sylvia Vrethammar - Trivialitet

Ralf Gyllenhammar - Bed on Fire

Behrang Miri  - Jalla Dansa Sawa

Terese Fredenwall - Breaking the Silence

Ulrik Munther - Tell the World I'm Here

In a live show, the audience would vote at this point. While the votes are "tabulated", the show continues with a humor sketch and a musical performance. The humor sketch is about rejected songs that were sent in to the contest. Another is a live performance by a well-known and well-loved band called Alcazar. The entire crowd stood up and clapped during their performance.

Since this is only practice, the show randomly chooses the winners. The artists and tech crew doesn't know who will be picked in order to replicate the live experience on Saturday. This time, Sylvia and Ralf won so they were able to play their songs again for the crowd. The show hosts repeated the "results" and waved goodbye to the cameras. 

After:

The audience filed out of the arena while the press descended upon the Green Room and the artists. Many fans waited outside to see if the artists would sign items or chat with them after the press was finished. After a few minutes, guards came and started ushering people out of the arena. The artists will still chatting with the press during this time, so they did not have the opportunity to meet with fans.

The entire show will repeat again a second practice tomorrow afternoon. Then the big live event will happen later on at 8 pm. It is shown live on TV and the Internet for anyone to see. I will post the link here tomorrow before it starts. The show can be viewed from any country.

A few things surprised me about being there in person. One was the size of the arena. The arena is supposed to be huge but it felt quite small. It may be because the arrangers decided not using the full capacity of the arena even though they could sell-out every show. It is assumed they're keeping full capacity for Eurovision instead. Another surprise is the amount of cameras in the building and how much they move about. I didn't think the cameras stood still, yet I didn't think they covered every inch of the arena either. 

A huge camera on a crane just behind my head. I could have put my arm out and reached it.

The choreography of the tech crew also impressed me. Some of the show act have elements that are not easy to stage. One has a moving throne, another has a flaming piano, a third has giant acrylic letters that have to be placed and buffed by hand in a matter of seconds. It's both exhausting and fascinating to watch.

Changing the acrylic letters out for a piano

A fire extinguisher - just in case.

Hearts raining down during the Army of Lovers performance

The tech crew using leaf blowers to clear the stage of all the hearts before the second act.

Song Clips Posted!

Short clips from the contestant's performances have been posted online. Have a listen and pick your favorite from the eight competitors:

Army of Lovers - Rockin' the Ride

Lucia Piñera - Must Be Love

Robin Stjernberg - You

Silvia Vrethammar - Trivialitet

Ralf Gyllenhammar - Bed on Fire

Behrang Miri - Jalla Dansa Sawa

Terese Fredenwall - Breaking the Silence

Ulrik Munther - Tell the World I'm Here

This round is said to be the strongest heat of the entire contest.

The Artists - Semi 4

Time to pick your favorite artist from the remaining twenty. Choose your favorite and watch to see if they take the ultimate prize.

First up, Semi 4 in Malmö: Eight artists will compete. Four will advance. Two will go directly to the final. Two will get another chance in Karlstad.

Army of Lovers - A Swedish Eurodance group with international success, including the United States. They reunited in their original lineup for this contest. Their song "Rockin the Ride" opens semi 4. Alexander Bard describes the song as a mix of Swedish House Mafia and Gangam Style mixed in a washing machine with a ton of crack. The group members grab headlines with their provocative and sometimes controversial, statements and interviews. Expect their fans to show up in droves at the arena.

Lucia Piñera - A newcomer to the contest but she has competed in other song contests in the past, such as True Talent. Lucia is a Malmö native, so the crowd will be fully behind their hometown artist. Her entry, "Must Be Love" is described as a positive and happy soulful song.

Robin Stjernberg - Robin is a graduate of Swedish Idol, so he's no stranger to live performances in front of massive crowds. This 21-year-old is branching out to other contests. He wants to reach people with his music and show another side of his talent. Having a good show is important, but it's more important to reach out to fans and make a difference, he says. A self-identified perfectionist.

Sylvia Vrethammar - Sylvia is no newcomer to the contest or the music business. She has been singing in the spotlight since 1967. Sylvia has competed four times in MF, the last being in 2002. She has found international success in Germany and other European countries. This year, she will sing a Swedish song by the name of "Trivialitet". The lyrics focus on appreciating the small moments in life.

Ralf Gyllenhammar - Normally a part of hard rock band Mustasch, Ralf has chosen to enter the contest as a solo artist since his band mates did not want to take part. He sees the contest as entertainment and he's ready to entertain. He wants the audience to be pumped up and excited about the powerful performance they will witness.

Behrang Miri - Another Malmö local, Behrang has roots in Iran and has lived in Sweden since he was three. He loves to rap and can do beatbox. Music is for getting out your feelings, reaching people, and building bridges, he says. His song, "Jalla Dansa Sawa" means come and dance. The song is about being together and letting everyone take part.

Terese Fredenwall - Terese is a 26-year-old Stockholm native. Her song, "Breaking the Silence", is about breaking away from destructive things and embracing all the good things life can offer. She wrote her entry after meeting people in prison and being influenced by their stories. She won her place through a national song contest, but is no stranger to the music business. She has previously released three solo albums under her own record label and has written lyrics for well-known artists, including one of this year's co-hosts, Danny Saucedo.

 Ulrik Munther - Teen heartthrob and contest favorite, Ulrik competed last year and placed third. This year, he wants to win it all. "Tell the World I'm Here" is described as a strong hit-song with a subject that is easy to relate to. He doesn't just want to be a well known musician, he wants to expand his skills and grow as a singer and artist, which is one reason he has decided to compete again.

Photos:  SVT