Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

After four heats of Melodifestivalen it's time for the second chance round aka Andra chansen of those who finished 3rd and 4th. Sadly it's once again made in duels so one can only guess this system's fairness. The duels are based on simple rules: they must be 3rd and 4th placed ones against each other, and they can't be from the same heat. That already pretty much sets who's against who.... According Björkman also they try to put songs aiming to be liked by same groups of fans against each other... My winners are Anna Bergendahl, Nano, Arvingarna and between Stenmarck and Ajax I don't really care.... Andreas Johnsson Vs. Anna Bergendahl Vlad Reiser Vs. Nano Martin Stenmarck Vs. Lisa Ajax Rebecka Karlsson Vs. Arvingarna All is good in the end

Now what can I say? Carola is one of my favorite artists, an ultimate Eurovision Diva and we go back a long time. Flashback summer 1983: I was spending summer at my aunt's in Sweden. And Sweden was all about Carola after her Melodifestivalen win (full marks from each and every jury - for the first and last time ever) and 3rd place in Eurovision (6,1 million Swedes watched her there!!!) with Främling   (fate is I was also in Sweden when the Mello took place and saw it live on tv. However then I was all for runner up Kikki Danielsson's Varför är kärleken röd ...) Her album was the best selling album in Sweden ever (over 1.000.000 copies). She was everywhere, including a Folketspark near Fagersta where I saw her live.  The tour broke all previous records in 24 out of 25 parks. The year after I saw her live in Finland. And again in the years to come . But then Carola, a controversial figure retired after 3-4 years of success and even an album with the BeeGees in the USA to...

As Solju in Finland also Jon Henrik Fjällgren joiked himself directly to the national final. The other qualifier in Sweden is 16-year-old Isa. Andreas Weise and Kristin Amparo will get another chance in Andra chansen while Ellen Benediktson was left 5th, Kalle Johansson 6th and Andreas Johnson 7th and last..... 

Melodifestivalen semifinal three comes from Östersund. No previous winners in this heat but Ellen and Andreas Johnsson have already tasted some MF glory and success. Also in this heat Jon Henrik Fjällgren, Talent winner and a very interesting mix of Sami culture and Colombian temper. And after hearing the snippets this blogger thinks they saved the best last, in this semi at least. Namely Kristin and Jon Henrik should go to the final. As for the rest I don't really care who gets to the second chance as none moved me in any way whatsoever.... Ellen Benediktson - Insomnia Kalle Johansson - För din skull Andreas Weise - Bring out the fire Andreas Johnson - Living to die Isa - Don't stop Kristin Amparo - I see you Jon Henrik Fjällgren - Jag är fri (Manne leam frijje)

Ahead the announcement of the artists tomorrow and Tuesday more names have emerged as possible entrants. First of all we have previous winner Eric Saade . From last year's final surprise we have Ellen Benediktsson making a possible comeback. Daniel Gildenlöw also is rumored to make his solo debut, his band Pain of Salsation presented fantastic Road salt in 2010. From 2005 we have a one hit wonder Carolina Wennergren . She was the big surprise that year with A different kind of love , that is still remembered even if we haven't heard much of her since....  Also listed is Andreas Johnson who's still missing a victory in MF from his CV. Then we have Behrang Miri ,  punkrock band Neverstore , boyband JRT and all the previous names I wrote about here . 

Andreas Johnson announces this will be his last Melodifestivalen in Expressen. " The circle that started in 2006 closes. It has given me a lot, the public in Sweden knows me now. Before I had a career mainly abroad. I guess I will remember these years later as the years I was doing Melodifestivalen all the time" he says. He will take the stage tomorrow night in Sandviken with We can work it ou t for the fourth time after Sing for me in 2006 (3rd), A little bit of love in 2007 (2nd) and One love with Carola in 2008 that was ment to win but became a flop first going to Andra chancen and then not qualifying in there for the final. Let's see if this will him some extra points tomorrow night....

... from your reliable Expressen! According them Elin Lanto, Galaxy one, Dogge Doggelito and Andra generationen, Neo Erik Linder, Jessica Andersson, Sibel, Pernilla Wahlgren, Eric Saade, Sarah Lundbäck, Linda Pritchard, Lovestoned, Anna-Maria Espinosa, Anna Bergendahl, Daniel Gildenlöw/Pain of Salvation, Frispråkar'n, aka Håkan Bäckman, Orsa spelmän, Ola Svensson, Andreas Johnson and Getty Domein are 19 confirmed names for the 27 songs chosen by SVT. Time will tell....

The annual Ladies Night show will be held in Stockholm on September 26 and Andreas Johnsson, Martin Stenmarck and Mikale Tornving will entertain the only female crowd. The tour starts from Västeros September 18 and ends in Helsingborg in November 7. This is the fourth tour and Martin Stenmarck has been in all of them.