SWEDEN

The Swedish Final was held at the Friends Arena in Solna on March 14th, hosted by Sanna Nielsen & Robin Paulsson. The winner was chosen by televoting (50%) & 11 international juries (50%). Singing in Vienna will be Måns Zelmerlöw with "Heroes".

As ever, Sweden used their tried and tested Melodifestivalen to choose their entry. This year however there were some new innovations. Instead of 8 songs per heat there were only 7, the top 2 went straight to the final whilst the songs in 3rd and 4th place sent to the second chance round. In 'andra chansen'  the 8 songs were paired into duels with the winner of each duel going to the final. This resulted in a final of 12 rather than 10. The main voting change was the use of app voting which did not always go to plan. There were problems in heat 1, where the results seemed to produce an unexpected result then during the final the system failed within a few songs. This method of voting was then not counted as part of the televote.

This is a typically Swedish contemporary song with hints of pop, dance and country to be heard. The verses and choruses have very repetitive structures almost consisting of the same tune for every line meaning it gets in your head and stays there very quickly. Måns has a very strong voice and a clear accent, which is good because the song requires quite a small yet low voice in the verses and a much clearer and higher tone in the chorus.

Måns Zelmerlöw is a well known singer and celebrity in Sweden. He first came to fame during Swedish Idol, has appeared in a touring version of Grease, presented music TV shows, won Sweden's version of Strictly as well as being a repeat offender when it comes to Melodifestivalen as a singer and songwriter. His 2007 song "Cara Mia" is possibly his most famous song and possibly one that should have won a spot at Eurovision but didn't.

This is more than a song - it is a show. The whole use of a projection screen is quite a sight to behold and a little bit overwhelming. At first glimpse it's quite difficult to work out what is going ton and how the whole interaction between Måns and the characters is going on. The fact that Måns has to be so precise with his movements means that he has too interact with the audience and camera without losing focus on the stage. In some ways it is all a bit too much by concentrating on the visuals you miss the song.

One has to remember that in terms of the production of music, Sweden is a world leader, never mind European leader and one should expect them to come up with something contemporary and catchy. This song is all of the above and is a very polished piece of audio and visual entertainment. I have my reservations as I fear that something like this doing well will provide a huge visual meme to Eurovision songs in the future and we'll move from a Eurovision SONG Contest to a Eurovision BACKDROP Contest. The honest thing is that the song doesn't need the razzmatazz or the show it is good enough as it is. I can see this song being the last song in semi 2 and qualify easily and is probably an easy stand out favourite to win.

ARTIST - Måns Zelmerlöw

SONG - Heroes

MUSIC - Anton Malmberg Hård af Segerstad, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb

LYRICS - Anton Malmberg Hård af Segerstad, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb