Oh my fuck yesMEDINAH NAH
3rd: Cazzi Opeia - I Can't Get Enough (140pts)
Rocking up with the most aging tattoo possibly witnessed on the Melfest stage (seriously now!), Cazzi Opeia ended up primed perfectly to nab the against-all-odds success of the year gaypop ticket of heat three once Linda got a bit too carried away with herself. And god, though that brief JAZZ HAND OF DOOM segue at the 2:07 mark will never not send my nervous system into paroxysms of fear for fifth place (OR WORSE), talk about EARNING IT - pop music just does not get more brilliantly melodic or straightforward than this.
Cazzi here bagged herself a - slightly disappointing, all told - ninth place final slot in the end, but went away with one of the real prizes of the contest, scoring the objective radio hit of the year, staying at #2 in the Swedish airplay charts behind this year's winner solidly all the way up until last week. We're definitely seeing this woman again, and regardless of whether it's a car crash or not, I absolutely can't wait
2 x 12: @David 5000, @Music
5 x 10: @Penelope, @Soldi, @Eyes, @Pingu, @FetchFugly
4 x 8: @Kratz, @VoR, @Apoca, @Hak
1 x 6: @Jacques
2 x 4: @Suomi, @Alias #23
3 x 2: @Tisch, @Ill Advised, @auretz
2 x 1: @Christian, @tr4962
2nd: Klara Hammarström - Run To The Hills (151pts)
FINISH HER!
Bringing the spirit of drag brunch to Melodifestivalen: Klara Hammarström
Honestly though - has anything felt like as much of a heat 4 song 7 thrill ride as this did in years? Certainly not since Statements, and I think you're having to go back to when it was heat 4 song 8 and a decade before to find the next one on a level with this. Klara here maintained her commitment to looking like an absolute state every time she steps on the Melfest stage all the way to a direkt ticket to the final and a Swedish #1 hit, even if an actual tip at the crown was a bridge or five too far once the juries got involved - but my goodness, if it wasn't a tremendous load of silly old fun along the way.
Seeing this live for the first time in the Swedish Church, complete with the stream cutting out to gay shrieks for half a second halfway through, will always go down as one of my most treasured Melfest viewing experiences. Hopefully she comes back with an entry too far in a year or two to complete the set - critics be damned!
2 x 12: @VoR, @Suomi
2 x 10: @Iguana, @Music
7 x 8: @Penelope, @ButterTart, @David 5000, @Jacques, @Ill Advised, @Tetris-Rock, @FetchFugly
5 x 6: @ZenGiraffe, @dUb, @auretz, @Eyes, @Hak
4 x 4: @win_the_game, @Tisch, @Soldi, @Apoca
2 x 2: @Haiku, @Pingu
1 x 1: @Alias #23
This please! Tone would be such a natural hostess!A big future as potential Melfest hostess very obviously awaits, but in the meantime - you'd really have to hope she's going to set about saving schlager for Gen Z in the coming years, wouldn't you?