Sweden has decided: it’s Loreen!
In an exciting result (that, let’s face it, surprised nobody), Loreen took the Melodifestifalen Crown in Sweden last night with “Euphoria”, pushing Danny Saucedo into a second consecutive runner-up position. Written by Thomas G:son and Peter Boström (who have already each got a a song in the ESC 2012 lineup already… Spain’s “Quédate Conmigo” and Norway’s “Stay”, respectively), this was Loreen’s second go at Melodifestivalen glory.
“Euphoria”‘s win was one of the most decisive in Melodifestvalen history. Loreen won 32.7% of the public vote (impressive, when you consider that there were ten competitors in the Final), and she broke the record for the highest number of votes cast for a song in a Final (670,551, more than twice the number that Eric Saade’s “Popular” received last year, and beating the record of 492,180 votes set by 2007’s “The Worrying Kind“). The 70-point spread between Loreen and Danny is also the widest margin in Mello’s history. She’s currently topping the singles and download charts in Sweden, and she’s also making an impact on the charts across the border in Finland.
It’s hard to predict if this kind of success on the National level will portend a “Fairytale”-style victory in Baku, but it’s one heck of a start for the 28-year-old alum of 2004’s season of “Idol”.
Last year, Azerbaijan took a pretty standard song and turned the volume up to eleven on it through a brilliant staging. This year, I think Sweden is taking a strong song and combining it with a staging unlike anything we’ve seen in Eurovision before. By focusing almost entirely on Loreen, and keeping the camera on her at all times (as opposed to a backing band, other dancers, or random gimmicks), it gives “Euphoria” an intimate, modern feel that feels completely unique. Considering that the Swedes have the tendency to keep their Melodifestivalen staging pretty close to intact for Eurovision, we may have something truly standout on our hands. I hesitate to make predictions, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see this equal Sweden’s bronze-medal position from last year, or possibly surpass it.
Posted on March 11, '12, in 2012, Sweden. Bookmark the permalink. 6 Comments.
The ESC Insider 
I love it; and there are so many otehr fans that love it – but I can see this picking up votes from loads of casual viewers too. Another top 3 result is a real possibility for Sweden, even just based on the fact its so unique.
Great to see Loreen finally getting the recognition she deserves; “My Heart Is Refusing Me” was another great song; and if Eurovision goes well for her; international stardom could be looming 😀
Eurovision 2012 is gearing up to be the best yet. Is it just me, or does it seem like since 2009, each year, Eurovision has been becoming better and better and that the songs have become better quality each year? I feel like all countries are actually trying now instead of just sending an act to participate. Especially for the western countries. Just look at the songs from 2009-11 compared to all the crap before it (In western countries, and more specifically, the UK). We sent some crazy shit to eurovision in the 2000’s/ (Scooch, Daz, Andy) I often find myself thinking, “what the fuck were we thinking? Out of everybody in the country, we come up with that?” Anyways! I definitely think the songs have progressively gotten better each year since 2009.
I thought 2009 was the best year for Eurovision I’ve ever seen – in terms of song quality and production value etc. 2010 and 2011 weren’t quite as good; though obvioulsy both had their standout entries and memorable moments, However, I agree with you that this year seems to have loads of really strong songs – I haven’t once had the “oh no, this is gonna be a crap year” moment that I usually get around early February… must be a good sign 😛
Oh yeah, that’s what I’m saying, 2009 is my favorite year so far. But, it looks like 2012 may overpass that. xD
It makes things more interesting, because it ets difficult to uess the winning song, though I have clear favorites.
autocorrection: it gets difficult to guess…