Melodifestivalen 2011: Heat Three - Live Blog

Here we go! I wasn't so impressed by the clips yesterday, but I'm hoping this heat will end up as entertaining as the first two. I'm expecting the overriding theme/feeling is going to be the coronation of Eric Saade, but who will get that second spot in the final?

EDIT: And more importantly, why won't my stream start?

EDIT: Hmmm... this could be a pretty boring blog post if SVT don't get the stream working.

EDIT: Eleven minutes and it's still not started. NOT a happy camper.

1. LINDA: The song grew on me a little, even though I only got to hear half of it because of the stupid stream. She's as charming as ever in person, but she's got so many better songs than this!

2. SIMON: Extended interview with the beloved Kempe before this song could help its chances. I still think this song is boring as hell, though. And with the poor showing of ballads so far this year, I don't think its chances are all that great, though he did perform it rather well. And judging by the applause, he may actually make it through.

3. SARA L: She looks good and I like the staging, but this song is still sounds very bland and derivative to me. Still, I'm liking it better than I thought I would. I just wish her vocals were better. It feels quite amateur.

EDIT: That "Snemy" sign at the end cracked me up.

4. PLAYTONES: We had the drag queen last week, now the dansband. MF cliches are being checked off left and right. This song is enjoyable, but pointless. It'll make the top four, I'm sure, but there have been better dansband songs in years prior. Plus, didn't Brolle do this ten times better just last week? Nice flaming piano, though. Fire worked for Crucified Barbara last year!

5. SHIRLEY'S ANGELS: Wow, you'd only see something like this in MF. I'm still not sold on the song, but the performance was simple and well-executed. When those back-up dancers skipped out at the end, I couldn't help but laugh. These ladies could do well, though I wish the song was better.

6. SEBASTIAN: Why did Sebastian shave his head?? That aside, this is easily the best song so far. I still think, in some regards, that this sounds like some horribly cheesy religious song. I'm choosing to believe that that's not the case, as I thought Sebastian had a bit more edge than that.

7. SARA V: Oh, how I wish she was actually performing to the track they played during her intro! This is a pretty song, but it's just so misplaced here. And she's quite boring. She looked terrified up there!! And so happy when it was over!

8. ERIC: Here we are... it's the second coming of Jesus! Well, not quite, but you'd think it was from everyone's reactions. If he wins the whole thing, it will be down to his popularity (ironically, given the title of his entry), and not the song. Not saying this is bad. It's the best of the night, easy. But it's the same as all of his other songs, and I don't think it's as effective as last year's entry to be honest. Still, he'll sail through. Obviously.

OK, my (probably wrong) predictions:
Straight through: Eric, Playtones
Andra Chansen: Sebastian, Simon, and maybe Shirley's Angels
As I feared, though, it's a weak heat.

EDIT: Go Lena! This is kind of cool. And way to put yourself out there, unlike lame I Love Europe guy last week.

EDIT: Top 5 - Shirley's Angels, Sebastian, Eric, Playtones & Sara V. Well, I got 4/5. Surprised about Sara, but I thought that Linda would finish 6th.

EDIT: Highest votes go to... Eric. Duh. I think he would have been very surprised and embarrassed if he didn't get the highest.

EDIT: This Eric song sounds just like "It's Gonna Rain" in the verses. Seriously. Except "Rain" is a better song.

EDIT: Weird that they don't have the smashing glass in the encore as well? As it was the coolest thing about the performance.

EDIT: Now that Sara seems to be popular with the voters, I think she could really cream the lackluster competition here if people want something different.

EDIT: Linda looked pissed in the background of the green room, then all of a sudden she made this huge, unnatural smile, as if someone prodded her from behind.

EDIT: Sebastian's out. I thought he might be after the lackluster applause. And Sara becomes andra chansen fodder.

EDIT: And the Playtones to the final, as I predicted. Blech. Shirley's Angels to andra chansen. This is really such a disappointing heat. I didn't love anybody. Bring on Melody Club next week!!

And our updated list of finalists. Is is just me, or do we still not have a winner here?
1. Danny
2. Swingfly
3. Sanna
4. Brolle
5. Eric
6. The Playtones