The running order for Melodifestivalen 2017 has already been announced (if you missed it you can find it here) but Christer Björkman revealed a little bit more.
During the live streaming we got to see Björkman’s whiteboard with the post-its in different colors. SVT’s editor Gustav Dahlander was there and explained to us what is hiding behind those different colors and notes.
The color of the post-its represents the song’s energy, and together they show to the trained eye how the contest will unfold. Here is what each color represents:
- Dark ping: Uptempo – girl.
- Light pink: Mid-tempo to ballad – girl.
- Green: Uptempo – boy.
- Light green: Mid-tempo to ballad – boy.
- Orange: Traditional.
Christer Björkman also explained what the blue and red stars mean on each post-it.
Blue star: Female composer. “We have a rule that says that half of the songs have to have a female composer. For some odd reason men often work in large groups, and we are working to get the women there as well.”
Red star: Swedish text. “It means it’s a song with Swedish lyrics. We care about the Swedish language and want to protect it. Our basic rule is that there should be at least two Swedish entries per semi-final, and preferably more. This year we have a total of ten Swedish songs.”
In addition, Christer Björkman made comments on each of the songs revealing a bit more on what to expect from this year’s Melodifestivalen.
- Boris René: – It’s a high-energy/dance and catchy song that is a good kick off to the contest.
- Adrijana: – A young talented hip hop girl from Växjö with a really good pop song in Swedish that is very up to date.
- Dinah Nah: – She is in the same place as she was last time.
- De Vet Du: – A song entirely in their style. Those who like them will recognize them right away.
- Charlotte Perrelli: – This is quite different from her earlier attempts. It is the next step in her career.
- Nano: – He is somewhere between hip hop, soul and R&B.
- Etzia: – Her style is something like dance hall-reggae.
- Allyawan: – We are delighted that he and Adrijana are involved in paving the way for a genre that has been almost completely absent in this contest.
- Dismissed: – We got them introduced to us by a company and did not fall for the song, but we had a song that we got from Ola Salo, and he was wondering if we could find any artist for it. We managed to get them together and it will be really exciting to see how it goes.
- Robin Bengtsson: – A real energy pill, a true pop song.
- Krista Siegfrids: – I would say a modern schlager pop.
- Anton Hagman: – Mid-tempo, nice pop like in early George Michael’s style.
- Bella & Filippa: – A little like First Aid Kit’s style. A modern young country pop.
- The Fooo Conspiracy: – A mix of One Direction and Def Leppard.
- Axel Schylström: – He is singing really well and it’s a good song.
- Sara Varga och Juha Mulari: – The song has similar vibes to Sara’s “Spring för livet” (2011) but in a positive way. It’s about a couple that argues about “you can’t change me so you have to accept me the way I am”.
- Loreen: – It is obvious that there are huge expectations on this act. What is she bringing to us? What made her to participate again? So it’s a must to keep the surprise for last.
What do you think about Christer Björkman’s way of categorizing the songs? What about the comments he made on each of them? Are you more excited? More disappointed on your favorites? Tell us below in the comment section and stay tuned for more!