Last weekend saw the final four acts go through to the Final of the Swedish national selection show, Melodifestivalen 2019. The Andra Chansen round (which means Second Chance round in English), allows the third and fourth positions from each of the Semi-Finals a second chance to make it through to the final. They are split into duels with one going through and one being sent home.
The Andra Chansen round of Melodifestivalen 2019 took place at the Rosvalla Nyköping Eventcenter in Nyköping, Sweden on 2 March 2019. It was hosted by Kodjo Akolor and Sarah Dawn Finer. We also saw scenes from Eric Saade and Marika Carlsson about the sense of being a team of presenters. During the show, Kodjo Akolor gave an impressive rap including the titles of all the Andra Chansen song titles, and we also saw him collaborate with Johnny Logan, singing the Irish winning Eurovision song from 1987 “Hold Me Now” as a treat for Kodjo Akolor’s mother. We also had a special performance from Sweden’s latest Eurovision winner (from 2015), Måns Zelmerlöw, who sang his new single “Walk With Me” in collaboration with Dotter.
Winning their duels, Melodifestivalen’s Andra Chansen round saw Anna Bergendahl, Nano, Lisa Ajax, and Arvingarna go through to the final with their songs “Ashes To Ashes”, “Chasing Rivers”, “Torn”, and “I Do” respectively. The Andra Chansen videos haven’t been uploaded to YouTube on the Melodifestivalen YouTube Channel, however, their previous performances are available to watch.
Melodifestivalen 2019 Andra Chansen Duel I
WINNER: Anna Bergendahl – Ashes To Ashes
The song became even more catchier the second time around. It’s a simple laid back ballad that really showcases Anna Bergendahl off brilliantly, but it’s one of those songs that needs a few listens before it makes more of an impact.
ELIMINATED: Andreas Johnson – Army Of Us
It’s clear that all the contestants in the Andra Chansen took it up a notch, and Andreas Johnson certainly did that with his song “Army Of Us”. It had a more intriguing edge to the song and he brought even more energy to the stage. It wasn’t enough to make it through to the final but he certainly can feel proud about his deliverance of the song on stage.
Melodifestivalen 2019 Andra Chansen Duel II
WINNER: Nano – Chasing Rivers
We’re not at all surprised about Nano making it to the Final of Melodifestivalen 2019. With a voice like this, Nano deserves worldwide success, he poured so much emotion into his song “Chasing Rivers” that we literally felt every single word. The stage production becomes more entrancing the second-time around and we cannot wait to see it a third time in the Final, this Saturday.
ELIMINATED: Vlad Reiser – Nakna i regnet
He has a legion of fans, but it wasn’t enough to get him through to the final, and it wasn’t much of a surprise as he certainly needs to work on his vocals, but Vlad Reiser certainly gave a lot of energy to the performance. His song, “Nakna i regnet”, became catchy the second time around, it just wasn’t quite enough.
Melodifestivalen 2019 Andra Chansen Duel III
WINNER: Lisa Ajax – Torn
Can this song get any more emotional? Lisa Ajax sure knows how to make an impact with this powerful song “Torn”. During Andra Chansen she managed to capture the viewers into understanding the meaning behind the song, and it was much stronger than her previous performance. We can’t wait to see her perform this again in the Final.
ELIMINATED: Martin Stenmarck – Låt skiten brinna
Stepping up his game, Martin Stenmarck gave this song his all but it just wasn’t enough and we were a little sceptic in enjoying a song that is titled “Låt skiten brinna” which means “Let the shit burn” in English. It has a great message behind it and Martin Stenmarck can certainly fill his performance with emotion, it’s just not quite there.
Melodifestivalen 2019 Andra Chansen Duel IV
WINNER: Arvingarna – I Do
They’re back! The quartet was in full-force this time around as Tommy Carlsson rejoined the group after being on a family vacation in the previous performance. As a quartet, Arvingarna had extra harmonies which really allowed them to showcase off the brilliant track “I Do”. The staging was kept much the same, but since it was fine-tuned for a trio in the previous performance, it needs more fine-tuning now there is four of them. Let’s hope we see that in the Final.
ELIMINATED: Rebecka Karlsson – Who I Am
Surely this was the closest vote in the duels, as Rebecka Karlsson fine-tuned the staging and brought more power to the track. We adored “Who I Am” even more the second time around and we’re sad to see her go, although Arvingarna certainly gave it their all in their performance and deserved the spot in the Final.
That’s it for the Andra Chansen round. We have 12 acts in the Final of Melodifestivalen 2019 and we’re super excited to see what happens. Who will win? We know who we’re rooting for. Whoever wins out of the 12 acts, we know they’ll push Sweden on to the left-side of the board at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 Grand Final, as all 12 acts are of a high calibre.
The running order for the Grand Final was also announced during the Andra Chansen round. Check out who sings when in the Final of Melodifestivalen 2019, below:
- John Henrik Flällgren — “Norrsken (Goeksegh)”
- Lisa Ajax — “Torn”
- Mohombi — “Hello”
- Lina Hedlund — “Victorious”
- Bishara — “On My Own”
- Anna Bergendahl — “Ashes to Ashes”
- Nano — “Chasing Rivers”
- Hanna Ferm & Liamoo — “Hold You”
- Malou Prytz — “I Do Me”
- John Lundvik — “Too Late for Love”
- Wiktoria — “Not with Me”
- Arvingarna — “I Do”
The final of the Melodifestivalen 2019 will take place at the Friends Arena in Stockholm, Sweden on 9 March 2019. It is expected to be presented by all four presenters, Kodjo Akolor, Marika Carlsson, Sarah Dawn Finer, and Eric Saade.