Melodifestivalen: Andra Chansen

Saturday was the long-awaited Andra Chansen (the second chance round) for Melodifestivalen entries. The opening included a musical interlude that I can only guess was about these entries escaping death and crawling their way to the Andra Chansen round. Have I mentioned that these programs are entirely in Swedish (aside from some of the songs), and I do not speak Swedish? I can't find a video of this, so you're just going to have to trust me on this one!

The line-up:
1. "Raise Your Hands," Ammotrack
2. "Bröder," Linus Svenning
3. "Love Trigger," J.E.M.
4. "All We Are," State of Drama
5. "En himmelsk sång," Ellinore Holmer
6. "När änglarna går hem," Martin Stenmark
7. "Survivor," Helena Paparizou
8. "Echo," Outrigger

After all eight performances, a round of voting eliminated Ammotrack, Ellinore Holmer, and J.E.M. (no!). Duels were established between Helena Paparizou and Outrigger, and Linus Svenning and Martin Stenmark. Sorry, State of Drama, that means you're out too!

Emmelie de Forest, the Danish winner of last year's Eurovision, made a very special appearance. She premiered a new single, "Rainmaker," and her Eurovision hit, "Only Teardrops." Great new song, but I was very disappointed that her hot flute player did not join her for this performance.

And then onto the duels! Helena Paparizou won over metal band, Outrigger, proving that the Swedish people know what is good for them. Then, Linus Svenning beat out Martin Stenmark. I still DO NOT care for "Bröder," but I am willing to overlook this because I don't think it actually has a chance to win in the end. 

Next Saturday is the grand finale. The all-important line-up has just been released, and it looks like it will be an amazing show. 

1. "Natural," Anton Ewald

2. "Songbird," Ellen Benediktson

3. "Blame It On The Disco," Alcazar

4. "Yes We Can," Oscar Zia

5. "Bröder," Linus Svenning

6. "Survivor," Helena Paparizou

7. "To The End," YOHIO

8. "Undo," Sanna Nielsen

9. "Efter solsken," Panetoz

10. "Busy Doin' Nothin'," Ace Wilder

The final will be very heavy on the pop and schlager, with the closest thing to "rock" being YOHIO. Great job, Sweden! Looking forward to it.