ButterTart's 100 Greatest Melodifestivalen Songs - 2002 to 2024

ButterTart said:
20. Jessica Andersson - Party Voice (2018)



Finalist – 11th place​


“there's a reason you weren't asked to use your upper register too much in the past, Jessica.”
@Apoca, 17/02/2018

I’m just saying that if Edward Blom had sent this and called it Pastry Voice, maybe he’d have been the feelgood DTF of 2018.

‘Party Voice’ was Jessan’s return to the arena of slutpop after over a decade of trying to atone for flashing her ankles with a succession of diffident ballads. And WHAT a comeback it was :disco:

For the purpose of this rate, I’m going to cheerfully ignore the vocals in the verses and instead focus on what ‘Party Voice’ does well because there’s a LOT to love here. The verses are neither here nor there anyway because this is mostly chorus, which is the greatest gift any song can give me. It’s a schlager/disco/EDM banger about going out on the piss, so it’s designed to be a floorfiller – a function it serves magnificently. As I mentioned, it goes in heavy on the chorus which begins with a clap-along segment before going full on clack-out. The final chorus is a full on ‘punch the air’ moment and my only complaint is that it doesn’t last long enough, but what’s there is an absolute joy.

Jessica wisely opts for a baggy pant to ensure even the outline of her pins isn’t visible this time around, and she achieves a sort of work’s do aesthetic which pairs well with the lyrics. The vibe of the performance is very ‘Lambrini girls just want to have fun’, which I mean as a compliment; it’s accessible, relatable and kind of makes you want to pop down the local wine lodge for last orders. Jessica is clearly enjoying every minute, too, which helps with the relatability. Everything about 'Party Voice' felt CORRECT, which meant its qualification felt even sweeter - she worked her pert tits off here and fully deserved her moment.

Party Voice is a song I never skip, and that’s high praise from someone with ADHD and the boredom threshold of a three month old Labrador. It’s one that’s just synonymous with the contest for me and represents Melodifestivalen at its best and most triumphant. Had Jessan not gone DTF with it some of that lustre may well have been lost, but that’s entirely academic because SHE DID and, in the process, she gave me one of my all-time favourite feelgood Melodifestivalen stompers.
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This remains tremendous but I stand my by 2018 statement. She had a bad cold so they had to lower the key in the finals but even without that, it sat a little too far outside of her money range too pull it off amazingly live.

But a banger is a banger is a banger.
 
19. Eclipse – Runaways (2016)



Heat 4 – 5th place​


“Eclipse should just go home, waste of a spot.”
@Haiku Rewrites, 27/02/2016

……. run.

Oh, this one’s going to be about as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit, but this is a ButterTart rate so it should have been obvious that at least one schlager rock ditty would make the upper echelons.

Runaways must count among my most played songs. Not just of Melodifestivalen or Eurovision, but ever. For a time, this was my absolute favourite of 2016 and I’ve yet to tire of it. It’s just fucking AWESOME.

The whispered ‘run’ at the beginning is an iconic Mello moment in nobody’s eyes but mine, and it sets the tone for the glorious melodrama to follow. The 80s-inspired verses give way to a riot of a chorus, a thunderous hair metal throwback which just begs to be belted out at the top of your lungs and earn you a few askance looks from other passengers on the London Northwestern. It’s my ambition to find a karaoke bar in Stockholm with sufficiently low standards to have this among its available options.

I find ‘Runaways’ EXCITING from the intro to the final note – it has a driving, purposeful rhythm and a simple but hooky riff which is compelling and urgent. Just listening to it again now for this write-up I realised how thrilling I find the whole thing. It’s such a blessing to be this easily suited, it really is.

The performance is also knockout – lead singer Erik smashes the vocal and brandishes the mic stand like a flag at one point, which is such a bit of basic showboating that it was obviously going to score big with me. GEYSERS of flame shoot from the stage every three seconds – it looks like the Piper Alpha up there for most of the song – and the whole thing is presented on a scale worthy of such IMPERIAL schlager rock.

I imagine after reading this you’re thinking ‘oh do fuck off, Butters’ but I absolutely shan’t. To me, Runaways is EASILY one of the twenty best things ever to issue forth from Melodifestivalen and this is my rate, not yours. So there.

For a good few years, this was my favourite bit of Melfest metal. Only recently has it had to surrender the crown to a very worthy successor…
 
18. Smash Into Pieces – Six Feet Under (2023)



Finalist – 3rd place​


“Why are you writing teenager music when you’re in your late thirties may I ask? GROW UP!”
@Lucille, 25/02/2023

TURN IT UP! TURN IT UP! TURN IT UP!

The reigning, defending metal God of Melodifestivalen is here. Jesus Christ, what a MOMENT this was for the contest.

Smash Into Pieces (AKA Lidköpin Park) destroyed the universe with a single live performance last year and sweet Jesus am I happy they did. This is one of those instances where the announcement of their participation alone was enough for me to get my hopes up unrealistically high, only for it to then EXCEED my every expectation. Seriously, this is a MASTERPIECE and I’ve literally only used that word for around forty other songs on the list so far.

‘Six Feet Under’ is whiny angst-metal done flawlessly. It’s like the last two decades never happened but still feels like a fresh and invigorating direction for Melodifestivalen. As with ‘Runaways’, the reason I love this is because it’s all so very exciting; the production is fucking GORGEOUS and it all builds to something truly monumental. The silence before the explosive final chorus and that power note… honestly, that’s pure catnip for me and so fucking effective – the crowd screaming to fill the void sends a shiver right down my spine. The staging is stunning, too; I couldn’t have asked for it to be presented any more perfectly than it was.

I got to see this live on my first visit to Sweden following the pandemic and it was such a beautiful moment for me; three minutes of overwrought BLISS which made the three long years of waiting to get back there entirely worth it.

This is a majestic, glans-out THUNDERCUNT of a song, which is a description I’m quite proud of after the eighty-odd times I’ve had to dig up superlatives to chuck at these songs so far. It makes me so genuinely happy that Six Feet Under was part of the contest and that it (alongside Heroes Are Calling) was so well received. I feel like this has rejuvenated the somewhat sagging rock delegation at Melodifestivalen. Smash Into Pieces cemented their legacy on the first go and I’m so hopeful that this is the start of a Tart-baiting new era for Mello.
 
17. Smilo - Weight of the World (2016)

​


Heat 3 – 5th place​

“I swear we were listening to a different song to you lot when SMILO played. I had three non-MF watchers watching for the first time ever and they thought SMILO was the worst by miles.”
@cwej, 20/02/2016


So, come along, there's a place in this world
Where love and laughter is all we've ever heard
Where freedom is something that humans deserve
Together, we carry the weight of the world

:disco: :disco:

I mean, come on… I don’t actually need to justify this one, do I? We all agree this is one of humanity’s greatest achievements and living in the same time period as it is an accomplishment we should all have on our CVs? Right? RIGHT?

‘Weight of the World’ was the 2016 entry selected by Svensktoppen nästa, which is sort of a Make-A-Wish Foundation for shit songs. It bucked the trend significantly, however, by not being shit. In fact, it was downright bloody amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever been more aggrieved by a fifth place finish than I am about this. Did we actually need Boris René in Andra Chansen more than we needed Smilo? Did we honestly?

Smilo consists of Arvid, the tiny one with very Swedish hair who basically performs the entire thing, alongside Dennis and Oscar, the two dark-haired chodes who just flail around behind the DJ deck and contribute nothing. Together, they carry the weight of the world but they’re perfectly happy to let poor Arvid carry this entire fucking song. Seriously, this whole thing rests on his shoulders and he does a great job with it - there's a genuine enthusiasm here that's so infectious and it's a shame his hard work couldn't have been rewarded by the malevolent voting public.

‘Weight of the World’ is a banger, an irrepressible bundle of positivity. It’s a song which appears on pretty much every playlist I make, whether or not it’s Eurovision-related. 2016 was a great year for me and this was the true MVP; alongside ‘Runaways’ this has been the song from that year that’s taken the biggest battering from me on Spotify. Every second of it is so optimistic and joyful – it EXUDES warmth and charisma. If any nästa winner should have made it out of its heat, it was this one; it's leagues above every other song from that competition and sits among the absolute best of 2016 in general.

I’ve spoken at length throughout this rate about how much I value songs that make me happy and ‘Weight of the World’ is the very codifier of that; it’s happiness distilled into a three minute package and I don’t think I will ever get tired of it. They're obviously not coming back to the competition ever again but their one performance has brought me no end of joy. Tack Smilo :disco:
 
16. After Dark - (Åh) När ni tar saken i egna händer (2007)

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Heat 4 – 5th place​


“After Dark is just TOO stereotypically gay to these ears.”
toyah, 24/02/2007

There are shamefully few songs out there which address the subject of DIY, so thank GOD for After Dark, who’s evidently a big believer in rolling your sleeves up and getting to grips with something no matter how hard it is. Something like this could be a bit sticky in the wrong hands but she manages to pull it off.

There are plenty of useful tips to be found here, such as ensuring you have a firm grip on the shaft of your tool when you’re handling a tricky erection, or remembering the importance of a deft finger and pressing the right button when you’re whipping up something moist in your convection oven. ‘(Åh) När ni’ is an invaluable resource for lazy DIYers who may be struggling to give a toss and…

Oh my God it’s about wanking :o

‘(Åh) När ni’ is a novelty song that has absolutely no need to be anywhere near as good as it is. Borrowing (to the point of plagiarism) from ‘Go West’, this is an energetic disco-schlager smasher which became an instant favourite for me from the moment I heard it. Seriously, they could have half-arsed this and still achieved what they set out to do; the fact that it’s such a banger is a bonus. The chorus is an all-timer for me; huge, insanely catchy and just plain FUN. The key change for the second chorus is, again, an unnecessary but hugely appreciated detail which gives the song such a feeling of SCALE. Is it any wonder I resent Gunilla when THIS was the level of effort that used to go into the off-kilter entries?

The performance is excellent, with After Dark mugging for the camera as Benny Hill-tier wanking skits play on screens next to her. There’s a riotous camp energy throughout ‘(Åh) När ni’, from the lyrics to the stage show to the commitment to making it sound as much like a big ol’ gay throwback as humanly possible, and it all just works perfectly. After Dark is having such a great time up there you'd need to be quite evil to not get a contact high from watching it.

I know ‘La Dolce Vita’ is After Dark’s legacy at Melodifestivalen but I enjoy ‘(Åh) När ni’ infinitely more. It’s big, bombastic, ridiculously enjoyable and was never in any danger of missing out on my top twenty.

Incidentally, is this the only instance of the word 'muff' being used on the Melodifestivalen stage?
 
15. Scarlet – Circus X (2024)

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AC – 4th (Would have made the final with a less cunty system)​

“What is this HOT SHIT?”
@ZenGiraffe, 24/02/2024

Madame et monsieur… LE GRAND FINALE

It’s been YEARS since a song has imprinted itself on me as quickly as ‘Circus X’. In a couple of months it’s become an all-timer, give it a few more years to bed in and I can see this challenging for the top spot in my rankings. It’s one of the greatest accomplishments of the modern contest and putting that shitty Dotter song through over it is a burden of shame Sweden must carry with them forever.

‘Circus X’ is basically Lili & Susie do Dia De Los Muertos, but somehow even more awesome than that premise sounds. It’s sort of spooky pop/rock which defies classification and deserves to be on every Halloween playlist ever made from now on. Of the many, many qualities it possesses, I think its strongest one is its sheer originality. It sounds like nothing else we’ve ever had at Melodifestivalen. In fact, it sounds like it would be more at home in the Norwegian or Finnish national finals; I’ve been saying for a while that Sweden needs to be more DARING with its song selection so ‘Circus X’ was already massively welcome before we even take the fact that it’s a tits-out gothbanger into consideration.

Yes, Scarlet fully nailed their debut and delivered something which just screams ‘perennial fan favourite’. It’s catchy, dynamic and absolutely LOADED with personality. The first part of the song is all creepy verses, insanely danceable choruses and rising drum beats and guitar stings – basically all my favourite bits of the Bible. It’s the final 30 seconds, though, which truly propel ‘Circus X’ to legend status. It’s fucking JAWDROPPING, a thunderous metal breakdown which sends the crowd audibly mental. I’m not one for random exclamations but I actually shouted when I first heard it; it’s THAT GOOD. The fact that they casually dropped in a pre-recorded cameo from Jessica Andersson just makes it even more impressive.

The performance is also SUPERB, easily the best outside of Marcus & Martinus, with the black and white intro and those weird Groot looking things prancing around. When the drop hits it all goes off, the cameraman appears to have a seizure and it just looks like the sort of million-dollar staging which couldn’t possibly fail to reach the final.

Inevitably, Scarlet crashed out in fake AC because they weren’t the most recent contenders to perform. In a proper AC, they’d have qualified and my joy would have been unconfined, so THANKS for queefing out this broken shithouse of a system this year, Mello.

This feels like the beginning for Scarlet in the contest – Circus X was far too well-received for them to be a once-and-done affair. More than anything, they’ve served up an all-time classic in their debut so they really need to come back and destroy what remains of the universe with a second live performance. If they’re staying, I’m playing :disco:
 
14. Timoteij – Kom (2010)

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Finalist – 5th place​

“Can't say I liked it. It was like the Swedish Corrs go middle eastern.”
@win_the_game, 20/02/2010

And lo, did Melodifestivalen 2010 finally achieve representation in this accursed rate.

Timoteij last appeared right at the start of this odyssey, with Stormande Hav sneaking into the ranking at number 95. While I enjoy that song, ‘Kom’ is unquestionably their big hitter. I love it so much, in fact, that it was originally in my top ten before a reshuffle to ensure @madison is enraged by as many of my top choices as possible.

Anneka Rice, Stacey Solomon, Sarah Harding and Tina O’Brien single-handedly embiggened the 2010 contest with their cromulent song. Kom is, by anyone’s estimation, an absolute Mello CLASSIC. Quite why it wasn’t chosen to represent Sweden at Eurovision that year is anyone’s guess – it was OVEN READY.

From the moment that bombastic intro hits, ‘Kom’ wants you to know it’s here, and that you’d be wise to pay attention. It doesn’t sound like anything we’ve seen in the contest before or since; it’s unique and holds up as a powerhouse of a pop song fourteen years later. It boasts one of the most immediate and memorable choruses ever to grace the contest “Cum, cum cum on his Mum, Mum, Mum Marilena Hennessey-Coyle”. Quite why Ms Hennessey-Coyle should be doused in ejaculate – or whose parent she is – are questions Timoteij never answers, but there’s no denying that’s definitely what they’re singing.

There’s a sense of grandeur and power to ‘Kom’. It could be – and perhaps once was – a more understated folk-pop number but it’s dialled up to 11 by that thumping, overwhelming drum beat and the most gloriously dramatic instrumental right before the final chorus. The melody is engaging enough without all these embellishments but by Christ do they elevate it into Godhood. This, to me, is one of those songs which is an ambassador for the contest; It's a song which just IS Melodifestivalen through and through.

I’d be surprised and sickened to find out anyone disliked ‘Kom’. When I was drawing up this ranking and I genuinely had no idea who’d end up at number one, this was one of the songs I had on my mental shortlist for the top spot. Obviously, it’s fallen slightly short but that’s no fault of the song. It was, is and ever shall be one of my all-time favourites and rightfully occupies a space in the Melodifestivalen hall of fame*.

*not the actual one, because it’s not a scriptwriter nobody’s heard of.
 
13. Anna Bergendahl - Kingdom Come (2020)

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Finalist – 3rd place​

“I know ageism is very uncool, but she seemed just a tad too OLD”
@Samanta TinAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaAAaaaA, 08/02/2020

Just as hot as Sahara
I am your gladiator

Can you see the Gloria
I am your gladiator

And if my knees are weak
I am your gladiator

Searching for the words to speak
I am your gladiator

This is how I sing ‘Kingdom Come’ and, as you’ll have noticed, the lyrics make no less sense.

The Reverend Doctor Anna B started her apology tour with ‘Ashes to Ashes’ in 2019 and completed it three years later with ‘Higher Power’. Between these, she unleashed her magnum opus, her true classic, a song with a chorus so potent I REFUSE to sing it at a socially acceptable volume.

I expected this to win in 2020 - four years on and I’m still not sure how or why it didn’t. I mean, I love The Mamas and all but this was a MOMENT. Like, a hairs standing up on the back of your neck the second the chorus hits moment. ‘Kingdom Come’ is an immense song, the only one of Dr B’s latter day trilogy to truly feel worthy of the religious symbolism that links their titles. This is a song with so many elements in the chorus alone that feel spine-tinglingly special and make you want to shout them at the top of your lungs. Seriously, how can you hit ‘on and on and on’, ‘forever’ ‘price on my head’ or ‘I’ll be winning’ when you’re singing along without wanting to go full bellow? This is a true anthem, a high point of the last few years at Melodifestivalen.

It also features some truly iconic staging. The good doctor has never looked more at home than she does here, with her vicious fringe and the bearing of a love rival for Blanche on Golden Girls who’ll end up with a plate of spaghetti dumped on her head before the episode is over. The teleporting dancers are the staging moment to end all moments – I was there at the final and I STILL don’t know where they came from. It works so well on camera and really lends a power and dynamism to the performance befitting of this showstopper of a song.

‘Kingdom Come’ was bookended by Anna entries I don’t much care for, and I really don’t get how the Hell she managed to win even a year as lacklustre as 2010. Even so, she’s so likeable I generally want to root for her and I’m so pleased she gave us this one indisputable CLASSIC. This was her redemption moment and the song which should be her legacy.

As with Timoteij, this was very seriously in the running for the win early on. That it’s not even made the top ten is a comment on how much I love everything still to come.
 
Why did she get six attractive dancers, and everyone else has to make do with the recycled stock ones?
 
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12. Star Pilots – Higher (2009)



AC – Lost to Caroline af Ugglas​


“It wouldn't have seemed out of place if they had started stripping at the end.”
@Madíson, 28/02/2009

I was OBSESSED with ‘In the Heat of the Night’ back in the late 2000s, when I was in my mid-twenties and a beacon of coolness to those around me. Imagine my excitement when, several years later, I found out Star Pilots had entered Melodifestivalen shortly after that song was released. Imagine my delight when I was told ‘Higher’ was basically a cover of ‘In the Heat of the Night’. Imagine the shaking, crying and glistening tumescence when I discovered it was somehow even BETTER than its predecessor.

Yes, ‘Higher’ is an absolute brute; a chavvy, thumping Eurobanger with the subtlety of Linda Bengtzing’s Tinder profile. It wears its 80s influences on its sleeve, going so far as to wholesale lift a line of its verse straight from ‘Eye of the Tiger’. The 80s were the decade of excess and that’s reflected here; the beat kicks in early and doesn’t let up throughout, the chorus absolutely slaps and the final third is awash with ambitious ad-libs. It’s ridiculous and fantastic fun, in studio form it’s a proper banger designed to be played loud.

The performance is what really takes ‘Higher’ to a… well, higher plane. Lead singer Johan Becker actually does a pretty good job with the vocal – I mentioned that some of the ad-libs are ambitious and it feels like everything, even the pitch, is designed as some sort of test of nerve for poor Johan. To his immense credit, he actually manages to shriek the song far better in the AC performance than he did in the heat, but he’s not the main attraction here. Johan is shoved off to the side to give the entire stage to a troupe of dancers in pilot costumes who make Tom Cruise in Top Gun look like a paragon of heterosexuality. The staging works brilliantly, giving an already full-blooded dance pop track an additional layer of dynamism with the dancers flinging themselves about and looking smug as fuck to have been given star billing over the actual singer.

As a basic white man raised on WKD and glue, ‘Higher’ ticks every possible box for me; driving beat, OTT chorus, ridiculous performance… all of the food groups. As far as straight-up Melodifestivalen bangers go, ‘Higher’ is – for me – pretty much unbeatable.
 
Loved "Higher" to bits than and still! :disco:

Dealt a bad hand in the duels in AC it got in Melodifestivalen that year, it's a shame the 12 songs Final wasn't a thing yet. Johan and his pilot friends defended it very well!
 
ButterTart said:
18. Smash Into Pieces – Six Feet Under (2023)



Finalist – 3rd place​


“Why are you writing teenager music when you’re in your late thirties may I ask? GROW UP!”
@Lucille, 25/02/2023

TURN IT UP! TURN IT UP! TURN IT UP!

The reigning, defending metal God of Melodifestivalen is here. Jesus Christ, what a MOMENT this was for the contest.

Smash Into Pieces (AKA Lidköpin Park) destroyed the universe with a single live performance last year and sweet Jesus am I happy they did. This is one of those instances where the announcement of their participation alone was enough for me to get my hopes up unrealistically high, only for it to then EXCEED my every expectation. Seriously, this is a MASTERPIECE and I’ve literally only used that word for around forty other songs on the list so far.

‘Six Feet Under’ is whiny angst-metal done flawlessly. It’s like the last two decades never happened but still feels like a fresh and invigorating direction for Melodifestivalen. As with ‘Runaways’, the reason I love this is because it’s all so very exciting; the production is fucking GORGEOUS and it all builds to something truly monumental. The silence before the explosive final chorus and that power note… honestly, that’s pure catnip for me and so fucking effective – the crowd screaming to fill the void sends a shiver right down my spine. The staging is stunning, too; I couldn’t have asked for it to be presented any more perfectly than it was.

I got to see this live on my first visit to Sweden following the pandemic and it was such a beautiful moment for me; three minutes of overwrought BLISS which made the three long years of waiting to get back there entirely worth it.

This is a majestic, glans-out THUNDERCUNT of a song, which is a description I’m quite proud of after the eighty-odd times I’ve had to dig up superlatives to chuck at these songs so far. It makes me so genuinely happy that Six Feet Under was part of the contest and that it (alongside Heroes Are Calling) was so well received. I feel like this has rejuvenated the somewhat sagging rock delegation at Melodifestivalen. Smash Into Pieces cemented their legacy on the first go and I’m so hopeful that this is the start of a Tart-baiting new era for Mello.
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Honestly - what a fucking BELTER of a pop song! :disco:
 
ButterTart said:
17. Smilo - Weight of the World (2016)



Heat 3 – 5th place​


“I swear we were listening to a different song to you lot when SMILO played. I had three non-MF watchers watching for the first time ever and they thought SMILO was the worst by miles.”
@cwej, 20/02/2016


So, come along, there's a place in this world
Where love and laughter is all we've ever heard
Where freedom is something that humans deserve
Together, we carry the weight of the world

:disco: :disco:

I mean, come on… I don’t actually need to justify this one, do I? We all agree this is one of humanity’s greatest achievements and living in the same time period as it is an accomplishment we should all have on our CVs? Right? RIGHT?

‘Weight of the World’ was the 2016 entry selected by Svensktoppen nästa, which is sort of a Make-A-Wish Foundation for shit songs. It bucked the trend significantly, however, by not being shit. In fact, it was downright bloody amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever been more aggrieved by a fifth place finish than I am about this. Did we actually need Boris René in Andra Chansen more than we needed Smilo? Did we honestly?

Smilo consists of Arvid, the tiny one with very Swedish hair who basically performs the entire thing, alongside Dennis and Oscar, the two dark-haired chodes who just flail around behind the DJ deck and contribute nothing. Together, they carry the weight of the world but they’re perfectly happy to let poor Arvid carry this entire fucking song. Seriously, this whole thing rests on his shoulders and he does a great job with it - there's a genuine enthusiasm here that's so infectious and it's a shame his hard work couldn't have been rewarded by the malevolent voting public.

‘Weight of the World’ is a banger, an irrepressible bundle of positivity. It’s a song which appears on pretty much every playlist I make, whether or not it’s Eurovision-related. 2016 was a great year for me and this was the true MVP; alongside ‘Runaways’ this has been the song from that year that’s taken the biggest battering from me on Spotify. Every second of it is so optimistic and joyful – it EXUDES warmth and charisma. If any nästa winner should have made it out of its heat, it was this one; it's leagues above every other song from that competition and sits among the absolute best of 2016 in general.

I’ve spoken at length throughout this rate about how much I value songs that make me happy and ‘Weight of the World’ is the very codifier of that; it’s happiness distilled into a three minute package and I don’t think I will ever get tired of it. They're obviously not coming back to the competition ever again but their one performance has brought me no end of joy. Tack Smilo :disco:
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The musical embodiment of Leah Betts last moments alive 😍
 
ButterTart said:
14. Timoteij – Kom (2010)



Finalist – 5th place​


“Can't say I liked it. It was like the Swedish Corrs go middle eastern.”
@win_the_game, 20/02/2010

And lo, did Melodifestivalen 2010 finally achieve representation in this accursed rate.

Timoteij last appeared right at the start of this odyssey, with Stormande Hav sneaking into the ranking at number 95. While I enjoy that song, ‘Kom’ is unquestionably their big hitter. I love it so much, in fact, that it was originally in my top ten before a reshuffle to ensure @madison is enraged by as many of my top choices as possible.

Anneka Rice, Stacey Solomon, Sarah Harding and Tina O’Brien single-handedly embiggened the 2010 contest with their cromulent song. Kom is, by anyone’s estimation, an absolute Mello CLASSIC. Quite why it wasn’t chosen to represent Sweden at Eurovision that year is anyone’s guess – it was OVEN READY.

From the moment that bombastic intro hits, ‘Kom’ wants you to know it’s here, and that you’d be wise to pay attention. It doesn’t sound like anything we’ve seen in the contest before or since; it’s unique and holds up as a powerhouse of a pop song fourteen years later. It boasts one of the most immediate and memorable choruses ever to grace the contest “Cum, cum cum on his Mum, Mum, Mum Marilena Hennessey-Coyle”. Quite why Ms Hennessey-Coyle should be doused in ejaculate – or whose parent she is – are questions Timoteij never answers, but there’s no denying that’s definitely what they’re singing.

There’s a sense of grandeur and power to ‘Kom’. It could be – and perhaps once was – a more understated folk-pop number but it’s dialled up to 11 by that thumping, overwhelming drum beat and the most gloriously dramatic instrumental right before the final chorus. The melody is engaging enough without all these embellishments but by Christ do they elevate it into Godhood. This, to me, is one of those songs which is an ambassador for the contest; It's a song which just IS Melodifestivalen through and through.

I’d be surprised and sickened to find out anyone disliked ‘Kom’. When I was drawing up this ranking and I genuinely had no idea who’d end up at number one, this was one of the songs I had on my mental shortlist for the top spot. Obviously, it’s fallen slightly short but that’s no fault of the song. It was, is and ever shall be one of my all-time favourites and rightfully occupies a space in the Melodifestivalen hall of fame*.

*not the actual one, because it’s not a scriptwriter nobody’s heard of.
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What a SULTRY FUCKING GEM!!!
 
Considering Kom is literally my ORIGIN MYTH SONG for how I first became wildly obsessed with a foreign country's pop culture light entertainment staple faintly disdained by much of its own public there, it says a lot that my most ensuring memory/association for it is @Tetris-Rock literally being rendeered UTTERLY AGOG by their first time seeing it :disco:
 
11. Sanna Nielsen – I’m in Love

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Finalist – 4th place​


“What the hell was that hair”
@Suomi, 12/02/2011

Christ, our Sanna is tall, isn’t she? Like, A Place in the Sun presenter tall. Why would she choose to pair her excessive length with such a brutal hairstyle? It makes her look like Belsen’s most aggressively lesbian aufseherin.

Beyond that minor quibble, ‘I’m in Love’ is actually flawless; easily and objectively one of the absolute best songs ever to appear at Melodifestivalen. It’s confident, assured, powerful schlager delivered by a woman fully aware of her own star quality.

‘I’m in Love’ immediately curries favour with me by treating verses as the irrelevance they are; we’re at the first line of the chorus in well under 30 seconds which is ruthless efficiency I fully endorse. And Jesus, WHAT a chorus it is – soaring and uplifting from the get-go with the titular hook designed to be a proper punch-the-air moment. It’s massive, shameless and instant – it’s a classic from the moment you hear it. Of course, it’s towards the end where the song really kicks into overdrive and leaves a trail of pulverised prostates in its wake. Leading into it with that simple piano accompaniment makes the ensuing EXPLOSION of schlager sound fucking HUGE – ‘Hero’ huge. The final choruses are the sound of triumph; what the rapture would sound like if God discovered poppers shortly before it started. ‘I’m in Love’ is Melodifestivalen being done expertly by a singer who totally gets her target audience.

Sanna looks incredibly pleased with herself during the performance, and why wouldn’t she? This was 2011 and she was up there with a song that had already booked its ticket to the final in the first thirty seconds. When she steps out of that head massager and struts her colossal frame down to the front of the stage, it feels like a proper moment (Enhanced by the crowd audibly going NUTS for her). The surprise choreo and jubilant big notes cap off an almighty showing from our Sanna – this is a statement performance and everything about it just feels big and important.

Obviously, Sanna went on to undo the sad of her multiple near-misses by winning the whole thing three years later, but I don’t think that song is worthy of being her enduring legacy at Melodifestivalen. That honour should go to ‘I’m in Love’, which is a perfect snapshot of everything the contest should be about. This was so nearly in my top ten, but 11th is still a Hell of a showing for Sanna and, I think, sufficient tribute to the iconic status of this song.
 
We've reached the TOP TEN :o

Here's the list of every song to have given me kizunguzungu throughout the rate so far:


11 Sanna Nielsen - I'm in Love 2011
12 Star Pilots - Higher 2009
13 Anna Bergendahl - Kingdom Come 2020
14 Timoteij - Kom 2010
15 Scarlet - Circus X 2024
16 After Dark - (Åh) När vi tar saken i egna händer 2007
17 Smilo - Weight of the World 2016
18 Smash Into Pieces - Six Feet Under 2023
19 Eclipse - Runaways 2016
20 Jessica Andersson - Party Voice 2018
21 Krista Siegfrids - Snurra Min Jord 2017
22 Marcus & Martinus - Air 2023
23 Linda Bengtzing - E det fel på mej 2011
24 Danny Saucedo - In the Club 2011
25 Magnus Carlson - Möt mig i Gamla Stan 2015
26 Elysion - Golden Star 2006
27 Alcazar - Stay the Night 2009
28 Lillasyster - Till Our Days Are Over 2022
29 Björn Ranelid feat. Sara Li - Mirakel 2012
30 Linda Bengtzing - Ta Mig 2014
31 Samir & Viktor - Shuffla 2018
32 Melody Club - The Hunter 2011
33 Sean Banan - Copacabanana 2013
34 Medina - In I dimman 2022
35 Wiktoria - As I Lay Me Down 2017
35 Loreen - Euphoria 2012
36 Behrang Miri ft. Victor Crone - Det rår vi inte för 2015
36 Lena Philipsson - Det Gör Ont 2004
37 Dilba - Try Again 2011
38 Charlotte Perrelli - Still Young 2021
39 Martin Stenmarck - När änglarna går hem 2014
40 Arvingarna - I Do 2019
41 Klara Hammarström - Run to the Hills 2022
42 H.E.A.T - 1000 Miles 2009
43 Arc North, Jon Henrik Fjällgren feat. Adam Woods - Where You Are 2023
43 Eric Saade - Popular 2011
44 SaRaha - Kizunguzungu 2016
45 Samir & Viktor - Bada Nakna 2016
46 De Vet Du - Road Trip 2017
47 Rickard Engfors feat. Katarina Fallholm - Ready For Me 2005
48 Shirley Clamp - Burning Alive 2014
49 Maria Sur - When I'm Gone 2024
50 Oscar Enestad - I Love It 2019
51 BWO - Lay Your Love On Me 2008
52 Oscar Zia - Human 2016
53 Mimi Werner - Songburning 2018
54 Elisa Lindström - Forever Yours 2024
54 Fame - Give Me Your Love 2003
55 Eric Saade - Sting 2015
56 Måns Zelmerlöw - Cara mia 2007
57 Isa - I Will Wait 2016
58 Tennessee Tears - Now I Know 2023
58 Malena Ernman - La Voix 2009
59 Jessica Andersson - Kalla nätter 2006
60 Drängarna - Piga och dräng 2020
60 Marcus & Martinus - Unforgettable 2024
61 Sanna Nielsen - Vågar du, vågar jag 2007
62 Kristin Amparo - I See You 2015
63 Panetoz - On My Way 2023
64 Medina - Que Sera 2024
65 Kamferdrops - Solen lever kvar hos dig 2018
66 Linda Bengtzing - Jag ljuger så bra 2006
67 Pagan Fury - Stormbringer 2019
68 Hanna Lindblad - Goosebumps 2012
69 Ralf Gyllenhammar - Bed on Fire 2013
70 Sarek - Genom eld och vatten 2003
71 Anniela - Elektrisk 2011
72 Roger Pontare - Himmel och hav 2017
73 Anton Ewald - Begging 2013
74 Smash Into Pieces - Heroes Are Calling 2024
75 Dolly Style - Hello Hi 2015
76 Theoz - Mer av dig 2023
77 Martin - Du och jag (i hela världen) 2002
78 Samir & Viktor - Groupie 2015
79 Arja Saijonmaa - Vad du än trodde så trodde du fel 2005
80 Mimi Oh - Det går för långsamt 2012
81 Molly Sandén - Why Am I Crying? 2012
82 Jan Malmsjö - Leva livet 2019
83 Erik Segerstedt & Toni Damli – Hello Goodbye 2013
83 Carola - Evighet 2006
84 Katrina and the Nameless - As If Tomorrow Will Never Come 2005
85 Dinah Nah - Make Me (La La La) 2015
86 Felicia Olsson - Break That Chain 2018
87 Sara Lumholdt – Enemy 2011
88 Shirley Clamp - Att älska dig 2005
89 Clara Klingenström Behöver inte dig idag 2021
90 Eden - Comfortable 2023
91 LIAMOO - Bluffin 2022
92 Jon Henrik Fjällgren - Jag är fri (Manne Leam Frijje) 2015
93 Molly Sandén - Youniverse 2016
94 Emil Henrohn - Mera mera mera 2023
95 Timoteij - Stormande Hav 2012
96 Petra Nielsen – Tango! Tango! 2004
96 The Mamas - Move 2020
97 Brandsta City Släckers – Kom Och Ta Mig 2002
98 Michael Feiner & Caisa - We're Still Kids 2013
99 B-Boys International feat. Paul M - One Step Closer 2005
100 Elecktra - Banne maj 2024
101 Martin Almgren – A Bitter Lullaby 2018
102 Eddie Razaz - Alibi 2013
103 Fröken Snusk - Unga & fria 2024
104 EMD - Baby Goodbye 2009
105 Kikki, Bettan & Lotta - Vem é dé du vill ha 2002
106 Sonya - Etymon 2006
107 Danny Saucedo - Happy That You Found Me 2024
108 Alvaro Estrella - Bailá Bailá 2021
109 Evan - Under Your Spell 2006
110 Lisa Miskovsky - Why Start a Fire? 2012

Years represented:

2002: 3
2003: 2
2004: 2
2005: 5
2006: 6
2007: 3
2008: 1
2009: 5
2010: 1
2011: 8
2012: 7
2013: 6
2014: 3
2015: 8
2016: 7
2017: 4
2018: 6
2019: 4
2020: 3
2021: 3
2022: 4
2023: 8
2024: 9
 
And as a special treat, here are the years represented in the top ten (there may be some winners bumping up the numbers, too)

2005
2006
2008
2009
2011
2012
2020
2022

GUESSES PLEASE!
 
2005 - Håll Om Mig
2006 - Night of Passion
2008 - Hero
2009 - Stay the Night
2011 - Popular
2012 - Euphoria, Shout it Out :zombie:
2020 - Vem e som oss, Late
2022 - In i Dimman
 
2005 - Pay TV “Refrain, Refrain”, Arja Saijonmaa “Vad du än trodde så trodde du fel” (again)
2006 - Pandang “Kuddkrig”
2008 - Frida and Headline “Upp o hoppa”
2009 - Jonathan Fagerlund “Welcome To My Life”, Skogslegenderna “Mystiska skogen”
2011 - Babsan “Ge mig en spanjor”
2012 - The Moniker “I Want to Be Chris Isaak (This Is Just the Beginning)”
2020 - Nanne Grönvall “Carpool Karaoke”
2022 - THEOZ “Som du vill”
 
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ButterTart said:
And as a special treat, here are the years represented in the top ten (there may be some winners bumping up the numbers, too)

2005
2006
2008
2009
2011
2012
2020
2022

GUESSES PLEASE!
Click to expand...
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