🇸🇪 Sneak Peek: Melodifestivalen 2022 Heat Three

Image Credit: SVT // Melodifestivalen // Janne Danielsson

We’re already halfway through the heats for Melodifestivalen, with the third one taking place on Saturday, February 19th. Another 7 artists will be showcasing their entries in full during the show with a hope to reach the Grand Final in 3 weeks time.

Last week, we saw 4 more acts make it through the heat. These were:

Direct Finalists: LIAMOO– ‘Bluffin and John Lundvik – ‘Änglavakt’

Semi-Final 5: Alvaro Estrella – ‘Suave’ and Tone Sekelius – ‘My Way’

Here are all of Heat 3’s contestants:

Cazzi Opeia – ‘I Can’t Get Enough’

Cazzi Opeia makes her debut in Melodifestivalen as an artist with ‘I Can’t Get Enough’. Her style is Pop/EDM, and she’s been on the music scene since 2009. You may have heard her name if you’re a fan of K-Pop – she is a regular writer for bands such as Enhyphen, TXT and Red Velvet.

Her song is very pop-oriented and probably could fit easily into any Melodifestivalen of the last 5 or 6 years. The staging is mainly pink and blue and often resembles the sky. It’s a good opener although is a little repetitive at times. You can listen to part of it here.

Image Credit: SVT // Melodifestivalen // Annika Berglund

Lancelot – ‘Lyckligt Slut’

Lancelot also makes his debut in the contest and introduces himself to Sweden on their biggest music platform as a solo artist. Lancelot is a member of the band Lance and Linton, who has been on the rise since 2019. They’re best known for tracks such as ‘Sunshine’ and ‘Best Times Right Now’. Outside of the group, Lancelot’s music is a world away from the dance, energy-filled songs they create – it’s more mellow and acoustic.

‘Lyckligt Slut’ is exactly as described above – mellow and acoustic. Staging wise, think about Samira Manners’ Heat 2 performance, and then make all the people male. It’s cute, and will probably get the teen girls to vote. You can hear part of his song here.

Image Credit: SVT // Melodifestivalen // Annika Berglund

Lisa Miskovsky – ‘Best To Come’

After 10 years away, Lisa Miskovsky returns to Melodifestivalen with her self written song ‘Best To Come’. All the way back in 2012, her song ‘Why Start A Fire’ qualified directly to the final, eventually placing 9th overall. She’s back in 2022 and hoping to achieve a similar run of results.

Her staging tells a story, which fits the vibe of the song perfectly. This does make me wonder why they decided to put it directly after Lancelot, as they do cancel each other out – a band on stage with gold lighting, with a singer playing the guitar to a ballad track. This song does have potential and may make it through. You can hear some of it here.

Image Credit: SVT // Melodifestivalen // Annika Berglund

Tribe Friday – ‘Shut Me Up’

Tribe Friday are an Indie Rock group made up of Noah Deutschmann, Isak Gunnarsson and Robin Hanberger Pérez. They’re currently working on their debut album, and Melodifestivalen is a great way for them to step out and showcase their music to not only a national but also international audience They’ve seen success in Sweden and Germany, and have aims to expand worldwide.

‘Shut Me Up’ is a refreshing part of the lineup after two ballads, and has a good staging concept. If you’re looking for Brit-Pop infused music in 2022, this will be for you. It wouldn’t be out of place in a national final in the early 2000’s, but it’s dynamic and almost nostalgic. You can listen to some of it here.

Image Credit: SVT // Melodifestivalen // Annika Berglund

Faith Kakembo – ‘Freedom’

Faith Kakembo makes her return to Melfest after 2 years away. In 2020, she just missed out on a chance of qualifying, placing 5th in her heat with ‘Crying Rivers’. Now, she’ll be looking ahead to making at least semi-final 5, which may be possible in such a wide-open heat.

‘Freedom’ is a strong ballad and Faith carries it very well. She looks incredible, and the staging is perfect for this style. This should get through. It’s a lot better than ‘Crying Rivers’, and the performance is stronger too. You can hear some of Faiths song here.

Image Credit: SVT // Melodifestivalen // Annika Berglund

Linda Bengtzing – ‘Fyrfaldigt Hurra!’

If we want to talk about Melodifestivalen veterans, then we cannot have that conversation without mentioning Linda Bengtzing. For 3 decades (2000’s, 2010s and 2020’s), she has had at least two entries into the contest.

Her first appearance was all the way back in 2005, and she’s now back for an eighth attempt at the trophy. Linda’s best result came in 2008 with ‘Hur svårt kan det va?’, which placed 5th in the final. In recent years she’s not made it out of the heat but it clearly doesn’t phase her. Will ‘Fyrfaldigt Hurra!’ be her ticket to the final?

Her song is Schlager, and she makes her way through the audience at one point. She finally hits the main stage at the end of the performance and really gives it her all. You can hear some of it here.

Image Credit: SVT // Melodifestivalen // Annika Berglund

Anders Bagge – ‘Bigger Than The Universe’

It’s hard to believe Anders Bagge will be stepping onto the Melfest stage for the very first time. He’s a well-respected music writer and producer and is well known to Swedish audiences as a former judge on Idol. He’s written and produced songs for the likes of Janet Jackson, Celine Dion, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias.

He’s also had involvement with Eurovision before, being behind two entries from Azerbaijan – ‘Drip Drop’ in 2010 and ‘When The Music Dies’ in 2012. He now looks to be the lead artist for Sweden in Turin in 2022.

‘Bigger Than The Universe’ is lyrically very straightforward – promoting hope and coming together. Anders has a fantastic voice and I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw this go through. It is one of the strongest songs in the heat and a great choice to close the show. You can hear some of his song here.

Image Credit: SVT // Melodifestivalen // Annika Berglund

This week’s first interval is performed by the co-host, Johanna Nordström. For the second interval, Oscar Zia gives an orchestral performance of his 2016 Melodifestivalen entry and runner up ‘Human’. Last week, Oscar was joined by Eva Rydberg. The pair did their own interval of ‘All That Jazz’, and she was joined earlier in the show by Ewa Roos to sing their 2021 entry ‘Rena Rama Ding Dong’ in multiple different languages.

You can watch Heat 3 of Melodifestivalen here: SVT

Which songs are you excited to hear in full? Have you already got a favourite? Be sure to let us know!