The Heat 3 Rehearsals for Melodifestivalen 2024 are underway!
Phoenix has been given accreditation for this year’s Melodifestivalen by SVT, meaning we can bring you all the information you need about this year’s rehearsals!
Here are our thoughts on what we’ve seen from the Heat 2 rehearsals so far…
You can read all about the artists competing by clicking here – 🇸🇪 Sneak Peek: Melodifestivalen 2024 Heat 3
Jacqline – ‘Effortless’
‘Effortless’ is definitely an example of Swedish Pop at its best in Melfest, and is a great debut for Jacqline. It’s a very slick performance – instantly giving vibes of something you’d see at an awards show. She begins alone on stage on a rectangular frame, which is above the ground, lowering so she can be joined by her dancers for the first chorus onwards. During the second chorus, she lies down on the floor, which has a strip red of LED running across the stage, for some overhead camera shots, before making her way back towards the rectangle frame for the final chorus, which rises back up from the floor. There’s a lot of choreography involved in this one, and each run-through was an improvement on the last in both this area and vocally. Friday saw more energy, more confidence and some cleaner camera cuts – making this a great opener to the third heat. This is a definite contender and could see Jacqline becoming the first non-returnee to make it to the Melfest final so far this year.
Clara Klingenström
Clara’s performance is very simple – she’s central with a guitar, standing in front of a theatre-like structure that has red, gold and green lighting projecting behind it. This lighting pulsates during the bridge – where she gets rid of the guitar and bends down to the ground before moving towards the front of the stage to sing the last section of the chorus. The magic of ‘Aldrig Mer’ is Clara’s captivating vocals and authenticity as an artist – this feels more “Melfest” compared to her last entry ‘Behöver inte dig idag’, but fans of this indie-style Swedish music will love this one!
Kim Cesarion
Beginning alone on a dark stage with white lighting, Kim Cesarion is joined by four dancers during the pre-chorus, whom he does some choreography with as the chorus hits. During the chorus, the LED screens turn a mixture of pink and orange, and he’s joined by backing singers who remain on stage for the rest of his performance. It’s clear to see Kim is an established artist from his stage presence and good live vocal abilities, and whilst ‘Take My Breath Away’ is a step away from his most well-known work, it’s a great song to debut with for Melfest. Friday night’s show run-through was his best performance yet, and he came out with more confidence than we’d seen in the rehearsals.
Klaudy – ‘För dig’
‘För dig’ is a very gentle song, and whilst in the past songs like this have seemed a little difficult to stage it isn’t the case here. Klaudy stands on an island of greenery made up of moss and grass, with the LED floor swirling around it to create a water-like effect. The rest of the stage is dark, with a few white lights behind him and some smoke, allowing the main focus to be on Klaudy. The LED floor expands to fill the entire stage, including the LED screens at the back for the final chorus, helping to create a final, lasting impact for the viewer. He had the strongest vocal of the heat over both Thursday and Friday’s run-throughs, leaving a great lasting impression.
Gunilla Persson – ‘I Won’t Shake (La La Gunilla)’
Gunilla stands on a platform with 4 dancers dressed as cowboys surrounding her. The LED shows a blue and pink desert scene. She moves off the platform for the second half of the song, before returning for the last section. The dancers are doing most of the work here, but don’t distract from the song nor Gunilla herself. There are people out there who will like this song – it’s extremely catchy. That reality-star personality shone through during the show run-through on Friday night, where she danced along to the music at sections, and looked like she was having a great time. There’s also a lot of pyro at the end, really selling the final section of ‘I Won’t Shake (La La Gunilla)‘. We cannot understate how well-known she is in Sweden, which has drummed up a lot of press and attention which she has taken in her stride. Gunilla may surprise you with her result on Saturday night!
Cazzi Opeia – ‘Give My Heart a Break’
Cazzi Opeia begins ‘Give My Heart A Break’ by sitting in a keyhole, which is decorated with flowers. There are some on-screen effects as she interacts with the camera whilst making her way out of the keyhole and towards centre stage. During the chorus, she is joined by four dancers, with a flower appearing on the LED floor as soon as the beat hits. This then grows into a vine, which she walks along during her second verse, and the LED screen in the back shows Jellyfish, which remains until the final chorus, where it changes to pulsating pink and yellow hearts. She does some simple choreo in the bridge section before things slow down ahead of that big, final chorus. The lighting is mainly green and blue, with hints of pink here and there. A lot is going on visually here, so make sure your eyes are glued to the screen during this performance on Saturday! They improved the camera angles on Friday so we can see everything that’s going on during the performance. This got one of the best responses during the show run-through from the audience, which may put her in a great position to qualify on Saturday night.
Thank you to SVT, Melodifestivalen & Stina Stjernkvist for all of the images from this week’s rehearsals, and thank you to SVT for our accreditation for the show!
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