Tim: Two nights ago, I got a tad intoxicated as Sweden put on the strongest Melodifestivalen final I can remember, so I think it’s only fair we dedicate a week to it, and let’s start with the winner.
Tom: Now, normally I stay away from hearing Eurovision songs until the actual contest itself — I’m assuming there’s something particularly special about this year’s?
Tim: Well, last year saw the closest win in the show’s history; this year, we had the biggest win, with Måns taking over a third of the televotes and top marks from 11 of the 13 international juries.
Tim: And that there is a potential Eurovision winner. A fantastic song, sung by a good-looking guy with a great voice, and what I think is the most novel staging I’ve ever seen.
Tom: Oh my stars, the Melodifestivalen crew have discovered projection mapping. That is incredibly difficult to pull off live – it won’t have looked nearly as good in person, but that doesn’t matter one bit.
Tim: The perfect syncing is impressive in itself, and anybody even slightly tipsy might find it hard not to get emotional at the friendship on display. Slight shame his trousers are too tight for him to put his light back in his pocket, but I guess we can’t have everything, and the quite frankly “how the hell did that happen???” camera shot starting at 2:25 makes up for it as far as I’m concerned.
Tom: And let’s actually talk about the music here: that sounds like a good Robbie Williams track. Maybe not a “Let Me Entertain You”, but certainly at least a “Bodies”. You’re right: it might just be a winner.
Tim: In fact, as far as I’m concerned right now, we really are the HEROES OF OUR TIME, and I’ll be amazed if this doesn’t do brilliantly in Vienna.