will be involved. “It’s not just frivolous,
either,” says David Landes. “There’s been
a lot of talk about how they brought in an
international jury for the Melo final, to add
to the telephone voting from viewers – the
idea was to get a candidate that would do
well at Eurovision. It’s taken seriously.”
As it turned out this year, Yohio won
more votes from the public, but Stjernberg
edged the final vote because of the
international jury – the idea presumably
being that a wholesome young man would
do better at the Eurovision final than a
lachrymose boy dressed as a girl. For the
record, Stjernberg also beat out the ice
hockey-playing David Lindgren, a curious
hybrid of crooner and boyband member,
and Louise Hoffsten’s bizarrely-titled song,
Only The Dead Fish Follow the Stream
.
As to why Sweden is so big on all things
Melo and Eurovision, Landes has a few
ideas. “I think the fascination really started
with Abba.”
Waterloo
is the bestselling
song ever to come out of Eurovision (more
than six million copies sold) and launched
the band’s international career. “There’s
always this feeling that the latest act might
just be the next Abba,” he continues. “More
than that, even though Sweden punches
well above its weight in a lot of ways, there
is just this sense of pride when it does well
at Eurovision.”
Perhaps that’s down to Sweden’s
singing culture, with more than 600,000
Swedes performing regularly in a choir.
“
My wife and her mother both sing in
choirs,” says Landes. “It’s just something a
lot of people do, and if you’re into singing,
you’re more likely to get excited about a
singing contest.”
Landes notes that many of Sweden’s
music acts “actively distance themselves
from Eurovision association”, even
if Melodifestivalen songs inevitably
dominate the Swedish charts. On 1 March,
“
There’s always this feeling
that the latest act might just
be the next Abba”
Charlotte Perelli (née
Nilsson), won in 1999, and
came 18th in 2008. She
has also been a TV host,
written fitness books and
played Eva Peron in
Evita
Robin Stjernberg, this year’s
Swedish Eurovision entry. He
used to be in boyband What’s
Up! with Eric Saade, who came
third in the 2011 Eurovision
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