Melodifestivalen 2012: Heat Three

Back again for round three! The song previews haven't gotten me particularly excited, but I'm willing (and hoping) to be surprised.

No crazy boyband intro this week... sad. Instead we get a pronunciation lesson/song? Is that what I'm seeing??

Mattias, Andreas and Molly seem to have won the audience applause before the performances start. I wonder if that will translate into votes.

YOUNGBLOOD: If they get through, it won't be because of the song (or the singing). I just think this is a missed opportunity for something that could have been really good. As is, it's just average. And what the hell is a "youngblood love"? Is it similar to a "manboy"? Kempe's just making up his own language.

MARIA: That noise she made in her intro video was scary! I wish I could drum up any kind of reaction to her song, though. I guess I like the candles? I think this might just win for most boring 2012 MF entry so far.

MATTIAS: Okay, so I said this sounded intriguing yesterday when I heard the clip. It's not quite what I hoped it would be, but it's still my favorite so far and it think he might easily steal Youngblood's votes.

LOVE GENERATION: Those are quite the outfits they've got. I like the verses much better than the chorus, but this is still better than I'd expected. I have a real hard time warming up to these girls for some reason. They just seem so generic. That said, this song is better than last year's. Performance still needs some work, though.

CAROLINA: She's got a Robyn haircut! I actually don't hate this. I know a lot of people would disagree, but I've just got a feeling that this is making top 5, if not further. I could be completely wrong, but the staging is good (and simple), she has a nice voice, and the song is pleasant.

ANDREAS: He's a MF veteran, which explains why he's got the best song this week. That's kind of a sad realization, because it's not like this is a future classic or anything. It's hard not to see this going through, though.

MOLLY: She kind of looks like Miley Cyrus. This isn't really my thing, but I think it'll get the most votes today. She's loved, the lyrics are personal/emotional, and it's a nice ballad with simple, effective staging.

BJORN: This is a weird one. I don't see how it would work outside of Sweden, as the understanding of the spoken bits has to be at least somewhat important to enjoying the song (I'd imagine). I do feel like I'm attending some weird faith-healing church or something, but I like how odd this is. In fact, it could wind up being my favorite of the week. He's gotta stop with the clapping, though.

MY PREDICTIONS: This is a really hard one to call, and not because there are a lot of strong entries. Most of them are equally mediocre, actually. I'm thinking the top five will be Molly, Andreas, Bjorn, Mattias and Carolina, though either group could sneak in I suppose.
TO FINAL: Molly and Andreas
ANDRA CHANSEN: Mattias and Bjorn
(though I'm not particularly confident in these!)

TOP FIVE: Andreas, Mattias, Molly, Youngblood and Bjorn
I'm really shocked that Youngblood got through with that dire song. Not too surprised with LG getting 6th. I think I speak for most in saying that they just aren't breaking through, personality-wise.

**If Youngblood get kicked out, not only will my prediction be right, but I'll be happy with the results.

**Best track (besides Loreen, obviously) out of those older "losers" they're showing? ... Christian Walz "Like Suicide" - underrated, for sure.

**This interval act is just weird. I've never heard the original track, though. It was from the year before I started following MF. I'll have to check it out.

**First through to the final - Molly. As predicted. At least we've got another girl in the final.

**More results - Youngblood and Andreas to Andra Chansen (that's surprising on both!) and Bjorn to the final. I'm a bit surprised that Mattias didn't get through (as were the audience... I half expected boos), but his song wasn't that great. Of course, Youngblood's track was downright bad, and they still got through over him, despite being mostly unknowns. Weird.

**Can I say that I'm actually happy that Mirakel got through to the final? Not embarrassed by that at all. The audience seems pissed, though.