Melodifestivalen Heat Four: Preliminary Judgement

I have my preliminary judgement a day earlier, since SVT seems to be putting up the MF clips farther in advance. The quality of last week's entries was quite good, but the voting wasn't. Up to this point, I just don't see a viable winner. Will that change this week? Let's see!

(Listen to clips here)

Army Of Lovers - Rockin' The Ride
This sounds like a lot of fun--exactly what I would have expected. It reminds me more of Alcazar than Army Of Lovers, but this is definitely a good thing. Exactly the kind of Euro-cheese that this competition has been sorely missing this year. I don't hear a lot of melody (yet), but I can't wait for the full version. 4.5/5

Lucia Pinera - Must Be Love
Oh, jeez. It's yet another Adele/Duffy/Amy Winehouse rip-off. I'm so sick of this style of music, and I think others are starting to feel the same way. This feels pretty damn subpar. Not offensively bad--just very boring and expected.  2/5

Robin Stjernberg - You
If voters want to go for a soft-rock type of song, this is what they should go for instead of that boring State of Drama track last week. His vocals sound bad in this clip, but I like the anthemic production and (I think) I like the sound of the melody. Too hard to tell based on this clip. 3.5/5

Sylvia Vrethammar - Trivialitet (Triviality)
She's bound to get a bump from appearing on Sa Mycket Battre. Hell, I'm interested precisely because of her time on that show. I can't wait to see her, mostly because she makes me laugh, but this song is pretty much as expected. Jazzy and kind of boring. Love her... not sure about the song. 2.5/5

Ralf Gyllenhammar - Bed On Fire
Based on the voting so far this year, I wouldn't be surprised to see this go through. It's not really my thing, yet I like the drama of the song. It sounds like the type that builds up, rather than hit you right out of the gate. I'm gonna be cautiously optimistic. As far as rock goes, at least it sounds a bit different. 3.5/5

Behrang Miri - Jalla Dansa Salwa (Come On And Dance)
We haven't had much rap so far this year, and here we go. Unfortunately, it's just not the kind of rap I'm really fond of. The hook sounds alright, but everything in between is just kind of filler. I fear that this will make it through, though. 3/5

Terese Fredenwall - Breaking The Silence
A palate-cleansing ballad after that rap track. It's pleasant and boring, like a less-interesting version of Lisa Miskovsky's entry last year. If it wasn't for the Dead Fish song, this might have a better chance, but this sounds too similar and not as good. 2.5/5

Ulrik Munther - Tell The World I'm Here
Now, here we might finally have a winner. Not only does it sound like the most melodic track this week (though I'm guessing the clip we get here isn't really doing it much justice), but the epic anthem nature of the song, combined with Ulrik's popularity, could seal the deal. I hope voters don't become complacent, because I'm guessing this will end up as a worthy winner, especially in a weaker year. 4.5/5

It sounds to be an okay heat, with a couple of clear standouts (AoL and Ulrik). I'm going to guess that Ulrik and Ralf go through, with AoL, Behrang, Robin and Sylvia duking it out for Andra Chansen. If I could vote, at this point it would definitely be Ulrik and AoL!!

Don't forget, I'll be live-blogging the heat Saturday morning right here!