Time is ticking

There are a bunch of things in the music world that need to be discussed--the new Britney album, some new Eurovision songs, finally having the studio version of Danny's "Catch Me If You Can"--but with the Melodifestival final starting in less than two hours, Sweden's national selection for Eurovision has to take priority.

Half the time I don't know what I truly feel about any given entry until I have a gut reaction to how it ends up ranked. As of right now, though, I'd be happiest with a Danny win. I have a rising concern about the Moniker, though, and I'd certainly rather see Eric Saade take it instead of him.

In terms of solely my personal preferences--ignoring the odds of any of this actually happening--I'd be most pleased by a victory for Danny (in my top three favorite songs for this year as well as my favorite song and my favorite performance package of the entries remaining), Eric (there's still a missing ingredient for me, I'm frustrated that better similar entries in past years have been rejected and this one might win, and in the unlikely event that Danny should end up seriously challenging him the detachment I feel from Eric's entry would intensify, but when the song and presentation are taken together it's tough to deny that it averages out to be one of the night's best entries), Swingfly (a messy on-stage presentation, but the song is a lot of fun and gives me that rush of joy I wish I got from "Popular," even if I'm not sure that it's actually better in the long run), or Linda Bengtzing (she's had better songs and better performances but I love her and her infectious enthusiasm and enjoy "E det fel på mig"). I'd be fine with Brolle winning as well. After that, my enthusiasm would drop off precipitously, but it wouldn't feel like the end of the world if Sara Varga won. Despite its great production and great singer (though, truth be told, she's using a side of her voice here that I don't hugely enjoy), Sanna's song still leaves me cold. I like "The King" a good bit (yes, really) but feel like the Playtones' performance is a black hole for charisma. Any of the aforementioned choices would be better than the remaining two, though; Nicke Borg or the Moniker winning would leave me distraught.

Still, we should be in for a great show. Though songs I loved were lost along the way to Globen, I'm actually pretty happy with the line-up we'll be facing. Yes, two of the songs that would have made the best impression internationally were lost in Andra Chansen last week, but this year's final nevertheless includes mostly enjoyable songs that, even if they wouldn't make for great Eurovision entries, make for great entertainment.