You're my song and dance

And it's off! No technical problems yet...here's hoping that keeps up.

Edit: Magnus: started off not as good as I was expecting--less boppy and fun--but the middle part is still lots of fun, and it picked up after that. Plus, he had his name illuminated in lights behind him!

Edit: whoever styled Emile tonight made him look better than he did in the promo shots (but then that red shirt he was wearing in those was not good at all, so practically anything would've been better); I hope the same is true for Sanna. His song is still cute, but live it loses some of its smoothness and slickness, and as a result, some of its cuteness. Nothing special. It reminds me of someone, though--some R&B singer I can't place and maybe a little pre-recent albums Antti Tuisku.

Edit: ...and, halfway through Sanna's performance, my Windows Media Player feed dies...Real Player is working, but I missed the end.

Edit: and now Real Player is messing up, but at least it's just Caroline af Ugglas I'm missing.

Edit: but now I'm missing After Dark, and that is something I'm upset about. Just listening on the radio won't get it across...

Edit: WM started working again in time for me to see the last minute or so of After Dark...it looked great, and really fun, but I missed all the outfit changes!

Edit: I like the sound of Sarah's voice less live than on the recording. It is a nice ballad, but I fear it knocking out something I really want to go through.

Edit: Verona's outfit isn't what I was expecting; it's brighter and more go-go than I would've thought. Her performance does make me like the song more, though I'm not sure why. And she has her name in lights behind her, too--have they all had it and I just didn't notice?

Edit: Andreas starts standing in the audience...and what is he wearing? He is shiny from head to toe! I do not dislike his song, but I think I might like it more if Sebastian was singing it.

Edit: top 5: Magnus, After Dark, Andreas, Sanna (yay!)...I predict Sarah for the last slot...yup, and Sarah.

Edit: wow, does "Dolce Vita" sound different sung this way! It's all dark and corporate. I still wish I could understand Swedish so I could understand this musical.

Edit: I've lost the picture, though I've still got audio...

Edit: picture back. I'm sure this is fascinating reading.

Edit: Sarah to the final...I'm sort of surprised she beat Magnus (Andreas must surely be in the final, too), but I was afraid this would happen. It was a moving performance. Now, though, Magnus will probably be in the second chance, leaving After Dark and Sanna to fight it out for the other second chance spot. Uh-oh...

Edit: continuing to think, I can see a lot of people liking this song (Sarah's)--it's grown on me--and I can see it doing well, but it's not making the final very exciting, is it?

Edit: yup, Magnus to the second chance...c'mon, Sanna!

Edit: yay! Sanna to the second chance round!

Edit: no surprise there...Andreas to the final, leaving After Dark out of the competition. It's a shame they're out...I didn't get to see the whole performance, but it looked great based on the end of it, and the song was so fun. I'm incredibly relieved Sanna's still in it, though.

Edit: so, in terms of the semifinals, this means Jessica Andersson is facing Elin Lanto, Jimmy Jansson is facing Sanna Nielsen, Uno and Irma are facing Sonja Alden, and Nanne is facing Magnus Uggla, with the winners of each of the first two pairs then facing off and the winners of the latter two pairs facing off. The finals include (in no particular order) Tommy Nilsson, Anna Book, the Ark, Marie Lindberg, Sebastian, Mans Zelmerlow, Sarah Dawn Finer, and Andreas Johnson, as well as the top two from the second chance round. I don't know how the show's format works for the second chance round, though--does anyone?

Next up: I'm thinking about something else Melodifestivalen-related, though there are no new contestants to preview. Possibly an American singer, though.