Melodifestivalen 2008

Melodifestivalen 2008 was the 47th Melodifestivalen, and the selection process for the 48th song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. A new rule—Lex Agnes—went into effect in 2008 calling for each submitted entry to include a document containing all information relevant to the song. It was named after Agnes Carlsson, who was disqualified from the 2007 competition for publicly revealing details of her song before the deadline.[1]

Melodifestivalen 2008
Dates
Semi-final9 February 2008
16 February 2008
23 February 2008
1 March 2008
Second chance8 March 2008
Grand final15 March 2008
VenueGlobe Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
Presenter(s)Kristian Luuk
Interval actMelodifestivalen musical
Websitesvt.se/melodifestivalen/
Participants
Number of entries32: 8 in each semi-final; 10 in the final (2 from each semi-final, 2 from the Second Chance round.)
Vote
Voting system50% Jury, 50% SMS and telephone voting
11 juries give 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 points to their seven favourite songs.
People can vote by televote or SMS. Televoting gives 11, 22, 44, 66, 88, 110 and 132 points to the seven most popular songs.
Winning song"Hero" by Charlotte Perrelli
Björn Gustavsson performed interval performances at all the semifinals, and the final.

Format

Melodifestivalen 2008 included 32 songs split up into four semi-finals with eight participants in each. The semi-finals were held between 9 February and 1 March 2008 and at each, the two top placing songs went to the final, while the third and fourth place songs went to the Andra Chansen (Second Chance Round). At the Andra Chansen, held on 8 March 2008, the eight songs paired off in two rounds with the two winners at the end of the night qualifying for the final. The final was held on 15 March 2008 and included the eight songs from the semi-finals along with the two from the Andra Chansen to make ten songs in all. The winner and selected entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest was then chosen by (insert voting process here).

It was hosted by Kristian Luuk, who also hosted the 2007 event.[2] Luuk was assisted by Björn Gustafsson and Nour El-Refai.

Preselection

The deadline for the submission of songs was 25 September 2007, and 3,434 songs were submitted, a new record.[3][4] The titles and composers of the 28 semifinalists (excluding the wildcards) were announced on 10 and 11 December 2007.[5] The wildcards were announced in January 2008.[6]

Schedule
DateCityVenueNotes
9 FebruaryGothenburgScandinaviumSemifinal 1
16 FebruaryVästeråsABB Arena NordSemifinal 2
23 FebruaryLinköpingCloetta CenterSemifinal 3
1 MarchKarlskronaTelenor ArenaSemifinal 4
8 MarchKirunaArena ArcticaSecond Chance
15 MarchStockholmGlobenFinal

Semi-finals

The semifinals for Melodifestivalen 2008 began on 9 February 2008. There were five semifinals in Gothenburg, Västerås, Linköping, Karlskrona and Kiruna (Andra Chansen) leading up to the final at the Globen on 15 March 2008. Nearly four million votes were cast in total, raising over 5.7 million kronor (€605,000) for charity.

In the four semi-finals, the top two songs of the eight competing went directly through to the final. The third and fourth-placed songs went to the Andra Chansen round. Two rounds of televoting selected the qualifiers, the first round selectiong the top five songs with the second round choosing the two finalists and two songs to go to the Andra Chansen round.

Semi-final 1

The first semi-final of Melodifestivalen was held at the Scandinavium in Gothenburg on 9 February 2008. Eight songs in total competed, seven songs which had been submitted to SVT, along with one of the four wildcards.

The two songs that progressed automatically to the final were "Thank You" by Amy Diamond, the wildcard, and "I Love Europe" by Christer Sjögren. The two songs that passed to the Andra Chansen round were "Line of Fire" by E-Type & The Poodles and "Visst finns mirakel" by Suzzie Tapper.

Draw Artist Song (English translation) Songwriter(s) Votes Place Result
Round 1 Round 2 Total
1 E-Type & The Poodles "Line of Fire" Martin Eriksson (m & l), Jakob Samuelsson (m & l) 46,333 56,105 102,438 3 Second Chance
2 Face-84 "Alla gamla x" (All the old x's) Lars Diedricson (m), Martin Hedström (m), Wille Crafoord (l) 13,626 — 13,626 8 Out
3 Velvet "Déjà vu" Niclas Molinder (m & l), Joacim Persson (m & l), Pelle Ankarberg (m & l), Niko Valsamidis (m & l), Fredrik Larsson (m & l), David Jassy (m & l) 25,451 31,047 56,498 5 Out
4 Brandur "Lullaby" Henrik Wikström (m), Kristian Lagerström (l) 18,727 — 18,727 7 Out
5 Michael Michailoff "That's Love" Michael Michailoff (m & l), Joakim Övrenius (m & l), Patric Jonsson (m & l) 23,198 — 23,198 6 Out
6 Amy Diamond "Thank You" Sandra Nordström (m & l), Mathias Venge (m & l), Peter Wennerberg (m & l) 79,075 96,508 175,583 1 Final
7 Suzzie Tapper "Visst finns mirakel" (Certainly there are miracles) Amir Aly (m), Maciel Numhauser (m), Robin Abrahamsson (m), Bobby Ljunggren (m), Suzzie Tapper (l) 24,469 32,130 56,599 4 Second Chance
8 Christer Sjögren "I Love Europe" Torgny Söderberg (m), Magnus Johansson (m), Ingela "Pling" Forsman (l) 71,396 81,471 152,867 2 Final

Semi-final 2

The second semi-final was held on 16 February 2008, at the ABB Arena Nord in Västerås. Again eight songs competed in total, seven songs which had been submitted to SVT and one of the four wildcards.

The two songs that progressed automatically to the final were "Empty Room" by Sanna Nielsen and "Just a Minute" by Rongedal. The two songs that passed to the Andra Chansen round were "One Love" by Andreas Johnson & Carola Häggkvist, the wildcard, and "Love in Stereo" by Ola Svensson.

Draw Artist Song (English translation) Songwriter(s) Votes Place Result
Round 1 Round 2 Total
1 Ola "Love in Stereo" Tony Nilsson (m & l), Mirja Breitholtz (m & l) 39,972 52,615 92,587 4 Second Chance
2 Lasse Lindh "Du behöver aldrig mer vara rädd" (You never need to be afraid) Lasse Lindh (m & l) 15,396 — 15,396 6 Out
3 The Nicole "Razborka" (Disassembly) Nicole Fuentes (m & l), Tord Bäckström (m & l), Stefan Åberg (m & l) 6,121 — 6,121 8 Out
4 Alexander Schöld "Den första svalan" (The first swallow) Fredrik Thomander (m), Anders Wikström (m), Ingela "Pling" Forsman (l) 13,352 — 13,352 7 Out
5 Rongedal "Just a Minute" Amir Aly (m), Henrik Wikström (m), Magnus Rongedal (m & l), Henrik Rongedal (m & l) 68,121 94,101 162,222 2 Final
6 Sanna Nielsen "Empty Room" Bobby Ljunggren (m & l), Aleena Gibson (m & l) 102,390 126,356 228,746 1 Final
7 Andra generationen "Kebabpizza Slivovitza" (Kebab pizza Slivovitz) Vlatko Ancevski (m & l), Vlatko Gicarevski (m & l), Mats Nilsson (m & t), Stevan Tomulevski (m & l), Teddy Paunkoski (m & l), Otis Sandsjö (m & l) 33,011 43,509 76,520 5 Out
8 Johnson & Häggkvist "One Love" Carola Häggkvist (m & l), Andreas Johnson (m & l),
Peter Kvint (m & l)		 77,778 79,106 156,884 3 Second Chance

Semi-final 3

The third semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2008 was held at the Cloetta Center in Linköping on 23 February 2008.

The two songs that progressed directly to the final were "Lay Your Love on Me" by BWO and "Upp o hoppa" by Frida feat. Headline. The two songs that passed to the Andra Chansen round were "Smiling in Love" by Caracola and "When You Need Me" by Thérèse Andersson. The wildcard entry, "Hallelujah New World" by Eskobar, came last in the televoting and failed to qualify.

Draw Artist Song (English translation) Songwriter(s) Votes Place Result
Round 1 Round 2 Total
1 BWO "Lay Your Love on Me" Alexander Bard (m & l), Anders Hansson (m & l), Bobby Ljunggren (m & l), Henrik Wikström (m & l) 58,136 82,381 140,517 1 Final
2 Mickey Huskić "Izdajice" (Traitors) Mickey Huskić (t & m) 11,721 — 11,721 7 Out
3 Frida feat. Headline "Upp o hoppa" (Up 'n' Jump) Anderz Wrethov (m & l), Frida Muranius (m & l), Sam Persson (l) 27,675 40,852 68,527 2 Final
4 Thérèse Andersson "When You Need Me" Pontus Hagberg (m & l), Malin Eriksson (l), Jonas Sjöström (l) 25,034 33,849 58,883 4 Second Chance
5 Patrik Isaksson & Bandet "Under mitt tunna skinn" (Under my thin skin) Patrik Isaksson (m & l) 26,056 33,808 59,864 5 Out
6 Caracola "Smiling in Love" Henrik Bie (m), Mattias Olsson (l), Angelica Thelin (l), Magnus Lanner (l) 31,652 35,491 67,143 3 Second Chance
7 Ainbusk "Jag saknar dig ibland" (I miss you sometimes) Ingela "Pling" Forsman (l), Henrik Wikström (m & l), Bobby Ljunggren (m) 18,249 — 18,249 6 Out
8 Eskobar "Hallelujah New World" Daniel Bellqvist (m & l), Frederik Zäll (m & l), Robert Birming (l & m) 11,672 — 11,672 8 Out

Semi-final 4

The final semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2008 before the Andra chansen round was held on 1 March 2008, at the Telenor Arena in Karlskrona.

The final two artists to automatically secure their place in the final were Charlotte Perrelli with "Hero" and Linda Bengtzing with the song "Hur svårt kan det va?". The two artists to proceed to the Andra Chansen round were Sibel Redzep with the song "That Is Where I'll Go" and Nordman with the song "I lågornas sken". The wildcard entry for this semi-final was Niklas Strömstedt with the song "För många ord om kärlek", which came last in the televoting.

Draw Artist Song (English translation) Songwriter(s) Votes Place Result
Round 1 Round 2 Total
1 Niklas Strömstedt "För många ord om kärlek" (Too many words about love) Mahan Moin, Anderz Wrethov 13,067 — 13,067 8 Out
2 Calaisa "If I Could" Ingela "Pling" Forsman, Bobby Ljunggren, Jimmy Jansson 30,124 47,846 77,970 5 Out
3 Daniel Mitsogiannis "Pame" Jakke Erixson, Jon Bordon, Loren Francis, Kristofer Östergren 20,432 — 20,432 7 Out
4 Linda Bengtzing "Hur svårt kan det va?" (How hard can it be?) Andreas Johnson, Johan Lyander, Peter Kvint, Yohio 53,813 70,571 124,384 2 Final
5 Nordman "I lågornas sken" (In the light of the flame) Fredrik Kempe 39,019 58,673 97,782 4 Second Chance
6 Sibel "That Is Where I'll Go" Bobby Ljunggren, Henrik Wikström, Karl-Ola Kjellholm, Sharon Vaughn 46,289 59,030 105,319 3 Second Chance
7 Fronda "Ingen mår så bra som jag" (No one feels as good as me) Sylvester Schlegel 25,234 — 25,234 6 Out
8 Charlotte Perrelli "Hero" Sharon Vaughn, Johan Fransson, Tim Larsson, Tobias Lundgren 98,666 137,738 236,404 1 Final

Andra Chansen round

The third and fourth placed songs in each semifinal perform in Andra Chansen (Second Chance) round. Eight songs performed, paired off against each other. The winners of the first two pairings compete against each other in the first final, while the winners of the other two compete in the second. The winners of the two final pairings go through to the final.

The two winners of Andra Chansen that went on to the final were Sibel Redzep with the song "That Is Where I'll Go" and Nordman with the song "I lågornas sken".

First Round
Duel Draw Artist Song Votes Result
I 1 E-Type & The Poodles "Line of Fire" 87,002 Out
2 Sibel "That Is Where I'll Go" 103,077 Second Round
II 1 Ola "Love in Stereo" 78,477 Second Round
2 Caracola "Smiling in Love" 51,038 Out
III 1 Johnson & Häggkvist "One Love" 202,353 Out
2 Nordman "I lågornas sken" 316,118 Second Round
IV 1 Thérèse Andersson "When You Need Me" 57,335 Out
2 Suzzie Tapper "Visst finns mirakel" 73,120 Second Round

Second Round
Duel Draw Artist Song Votes Result
I 1 Sibel "That Is Where I'll Go" 137,065 Final
2 Ola "Love in Stereo" 103,624 Out
II 1 Nordman "I lågornas sken" 166,735 Final
2 Suzzie Tapper "Visst finns mirakel" 88,075 Out

Final

The final of Melodifestivalen 2008 was held on 15 March 2008 at the Globe Arena in Stockholm. The eight direct qualifiers and the two Andra Chansen winner competed in the final, where the 11 regional juries of Sweden, along with televoting, selected the winner that would represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008.

The winner of Melodifestivalen 2008 was Charlotte Perrelli with the song "Hero", receiving a total of 114 points from the juries and 110 points from the televote. The winner of the televote, however, was Sanna Nielsen with "Empty Room".

Draw[7] Artist Song Juries Televote[8] Total Place
Votes Percentage Points
1Charlotte Perrelli"Hero"114 397,907 16.5%1102241
2Sibel"That Is Where I'll Go"39 120,587 5%0397
3Rongedal"Just a Minute"76 273,521 11.5%661424
4Linda Bengtzing"Hur svårt kan det va?"64 115,321 4.8%0645
5Christer Sjögren"I Love Europe"1 228,674 9.5%22239
6Amy Diamond"Thank You"25 188,872 7.8%11368
7Sanna Nielsen"Empty Room"74 449,419 18.7%1322062
8Nordman"I lågornas sken"4 233,467 9.7%44486
9Frida feat. Headline"Upp o hoppa"6 81,691 3.3%0610
10BWO"Lay Your Love on Me"70 320,741 13.3%881583
Detailed Regional Jury Votes
Draw Song Örebro Luleå Falun Karlstad Umeå Norrköping Göteborg Sundsvall Växjö Malmö Stockholm Total
1 "Hero"12121212124612101012114
2 "That Is Where I'll Go"12422248112139
3 "Just a Minute"8468610121021076
4 "Hur svårt kan det va?"68106484448664
5 "I Love Europe"11
6 "Thank You"211111016225
7 "Empty Room"106841066124874
8 "I lågornas sken"1214
9 "Upp o hoppa"66
10 "Lay Your Love on Me"4102108128282470

Ratings
Show Date Viewers[9] Votes
(Telephone/SMS)
Semifinal 1 9 February 2008 3,240,000 600,084
Semifinal 2 16 February 2008 3,340,000 752,537
Semifinal 3 23 February 2008 3,410,000 701,978
Semifinal 4 1 March 2008 3,410,000 701,978
Second Chance 8 March 2008 3,090,000 1,464,000
Final 15 March 2008 4,045,000[10] 2,410,200

References
  1. Lex Agnes i Melodifestivalen 2008 Archived 14 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine (in Swedish). Aftonbladet (13 May 2007). Retrieved on 15 October 2007.
  2. ESCToday (18 April 2007) Kristian: I'm happy and honoured. Retrieved on 21 May 2007.
  3. Sveriges Television (May 2007) Melodifestivalen 2008 Tävlingsregler Archived 19 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine (in Swedish). Retrieved on 21 May 2007.
  4. ESCToday 3434 songs submitted for Melodifestivalen. Retrieved on 29 December 2007.
  5. ESCToday Melodifestivalen line-up complete Archived 15 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 29 December 2007.
  6. ESCToday The full MF running order. Retrieved on 15 January 2008.
  7. Poplight.se (9 March 2008). Så här blev det när Björkman bestämde finalordningen. Retrieved on 9 March 2008.
  8. Poplight.se (16 March 2008). SVT satte nytt röstningsrekord Archived 2 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 16 March 2008.
  9. "Viewing figures". ESC.info.se. Archived from the original on 8 December 2007. Retrieved 21 March 2008.
  10. Birgersson, Emelie; Dahlander, Gustav (11 March 2013). "Melodifestivalen 2013 slog tittarrekord – och så många såg Robin Stjernberg vinna" (in Swedish). SVT.
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