[LMBTO] P4 Nästa and Melodifestivalen - still linked for Eurovision...

Die hard Melodifestivalen fans will recognise this band from 2017 - Les Gordons, who came sixth in the fourth heat in Skellefteå, the one with Wiktoria and Loreen in it.  No dishonour in where they finished, especially as they didn't even win Svensktoppen Nästa 2016 or sing in the SuperFinal!  Christer Björkman and the jurors put them through to MF - I won't repeat it all, you can read my analysis of last year's competition here.  Their song wasn't too bad at the 'big event' to be fair:

Today, Saturday 26th August at 6pm BST, was the 2017 Final of P4 Nästa - I reviewed the eight acts a couple of posts ago and at the time it was uncertain whether any of the eight acts would have the same privilege as Les Gordons, whether they would join the likes of Wiktoria, Ace Wilder etc and have the chance to be Sweden's Eurovision representative.  Whilst wishing Arna, the Digital Producer of the show, good luck for the Final, I found out the very good news that one of the artists WILL go to MF:
Superb news and an extra reason to listen to the Final live, even though I have no idea what anyone is saying in between the songs (apart from Sisanda, who speaks in English)!  Our hosts for the evening were these two ladies:
Annika Jankell, former host of MF, together with Linda Sundblad, former MF contestant.  Performing live as guest artists were two more MF alumni in the shape of Darin Zanyar, one of Sweden's best selling artists:
And Pernilla Andersson, singing coach and former MF participant:
Last year's winner, Noomi Thorstensson was also singing and kicked off the show with last year's winning entry, Intoxicated.  I still feel a bit sorry for her that she won in 2016 and yet missed out on MF:
But enough of the guests and last year's winner, we were on with the 2017 show!  Here it is, in all its audio glory:


I am not going to repeat all my thoughts and feelings about the acts in full, as I did that a fortnight ago.  There was some differences here live in Linköping as against the performances in that article:

• Those that improved live - Stiko Per Larsson and Jo'& Eliah, almost certainly because they had a song that tends to sound great live, purely because it is a style that demands instrument playing with little or no movement!  "Since" was the song with the greatest improvement from studio to live, fun and intriguing and one that came alive when sung on stage;
• Those that matched the studio version - Michi and Sisanda, for different reasons.  Michi was still by far the best in my opinion, a great pop song that had an intricate story to it - Sisanda was still the weakest track here, not helped by her singing a little off;
• Those who were worse live - MIAH slightly lacking the power and wow factor of the version I had heard previously but it was still a damn good song; Maija's individual vocals sounded nervous and a bit harsh but when singing with her backing singers, it sounded superb again; Chris sounded as though he was putting too much effort into his live performance, it was all growling and cries now and he played a lot to the crowd, losing focus; and Frontback just played to their fans in the audience, they didn't need a win here but I still feel that with a different lead singer, they could have been in contention.

That sounds fair enough to me, at least as far as the artistic expression is concerned - the wording also sounds as though they wanted an 'old head' to go forward to Melodifestivalen and possibly even someone with a bit of personality?  Judging from his YouTube channel, you know what you are going to get - acoustic folk, guitar driven, a distinctive vocal style that has been compared to Mumford & Sons.  No possibility of Schlager or special effects here - this will be a man and his guitar, lyric driven and tuneful.  Of course "Kumpaner" is not going to be the song that Stiko will sing at MF, it being five days before the 'September 1st' rule but I suspect that this musician has plenty of material to hand or can turn out something new at a moment's notice.

I have to admit that the eventual winner wasn't my first choice but Stiko's live vocals were spot on and they did raise my rankings for his entry from 6th to an outside third for the win.  I did manage to select both Super Finalists but I have to say that "Friday Night Club Escape" and "That's When We All Fall Falling Down" will probably stick in my memory more than the other entries heard at P4 Nästa.  Having said all that, there is a niche market for Stiko Per Larsson's style of music at Eurovision - think Firelight, think The Common Linnets.  Maybe this could be the start of a magical trip for this unassuming guitar player, maybe we'll see a Melodifestivalen win, followed by an 'against all odds' win in Lisbon...