Entertainment | The weekly roundup from Melodifestivalen.

Sweden’s Melodifestivalen is arguably the gold standard in Eurovision national selections. Sleek production complemented with chart-topping songs, the contest is a national pastime, seeing Sweden through a bleak winter and into spring with bright, spritely pop songs.

And its a format that works too, giving the country several Top 10 placings including two wins at the Eurovision Song Contest.

The 2018 edition is well underway, with two semi-finals, or deltävlings, already having concluded. So far, the Swedes have done the right thing by putting the right songs through. Four have made it direkt till finalen, and four to Andra Chansen (Second Chance). Alot can be said about the four finalists but I’ll talk about them at length closer to the final.

For now, I’d like to focus on the bops and unexpected hits that have come from the Andra Chansen qualifiers as well as those eliminated.

So far, my absolute favourite from this group is In My Cabana by Margaret. A slight departure from her usual attitude-fronting brand of pop, In My Cabana nonetheless falls squarely into the ‘Bop’ category with its sexy, reggae-influenced vibe. The orange-athleisure styling is also cool and on-trend.

Another song that really impressed me, both sonically and visually, was Mimi Werner’s Songburning. Anthemic and rousing, this country banger had it all, including one of the most impressive pyro curtains I’ve ever seen…

I also really enjoyed Ida Redig’s entry Allting Som Vi Sa, even though its a departure from her usual sound. Bright and catchy, it had a definite Robyn-esuqe vibe about it. I was hoping it would go further in the competition, but here’s hoping Ida will return next year with an even better song:

A special mention goes to Kamferdrops’ Solen Lever Kvar Hos Dig. Brilliant Spotify-friendly song with the added appeal of being in native language(s) but let down with what has to be the worst possible staging ever in Melodifestivalen history. For that reason, I’m only posting the official audio.

Here's to the next semi-final! This week, the Melodifestivalen circus makes its way to Sweden's southern capital of Malmö. Watch this space for more updates.