“Mello” part 2 took place in Göteborg with Carina Berg and Björn Gustafsson reprising their roles as hosts from the 2008 fest, where this very long-running joke began of Björn making proposals to Carina on camera. In 2008, Carina was married to Kristian Luuk (coincidentally (?) inducted into the Mello Hall of Fame at this competition). Now, she is famously married to footballer Erik Berg, and their marriage was one focus of the reality TV series BERG’S DREAMHOUSE.
First up was Maria Sur, who fled Ukraine after the Russian invasion. We saw her last year with the song “Never Give Up.” This year’s is called “When I’m Gone” and it’s catchy. She sings it well. They did a great job adding a light show to her performance, and she interacts nicely her backup dancers.
Figure 1: Maria Sur
Next up was Engmans Kapell with a folky song about how there’s no place like “Norrland” (catch-all term for the nine northernmost provinces in Sweden).
Figure 2: Engmans Kapell
The third entry was a sixteen-year-old competing at Mello for the first time. She entered as Dear Sara, and her song is called “The Silence After You.” This had a great chorus, and she interacted with the light show on stage.
Figure 3: Dear Sara
C-Joe, a Sierra Leone transplant to Sweden, performed next with a lively Afrobeat number called “Ahumma,” which roughly means the humming sound you make when singing this type of song. This number was super energetic with some cool choreography, but it didn’t catch on with the voters.
Figure 4: C-Joe
In his fourth appearance at Mello, Liamoo sang “Dragon.” The song stems from something a former vocal coach told him: that he has to imagine himself as a dragon in order to conquer his nerves. (This song won the day and advanced directly to the final.
Figure 5: Liamoo
Finally, the event we were all waiting for: Fröken Snusk in her pink balaclava. She’s known for racy lyrics, so it was unclear what she might bring to this family-friendly show, but in the end there was nothing to worry about. “Unga & Fria” (Young and Free) has a bit of a traditional melody set to a disco beat. She sang atop a horse, probably in a nod to her huge hit song, “Rid Mig Som En Dalahäst” (Ride Me Like a Dala Horse).
Figure 6: Fröken Snusk atop a regular horse
During the interval, in addition to inducting Kristian Luuk into the Mello Hall of Fame, they also inducted Lotta Berg, who Eurovision viewers will remember as Sweden’s 1987 contestant with “Boogaloo.”
After Liamoo was announced as going straight to the final, Maria Sur won the televote (they take the top vote getter out of the mix immediately and do a revote to give people a chance to pick their next favorite). Dear Sara and Fröken Snusk will get a second chance to compete in the fifth heat this year. C-Joe and Engmans Kapell were eliminated.