Linda Sundbland: If you're Swedish, born in the earlier half of the 80s and a female, the chances are that you have rocked to Lambretta at some point. As the lead singer, Linda Sundblad reached great success with Lambretta's pop-rock sound and hit singles like Creep and Bimbo. In 2006 she went solo and had some moderate success with her first solo-album and the radio hit, Oh Father. She's been in show-business since she was 15 and she's an avid performer. I have little clue about what kind of music she does nowadays, but this has the potential to surprise me. Hopefully it will be a nice surprise.
Simon Forsberg: Another artist who graduated a tv talent show. Simon Forsberg participated in Fame Factory a few years ago. He has since then left the music studio for the gym. Today he works as Personal Trainer. Because of his short history in music, there is not much to know about him. However, his songwriter, Fredrik Kempe, is one of the most merited songwriters in Eurovision. The songs he writes usually do very well in the competition so there is reason to have some expectations. Unfortunately I didn't find any suitable videos on Youtube.
Sara Lumholdt: Talk about a blast from the past. Sara Lumholdt was once apart of the immensely popular pop-group A-teens. Both she and this year's Melody Festival hostess, Marie Serneholt, catapulted into fame in 1998, when A-teens (back then, Abba-teens) made pop-covers of Abba. A-teens had a handful of glorious days, but since the split in 2004, Sara Lumholdt has a couple of failed attempts at a solo career behind her. Again, it's difficult to know what to expect, both of her and of the song she will be presenting.
The Playtones: The Playtones is a Rockabilly "country" band that formed in 2008. They reached huge success when they won the tv-show "The Swedish Country Band Battle" in 2009. This kind of music has been quite successful in the competition the previous years, mostly thanks to the more mature audience. Given that the "The Swedish Country Band Battle" is a very popular program, The Playtones might do fairly well. Personally, I'm already sure this will not be my cup of tea.
Shirley's Angels: The main act is Shirley Clamp. She will be singing with Jessica Marberger. Jessica has been a background singer at pervious Melody Festivals and participated in several tv-shows, but never really reached fame. Shirley Clamp, on the other hand, is widely known and liked, both for her previous appearances at the Melody Festival, but also for her records and other singles. She has a very mature voice and a amazing capacity. She finished 2nd in 2004's Melody Festival, but last time she competed, in 2009, she placed last in her elimination round. Regardless of previous results, I've always liked her, and I'm hoping this will as good as I know she can be.
Sebastian: I've lost count by now, but this is yet another former contestant from Swedish Idol. He finished second in Swedish Idol 2005. After the show he had an ok solo career, but never became as big as predicted. He has been in musicals and he participated in the Melody Festival 2007. Back then he made his way to the finale and finished in 8th place. He did well in Idol because he had a very unique and individual style. I hope he still has it and that he has not turned main-stream to please the masses.
Sara Varga: She is a previously unknown artist that has been in the music business since 2002, but as a DJ rather than singer. Today she is a singer/songwriter and writes music in both Swedish and English. I have no previous experience of her music, but as soon as someone proclaims that they are a singer/songwriter I can't help but to have expectations. Done right, this is one of my favorite music genres. Done wrong, it can be unbearably bad.
Eric Saade: This 20 year old is ridiculously good-looking. If I was a 12 year old, I would plaster my walls with posters of him. As a 28 year old, he almost gives me the creeps. He's too pretty to be real. He used to be a tv-presenter at the Swedish Disney Channel, do I need to say more? He is the elimination round's obvious winner. It doesn't really matter what he will or will not do, he will win. So let's hope whatever he does will be good. He participated in the Melody Festival 2010 and came in 3rd. He should give a solid and well produced performance on Saturday. In the finale he will be in direct competition with Danny over the who's dreamiest.
Without knowing anything about the songs the artists will perform, I'm absolutely sure Eric Saade will advance to the finale. Else from that, I have no clue. Many of these artist haven't released anything in a while and I have no idea what kind of music the will me performing. This has the potential to be very good and very bad. Either way, it will be very interesting.
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