It’s time for our final part in the Melodifestivalen 2012 adventure. We’re one day ahead of the big final in which Sweden selects its representative for the Eurovision Song Contest. Over the past week we have introduced you to 7 finalists. Today we are presenting you the last three being Björn Ranelid ft Sara Li, Molly Sandén & Danny Saucedo.

Björn Ranelid ft Sara Li – Mirakel

Controversial writer Björn Ranelid raised quite a few eyebrows when the man was announced as one of the participants taking part in this years Melodifestivalen. He assured the press however that he wouldn’t be singing the song ‘Mirakel’ himself but had teamed up with singer Sara Li. ”Mirakel” is an interesting song in that sense, that Ranelid speaks the verses, while Sara Li sings the chorus. And it all happens on a schlageristic dance beat. While many assumed this would be bottom of the heat in Leksand, the duo were the second act to be told they were directly qualified for the final. When we heard the song the first time, we honestly had a ‘What the hell’ moment but, after a second listen we had to admit we actually quite like this, because it is totally unexpected and refreshing.

Our Verdict: We understand that Melodifestivalen is breaking away from the tradition of bringing pure schlager music, and we’re really happy to see the music genres being explored in the contest. ”Mirakel” is definately final worthy and both Ranelid and his young blonde lady will have a hit with it but we think this is probably too alternative for the Swedish to send to the Eurovision Song Contest in Baku. The fear might be mainly that other countries might not see this as a genius act but as a novelty act taking the mickey out of the contest. A nice attempt of Ranelid though.

Molly Sandén – Why Am I crying

Molly Sandén, Sweden’s very first representative in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2003 is returning to the Melodifestivalen circus for the second time with the only real proper ballad in the finalists field. ”Why Am I Crying” co-written by the singer alongside Aleena Gibson & Windy Wagner resembles a very similar style of songs Kelly Clarkson sings these days. It’s a contemporary ballad, and not the most Melodifestivalen-like ballad we have seen in the past. It’s a big step up for Molly since her 2009 attempt Så vill stjärnorna which failed to receive any votes in the grand final. She’s more mature now, and is growing into a confident performer. We can’t help but hear some Sinead O’Connor in the chorus too, which makes us love it even more.

Our Verdict: As the only real proper ballad in the finalist field, Molly shouldn’t be ruled out of dominating the scorefield, especially with the high level of club tracks taking part in the final. ”Why Am I crying” would deserve the ticket for Baku, simply because it is a very modern day sounding ballad, which is very comparable to the likes of Kelly Clarkson. She’s grown a lot in her style of songs, brings her song beautifully and has the experience of having taken part in a similar competition as a youngster during Junior Eurovision. Not to mention perhaps the hopes of some to see Eric Saade, the winner of last years Melodifestivalen and Swedish representative handing over the trophy to his ex-girlfriend. (Akward!)

Danny Saucedo – Amazing

And our last finalist and pre-contest favourite Danny. Danny Saucedo is no stranger to the Melodifestivalen festival. In 2009 he took part as 1/3 of EMD and was the runner up in last year’s edition with ‘In The Club’ just missing out. Very early since the start of the competition he’s been bombarded as the big favourite to win this year, possibly as well fuelled by the own remarks that he had found the perfect song which would blow everybody’s socks off.  And well ”Amazing” written by Peter Boström, Figge Boström & Danny himself is possibly the only song in the field which sounds the most radiofriendly. There’s dubstep involved, an easy to sing along chorus, very dancey, very moveable. And let’s be honest, Danny is nice to look at to.

Our Verdict: How much we would like to believe ”Amazing” is ‘amazing’ we feel it’s become a victim of expectations really. Yes it sounds very contamporary but it is not as good as Danny’s previous attempt. The act looks wicked but really takes the emphasis away from the singing. During the performances two weeks ago, Danny was struggling and we wouldn’t mind seeing it in Baku at all, but we think there are better candidates at this time which could really do Sweden proud. Our advice for Danny would be to take a break from Melodifestivalen for a year and come back bigger and stronger. Eventually he will make it, but most likely not this year.

The Overall verdict

Wauw what a brilliant Melodifestivalen year its been, and soon it will be over again. Booo! Once again Sweden has proven to offer a high standard musical competition which should be an inspiration for other countries. It’s not just about selecting a Eurovision entry but clearing the way for different music genres within a particular country. Tomorrow evening the 10 best songs of 5 weeks of Swedish music are battling it out to be crowned winner and get on top of that to represent their country. All we still need to do is give a little prognose for tomorrow. Our top three being:

1. Loreen

2. Thorsten Flinck & RevolutionsOrkestern

3. Molly Sandén

The final of Melodifestivalen can be seen live tomorrow at 8PM CET on http://svt.se/melodifestivalen. The competition, held in Globen, Stockholm will see the national juries voting alongside an international jury of 10 countries. Both are responsible for 50%

The winner of the combined voting will be crowned this years winner and will also represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest in Baku, Azerbaijan.