Melodifestivalen 2026: Deltävling 1 Analysis
Raw Analysis of the first Semifinal
The first heat of Melodifestivalen 2026 is now over. As usual, we were delighted with a great show from the very first second. However, when it comes to the actual songs, let’s just say we had better editions in the past. It wasn’t necessarily bad, but extremely mediocre. So let’s begin:
Greczula – “Half of Me” - I just knew he would win the heat just by how overrated he was last year. I am not a fan of his style, music, and performances; that’s why I am struggling a bit to be objective. What I can say for sure is that the song he had last year was better by miles. This year’s song feels like it was sampled from three different ABBA hits. Extremely unoriginal. Very bland and basic. I don’t know why he is so well-liked in Sweden; however, I would be VERY disappointed if Greczula won the whole thing in March. Please, lord, have mercy on this competition. Score 3/10.
Jacqline – “Woman” - I was expecting an ultimate banger. What we got was a very American-ish song, very well produced, but that was completely ruined by an average, uninspired performance. People were even complaining about how dark it was on stage during Jacqline's performance. I think her previous attempt was miles better, but I would still have preferred her to Greczula, day and night. Score 5/10.
Noll2 – “Berusade ord” - the boys had a cute performance, but nothing special, I’m afraid. The final result was very justified. Score 2/10.
Junior Lerin – “Copacabana Boy” – oh boy. I got very upset when Junior started singing. Not only was the song and overall performance atrocious, but the vocals were also basically non-existent. At that point, I was starting to question if this contest had reached a new low. Score 0/10.
Indra – “Beautiful Lie” - this could have been THE song if the overall construction of the chorus had gone in a slightly different direction. I love Indra’s voice, but sadly, I don’t think the song fitted her. Score 6.5/10.
A*Teens – “Iconic” - just like everyone, we were expecting a banger. What we got instead was a classical Swedish Mello entry that felt like it was forgotten in a drawer by Thomas G: son in 2010 and finally found in 2026. The actual performance lifted the song a bit; however, this is definitely not a masterpiece. Maybe I set the bar way too high. I do agree they deserved to qualify in the final, and who knows, maybe the song will grow on me until March. Score 7/10.
✅ Average score for this semifinal: 4/10