Big names fall as Nordic national selections roll on
In the end, it wasn’t even close. Despite the high hopes of 2019 televote winners Keiino, songwriter and mental health advocate TIX enjoyed a landslide victory at Saturday night’s Melodi Grand Prix final, scoring over 57% of the total vote, denying the folk-pop trio a widely expected second grab at Eurovision glory.
Meanwhile, in Finland, last year’s winner Aksel had to settle for fourth place in this year’s edition of UMK. Nu metal outfit Blind Channel swept the televote with over 54%, leaving all the other competitors in the dust.
There was better news for a familiar face in Sweden, as Charlotte Perrelli booked her first spot in a Melodifestivalen final since 2008 with Still Young. She was joined by recent Swedish Idol winner Tusse – but established dansband star Elisa Lindström and Melfest newcomer Emil Assergård found themselves unceremoniously knocked out in the first round.
Finally, in Denmark there were reports that last year’s Dansk Melodi Grand Prix winners Ben & Tan submitted a song this year, but didn’t even make the cut to compete at a national level. Proof that you can’t take anything for granted in Euroland – particularly when it comes to those chilly Nordic nations…
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