Sweden: Read our liveblog of tonight’s final

After five weeks of competition, Sweden makes its choice tonight in Friends Arena in Stockholm. Twelve artists will take the stage to compete for the honor of representing Sweden in Kiev this May.

The remaining competitors are a mix of new arrivals and more well-known names. However, the most famous names have already been eliminated from the competition. Previous Eurovision winners Charlotte Perrelli and Loreen both failed to qualify for the final. Among the finalists is Owe Thörnqvist who is the oldest Melodifestivalen competitor in history.

The running order for tonight’s show is as follows (winner in bold):

  • Ace Wilder – Wild Child
  • Boris René – Her Kiss
  • Lisa Ajax – I Don’t Give A
  • Robin Bengtsson – I Can’t Go On
  • Jon Henrik Fjällgren feat. Aninia – En värld full av strider
  • Anton Hagman – Kiss You Goodbye
  • Mariette – A Million Years
  • FO&O – Gotta Thing About You
  • Nano – Hold On
  • Wiktoria – As I Lay Me Down
  • Benjamin Ingrosso – Good Lovin’
  • Owe Thörnqvist – Boogieman Blues

The show starts at 20:00 CET and will be broadcasted live on SVT’s website HERE. Follow along with our editor Allie Lindo as she posts live updates below.

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21:56 – Robin Bengtsson is this year’s winner!

Robin Bengtsson wins Melodifestivalen 2017 with 146 points. Nano takes second place with 133 points. Nano won the public vote but could not overcome Robin’s solid lead from the international juries.

In his second time competing in Melodifestivalen, Robin Bengtsson has won and will fly the Swedish flag in Kiev.

21:50 – Televoting results have been counted

30 points go to Lisa Ajax. 32 points to Owe Thornqvist. 31 points to Boris Rene. 32 points to Ace Wilder. 33 points to Benjamin Ingrosso. 34 points to FO&O. 37 points to Anton Hagman. 37 points to Mariette. 49 points to Jon Henrik and Aninia.

Robin Bengtsson receives 50 points from televotes. 51 points are given to Wiktoria. One song left…..what will it be for Nano. The competition is now between Robin Bengtsson and Nano. Nano has received 57 points from televotes but…

The winner is ROBIN BENGTSSON!!!

21:47 – A look at the current results

Tonight’s top three after jury votes

  1. Robin Bengtsson – I Can’t Go On – 96 points
  2. Nano – Hold On – 76 points
  3. Mariette – A Million Years – 62 points

21:46 – Sweden vs Norway Part 3

Clara and Alexander are having a heart to heart. It turns out Alexander Rybak does actually like Melodifestivalen. I’m glad we got to the bottom of that mess. Now we have a performance from Zara Larsson.

21:41 – Who will leave Friends Arena a winner?

The international juries have come out strongly for Robin Bengtsson. Public voting has just ended and soon we will know who the Swedish public has chosen. Will the juries and public agree?

21:26 – International juries deliver their points

It’s time to hear from the international juries. Every jury has five members made up of music professionals. The first up is Poland. Their 12 points go to Robin Bengtsson.

Next is Czech Republic. Their 12 points go to I Don’t Give A by Lisa Ajax. Next is our neighbor Norway. They give their top points to Robin Bengtsson. Italy gives their top points to Jon Henrik and Aninia. Malta decides to give their twelve points to Nano. And next up is Israel who give their twelve points to Robin Bengtsson.

France’s jury decides to give their points to Mariette. And here’s Australia delivering jury points for a second year. Their twelve points go to Benjamin Ingrosso who can’t hide his joy. The UK is next (apparently there is a schlager party happening in Manchester in honor of Melfest). Twelve points from the UK to Ace Wilder. Armenia is next with former Eurovision competitor Iveta presenting their twelve points to Mariette. Host nation Ukraine is next and their twelve points go to Jon Henrik and Aninia.

With all the jury votes counted, Robin Bengtsson is leading right now with 96 points. In second place is Nano with 76 points.

21:21 – Frans still isn’t Sorry

Frans is back in Friends Arena to hand over the trophy to this years winner. We are now treated to a cover of Frans’ winning song “If I Were Sorry” but Damn! feat. Shirin. It’s a very good cover with the backing of the live band. But I still think Frans’ original song is perfect the way it is. Frans himself joins Shirin to finish up the song.

21:20 – David Lindgren is back up to his tricks

David has decided to give us the greatest gift anyone can get – his voice. He launches into a medley of hits spanning several decades. Everything from Whitney Houston to Ellie Goulding. At the end he screams “Love me Sweden!” We do love you David!!

21:13 – Hej Zara Larsson!

Zara Larsson will be performing on the Melfest stage tonight. Clara asks for her opinion on tonight but Zara says she has no idea who will come out on top.

21:12 – Ending the night with some Boogieman Blues

Owe Thörnqvist is the night’s final singer. He has already made history no matter what happens with the voting. Owe is the oldest Melfest competitor ever and here he is singing his Boogieman Blues in the final.

I don’t think this song will win tonight but I can’t help but feel happy listening to it. No doubt about it, Owe has secured a special place in my heart with this song. I respect anyone that can whip out a harmonica onstage. Good job Owe!

At the end of the performance Clara informs us that Owe’s birthday is TOMORROW! Stort grattis Owe! Happy birthday!

21:06 – Benjamin Ingrosso knows Good Lovin’

My first thought as this song starts is “how much foil wrap have they used to make the stage decorations?” I do hope they change that if Benjamin wins tonight. The chances of that win seem a bit iffy as his performance seems to lose energy as it goes on. Not a favorite of mine to win tonight.

21:02 – Sweden vs. Norway Part 2

Alexander Rybak does not like Melodifestivalen. Clara is taking him on as they sit overlooking Gamla Stan in Stockholm, but Alexander gets an urgent text – it’s time to beat up Roger Pontare. To be continued…

21:00 – Wiktoria Lays It All Down Onstage

Wiktoria takes the stage for her second Melfest final in as many years. Last year she finished fourth in the final. Tonight she is another favorite to win. She certainly is giving it her all as she sings. She has taken a page from Måns Zelmerlöw’s winning playbook, using interactive animation to aid her performance. Her performance isn’t as strong as others have been tonight.

20:54 – Will Nano Hold On to win it all?

Nano gets a huge cheer from the crowd in the arena as Clara Henry presents him as the next singer. This song has huge support in Sweden which is how it has made it on the stage tonight. Nano is a favorite to win.

Tonight’s performance isn’t as strong as in the semifinals. However, the song’s message still comes through loud and clear. At the end Nano tells the crowd “Thank you so much for the love.”

20:50 – FO&O have Gotta Thing About You

After WEEKS of trying to remember who this group remind me of, I have finally figured it out. They sound a lot like British boy band The Wanted. This song is perfect for the radio but I definitely do not have a thing about it. I don’t think this song has strong chances to be the winner tonight.

20:46 – Mariette’s A Million Years

My favorite thing about this song has nothing to do with the lyrics. Mariette’s backup dancers are more like acrobats as they are all attached to bungee cords hanging from the ceiling. Watching them move is quite mesmerizing.

This is a solid song and it has a real chance to make it to Kiev. Betting odds has Mariette trailing behind though, but will those odds prove to be correct?

20:40 – Will we Kiss Anton Hagman Goodbye?

In his introduction video Anton says he came to watch the Melfest final with his father two years ago. He told his father that he would be on the stage in two years’ time. Wouldn’t you know it? Here he is on the stage just as he promised!

He delivers a strong performance and should be proud of himself. He is up against some very stiff competition though.

20:35 – Jon Henrik Fjällgren and Aninia

This song has both Swedish and Sami lyrics. With Jon Henrik’s Sami singing you can’t deny the beauty of this song. Aninia puts forward a strong vocal performance as well. Her emotion comes through as she sings.

I find myself very drawn to this song. The crowd in Friends Arena show their support for the song as it ends and Aninia and Jon Henrik give each other a hug. A great performance by both.

20:30 – Robin Bengtsson Can’t Go On…Or maybe he will

Hello Robin. I like this song but tonight, Robin seems to be slightly off vocally compared to his previous performances of this song. However, it is probably hard to sing while dancing on a treadmill, so I won’t hold it against him.

20:27 – The Norwegians are invading!

Oh hi there Alexander Rybak! Rybak won ESC in 2009 and now makes an appearance in a video with Clara Henry and David Lindgren parodying Norwegian TV show Skam. The video will continue later on.

20:23 – Lisa Ajax Doesn’t Give A…

Lisa starts off sounding even stronger tonight than she has before. As we have noted before, the text of her song contains a few F-bombs. This means, if she wins tonight the text will need to be slightly altered to fit Eurovision rules.

Vocally this was a very strong performance but I can’t help but think there is more that could be done with the staging and overall performance. But Lisa is a strong singer and I understand why she is here on this stage tonight.

20:16 – Next up Boris René

Boris René takes the stage tonight having made it out of the Andra Chansen duels with his song ‘Her Kiss’. In his introduction video Boris tells us that his mother and brothers are there in Friends Arena to support him.

The chorus of this song is catchy but it doesn’t feel like a Eurovision song. Boris’ moves and stage work could use a little more polishing which is worrying at this stage.

20:13 – Ace Wilder takes the stage

In her third Melfest final in four years, Ace Wilder is hoping to finally win it all tonight with her song ‘Wild Child’.

Ace takes the stage with her four backup dancers. The song is definitely catchy and has a good beat. However, Ace has some rough vocal points as she sings certain points. Nothing catastrophic. This song is not one of my favorites to win tonight.

20:08 – Fan favorites

As the artists for tonight are presented the thousands assembled in Friends Arena shout for their favorites. Wiktoria and Anton Hagman get some of the loudest crowd responses.

Voting has already opened on the Melodifestivalen app and via text message.

20:02 – How we got here

The show begins with a look back at the last five weeks and the winners of each semifinal and Andra Chansen. We move on from the past memories as our three hosts sing us into tonight’s show. They are backed by a band and backup dancers.

 19:50 – The night we have been waiting for

Here we are Melfest fans! Tonight Sweden decides who will be flying the Swedish flag in Kiev in two months. Five weeks of competition have left us with twelve songs. The winner will be decided by the public and the international juries in a 50-50 split. One thing is for sure, we are in for an exciting night here in Scandinavia.