What would have happened if… Sweden 2013

In this series, we look at songs from different countries, and songs from the national finals to discuss what would have happened if another song had actually won. We can all think of a time where the song coming 2^nd, or 3^rd, or even last, would have done better than the actual winner, and here is your chance to discuss with us.

Today we will look at the recent history of Sweden, taking a select few and their national final competitors to discuss what would have happened if their counterparts took top position! After our recaps, you can vote on whether the NF counterparts would have received a higher result at Eurovision, and feel free to leave a comment down below with why.

Our first battle is between Robin Stjernberg and the ’13 Melodifestivalen crew

Robin Stjernberg: The Actual Winner (At Eurovision, 14^th place with 62 points)

Robin was himself surprised to win Melodifestivalen. He had tough competition from Yohio, Anton Ewald, Ulrik Munther, however convincingly won with over 30 points to spare. The song ‘You’ was incredibly vocally challenging, but Robin nails it. Interestingly enough, Robin came from the second chance round, meaning in his semi-final, did not receive a top 2 place.

But what would have happened if….

Yohio: 2^nd Place

Yohio had some small successes in Sweden previous to Melodifestivalen, but was put straight into the spotlight with his MF song ‘Heartbreak Hotel’. With his signature Lolita style of dress, he qualified straight into the final, where he ended up coming 2^nd, however received the most televotes from the public, with 21.1% of the total vote, with Robin only receiving 15.8%. Unfortunately the song wasn’t as popular with the juries, only receiving 30 points compared to 91 for eventual winner Robin.

Ulrik Munther: 3^rd Place

Ulrik participated in the 4^th semi-final for MF in 2013 with the song ‘Tell the World I’m here’ penned by Ulrik himself, along with the power duo Thomas G:son and Peter Bostrom. The song received 3 douze points from the juries, the same amount as Robin, however lacked in televotes, receiving around 200,000 less votes than Yohio, and around 100,000 less than Robin. Despite this, he ended up in 3^rd place convincingly, with Anton Ewald 18 points behind at 4^th place.

Anton Ewald: 4^th Place

Anton’s singing debut was certainly his best, reaching 4^th place in the national final. His song was incredibly suited to Melodifestivalen – he had the dances, he had the cheesy pop, he had the screaming girls. The song, although catchy, didn’t have as strong of a vocalist behind it. Ewald, first and foremost a dancer, and that is clear with his amazing choreography skills – but does Ewald sacrifice vocals for the performance?

Robin placed 14^th in Eurovision, but the question is, would Yohio have surprised Europe? Would Ulrik have melted the hearts of the audiences? Would Anton Ewald have repeated the formula and success of Eric Saade only a few years before? Or, was Robin the best Sweden could get that year? Vote down below, and comment if you think another act from the National Final could have done better than both!