Is Måns Zelmerlöw's "Heroes" super enough to get Sweden their second Eurovision victory in 4 years?
Country: Sweden
Song Title: "Heroes"
Artist: Måns Zelmerlöw
Semi-Final: Second, Position 13
Last year's entry: "Undo" - Sanna Nielsen (3rd Place)
Sweden is a pop powerhouse both inside and outside the Eurovision Song Contest. It's a little scary. Their prowess for writing memorable hooks in both the regular ((Max Martin and any number of his proteges)) and indie((Robyn, anything coming out of Gothenburg)) pop worlds gives them a pedigree when it comes to contests like Eurovision. Outside their own entries, it's not uncommon to see Swedish writers elsewhere in the credits for songs that enter the competition. 2012's "Euphoria" blew its competition out of the water and managed to make the enormous Baku Crystal Hall feel intimate in scale with Loreen's performance. Sanna Nielsen's "Undo" wasn't my favorite song they've ever sent((and I still argue that her "I'm in Love" should have beaten Eric Saade's whiny "Popular" as Sweden's entry years back)), but it was a well-written power ballad that deservedly earned its third place slot. It definitely feels like Sweden's gunning for 1st place again - is Måns Zelmerlöw's "Heroes" super enough to get Sweden their second Eurovision victory in 4 years?
Of all the entries this year, I think "Heroes" represents everything I tend to look for in a Eurovision winner. It's energetic((which doesn't necessarily mean it's uptempo - "Rise Like a Phoenix" also had a lot of great energy)), anthemic in nature, catchy (much like "Undo"'s chorus, this one has lodged in my brain various times through the review process), and has a memorable stage presentation. Sweden is really good about thinking all details of a performance out((which I think at least partially comes from the Melodifestivalen selection process)), and this year is no exception.
In our most recent ranking here at WEIO Eurovision Headquarters, "Heroes" has been a fairly steady lock for getting to the finals. The little gnome graphics are in the process of being changed due to some sort of copyright issue, but they were my least favorite part of the interactive graphics that were being used, so I'm interested to see how the final performance changes. The current lyric video they've put up in its place has an unfortunate side effect of making me realize how nonsensical some of the verse lyrics are, but that also feels like another Eurovision norm. Is "Heroes" unstoppable this year? Only the finals will tell.