Frans' "If I Were Sorry" represents Swedish pop songwriting well, but will it take the Eurovision crown for Sweden again?
Swedish (and Scandinavian) pop songwriting dominates the radio around the world, whether you recognize it or not. Many of the best producers, writers, and even singers are coming out of Stockholm, Gothenburg, and the rest of the region. It's no wonder that even if Sweden doesn't win the Eurovision song contest in a given year, it's not surprising to see them have some influence on the competition - even the scoring system is getting a little more Swedish this year and borrowing what's been working in Melodifestivalen for the contest as a whole. How does the home team's entry this year, Frans' "If I Were Sorry", stack up against the competition?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8D7KNFtTlE
Bookmakers were predicting that Sweden had pretty good chances of repeating with this one, but after a few listens, I'm firmly in the camp that, as with most winners, they'd like to have a good showing in the final, but have no desire to win again. This is a great pop song with a good performance from Frans, and does a great job of treading the line between indie and mainstream pop with its structure and instrumentation. This doesn't sound like a Eurovision entry to me, though. This would be a great interval act, and I'm sure it will slot nicely between whatever entries make the final, but something about the song and performance itself doesn't quite feel "Eurovision winner" to me.