Melodifestivalen: Heat Three - Preliminary Judging

Now this is more like it! On names alone, this was bound to be the strongest heat and listening to the clips only confirms that.

(Listen to clips here)

Alcazar - Headlines
While I can't tell if this will be another Stay The Night, the clip sounds very strong. Alcazar were pretty much made for this type of competition. The strings in the verses are especially nice. 4/5

Johannes Bah Kuhnke - Tonight
This very Andreas Johnson style ballad sounds pretty promising, though the clip they chose makes it impossible to tell since it's the end of the song and basically the hook repeated over and over. 3/5

Elin Lanto - Doctor, Doctor
This has everything I'd hope for from a Nilsson song. I like the aggressive pop song and the hook sounds unstoppable. I'm looking very forward to hearing this in full. 5/5

Erik Linder - Hur kan jag tro på kärlek
I get the impression that this guy's one of the favorites going into the heat, but based on this clip the song sounds very forgettable to me. A ballad like this needs a stronger melody. 2/5

Getty Domein - Yeba
I really like this. It's 100% different than anything else in the competition, but the African element of this dance track makes it something very special. I may even like it more in full. 4/5

Timoteij - Kom
I've liked a lot of Johnson's past material, though this sounds a little tepid. It goes for "soaring," but may just end up being "boring." It's hard to tell from the clip, especially with this kind of song. Right now it's pretty average. 3/5

Darin - You're Out Of My Life
I'm not the biggest fan of Darin ballads/midtempos, but this sounds promising (despite some truly cringe-worthy lyrics). I especially the like guitar and the dramatic chorus. 3.5/5

Crucified Barbara - Heaven Or Hell
This could have worked, but isn't doing it for me. I'm not loving the singer's voice on the chorus and the melody doesn't strike me as being all that strong. It could just be the short clip, though. 2/5

There's a lot to love this week, and I hope all of the performances are as strong as the clips suggest. I think Alcazar, Elin, Erik and Darin will go through, though I hope Getty pushes his way in.

*I'll be blogging tomorrow throughout the show, so be sure to check back for my thoughts (and to see if my predictions come true!)