Photo: Lizel Strömberg (ZEL Photography)

Following the first semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2017, which saw newcomer Nano and contest veteran Ace Wilder qualify direct to the finals, we caught up with Andra Chansen qualifiers De Vet Du and Boris René as well as Dinah Nah and Adrijana, who finished fifth and sixth respectively. There was a wealth of emotions on display from the contestants as they shared their thoughts and feelings on the culmination of months of preparation.

"I'm feeling good," begins Adrijana. "I'm feeling so happy, so blessed that I had the chance to do this, what I've dreamt of all my life." Adrijana's feelings on the experience of positive despite having had to power through sickness to give her performance. Now she is eager to work on the next phase of her career. "I have so much shit going on. I have an album, singles, videos, tours, I have so much. This was just the beginning for me. It was my time to show off myself, who I am, me as an artist, and I think my song will do so well in radio and other stuff so I'm happy."

Boris René maintains an unwavering positivity about his participation in the contest and qualifying to Andra Chansen once again. "I felt more prepared entering Melodifestivalen overall again because you know what it's all about and you know how everything goes on. Yeah, I would say I'm more prepared than that time but we'll see what happens in Andra Chansen."

One of the big upsets of the night, particularly to international viewers, was the non-qualification of Dinah Nah, who served a glossy, sparkling performance of her dance-pop single "One More Night" complete with a wall of women back-up dancers, camera work, and a set of sparklers that shot off in the song's final chorus. "I did the best that I could do," says Dinah Nah. She has her follow-up single ready to release and is open to future participation in Eurovision national selection contests. "Maybe I'll participate in another country next year." Her manager Tommy, having worked supremely hard to optimise her return to the contest, is coy when probed about where his savvy at representing her comes from. "You're only as good as the people you work with."

De Vet Du not only made a tremendous impact with their highly technical, visually extravagant performance, their Andra Chansen qualification was one of the more memorable ones as Swedes typically have a propensity to be more guarded in their emotional displays. "We did it!" exclaims Johan Gunterberg. The group also was notable for making goofy faces in the background when other people were being showcased, though they haven't been reprimanded. "Nobody said anything, did we do that a lot? That's funny," says Gunterberg. They are prepared to get back to work in preparation for their Andra Chansen duel. "We have a demon director. He's going to make sure that we're busy, I can promise you that," says Tor Wallin. Despite having garnered a passionate fanbase before entering Melodifestivalen, the group is hopeful that their participation will open up more opportunities to play a wider array of shows. Being booked for predominantly club gigs means that their younger audience has had less opportunity to see them perform live. "We love the club scene but festivals and big stages are fun too," says Chris Martland.

Watch our post-semi-final interviews with De Vet Du, Dinah Nah, Boris René, and Adrijana here:

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Photo: Lizel Strömberg (ZEL Photography)

It is customary that each Melodifestivalen show holds two additional rehearsal shows that takes place before the live broadcast. The public can purchase tickets to attend at a discounted price relative to the cost of attending the televised show and enjoy the festivities. For the participating artists, it is an opportunity to not only rehearse once more, but get a more authentic sense of how the show will run with a live audience in the venue. We caught up with some of the semi-final 1 acts following the first public dress rehearsal to see how their rehearsal went and if any additional revisions will be made before their performances will be broadcast for the world to see.

Adrijana was relieved following her first performance to such a large audience but her health has been an issue. "I have little bit, problem with my voice. I've been sick. I have to take it easy, not talk much, just take it easy tonight. I have to whisper," jokes Adrijana.

Dinah Nah has been looking forward to seeing the audience and only needs to fix the sparklers that malfunctioned during the rehearsal show. "They weren't quite working as they should but it's going to be fine tomorrow." She is overjoyed to hear that young Swedish girls in attendance responded well to her performance and presentation. "I just want to have the greats time ever and of course I want to go to the finals but you never know, it's Melodifestivalen."

De Vet Du also had a technical malfunction in their first rehearsal show. "The map in the back seat was gone," says Chris Martland. True to form, the group makes jokes about the cause of the issue. "Sabotage," says Martland and Tor Wallin, the member that is supposed to hold the map up during the performance. "We think it was Nano who took it away," kids Johan Gunterberg. The additional revision they plan to make is to better synchronize their head movements to perfect the highly technical performance. Through it all, they maintain a positive outlook. "We don't want to jinx it. Of course it would be more fun to advance than be sent home but it really doesn't matter, we're just happy to be here," says Wallin.

For Ace Wilder, the routine might not be new but the nerves leading up to the show are still present. "You get real nervous but it feels good. There's always small stuff, details, small things you want to improve but all in all, I'm pretty happy. I got this kick from seeing the audience." She is touched to hear that children in attendance had signs bearing her name. "I'm just hoping it all goes well."

Watch our dress rehearsal interviews with Ace Wilder, De Vet Du, Dinah Nah, and Adrijana here:

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Photo: Lizel Strömberg (ZEL Photography)

Melodifestivalen is a frequent hotspot for Swedpop fans to find new artists to follow and this year is no exception. Adrijana makes her debut in the contest with a song she co-wrote on called "Amare," a Swedish-language mid-tempo love song combining pop and rap. Adrijana has an ease of delivery on stage that's purposeful, as she energises her performance when it suits the song. Having only released a few songs before the contest with only a small amount of traction built from them, her participation in the contest is an important launching platform to gain not only larger recognition from the Swedish public but to the numerous international fans that tune in annually.

Despite being new to releasing music on a larger label, Adrijana remains steady under the pressure of the fast-paced contest. "I am scared but I'm also confident in myself. I'm not used to the cameras, to the sound, to the in-ears."

Her attitude and style are a breath of fresh air in a largely monotonous industry. "I just want to be a cool artist, a new artist, with a new sound. This sound that I have, we don't have that in Sweden. I mix all the types of music, pop, hip-hop, trap, soul, I want everything in one and [to] make it my own. That's what I want, I want to do something new and fresh."

Though "Amare" is a love song, Adrijana's individuality makes the song stand out in comparison to the other releases professing romantic declarations. "It's about love but it's like, tougher love. You say what you think of because many people are afraid of saying what they think of, what they love, when [you] want someone to love you, you have to say it but this in a tougher way, a cooler way, a flirty way."

Adrijana is not only hands-on with the composition of her songs but to her visual style as well, opting to dress in her stage attire from her very first Melodifestivalen rehearsals in order to test the mechanisms and presentation of her wardrobe as soon as possible. She mulls over the possibility of taking her bulky coat off during her performance, having found the weight of it to be too cumbersome for comfort to keep on for the entire three minutes. She also worked in the design of her staging, opting for darker lighting to create the ambiance through the use of red and black along with some ballerina dancers on platforms in the back.

Adrijana has no shortage of career aspirations outside of her introduction to the Melodifestivalen-viewing public. "I have so much to release. I want to win all these things so people around the world can hear me and hear my stuff and hear my music. I have so much more than just hip-hop and rap to me."

Watch our full interview with Adrijana here:

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