The problem child in Melodifestivalen, the slimmed-down "Second Chance", has for a couple of years become the "final qualifier" - part of the last round.
There, the five entries that came third in each round compete for the last two places in the final.
"Basically, the same rules apply this year as we had last year. We are not changing anything except that the Radiohjälpen votes in the app are not counted," says Melodifestivalen project manager Anders Wistbacka.
Swish does not count
Voting via Swish in the app has been introduced gradually during this year's competitions, which means that those who participated in the first round did not receive any points from it.
"We have rolled it out during the season, because we didn't want to overload Swish."
Therefore, in the final qualifier, only heart votes in the app and telephone votes during the evening will count.
"We extended the semi-finals by ten minutes on SVT Play to present the artist who goes to the final qualifier. When that disappeared, it messed things up for us. It makes it appear in the middle of the season that we are changing the rules, but we are not," says Wistbacka.
Weighted against vote share
The voting process in the final qualifiers has been criticized. Two years ago, the two artists who performed in the semi-finals on the same night went straight to the final. And many felt that they had an advantage from having been seen on TV earlier that night.
Last year, a rule was introduced that the artist who advances is the one who received the most votes out of the three across the five semi-finals.
"It is weighted according to how many people voted in that particular competition, so that the result is even. If a lot of people voted in Malmö, for example, the artist who competed then needs to receive even more votes in total to be in a good position."
When the first artist is introduced, voting is reopened and viewers can vote for the four remaining finalists. The winner of the final spot is then announced.
"There are a lot of points to be awarded. Everyone gets the opportunity to cast new votes with heart votes in the app and via phone. Basically, it's quite simple," says Anders Wistbacka.
Jacqueline – "Woman"
Robin Bengtsson – "Honey honey"
Eva Jumatate – "Selfish"
Meira Omar – "Dooset Daram"
Another entry from the final competition in Sundsvall.
