Hello welcome to my series of quick takes designed to get you ready for Eurovision 2019. Just some quick thoughts / my take on each of the 41 songs this year. The countries are in alphabetical order so without further ado: Sweden.

Country: Sweden
Singer: John Lundvik
Song: Too Late for Love
Personal Score: 16 out of 41
My Prediction: Q

Sweden looked at Austria 2018 and said “I’ll have what he’s having.” For the most part this song does work but it’s a little too off-kilter for me to really enjoy it. I think John might want to work on his delivery more than his vocals (vocals are spot on, he’s got a really nice voice though its not unique enough for me to really point out anything specific just a solid singer). The actual choir appearing on stage is a mixed bag for me and it feels somehow not enough but also kind of pandering at the same time. I don’t think this song is as musically interesting as it could be and the choir seems almost written around instead of part of the song but its pleasant enough and memorable enough that I had no trouble humming it just a day or two after I first heard it which is always a good sign. Sweden will no doubt get a top 10 placement but I found the national final staging to be…too understated for such a bombastic song. I want them to pull out even more stops and it tighten the song up but I suspect that Sweden is too WYSIWYG for that and destined to land at 9th or 10th in the final because of it.