The group Panetoz is back in Melodifestivalen and lives up to expectations, to say the least.

Their most famous hit song is about wanting people to dance and have fun.

And as soon as the group took the stage, the party really began.

It's joy, dancing, singing, rapping, a fast-paced and rhythmic beat with a swinging chorus.

They also get the entire audience in the arena to stand up and clap.

Tonight, it is Panetoz that contributes to the sense of celebration and community that is the core of Melodifestivalen, what makes the competition the whole of Sweden's folk festival.  

More is more 

Middle veterans Linda Bengtzing and Magnus Carlsson delivered the best middle act for longer with extra everything and the rule seemed to be "more is more".

I lost count of the number of times Linda Bengtzing changed outfits and at one point swung back and forth in a large disco ball on stage.

The performance was guested by Alcazar colleague Tess Merkel and the presenter and comedian Edvin Törnblom.

Together they put together a medley consisting of some of their most famous songs such as "All girls", "I lie so well" and "Not a sinner nor a saint" and "Come home".  

The song that felt extra 

18-year-old Maria Sur fled the war in Ukraine with her mother last year, but her father is still in the country.

In Ukraine, she has participated in several music competitions before and tonight she made her debut in Melodifestivalen with the power ballad "Never give up".

As the title reveals, the song is about never giving up and she also sings that she misses her home.

The performance is strong and the lyrics hit you in a completely different way than the other contributions.

It is genuine, honest and strong.

It is also clear that Maria is a star.

That she went straight through to the final comes as no surprise, this girl can go as far as she wants.   

Childish or smart pr? 

In tonight's sub-competition, we found out why middle veteran Thomas G-son was "taken away" by guards after last week's sub-competition.

The whole thing was a PR coup, or the introduction to one of Jesper Rönndahl's sketches.

The reason was that the songwriter, with his 69 interludes, will now be inducted into Melodifestivalen's Hall of Fame in 2023. In the sketch "In the head of an author", G-Son sits on a bunk, wearing patient clothes while Rönndahl tries to investigate how G-son's songwriting brain works .

G-son's songs were divided into different categories such as Svennighet, Madness, Reasonableness and Latino cultural appropriation.

The sketch itself was quite funny but its dramatic opening had me rolling my eyes.

But maybe it was a successful PR trick after all?

It became a big talking point and probably wouldn't have been talked about as much without last week's dramatic headlines.