Eurovision two months early!

Well, as good as. Saturday night sees the grand final of Melodifestivalen , Sweden's annual pop-music television extravaganza. Twelve songs will be competing in front of a packed Friends Arena in Stockholm for the right to represent Sweden at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, to be held on 19, 21 and 23 May.

Thoroughly impressive hosts

The show is presented by Sanna Nielsen, last year's winner and Melodifestivalen royalty, and Robin Paulsson, stand-up comedian and TV presenter. For the past five weeks, the pair have been guiding us through the qualifying heats and will be on our screens again on Saturday to bring this year's edition to its glittering conclusion. Sanna's sublime elegance and Robin's goofy sexiness, combined with the quirky send-up eccentricity of green-room correspondent Filippa Bark, have made for a very watchable Melodifestivalen in 2015. Year after year, the quality of the presenting team is closely scrutinised and debated upon by the Swedish media - in my opinion at least, the Swedish national broadcaster SVT has played a blinder with Sanna and Robin.

Here comes the science bit...

Melodifestivalen is not for the faint-hearted (a bit like this article). It is a six-week-long extravaganza of rules, procedures and number-crunching. In weeks 1-4, a total of 28 songs compete in four qualifying heats. The two songs taking first and second places each week, on the basis of a public phone vote, qualify directly to the final (so that's eight songs - remember that for later). Week 5 is a repêchage round known as 'Andra chansen' [Second Chance] bringing together the eight songs that came third and fourth in the four heats. The eight songs are paired up into four 'duels', the four winners joining the eight direct qualifiers in the final (so, that's 8 + 4 = 12). The winner of the final will be flying to Vienna in May to represent Sweden at the 60 ^th Eurovision Song Contest.

The four qualifying heats were held in Gothenburg, Malmö, Östersund and Örebro and Andra chansen , in Helsingborg. The final will be held in the cavernous Friends Arena in the Swedish capital, Stockholm. The winner will be chosen by a 50:50 combination of public vote and international juries from 12 European countries.

The entries

So who's in this year's final and, more importantly, who's going to win? Keep reading for information on the finalists and a completely subjective, biased, unscientific review of the quality of the songs and their chances of victory. Star ratings are out of five.

The Melodifestivalen grand final will be screened on SVT1 and streamed on svt.se from 7pm Icelandic time on Saturday.

Song 1 : Samir & Viktor – Groupie (***)

24-year-old Samir and 20-year-old Viktor are performing in Melodifestivalen for the first time. They were not one of the two winners of their heat, but made it to the final via Andra chansen . The shiny-faced duo is singing 'Groupie' (a slightly laboured extension of the 'selfie' photo fad) and the song is sufficiently chirpy and boppy to get the party started in Friends Arena. And it's in Swedish, which wins it a few more points in my book. This is one for those with the musical sophistication of a teenage girl (states Charles, hypocritically).

Song 2: JTR – Building it up (**)

Same as for Song 1 above. Except that they're called John, Tom and Robin. And it's in English. And it's not as good.

The boys qualified directly from qualifying heat 4 and found 'fame' by taking part in Australia's X Factor in 2013.

Song 3: Dinah Nah - Make me (la la la) (****)

Boom! Now we're talking! Also a Melodifestivalen débutante, the pink-haired self-censoring Dinah Nah bursts onto stage and tells us exactly what makes her "la la la". The techno strains of Dinah's high-energy track grip you from the very start (well, they do me, anyway). Resistance is futile, you'll be singing and dancing along after about two minutes in. It's not strong or mainstream enough to win, but I can see myself dancing wildly to this in a club somewhere (after one-too-many of Sweden's speciality pear ciders) as the sun rises over Stockholm on Sunday morning...

Song 4: Jon Henrik Fjällgren – Jag är fri (Manne Leam Frijje) (*****)

The first of the evening's real contenders for the ticket to Vienna, I'd say. Jon Henrik was born in Colombia and adopted by Sami parents at the age of six months. His traditional Sami 'joik' folk song is understated, beautifully staged and the wormiest of ear-worms. 'Spine-tingling' is the adjective I usually reserve for the best sort of Swedish key changes. Jon Henrik's key change (see 2:37) defies that classification and can only be described as orgasmic.

In a Europe currently tainted by populist, xenophobic political forces pitting country against country and race against race, the vision of a Latin American singing a Sami song for Sweden is irresistible in its symbolic force. It's not my favourite, but if Sweden pick this, I'll be a very happy man.

Song 5: Jessica Andersson – Can’t hurt me now (***)

Ahhhh! The ever-lovely Jessica Andersson. You can't go wrong with the winsome Jessica, a Melodifestivalen veteran competing in 2015 for the sixth time. Jessica brings us a robust, well-sung ballad in a blaze of yellow and gold. It's a good song (most of Europe would kill to have something of this standard to send to Eurovision) but I find it just a little bit too formulaic and, well, ordinary to stand a chance. Particularly when you've got the splendid Jon Henrik (see above) and the fabulous M å ns and Magnus (see below) to contend with.

Song 6: Måns Zelmerlöw – Heroes (*****)

This must be the hot favourite (and I use the word 'hot' advisedly) to win Saturday's grand final. There's not much more to be said really. 'Heroes' is a cracking modern pop song, staged to perfection and performed with M å ns' usual charm, professionalism and verve. My only question is: how much is this song depending on good staging and can the staging be replicated on the stage in Vienna, which needs to be flexible enough to accommodate 40 different national entries? Anyway, this contest is definitely M å ns' to lose.

M åns' superb 'Cara Mia' in Melodifestivalen 2007 came only third, in a shocking travesty of musical justice from which I, at least, have yet to recover. If he wins on Saturday, I'll be at last able to lay that particular ghost to rest.

Song 7: Linus Svenning – Forever starts today (***)

Linus charmed the socks off a nation of Melodifestivalen fans with his debut entry 'Bröder' last year. This song is not quite of the same standard, which is surprising seeing it is co-written by demi-god Fredrik Kempe, the composer of countless Melodifestivalen classics. Kempe has composed four out of the last seven Melodifestivalen winners ('Hero' 2008, 'La voix' 2009, 'Popular' 2011 and 'Undo' 2014), but this is not in the same league. Pleasant, entertaining, but no real oomph (if you'll forgive the scientific terminology). And those frightful earrings (if that's what they're called) are fatally off-putting, I'm afraid to say. I hope we see Linus back in Melodifestivalen soon with a better Kempe creation.

Song 8: Isa – Don’t stop (****)

This performance has been likened to Taylor Swift, but I don't really know who that is so I won't comment. This is another strong, modern pop song with a catchy chorus/hook. It is well performed and staged, if a little repetitive. Isa is just 16 years of age - call me an old fuddy-duddy, but I don't think some of the lyrics ring true in the mouth of one so young ("My love is sweeter than a candy cane; I'll take you down, I'll drive you insane"; I mean, really?). If you can get past that, then this is a strong enough entry, but not a real contender for the crown, I don't think.

Song 9: Magnus Carlsson – Möt mig i Gamla Stan (*****)

Oh yes. Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes! Every box ticked. Well and truly. A great big thick slice of Swedish cheese with a rocking chorus, inch-perfect dance routine and rousing key change. Combine this with fine staging, wall-to-wall hair and teeth, and the reassuring tonalities of the beautiful Swedish language and we have a winner.

If Sanna Nielsen is Queen of Melodifestivalen , then Magnus is the feisty Crown Prince. This is Magnus' eighth participation in the contest and if anybody deserves to win, it's him. That said, I'm pretty sure that the Swedes won't be sending Magnus to Vienna - it's just too Swedish for them to deal with psychologically. I'll just have to 'meet him in Gamla Stan' instead...

I say this song ticks every box - it could be improved with a big, shouty, firework-drenched final note, but you can't have everything, can you?

Song 10: Eric Saade – Sting (****)

The aforementioned Fredrik Kempe has a much better chance of getting one of his compositions to Vienna with this lively number, performed by Eric Saade. Eric represented Sweden at Eurovision 2011 with 'Popular', placing third in the grand final. Eric, Måns and Magnus really are something of a holy trinity of easy-on-the-eye popular male solists in this year's final, but of the three, I think Eric has the weakest song. But he does have a massive following in Sweden and he will be getting lots of points on the night. The whole thing, while fantastically staged, just lacks - for me - a little je ne sais quoi (to quote our very own Hera Björk).

Song 11: Mariette – Don’t stop believing (****)

In her first ever Melodifestivalen appearance, Mariette qualified straight to the final from qualifying heat 2. 'Don't stop believing' is a strong, mystical, dark ballad belted out by the stunningly beautiful Mariette with plenty of dramatic lighting effects and wind-machine activity. What's not to like? It's another that falls into the category of 'not quite good enough to win in Sweden but, please, can it be donated to another Eurovision country?'. The wastage of good songs with this Melodifestivalen format is simply criminal...

Song 12: Hasse Andersson – Guld och gröna skogar (**)

Before I even start on the actual song, I must admit that I am ill-disposed to be positive here, since this entry knocked out the wonderful 'I see you' by Kristin Amparo in Andra chansen .

If you like Scandinavian sing-a-long country music, twangy South-Swedish accents, and prancing violinists, then you'll love this. But I don't, so I don't. The song is chirpy enough and Hasse seems like a thoroughly nice gent. I'm happy to see this at the final and it will be a very fine way to close the show. But I very much hope I don't see it troubling the top half of the scoreboard.

So, what's your prediction, Charles?

Tough one. Very tough. My heart says Magnus, my head says Måns, and my conscience says Jon Henrik. That's my personal view, of course - I have no idea what the televoting Swedes and international juries will actually go for. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see on the night. By the way, I'll be in Row 113, Seat 204 - keep an eye out for me!