Sweden: Two eurostars return to Melodifestivalen

Aftonbladet yesterday unveiled three more names to participate in Melodifestivalen 2020, raising the number to 14 confirmed artists according to its report. Anna Bergendahl and Robin Bengtsson stand out among them, both previous winners of the Melodifestivalen and representatives of Sweden in the ESC.

Return for Robin Bengtsson, three years after his victory

Robin Bengtsson won the 2017 Melodifestivalen with “I Can Go Go On”, winning fifth place in the Eurovision contest in Kiev. The 29-year-old artist has not done great things in music since then, focusing his attention on the hairdressing chain he opened. This will be his third appearance at Melodifestivalen, for Robin, who has been counting on an 11-year career since it all started for him in 2008 when he took third place on Pop Idol.

Third return for  Anna Bergendahl

Anna Bergendahl, 28, has the unfortunate privilege of being Sweden’s only representative, who failed to qualify for the Eurovision final. She has a relevant career with Robin after joining Pop Idol that same year. In 2010 she won the Melodifestivalen with “This Is My Life”, but lost the qualification from Cyprus, taking the eleventh place in the semifinal. This year, he participated in Melodifestivalen for the second time with a song by Thomas G: Son, “Ashes To Ashes,” reaching the final through the second chance. The song,although not winning the Melodifestivalen, was widely heard on Swedish radios, marking the successful return of Anna Bergendahl.

A Dj at Melodifestivalen

Aftonbladet’s third name revealed is Dj, Anis Don Demina. He became known not so much as Dj, but as YouTuber. He participated in a duet in this year’s Melodifestivalen.

The artists who have so far confirmed for Melodifestivalen 2020

Thirteen contestants have so far secured a place in the Melodifestivalen 2020 semifinals:

Amanda Aasa (from P4 Nästa)
Victor Crone
Hanna Ferm
Jakob Karlberg
The Mamas
Albin Johnsén
 Suzi P.
 Linda Bengtzing
 Frida Öhrn
 Paul Rey
 Robin Bengtsson
 Anna Bergendahl
 Anis Don Demina
Two names have been targeted by SVT, but have not yet confirmed their involvement:

Carola
Eric Saade

Recall that 14 of the 28 participants of the Melodifestivalen result from the open invitation to SVT creators, 13 are selected through an invitation to SVT and 1 is from the P4 Nästa radio competition.

In detail the program of Melodifestivalen 2020 is as follows:

Linkoping – First Semifinal – 1 February
Gothenburg – Second Semifinal – 8 February
Lulea – Third Semifinal – February 15
Malmo – Fourth Semifinal – February 22
Eskilestone – Second Opportunity – February 29
Stockholm – Final – 7 March

David Sundin, Linnea Henriksson and Lina Hedlund will all be presenting the six nights of the show. Aftonbladet correctly predicted 26 of the 28 Melodifestivalen 2019 names.

Source: Aftonbladet