Tone Sekelius: “After competing with ‘My Way’ people see me more as an artist rather than an influencer” | Exclusive interview!

Tone Sekelius debuted last year at Melodifestivalen 2022 by placing fifth , also earned a spot in the hearts of die-hard Melodifestivalen fans.

For a second year in a row she hopes to be selected to represent Sweden , with the song ” Rhythm of my Show ” which is one of the favorites to qualify to the final, out of all seven competing numbers of the Swedish national selection procedure.

Eurovisionfun is in Gothenburg and Tone spoke exclusively to Andreas Papagiannakis, just a few hours before competing in the first heat. She commented on her appearance this year, the impact that her participation last year has had on her life and about the Swedish representative of 2022, Cornelia Jakobs!

She started by commenting on her first rehearsal experience this year and jokes about the rehearsal being so early in the morning that she just woke up and had to immediately start singing:

“This year’s number has a lot of singing and dancing and I have to stay focused, because the moment I start overanalyzing what’s going on, that’s when I forget what I need to do next. I have to keep in mind that I know what to do, I know the choreography, I know my song and I just have to have fun on stage!”

When asked how much of an impact her participation at Melodifestivalen 2022 has had on her life, she commented:

“It was an unforgettable experience. Since then I have done much music and the people have already started to see me more as an artist rather than an influencer who just makes music! Last year I was afraid that people wouldn’t see me as an artist, but that didn’t happen and that makes me very happy!”

She also commented on her getting awarded as the LGBT person of the year at the QX Gaygala 2022 , stating:

“I am excited, I felt very honored! I have left my mark on the community and the things I do move the community forward. This was my goal from the very first moment I was on the internet, not just to exist, but to have an impact on others!”

About her song she co-wrote among others with Anderz Wrethov she said:

“This year I wanted to make an uptempo song with party vibes, with attitude but at the same time be still approachabe make people want to party with me. Textwise, it’s about confidence, loving yourself and dancing to the ‘rhythm of your show’!”

Regarding her staging, she told us that regarding the rehearsals there will be some minor changes and improvements until her televised appearance, this Saturday:

“Today at my first rehearsal, it was the first time I actually saw how my number would look like on TV. We figured out it’s maybe a bit too dark. So we’ll make some changes and improvements by adding more light to it. From the beginning we aimed to give viewers the feeling of clubbing, we are very close to what we initially had in mind with the creative team!”

She is very happy that Melodifestivalen is back on tour and that she will perform in Gothenburg :

“Last year I was supposed to be competing in Gothenburg, but as you said, all the shows had to take place in Stockholm. This year is a different experience, last year I was in my hometown, this year we are all together hanging out in a Mellobubble . I am very happy to sing for the people in Gothenburg, I have been told many good comments about them!”

Last year’s representative of Sweden Cornelia Jakobs is gonna appear as a guest in the first heat, Tone jokingly told us:

“There is no rivalry! (laughs) I love her as an artist, she’s an icon, I love her song and I’m glad she’s back. Her year was great, it was great that I got to see all of her performance backstage and then I saw it all happen on the Eurovision stage!”

Regarding this year’s contestants of the first heat, she commented:

“I haven’t listened to all of the songs. I got to see the performances of Loulou Lamotte and Rejhan which I liked a lot. But I still haven’t listened to them all and at Melodifestivalen, you know, you can’t predict who’s going to win, who’s going to qualify just by ones name!”

Watch our full exlcusive interview with Tone Sekelius below:

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