Sweden: Heat 1 of Melodifestivalen 2023 tonight!

The curtain opens tonight for Melodifestivalen 2023, with the first heat of this year’s Swedish national selection. Four heats, one semi-final and the grand final will keep us company from today until March 11, when we will officially find out the representative of Sweden in Eurovision 2023.

In tonight’s first semifinal, seven entries claim the two tickets to the final, while two more entries will have the chance to compete in the semi-final on March 4th.

Participants

  1. Tone Sekelius – Rhythm Of My Show 
  2. Loulou LaMotte – Inga sorger
  3. Rejhan – Haunted
  4. Elov & Beny – Raggen går
  5. Victor Crone – Diamonds
  6. Eva Rydberg & Ewa Roos – Länge leve livet
  7. Jon Henrik Fjällgren, Arc North feat. Adam Woods – Where You Are (Sávežan) 

Format

Two songs will directly qualify to the grand final of Melodifestivalen 2023, which will take place on the 11th of March. The songs that will place third and fourth will have to compete again, at the semi-final, held on the 4th of March. There will be four heats in total.

As we have already informed you, the voting system of Melodifestivalen has changed following the announced changes by EBU regarding the voting format in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool!

The broadcaster now scraps the group division at the fifth show, known as the semi-final and all eight contestants will now have to face each other. Points will be awarded from the viewing groups and the four entries with the highest points will advance to the final!

The dates of Melodifestivalen 2023

  • Heat 1: Göteborg – Saturday 4 February 2023 (Scandinavium)
  • Heat 2: Linköping – Saturday 11 February 2023 (Saab Arena)
  • Heat 3: Lidköping – Saturday 18 February 2023 (Sparbanken Arena)
  • Heat 4: Malmö – Saturday 25 February 2023 (Malmö Arena)
  • Semi-Final: Örnsköldsvik – Saturday 4 March 2023 (Hägglunds Arena)
  • Final: Stockholm – Satuday 11 March 2023 (Friends Arena)

Melodifestivalen 2023 is scheduled to take place between February 4th to March 11th and will be hosted by Jesper Rönndahl and Farah Abadi.

The first heat of Melodifestivalen 2023 will start at 20:00 CET and will last one and a half hour. You can watch it through the SVT frequency by clicking HERE.

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun, for all the latest developments regarding Melodifestivalen 2023 and the Swedish entry for Eurovision 2023!

Sweden: The general rehearsal of the First Melodifestivalen 2023 Heat! (Live)

The general rehearsal of the First Melodifestivalen 2023 Heat has just started. We are happy to be watching it live, at Scandinavium in Gothenburg, Sweden. We will be covering this rehearsal, describing in detail what is happening during the show, for you to follow the entire process.

This article is being updated in real-time, all you need to do is hit the refresh button on your browser and all the rest is on us!

We will keep you up to date with all the latest information and images off this semi-final rehearsal, allowing you to get a glimpse of what you will get to see tomorrow February 4, at 20:00 CET, when you watch the actual show of the heat, on SVT and SVT Play.

The show

Jesper Rönndahl and Farah Abadi will present Melodifestivalen 2023. The heats will follow the touring concept again, after SVT had pulled back last year due to health restrictions in Sweden, with the finals being held at Friends Arena! With the opening of the contest in Göteborg, Saturday February the 4th,Melodifestivalen will be held in Linköping, Lidköping, Malmö, Örnsköldsvik and then in Stockholm on the 11th of March.

Jesper and Farah are at the arena and everything is ready to begin! It’s time to face the music!

Read more

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:

Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel to be the first to enjoy interviews, reaction videos and Live streams for our favorite contest!

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all Eurovision related news!

Sweden: Watch clips from the rehearsals of the first Melodifestivalen 2023 heat!

As usual, a few hours before each Melodifestivalen heat, SVT published the rehearsal clips of all seven competing artists of the first heat of February the 4th, taking place in Gothenburg.

A while ago, the first 30 second rehearsal clips of the upcoming heat got published! You can watch the published clips, by clicking on the song title links below:

  1. Tone Sekelius – Rhythm Of My Show 
  2. Loulou LaMotte – Inga sorger
  3. Rejhan – Haunted
  4. Elov & Beny – Raggen går
  5. Victor Crone – Diamonds
  6. Eva Rydberg & Ewa Roos – Länge leve livet
  7. Jon Henrik Fjällgren, Arc North feat. Adam Woods – Where You Are (Sávežan) 
The lyrics of the songs are already published and you can have a look in more detail, in our corresponding article.

The process

Two songs will directly qualify to the grand final of Melodifestivalen 2023, which will take place on the 11th of March. The songs that will place third and fourth will have to compete again, at the fifth semi-final, held on the 4th of March. There will be four heats in total.

As we have already informed you, the voting system of Melodifestivalen has changed following the announced changes by EBU regarding the voting format in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool!

The broadcaster now scraps the group division at the fifth show, known as the semi-final and all eight contestants will now have to face each other. Points will be awarded from the viewing groups and the four entries with the highest points will advance to the final!

The dates of Melodifestivalen 2023

  • Heat 1: Göteborg – Saturday 4 February 2023 (Scandinavium)
  • Heat 2: Linköping – Saturday 11 February 2023 (Saab Arena)
  • Heat 3: Lidköping – Saturday 18 February 2023 (Sparbanken Arena)
  • Heat 4: Malmö – Saturday 25 February 2023 (Malmö Arena)
  • Semi-Final: Örnsköldsvik – Saturday 4 March 2023 (Hägglunds Arena)
  • Final: Stockholm – Satuday 11 March 2023 (Friends Arena)

We remind you that Melodifestivalen 2023 is scheduled to take place between February 4th to March 11th and will be hosted by Jesper Rönndahl and Farah Abadi.

Which two of the above artists do you think will be the direct qualifiers to the finals, on the 12th of March?

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun, for all the latest developments regarding Melodifestivalen 2023 and the Swedish entry for Eurovision 2023!

Source/Photo: SVT/Alma Bengtsson

Sweden: Listen to the song snippets of the first heat of Melodifestivalen 2023!

As usual, a couple of days before each Melodifestivalen heat, SVT publishes snippets of all seven competing songs of the heat. A while ago, the song snippets of the first heat got released.
The competing songs of the first heat:
  1. Tone Sekelius – Rhythm Of My Show LISTEN HERE
  2. Loulou LaMotte – Inga sorger LISTEN HERE
  3. Rejhan – Haunted LISTEN HERE
  4. Elov & Beny – Raggen går LISTEN HERE
  5. Victor Crone – Diamonds LISTEN HERE
  6. Eva Rydberg & Ewa Roos – Länge leve livet LISTEN HERE
  7. Jon Henrik Fjällgren, Arc North feat. Adam Woods – Where You Are (Sávežan) LISTEN HERE

The process

Two songs will directly qualify to the grand final of Melodifestivalen 2023, which will take place on the 11th of March. The songs that will place third and fourth will have to compete again, at the fifth semi-final, held on the 4th of March. There will be four heats in total.

As we have already informed you, the voting system of Melodifestivalen has changed following the announced changes by EBU regarding the voting format in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool!

The broadcaster now scraps the group division at the fifth show, known as the semi-final and all eight contestants will now have to face each other. Points will be awarded from the viewing groups and the four entries with the highest points will advance to the final!

The dates of Melodifestivalen 2023

  • Heat 1: Göteborg – Saturday 4 February 2023 (Scandinavium)
  • Heat 2: Linköping – Saturday 11 February 2023 (Saab Arena)
  • Heat 3: Lidköping – Saturday 18 February 2023 (Sparbanken Arena)
  • Heat 4: Malmö – Saturday 25 February 2023 (Malmö Arena)
  • Semi-Final: Örnsköldsvik – Saturday 4 March 2023 (Hägglunds Arena)
  • Final: Stockholm – Satuday 11 March 2023 (Friends Arena)

We remind you that Melodifestivalen 2023 is scheduled to take place between February 4th to March 11th and will be hosted by Jesper Rönndahl and Farah Abadi.

Which two of the above artists do you think will be the direct qualifiers to the finals, on the 12th of March?

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun, for all the latest developments regarding Melodifestivalen 2023 and the Swedish entry for Eurovision 2023!

Source/Photo: SVT

Eurovision 2023: The Semi-Final Allocation Draw Results!

Liverpool’s Saint George’s Hall with a very nice event hosted a few minutes ago the draw for the semi-finals of the 67th Eurovision Song Contest.

The analyzes of the fans and not only, have been on fire for a few minutes now. Since the theories based on the pre-history of the countries in the competition, it is a first insight into how passable the qualification to the final is or not. In other words, it’s time to make our predictions, about who will go through to the final and who are the favorites to say goodbye to Liverpool early…

The presenters and the handover ceremony

The Eurovision 2023 semi-final draw was hosted by AJ Odudu and Rylan. Both are on the staff of the BBC, being some of the most loved faces of British public broadcasting.

During the draw, the ceremony of handing over and accepting the emblem of the contest took place. The mayor of Turin, Stefano Lo Russo, formally handed over the “keys to the event” to the mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson.

Draw Procedure

The 31 countries competing in the semi-finals were divided into five pots, based on the scores they have exchanged in recent years with each other. This is done in order to avoid, as much as possible, the alliances that appear every year in the voting.

Big 5 and Ukraine

With the big winner of last year’s competition, Ukraine, directly in the final, along with the Big 5 (UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain), the first part of the draw determined the semi-final that the direct finalists would vote for.

Will vote in the 1st Semi-Final:

  • Germany
  • France
  • Italy

Will vote in the 1st Semi-Final:

  • Ukraine
  • Spain
  • United Kingdom

In the semi-final that the six aforementioned countries were drawn to broadcast and vote for, the video from their dress rehearsal will also be shown. This was done at Eurovision 2016 for the first time, for reasons of equal exposure of the countries directly in the final and the countries that qualify from the semi-finals. Essentially, viewers see each entry twice during the shows.

Semi-Final Allocation Draw

The allocation draw for the two semi-finals had two parts. In the first part the 31 countries participating in the semi-finals were drawn in which of the two they will compete in. Fifteen countries will compete in the first/second semi-final and sixteen in the first/second semi-final.

In the second part, each country learned whether it will appear in the first or second half of the semi-final in which it will compete. The exact order of appearance will be determined by the EBU and the show’s producers at a later date.

1st Semi-final (9 May):

1st Half

  • Serbia
  • Latvia
  • Ireland
  • Norway
  • Portugal
  • Croatia
  • Malta

2nd Half

  • Sweden
  • Moldova
  • Switzerland
  • Israel
  • Netherlands
  • Finland
  • Azerbaijan
  • Czech Republic

2nd Semi-Final (11 May):

1st Half

  • Armenia
  • Cyprus
  • Romania
  • Denmark
  • Belgium
  • Iceland
  • Greece
  • Estonia

2nd Half

  • Albania
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Lithuania
  • San Marino
  • Slovenia
  • Georgia
  • Poland

Liverpool will host the 67th Eurovision Song Contest from 9 to 13 May at the Liverpool Arena. The motto of this year’s event, as chosen by the organizers, is “United by Music“.

You can see the draw again through the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HAY-qpDTnY

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments regarding Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool!

Eurovision 2023: Today the semi-final draw!

At 20:00 CET and live from Saint George’s Hall in Liverpool, the Eurovision 2023 semi-final draw will take place.

During today’s event, there will also be the delivery-receipt of the emblem of the organization from the city of Turin to that of Liverpool. For this reason, today’s draw will be attended by both the mayor of Turin, Stefano Lo Russo, and the mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson.

Presenters

The draw is expected to be hosted by AJ Odudu and Rylan, both BBC presenters.

Draw Procedure

The first part of the draw will determine the semi-final that each of the six countries that are directly in the final (Italy, France, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, Ukraine) will broadcast and vote for.

The second part of the draw will determine which semi-final and which half the other 31 participating countries will compete in. As in recent years, the exact order of appearance will be determined by the event’s producers at a later date.

The 31 countries have been divided into five pots, based on historical voting patterns as calculated by official TV partner Digame.

Pot 1
  • Albania
  • Austria
  • Switzerland
  • Croatia
  • Serbia
  • Slovenia
Pot 2
  • Denmark
  • Australia
  • Finland
  • Iceland
  • Norway
  • Sweden
  • Estonia
Pot 3
  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Georgia
  • Israel
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
Pot 4
  • Cyprus
  • Greece
  • Ireland
  • Malta
  • Portugal
  • San Marino
Pot 5
  • Belgium
  • Czech Republic
  • Netherlands
  • Moldova
  • Poland
  • Romania

In the evening, therefore, we all tune in for the draw of the semi-finals of our favorite competition. You can watch the draw on the official Eurovision YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HAY-qpDTnY

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments regarding Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool!

Sweden: The lyrics of the songs competing at the first heat of Melodifestivalen 2023!

Melodifestivalen 2023 starts the forthcoming Saturday, February the 4th! The first heat of the national selection process of Sweden, will take place at The Scandinavium in Gothenburg.

A while ago, SVT, the Swedish national broadcaster released the lyrics of all seven competing songs, of the first heat, but also the first photos from the rehearsals.


You can read the lyrics of the first heat songs below:

Read more

Sweden: This is what the Melodifestivalen 2023 Stage looks like!

The design of this year’s Melodifestivalen stage has been completed and SVT unveiled a sketch/working image of how the final stage looks like, before it gets constructed at Scandinavium Arena in Gothenburg. It can now be seen in a post at the official Melodifestivalen Twitter account of SVT.

Instead of two stages like last year, there will instead be one well-sized stage. The record-breaking staircase to the front of the stage is recognisable, but is split in two and offers a pointed stage where the performers can be close to the audience. The record-breaking staircase to the front of the stage is recognisable, but is split in two and offers a pointed stage where the performers can be close to the audience.

As for this year’s Greenroom, it will be similar in appearance and placement, as the big party place on the parquet in the middle of the crowd, and almost as generously scaled during the tour as well as in the final.  

The construction of the stage will be livestreaming next week starting Monday 30 January 12:00 CET, at SVT Play with the show “Den stora scenriggningen“.

Changes in voting system

As we have already informed you, the voting system of Melodifestivalen has changed following the announced changes by EBU regarding the voting format in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool!

The broadcaster now scraps the group division at the fifth semi-final and all eight contestants will now have to face each other. Points will be awarded from the viewing groups and the four entries with the highest points will advance to the final!

The dates of Melodifestivalen 2023

  • Heat 1: Göteborg – Saturday 4 February 2023 (Scandinavium)
  • Heat 2: Linköping – Saturday 11 February 2023 (Saab Arena)
  • Heat 3: Lidköping – Saturday 18 February 2023 (Sparbanken Arena)
  • Heat 4: Malmö – Saturday 25 February 2023 (Malmö Arena)
  • Semi-Final: Örnsköldsvik – Saturday 4 March 2023 (Hägglunds Arena)
  • Final: Stockholm – Satuday 11 March 2023 (Friends Arena)

We remind you that Melodifestivalen 2023 is scheduled to take place between February 4th to March 11th and will be hosted by Jesper Rönndahl and Farah Abadi.

Melodifestivalen 2022 was won by Cornelia Jacobs with the song “Hold Me Closer”, representing Sweden in Eurovision 2022 and coming 4th with 438 points.

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun, for all the latest developments regarding Sweden’s entry for Eurovision 2023!

Source: SVT
Scene Graphics: Viktor Brattström

Sweden: The running order for Melodifestivalen 2023 is announced!

The the running order for the semi-finals of Melodifestivalen 2023 was just revealed by SVT!

The running order is determined, each year, by the production team of Melodifestivalen, taking into consideration both the competing songs’ musical qualities as well as stage performance and other production considerations and can be read below:

First Heat: Göteborg, 4th February 2023

  1. Tone Sekelius – Rhythm Of My Show
  2. Loulou LaMotte – Inga sorger
  3. Rejhan – Haunted
  4. Elov & Beny – Raggen går
  5. Victor Crone – Diamonds
  6. Eva Rydberg & Ewa Roos – Länge leve livet
  7. Jon Henrik Fjällgren, Arc North feat. Adam Woods – Where You Are (Sávežan)

Second Heat: Linköping, 11th February 2023

  1. WiktoriaAll My Life (Where Have You Been)
  2. EdenComfortable
  3. Uje BrandeliusGrytan
  4. PanetozOn My Way
  5. Tennessee TearsNow I Know
  6. Maria SurNever Give Up
  7. THEOZMer av dig

Third Heat: Lidköping, 18th February 2023

  1. Paul ReyRoyals
  2. CasanovasSå kommer känslorna tillbaka
  3. Melanie WehbeFor The Show
  4. NordmanSläpp alla sorger
  5. LaurellSober
  6. Ida-Lova Låt hela stan se på
  7. Marcus & MartinusAir

Fourth Heat: Malmö, 25th February 2023

  1. KianaWhere Did You Go
  2. Signe & HjördisEdelweiss
  3. Smash Into PiecesSix Feet Under
  4. MarietteOne Day
  5. Emil HenrohnMera mera mera
  6. Axel SchylströmGorgeous
  7. LoreenTattoo

Jesper Rönndahl and Farah Abadi will present Melodifestivalen 2023. The Semi-Finals will follow the touring concept again, after SVT had pulled back last year due to health restrictions in Sweden, with the finals being held at Friends Arena! With the opening of the contest in Göteborg, Saturday February the 4th, Melodifestivalen will be held in Linköping, Lidköping, Malmö, Örnsköldsvik and then in Stockholm on the 11th of March.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments related to the Swedish national selection for Eurovision 2023!