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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!

Sweden: On January 11 the announcement of the Line-up for Melodifestivalen 2023!

The countdown has officially begun! A little while ago it was announced through the official account of Melodifestivalen on Instagram that on Wednesday January 11 at 12:00 the official running order for the semi-finals of Melodifestivalen 2023 will be announced. Let us remind you that the order of appearance is determined every year by SVT with television, musical but also other criteria related to the production of the television show, in order to give the best possible result in each semi-final for all contestants.

The detailed programme of Melodifestivalen 2023

Heat 1: Gothenburg, 4 February 2023 (Scandinavium)

Heat 2: Linköping, 11 February 2023 (Saab Arena)

Heat 3: Lidköping, 18 February 2023 (Sparbanken Arena)

Heat 4: Malmö, 25 February 2023 (Sparbanken Arena)

Heat 5: Örnsköldsvik, 4 March 2023 (Hägglunds Arena)

Grand Final: Stockholm, 11 March 2023 (Friends Arena)

As a reminder, Melodifestivalen 2023 is scheduled to take place from 4 February to 11 March with hosts Jesper Rönndahl and Farah Abadi.

 

Stay tuned to Eurovision Fun for all the news regarding Sweden’s participation in Eurovision 2023!

 

Sweden: This is the final list of participants for Melodifestivalen 2023!

After the SVT announcement for the 14 initial names that will participate in Melodifestivalen 2023, the time has come for the remaining names to be revealed. So, now we know the 28 names that are going to claim the Swedish victory and representation in Eurovision 2023. Are you ready?

You can read the first 14 names here.

 

Heat 3: Linköping, 18/02/2023

Marcus & Martinus – Air

Created by: Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb, Marcus Gunnarsen, Martinus Gunnarsen

 

Marcus and Martinus are 20-year-old twins from Norway that became famous when they were aged 10 at the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix Junior. In their 10 years at the foreground, they have had sold out concerts in Europe, they performed the official song for the Swedish heir of the throne and won a Norwegian Grammy. Their greatest hit Elektrisk, holds a record in Norway as the song that managed to stay for the longest period of time at the Top 10 charts, 66 weeks to be exact. After winning The Masked Singer Sweden in 2022 now their base is in Stockholm and have started to collab with Swedish songwriters and producers.

 

Melanie Wehbe – For the Show

Created by: David Lindgren Zacharias, Herman Gardarfve, Melanie Wehbe

 

In addition to being a performer, Melanie Wehbe is an award-winning songwriter who has written music for both Swedish and international artists. She is now celebrating ten years as a songwriter; a decade in which she has managed to write two Idol winning singles, a number one on Svensktoppen, three on Spotify and number one on radio, as well as a win at both Melodifestivalen (2020) and Melodi Grand Prix Denmark (2019). As an artist, Melanie recently established herself as a rising star, gracing the cover of QX magazine and was given the honour of closing Stockholm Pride 2022 on the main stage at Pride Park.

 

Ida-Lova – Låt Hela Stan Se På

Created by: Andreas “Giri” Lindbergh, Ida-Lova Lind, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb

 

Ida-Lova came to Sweden’s attention when, as a 13-year-old, she performed a version of Kent’s Utan Dina Andetag, at the 2017 Svenska Hjältargalan TV fundraiser. Since then she has released eight songs, five of which were included in her debut album on the EP Hallå Världen Kan Du Stanna; , released in June 2022. Ida-Lova is now 18 years old and lives in Stockholm.

 

 

Paul Rey – Royals

Created by: Dino Medanhodzic, Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt, LIAMOO, Paul Rey

 

Paul Rey, 30 years old, hails from Lund in southern Sweden. A familiar face to Melodifestivalen fans, he has previously competed twice. In 2020 with Talking In Your Sleep and in 2021 with The Missing Piece. In 2022 he also competed, this time as a songwriter, and reached the final once again, with Cazzi Opeia’s I Can’t Get Enough. Paul has written many big hits for other artists and his own releases have been streamed over 200 million times.

 

Nordman – Släpp Alla Sorger

Created by: Jimmy Jansson, Thomas G:son

 

Nordman’s story began in 1991, when violinist, producer and songwriter Mats Wester was looking for a singer for his experimental new project, mixing folk music with pop. By chance, Håkan Hemlin found himself in the same studio as Mats, to record a demo with his rock band. They both liked what they heard from each other and the duo was formed. They sold over a million albums in the 90s alone. This will be Nordman’s third time competing at Melodifestivalen, after participating in 2005 with Ödet Var Min Väg and in 2008 with I Lågornas Sken.

 

Laurell – Sober

Created by: Anderz Wrethov, Andreas Stone Johansson, Laurell Barker, Thomas Stengaard

 

Born in Canada but having moved to Malmö for love, Laurell is an established singer-songwriter who has recently embarked on her own career as a solo artist. Her debut single Habit was a big hit on radio and streaming in Sweden in 2022, as well as in other parts of Europe. In 2019, Laurell became the first female songwriter to contribute to three Eurovision Song Contest entries in the same year (Switzerland, Germany and the UK). At Melodifestivalen, she has previously written entries for Hanna Ferm, Renaida, Faith Kakembo and Paul Rey.

 

Casanovas – Så Kommer Känslorna Tillbaka

Created by: Henrik Sethsson, Mikael Karlsson

 

One of Sweden’s most popular dansband, the Casanovas were formed in 1989. Since then, their rise to success has led them to the top of the charts on many occasions. They have been nominated five times for the Swedish Grammy Award. Band member Henrik Sethsson has previously won the Melodifestivalen as a songwriter, with Listen To Your Heartbeat by Friends in 2001. He also wrote the Melodifestivalen hit Something In Your Eyes by Jenny Silver.

 

Heat 4: Malmö, 25/2/2023

Signe & Hjördis – Edelweiss

Created by: Anderz Wrethov, Jimmy Jansson, Myra Granberg

 

Signe and Hjördis Bornemark, 16 and 18 years old from Kullabygden in Skåne, are siblings. These days, the sisters enjoy doing everything from singing, working with choirs and writing their own songs to participating in many theatre and music productions. They like everything from jazz to rock, but would better describe their singing at Melodifestivalen as folk-pop.

 

Axel Schylström – Gorgeous

Created by: Axel Schylström, Herman Gardarfve, Jonas Thander, Malin Halvardsson

 

Axel Schylström became known through his participation in Idol in 2015, quickly followed by his recording debut at Melodifestivalen in 2017 with När Ingen Ser. More recently, in 2022, he competed as a songwriter and reached the final of Melodifestivalen with THEOZ and Som Du Vill. Axel has published his autobiography in recent years and established himself as one of the most popular spoken word artists.

 

Emil Henrohn – Mera Mera Mera

Created by: Emil Henrohn, Jakob Redtzer, Ji Nilsson, Marlene Strand

 

When the pandemic struck, musical theatre artist Emil Henrohn was left without a job. He began making humorous videos of himself at home and quickly became a hit on TikTok as the character “Mama” (the mother). In 2022, he gained even more recognition on TikTok with the song Jag Är Mamma and today he has gained over 500,000 followers on the platform and has been named Sweden’s most powerful TikToker. Now that the music theatre has reopened, Emil has recently starred in productions of Annie and Hair.

 

Mariette – One Day

Created by: Jimmy Jansson, Thomas G:son, Mariette

 

Mariette first participated in Melodifestivalen in 2015 with the song Don’t Stop Believing. Since then, she has competed three more times, in 2017, 2018 and 2020, reaching the final in all four attempts. Outside of music, Mariette recently moved from Stockholm to the southwest coast of Sweden and started a family with her wife. This year she released the song Just Du, dedicated to their son born in 2021.

 

 

Smash Into Pieces – Six Feet Under

Created by: Andreas “Giri” Lindbergh, Benjamin Jennebo, Chris Adam, Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb, Per Bergquist

 

Internationally, Swedish rock exports Smash Into Pieces are perhaps best known for their cinematic, apocalyptic image and sound, thanks in large part to their legendary masked drummer, leader and mascot, APOC. With over half a billion streams to their name and nearly 600,000 followers on social media, the band has completed several tours in both Europe and the US.

 

Loreen – Tattoo

Created by: Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt, Jimmy Jansson, Loreen, Moa “Cazzi Opeia” Carlebecker, Peter Boström, Thomas G:son

 

In 2022 it will be ten years since Loreen won the Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden with Euphoria. The song became a big hit across Europe and beyond, reaching number one in 21 countries and has since become one of the most recognized and well-known entries in the history of the contest. Post-Euphoria, Loreen released two albums and made her debut as an actress in the new film adaptation of Vinterviken, which was released in 2021. Loreen’s most recent musical release was the single Neon Lights, which was released during the summer.

 

Kiana – Where did you go

Created by: Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb

 

Kiana Blanckert began singing and dancing at an early age, and one of her most vivid memories of her childhood is when she performed Britney Spears’ …Baby One More Time on a cruise ship as a four-year-old. Her mother is a professional dancer and Kiana has been taking dance classes since she was three years old. Now almost 16, she recently rose to fame on the show Talang (Sweden’s Got Talent), finishing second in the 2021 series.

The detailed programme of Melodifestivalen 2023

Heat 1: Gothenburg, 4 February 2023 (Scandinavium)

Heat 2: Linköping, 11 February 2023 (Saab Arena)

Heat 3: Lidköping, 18 February 2023 (Sparbanken Arena)

Heat 4: Malmö, 25 February 2023 (Sparbanken Arena)

Heat 5: Örnsköldsvik, 4 March 2023 (Hägglunds Arena)

Grand Final: Stockholm, 11 March 2023 (Friends Arena)

As a reminder, Melodifestivalen 2023 is scheduled to take place from 4 February to 11 March with hosts Jesper Rönndahl and Farah Abadi.

 

Stay tuned to Eurovision Fun for all the news regarding Sweden’s participation in Eurovision 2023!

 

Source: Eurovision.tv

Sweden: These are the 14 first contestants of Melodifestivalen 2023!

As promised by the national Swedish broadcaster SVT, the time has come for the 14 first contestants of the Swedish national selection of 2023 to be revealed!

The first 14 contestants competing at Melodifestivalen 2023 are the following:

Heat 1: Gothenburg, Saturday 4 February

Victor Crone – Diamonds

 

From Österåker, just outside of Stockholm, Victor Crone is a name that will be familiar to many Eurovision Song Contest fans. The singer competed for Estonia at the 2019 Contest in Tel Aviv, with the song Storm. As a songwriter, Victor found himself competing in two Eurovision Song Contest pre-selections in 2022: the Melodifestivalen final (as co-writer of Robin Bengtsson’sInnocent Love) and the Eesti Laul final in Estonia (as one of the writers behind Stig Rästa’s Interstellar). This will be Victor’s third time competing in Melodifestivalen as an artist.

Rejhan – Haunted

Written by: Albin Johnsén, Mattias Andréasson, Pontus Söderman, Tilde RONIA Wrigsell

16 year old Rejhan Bellani made a name for himself in the 2021 series of Talang (Sweden’s Got Talent). Since then, he’s been honing his craft in the studio throughout 2022 and makes his debut as an artist in 2023. The young music talent has been singing, playing piano and playing guitar since he was just four years old. With roots in Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, he can sing in Albanian, Bosnian, English and Swedish. When Rejhan is not creating music or playing football, he is studying economics at high school.

Loulou LaMotte – Inga Sorger

Written by: Jonas Thander, Loulou LaMotte

A member of The Mamas, Loulou has also found time in 2022 to restart her career as a solo artist, having released three singles over the past few months. Now, her solo career begins a new chapter: Melodifestivalen 2023! As a member of The Mamas, Loulou has already won Melodifestivalen, in 2020 with the song Move. One year earlier in 2019, the singer and songwriter got to perform on the Eurovision Song Contest stage when The Mamas sang backing vocals for John Lundvik, representing Sweden with Too Late For Love and finishing in the top five.

Eva Rydberg & Ewa Roos – Länge Leve Livet

Written by: Emil Vaker, Henric Pierroff, Kalle Rydberg

Eva Rydberg and Ewa Roos are two of Sweden’s most beloved actors and artists, with over 60 years in theatre, revue, film and music to their names. They have shared the stage many times before, most notably in recent years when they participated in Melodifestivalen 2021 with the song Rena Rama Ding Dong. With their comic talent, timing and great chemistry, the song became a big favourite amongst fans. And no doubt to the delight of many, the duo are back in 2023 to do it all over again.

Elov & Beny – Raggen Går

Written by: Johan Werner, Kristian Wejshag, Mattias Elovsson, Oscar Kilenius, Tim Larsson

With hits such as Bubbel På Balkongen and Kommer Över Dig, Elov & Beny have been a staple at house parties all over Sweden in recent years. The duo was founded in 2008 and is made up of Mattias ‘Elov’ Elovsson and Oscar ‘Beny’ Kilenius. In 2022, Elov & Beny have become one of the most streamed acts in Sweden. With the summer hit Bubbel På Balkongen, they reached number two in the charts in both Sweden and in neighbouring Norway. A party, a high tempo and a smile are all promised when Elov & Beny make their debut at Melodifestivalen.

Tone Sekelius – Rhythm Of My Show

Written by: Anderz Wrethov, Dino Medanhodzic, Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt, Tone Sekelius

Tone Sekelius achieved huge success at Melodifestivalen 2022, when she finished in 5th place with the song My Way. The first trans person to compete at Melodifestivalen in the contest’s history, Tone has since gone on to become one of Sweden’s biggest influencers on TikTok and YouTube. Her star has also risen on TV too, where she’s performed on many of Sweden’s biggest shows, and become the new host of the popular reality TV dating format Paradise.

Jon Henrik Fjällgren, Arc North feat. Adam Woods – Where You Are (Sávečan)

Written by: Arc North, Calle Hellberg, Jon Henrik Fjällgren, Joy Deb, Oliver Belvelin, Richard Lästh, Tobias Lundgren, William Segerdahl

The connection between Jon Henrik Fjällgren, Arc North and Adam Woods might seem unexpected to some at first, but if you dive deeper into their musical journey, it quickly becomes clear why their collaboration has worked so well. With a great longing for the mysterious and epic, these three artists create a unique sense of sonic grandeur. A tribute to indescribably beautiful mountain peaks and deep forests permeates their works and cross-border collaborations. Jon Henrik Fjällgren will be familiar to Melodifestivalen viewers, with him having participated three times before, most recently in 2019.

HEAT 2: Linköping, Saturday 11 February

Wiktoria – All My Life (Where Have You Been)

Written by: Herman Gardarfve, Melanie Wehbe, Patrik Jean, Wiktoria Johansson

It’s been 16 years since the then 10 year old from Borås participated in Lilla Melodifestivalen (Melodifestivalen Junior) with the self-written contribution Jag Behöver Dig. Today, Wiktoria is a well-known face to Melodifestivalen fans. Through her previous three times participating at the contest, she has reached the final every time, and had two of those songs reach number one on the Spotify charts: As I Lay Me Down and Save Me. Wiktoria’s music has now been streamed over 100 million times. In 2016, the artist provided the Swedish voice for Disney’s Vaiana – the Swedish-language release of Moana.

Eden – Comfortable

Written by: Benjamin Rosenbohm, Eden Alm, Emil Adler Lei, Julie Aagaard

22 year old artist Eden (Eden Alm) from Hässleholm has been forging a huge success of her music over on TikTok, and is now making her Melodifestivalen debut in 2023. On TikTok, Eden shares her own personal songs about events that have shaped her life in recent years. Eden alternates the songs with clips from her relationship with fellow social-media star Sara Songbird, and their life in Stockholm. Eden has gone from relative anonymity to a respected songwriter and artist in a short time, and looks forward to opening the next chapter of her music career in Linköping!

Uje Brandelius – Grytan

Written by: Uje Brandelius

On Uje Brandelius’ CV, he can proudly list singer, pianist, songwriter, theatre actor, radio reporter, author, film star and even TV quiz winner! Well, now he can also add Melodifestivalen artist to all of the above. Uje started his music career as a songwriter and singer in the ‘90s band Doktor Kosmos, who have made a triumphant comeback across Swedish stages in the past year. In 2015, Uje released his solo album Spring, Uje, Spring, which then became the basis for a stage performance of the same name at the Royal Dramatic Theatre, followed by an acclaimed radio-theatre drama and finally a feature film directed by Henrik Schyffert. Uje Brandelius competes with his self-penned song Grytan. He describes the song as “a story about cooking, mood swings and conflict management. But mostly it’s ‘a song about love’.

THEOZ – Mer Av Dig

Written by: Axel Schylström, Jakob Redtzer, Peter Boström, Thomas G:son

17 year old THEOZ will be performing on home territory in the second heat, as he hails from Linköping. The artist made a big splash at Melodifestivalen 2022, when he went to the final and had a hit with the song Som Du Vill. The track remained in the top ten on Spotify for quite some time and its success was followed by his own summer tour, his participation in the hugely popular annual Diggiloo tour, and the release of a brand new EP. THEOZ is one of Sweden’s biggest influencers, with over two million followers across his channels. He debuted with the single Het at just 12 years old, and its music video became the most viewed Swedish music video on YouTube that year.

Maria Sur – Never Give Up

Written by: Anderz Wrethov, Laurell Barker

Soon-to-be 18 year old Maria was born and raised in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. When the war against her country broke out in February 2022, she was one of the contestants competing in Ukraine’s edition of The Voice. Maria and her mother fled the country for safety in Sweden, while her father was forced to stay behind. Once in Sweden, and determined not to let the war take away her dreams, she sought out a number of people involved in music. Former Melodifestivalen host Sarah Dawn Finer answered, and recommended Maria to the gala Hela Sverige Skramlar; a televised fundraiser that would go on to raise about 80 million SEK for aid work in Ukraine. Following her performance at the gala, Maria was signed to a Swedish record label and released her debut single That’s The Way. Maria currently attends the music school Lilla Akademien in Stockholm, and studies at a school in Ukraine by distance learning.

Tennessee Tears – Now I Know

Written by: Anderz Wrethov, Jonas Hermansson, Thomas Stengaard, Tilda Feuk

Tennessee Tears, made up of Tilda Feuk and Jonas Hermansson, is a country music duo from Sweden that has been making music together for eight years now. It all started with a songwriting collaboration with Billy Burnette (Fleetwood Mac) in Nashville, and they have since travelled back there several times to both write and record music of their own. Tennessee Tears has a number of well-received singles in their repertoire by now, and has collaborated with musicians such as Dave Roe (Johnny Cash), Michael Rhodes (Emmylou Harris, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum) and Ben Sesar (Brad Paisley).

Panetoz – On My Way

Written by: Anders Wigelius, Daniel Nzinga, Jimmy Jansson, Nebeyu Baheru, Njol Badjie, Pa Modou Badjie, Robert Norberg

The Stockholm band Panetoz, who had their big breakthrough with the summer hit Dansa Pausa in 2012, makes what is sure to be a very welcome return to Melodifestivalen. Their debut in the competition came in 2014 with the song Efter Solsken, which went directly to the final, and they then participated again in 2016 with the song Håll Om Mig Hård, which also took them to the final. Much like Melodifestivalen royalty ABBA before them, the name Panetoz comes from the first letters of the names of the three founders: Pa Modou, Nebeyu and Tobias (who is no longer a member). The band’s current line-up is Pa Modou Badjie, Nebeyu Baheru, Johan Hirvi, Njol Ismail Badjie and Daniel Nzinga.

 

The dates of Melodifestivalen 2023

  • Heat 1: Gothenburg – 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.

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

Sweden: EBU changes in voting system bring changes to the Melodifestivalen 2023 voting system of the fifth semi!

Following the announced changes by EBU regarding the voting format in next year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool, SVT announces changes to the voting format of the fifth semi-final show, as published at the Melodifestivalen mobile app!

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!

Expectedly, SVT will announce the complete the artist lineup for Melodifestivalen 2023 during digital press conferences on November 29 and 30.

The dates of Melodifestivalen 2023

  • Heat 1: Gothenburg – 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.

Source: SVT

Who do you wanna see taking part in Melodifestivalen 2023? Tell us in the comments!

Sweden: Tone Sekelius returns, two more debutants add-up to the lineup for Melodifestivalen 2023!

A few moments ago, the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet  revealed three more acts, that will be joining the line-up of Melodifestivalen 2023.

Tone Sekelius

Tone Sekelius, after her success this year with her song “My Way“, is keen on joining the show for next year as well, showing that she was not a one hit wonder. According to Aftonbladet sources, the song is really strong and might probably surprise the audience.

Kiana Blanckert

Kiana was born in February 2007 in Australia and moved to Sweden when she was just 2 years old. She will turn 16 just in time next year, to debut at the contest by fulfilling the Melodifestivalen age rules which state the you must turn 16 the latest on the day Sweden competes at the Eurovision Song Contest.

Kiana became known with her participation to the TV4 talent show Talang 2021, where she placed in the top 3. Kiana was fellow contestant at Talang 2021 with another rumoured Melodifestivalen 2023 contestant, Rejhan Bellani.

Rejhan Bellani

Rejhan, also participated last year in Talang, along with Kiana. According to information to Aftonbladet, Rejhan will work together with the artist-songwriter-producer duo Albin Johnsén and Mattias Andréasson, but it is still unclear if they wrote his competition entry. Rejhan is 16 years old, making him and Kiana two of next year’s youngest participants in Melodifestivalen.

The artists that seem to be confirmed for Melodifestivalen 2023

  1. Nordman
  2. Loulou Lamotte
  3. Wiktoria Johansson
  4. Marcus & Martinus
  5. Emil Henrohn
  6. Theoz
  7. Melanie Wehbe
  8. “Smash into pieces”
  9. Panetoz
  10. Tennessee Tears
  11. Elov & Beny
  12. Paul Rey
  13. Maris Sur
  14. Ida-Lova
  15. Victor Crone
  16. Loreen
  17. Eva Rydberg & Ewa Roos
  18. Axel Schylström
  19. Laurell Barker
  20. Tone Sekelius
  21. Kiana Blanckert
  22. Rejhan Bellani

Expectedly, SVT will announce the complete the artist lineup for Melodifestivalen 2023 during digital press conferences on November 29 and 30.

The dates of Melodifestivalen 2023

  • Heat 1: Gothenburg – 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, while SVT has received 2824 songs. The list of participants will be published in November or December 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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i777psA2gP4

Source: Aftonbladet

Who do you wanna see taking part in Melodifestivalen 2023? Tell us in the comments!

Sweden: Two debutants and the return of Paul Rey!

Aftonbladet, a while ago revealed three more acts, that will be joining the line-up of Melodifestivalen 2023.

Elov & Beny

The duo formed back in 2008 and consists of two guys from Örebro called Mattias Elovsson and Oscar Kilenius. They have topped the Swedish charts and TikTok and at the same time their summer hit “Bubbel på balkongen” has more than 22 million streams on Spotify.

Tennessee Tears

Another debuting duo in Melodifestivalen is Tennessee Tears. This band that does country music consists of Jonas Hermansson and Tilda Feuk. They have recorded most of their music in Nashville, USA. Earlier this year they signed a contract for the record company of the artist Jill Johnson called Jimajomo. According to Aftonbladet, Jill acts as a mentor for the band.

Paul Rey

Paul Rey is very well known and returns to Melodifestivalen 2023 for a third time.. Back in 2020 he participated with the song “Talking in my sleep”, reaching the finals and placing sixth. The following year he made another attempt, with the song “The Missing Piece“, when he also reached the finals through Andra Chansen.

Artists that seem to be confirmed for Melodifestivalen 2023

  • Nordman
  • Loulou Lamotte
  • Wiktoria Johansson
  • Marcus & Martinus
  • Emil Henrohn
  • Theoz
  • Elov & Beny
  • Tennessee Tears
  • Paul Rey

The dates of Melodifestivalen 2023

  • Heat 1: Gothenburg – 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, while SVT has received 2824 songs. The list of participants will be published in November or December 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.

Source: Aftonbladet

Who do you wanna see taking part in Melodifestivalen 2023? Tell us in the comments!

Sweden: Theoz is back and TikTok star Emil Henrohn debuts at Melodifestivalen 2023!

Aftonbladet, a while ago dropped the names of two TikTok Swedish stars, that will be joining the line-up of Melodifestivalen 2023.

As it seems those two artists are Theoz, who does his highly anticipated comeback, after his success this year at the contest and Emil Henrohn, who does his debut at the contest.

Emil Henrohn

Emil did his break earlier this year, when one of his TikTok videos featuring a song he had written called “Jag är mamma“, became viral and gathered over four million views. Currently he is considered to be the most influencing Swedish person on TikTok for the year of 2022.

According to sources, Emil is confirmed to be competing in the contest next year and he feels thrilled that he finally gets the chance to be joining Mello, it is his dream come true.

Theoz

Theoz (Haraldsson) is a familiar face for those who follow Melodifestivalen, as he debuted at the contest this year with his song “Som du vill“. The song was written, among others, by Axel Schylström and Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt.

Theoz has almost two million followers on TikTok, which helped him place seventh, after making it through the finals from the fifth semi-final, what was formerly known as Second Chance.

Placing seventh is of course considered to be a success for such a young and debuting Melodifestivalen artist and it was expected for him to join the contest again, soon enough, as Aftonbladet sources say.

Artists that seem to be confirmed for Melodifestivalen 2023

  • Nordman
  • Loulou Lamotte
  • Wiktoria Johansson
  • Marcus & Martinus
  • Emil Henrohn
  • Theoz

The dates of Melodifestivalen 2023

  • Heat 1: Gothenburg – 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, while SVT has received 2824 songs. The list of participants will be published in November or December 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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i777psA2gP4

Source: Aftonbladet
Photo: SVT/Annika Berglund

Who do you wanna see taking part in Melodifestivalen 2023? Tell us in the comments!

Sweden: The first names of Melodifestivalen 2023!

Aftonbladet revealed a couple of minutes ago the first three potential Melodifestivalen 2023 contestants!

Usually they manage to guess most of the artists that compete each year in the national selection procedure of Sweden for Eurovision Song Contest.

A few days after the announcement of the two hosts of the show Jesper Rönndahl and Farah Abadi, the first contestant names for Melodifestivalen 2023 have started to emerge. These artists are adding to the potential lineup that will compete in the hopes of getting selected to represent Sweden next year, at the Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Liverpool, UK. The following artists are more or less known to the fanbase, each of them having competed more than once at Melfest in the past.

Nordman

Nordman had split for a while but got reunited during the summer. They started their carrer back in 1994 and had numerous hits such as “Förlist“, “Vandraren” and “Be mig“.

They’ve competed twice in Melodifestivalen, once in 2005 with the song “Ödet var min väg” and once in 2008 with the song “I lågornas sken“. Both their participations gave them a “ticket” directly to the finals of each year. The sources said that they have a great song in hand that they co-wrote with Jimmy Jansson which they will compete with at Melodifestivalen 2023

Loulou Lamotte

Loulou is well known as a member of the group The Mamas. According to Aftonbladet, she will compete at Melodifestivalen 2023, not as a group but as a solo artist, with a song she wrote herself!

As a member of The Mamas, she did backing vocals for John Lundvik who represented Sweden back in 2019 with the song “Too Late For Love” and got selected to represent Sweden at the (cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak) Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song “Move“. The following year, in 2021, the group directly qualified to the finals of Melodifestivalen with the song “In the middle“.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EpSBDPlZn4

Wiktoria Johansson

The fan-favourite Wiktoria Johansson, made her debut at the Melodifestivalen in 2016 with the song “Save me” and then two more participations followed. One in 2017 with the song “As I lay me down” and another one in 2019 with the song “Not with me“. All three times she directly qualified to the finals of Melodifestivalen.

According to industry sources, some artists have already been announced of their participation at Melodifestivalen 2023, but not to all of them, lots of them are still waiting for a definite answer.

We remind you that Melodifestivalen 2023 is scheduled to take place between February 4th to March 11th, while SVT has received 2824 songs. The list of participants will be published in November or December and will be hosted by Jesper Rönndahl and Farah Abadi. The final list of artists will be announced in November or December as usual.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i777psA2gP4&feature=emb_title

Source: Aftonbladet

Who do you wanna see taking part in Melodifestivalen 2023? Tell us in the comments!