#Melodifestivalen 2004

[eurovision-revisited]

Eurovision 2004 - Number 61 - Lena Philipsson - "It Hurts"

Before 2004 Lena Philipsson, had already had her face on a stamp. Her enthusiasm for sewing and making her own clothes has been parodied on a Swedish comedy show. She had toured a show in which she became a female James Bond secret agent with her own musical theme. Let's say that Sweden was very well aware of her.

In the 1980s she participated in three consecutive Melfests - finishing second twice. After her third try failed to yield a Eurovision appearance, she'd moved on into pastures new and her career as a music and TV personality took over. She still found time to write songs, including Arvingarna's 1999 Melfest song Det svär jag på (I Swear It). There were many rumours during the 90s that she'd be returning to Melfest, but she never did.

It wasn't until 2004 when Det gör ont came along that she finally returned. Written by Thomas 'Orup' Eriksson, it drew Lena back to the competitive stage. Her performance won both the jury and the televote - there was no real challenger. That took her to Istanbul, a vibrantly pink dress and some accusations in Sweden that her performance was modelled on that of Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, suggestively dancing with a mic stand.

The English language version of the song, It Hurts, is outburst of heart ache to a peppy pop track. Lena doesn't look particularly like it hurts very much as she delivers a masterclass in owning a stage and hitting some big notes. She struts, seduces the camera and makes her pain seems some what enjoyable. All of this was enough to get her and Sweden into fifth place on the scoreboard in what is a strong year.

That wasn't the end of her association with Eurovision. In 2006 she hosted Melfest, causing a minor scandal as the nation's parents covered their children's ears during some of her bluer jokes. Afterwards there were more big albums and tours including one with Orup - the songwriter of It Hurts. She's an establish Swedish music and TV personality to his day with her most recent album ending up at the top of the Swedish itunes charts in 2020.

#esc #esc 2004 #eurovision #eurovision song contest #istanbul #istanbul 2004 #Youtube #Lena Philipsson #national finals #Sweden #Melodifestivalen 2004 #Thomas 'Orup' Eriksson

[plainxte]

I tend to follow the ESC rather randomly, not with a great deal of concentrated attention. But this year? The Swedish competition - Melodifestivalen - its semifinal, yesterday. Oh the interval act.

(the 2004 entry, La Dolce Vita, sung as a tribute to its original performer, whose birthday it was.)

I really

really

really really

loved it. 🥹

Photo via aftonbladet.se

The way the whole place was on its feet, clapping and singing along. 💓 The warmth and the togetherness. 🥰

🎶 Christer Lindarw mon amour

(grattis på födelsedagen 🥳)

#melodifestivalen #christer lindarw

[samhalletsuger]

När After Dark var med i Melodifestivalen 2004 med La Dolce Vita gick jag i nian. Min könsidentitet var “bög” trots att jag inte visste något om queer eller trans eller så, kände ändå starkt att jag var bög men lyckades inte övertyga någon riktigt.

Var klädd så här på niornas bal, starkt inspirerad av drag queens

#queer #könsidentitet #sa du sten #svpt #personligt

[alexbkrieger13]

Lol speaking of the group After Dark: this clip probably make more sense if you've watched the Melodifestivalen 2009 competition. Malena Ernman obviously won with La Voix but the international jury gave Caroline af Ugglas song the most points and Ernman's the lowest. After Dark themselves have competed in Mello three times. Maybe we'd done better if we'd sent them to Eurovision in 2004 or 2007 but I don't think Europe was ready back then 😅 In 2016 there were better songs than theirs

A fun fact about After Dark is that they write new lyrics and then get the actual artists to record the soundbits in a studio. It is Ernman and af Ugglas who sing in the parody but of course it's not them on stage 🤣

Many generation of Swedes grew up watching After Dark on tv. They started in the 1970's and retired in 2017. They made a comeback in 2022 with a new constellation

😅 that's funny

[newmusicradionetwork]

Super Fëmmes release *Guilty Pleasure* as their second single

Super Fëmmes is a new Swedish girl band representing a powerful and edgy, yet traditional and glamorous pop music that blurs the lines between a variety of influences. The group is a constellation of the 90’s pop icons – Emilia, Miio, DeDe Lopez and Therese “Drömhus” Grankvist – who joined forces in this super group during 2021 with the purpose to create music and perform together. Recently, Super Fëmmes released their first song, a cover of the Rozalla hit Everybody’s free (from 1991). The song is produced by the renowned team Hertzberg & Funke who had recent successes with hits like Save tonight. The song was released April 29 and has in this short period of time reached great traction, both in Sweden and internationally (markets like US, UK and Germany). As a second single, Super Fëmmes will soon be releasing the newly written song Guilty Pleasure on June 17, 2022. Guilty Pleasure is written by Collin Idzikowski, Tor Eimon, Julia Gartha, Jakke Erixson plus the Super Fëmmes member Denise DeDe Lopez. It is produced by Jakke Erixson, a Swedish musician, composer and producer based in Los Angeles. Erixson has earlier worked with artists like e.g. Christina Aguilera and Rod Stewart and, on the producer side, Max Martin and RedOne among others. Super Fëmmes will also tour this summer with their premiere at the large Swedish festival Vi som älskar 90-talet (Gothenburg, Stockholm and Helsingborg) where they will appear with their newly created show which entails a mix of their previous hits and the newly produced material. About: Super Fëmmes The name Super Fëmmes is a symbol for coming together as women, strengthening and empowering each other – all women are super women and we’re stronger together. We flirt with our roots in the 90’s era, inspired by female superheroes like Spice Girls and Charlie’s Angels, but mixing it with a modern vibe – all with a touch of glamour, attitude and class. With our different backgrounds and influences we are proud to have come together, unified in one group, and we aim to challenge the narrow view for women when it comes to who can do modern pop music and why – passion for music has no limits when it comes to age, race or appearance.   Emilia Mitiku Her world hit Big Big World had an international breakthrough when it was released in 1998 and the single set a new record in Sweden with 70,000 records sold in only 3 weeks (5.5. million copies in total)! The song wasa huge hit and was placed #1 on the charts in 18 countries at the same time and, also, later became a huge hit in China 2004 where it’s still used as a part of English education. Emilia was discovered in 1996 by Lars Anderson, son of the ABBA manager Stig “Stikkan” Anderson. She used the mononym Emilia in the early years of her career but later started to perform under the name Emilia Mitiku, using her father’s surname. In 2009, she competed in Melodifestivalen (Swedish Eurovision Song Contest) with the song You’re My World where she qualified for the finale. During the 2010’s Emilia has composed music in the genre “vintage pop” with the album I Belong to you (2012) among other   Therese Grankvist Therese’s music career started in 1996 when she called Sony music and recorded a song on their answering machine. When she later met the famous Swedish musician Dr. Alban, he convinced her to join the new eurodance project Drömhus. In 1997, the first single of Drömhus, Du och jag (You and I) was released. The big breakthrough, however, came in 1998 with the single Vill ha dig (Want You), a cover of a hit by the band Freestyle in the 1980s. The song reached triple platinum in sales and was placed #1 in all Nordic countries at the same time, an achievement that only ABBA reached before. In Melodifestivalen (Swedish Eurovision Song Contest) 1999, Drömhus competed with the song Stjärna på himmelen where she ended up on an honourable second place. After a successful career as Drömhus in the Nordics (250,000 albums sold), Therese moved over to a club music career in English and released the hit single Monkey in 2002. Hence, internationally Therese might be mostly known for this music and for her collab with the Swedish DJ and producer StoneBridge and the songs Put Em High and Take Me Away (released on Hed Kandi in 2004), both placed top 10 on the UK charts. Therese also had a successful collaboration with Danny Saucedo with whom she released the hit song If only you in 2007. Denise “DeDe” Lopez DeDe signed her first record deal with Sony Music in 1994 after have toured the world as a dancer behind artists like Melodie MC, Dr. Alban and Culture Beat. Her single Party was released in 1995 and was the song that opened up an international career for DeDe. The biggest success came in Japan where she quickly was awarded a gold record. DeDe’s biggest hit song, My Lover, was written by Max Martin, Per Magnusson, David Kreuger, Kristian Lundin and DeDe herself. DeDe has worked with prominent producers and songwriters such as Max Martin, Andreas Carlsson, Per Magnusson, David Kreuger, Anders Bagge, Derek Bramble (David Bowie & Whitney Houston), Herbie Crichlow, Father Mc, Pras Michel (Fugees), Mc Lyte and Michael Feiner. She has over 500,000 albums sold and was the only Swedish artist to open up for Michael Jackson in his Gothenburg concert in 1997. In 1999, DeDe had a concert in Japan playing at the Tokyo Dome for around 100,000 Japanese fans (!) In 2007, the song Turn you on was released featuring the Fugee star Pras Michael and in 2008 she was, together with Pras, the opening act to 50 Cent in Helsinki. Her latest single, Dare to change the world feat. Mc Lyte, written and produced by DeDe herself, reached the US top 20 list in 2018. Miio – Mia Schotte & Josefine Willers Mia & Josefine met already at ten years of age in the child performance industry when they both sang at a Swedish national TV show (Soffipropp, TV4). Since then, Mia and Josefine both have been engaged in various music projects together, with others and solo. Miio started of as a teenage pop duo in 2003 and immediately reached great success in the Swedish charts. började som tonårspopduo 2003 och nådde stora framgångar på listorna i Sverige under de följande åren. Skivsläppen blev populära bland den svenska publiken och två av singlarna (“När vi två blir en” och “Ska vi gå hem till dig”) sålde guld, liksom albumet som släpptes 2003 (“På vårt sätt”), som såldes i omkring 50,000 exemplar på bara några veckor. Miio har samarbetat med flera svenska raplegender som Ken Ring, Ayo och Daddy Boastin. Efter att ha tagit en paus från Miio-projektet 2006 återförenades duon över tio år senare (2018) och har genomfört utvalda konserter runt om i landet sedan dess. Mia & Josefine first met in the children’s artist industry and performed together for the first time at the age of 10 years on a TV show for children, broadcasted on national television (“Soffipropp”, TV4). Since then, Mia and Josefine have been engaged in various music projects, together as well as on their own. Miio started off as a teen pop duo in 2003 and reached great success on the charts in Sweden during the following years. Their releases became popular with the Swedish audience and two of the singles (“När vi två blir en” and “Ska vi gå hem till dig”) sold gold, as did the album released in 2003 (“På vårt sätt” / In our own way). They have collaborated with several Swedish rap legends such as Ken Ring, Ayo and Daddy Boastin. After taking a break from the Miio project in 2006, the duo reunited more than ten years later and have done selected gigs around the country since then Read the full article

[eurofan78]

For their iconic contribution with 'La dolce vita' in Melodifestivalen 2004, it is clear that sooner or later drag act After Dark was going to take an honorable place in the Melodifestivens Hall of Fame!

The two drag queens, with their glittering performance, created a classic self-expression which earned them cult status, many followers through the years and more stardust in the Melodifestivalen 2007 and 2016

"La dolce vita" was written by Larry Forsberg, Sven-Inge Sjöberg and Lennart Wastesson. And, despite placing third, After Dark has been a major ingredient in Swedish LGBTQ culture since 1976

After Dark (1976–2018) was a drag act starring clothes designer and entertainer Christer Lindarw and put together for a special Stockholm nightclub called After Dark Club immediately after Lindarw, along with Roger Jönsson and later Lars "Lasse" Flinckman, had appeared in the parody musical Wild Side Story at restaurant-discothèque called Alexandra's in early 1976

The clientele at Alexandra's included Sweden's crème de la crème, including regulars ABBA, Björn Borg and King Carl XVI Gustaf, and international celebrities who visited Stockholm. After Dark's immediate appeal with Alexandra's clientele has been cited as instrumental to rapid and early success and an integral role in Swedish LGBTQ culture and history

Roger Jönsson, however, left After Dark for another group in 1981 and died in 1984. The Lindarw-Flinckman duo started having international success, performing in Barcelona, Madrid and San Francisco

In 2004, After Dark competed in Melodifestivalen, the annual Swedish preparation for the Eurovision Song Contest, with the song "La dolce vita" which finished third. A single of the song was a hit on the radio in Sweden and was often played at Swedish day care centers

After Dark, without Lars "Lasse" Flinckman, competed at Melodifestivalen 2007 with "(Åh) När ni tar saken i egna händer", but the song failed to proceed to the finale

In 2009, Lars "Lasse" Flinckman retired from After Dark (he died in 2016) and was replaced for a tour of Sweden by fashion designer and drag artist Lars-Åke Wilhelmsson also known as Babsan

After Dark made their third and final appearance at Melodifestivalen in 2016 with the song "Kom ut som en stjärna" which placed 7th in the third semifinal

Late in 2016, as his comprehensive biography was published by Bonniers, Christer Lindarw starring alone began what became his last big show tour, to be completed at musical theatre Oscarsteatern in Stockholm during the last months of 2017. He, then, revealed that After Dark would be discontinued soon after

#Lasse #Christer Lindarw #After Dark #Melodifestivalen 2004 #Melfest #LGBTQ #lgbtq history #LGBT #drag queens #drag act #music #musique #Sverige #Sweden #Lars Flinckman #eurovizija #eurovision song contest #eurovision #eurovisione #eurovizijos #ESC #eurovisão #eurovisión #euroviisut

[singing-show-alums]

Singing Shows and Eurovision: Sweden 🇸🇪 (Part One: The Two Eurovision Winners)

So, in the Introduction, I revealed that I am beginning what I hope will become a recurring series on this blog (as well as my Eurovision-themed side blog, @american-eurovision-nerd, to which I’ll be reblogging these posts) where I chronicle different singing shows in certain countries, and how they’ve gone on to influence the Eurovision Song Contest in the last couple of decades, since these shows started becoming popular. And I’ve decided to start with what has to be the most successful country and singing show in Eurovision’s most recent history: Idol Sweden. In the Introduction, I went over a basic history of the Idols format in Sweden, its winners, and the alumni who have gone on to compete in Sweden’s national selection for Eurovision and easily one of the country’s most popular shows, Melodifestivalen. Now, we get to meet two of Idols Sweden’s earliest alumni, and the two who have also had the most success at Eurovision: Loreen and Måns Zelmerlöw.

Loreen (Lorén Talhaoui)

Loreen was born Lorine Talhaoui on 16 October 1983 in Stockholm to parents were originally from Morocco and part of the Berber ethnic group. She was raised in Västerås, in central Sweden. In 2004, when she was 20 (she turned 21 during the competition), she auditioned as Lorén Talhaoui (in Swedish, “Lorén” is still pronounced roughly as both Lorine and Loreen are) for the very first season of Idol Sweden, Idol 2004, and made it into the voting rounds. She almost didn’t make it into the group of finalists due to finishing third in the public vote of her semifinal group, but after the semifinal rounds were completed, the judges were given the option to pick one person from the semifinalists who had finished third or fourth in their group’s public vote. She was selected and joined the group of finalists in the series’ first live show. Over the course of her Idol run, she landed in the bottom group 3 times, being eliminated on her third trip and finishing in 4th place overall. She released her first single not long after her Idol run, and then took a hiatus from music for a few years, during which she worked as a producer and director for several television shows in Sweden.

In 2011 she made her return to music and entered her first edition of Melodifestivalen. Her song was called “My Heart is Refusing Me”, and in her semifinal, she finished...fourth. But luckily, Melodifestivalen in recent years has had an additional round called Andra Chansen, or the “Second Chance” round. In this particular round, the songs that finished third and fourth in each semifinal (as the top two in each semifinal advance directly to the Final) get assigned into duels with a quick public vote determining which song from each duel goes into the Final. Unfortunately, she ended up losing her duel and was eliminated from the 2011 competition. But the following year, she returned with a vengeance with “Euphoria”. She qualified directly from the first semifinal to the Final and then won the final pretty decisively by winning both the Jury vote and a plurality of the public vote, finishing about 10% ahead of the runner-up (and she and the runner-up, Danny Saucedo, were the only two finalists to get double-digit percentages of the public vote).

This brings us to Eurovision 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan 🇦🇿. “Euphoria” pretty easily won its semifinal with 181 points, winning by a 22-point margin over second place Serbia 🇷🇸 in that semifinal. In the Final, “Euphoria” ended up setting records and won Eurovision 2012 with 372 points (a 113-point margin over runner-up Russia 🇷🇺), the second-most points up to that point (only behind Norway’s 🇳🇴 “Fairytale” by Alexander Rybak), and the most 12-points awarded under the voting system in use at the time. In the Final, the song received points from 40 of the 41 countries eligible to vote for it (remember, countries can’t vote for themselves). Only Italy 🇮🇹 did not give Sweden any points.

Since her big Eurovision win, Loreen has appeared in Melodifestivalen one additional time. In 2017, she entered once again with “Statements”, and ended up in the Second Chance round once again. Unfortunately, she was eliminated in her duel. The winner of that Melodifestivalen was “I Can’t Go On” by Robin Bengtsson, who we’ll get to in Part 2.

Måns Zelmerlöw

Måns Petter Albert Sahlén Zelmerlöw (phew 😅, that’s a mouthful) was born 13 June 1986 in Lund, Sweden (located near the very southern tip of Sweden) and was raised in Lund as well. A few months before his Idol audition, he and his family were vacationing in Khao Lak, Thailand 🇹🇭 when the area was hit by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and the devastating tsunami that followed. Thankfully, Måns and his family were unharmed (thanks to efficiency and really good timing), but somewhere between 4,000-10,000 (including local residents and foreign tourists alike) died in Khao Lak as a result of the disaster. They managed to survive because of Måns’ mother insisting they pack up the night before, since they were supposed to be checking out the next day, and they checked out and left the hotel literally minutes before the tsunami hit. It was only when they saw water coming up the road that they realized something was wrong.

Måns, who was 19 at the time his season took place, auditioned for Idol Sweden’s second season, Idol 2005, and made it into the voting rounds. He won the vote in his semifinal and progressed into the final voting rounds. (One of the other semifinalists from his season, Anton Hård af Segerstad, would later become a co-writer of Måns’ big song, but we’ll get to that later.) In the finals, he ended up in the bottom group three times, being eliminated in his third trip, and finishing fifth overall. The season was ultimately won by Agnes Carlsson, who made history as the first female wildcard contestant to win an Idols show and one of only a handful of wildcard contestants to have done so worldwide. Carlsson herself would go on to compete at Melodifestivalen 2009 with the song “Love Love Love” (this edition was also Måns’ second Melfest appearance, which I’ll get to momentarily). She did well enough in both rounds of her semifinal’s voting and advanced to the Final, where she ended up finishing 8th.

Måns’ first appearance in Melodifestivalen would come a little over a year after his Idol run, in the 2007 edition. (In Sweden, Idol typically runs in the autumn with a December finale date, while Melodifestivalen runs in February and early March in order to select Sweden’s Eurovision entry in time for the mid-March deadline set by the EBU.) The song he competed with was called “Cara Mia” and he won his semifinal, advancing directly to the Final along with Sebastian Karlsson, who was the runner-up on Måns’ season of Idol, and given their surnames have slightly different spellings, let me stress that Sebastian Karlsson is not related to the winner of that season, Agnes Carlsson. (Funny enough, there was also a Magnus Carlsson competing in that semifinal who was also a member of the Swedish group Alcazar, and he is not to be confused with the Norwegian chess player Magnus Carlsen.) In the Final, “Cara Mia” ended up finishing 3rd overall, with “The Worrying Kind” by The Ark going on to Eurovision.

Måns’ second Melodifestivalen appearance took place two years later, for the 2009 edition. Once again, Måns advanced directly to the Final from his semifinal, with the song “Hope & Glory”. In addition to Agnes Carlsson and Måns, E.M.D. (made up of former Idol contestants who competed the next two years after Agnes and Måns) and Molly Sandén (who once represented Sweden at Junior Eurovision, dated E.M.D. member Danny Saucedo for several years, and also provided Rachel McAdams’ singing voice in the movie Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga) were all in this Final. Måns ended up finishing 4th in the 2009 Final, but won the Jury vote. (He finished 5th in the public voting.) “La voix” by Malena Ernman would win Melodifestivalen 2009; the song placed 4th in the Jury vote, but won the competition with a decisive points win in the public vote. (Fun fact: Malena Ernman is the mother of noted teen climate activist Greta Thunberg.)

Måns would co-host Melodifestivalen for the first time in 2010, and in 2013 he was one of the songwriters on another Melfest entry, “Hello Goodbye”, which was performed by Idol Sweden alum Erik Segerstedt and Idol Norway 2005 runner-up, Tone Damli Aaberge (or just Tone Damli.) song made it to the Second Chance round, but did not qualify to the Final.

2015 marked his third trip to Melodifestivalen as a performer, and in addition he also was a songwriter on another entry that same year, “Det rår vi inte för” by Behrang Miri ft. Victor Crone. That song was eliminated in the Second Chance round, although Crone would later go on to win the Estonian national final, Eesti laul, in 2019 with “Storm” and finished 20th overall at Eurovision representing Estonia. The song Måns competed with at Melfest as a performer, “Heroes”, fared much better. He once again won his semifinal and advanced directly to the Final. In the Final, it ended up winning the Jury and Public voting pretty decisively, and was in fact the only entry in the Final to score at least 100 points in both. (Of all the international juries, Måns got 12 points from all but two: Israel and the United Kingdom.)

At Eurovision, “Heroes” went into the Contest as the favorite among bookmakers to win the entire thing. Sweden easily qualified to the Final, winning Semifinal 2 with a 217 points and a 62-point margin over the second-placed country in that group, Latvia. In fact, of the 20 countries Sweden was eligible to receive votes from in that semifinal (the 16 other countries participating in that semifinal; debuting country Australia, Germany, Italy, and the UK were already qualified to the Final and drawn to vote in Semifinal 2; and Sweden could not vote for itself), not only did Sweden receive points from every country in the combined Jury/Public voting, but it received the maximum 12 points from 14 countries. In the Final, “Heroes” went on to win Eurovision 2015 with 365 and a 62-point margin over runner-up Russia. However, Sweden only won the Jury vote that year, while fan favorite Italy won the televote.

Since his Eurovision win, Måns has gone on to be a major television and entertainment personality not just in his home country of Sweden, where he hosted Eurovision 2016 alongside Swedish comedian Petra Mede and just this past year guest co-hosted Melodifestivalen 2021, but also in his adopted home country of the United Kingdom, where he now lives with his wife Ciara (née Janson) and their sons Archie and Albert. He has previously hosted the British national final and when Eurovision 2020 was cancelled due to the pandemic, he took part in a comedic Eurovision-style competition over YouTube called the “Isolation Song Contest”, where he represented the U.K. with a song called “Swings and Roundabouts”. He didn’t win (that honor went to British comedian Mel Giedroyc, who represented Italy), but the ISC did raise almost £38,500 for charity, so everybody won in a sense.

#singing shows and eurovision #idol Sweden #Sweden Eurovision #Loreen #måns zelmerlöw

[because-its-eurovision]

UMK 2021 contestants revealed!

Songs will be revealed one per day, starting on Thursday the 14th of January. The final is on Saturday 20th of February at 8 pm CET.

Previous Eurovision connections: Laura (Põldvere) participated in Eurolaul 2005 both as a solo artist with the song Moonwalk and as a member of the girl group Suntribe. Suntribe represented Estonia in Kyiv with the song Let’s Get Loud. She also took part in Eurolaul 2007 with the song Sunflowers, Eesti Laul 2009 with the song Destiny and Eesti Laul 2016 with the song Supersonic. In 2017 Laura represented Estonia, again in Kyiv, in a duet with Koit Toome with the song Verona. She again took part in Eesti Laul in 2020 with the song Break Me.

Pandora has taken part in Melodifestivalen twice. In 2003 she competed with the song You and in 2004 with the song Runaway.

Aksel (Kankaanranta) won UMK 2020 with the song Looking Back.

Danny has competed in the Finnish Eurovision selection multiple times: in 1966 with the song Pieni sana, 1967 with Sua kutsun, Maarit and Keskiyöllä, 1973 with Galileo Galilei, 1974 with Jos maailmassa vain ois kahva, 1975 with Seikkailija, 1986 with Ninja and in 2004 with Seven Times Seven. (He has also dated Katri Helena (ESC 1979 & 1993) in 1967-1968 and Erika Vikman (UMK 2020) in 2016-2020.)

#umk #uuden musiikin kilpailu #umk 2021 #uuden musiikin kilpailu 2021 #eurovision #2021 #euroviisut #ilta #laura põldvere #oskr #teflon brothers #pandora #aksel #danny #blind channel #esc #suomi #finland

[angel-princess-anna]

Forever ‘til the end of time: An Anna x Bates + Eurovision Playlist

YouTube Playlist Here

Uniting my loves of Anna x Bates and the Eurovision Song Contest! I've got absolute bangers, cheesy bops, classic chansons, and heartfelt ballads. Every song is about your OTP if you try hard enough, but I tried to narrow it to the ones I feel fit the canon the most. They are in loose order of series; yes, there's a lot of weather related lyrics thanks to those S5-S6 press releases and interviews talking about storms, clouds, and finally the mist lifting. And of course, nods to the iconic dialogue.

The songs span the history of the contest. Also included are some songs from national finals and selections, as well as a few other songs by ESC artists (you might recognize some hitmakers!). I'm using YouTube over other services because it's the easiest way to make sure all songs will play for everyone and are available in general. (Some songs were included in older A/B mixes I had on 8tracks back in the day; this particular playlist has been one I've been building for years in various forms lol).

Below is a tracklist, plus links to translations for the songs not in English:

Birgitta – “Open Your Heart” (Eurovision 2003 - Iceland 🇮🇸 )

Tereza Kerndlová – “Have Some Fun” (Eurovision 2008 - Czech Republic 🇨🇿 )

ABBA – “Take A Chance On Me” (Eurovision Winning Artist [Sweden 1974 🇸🇪])

Darya Hmelnitskaya – “On Fire” (Natsionalniy Otbor 2020 - Belarus 🇧🇾 )

Emmelie de Forest – “What Are You Waiting For” (Eurovision Winning Artist [Denmark 2013 🇩🇰])

Kenny Duerlund – “Forget It All” (Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2020 - Denmark 🇩🇰 )

Kenneth McKellar – “A Man Without Love” (Eurovision 1966 - United Kingdom 🇬🇧 )

Lise Darly – “Tout de moi” (Eurovision 2005 - Monaco 🇲🇨 ) [Translation]

Elizabete Gaile – “For You” (Supernova 2020 - Latvia 🇱🇻 )

Didrik Solli-Tangen – “My Heart Is Yours” (Eurovision 2010 - Norway 🇳🇴 )

Inis Neziri – “Pendesë” (Festivali i Këngës 59 [2021] - Albania 🇦🇱 ) [Translation]

Uku Suviste – “What Love Is” (Eurovision 2020 - Estonia 🇪🇪 )

Il Volo – “Grande amore” (Eurovision 2015 - Italy 🇮🇹 ) [Translation]

Corry Brokken – “Heel de wereld” (Eurovision 1958 - Netherlands 🇳🇱 ) [Translation]

Ben & Tan – “YES” (Eurovision 2020 - Denmark 🇩🇰 )

Jean Paul Mauric – “Printemps, avril carillonne” (Eurovision 1961 - France 🇫🇷 ) [Translation]

Edsilia Rombley – “Hemel en aarde” (Eurovision 1998 - Netherlands 🇳🇱 ) [Translation]

Texas Lightning – “No No Never” (Eurovision 2006 - Germany 🇩🇪 )

Stina Talling – “Elevate” (Melodi Grand Prix 2021 - Norway 🇳🇴 )

Lucie Jones – “Never Give Up On You” (Eurovision 2017 - United Kingdom 🇬🇧 )

Agnete – “Icebreaker” (Eurovision 2016 - Norway 🇳🇴 )

Gary O'Shaughnessy – “Without Your Love” (Eurovision 2001 - Ireland 🇮🇪 )

Victor Crone – “Troubled Waters” (Melodifestivalen 2020 - Sweden 🇸🇪 )

Firelight – “Coming Home” (Eurovision 2014 - Malta 🇲🇹 )

Mohombi – “Winners” (Melodifestivalen 2020 - Sweden 🇸🇪 )

Nina – “Čaroban” (Eurovision 2011 - Serbia 🇷🇸 ) [Translation]

Cascada – “Glorious” (Eurovision Album Version) (Eurovision 2013 - Germany 🇩🇪 )

Lynn – “To Dream Again” (Eurovision 2003 - Malta 🇲🇹 )

Linda Martin – “Why Me?” (Eurovision 1992 Winning Song - Ireland 🇮🇪 )

Tom Leeb – “The Best in Me” (Original Mix)  (Eurovision 2020 - France 🇫🇷 ) [Translation]

Robin Stjernberg – “Pieces” (Eurovision Artist [Sweden 2013 🇸🇪])

Amaliya Margaryan – “Waiting For The Sun” (Depi Evratesil 2018 - Armenia 🇦🇲 )

Jan Johansen – “Se på mig” (Eurovision 1995 - Sweden 🇸🇪 ) [Translation]

Ellen Benediktson & Simon Peyron – “Surface” (Melodifestivalen 2020 - Sweden 🇸🇪 )

Gabrielius Vagelis – “Tave Čia Randu” (Pabandom iš naujo! 2020 - Lithuania 🇱🇹 ) [Translation]

Olsen Brothers – “Fly on the Wings of Love” (Eurovision 2000 Winning Song - Denmark 🇩🇰 )

Eugent Bushpepa – “Mall” (Eurovision 2018 - Albania 🇦🇱 ) [Translation]

Maria Olafs – “Unbroken” (Eurovision 2015 - Iceland 🇮🇸 )

Amber – “Warrior” (Eurovision 2015 - Malta 🇲🇹 )

Ruth Lorenzo – “Dancing In The Rain” (Eurovision 2014 - Spain 🇪🇸 ) [Translation]

Nina Kraljić – “Lighthouse” (Eurovision 2016 - Croatia 🇭🇷 )

Gabriela Gunčíková – “I Stand” (Eurovision 2016 - Czech Republic 🇨🇿 )

Kristian Kostov – “Beautiful Mess” (Eurovision 2017 - Bulgaria 🇧🇬 )

Hayko – “Anytime You Need” (Eurovision 2007 - Armenia 🇦🇲 ) [Translation]

Maraaya – “Here For You” (Eurovision 2015 - Slovenia 🇸🇮 )

Hovig – “Gravity” (Eurovision 2017 - Cyprus 🇨🇾 )

James Newman – “My Last Breath” (Eurovision 2020 - United Kingdom 🇬🇧 )

Eddie Butler – “Together We Are One” (Eurovision 2006 - Israel 🇮🇱 ) [Translation]

Camillo Felgen – “So laang we's du do bast” (Eurovision 1960 - Luxembourg 🇱🇺 ) [Translation]

Aminata – “Love Injected” (Long Mix) (Eurovision 2015 - Latvia 🇱🇻 )

Jurijus – “Run With The Lions” (Eurovision 2019 - Lithuania 🇱🇹 )

James Newman – “Embers” (Eurovision 2021 - United Kingdom 🇬🇧 )

Knut Anders Sørum – “High” (Eurovision 2004 - Norway 🇳🇴 )

Domenico Modugno – “Dio, come ti amo” (Eurovision 1966 - Italy 🇮🇹 ) [Translation]

Tie Break – “Du bist” (Eurovision 2004 - Austria 🇦🇹 ) [Translation]

3JS – “Never Alone” (Eurovision 2011- Netherlands 🇳🇱 )

Måns Zelmerlöw – “Fire In The Rain” (Eurovision Winning Artist [Sweden 2015 🇸🇪] & Eurovision 2016 Host / Interval Act)

The Mamas – “In The Middle” (Melodifestivalen 2021 - Sweden 🇸🇪 )

Inger Jacobsen – “Kom sol, kom regn“ (Eurovision 1962 - Norway 🇳🇴 ) [Translation]

Robin Stjernberg – “You” (Eurovision 2013 - Sweden 🇸🇪 )

Victor Crone – “Storm” (Eurovision 2019 - Estonia 🇪🇪 )

Loreen – “Euphoria” (Eurovision 2012 Winning Song - Sweden 🇸🇪 )

Téréza – “Bien plus fort” (Eurovision 1966 - Monaco 🇲🇨 ) [Translation]

Ira Losco – “Walk on Water” (Eurovision 2016 - Malta 🇲🇹 )

Destiny – “All of My Love” (Eurovision 2020 - Malta 🇲🇹 )

The Mamas – “Move” (Eurovision 2020 - Sweden 🇸🇪 )

SuRie – “Storm” (Eurovision 2018 - United Kingdom 🇬🇧 )

Conchita Bautista – “Estando contigo” (Eurovision 1961 - Spain 🇪🇸 ) [Translation]

Ira Losco – “Chameleon (Invincible)” (MESC 2016 - Malta 🇲🇹 )

Charlotte Perrelli – “Hero” (Eurovision 2008 - Sweden 🇸🇪 )

Nodi Tatishvili & Sophie Gelovani – “Waterfall” (Eurovision 2013 - Georgia 🇬🇪 )

Mocedades – “Eres Tú” (Eurovision 1973 - Spain 🇪🇸 ) [Translation]

Céline Dion – “A New Day Has Come (Radio Remix)” (Eurovision Winning Artist [Switzerland 1988 🇨🇭])

Bonus Track: Robin Stjernberg & Cascada – “You” (Eurovision 2013 Artists - Sweden 🇸🇪 & Germany 🇩🇪 )

#downton abbey #anna x bates #my mixes #my edit

[eurovision-revisited]

Eurovision 2003 - Number 28 - Kerli featuring Locatellis - "Let's Go"

2003 marks the debut of one of the National Final fan's favourites. Welcome to Kerli Kõiv, not competing at EuroLaul for her first attempt to make it, but at Melodifestivalen. Here she's paired with female rap duo Locatellis to form a cut-down, Spice Girls influenced, manufactured experience with a smattering of Spanish.

Let's Go may be a derivative and absolutely off-the-production-line party song, but it's addictive and all three of them seem to be having huge amounts of fun on stage. Interestingly the song is written in part by Jonas Liberg - the creative brain behind Latvia's 2008 Eurovision entry Wolves of the Sea

It's a calling card for Kerli (she is on the line after all) and it's certainly one that got her noticed. However the televoters of Sweden were less impressed. It came 7th out of the 8 songs in Heat 2. Not a great start, but the A&R men were watching as were the folks back home in her native Estonia.

In 2004 she entered EuroLaul and finished second with a song that pushed ever further into the public eye. Shortly after that she signed her first record deal - with Def Jam records of all record companies. Her aesthetic was indie. Skater girl at the peak years of Avril Lavigne. Her focus was then away from Estonia and Sweden and more about what her label wanted her to do - which wasn't what she wanted at all. Many singles and an album followed before she wriggled free from Island/Def Jam and got fully back in control of her music.

Her entries to Eesti Laul resumed in 2016 and was almost instantly making an impression again. I'm certain she'll be in a future top 48. For now here's one of her covers from the Island/Def Jam years - a cover of Bauhaus's She's in Parties from 2007

#Youtube #esc #esc 2003 #eurovision #eurovision song contest #riga #riga 2003 #national finals #Melodifestival 2003 #Kerli Kõiv #Kerli #Locatellis #Jonas Liberg #Sweden

[whitewaterpaper]

Rena rama ding dång! Eva Rydberg fortsätter skämma bort oss med gratis fredriksdalare på Tuben, liksom en bejublad comeback i melodifestivalen. Men jag har hunnit med “riktig” spelfilm också.

Cinderella (1957) 👍 📺 🆓

Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019)  👍

Fars Lilla Tös (1999)  👍 🔁 📺 🆓

Hemvärnets Glada Dagar (2005)  👍 🔁 📺 🆓

Herrskap och Tjänstehjon (2006) 📺 🆓

Hon Jazzade en Sommar (2002)  👍 🔁 📺 🆓

Husan Också (1995) 📺 🆓

Ikaros / Icarus (2017)  👍

Kapten Svartskägg / Blackbeard, the Pirate (1952)  👎

Nunnor på rymmen / Nuns on the Run (1990)  👍 🆓

💐 Tack för tipset @kulturdasset!

Finns att se gratis på Cinamateket.

Primeval (2007)  👍

Reckoning, the (2020)  👎 🆓

Finns att se gratis på Cinamateket.

Spöket Kapten Svartskägg / Blackbeard's Ghost (1968) [

Taxi (2004)  👍

Var God Dröj (2019)  🔁 📺 🆓

Viva la Greta (2011)  📺 🆓

Eftersom “nån” kom åt en knapp på tangentbordet och hela posten försvann i intet. Så mina fans nöja sig med en lista rakt upp och ned denna månad. Fråga gärna om detaljer.

På lördag röstar vi Eva och Ewa till finalen!

#månadens filmer #cinderella #dora and the lost city of gold #fars lilla tös #hemvärnets glada dagar #Herrskap och Tjänstehjon #hon jazzade en sommar #Husan Också #Kapten Svartskägg #Blackbeard the Pirate #Nunnor på rymmen #Nuns on the Run #primeval #the reckoning #icarus documentary #Spöket Kapten Svartskägg #Blackbeard's Ghost #Taxi 2004 film #Var God Dröj #Viva la Greta #fredriksdalsteatern

[niceplacetovisit]

🟦  SONG OF THE DAY - MELODIFESTIVALEN SPECIAL 📆  13th March 2021 🎶  “DET GÖR ONT“ 🇸🇪  LENA PHILIPSSON 💿  Det Gör Ont En Stund På Natten Men Inget På Dan (2004)

Tonight it’s the final of Melodifestivalen 2021! Here’s possibly my favourite winner from the 21st Century - Lena Philipsson with “Det Gör Ont” which went on to finish 5th place at Eurovision in Istanbul a couple of months later as “It Hurts”. The album it’s from has a ridiculously long name (It hurts sometimes at night, but never in the day) and is wonderful too. And she’s always good value when hosting Melodifestivalen as she did for the first Semi Final this year.

#song of the day #lena philipsson #det gör ont #det gör ont en stund på natten men inget på dan #melodifestivalen

[organizedstudy]

Iconic Melodifestivalen winners

Melodifestivalen (the Swedish contest where we decide who we’re sending to Eurovision) is a really big deal in Sweden (honestly, that shit goes on for 8 weeks in 8 different cities and has an enormous budget and viewer count) and it has produced a lot of hits so I decided to compile my favorites/some very iconic ones that a lot of (if not every) swedes know. I might do a second one with songs that didn’t win but that are iconic nevertheless if you’re interested. 

1968 Det börjar verka kärlek, banne mej Claes-Göran Hederström (please look at his dance it’s so smooth) 1969 Judy, min vän Tommy Körberg (I love the fact that Judy wanting a TV and a car is wanting luxury and things, oh the 60′s, Tommy is still active btw, a real champ, he was only 21 here) 1974 Waterloo ABBA (y’all already know what’s good, Sweden’s big pride, the first time we won) 1978 Det blir alltid värre framåt natten Björn Skifs (in the beginning he forgets the text and just sings some gibberish, a classic) 1979 Satellit Ted Gärdestad (WHAT is happening at the beginning of this video?? Anyway it’s a good song and Ted is a really appreciated artist, recently there was a very controversial film about him) 1980 Just nu! Tomas Ledin (Please look at this performance it’s so 80′s! This is one of those songs that you know like 2 lines from) 1983 Främling Carola Häggkvist (now THIS is a real classic, a bop and an anthem, she was only 16 here and she’s still active, I linked the version from Melodifestivalen and not ESC because this yellow outfit is so iconic, as is the move she does at the end, apparently she also recorded an English, German and Dutch version) 1984 Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley Herreys (also very iconic, one day I’ll learn this dance, the second time we won) 1985 Bra vibrationer Kikki Danielsson (the background dancers are the most iconic part of this performance, also her 80′s look is on point) 1987 Fyra bugg och en Coca Cola Lotta Engberg (a very colorful entry, they had to change the text though to not favor Coca Cola, Lotta is still active) 1988 Stad i ljus Tommy Körberg (Tommy is back at it, I really like this song and got a chock when I learnt it came from Melodifestivalen) 1991 Fångad av en stormvind Carola Häggkvist (another Carola classic, the big ass fan and the background dancers are again very iconic, third time we won) 1992 I morgon är en annan dag Christer Björkman (iconic because it got second to last in ESC but the singer is now the main man behind Melodifestivalen so skrattar bäst som skrattar sist as we say in Swedish) 1999 Tusen och en natt Charlotte Nilsson (this look is very 90′s, fourth time we won (with the English version called Take me to your heaven)) 2000 När vindarna viskar mitt namn Roger Pontare (very iconic, not that sure how ok his clothes are though) 2004 Det gör ont Lena Philipsson (the dance she does with the microphone stand got a lot of attention) 2006 Evighet Carola (yeah she’s back at it again, a classic) 2012 Euphoria Loreen (our crab queen, the fifth time we won) 2015 Heroes Måns Zelmerlöw (you know him, made Sweden angry because we won 3 years earlier and it’s expensive to host Eurovision, sixth time we won)

#melodifestivalen #eurovision #svenska #Swedish #mello #swedish music #Swedish langblr #langblr #mine #iii #my youtube recommendations after this will be so messed up #wow look at me actually making a true langblr post go me #organizedstudy

[stolligaseptember]

Har du någonsin sett medleyt som var mellanakten i vår svenska Eurovisionfinal år 2000? :) Det är inget Love, Love, Peace, Peace men den är epic på sitt sätt XD Det var väl kan man säga gamlingarnas farväl till Eurovision innan det underbara vansinnet drog igång de följande åren (ja förutom Carola då som inte gav sig förrän Lordi mosade henne). Det finns att se i SVTs Öppet arkiv, de har hela programmet men mellanakten börjar ungefär 1:20 in. Ganska bisarrt att se hur gammalt allt verkar...

jag kan inte säga att jag kommer ihåg det, med tanke på att jag var 3 vid tillfället den första melodifestivalen jag faktiskt har minnen från är den 2002; jag tror jag fick mina föräldrar att spela in finalen så att jag hade det på en vhs som gick på repeat där några månader

och även om vi inte har tid att unpacka allt som pågick där, några noter;

jag har jättesvårt att vrida mitt huvud runt det faktumet att vi faktiskt hade en live orkester så sent som 2000

lena ph kan liksom. Get It.

och även om det verkligen var många gamla godingar, så var det ju inte bara carola som hängde i ett tag till; lena ph vann ju 2004, och arja saijonmaa var ju med igen så sent som i år

varför har vi gett upp interaktiva scener, det var ju SKITKUL

lotta engberg i glasögon var. En Upplevelse.

att lasse holm är med ger det hela en väldig diggiloo-vibe

björn skifs: “ligger naken- VAKEN”

det tidiga 2000-talet och. skinnbyxor.

#melodifestivalen #sweden #swedish #weiila #storytelling september

[eurofan78]

Lena Philipsson is inducted into the Melodifestivalen Hall of Fame for ’Kärleken är evig’ (1986), ’Dansa i neon’ (1987), ’Om igen’ (1988) and ’Det gör ont’ (2004). She has demonstrated her persistent stardom by making all her entries into classics

#Lena Philipsson #Melodifestivalen #eurovision song contest #eurofan #a song for europe #song festival #Sverige #Sweden #Suecia #escfan #eurovisión #eurovizija #euroviisut #eurovisione #eurovision #Евровизия #eurovizijos #ESC 2004 #EBU #eurovisão #евровидение #євробачення #eurofestival #l'eurofestival

[singing-show-alums]

Singing Shows and Eurovision: Sweden 🇸🇪 (Introduction)

I know it’s been a loooooooonnnnnnggggg time since I’ve posted anything on here, but that’s about to change. This is the start of a new series I’m planning to do on this blog, and I will be reblogging these on my Eurovision side blog, @american-eurovision-nerd. Some say that the Idols format was, in part, inspired by Eurovision. And although the Idols format has fallen in popularity in recent years, artists who first made their name on the format have found their way onto the Eurovision stage, a stage that has made and broken many a singer over its six decades of existence. I’ll be profiling different singing competition formats, specifically Idols, The X Factor, and The Voice, the countries where one or more of those formats may be popular, and their contributions to Eurovision.

In my first posts of this series, I’m going to be profiling what is likely the most successful country when it comes to Idols alums crossing over into Eurovision: Sweden 🇸🇪.

Sweden first began airing its version of Idols, Idol ____ (the blank there because the official title of the show uses the year that each season is taking place), in 2004 with Daniel Lindström crowned its first winner. Since then, it has run for 17 seasons, taking a one-year break in 2012 when The X Factor aired instead. The X Factor Sweden was canceled after one season and Idol 2013 returned the following year. Over 17 seasons, 12 men and 5 women have won Idol Sweden (and women have never won in back-to-back years on this particular version).

The male winners are: Daniel Lindström, Markus Fagervall, Kevin Borg (the only Idols winner to ever come from Malta), Erik Grönwall, Jay Smith, Kevin Walker, Martin Almgren, Liam Cacatian Thomassen, Kristoffer Kläfford, Sebastian Walldén, Tusse Chiza (originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo), and Birkir Blær (full name Birkir Blær Óðinsson, who is originally from Iceland).

The female winners are: Agnes Carlsson, Marie Picasso, Amanda Fondell, Lisa Ajax, and Nadja Holm.

Some American readers may recognize Erik Grönwall (who appeared as Simon Zealotes in NBC’s concert production of Jesus Christ Superstar) and Christoffer Kläfford (who would later compete on America’s Got Talent in 2019, where he made it to the Semifinal rounds before being eliminated).

This particular version of Idols has also produced a whole bunch of non-winning alumni who have gone on to great success, thanks in no small part to Melodifestivalen. Melodifestivalen (Swedish for “The Melody Festival” or “The Song Festival”) is the Swedish national selection competition to choose its entry for Eurovision. It was first staged in 1959, for Sweden’s second Eurovision appearance (its debut the previous year is the only time that Sweden has ever used an internal selection to select its Eurovision entry), and since then Melodifestivalen (also affectionately known to fans worldwide as “Melfest” or “Mello”) has taken place almost every year except for three: 1964 (cancelled due to an artists’ strike, which led to Sweden withdrawing from Eurovision that year), 1970 (when the Nordic countries boycotted Eurovision over the 1969 Contest ending in a four-way tie with four winners crowned because there was no tiebreaker), and 1976 (due to protests arising after Sweden hosted the 1975 Contest; Sweden ultimately withdrew from the 1976 Contest and returned the following year). Melfest for much of its history has made stars of up-and-comers and has either validated established stars or nearly ended their careers. Melfest has produced a total of six Eurovision winners (four of those coming before Idol’s debut in Sweden) and 24 Top Five placings at the Contest.

So...with that out of the way, let’s take a look at how many Idol Sweden alums have gone to Melfest, and then we’ll cover the Idol alums who have actually won Melfest more in depth. We’ll be looking at the overall alums season by season, with those reaching the Melfest Final at least once in bold. Those who also won Melfest are in bolded italics. The highest finishing contestant from each season is listed first, followed by finalists and then semifinalists (if any). All alums listed went to Melfest as performers. If they competed at Melfest under a stage name, it will be shown in parentheses.

Season 1 (2004): Darin Zanyar (Darin), Lorén Talhaoui (Loreen)

Season 2 (2005): Agnes Carlsson, Sibel Redžep, Måns Zelmerlöw, Ola Svensson

Season 3 (2006): Erik Segerstedt, Danny Saucedo (Note: both competed once as part of the trio E.M.D., and each competed at least once more as a solo artist)

Season 4 (2007): Daniel Karlsson (The Moniker), Mattias Andréasson (Note: as part of E.M.D. as well as solo), Christoffer Hiding

Season 5 (2008): Alice Svensson, Robin Bengtsson, Anna Bergendahl, Loulou Lamotte (Note: as both a backing singer for John Lundvik and as part of The Mamas, a group formed from those singers), Linda Pritchard

Season 6 (2009): Mariette Hansson, Eddie Razaz

Season 7 (2010): Andreas Weise

Season 8 (2011): Robin Stjernberg, Molly Pettersson Hammar (Molly Hammar)

Season 9 (2013): No contestants from this season have appeared in Melodifestivalen as of 2022.

Season 10 (2014): Lisa Ajax

Season 11 (2015): Martin Almgren, Axel Schylström

Season 12 (2016): Liam Cacatian Thomassen (LIAMOO), Rebecka Karlsson, Renaida Braun

Season 13 (2017): Hanna Ferm

Season 14 (2018): Kadiatou Holm Keita (Kadiatou), William Stridh, Natalie Brydolf

Season 15 (2019): Tusse Chiza (Tusse)

Season 16 (2020): No contestants from this season have appeared in Melodifestivalen as of 2022.

Season 17 (2021): No contestants from this season have appeared in Melodifestivalen as of 2022.

If you’re keeping count, Idol Sweden has produced 32 Melodifestivalen contestants, 7 Melodifestivalen winners, and among those 7 winners, 2 of them went on to win Eurovision: Loreen and Måns Zelmerlöw.

So, in order of their appearances on Idol (and in the case of season 5, the order they won Melfest), we’ll be learning a little more about those 7 alums who have gone on to win Melodifestivalen and grace the Eurovision stage. For each one, I will include a pic from their Idol run and a pic from their Eurovision appearance.

This series will be spread out over three posts: the first post will cover Loreen and Måns Zelmerlöw, who both appeared on Idol Sweden earliest in its run as well as won Eurovision. The second post will cover the three Season 5 alums who have gone on to win Melodifestivalen a combined four times: Anna Bergendahl, Robin Bengtsson, and Loulou Lamotte. The third and final post in this series will cover the two alums who competed latest in Idol Sweden’s run to win Melfest: Robin Stjernberg and Tusse Chiza.

You won’t have to wait long for Part 1, as it will be posted (and hopefully reblogged to my Eurovision side blog) tomorrow to mark the First Semifinal of Melodifestivalen 2022! The other two parts will each be posted on the next two Saturdays after that.

Stay tuned for Part 1!

#idol Sweden #melodifestivalen #singing shows and Eurovision