Written by William Mansell
Balloons, excellent music & feel-good vibes. The 3 main ingredients to a marvellous Melodifestivalen. Anybody new to the Swedish tv & music scene would be forgiven for thinking it’s all darkness & Scandi noirs. But, every year in Sweden, a nation obsessed with music and competitions, our screens are brightened during the dark winter months with Melodifestivalen.
Melfest or Mello for short is Sweden’s annual music competition. For the past 20 years Mello has become Sweden’s most popular tv program. The winner of Melfest gets the golden ticket and the honour of representing Sweden at Eurovision a few months later in mid-May.
How It Works
Melodifestivalen started in 1959 and has grown dramatically into the live-action, balloon waving shows we see today. Spread over 6 weeks throughout February & March, it is broadcast from a different city each week. Viewers watch a total of 28 acts battle it out to win the coveted Songbird trophy.
Semi-finals 1-4 split the 28 acts into groups of 7. The top 2 acts voted by the public each Saturday get sent ‘Direkt till Finalen’ (direct to the final). Acts placed 3rd & 4th get another chance to perform in the second chance round. Acts placed 5th, 6th & 7th place are eliminated. Week 5 aka ‘Andra Chansen’ (second chance) sees 8 acts take part in 4 face-off battles, with each battle winner proceeding to the final.
Stockholm plays host to the competition’s climax, where the final 12 acts sing one last time to determine who will ultimately win & sing for Sweden.
Artists & Songwriters
Over the years Mello has produced a plethora of worthy winners including, most famously, ABBA in 1974 and more recently Loreen (2012) & Måns Zelmerlöw (2015), all of which went on to win Eurovision. This year, in 2021, Sweden will continue its search for the next representative to bring home their 7th Eurovision victory.
Big names to look out for this year include:
Loreen – Mello and Eurovision royalty… previously competed in 2011 and 2017 to reach 2nd place. But won in 2012 and went on to win the 2012 Eurovision contest to bring it the competition home to Sweden.
Emil Henrohn – TikTok creator and influencer, known as one of Sweden’s most powerful social media players.
Marcus och Martinus – Norwegian twin duo who have previously competed in Mello 4 times.
LouLou LaMotte – 1 third of the Mamas who previously competed and won in 2020 and with John Lundvik in 2019.
Wiktoria – Long time Mello competitor and a household name in Sweden’s music scene. Wiktoria is also known for playing Vaiana (Moana) in Disney’s Swedish speaking version of Moana.
Maria Sur – The Ukrainian artist fled Ukraine at the start of the war but before had featured on the Ukraine’s The Voice. After arriving in Sweden Maria was determined to continue her music career and reached out to several Swedish artists. This led to her appearing on the Aviici Arena during the charity concert ‘Hela Sverige skramlar’.
2021 Edition
Due to the COVID-19 virus which saw the cancellation of Eurovision 2020, Melodifestivalen will also have some minor changes. The usual city tour format will be swapped for all 6 shows, all now to be held in Stockholm. A live audience will also not be allowed.
The program that brings millions of people together through music can be enjoyed by many from all over the world whether you understand Swedish or not! I for one cannot wait to hear the distinct sound of the opening theme & those three words – Nu kör vi! (Let’s go!) that get the shows underway. Sit back, relax & let the party mood take over!
Tune in to Melodifestivalen semi-final 1 on 4th February at 8 pm CET or watch online.
Useful Vocabulary
Nu kör vi! – Lets Go!
Melodi nummer… Ett/två – Song number… One/two
Sverige, vi har ett resultat! – Sweden, we have a result!
Text och music – Lyrics & music
(Nästa) Bidrag – (Next) Act
Plats på scenen – On the stage
About the Author
I’m a wannabie Swede, currently living in the UK, hoping to soon call Sweden home! A designer, creator and all-round Swedish fan, I am highly interested in the culture, music, design, nature & of course Fika! When I’m not travelling, I also love to watch Scandi noirs, listen to Swedish music & I watch Melodifestivalen every year! These have all helped me to develop my Swedish language skills!
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