🇸🇪 Sneak Peek: Melodifestivalen 2024 Heat 4

This week, we reach the penultimate heat of Melodifestivalen 2023, as six more artists compete for the chance to represent Sweden at the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest. Here’s how the previous three heats have gone so far:

Direct To Final Artists	Heat 5 Run Off Vote Qualifiers
Smash Into Pieces – ‘Heroes Are Calling’	Elisa Lindström – ‘Forever Yours’
Lisa Ajax – ‘Awful Liar’	Adam Woods – ‘Supernatural’
LIAMOO – ‘Dragon’	Dear Sara – ‘The Silence After You’
Maria Sur – ‘When I’m Gone’	Fröken Snusk – ‘Unga & Fria’
Jacqline – ‘Effortless’	Klaudy – ‘För Dig’
Cazzi Opeia – ‘Give My Heart A Break’	Gunilla Persson – ‘I Won’t Shake (La La Gunilla)

Phoenix would also like to take this opportunity to thank SVT for once again granting us accreditation to this year’s Melodifestivalen – we can’t wait to bring you all the exclusive content as and when we get it!

This week, we’re heading to the Volvo CE Arena in Eskilstuna. Three of the six participants are newcomers to the contest, and two of our returnees are some of the big favourites this year. Last week, Cazzi Opeia (who took part in 2022) and debutant Jacqline went straight to the grand final. Let’s learn more about all of the artists hoping to qualify!

Albin Tingwall – ‘Done Getting Over You’

Born in 2003 in Sigtuna, 20-year-old Albin Tingwall makes his debut in Melodifestivalen this year. He was originally seeking out a tennis career, playing professionally as a teen before entering Idol 2022, where he came 2nd. Switching his attention to music, Albin has so far released three singles, including a self-written Christmas song.

Albin’s song is called ‘Done Getting Over You’, written by an extremely successful team of Melfest’s most well-known songwriters – Joy Deb, Linnea Deb and Jimmy ‘Joker’ Thörnfeldt. Joy and Linnea have been behind three Melfest winners – ‘You’ (2013), ‘Heroes’ (2015, Eurovision Winner) and ‘Voices’ (2021). They have three songs in the running this year – with Smash Into Pieces (DTF Heat 1), Albin and Marcus & Martinus (TBD, Heat 5). Jimmy also was behind ‘Voices’ and the 2023 Eurovision winner ‘Tattoo’. He has 6 songs in the running this year, including the previously mentioned Smash Into Pieces and Marcus & Martinus, Heat 2 finalists LIAMOO and Maria Sur, Albin’s entry and Heat 5’s Medina. Will ‘Done Getting Over You’ see Albin become the second debutant in this year’s final?

You can hear part of Albin’s song here and see an image from his first rehearsal below!

Lia Larsson – ‘30 km/h’

22-year-old Lia Larsson (Olivia Helena Julia Larsson Kind) is a TikTok and YouTube star from Mora making her Melodifestivalen debut this year. Her music falls into the epa-dunk genre and has been streamed over 30 million times on Spotify. Her debut single was a Christmas track called ‘Va Sa ’Ru (Russin På Russin Av)’, which went viral in Sweden.

‘30 km/h‘ is a classic epa-dunk song written by another big writing team – Lia herself, My Söderhalm, Jimmy Jansson, Axel Schylström and Thomas G-Son. Jimmy Jansson has taken part himself in Melfest 2002, 2005 and 2007, and has been behind numerous entries – most successfully last year’s winner ‘Tattoo’. He has 3 entries competing this year – Lia’s, Cazzi Opeia’s and Jacqline’s. Axel Schylström is another participant and writer, taking part himself in 2017 and 2023. Thomas G-Son is one of the best-known Melodifestivalen writers, seeing him become inducted into the “Hall Of Fame” in 2023. G-Son has written over 70 songs for the competition and is best known for winning entries ‘Lyssna till ditt hjärta’ (2001), ‘Evighet’ (2006), ‘Euphoria’ (2012) and ‘Tattoo’ (2023). He has 4 songs in the contest this year – Melina Borglowe, who didn’t make it past Heat 1, Heat 3 finalists Cazzi and Jacqline, and Lia’s.

You can hear part of Lia’s song here and see an image from her first rehearsal below!

Dotter – ‘It’s Not Easy To Write A Love Song’

She’s back! Fan favourite Dotter (Johanna Jansson) returns to Melfest for her fourth attempt at the trophy. She comes from Arvika and chose the stage name “Dotter” (Swedish for ‘Daughter’) as she considers herself the ‘daughter of Mother Earth’ due to her lifestyle and love for nature. She started her career in 2014 and is influenced by artists such as First Aid Kit and Florence & The Machine.

We first saw her in Melodifestivalen 6 years ago, as she made her debut with ‘Cry’ – which didn’t make it out of the semi-finals. Her return in 2020 saw her become a favourite to win with ‘Bulletproof’ – losing by just 1 point to ‘Move’ by The Mamas. A year later, she came back with ‘Little Tot’ once again becoming a favourite to represent Sweden in Rotterdam, (or ‘Dotterdam’ – a phrase coined by fans who were supporting her), coming in 4th place overall. She isn’t just a singer, however, as she wrote ‘A Million Years’ for Mariette in 2017, and ‘Victorious’ for Lina Hedlund in 2019. She’s also a credited backing vocalist for ‘I Am What I Am’ – Malta’s 2022 Eurovision entry by Emma Muscat.

Her song is called ‘It’s Not Easy To Write A Love Song’, and is written by herself and her fiance, songwriter Dino Medanhodzic. Dino has written 7 Melodifestivalen entries since 2019, all of which have made the final. Dotter has described her entry as:

The song is “the naked truth behind a love ballad”. It highlights the reality of love relationships – a life journey you take together that is filled with highs and lows, where perfection does not exist. Despite a deep love for someone, there are moments of heaviness and challenges.

In “It’s Not Easy to Write a Love Song”, the song reveals the honest truth about loving someone. But that doesn’t mean it reflects a bad relationship. On the contrary, it is an honest portrayal of what it is like to love and share a life together with another person.

Dotter, Mellopedia

You can hear part of Dotter’s song here and see an image from her first rehearsal below!

SCARLET – ‘Circus X’

SCARLET are a modern metal duo, consisting of members known only as Scarlet and Thirsty. Their music has been played internationally on rock radio stations, and they’ve accumulated several fans from their performances at rock festivals. SCARLET released their debut album ‘Obey The Queen’ in 2020, which received positive reviews from critics. They have also toured with Smash Into Pieces.

Their song is called ‘Circus X’ and is written by the duo alongside Staffan Amberlind, Emil Behmer, Simon Boustedt, Jessica Rachel Chertock, Ian-Paolo Lira and Henric Pierroff.

You can hear part of SCARLET’s song here and see an image from their first rehearsal below!

Lasse Stefanz – ‘En Sång Om Sommaren’

Lasse Stefanz are one of Sweden’s most popular dansbands, formed all the way back in 1967 in Kristianstad. The group is made up of Olle Jönsson, Christer Ericsson, Jonas Rignell, Gunnar Nilsson, Anders Dahlgren, Henrik Svensson and Ola Olsson, and despite forming almost 60 years ago, the majority of their success came in the 80s, 90s and the 00s, achieving their first Number 1 album in 2007 – the first of a further 14 albums to reach the top spot. They’re known for songs such as ‘Oh, Julie’ and ‘De sista ljuva åren’, and for winning a Swedish Grammy in 1989 for ‘Dansband of The Year’. In 2011, they took part in Melodifestivalen 2011 with the song ‘En blick och nånting händer’, which came 5th in the heat.

‘En Sång Om Sommaren’ is a Swedish summer tune with folk and country elements. It’s written by Robert Norberg, Anders Wigelius and one of Melfest’s more regular writers Anderz Wrethov. Anderz has won Melfest twice as a writer behind ‘Too Late For Love’ (2019) and ‘Voices’. He has 6 songs in the running this year – both LIAMOO and Maria Sur (who are finalists), as well as Lasse Stefanz and Heat 5s Chelsea Muco, Elecktra and Medina.

You can hear part of Lasse Stefanz’s song here and see an image from their first rehearsal below!

Danny Saucedo – ‘Happy That You Found Me’

Whether you’re a long-time Melodifestivalen viewer or you’ve only tuned in the last couple of years, then it’s likely you’ll know Danny Saucedo. Not only does this year mark his fifth attempt at the contest, but he’s also hosted before – back in 2013. Born and raised in Stockholm, Danny began his career in 2006 after finishing 6th in Idol. In 2007, he released his #1 debut album ‘Heart Beats’, which spawned the hit ‘If Only You’, which peaked at #3 on the Swedish singles chart. That same year, he teamed up with fellow Idol 2006 contestant Erik Segerstedt and Idol 2007’s Mattias Andréasson to form the boyband E.M.D. Not only this but a year later he finished 4th in Let’s Dance and went on to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Dance Contest, coming 12th.

Danny first took part in Melfest back in 2009 with E.M.D. Their song ‘Baby Goodbye’ came 3rd, and peaked at #1 on the Sverigetopplistan. After the group announced an indefinite hiatus in 2010, Danny returned to Melodifestivalen in 2011 with ‘In The Club’. The song was a big favourite, but lost to ‘Popular‘ by Eric Saade – this didn’t mean however we didn’t see Danny at Eurovision 2011 – he presented Sweden’s points that year. Following on from this 2nd place, Danny returned in 2012 with ‘Amazing‘, and going into the contest was again the favourite to represent his country at Eurovision – however, he had to settle for 2nd once again, losing this time to eventual Eurovision winner Loreen with ‘Euphoria‘. You can read more about that here. After 9 years away as a participant, Danny made his return to the contest in 2021 – this time not set on winning but more to introduce his new music to the public, his entry ‘Dandi Dansa‘ came 7th in the final. Due to all of his entries, he’s now one of Melodifestivalen’s most successful participants ever – winning every heat he’s competed in, going straight to the final on four occasions – seeing him be inducted into the Hall Of Fame last year.

If his entry this year reaches the final, he’ll be joint only with Sanna Nielsen as the only entrant and first-ever man to reach the final 5 times in a row. His song is called ‘Happy That You Found Me’, and unlike 2021 it seems like Danny is here to finally take home that songbird trophy. The song is written by Danny, Kristoffer Fogelmark, John Martin and Michel Zitron. Kristoffer has been behind hit songs by Avicii, Martin Garrix, Harry Styles and One Direction, and co-wrote Cyprus‘ 2019 Eurovision song ‘Replay‘. John has also worked with Avicii and had solo success in the UK with his song ‘Anywhere For You‘, but will be best known as a writer behind the Grammy-nominated song ‘Don’t You Worry Child‘ by Swedish House Mafia, which Michel Zitron also helped to write.

You can hear part of Danny’s song here and see an image from his first rehearsal below!

Melodifestivalen Heat 4 takes place on February 24th 2024 at 20:00 CET // 19:00 GMT Live on SVT – click here to watch live.

Who’s your Melfest Heat 4 favourite? Leave a comment below to let us know!

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