It’s that time of year again – Aftonbladet has started reporting the names of the artists we are likely to see in Melodifestivalen 2025!
Melodifestivalen 2025 will see some changes, including an updated version of last year’s second chance round – now, only the 3rd placed acts in each heat will be put into the final qualification, with the top 2 advancing to the final – and, for the first time since 2002, the songs for each heat will be released in full on the Friday before each show.
Here’s more information on the artists who are rumoured for Melfest 2025!
Note: These names are not officially confirmed, and are simply “revealed” by Aftonbladet’s sources. The lineup for Melfest 2025 will be officially announced by SVT in due course.
Måns Zelmerlöw
Whether you’re a fan of Eurovision or even a more casual viewer, chances are you’ll be well aware of Måns Zelmerlöw. Bursting onto the scene in Idol back in 2005, Måns first attempted Melodifestivalen in 2007 with ‘Cara Mia’, going on to place 3rd behind Andreas Johnson and The Ark. He returned in 2009, this time with ‘Hope & Glory’, which reached 4th place in the final. He hosted Melodifestivalen 2010, and despite taking a break from the contest as a singer, he wrote Tone Damli & Erik Sergestedt’s duet ‘Hello Goodbye’ in 2013.
Måns made his long-awaited return in 2015, and ended up winning both Melodifestivalen and Eurovision 2015 with ‘Heroes‘. The song used innovative, interactive staging thanks to the affectionately named ‘Balloon Boy’ projection which we have seen replicated in the following years in the contest. ‘Heroes’ was the 3rd highest-scoring Eurovision winner of the 2009-2015 voting system, and has since amassed over 160 million streams.
Following his win, Måns returned to host Eurovision 2016 in Stockholm with Petra Mede – and his appearances at the contest didn’t stop there. In 2017 he was featured in a sketch with Ukraine’s hosts, in 2019 he took part in the Switch Song Interval in which he took on Eleni Foureira’s ‘Fuego’, during the replacement show in 2020 he performed an acoustic set from his garden, in 2021 he performed in the ‘Rock The Roof’ interval and in 2023 was part of the semi-final intervals with 2018 host Filomena Cautela. Not only this, but he also hosted the United Kingdom’s national final You Decide in 2018 & 2019, hosted the 2021 Melodifestivalen final and was one of the presenters on the BBC’s Eurovisioncast podcast in 2023.
Eight albums later and 10 years on from his win in Vienna, Måns looks set to follow in Loreen’s footsteps and attempt to take both the Melfest and Eurovision trophies for the second time. Aftonbladet reports his song is written by Ola Svensson, David Lindgren Zacharias and Sebastian Atas.
Kaliffa
Kaliffa is one name set to debut in Melfest 2025, although he isn’t a new name within the wider Swedish music industry. He’s a member of the 12-piece band HOFFMAESTRO, who’ve been making ska-punk music since 2005. Kaliffa embarked on a solo career in 2014 and found success with his debut album ‘Kalibreraren‘ in 2016, which featured one of his most successful songs, ‘Spontanitet‘. His music combines reggae, dancehall and Swedish pop into one genre, best heard in his 2017 hit single ‘Helt Seriöst’, which went on to win ‘Song Of The Year’ at the P3 Gold Awards.
Klara Hammarström
Klara Hammarström may only be 24 years old, but she already has 3 previous Melfest attempts behind her. She first appeared in 2020 with ‘Nobody‘, which ended 5th in Heat 2. She made her return in 2021 with ‘Beat Of Broken Hearts’ which faired much better – reaching the final via the second-chance round, eventually placing 6th. Her most popular entry came in 2022 – ‘Run To The Hills‘ was expected to challenge for the win, but only managed to equal the result of her 2021 song. However, the song sits at nearly 30 million streams at the time of writing, and firmly certified Klara as a likely favourite should she choose to return. 2025 could mark her fourth time in Melodifestivalen, following a string of releases including a cover of Cascada’s ‘Every Time We Touch’ and original songs ‘Do It For Love’, ‘Till It Feels Alright’ and ‘MAD‘. Aftonbladet’s report suggests that Cazzi Opeia could be one of the songwriters behind her entry.
SCARLET
SCARLET became a fan favourite during Melodifestivalen 2024 despite not being on many viewers’ radars before their performance. Their song, ‘Circus X’, received high praise for its staging concept and musical style, along with SCARLET’s captivating stage presence. Despite not making it through the second-chance vote, ‘Circus X’ proved that, when given the chance, Melfest can be a great platform for new artists and styles other than pop. It should be no surprise, given their growing fanbase, that SCARLET could be coming back to the contest for 2025 with hopes of this time making the final.
Andreas Lundstedt
Melodifestivalen veteran Andreas Lundstedt is rumoured to be making his tenth appearance as a competitor in 2025. His previous contributions to the contest came both as a solo artist and as a member of Alcazar, which had varying degrees of success – although, despite his many attempts – never quite got him to win the Songbird trophy. His Melodifestivalen history is as follows:
- 1996: ‘Driver dagg faller regn’ – 2nd place
- 1997: ‘Jag saknar dig, jag saknar dig’ – 7th place
- 2003: ‘Not A Sinner, Nor A Saint’ (with Alcazar) – 3rd place
- 2005: ‘Alcastar’ (with Alcazar) – 3rd place
- 2007: ‘Move’ – 6th place in Heat 1
- 2009: ‘Stay The Night’ (with Alcazar) – 5th place
- 2010: ‘Headlines’ (with Alcazar) – Eliminated in Andra Chansen
- 2012: ‘Aldrig, aldrig’ – 7th place in Heat 2
- 2014: ‘Blame It On The Disco’ – 3rd place
Andreas’ potential return to Melodifestivalen follows his appearance on the popular Swedish entertainment show Så mycket bättre this autumn.
Dolly Style
Dolly Style – now a four-piece – could be back in Melfest for the fourth time in 2025. It’ll mark 10 years from their debut in 2015 with ‘Hello Hi‘, which was knocked out in Andra Chansen. The girl group returned in 2016 with ‘Rollercoaster‘, which again was eliminated in Andra Chansen, and their last entry in 2019 ‘Habibi‘ didn’t make it past Heat 3. Dolly Style has seen a range of changes to its line-up over the years, but with the girls going solely by Holly, Polly, Molly and Yolly and not their actual names, as well as using specific outfits and costumes for each member, their re-invention allows them to keep the Dolly Style name going – founders Palle Hammarlund and Emma Nors even expressed in a 2019 documentary their desire to make the Dolly Style brand global by creating similar groups in other countries. A compilation album of all their songs was released in 2023, titled ‘Dolly Style Bästa’.
Malou Prytz
Malou Prytz is another young star who, despite being just 21 years old, also has 3 previous Melodifestivalen attempts to her name. In 2019, her song ‘I Do Me’ went straight to the final, eventually ranking 9th. Her following attempt in 2020, ‘Ballerina‘, reached Andra Chansen, but was eliminated in a controversial result – despite having 20,000 more votes in her duel with Paul Rey, the age group system meant his song ‘Talking In My Sleep’ advanced to the final instead. This didn’t deter Malou, who returned in 2022 with the song ‘Bananas’, which placed 7th in its heat. With 2025 marking 6 years since her only appearance in the Melfest final, Malou will be hoping to get back to the success of her debut – she returned to music in 2024 with ‘Red Flags’ after taking a break in 2023, and Melfest 2025 could be a great opportunity to solidify her comeback to the Swedish pop scene.
John Lundvik
Melodifestivalen 2025 could be shaping up to be a battle between previous winners, as John Lundvik also looks to be taking to the stage again for his fourth entry into the contest, with Aftonbladet sources reporting his next attempt will be ‘uptempo’. John’s first appearance with ‘My Turn’ placed 3rd in 2018, and his return in 2019 became one of Melodifestivalen’s most successful entries. ‘Too Late For Love’ was an instant favourite – sweeping the competition with 12 points from every jury and 6 of the eight age group categories. At the Eurovision Song Contest, ‘Too Late For Love’ continued Sweden’s dominance in the completion, placing 5th. John had two entries competing in Tel Aviv – his song, and the UK’s entry ‘Bigger Than Us‘, which didn’t fare quite as well as Sweden, finishing in last place. We last saw John in Melodifestivalen in 2022 with the Swedish language song ‘Änglavakt‘, which placed 8th. Aside from his entries, John also wrote Anton Ewald’s ‘Natural’ in 2014.
Arvingarna
Swedish Dansband Arvingarna could be making their 7th appearance in Melodifestivalen 2025, with their participation in the contest spanning 32 years. The band won on their debut with ‘Eloise‘ in 1993, which came 7th at Eurovision. They returned in 1995 with less success, as ‘Bo Diddley‘ was knocked out before the final. Four years later they tried again with ‘Det svär jag på’ which came 3rd, and again in 2002 with ‘Ingenting är större än vi’ which was eliminated in the heat. After taking a 17-year break from competing, they entered Melodifestivalen 2019 with ‘I Do’, which placed 7th in the final and became a certified platinum single in Sweden. We last saw them in 2021 with ‘Tänker inte alls gå hem’ coming 9th in the final. Their potential return to the contest follows their latest album ‘Hundra Dagar‘ and singles ‘Rytmen av ett reg’ and ‘Innan sommaren tar slut’.
Tennessee Tears
Another name that could be returning is Tennessee Tears. Their debut in the contest came in 2023 with the song ‘Now I Know’, which reached the Andra Chansen stage of the contest. The duo is made up of Tilda Feuk and Jonas Hermansson – the pair started their career in Nashville, working alongside big names in the country scene such as Lady A & Keith Urban before returning to their native of Sweden. They’ve recently released the single ‘Queen Of Pearls’, which follows the EP ‘Our Differences’ from May 2023.
Annika Wickihalder
Annika Wickihalder is another name rumoured to return. Her song for Melodifestivalen 2024. ‘Light’, was a surprising favourite amongst viewers, coming 3rd in the heat, winning the second-chance vote and placing 8th overall. Aftonbladet now reports that she’s ready to take on the contest once again in 2025.
Maja Ivarsson
2025 could mark Maja Ivarsson’s first time in Melodifestivalen. She’s had success as the frontwoman of the band The Sounds, their biggest hit being ‘Living In America’ back in 2003. Mainly an indie rock artist, Maja has also taken to techno-pop as a member of the duo Crew Of Me & You.
Meira Omar
Fans of Love Is Blind Sweden will recognise Meira Omar – she took part in the first series, and has used her newfound fame to push the launch of her music career. Meira was born in Afghanistan but raised in Stockholm and started her career at an acting school in India in 2014. She’s starred in Bollywood movies, gained millions of views on her dance routines uploaded to YouTube and has recently released the single ‘Dive’, taking influences from Western and Eastern music.
Björn Holmgren
Björn Holmgren is said to be gearing up for his first-ever Melodifestivalen participation. The 28-year-old had his breakthrough with the 2022 single ‘Ut med allt’, which charted at #1 on the Sverigetopplistan and currently has 13 million streams on Spotify. His popularity extends to TikTok, where he’s amassed over 150,000 followers. He primarily posts videos of himself singing alongside lifestyle content.
KAJ
KAJ are a Finnish group consisting of members Kevin Holmström, Axel Åhman and Jakob Norrgård, hailing from Ostrobothnia. Their songs are all in their local Swedish dialect, with the trio mixing music with comedy to create a unique style. In Finland, they’ve released 7 albums and have produced two musicals since forming in 2009, with Aftonbladet now reporting that KAJ is looking to add Melodifestivalen to an already successful career.
Arwin
16-year-old Arwin could be one of the youngest competitors in Melodifestivalen 2025 if he is to compete. He’s become a rising star on TikTok, recently releasing the single ‘Vad har du gjort med mig‘, and makes music combining pop, electronic and disco inspired by Swedish stars Darin, Agnes and Robyn.
Kristofer Greczula
Kristofer Greczula combines the androgynous style of his inspirations – Prince and David Bowie most notably – to create his music. Starting his career in 2017 with ‘You’re Not Alone’, Kristofer found a team who shared a similar vision to himself in 2021, which has seen him rise in popularity with the song ‘Leaving You For Another‘. His debut album ‘Live and Let Live‘ was released in 2022, and following appearances at the Grammis Gala and Allsång på Skansen, Melodifestivalen 2025 looks to be his next step to success.
Angelino
Potentially returning to Melodifestivalen 2025, we have Angelino. He took part for the first time in 2022 with the ballad ‘The End‘, which was eliminated in the heat in 5th place. The 26-year-old from Malmö has released 3 singles since his participation (the most recent titled ‘Athena‘) and has performed at 040 Live Fest in his home-town.
Albin Johnsén
Platinum-Selling artist Albin Johnsén may be back for his 3rd attempt at Melodifestivalen in 2025. His first appearance was back in 2016, alongside Mattias Andréasson with ‘Rik‘ which reached Andra Chansen. He returned solo in 2020 with ‘Livet börjar nu’. He’s also made a name for himself as a songwriter behind multiple Melodifestivalen contributions by Behrang Miri & Victor Crone, Lovad, Rejhan and, most recently, Kim Cesarion. Aftonbladet sources report that his 2025 song is a party song in Swedish, featuring carnival drums.
Nomi Bontegard
27-year-old Nomi Bontegard is a new name rumoured to be enetring Melfest for the very first time in 2025. She’s a relatively new artist, and under her record label is working with Maria Molin Ljunggren who has had previous involvement with other Melodifestovalen artosts such as Anna Bergendahl , Robin Bengtsson, and Cornelia Jakobs. She occasionally posts covers on YouTube, and took part in Dreamhack Winter 2013 Talangjakten.
Maria Rolf, Maria Persson and Sandra Estberg
Maria Rolf, Maria Persson and Sandra Estberg are set to form a dansband supergroup for Melodifestivalen 2025. The three are already members of separate groups – Rolf in Titanix, Estberg in Martinez and Persson in Blender – and have performed together before outside of their respective groups. Aftonbladet reports that Melodifestivalen producer Karin Gunnarsson has been looking for a female-focused dansband for the show, and it seems like this trio could be just what she’s been looking for.
Linnea Henriksson
Melfest viewers will recognise Linnea Henriksson – she hosted the show in 2020 but now looks set to take to the stage as a competitor. Linnea began her career on Idol in 2010, and has had some huge hits since, including ‘SMS‘ and ‘Lyckligare nu‘. According to Aftonbladet, she’s been one of SVT’s dream artists for the contest and could be finally taking to the stage in 2025 in the competition.
Erik Segerstedt
Erik Segerstedt could be back for his third Melodifestivalen entry, 12 years after his last participation as an artist. He first entered as part of the group E.M.D in 2009 alongside his bandmates Danny Saucedo and Mattias Andréasson, coming 3rd with ‘Baby Goodbye’, and then again in 2013 with Tone Damli on the song ‘Hello Goodbye’. He’s been working behind the scenes in recent years as a backing singer, but is said to be ready to take the stage solo at Melfest 2025.
Ella Tiritiello
Ella Tiritiello is another rising Swedish star who is said to be competing in the contest next year. She’s just 18 years old and according to sources will be taking to the stage with a ballad in her native language in 2025. Ella became known after performing at the Avicii tribute show when she was just 14 years old and has been growing her career ever since – most recently starring in the film ‘Sommartider‘.
Fredrik Lundman
Since appearing on Idol in 2021, Fredrik Lundman has been slowly building his music career with singles such as ‘Fear Of Love‘ and ‘Stay Country’. Labelling himself “The Swedish Cowboy”, it’s no surprise that Fredrik is set to stand on the Melfest stage next year with a country song.
Victoria Silvstedt
90s/00’s star Victoria Silvstedt has appeared on Aftonbladet’s list for Melodifestivalen 2025, adding another well-known show to her long list of TV appearances over the years. She became famous after becoming crowned Miss World Sweden in 1993, going on to model in Playboy and for Chanel, Valentino and Armani amongst others internationally. She moved into acting, appearing in shows and films such as Melrose Place, Malibu, BASEketball and Boat Trip as well as in shows in both Italy and France. Victoria has also presented shows in the USA, UK, France and Italy, and is known for her reality TV work on E! and in Sweden. She signed to EMI in 1999 as a singer, releasing the album ‘Girl On The Run’. She stated that she saw singing as a hobby, but if rumours are to be believed she’ll be on the Melfest stage in just a few months.
Saga Ludvigsson
18 year old Saga Ludvigsson may be rumoured to debut in Melodifestivalen , but she’s no stranger to TV competitions. She wowed audiences on Talang, and in 2023 was the runner-up on Idol. She’s been releasing music since 2020, and now she seems ready to take to the stage at Melfest 2025.
Adrian Macéus
Actor, singer, songwriter and theatre star Adrian Macéus began his music career at just 14 in 2019. In 2024 he took part in Idol, and according to Aftonbladet sources has submitted songs to Melodifestivalen before – with it looking likely that this time, he’s been accepted. His most recent releases include ‘Die For You’, ‘Hate That I Need You’ and a cover of ‘The One And Only’.
Aftonbladet receives all rumoured names from their sources. You can follow their reports on the contest by visiting their dedicated Melodifestivalen section.
This article will be continuously updated the rumours as and when they are reported. SVT will confirm all competing artists at the end of November.
