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 Melodifestiavlen 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’, whilst ‘Heroes’ was covered by Conchita Wurst, 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 Eurovision Calling 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.

Frans

Another Melodifestivalen winner set to return is Frans. He started his career in 2006 at just 8 years old and managed to get his first number 1 in 2008 with ‘Fotbollsfest‘ when he was 10. In 2016 he resumed his music career, winning Melfest on his debut with ‘If I Were Sorry’, which then went on to place 5th at Eurovision. After putting out a few singles between his studies, such as ‘Amsterdam’, ‘One Floor Down’ and ‘Liar‘, Frans’ debut album ‘Present‘ was released in 2020. He is now putting his full focus back into music with Melodifestivalen 2025 looking to mark his big return to the Swedish music scene.

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 on 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 their desire to make the Dolly Style brand global in a 2019 documentary 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 return 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 came back to Melodifestivalen in 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’.

All rumoured names are provided by sources to Aftonbladet. You can keep up with 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 on a date yet to be announced.