This week will see six more artists compete in the third heat of Melodifestivalen in the hopes of representing Sweden at the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest. Here’s how the previous two heats have gone so far:
| Direct to Final Artists | Final Qualification Artists |
| John Lundvik (Heat 1) | Meira Omar (Heat 1) |
| Maja Ivarsson (Heat 1) | Kaliffa (Heat 2) |
| Klara Hammarström (Heat 2) | |
| Erik Segerstedt (Heat 2) |
Phoenix would also like to take this opportunity to thank SVT for once again granting us accreditation to this years Melodifestivalen – we can’t wait to bring you all the exclusive content as and when we get it!
This week we’re heading to VästerÃ¥s for only the second time in Melfest’s history, the last time being all the way back in 2008. This heat also features the most returning artists, with only two of the participants making their debut. Let’s find out more about the six artists hoping to head to Basel!
Greczula – Believe Me
One of the artists making their Melfest debut in this heat is 32-year-old Kristofer Greczula who started performing under his surname in 2024. Despite being new to the contest, Greczula is a highly-experienced musician, having got a record deal with the rock band Damn Delicious when he was only 16. His most well-known single ‘You’re Not Alone’ went gold and platinum in 2017 and became the anthem for the mental health awareness organisation Never Alone. Greczula has also featured as a performer at the Swedish Grammys and he has also guested on the well-known Swedish TV show AllsÃ¥ng pÃ¥ Skansen.
For his Melfest entry ‘Believe Me’, Greczula draws inspiration from rock stars such as David Bowie, Prince and Queen, whom he has frequently cited as musical influences. Speaking to SVT, Greczula said the song is about:
daring to dream big but at the same time being in the present. Often we set goals that we strive for without enjoying the journey. So it is also a reminder for me to enjoy this journey.
Greczula, Mellopedia
The song was written by Greczula himself, alongside his friends and frequent collaborators Amanda Nordelius and John Russell, both of whom are also making their Melfest debut as songwriters. While you wait to hear ‘Believe Me’, check out Greczula’s best-known song ‘You’re Not Alone’:
Malou Prytz – 24K Gold
At just 21-years-old, Malou Prytz is the youngest Melfest participant to have competed with four entries, starting with her 2019 debut ‘I Do Me’ which she released at the age of 15. She went straight to the final that year and the song reached the top 10 of the Swedish music charts. She has also competed in Melfest in 2020 and 2022 with both ‘Ballerina’ and ‘Bananas’ respectively. As well as continuing to release music, Malou is currently a law student at the Gothenburg School of Economics.
Malou is back with the song ’24K Gold’ which has been compared to the works of Tove Lo and Dua Lipa and which Malou told SVT she hopes will show a “more mature version of myself”. Malou contributed to the songwriting herself, alongside Julie “Kill J” Aagaard, Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt and Anderz Wrethov. This trio of songwriters are responsible for Klara Hammarström‘s ‘Run to the Hills’ in 2022, as well as the 2024 Melfest entries ‘Dragon’ by LIAMOO and ‘When I’m Gone’ by Maria Sur. All three of these entries went directly to the final so could this be a good omen for Malou? While you wait to hear ’24K Gold’, check out Malou’s most successful Melfest entry ‘I Do Me’:
Björn Holmgren – Rädda mig
28-year-old Björn Holmgren is our second and final debutant of Heat 3. He is best known for his 2022 hit single ‘Ut med allt’ (‘Out With Everything’) which reached number one on the Swedish music charts and has over 15 million streams at the time of writing. He has continued to release music since, including ‘Haglar’ (‘Hail’), a duet with known Swedish artist Olivia Lobato that reached the Spotify Viral 50. He released his debut EP ‘Brev som intje læftat bordet’ in 2024.
Björn will be competing in his first Melfest with the song ‘Rädda mig’ (‘Save Me’) which he wrote in tribute to his sister. In 2020, she contracted tick-based encephalitis and nearly lost her life. She now lives with permanent brain damage and according to Björn:
The song is a tribute to her and a story about how it felt for me. How your whole world can collapse, just like that. I would describe the song as quite happy in sound, quite typical Björn Holmgren, with real instruments played by real people. It’s played, human pop. But if you listen to the lyrics and the message, it’s a heavy song. There were a lot of tears in the studio.
Björn Holmgren, Mellopedia
Björn co-wrote the song alongside Jens Hult (with whom he released the song ‘Symfoni’ in 2023) as well as David Lindgren Zacharias, who has written on a number of Melfest entries, including MÃ¥ns Zelmerlöw‘s entry this year. Can Björn make it to the final? While you wait to hear ‘Rädda mig’, you can check out his most successful single ‘Ut med allt’:
Dolly Style – YIHAA
Dolly Style are a four-piece girl group consisting of members Polly, Holly, Molly and newest member Yolly, who joined in late 2023. Drawing their inspiration from Japanese kawaii fashion, the group was initially formed in 2014 as a trio conceived by songwriting duo Emma Nors and Palle Hammarlund. They made their Melfest debut in 2015 with the song ‘Hello Hi’ which went to andra chansen and they subsequently competed again in 2016 and 2019 with the songs ‘Rollercoaster’ and ‘Habibi’ respectively.
Hoping to finally reach a Melfest final, Dolly Style are back with the song ‘YIHAA’ which the group describe as a “happy and funny” song about “always being yourself”. While you wait to hear it, check out their 2019 entry ‘Habibi’ which has since been used to warm up the audience before many Melfest broadcasts and was the opening number for Heat 3 of Melfest 2023:
Angelino – Teardrops
Angelino is a 26-year-old singer-songwriter who grew up in and currently resides in Malmö. He released his debut EP ‘Livingroom Sessions’ in 2021 before collaborating on the song ‘With or Without Me’ with artists Lucky Luke and Delaney Jane. In 2022, Angelino competed in the fourth heat of Melfest with the song ‘The End’ which unfortunately did not progress to the final.
This Saturday will be a big day for Angelino: not only is he competing with his song ‘Teardrops’ but it is also his birthday, and a song he co-wrote on – ‘The Last to Know’ by ELYSA – will be competing in Estonian national final Eesti Laul! Speaking about ‘Teardrops’, Angelino said:
This song is much bigger than my last one in Melodifestivalen, there is more production behind it with bangs, bombs and grenades. The chorus is big, and there is a big choir and gospel parts. Hopefully there will be a lot more happening on stage this time than there was last time. That’s the goal anyway. I think it will be a cool stage act, and I’m really looking forward to it, because I’ve never done that before.
Angelino, Mellopedia
‘Teardrops’ was co-written by Joy Deb, Linnea Deb and Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt, all of whom wrote Sweden’s 2021 Eurovision entry ‘Voices’ by Tusse, who also helped to co-write ‘Teardrops’. While you wait to hear this, why not remind yourself of Angelino’s previous entry ‘The End’?
Annika Wickihalder – Life Again
24-year-old Annika Wickihalder was born in Switzerland and raised in Spain before moving to Sweden at the age of five. She rose to fame in 2021 when she competed in the Swedish singing competition Idol where she placed third. In 2023, she released her debut EP ‘Hollow’ which comprised of a mix of soul, gospel and pop which continue to be major influences in her sound. Annika made her Melfest debut last year with the song ‘Light’ which made the final where she placed eighth overall.
Annika is back with the song ‘Life Again’, which she co-wrote alongside Herman Gardarfve and Patrik Jean who also helped to write ‘Light’ last year. Speaking about ‘Life Again’, Annika said:
It’s a powerful pop song. It’s a little happier than ‘Light’ and has a higher tempo, but it retains the powerful and heavy sound that I like to have in my sound. The song is about starting to feel alive again. After being in a grey place of grief or mental illness, you start to feel good again and feel smells and see colours more strongly. Then you get hope.
Annika Wickihalder, Mellopedia
While you wait to hear ‘Life Again’, check out Annika’s previous entry ‘Light’ from last year:
Melodifestivalen Heat 3 takes place on February 15th 2025 at 20:00 CET // 19:00 GMT Live on SVT – click here to watch live.
Who’s your Melfest Heat 3 favourite? Leave a comment below to let us know!
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