Melodifestivalen returned for its 2025 edition last week, with John Lundvik and Maja Ivarsson qualifying for the grand final on Saturday 8th March, and Meira Omar qualifying for the second chance vote in Heat 5.
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 head to Gothenburg where six more artists will compete in Heat 2, with just two returnees to the contest taking part – the rest making their debut. Let’s find out more about them…
Nomi Tales – ‘Funniest Thing’
28-year-old singer/songwriter Nomi Bontegard is from Axvall, Västa Götaland. Describing her music as dreamy and fantasy-like, she recently released her first work under her stage name, Nomi Tales called ‘Song of The Forest’ – dedicated to Sweden’s forest and folktales. Before this, she created music for Star Stable Entertainment – where she also works as a 3D animator.
She told Mellopedia her entry ‘Funniest Thing’ is a conversation with your inner critic, and whilst it has elements of her fantasy, alternative sound she also included modern pop elements to create a “cinematic, pompous and bombastic” song. Her song will be available to listen to in full on Friday, so for now you can listen to ‘Song of The Forest’ below!
SCHLARGEZ – ‘Don Juan’
SCHLAGERZ is a supergroup made up of award-winning dansband singers Sandra Estberg (Martinez), Maria Persson (Blender) and Maria Rolf (Titanix), who are all connected either by birth or by residence to Östergötland. Sandra won a Swedish Grammy in 2021 as part of Martinez, Maria Rolf is a multi-time Gukdklaven winner – as is Maria Persson, who has also won Swedish Grammy’s and was part of the recording of Lasse Stefanz’s 2024 Melfest entry, featuring on the studio track. They have performed together before – whether that be as a three-piece or in a duo – but they’re teaming up again as SCHLARGEZ to take on Melodifestivalen 2025.
Maria Rolf calls ’Don Juan’ a girl-power song, that’s full of energy. Sandra notes that it also has some dansband influence. As the band haven’t released anything officially before Melfest, you can see Sandra & Maria Persson on Allsång på Skansen below!
Erik Segerstedt – ‘Show Me What Love Is’
The first returnee in Heat 2 is Erik Segerstedt, who makes this his 3rd time in Melodifestivalen, but first time alone. Born in Uddevalla, Erik found fame through Idol 2006, where he came 3rd. On the show, he met Danny Saucedo, with the pair joining forces with Idol 2007 contestant Mattias Andréasson to form boyband E.M.D. The group achieved 4 number #1 singles in Sweden, their debut single ‘All For Love’ going 3x platinum, and their debut album ‘A State Of Mind’ also hitting #1 in 2008. In 2009, they took part in Melodifestivalen with ‘Baby Goodbye’ – coming 3rd overall. They split in 2010, all pursuing solo careers and entering Melfest again individually, briefly reuniting as E.M.D again in 2019. Erik’s return to Melfest came in 2013 with Norwegian singer Tone Damli on the song ‘Hello Goodbye’, which reached Andra Chansen. He’s also been involved behind the scenes in more recent years at Melodifestivalen for Robin Bengtsson, FO&O, Anton Hagman and Tennessee Tears, whilst also being part of the backing vocals for Sergey Lazarev at Eurovision 2019.
’Show Me What Love Is’ is written by Erik, former bandmate Mattias and Pontus Sǒdermalm. It’s a mid-tempo song, although despite this he says it’s also ’energetic and intense’. You can hear the song on Friday, or see him in his last Melfest performance below.
Klara Hammarström- ‘On and On and On’
3 years after her last participation, Klara Hammarström is back for her fourth attempt at Melodifestivalen. The Stockholm-born singer found fame through her family’s reality TV show Familjen Hammarström in 2018 and released her first single a year later. In 2020, she entered Melodifestivalen for the first time with ‘Nobody’, and in 2021 she came 6th in the final with ‘Beat Of Broken Hearts’. We last saw her in 2022 with ‘Run To The Hills’ – a favourite going into the contest, again finishing 6th in the final.
’On and On and On’ is a huge pop number that puts her in contention once again for the songbird trophy in March. Written by the team behind Loreen’s ‘Tattoo‘, Klara certainly has her eye on big things this Melodifestivalen. She told Mellopedia:
“On and On and On” is a hopeful pop song with a lot of energy. It’s an emotional uptempo song that feels a bit cinematic. The song is about believing in yourself, loving yourself and being who you are. It has a bit of a fighting spirit – I want to inspire people to dare to follow their dreams and fight for what they believe in.
Klara Hammarström, Mellopedia
Fredrik Lundman – ‘The Heart of a Swedish Cowboy’
Piteå’s Fredrik Lundman has been creating country music since he was a child, his interest coming from his upbringing on a farm. He won Los Angeles’ World Championship of Performing Arts (WCOPA), and made himself known to a wider Swedish audience in 2021 on Idol, finishing 5th and earning himself the nickname ‘the Swedish cowboy’. It should be no surprise then that his song for Melodifestivalen 2025 is called ‘The Heart of a Swedish Cowboy’, written by country music star Maja Francis, Erik Bernholm and Melfest power-house writer Thomas G:Son.
[It’s] about daring to face adversity and finding strength from within to be able to get up again. Life is a journey with an unknown destination, and sometimes it takes courage to dare to continue forward.
Fredrik Lundman, Mellopedia
Kaliffa – ‘Salute’
Kaliffa is taking on Melodifestivalen solo this year, and whilst he’s new to the show he isn’t new to Sweden’s music scene. He is a member of the 12-piece band HOFFMAESTRO, who’ve been making ska-punk music since 2005. In 2014 he embarked on a solo career and found success with his debut album ‘Kalibreraren‘, which featured one of his most successful songs, ‘Spontanitet‘. His music combines reggae, dancehall and Swedish pop into one genre. His 2017 hit single ‘Helt Seriöst’, won ‘Song Of The Year’ at the P3 Gold Awards.
‘Salute‘ is an anthem about celebrating life and believing in yourself, and is sure to get the audience up on their feet. Whilst he isn’t a favourite to win at the moment, we have seen songs like this do incredibly well in recent years – most notably Medina reaching the top 3 in both 2022 and 2024, so it may become one to watch.
Melodifestivalen Heat 2 takes place on February 8th 2025 at 20:00 CET // 19:00 GMT Live on SVT – click here to watch live.
Who’s your Melfest Heat 2 favourite? Leave a comment below to let us know!
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