The Swedish Eurovision selection Melodifestivalen is a staple in the Eurovision bubble, with the announcement of the participants always an exciting time of year. In the lead up to the announcement for next year’s contest, we’ve picked out our dream Melodifestivalen, filled with 28 talented artists. Over four instalments, we will be revealing our Top 28 with the hopes that some of these artists make their return!
At the end of each instalment, there will be a poll for which artist you want to see return to the contest!
Check out our previous instalment here.
The Mamas
Past Participation: 2020, 2021
In normal circumstances, the winner of Melodifestivalen gets to represent Sweden at Eurovision, however that sadly turned out not to be the case for The Mamas. The group won Melodifestivalen in 2020 with the song ‘Move’, however Eurovision was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic.
The Swedish broadcaster continued with Melodifestivalen in 2021, meaning The Mamas would have to win their ticket back. They competed with the song ‘In The Middle’, but unfortunately fell short. The group finished in 3rd place in the final.
Patrik Jean
Past Participation: 2021
Patrik made his Melodifestivalen debut in 2021 with the song ‘Tears Run Dry’. Despite a strong performance, Patrik failed to qualify from the semi-final. We are certainly ready for Patrik to return with another hit!
Måns Zelmerlöw
Past Participation: 2007, 2009, 2015
Måns is one of the most familiar names in the Melodifestivalen and Eurovision worlds, having participated at the national contest three times, and who could forget his Eurovision win! Måns first took to the Melodifestivalen stage in 2007 with the song ‘Cara Mia’. He progressed to the final, where he finished in third place.
Måns returned in 2009 with the song ‘Hope & Glory’. Once again, he progressed to the final and ultimately placed fourth. His most recent participation was in 2015 with the song ‘Heroes’. As we know, he went on to win Melodifestivalen and represented Sweden at Eurovision, where he also won.
Wiktoria
Past Participation: 2016, 2017, 2019
Wiktoria has competed at Melodifestivalen three times now, with hopefully a fourth on the way? She made her debut in 2016 with the song ‘Save Me’ which qualified directly into the final. Wiktoria placed fourth overall.
In 2017, she returned with the song ‘As I Lay Me Down’ which also qualified directly to the final. This time, she finished in 6th place overall. Wiktoria’s most recent participation was in 2019 with the song ‘Not With Me’. For the third time, she qualified directly to the final, finishing 6th overall.
Erik Rapp
Past Participation: Yet to Debut
Erik Rapp is the only artist on this list who hasn’t made their Melodifestivalen debut, but for years, we hoped to see his name pop up on the participation list! Despite not competing at Melodifestivalen (yet), Junior Eurovision fans will recognise Erik Rapp as the 2011 representative. His style has changed significantly since his Junior Eurovision performance, and we think that he is the perfect candidate to represent Sweden at Eurovision!
Bishara
Past Participation: 2019
Bishara made his Melodifestivalen debut in 2019 with the song ‘On My Own’ and one of the songwriters was none other than Benjamin Ingrosso! Bishara qualified into the final directly and ultimately finished in second place behind John Lundvik.
Axel Schylström
Past Participation: 2017
Axel Schylström has participated at Melodifestivalen just once thus far, but it was a memorable appearance. He competed with the upbeat song, ‘När ingen ser’ which qualified to the second chance round, but ultimately failed to qualify to the final.