It’s finally that time of the year again, Melfest season! As you will know by now, Melodifestivalen is a real institution of the Swedish music scene. It is the national qualification for Eurovision, but is actually bigger than Eurovision itself, at least here in Sweden. This year sees again five heats in the first round, with six artists in each competing for a spot in the Grand Final.
A novelty for this year is that the full songs are released on Spotify already on the New Music Friday before Saturday’s live broadcast of the competition. This way the audience will already have the chance to familiarise themselves with the tunes, and the songs will most likely get a stronger boost in streaming.
But let’s take a look at who is in the first week’s line-up in Luleå…
1) Albin Johnsén feat. Pa – Upp i luften
Albin Johnsén is most renowned for his 2014 hit Din soldat, and has competed in melodifestivalen twice before, in 2016 with Mattias Andréasson and in 2020 solo. Pa Modou for his part has participated three times before with his group Panetoz. The dynamic duo’s entry promises an energetic and rhytmic performance, with a summery sing-along vibe, something along the lines of Melfest favorites Samir & Viktor, or Medina.
2) Maja Ivarsson – Kamikaze Life
Frontwoman of the internationally acclaimed rock band The Sounds, Maja Ivarsson makes her Melodifestivalen debut with Kamikaze Life. Maja is well-known for her dynamic stage presence, and is now she’s set to showcase a new facet of her artistry. The sound pretty much takes us back to the 1980s and the likes of Kim Wilde, with Maja’s effortlessly cool energy. The staging has no gimmicks, so it’s up to Maja and her stage charisma to carry this all by herself.
3) John Lundvik – Voice of the Silent
John Lundvik is of course a returning winner, having taken the Melodifestivalen crown in 2019, which took him to fifth place in Eurovision that year. His soulful performances have previously captivated the audiences, and expectations are high on his comeback. This time the song is giving musical theatre and electronic arena anthem, complete with a children’s choir at the end. The first week’s most certain qualifier.
4) Meira Omar – Hush Hush
Meira Omar has her roots in Afghanistan and is previously known from the Netflix reality series Love is Blind Sweden, as well as her Bollywood-inspired dance videos on YouTube. She is now making her Melodifestivalen debut to launch her music career more seriously. Her song and the dance performance are bringing Middle Eastern and Bollywood influences, with belly-dance moves and such classic Eurovision-worthy lyrics like Boom-boom Chiki-chiki – so what’s not to love! It’s very much Eurovision, yes thank you!
5) Adrian Macéus – Vår första gång
Adrian Macéus is just 19, but has already made a name for himself for his musical role in Billy Elliot and TV series role in Bert. He has previously released songs in English, but is now making his singing debut in Swedish. The song is a nice enough ballad, but it doesn’t have that much of a chance at making it to the final.
6) Linnea Henriksson – Den känslan
Linnea Henriksson had her breakthrough in Swedish Idol 2010, and has really made her mark on the Swedish pop scene since then, and proven her musical versatility. She’s released four albums and received P3 Guld awards and Grammis nominations. It is indeed nice to see such a big and established artist of the real world pop scene making a move to Melfest. Linnea brings a fun 1960s aestethic to the stage and makes her entrance being hoisted down in a big heart. The song itself is also giving very nice retro schlager vibes, maybe not what you had expected from Linnea, but on the other hand right up her alley.
All photos © Nina Uddin
