The second heat of Melodifestivalen 2023 will be broadcast live from Linköping at 20:00 CET. Below you will find all the necessary information regarding tonight’s semi-final. Hosts, artists, running order, backing vocalists and more!
The Show
The show opens with Farah Abadi and Jesper Rönndahl doing a funny sketch with a green screen -or more correctly, a green costume- that Jesper is wearing and different outfits are projected on him.
After that we go directly to the competing part. When this is over and while the viewers are voting, Thomas G:son is awarded with a spot in the Hall of Fame.
Thomas G:son is obviously in the Hall of Fame. He is a masterful genre chameleon and a real giant in the Melodifestivalen world.
It is hardly bold to claim that every single Swede can hum at least one G:son song. Thomas G:son is elected to Melodifestivalen’s Hall of Fame for his multifaceted and incomparable 69 contributions that have enriched the Swedish song treasure for a quarter of a century. G:son moves in the music space and does not fear either genre, tonality or emotions.
Christer Björkman, honorary chairman of the Hall of Fame committee
The Interval Act
On tonight’s interval act we’re going to see two Melodifestivalen veterans! Magnus Carlsson will “battle” against Linda Bengtzing on a schlagertastic duel! They will perform some of their greatest Melodifestivalen hits! There’s gonna be a surprise for all Alcazar fans (like me!) when Tess Merkel will join Magnus on “Not A Sinner Nor A Saint“. A classic Melodifestivalen song that brought to the group an honorable 3rd place in the final of 2003!
The Line-Up
1. Wiktoria – “All My Life (Where Have You Been)”
Text & music: Herman Gardarfve, Melanie Wehbe, Patrik Jean, Wiktoria Johansson
Wiktoria returns to Melodifestivalen for a fourth time. She has achieved great success through the years and has been on the Swedish top list on Spotify with “As I Lay Me Down” (2017) and the Melodifestivalen debut song “Save Me” (2016). Her most recent participation was in 2019 with “Not With Me’. In 2016, she was the Swedish voice for the main roles in the film “Vaiana”. In 2017 she announced the points of Sweden in Eurovision Song Contest. Her music has been streamed over 100 million times. If Wiktoria goes directly to the final, it will be the 4th time in a row. A record held by Mariette and also by Jon Henrik Fjällgren who achieved it last week.
Wiktoria about her song: The best thing that’s happened since I participated last time is that I’ve fallen in love, and that’s what the song is about. It’s a very happy and warm song. Viewers can expect a real show filled with dancing and joy. I’ve probably never been this excited about taking part [in Melodifestivalen].
Backing vocalists of the number (off stage): Britta Bergström, Matilda Gratte
Choreographers and performance creators: Keisha von Arnold, Lotta Furebäck, Sacha Jean-Baptiste and Jennie Widegren
Dancers: Lisa Arnold, Pauline Eddeborn, Milena Jacuniak, Kim Pastor
2. Eden – “Comfortable”
Text & music: Benjamin Rosenbohm, Eden Alm, Emil Adler Lei, Julie Aagaard
The 23-year-old artist Eden Alm from Hässleholm has achieved success with her music on TikTok and is now making her debut in Melodifestivalen. In a short time, Eden has gone from relative anonymity to being both a songwriter and artist. A few weeks before the artists in Melodifestivalen were presented, she released the single “Mera tid”. Eden debuted in 2020 with the single “Dina kuddar” together with her twin sister Alice. They both applied the year before for Idol, where Eden was praised by jury member Alexander Kronlund and made it to the first Friday final. “Comfortable” is about being in a destructive relationship where you are too comfortable to be able or dare to leave. Eden becomes historic as the first artist in Melodifestivalen who defines herself as bi-gender.
Eden about her song: I wrote the song with some great people this summer. It’s a very calm song with a lot of emotion, a little sad. The number will also be very stripped down and calm.
Backing vocalists of the number (off stage): Britta Bergström
Choreographers and performance creators: Keisha von Arnold, Lotta Furebäck, Sacha Jean-Baptiste and Jennie Widegren
Dancers: –
3. Uje Brandelius – “Grytan”
Text & music: Uje Brandelius
Uje Brandelius grew up in Gävle and lives with his family in Stockholm. During his career, he has been active as a singer, pianist, songwriter, theater actor, radio reporter, writer, film star and TV quiz winner. He started his music career as a songwriter and singer in the ’90s band Doktor Kosmos, which has made a notable return to Swedish scenes in 2022. In 2015, Uje released his solo album “Spring, Uje, spring”. Soon after, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, which led him to create a stage performance at Dramaten with the same name as the album. “Spring, Uje, spring” also became an acclaimed radio theater drama and finally a feature film directed by Henrik Schyffert. Uje Brandelius competes in Melodifestivalen with his self-written song “Grytan”. He describes the song as “a story about cooking, mood swings and conflict management. But mostly it’s a song about love.”.
Uje about his song: My song is called the stew, and it’s about… a stew. About food and conflict management, and love. It is most beautiful. The lyrics are a little more important than the music, although the music is very nice. What I’m looking forward to the most is getting to sing my song, and then going home and watching the final.
Backing vocalists of the number (on stage): Karin Fredriksson, Therese Hörnqvist, Elin Trogen
Choreographers and performance creators: Keisha von Arnold, Lotta Furebäck, Sacha Jean-Baptiste and Jennie Widegren
Dancers: –
4. Panetoz – “On My Way”
Text & music: Anders Wigelius, Daniel Nzinga, Jimmy Jansson, Nebeyu Baheru, Njol Badjie, Pa Modou Badjie, Robert Norberg
Panetoz, who had their big breakthrough with the single “Dansa pausa” in 2012, are back in Melodifestivalen. The debut in the competition came in 2014 with the song “Efter solsken”, which went directly to the final. Panetoz returned in 2016 with the song “Håll om mig hårt”, which also made it to the final, this time via Andra chansen. That same year, the viewers voted Panetoz as Group of the Year in Melodifestivalen’s web award. The group exists since 1997 although some members have left the group and new ones came in.
Panetoz about their song: It’s a really cool love song, a community song and party song with Panetoz vibe. The viewers can expect party, dance, joy, color…
Backing vocalists of the number (off stage): Lars Säfsund
Choreographers and performance creators: Keisha von Arnold, Lotta Furebäck, Sacha Jean-Baptiste and Jennie Widegren
Dancers: Kim Pastor, Cheryl Ingabire
5. Tennessee Tears – “Now I Know”
Text & music: Anderz Wrethov, Jonas Hermansson, Thomas Stengaard, Tilda Feuk
Tennessee Tears, consisting of Jonas Hermansson and Tilda Feuk, is a Swedish country duo that has been working together for eight years. They formed when they collaborated with Billy Burnette (Fleetwood Mac) writing songs in Nashville. Since then, Jonas Hermansson and Tilda Feuk have traveled back there several times to both write and record music. After traveling back and forth to Nashville, they have today acquired a base in Åseda in Småland. Tennessee Tears has released a number of singles and has collaborated with musicians such as Dave Roe (Johnny Cash), Michael Rhodes (Emmylou Harris, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum) and Ben Sesar (Brad Paisley). In May 2022, Tennessee Tears became the first contract for Melodifestivalen winner and country singer Jill Johnson’s company Jimajomo.
Tennessee Tears about their song: I hope we will be able to put on one hell of a show with this song. I love it. There will be banjo and pedal steel guitar. We’re doing country music, so we always try to put quite a lot into the lyrics of our songs. This is a text that tells a story, and we hope you feel something, as we do.
Backing vocalists of the number (off stage): Britta Bergström, Erik Segerstedt
Choreographers and performance creators: Keisha von Arnold, Lotta Furebäck, Sacha Jean-Baptiste and Jennie Widegren
Dancers: –
6. Maria Sur – “Never Give Up”
Text & music: Anderz Wrethov, Laurell Barker
18-year-old Maria was born and raised in Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine. When Russia’s invasion to Ukraine began in February 2022, she was one of the participants in the country’s edition of The Voice. Maria and her mother fled the country for the safety of Sweden, where her aunt lives, while her father was forced to stay behind. Once in Sweden, it didn’t take long before Maria began to think about how she could continue her newly started career as an artist. Determined not to let the war take away her dreams, she reached out to a number of people involved in music. Sarah Dawn Finer answered and recommended Maria to the gala “Hela Sverige skramlar”, which raised about 80 million SEK for aid work in Ukraine. The song “Never Give Up” is autobiographical and is about following your dreams and never giving up, despite what is happening in the world.
Maria about her song: When I came to Sweden, I started to build my career here, but then of course I did not think that I would be able to participate in Melodifestivalen. I am very, very happy about it and incredibly grateful. My song will tell my story. See you at Mello 2023!
Backing vocalists of the number (on and off stage): Julia Bertling Szytek, Kajsa Borg, Greg Curtis, Lars Säfsund, Britta Bergström
Choreographers and performance creators: Keisha von Arnold, Lotta Furebäck, Sacha Jean-Baptiste and Jennie Widegren
Dancers: Lisa Arnold, Kenny Lantz
7. THEOZ – “Mer Av Dig”
Text & music: Axel Schylström, Jakob Redtzer, Peter Boström, Thomas G:son
17-year-old THEOZ from Linköping made a big impact in Melodifestivalen 2022 when he went to the final with “Som Du Vill”. The song was in the top 10 on Spotify in Sweden for a long time, and the success was followed by, among other things, a summer tour and a participation in the Diggiloo tour. He is today one of Sweden’s biggest influencers with over 2 million followers on his social media. The Melodifestivalen debut came already in 2018, when as a 12-year-old he shuffled in a pre-recorded film that was shown on the screens behind Samir & Viktor in “Shuffla”. In the same year, he broke through with the song “Het”, whose music video became the year’s most viewed Swedish video on YouTube.
THEOZ about his song: This time it will be an even more fast-paced song in Swedish, and I would actually say that it is better than last time. Of course there’s going to be dancing, but it’s a very cool number too.
Backing vocalists of the number (off stage): Lars Säfsund
Choreographers and performance creators: Keisha von Arnold, Lotta Furebäck, Sacha Jean-Baptiste and Jennie Widegren
Dancers: Lamin Camara Holmén, Kenny Lantz, Hannes Lemberg, Erik Lind, Adnan Sahuric, Charlie Stern
The two acts that get the most votes will advance directly to the Final, while those who finish in the third and fourth places will go through to the semi-final, which will take place on the 5th of March. The results of the heats and the semi-final will be decided by 100% televoting.
4/2 Gothenburg – Scandinavium- 11/2 Linköping – Saab Arena
- 18/2 Lidköping – Sparbanken Arena
- 25/2 Malmö – Malmö Arena
- 4/3 Örnsköldsvik – Hägglunds Arena
- 11/3 Stockholm – Friends Arena
You can watch the show live at 20:00 CET HERE or via our Multi-window live feed.