Eurovision Eurovision 2023 Sweden

Tonight: Melodifestivalen continues in Sweden with heat 3

Melodifestivalen, the national selection that most fans are waiting for, continues in Sweden tonight!

The third heat of Melodifestivalen 2023 will be broadcast live from Lidköping 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

Dolly Style are opening the third heat of Melodifestivalen with “Habibi” and Farah Abadi joins them.

Hall Of Fame

Svenne & Lotta came in second place with “Bang en boomerang” in Melodifestivalen 1975. The song became a monster hit and now Svenne & Lotta have been elected to Melodifestivalen’s Hall of Fame. The group Afro-Dite pays tribute to them in Melodifestivalen this Saturday.

Svenne & Lotta are a classic duo and “Bang en boomerang”, a particularly classic duet. They have a given place in the Hall of Fame.

Christer Björkman, honorary chairman of the Hall of Fame committee
Svenne & Lotta
Photo: Bo Håkansson/Bilduppdraget/SVT

Charlotte Jean “Lotta” Hedlund and Sven Ove “Svenne” Hedlund made music and performed together from 1966 to 2014 and were married for many years. Svenne died in December 2022.

It was Graham Tainton who did the original choreography for the number in 1975. Tonight, Svenne & Lotta are celebrated by Graham’s daughter Blossom Tainton Lundquist, Gladys del Pilar and Kayo Shekoni in Afro-Dite. They will perform their own version of “Bang en boomerang”.

Apart from Svenne & Lotta, Petra Mede is getting a spot in Hall Of Fame for her Melodifestivalen hosting in 2009.

Petra Mede
Photo: Olle Sporrong

The Line-Up

Janne Danielsson/SVT

1. Paul Rey – “Royals”
Text & music: Dino Medanhodzic, Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt, LIAMOO, Paul Rey

After finishing 6th in the final of Melodifestivalen 2020 with “Talking in my sleep”, Paul Rey returned to the contest in 2021 with “The missing piece” getting the 12th place in the final. Paul started making hip hop music as a teenager and achieved success under the artist name P.J. In 2015, he got an American record deal, and in 2017 he released the hit single “California Dreaming” with Arman Cekin and Snoop Dogg.

Paul about his song: “Royals” is an epic, big song with bubbling energy and a lot of joy – party for three minutes. I’m so excited to show off a new side of myself as an artist. Viewers can expect party, energy…

Backing vocalists of the number (off stage):

Choreographers and performance creators: Keisha von Arnold, Lotta Furebäck, Sacha Jean-Baptiste and Jennie Widegren

Dancers: Lisa Arnold, Lamin Camara Holmén, Kenny Lantz, Kim Pastor, Milena Jacuniak, Jennifer Pacaanas

Janne Danielsson/SVT

2. Casanovas – “Så Kommer Känslorna Tillbaka”
Text & music: Henrik Sethsson, Mikael Karlsson

Casanovas were formed back in 1989 by Jimmy Lindberg, who is still part of the band. The career took off for the band with a win in the Swedish Dansband Championships in 1998. In 2006, Henrik Sethsson joined as singer. He then worked as a successful producer and songwriter and had, among other things, written the Melodifestivalen winner “Lyssna till ditt hjärta” (Friends, 2001, fifth place in the Eurovision Song Contest). During his time in the band, Henrik has continued to produce and write songs for others. Among other things, he co-wrote Jenny Silver’s “Something in Your Eyes” for Melodifestivalen 2011. After the pandemic, a fifth member stepped into the band as a guitarist, Victor Lindberg, son of founder Jimmy, with whom he now shares the stage.

Casanovas about their song: Our song is just like Casanovas when we play on any stage. It’s an uptempo song that will echo around the neighborhoods in the long land of the Svea kingdom.

Backing vocalists of the number (off stage):

Choreographers and performance creators: Keisha von Arnold, Lotta Furebäck, Sacha Jean-Baptiste and Jennie Widegren

Dancers:

Janne Danielsson/SVT

3. Melanie Wehbe – “For The Show”
Text & music: David Lindgren Zacharias, Herman Gardarfve, Melanie Wehbe

In addition to being an artist, Melanie Wehbe is also an award-winning songwriter who has written music both in Sweden and internationally. Now she’s celebrating ten years as a songwriter, and in that time she’s written two Idol-winning songs, a Svensktoppen number one (“Move”), two Spotify no1 singles (“Move” and “Treading Water”, where the latter also topped the global viral chart) and three radio no1 singles (“Move”, “Strangers In the Night” in Denmark, and, in Indonesia, “Ku Mau”). As a songwriter, she won Melodifestivalen 2020 with The Mamas’ “Move”, and the year before she won DMGP with the song “Love Is Forever”, which was performed by Leonora. Melanie’s music as an artist has been described as emotional pop. She has graced the cover of QX magazine and was one of the artists who performed on the main stage during the closing night of Stockholm Pride 2022.

Melanie about her song: “For the Show” is a very personal song. It starts a little cozy and intimate, and then it grows into a really beautiful confetti bomb. My number will be intimate and powerful with lots of light.

Backing vocalists of the number (off stage): Isa Tengblad

Choreographers and performance creators: Keisha von Arnold, Lotta Furebäck, Sacha Jean-Baptiste and Jennie Widegren

Dancers:

Janne Danielsson/SVT

4. Nordman – “Släpp Alla Sorger”
Text & music: Jimmy Jansson, Thomas G:son

The successful project Nordman started in 1991, when national fiddler, producer and songwriter Mats Wester was looking for a singer for his experiment of mixing folk music with pop. By chance, Håkan Hemlin was in the same studio as Mats one day to record a demo with his hard rock band. Mats liked what he heard, and with songs like “Förlist”, “Vandraren” and “Be mig”, Nordman quickly came to celebrate great successes. During the ’90s, Nordman sold over a million albums. Nordman has previously participated in Melodifestivalen with “Ödet var min väg” (2005) and “I lågornas sken” (2008).

Nordman about their song: “Släpp alla sorger” is a song about moving on. I hope people who listen to this will feel hopeful, energized and euphoric. What you look forward to is playing music that says something.

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:

Janne Danielsson/SVT

5. Laurell – “Sober”
Text & music: Anderz Wrethov, Andreas Stone Johansson, Laurell Barker, Thomas Stengaard 

Singer and songwriter Laurell has over 300 million streams. She has been involved in numerous musical collaborations worldwide. Laurell was born in Canada but moved to Malmö as a love immigrant. She has received numerous music awards, including a JUNO, Canada’s equivalent of a Grammy, in the category “Dance Recording of the Year”. Her single “Habit” became a big hit in 2021 both in Sweden and outside the country’s borders. In 2019, she became the first female songwriter to qualify with three entries to a final of the Eurovision Song Contest. She has written Melodifestivalen songs for, among others, Hanna Ferm (“Brave”), Faith Kakembo (“Freedom”), Paul Rey (“The Missing Piece”) and Renaida (“All the Feels”). In Melodifestivalen 2023, she also competes as a songwriter with Maria Sur’s “Never Give Up” (which made it to the final last Saturday).

Laurell about her song: “Sober” is about a big night out with friends, where you haven’t gotten started yet and meet a person who makes you feel more intoxicated than you’ve ever felt in your life. Viewers can expect a very fun party number with a lot of energy.

Backing vocalists of the number (off stage):

Choreographers and performance creators: Keisha von Arnold, Lotta Furebäck, Sacha Jean-Baptiste and Jennie Widegren

Dancers: Lisa Arnold, Lamin Camara Holmén, Kenny Lantz, Kim Pastor

Janne Danielsson/SVT

6. Ida-Lova – “Låt Hela Stan Se På”
Text & music: Andreas ”Giri” Lindbergh, Ida-Lova Lind, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb

Ida-Lova gained attention when, as a 13-year-old, she performed a version of Kent’s “Utan dina andetag” at the Svenska hjältar Gala in 2017. She has since released eight songs, five of which on the debut EP “Hallå världen kan du stanna?” in June 2022. Ida-Lova is 18 years old and lives in Stockholm with her mother, father and little brother. She is in her last year of high school and her main interests are music and food.

Ida-Lova about her song: It’s a ballad that feels very powerful to me. It is about daring to live. I’ve been watching Melodifestivalen since I was little, and it’s a dream that I’ll be able to stand on stage now!

Backing vocalists of the number (off stage): Isa Tengblad

Choreographers and performance creators: Keisha von Arnold, Lotta Furebäck, Sacha Jean-Baptiste and Jennie Widegren

Dancers:

Janne Danielsson/SVT

7. Marcus & Martinus – “Air”
Text & music: Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb, Marcus Gunnarsen, Martinus Gunnarsen  

The twins Marcus & Martinus broke through as ten-year-olds in Norway’s equivalent of Lilla Melodifestivalen. During their career they have, among other things, sold out their own arena tour in Europe and performed at Crown Princess Victoria’s 40th birthday celebration with a specially written song. In 2016, the duo was named “Spellemann of the Year”, the biggest prize at the Spellemann gala, which is the Norwegian equivalent of the Swedish Grammis Awards. Their biggest hit “Elektrisk” still holds the record in Norway as the song that stayed in the top 10 for the longest time with 66 weeks. After winning the Swedish Masked Singer 2022, they now have their base in Stockholm and work with Swedish songwriters and producers.

Marcus and Martinus about their song: “Air” is a song that really has it all, it starts quietly but has a great build up. We are very much looking forward to showing you the song. To be allowed to participate in Melodifestivalen, we knew we had to have the right song, so we’ve been waiting a long time now, but finally we feel we’ve found the right one. We have built a completely new team in Stockholm, which we are very pleased with.

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:

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.

Eurovision, National Final

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