The fourth heat of Melodifestivalen 2023 will be broadcast live from Malmö 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
Farah Abadi and Jesper Rönndahl are entering Malmö Arena as “queen” and “king”. They are “returning home” as they both are from the Scania region.
The Interval Act
Carola Häggkvist is celebrating 40 years since her “Främling” debut and victory in Melodifestivalen 1983. Back then the final was held in Malmö on February 26th! It couldn’t have been a better timing for her performance forty years later.
Carola has participated in Melodifestivalen five times but tonight she will only perform her three winning songs. “Evighet” (2006), “Fångad av en stormvind” (1991) and of course “Främling” (1983).
The Line-up
1. Kiana – “Where Did You Go”
Text & music: Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb
Kiana turns 16 on the same day that she debuts in Melodifestivalen and is thus among the youngest artists in the competition’s history. In 2021, she sang her way to a shared second place in Talang. The journey in the program began with the jury member Bianca Ingrosso (yes the sister of Benjamin Ingrosso) surprising her during a class at Kiana’s school and taking her to the audition. Kiana Blanckert started singing and dancing at an early age. She states that she vividly remembers singing “Baby One More Time” on a cruise ship as a four-year-old. Her mother is a professional dancer, and Kiana has been taking dance classes since she was three years old.
Kiana about her song: I would say that my song is very uptempo and has a lot of power in it. And it’s a dance-able song, so I hope I get people to start dancing to it.
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: Lisa Arnold, Lamin Camara Holmén, Kenny Lantz, Kim Pastor, Tristan Gomez, Ellinea Siambalis
2. Signe & Hjördis – “Edelweiss”
Text & music: Anderz Wrethov, Jimmy Jansson, Myra Granberg
Signe and Hjördis Bornemark, 16 and 19 years old, come from Kullabygden in Skåne. They’ve been around music all their lives. Since they could walk, they have appeared on grandma Gullan’s and dad Dan’s records, including “Tutti Frutti” and the Swedish Grammy winner “Mina egna favoriter”. These days, the sisters do everything from voice singing to working with choirs and writing their own songs. In addition to music, they have also been involved in several theater and musical productions. Their father Dan Bornemark competed as a songwriter in Melodifestivalen 1995 with the entry “Jag tror på dig”.
Signe and Hjördis about their song: “Edelweiss” is the name of a flower but also the name of our song. It’s a very warm, nice and soulful song, and you can say it’s very folk-pop. After all, we have been doing music for almost exactly our entire lives. But we’ve never done anything like this before, and we have no idea what to expect.
Backing vocalists of the number (off stage): –
Choreographers and performance creators: Keisha von Arnold, Lotta Furebäck, Sacha Jean-Baptiste and Jennie Widegren
Dancers: –
3. Smash Into Pieces – “Six Feet Under”
Text & music: Andreas ”Giri” Lindbergh, Benjamin Jennebo, Chris Adam, Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb, Per Bergquist
Smash Into Pieces stands out for its apocalyptic and cinematic image and musical style, much through the band’s masked drummer, leader and mascot The Apocalypse DJ. The band has over half a billion total streams, nearly 600,000 followers on social media and the majority of completed arena tours in both Europe and the USA. During 2022, they have been the opening band for Evanescence and Within Temptation on the bands’ joint tour. During 2023, they tour as an opening band for Starset. The band formed in 2008, got a record deal in 2013 and broke through in 2017 with their third album Rise and Shine, which included The Apocalypse DJ. It was this album with which they established their current musical style. Smash Into Pieces call their sound image SmashSound, where they mix rock, electro and pop and name the result electro-rock.
Smash into pieces about their song: The goal with our song is to make the TV viewers feel like they are at our live show. “Six Feet Under” is for me personally about my absolute worst life crisis, which I went through a few years ago. I really had no faith whatsoever that I would be able to turn my bad mood around. But I was wrong. I took personal responsibility and really worked on myself. With this song, we want to inspire and show that there is a path to change if you are willing to do the work.
Backing vocalists of the number (off stage): Jake E Keelyn
Choreographers and performance creators: Keisha von Arnold, Lotta Furebäck, Sacha Jean-Baptiste and Jennie Widegren
Dancers: –
4. Mariette – “One Day”
Text & music: Jimmy Jansson, Thomas G:son, Mariette
After appearing in Sikta mot stjärnorna and touring with cover bands, Mariette competed in Idol 2009 and finished in fourth place. Mariette debuted in Melodifestivalen 2015 with the song “Don’t Stop Believing” which finished third in the final. The entry used five fans, which was an unofficial record in the competition. Since then, she has competed three more times (2017, 2018 and 2020). The entry “One Day” will be her fifth in the competition.
When all jobs were canceled during the pandemic, Mariette focused on her family and the new home in Skåne. Her son Dante was born in 2021, who inspired Mariette for the song “Just du”, which was released in the summer of 2022 and is dedicated to him and her step-daughter. In Melodifestivalen 2020, Mariette went directly to the final from her heat for the fourth time in a row, which she was the first to achieve (since then, Danny Saucedo, Eric Saade, Robin Bengtsson and Jon Henrik Fjällgren have done the same). Mariette is in joint fourth place on the list of the most appearances in the final in Melodifestivalen and in joint second place on the list of the most direct qualifications to the final.
Mariette about her song: “One Day” is a big, bouncy, catchy song that’s still down to earth somehow. Anyway, my wife said she got goosebumps in places she didn’t think it was possible when she heard the song. My number to the song is going to be awesome.
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: Lisa Arnold, Lamin Camara Holmén, Kenny Lantz, Kim Pastor, Liza Johanne Stokseth
5. Emil Henrohn – “Mera Mera Mera”
Text & music: Emil Henrohn, Jakob Redtzer, Ji Nilsson, Marlene Strand
When the pandemic came, the musical artist Emil Henrohn was completely without a job. He started filming himself at home in the living room, and pretty soon he became a hit on TikTok as the character “the mother”. In 2022, he broke through with the song “Jag är mamma”, and today he has gained over 500,000 followers through his humorous characters and has also been named by the Media Academy as the biggest power holder on the platform in Sweden. Now, Emil is back on the musical stage, including in productions such as Annie and Hair. When Emil has to describe himself briefly, he says “energetic, curious and full of laughter”. He makes his debut on the Melodifestivalen stage with the song “Mera mera mera”.
Emil about his song: It’s an uptempo schlager song. You just want more. You can expect schlager in a 2023-vintage and a good show. Melodifestivalen means so much to me that I know almost every entry ever. Almost.
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: Lisa Arnold, Lamin Camara Holmén, Kenny Lantz, Kim Pastor
6. Axel Schylström – “Gorgeous”
Text & music: Axel Schylström, Herman Gardarfve, Jonas Thander, Malin Halvardsson
In 2012, Axel Schylström was involved in an accident that made him one of Sweden’s worst burn survivors of all time. He was only 19 years old then. For a long time, existence consisted of a struggle for life. But after over 50 operations and about a year in hospital, both Axel and his musical dream had survived. He broke through in Idol 2015. Since then, he has competed in Melodifestivalen as both an artist, in 2017 with “När ingen ser”, and as a songwriter, most recently with THEOZ and “Som du vill” (2022). In Melodifestivalen 2023 he also competes as a songwriter for THEOZ with “Mer av dig”. He has published the autobiography BRÄND – En resa genom eld (Burned – A journey through fire) and established himself as a frequently touring artist and inspirational speaker. His songs as an artist and author over the years have been awarded numerous gold and platinum records.
Axel about his song: “Gorgeous” is a powerful ballad with a very important and strong message. It is about the importance of being kind to yourself and not finding flaws. Perhaps above all to become friends with your reflection and how you look. This is probably the best lesson I’ve learned from living very scarred and burned for a very long time. It really doesn’t matter what you look like.
Backing vocalists of the number (on stage): Greg Curtis, Lars Säfsund
Choreographers and performance creators: Keisha von Arnold, Lotta Furebäck, Sacha Jean-Baptiste and Jennie WidegrenDancers: Lamin Camara Holmén, Kenny Lantz
7. Loreen – “Tattoo”
Text & music: Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt, Jimmy Jansson, Loreen, Moa ”Cazzi Opeia” Carlebecker, Peter Boström, Thomas G:son
Just over ten years after the win with “Euphoria” Loreen makes a comeback in Melodifestivalen. Loreen has received attention for, among other things, her voice and her artistic expression. “Euphoria” became a worldwide hit, reaching number one on the charts in 21 countries. The entry stood out with its immediate chorus, Loreen’s expressive voice and the different stage setting. Today it is among the Eurovision Song Contest’s greatest classics of all time. In 2012, Loreen had her portrait hung among a collection of other prominent Swedes at Arlanda Airport’s “Stockholm Hall of Fame”. In 2020, Loreen and “Euphoria” were also inducted into Melodifestivalen’s Hall of Fame at its founding. In the same year, she appeared in Så mycket bättre, where she released music in Swedish for the first time. Loreen made her acting debut in the remake of the film Vinterviken, which was released in 2021. She competes in Melodifestivalen for the fourth time (2011, 2012 and 2017).
Loreen about her song: The song is called “Tattoo”. Your love is carved in me as a tattoo. It has energy and power, a depth. It’s a love song. As usual, I like to talk about love, because there is nothing more important. Above all in these times, it is extremely important that we lift the collective love. You wonder if there is a new “Euphoria” in the sound. No, this is something else. But – that’s a lot of power, that’s a lot of energy. When I first heard the song I felt in my whole body that something was about to happen, and the last time I felt that was with “Euphoria”.
Backing vocalists of the number (off stage): –
Choreographers and performance creators: Tobias Rylander, 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 – Scandinavium11/2 Linköping – Saab Arena18/2 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.