Melodifestivalen is an annual song competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been staged almost every year since 1959. In the early 2000s, the competition was the most popular television program in Sweden; it is also broadcast on radio and the Internet. In 2012, the heats averaged 3.3 million viewers, and over an estimated four million people in Sweden watched the final, almost half of the Swedish population.
Alcazar is a Swedish nu-disco group. Alcazar is one of Sweden's most successful music groups both nationally and internationally with a string of hits since their debut single in 1999. Worldwide, Alcazar sold over 12 million records between 2001 and 2004. Alcazar also had success globally in 2000 with their song "Crying at the Discoteque", having charted in USA, Brazil, Australia, Japan and most countries in Europe.
Anna Jenny Charlotte Perrelli is a Swedish singer and television host. She was the winner of the 1999 Melodifestivalen and subsequently that year's Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Take Me to Your Heaven".
Ann-Kristin "Kikki" Danielsson is a Swedish country, dansband and pop singer. Sometimes, she also plays the accordion and she has also written some lyrics. She has gained notice for yodeling in some songs. Danielsson gained her largest popularity in the Nordic region from the late 1970s until the late 1990s. She also gained popularity at the US country stage during the 1980s. In 1986, she had the "Kikki i Nashville" TV show.
Linda Birgitta Bengtzing is a Swedish pop singer famous for her participation in the fourth season of Fame Factory in Sweden and for her entries at Melodifestivalen 2005, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2020 and 2022.
Sanna Viktoria Nielsen is a Swedish singer and television presenter. On her seventh attempt, she won Melodifestivalen in 2014 with the song "Undo" and so represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark, finishing in 3rd place overall. Sanna was one of the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 commentators for Sweden and hosted Melodifestivalen 2015 along with comedian Robin Paulsson. She was announced as the new presenter for the sing-along show Allsång på Skansen for the summer of 2016. She hosted Eurovision The Party at the Tele2 Arena for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016.
Måns Petter Albert Sahlén Zelmerlöw is a Swedish pop singer and television presenter. He took part in Idol 2005, eventually finishing fifth, won the first season of Let's Dance, and scored a hit with his 2007 song "Cara Mia", which was his entry in that year's Melodifestivalen. Zelmerlöw was the host of Allsång på Skansen from 2011 to 2013. He participated in Melodifestivalen in 2007, 2009 and won in 2015. Zelmerlöw represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Heroes", winning the contest with 365 points. Zelmerlöw and Petra Mede co-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 held in Stockholm.
Sarah Dawn Finer is a Swedish singer, songwriter and actress. Her father is of English heritage from the United Kingdom, her mother is Jewish from the United States, and she was born and raised in Sweden. As a student, she attended the Adolf Fredrik's Music School, a high-profile song-and-chorus school in Stockholm, where she was also president of the students' union. She is also known for playing Lynda Woodruff, the "official" spokesperson of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in Melodifestivalen and the Eurovision Song Contest, a character created by Edward af Sillén.
"Hero" is a 2008 pop song performed by the Swedish singer Charlotte Perrelli, written by Fredrik Kempe and Bobby Ljunggren. It was entered into the Melodifestivalen 2008, winning at the Globen arena on 15 March 2008. Due to this, it represented Sweden at the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade, Serbia.
Brita Maret "Sofia" Jannok is a Swedish Sami artist, singer, songwriter and radio host. Several times, she has publicly taken a stance in social media against the establishment of mines on land used by Sami reindeer herders. Together with Mariela Idivuoma, she was hostess of the Liet-Lávlut music festival in 2006. She has also hosted the program "Mailbmi – small people great music" on Swedish Radio P2, and the Sámi children's program Unna Junná for Yle. Her music is inspired from diverse musical influences, like folk, pop, jazz and yoik. She sings mostly in Northern Sami, but also sings and writes lyrics in Swedish and English as well.
Anna Henrietta Bergendahl is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She took part in Swedish TV4 music program Super Troupers in 2004, and in Idol 2008 where she reached the Final 5 before being eliminated.
Mariette Hansson, sometimes credited as MaryJet or simply Mariette, is a Swedish singer and songwriter. Hansson participated in Sikta mot stjärnorna in 1999 imitating singer Amanda Marshall. She participated in Idol 2009 which was broadcast on TV4 and finished fourth. A year later, Hansson was announced as "homo of the year" at the QX Gaygala in Stockholm.
Lorine Zineb Nora Talhaoui, known professionally as Loreen, is a Swedish singer and songwriter. Representing Sweden, she won the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with her entry "Euphoria", which topped the charts in numerous European countries. She will represent Sweden in Eurovision for a second time in 2023 with "Tattoo".
Anton Kim Ewald is a Swedish singer and dancer. He has participated in Melodifestivalen several times as both a background dancer and singer.
Alice Kristina Ingrid Gernandt better known by her stage name Ace Wilder, is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She first received public attention while taking part in Melodifestivalen 2014.
Lisa Kristina Ajax, is a Swedish singer, and winner of Idol 2014.
Ella Molly Natalia Pettersson Hammar, known professionally as Molly Hammar, is a Swedish singer and songwriter who participated in the talent show Idol 2011 broadcast on TV4, where she reached fourth place.
Melodifestivalen 2016 was the 56th edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen, which selected Sweden's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. The competition was organised by Sveriges Television (SVT) and took place over the six-week period between 6 February and 12 March 2016.
Sweden participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "If I Were Sorry" written by Oscar Fogelström, Michael Saxell, Fredrik Andersson and Frans Jeppsson Wall. The song was performed by Frans. In addition to participating in the contest, the Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT) also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest after winning the competition in 2015 with the song "Heroes" performed by Måns Zelmerlöw. SVT organised the national final Melodifestivalen 2016 in order to select the Swedish entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm. After a six-week-long competition consisting of four heats, a Second Chance round and a final, "If I Were Sorry" performed by Frans emerged as the winner after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from eleven international jury groups and a public vote.
Anna Cornelia Jakobsdotter Samuelsson, known professionally as Cornelia Jakobs, is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She is best known for representing Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 with the song "Hold Me Closer", placing fourth in the final.
