Meet the first half of artists in Sweden

As usual some popular names in the competition, experienced artists as well as newcomers are in the list. A list that has been much-discussed and rumored in the last couple of weeks by the Swedish press and fans of the Eurovision Song Contest.

The 1st Semi-Final will take place in the Southern town of Växjö on the 4th of February. The following songs (in alphabetical title order) and artists will participate there:

• Euphoria - Loreen (Thomas G:Son & Peter Boström)
• I Want To Be Chris Isaak (This Is Just The Beginning) - The Moniker (The Moniker)
• Jag Reser Mig Igen - Thorsten Flinck & Revolutionsorkestern (Thomas G:Son & Ted Ström)
• Mystery - Dead By April (Pontus Hjelm)
• På Väg - Abalone Dots (Abalone Dots & Viktor Källgren)
• Salt & Pepper - Marie Serneholt (Lina Eriksson, Mårten Eriksson & Figge Boström)
• Sean Den Förste Banan - Sean Banan (Sean Banan, Joakim Larsson, Hans Blomberg & Mårten Andersson)
• The Boy Can Dance - Afro-Dite (Figge Boström, Catrine Loqvist & Johan Lindman)

The 2nd Semi-Final will be held in Sweden's second city, Gothenburg on the 11h of February with the following entries (in alphabetical title order):

• Aldrig, Aldrig - Andreas Lundstedt (Niclas Lundin, Maria Marcus, Randy Goodrum)
• Baby Doll - Top Cats (Mårten Eriksson, Lina Eriksson, Susie Päivärinta)
• Det Går För Långsamt - Mimi Oh (Anton Malmberg Hård af Segerstad & Niclas Lundin)
• Ge Aldrig Upp - Thomas Di Leva (Thomas Di Leva)
• I Din Himmel - Sonja Aldén (Sonja Aldén, Bobby Ljunggren & Peter Boström)
• Shout It Out - David Lindgren (Tony Nilsson & Fernando Fuentes Vargas)
• Soldiers - Ulrik Munther (Ulrik Munther, Johan Åberg, Linnea Deb, Joy Deb, David Jackson)
• Stormande Hav - Timoteij (Kristian Lagerström, Johan Fjellström, Stina Engelbrecht & Jens Engelbrecht)

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The song Shout It Out performed by musical artist David Lindgren is a replacement for the song Porslin (Björn Olsson & Martin Elisson).

Loreen took part in Melodifestivalen 2011 and reached the Second Chance stage, The Moniker did even better and reached the final placing third. Dead By April is a popular rock band that acted as interval in one of the semis of Melodifestivalen 2011 featuring Lena Philipsson in her classic Dance In The Neon Lights. Also this year's host Marie Serneholt, former singer of A Teens, comes back as an artist; she already performed in 2009.

Afro-Dite won the competition back in 2002 and took part in the Eurovision Song Contest in Tallin where they placed 8th. Sonja Aldén and Timoteij are also previous entrants that got a big success with their participations in 2007 and 2010 respectively. Andreas Lundstedt has participated 6 times, both solo and with Alcazar, and represented Switzerland as part of six4one in Athens in 2006. Thomas Di Leva is a popular singer-songwriter with a career spanning over 30 years.