Sweden: Full lineup for Melodifestivalen 2023 confirmed

Yesterday SVT shared the first batch of participants expected to compete when Sweden’s biggest TV show returns to SVT1 and SVT Play on Saturday 4 February.

The first 14 songs and artists, competing in heats one and two, were shared by SVT on Tuesday 29 November. The remaining 14 acts, competing in heats three and four, you can learn more about right now.  

HEAT 3: Lidköping, Saturday 18 February 

Marcus & Martinus - Air 

Written by: Jimmy "Joker" Thörnfeldt, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb, Marcus Gunnarsen, Martinus Gunnarsen 

Marcus & Martinus are 20 year old twins from Norway, who got their big break as 10 year olds in Norway's Melodi Grand Prix Junior. During their decade in the spotlight, they have sold out their own arena tour in Europe, made an official song for the Swedish crown princess and won a Norwegian Grammy. Their biggest hit, Elektrisk, still holds the record in Norway as the song that has stayed in the Top 10 for the longest period of time; 66 weeks, to be precise. After winning The Masked Singer Sweden in 2022, they now have their base in Stockholm and have started working with Swedish songwriters and producers. 

Melanie Wehbe - For The Show 

Written by: David Lindgren Zacharias, Herman Gardarfve, Melanie Wehbe 

As well as being an artist in her own right, Melanie Wehbe is an award-winning songwriter who has written music for both Swedish and international artists. She now celebrates ten years as a songwriter; a decade in which she has managed to write two Idol winner’s singles, a Svensktoppen number one, three Spotify and radio number ones, as well as a win in both Melodifestivalen (2020) and Denmark’s Melodi Grand Prix (2019). As an artist, Melanie has recently established herself as a rising star, gracing the cover of QX Magazine and being given the honour of closing Stockholm Pride 2022 on the main stage in Pride Park.  

Ida-Lova - Låt Hela Stan Se På 

Written by: Andreas ”Giri” Lindbergh, Ida-Lova Lind, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb  

Ida-Lova took Sweden by storm when, as a 13-year-old, she performed a version of Kent's Utan Dina Andetag, at the Svenska Hjältargalan TV fundraiser in 2017. She has since released eight songs, five of which were included on her debut EP Hallå Världen Kan Du Stanna?, released in June 2022. Ida-Lova is now 18 years of age and lives in Stockholm.  

Paul Rey - Royals 

Written by: Dino Medanhodzic, Jimmy "Joker" Thörnfeldt, LIAMOO, Paul Rey  

Paul Rey, 30, is from Lund in the south of Sweden. A familiar face to Melodifestivalen fans, he has previously competed twice; in 2020 with Talking In Your Sleep and in 2021 with The Missing Piece. In 2022 he also competed, as a songwriter this time, and made it to the final once again, with Cazzi Opeia’s I Can’t Get Enough. Paul has written several big hits for other artists, and his own releases have been streamed over 200 million times.  

Nordman - Släpp Alla Sorger 

Written by: Jimmy Jansson, Thomas G:son  

The story of Nordman started in 1991, when fiddler, producer and songwriter Mats Wester was looking for a singer for his experimental new project, mixing folk music with pop. By chance, Håkan Hemlin was in the same studio as Mats, to record a demo with his rock band. The two liked what they heard of one another, and the duo was formed. They went on to sell over a million albums in the ‘90s alone. This will be Nordman’s third time competing at Melodifestivalen, following their participation in 2005 with Ödet Var Min Väg, and in 2008 with I Lågornas Sken. 

Laurell - Sober 

Written by: Anderz Wrethov, Andreas Stone Johansson, Laurell Barker, Thomas Stengaard 

Born in Canada but having moved to Malmö for love, Laurell is an established songwriter who has recently launched her own career as a solo artist. Her debut single Habit was a big radio and streaming hit in Sweden in 2022, as well as in other parts of Europe. Back in 2019, Laurell became the first female songwriter to have contributed to three entries to the Eurovision Song Contest in the same year (Switzerland, Germany and the United Kingdom). In Melodifestivalen, she has previously written entries for the likes of Hanna Ferm, Renaida, Faith Kakembo and this heat’s own Paul Rey. 

Casanovas - Så Kommer Känslorna Tillbaka 

Written by: Henrik Sethsson, Mikael Karlsson  

One of Sweden’s most popular dansbands, Casanovas were formed in 1989. Since then, their rise to success has seen them top the charts on a number of occasions, have their Guldklavar Awards-win tally go into double figures, and they’ve even been nominated for Swedish Grammy Award five times. Band member Henrik Sethsson has previously won Melodifestivalen as a songwriter, with Listen To Your Heartbeat by Friends in 2001. He also co-wrote the Melodifestivalen hit Something In Your Eyes by Jenny Silver, which was recently recorded and released as a single by the British band Steps.   

HEAT 4: Malmö, Saturday 25 February 

Signe & Hjördis - Edelweiss 

Written by: Anderz Wrethov, Jimmy Jansson, Myra Granberg 

Signe and Hjördis Bornemark, 16 and 18 years old from Kullabygden in Skåne, have had music surrounding them all their lives, with the two having appeared on records by both their grandmother Gullan, and their father Dan. These days, the sisters enjoy doing everything from singing, working with choirs and writing their own songs, to being involved in several theatre and musical productions. They love everything from jazz to prog rock, but would best describe their Melodifestivalen song as folk-pop. 

Axel Schylström - Gorgeous 

Written by: Axel Schylström, Herman Gardarfve, Jonas Thander, Malin Halvardsson 

Axel Schylström got his big breakthrough Idol in 2015, quickly following that up with his Melodifestivalen debut in 2017, with När Ingen Ser. More recently, in 2022, he competed as a songwriter and made it to the Melodifestivalen final with THEOZ and Som Du Vill. Axel has in recent years published his autobiography and established himself as one of the country's most popular motivational speakers.  

Emil Henrohn - Mera Mera Mera 

Written by: Emil Henrohn, Jakob Redtzer, Ji Nilsson, Marlene Strand 

When the pandemic hit, musical-theatre artist Emil Henrohn was left without a job. He started filming humorous videos of himself at home, and quickly became a hit on TikTok as the character ‘mamman’ (the mother). In 2022, he scored even wider acclaim on TiTok with the song Jag Är Mamma, and today he has gained over 500,000 followers on the platform and been named Sweden’s most powerful TikToker. Now that musical theatre has opened up again, Emil has recently starred in productions of Annie and Hair.  

Mariette - One Day 

Written by: Jimmy Jansson, Thomas G:son, Mariette 

Mariette first participated in Melodifestivalen back in 2015 with the song Don't Stop Believing. Since then, she has competed three more times, in 2017, 2018 and 2020, reaching the final on all four attempts. Outside of music, Mariette has recently moved from Stockholm to the southwest coast of Sweden, and started a family with her wife. This year she released the song Just Du, dedicated to their son who was born in 2021.  

Smash Into Pieces - Six Feet Under 

Written by: Andreas ”Giri” Lindbergh, Benjamin Jennebo, Chris Adam, Jimmy "Joker" Thörnfeldt, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb, Per Bergquist 

Internationally, Swedish rock exports Smash Into Pieces are perhaps best known for their cinematic, apocalyptic image and sound, largely thanks to their fabled masked drummer, leader and mascot, APOC. With over half a billion streams to their name and nearly 600,000 followers on social media, the band have completed several arena tours in both Europe and the US. The electronic rock act are also popular for their chronological film series, in which every song on the group's previous two concept albums is linked in a series of episodes dealing with a parallel reality, The Arcadia World.  

Loreen - Tattoo 

Written by: Jimmy "Joker" Thörnfeldt, Jimmy Jansson, Loreen, Moa ”Cazzi Opeia” Carlebecker, Peter Boström, Thomas G:son  

2022 marks ten years since Loreen won the Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden with Euphoria. The song went on to become a smash hit across Europe and beyond, reaching number one in 21 countries, and it has since become one of the most acclaimed and renowned entries in the Contest’s history. Post-Euphoria, Loreen has gone on to release two albums, and she has made her acting debut in the new film adaptation of Vinterviken, which was released in 2021. Loreen’s most recent music release was the single Neon Lights, which came out over the summer.  

Kiana - Where Did You Go 

Written by: Jimmy "Joker" Thörnfeldt, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb 

Kiana Blanckert started singing and dancing at an early age, and one of her most vivid memories from her childhood is when she performed Britney Spears’ …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. Now almost 16, she’s recently risen to fame on the show Talang (Sweden’s Got Talent), finishing runner-up in the 2021 series.  

Melodifestivalen kicks off on Saturday 4 February - you'll be able to watch it on the SVT website.

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