Sweden: 'Melodifestivalen's final is upon us! 🇸🇪
10 March 2022 at 11:50 CET📺 TUNE IN: The grand final of Melodifestivalen will commence at 20:00 CET on Saturday 12 March. Swedish broadcaster SVT will be airing the pre-selection on SVT1 in Sweden, and they will also be hosting a live stream online, at SVTPlay.se.
Saturday night’s Melodifestivalen final will be hosted by Oscar Zia, who has also presided over the past 5 weeks of shows, which saw 28 initial Eurovision hopefuls reduced to just 12 finalists by a Swedish voting public.
These are the 12 finalists that you’ll be seeing competing if you tune in on Saturday evening, in the order that they’ll be performing in, live from Friends Arena in Solna just outside of Stockholm.
Run To The Hills – Klara Hammarström
She comes from a family so large, it has a team of reality TV producers following all of them around at any given opportunity. Klara’s participation in Melodifestivalen is sure to play a pivotal role in the next series of SVT’s Familjen Hammarström.
📺 Watch: Klara Hammarström – Run To The Hills
Som Du Vill – THEOZ
This artist may just be 16 years of age and a Melodifestivalen first-timer, but he’s already released a Greatest Hits album. A feat that no other artist in this line-up can lay claim to.
📺 Watch: THEOZ – Som Du Vill
Higher Power – Anna Bergendahl
2010Â contest winner Anna stages the final part of what she refers to as her Melodifestivalen comeback trilogy, which saw Ashes to Ashes and Kingdom Come take her to the final too, in 2019Â and 2020Â respectively.
📺 Watch: Anna Bergendahl – Higher Power
Änglavakt – John Lundvik
He finished in 5th place for Sweden in Tel Aviv at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest with Too Late For Love. Is it possible for him to go a few places better in Turin? '…is it?'
📺 Watch: John Lundvik – Änglavakt
My Way – Tone Sekelius
Melodifestivalen’s first trans artist in its 60+ year history. Tone’s anthem of self-acceptance has been a hit with viewers so far, making her 'Bigger! Better! Smarter!' in the process.
📺 Watch: Tone Sekelius – My Way
Bigger Than The Universe – Anders Bagge
At least 5 of the artists have come through Sweden’s Idol on their path to Melodifestivalen. Anders Bagge, meanwhile, was their judge on the show. So for a lot of them, this experience will be something akin to competing in a spelling bee against your English teacher.
📺 Watch: Anders Bagge – Bigger Than The Universe
Innocent Love – Robin Bengtsson
Our second 5th-place finisher at Eurovision in the line-up, Robin managed it at Kyiv in 2017 with I Can’t Go On. Robin’s appearance on Saturday is already a small victory for him; he’s now one of a very elite number of artists who has qualified directly to the Melodifestivalen final with their first 4 entries.
📺 Watch: Robin Bengtsson – Innocent Love
Freedom – Faith Kakembo
When she’s not rousing Melodifestivalen viewers with uplifting ballads, Faith ususally has a more numbing effect on people. She works as an anaesthetist, as well as being the terrific performer we’ll see on Saturday night.
📺 Watch: Faith Kakembo – Freedom
Bluffin – LIAMOO
Idol winner LIAMOO has recently welcomed the birth of his first child. This is the Gothenburg go-getter’s third Melodifestivalen final appearance, and he’s widely epected to have his best result yet on Saturday night.
📺 Watch: LIAMOO – Bluffin
Hold Me Closer – Cornelia Jakobs
Cornelia’s solo debut at Melodifestivalen 2022 has already been a successful one for her, with radio plays and streaming numbers responding well to her song. Can Saturday night’s votes result in an even more impactful outing for Hold Me Closer?
📺 Watch: Cornelia Jakobs – Hold Me Closer
I Can´t Get Enough – Cazzi Opeia
The K-Pop songwriting extraordinaire will be pleased that she kept this song for herself. BTS’ loss has been Melodifestivalen's gain!
📺 Watch: Cazzi Opeia – I Can’t Get Enough
In i Dimman – MEDINA
This song was a comeback 5 years in the making for the MEDINA duo. But it’s safe to say that the response from Sweden will have assured the boys that the appetite is there for plenty more tunes from them over the next 5 years.
📺 Watch: MEDINA – In i Dimman
The Voting 🇸🇪
As in previous weeks, the Swedish viewers will be voting for their favourites on the night. For the final, however, Melodifestivalen has long used the influence of an international jury to help choose the right song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest.
In the 2022Â final, international juries from Spain, Israel, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, Finland, Australia and the Czech Republic will be on hand to assist Sweden in making what they hope will be the best choice. Both the public vote and the international jury vote will account for 50% of the total score. In the event of a tie, the song with the most votes from the Swedish public will win.
Share your thoughts on Sweden’s pre-selection line-up via the official Eurovision Song Contest YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook channels.