The Mamas win Sweden's Melodifestivalen 2020
07 March 2020 at 22:03 CETThe Mamas have won Melodifestivalen, Sweden's national selection competition for Eurovision 2020. The Mamas will sing Move for Sweden in Rotterdam in the first Semi-Final on Tuesday 12 May. The Mamas were chosen through a combination of public votes and international jury votes. Dotter finished in a very close second place, only 1 point behind.
About The Mamas
The Mamas were formed as backing singers to John Lundvik's winning song Too Late for Love in 2019. Since then they have become a powerful group in their own right. The members are Loulou Lamotte, Ashley Haynes and Dinah Yonas Manna. Move is written by Melanie Wehbe, Patrik Jean and Herman Gardarfve.
The final show
The final show started by looking back on the 59 Swedish entries of the Eurovision Song Contest so far, as this year's winner of Melodifestivalen will become the 60th Swedish entry. The hosts, Lina Hedlund, David Sundin and Linnea Henriksson, introduced all 12 participants. These were the finalists and their songs (winner in bold):
- Victor Crone - Troubled Waters
- Paul Rey - Talking In My Sleep
- The Mamas - Move
- Mohombi - Winners
- Hanna Ferm - Brave
- Mendez & Alvaro Estrella - Vamos Amigos
- Dotter - Bulletproof
- Robin Bengtsson - Take A Chance
- Mariette - Shout It Out
- Felix Sandman - Boys With Emotions
- Anna Bergendahl - Kingdom Come
- Anis Don Demina - Vem Àr som oss
Last year, Victor Crone represented Estonia and The Mamas were the backing singers for John Lundvik on behalf of Sweden. While Ălvaro Estrella has also been a backing performer several times in Eurovision, Robin Bengtsson and Anna Bergendahl have actually won Melodifestivalen, and thus, have represented Sweden before.
There were 8 international juries accounting for 50% of the outcome: Israel, Austria, Armenia, Australia, Malta, Iceland, France and the Netherlands. Their results proved to be extremely tight with 2 songs tying for first place: Bulletproof and Move. The remaining 50% came from the viewers, via app and televote. The public vote was again very close, with only 1 point difference between The Mamas and Dotter.
Sweden in Eurovision
Sweden made its debut in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1958 and is currently second on the all-time Eurovision leaderboard with 6 victories. The country is known for the most successful Eurovision winners ever, ABBA, the first of Swedenâs victories in the competition. Sweden has been in the top 5 countries in four of the last five contests and won twice recently, in 2012 and 2015.
What do you think of The Mamas as Sweden's choice for 2020? Comment below!
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Posted 29 February 2020 at 22:09 CET
Sweden: All finalists chosen for national selection Melodifestivalen
The Swedish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, Melodifestivalen 2020, just held its second chance round 'Andra Chansen' in Eskilstuna. The 8 eligible songs placed 3rd and 4th in the semi-finals had a second chance to fight for the last available places in the final. The 4 remaining spots went to Anis Don Demina, Paul Rey, Felix Sandman and Mendez feat. Alvaro Estrella.
Tonight in Eskilstuna, Sweden, the last 4 acts qualified for the Melodifestivalen 2020 final scheduled to take place next Saturday 7 March in Friends Arena in Solna (Stockholm). There were 4 duels and the winner of each duel moved on to the final (winner in bold):
- Duel 1: Anis Don Demina and Ellen Benediktson & Simon Peyron
- Duel 2: Malou Prytz and Paul Rey
- Duel 3: Felix Sandman and Frida Ăhrn
- Duel 4: Mendez feat. Alvaro Estrella and DrÀngarna
That means that the following 4 songs...
- Paul Rey - Talking In My Sleep
- Mendez & Alvaro Estrella - Vamos Amigos
- Felix Sandman - Boys With Emotions
- Anis Don Demina - Vem Àr som oss
...join the 8 songs that qualified directly to next week's final:
- Victor Crone - Troubled Waters
- The Mamas - Move
- Mohombi - Winners
- Hanna Ferm - Brave
- Dotter - Bulletproof
- Robin Bengtsson - Take A Chance
- Mariette - Shout It Out
- Anna Bergendahl - Kingdom Come
The 12 finalists will be performed in the following running order:
Melodifestivalen Hall of Fame
This year the 60th winner of Melodifestivalen will be chosen and, alongside this year's competition, the Melodifestivalen Hall of Fame is being established to celebrate the collective memories created by the contest through the years. The interval act of 'Andra Chansen' was filled with nostalgia and tributes by the chosen prize winners. They all received a prize named GuldstjÀrnan (Golden Star).
For its first year, there are 48 inductees in the hall of fame. Among them are all 6 of Sweden's Eurovision Song Contest winners: Waterloo, Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley, FĂ„ngad av en Stormvind, Take Me To Your Heaven, Euphoria and Heroes, including all of their performers and songwriters.
Stay tuned for the final of Melodifestivalen 2020 on Saturday 7 March live from Stockholm.
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Posted 22 February 2020 at 21:38 CET
Victor Crone and Hanna Ferm to the final in Sweden
The fourth and last semi-final of Sweden's national selection 'Melodifestivalen' travelled from north to south this week, from LuleÄ to Malmö. There, the last 7 participating acts competed for 2 more spots in the final. And the lucky qualifiers were Hanna Ferm and Victor Crone!
Malmö Arena, home of Eurovision 2013, hosted the fourth semi-final of the Swedish Eurovision selection Melodifestivalen 2020 with hosts Lina Hedlund, Linnea Henriksson and David Sundin. After the lines were closed, they announced which 2 acts advance to the final of Melodifestivalen 2020 in Stockholm: Hanna Ferm and Victor Crone!
Hanna Ferm - Brave
Hanna already participated in last year's Melodifestivalen in a duet with Liamoo. They also reached the final where they placed 3rd.
Victor Crone - Troubled Waters
Victor Crone represented Estonia last year in Tel Aviv with the song Storm.
The presenters also announced which 2 songs get a second chance in the Andra Chansen round, to be held next Saturday 29 February in Eskilstuna. They are:
- Frida Ăhrn - We Are One
- Ellen Benediktson & Simon Peyron - Surface
3 entries from this semi-final missed out:
- William Stridh - Molnljus (5th)
- Jakob Karlberg - Om du tror att jag saknar dig (6th)
- Nanne Grönvall (One More Time, Sweden 1996) - Carpool Karaoke (7th)
The final of Melodifestivalen takes place in Stockholm's Friends Arena on Saturday 7 March, when the Swedish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam will be chosen.
Stay tuned for the Second Chance round of Melodifestivalen on Saturday 29 February live from Eskilstuna.
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Posted 15 February 2020 at 21:40 CET
Mariette and Mohombi to Melodifestivalen final again!
Sweden's national selection 'Melodifestivalen' travelled north this week, to LuleÄ. Here, the 3rd semi-final took place where 7 seven more acts competed for 2 final spots. The happy winners: Mohombi and Mariette!
Lina Hedlund, Linnea Henriksson and David Sundin hosted the Melodifestivalen semi-final from LuleÄ's Coop Norrbotten Arena and, after the lines were closed, they were in charge of announcing which songs qualified directly to the final in Stockholm: Mohombi's Winners and Shout It Out by Mariette.
Mohombi - Winners
Mohombi already participated in Melodifestivalen in 2005 with his brother Djo as the duo Avalon and he competed solo last year with the song Hello, placing 4th.
Mariette - Shout It Out
Mariette has participated 4 times in Melodifestivalen. She made her debut in 2015 placing 3rd with Don't Stop Believing and has qualified for the final during every attempt.
2 further songs get a second chance in the Andra Chansen round. They are:
- DrÀngarna - Piga & drÀng
- Anis Don Demina - Vem e som oss
3 entries from this semi-final missed out:
- Faith Kakembo - Crying Rivers (5th)
- Amanda Aasa - Late (6th)
- Albin Johnsén - Livet börjar nu (7th)
The top 2 songs in each semi-final, chosen by public voting, qualify for the final in Stockholm on Saturday 7 March. The second chance round, Andra Chansen, will be held on 29 February in Eskilstuna.
Stay tuned for the 4th semi-final of Melodifestivalen on Saturday 22 February live from Malmö.
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Posted 08 February 2020 at 21:45 CET
Anna Bergendahl and Dotter to the final of Melodifestivalen
'Melodifestivalen' continued its tour around Sweden, moving from Linköping to Göteborg for the second semi-final of the Swedish national selection for Eurovision 2020. After the public vote was revealed, 2 acts qualified directly for the final: former Eurovision participant Anna Bergendahl and Dotter.
Göteborg's Scandinavium, home of Eurovision 1985, hosted the second semi-final of the Swedish Eurovision selection Melodifestivalen. The hosts were Lina Hedlund, Linnea Henriksson and David Sundin. After the lines were closed, they announced the results of the second semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2020: Anna Bergendahl and Dotter will proceed to the final in Stockholm!
Anna Bergendahl - Kingdom Come
Anna Bergendahl won Melodifestivalen in 2010 and participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo with the song This Is My Life, which failed to qualify for the Grand Final.
Dotter - Bulletproof
Dotter participated as an artist once before in Melodifestivalen. It was in 2018 with the song Cry, which failed to qualify for the final.
These two artists winning the semi-final of Melodifestivalen marks the first time since 2009 that 2 female soloists qualify directly for the Swedish Final.
The 2 songs that will get a second chance in the Andra Chansen round are:
- Paul Rey - Talking In My Sleep
- Mendez feat. Alvaro Estrella - Vamos Amigos
These are the other 3 songs that took part in tonight's second semi-final, but were eliminated:
- Klara Hammarström - Nobody (5th)
- Linda Bengtzing - Alla mina sorger (6th)
- Jan Johansen - Miraklernas tid (7th)
The top 2 songs in each semi-final, chosen by public voting, qualify for the final in Stockholm on Saturday 7 March. The second chance round, Andra Chansen, will be held 1 week prior on 29 February in Eskilstuna.
Stay tuned for the third semi-final on Saturday 15 February live from LuleÄ.
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Posted 03 February 2020 at 13:22 CET
Sweden replaces disqualified Thorsten Flinck with Jan Johansen
After SVT found out that there were criminal charges against Melodifestivalen 2020 participant Thorsten Flinck, the Swedish broadcaster set out to replace him as soon as possible. Their eyes fell on Jan Johansen, who has already competed in the national selection 4 times. In 1995, he even won with 'Se pÄ mig' and reached 3rd place at the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, Ireland.
Jan Johansen will sing the track Miraklernas tid, written by Thomas G:son. Thomas is a Eurovision veteran, having written 13 competing songs including Loreen's Eurovision 2012 winning track Euphoria.
READ MORE: Meet the man behind 'Euphoria' - Thomas G:son
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Posted 01 February 2020 at 21:54 CET
Robin Bengtsson and The Mamas to Melodifestivalen final
One of the most anticipated national selections for the Eurovision Song Contest, Sweden's 'Melodifestivalen', just kicked off in Linköping, the Swedish city that played host to the first of 4 semi-finals. After the results were in, it was announced that Robin Bengtsson and The Mamas got tonight's 2 direct spots in the final.
Linköping's Saab Arena hosted this year's first semi-final of the very popular Melodifestivalen. This year, the shows are hosted by Lina Hedlund, Linnea Henriksson and David Sundin. After the lines were closed, the hosts announced the results of the first semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2020. The 2 winners who will proceed to the final in Stockholm are:
Robin Bengtsson - Take A Chance
Robin Bengtsson won Melodifestivalen in 2017 and participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv with the song I Can't Go On.
The Mamas - Move
The Mamas were the backing singers with John Lundvik, who represented Sweden last year in Tel Aviv with Too Late For Love.
The 2 songs that will get a second chance in the Andra Chansen round are:
- Felix Sandman - Boys With Emotions
- Malou Prytz - Ballerina
These are the 3 songs that took part in tonight's first semi-final, but were eliminated:
- Sonja Aldén - Sluta aldrig gÄ (5th)
- OVĂ - Inga problem (6th)
- Suzi P - Moves (7th)
Former Melodifestivalen participants Jan Johansen, Lili & Susie and Sean Banan, performed as the interval act.
The top 2 songs in each semi-final, chosen by public voting, qualify for the final in Stockholm on Saturday 7 March. The second chance round Andra Chansen will be held one week before on 29 February.
Stay tuned for the second semi-final on Saturday 8 February live from Gothenburg.
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