Earlier this month, Swedish broadcaster SVT, announced that Oscar Zia will host Melodifestivalen next year. Moreover, the tour is back to normal, with the final taking place in Stockholm in the Friends Arena on March 12. Having closed the submissions window last week, the broadcaster has confirmed that they have received 2,530 entries.
Last Friday, SVT closed the submissions window for Melodifestivalen 2022. In a post on the official Melodifestivalen Instagram, the broadcaster confirmed that they received 2,530 submissions, which is fewer than the number of submissions for this year’s edition.
In an accompanying statement, producer Karin Gunnarsson said the following:
It’s incredibly fun to see how engaging the Melodifestivalen is. For the past ten years, we have received an average of 2,500 grants each year. I can not help but think of the musical breadth that exists in our country and the joy of writing that makes the Melodifestivalen replenish the Swedish song treasure every year. Like this year. Many of this year’s Mello songs are still streamed and several are played regularly on the radio
Karin Gunnarsson on the submissions for Melodifesitvalen 2022
Now that the submissions have closed, the 28 competing entries will be revealed later in the Autumn. 14 of the entries will be selected by a jury, whilst the remaining 14 entries will be selected by the broadcaster.
Potential names
In a recent article, Aftonbladet have listed the following 34 names of artists who have expressed interest in the selection as performers or songwriters, either via public declarations or appearances at songwriting camps. The list features many familiar faces to Melfest:
- Adrian Macéus
- Andreas Weise
- Andreas Wijk
- Dotter
- Efraim Leo
- Ellen Benediktson
- Emil Assergård
- Etta Zelmani
- Isa Molin
- Klara Hammarström
- Liamoo
- Lillasyster
- Lina Hedlund
- Malin Christin
- Malou Prydz
- Melanie Wehbe
- Nadja Holm
- Nanne Grönvall
- Nano
- Nassim Al Fakir
- Nathalie Brydolf
- Niello
- Patrik Jean
- Paul Rey
- Peg Parnevik
- Robin Bengtsson
- Sami Rekik
- Sebastian Walldén
- Sibel
- Tess Merkel
- The Moniker
- Victor Crone
- Wiktoria Johansson
- William Segerdahl
We will know how many of these names make the shortlist, either as songwriters or performers, later this year.
Sweden at Eurovision 2021
Following their success at Eurovision 2019 alongside John Lundvik, The Mamas were announced as one of the participants for Melodifestivalen 2020 with their song “Move”. The trio ended up winning the ticket to Eurovision 2020 by one point, the tightest winning margin at Melodifestivalen since 2014. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, the EBU announced the cancellation of Eurovision 2020. SVT opted not to re-select the Mamas internally, and organised another edition of Melodifestivalen for 2021.
This year, Tusse was selected to represent Sweden at Eurovision 2021 with his song “Voices” in a landslide vote. At Melodifestivalen, he managed to beat strong competition from 2011 winner Eric Saade and 2020 winners The Mamas. In Rotterdam, he advanced from the first semi-final in 7th place. In the grand final, he finished in 14th place with 109 points.
Who would you like to see participate in Melodifestivalen 2022? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to follow us on Spotify and YouTube to see our reactions to the news in the run up to the 2022 national final season!