Sweden: SVT reveals the first nine Melodifestivalen 2021 contestants
The Swedish national broadcaster , SVT has unveiled the first set of nine contestants of the 2021 edition of Melodifestivalen.
The Swedish national broadcaster, SVT, will be unveiling throughout the week the participants of the next Melodifestivalen that will determine Sweden’s Eurovision representative.
The first nine acts that we get to know as Melodifestivalen 2021 contestants are:
1. Arvingarna – ‘Tänker inte alls gå hem’
Arvingarna is a Swedish dansband, which was formed in 1989 and which competed in the Swedish Melodifestivalen in 1993, 1995, 1999, 2002 and 2019. In 1993, they won with the song ‘“Eloise” and represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 1993, where the song finished 7th. Arvingarna plays a form of dansband music that is it inspired by pop music and rock music, and has also being described as a boyband. Janebrink will participate in Stjärnornas stjärna which will be broadcast on TV4.
The band participated in Melodifestivalen 2019 with the song “I do”
2. Paul Rey – ‘The Missing Piece’
Pauli Jokela better known as Paul Rey (born 23 May 1992 in Lund) is a Swedish singer.In 2015, Rey was signed to Epic Records in the U.S. And released his debut album “Good As Hell” the same year. Quincy Jones became his mentor soon after. In 2015, he also became an opening act during Fifth Harmony’s tour. He also toured with Nico & Vinz.
In February 2017, he released the music single ”California Dreaming” along with Arnan Cekin and Snoop Dogg. He also released the single “All Falls Down”. In 2018, he released his album “Note to Self” which he produced himself.Rey participated in Melodifestivalen 2020 with the song “Talking in My Sleep” and reached the finale, which took place on 7 March 2020. He ended up in sixth place, scoring a total of 68 points.
“The Missing Piece” was written by Fredrik Sonefors, Laurell Barker, Paul Rey.
3. Tess Merkel – ‘Good Life’
Eva Therese Margaretha Merkel also known as “Tess Merkel” (born 18 April 1970) is a Swedish singer who is one of the original members of the pop group Alcazar.
Merkel was born in Nyköping Sweden. She started her career in a number of musicals and soon landed the job as a showgirl at Wallmans salonger in 1991. She also did some choirgirl jobs for Melodifestivalen, in Melodifestivalen 1993 she did the choir behind Lena Pålsson, in Melodifestivalen 1997 she choired behind her later bandmate Andreas Lundstedt and in Melodifestivalen 2000 she choired behind Avengers during their performance. Merkel herself has participated in Melodifestivalen three times as of 2010: in Melodifestivalen 2003, Melodifestivalen 2005, Melodifestivalen 2009 and in Melodifestivalen 2010, all four times as a member of the popular pop group Alcazar.
“Good Life” was written by Tony Malm, Tess Merkel, Palle Hammarlund, Mats Tärnfors.
4. Emil Assergård – ‘Om allting skiter sig’
Mats Emil Assergård (born 23 May 1991 in Undrom, Sweden) is a singer-songwriter and musician that creates music in Swedish. He has been signed to Universal Music since 2016. Assergård currently resides in Stockholm.
Assergård has released three studio albums, with the first being Rakt från hjärtat, which was released in 2013. His second album was released in 2015, called Den Ensamma Känslan. His most recent album was released in 2019, which is called Leva Livet / En samling and it debuted and peaked at number five on the Swedish Album Chart and was subsequently certified Platinum in Sweden. The record marked his first album release while being signed to Universal Music. He has since 2013 released a handful of singles, including “All In” and “Ego”, which have accumulated combined streams of over 45 million on Spotify. His song “Jag råkade sälja min bästa vän” was certified Gold in Sweden in late 2015. Some of Assergård’s most recent singles were released on 10 April 2020, called “Om Jag Vore DJ” and “Om Jag Vore DJ V2.” Assergård has also released three EPs during his career: Naket, which was released in 2013, Skön that was released in 2015 and Snö which also was released that year Assergård was nominated for the “Male live performer of the year” Rockbjörnen award in 2019, but Benjamin Ingrosso later received the award. On 28 August 2020, Assergård released the single “Livet Suger”.
“Om allting skiter sig” was written by Emil Assergård, Jimmy Jansson, Jimmy ”Joker” Thörnfeldt, Anderz Wrethov, Johanna Wrethov.
5. Eva Rydberg & Ewa Roos – ‘Rena rama ding dong’
Eva Gunilla Johansson Rydberg (born 20 June 1943) is a Swedish singer, actress, comedian, revue-artist and dancer. She started ballet school at a young age and acted at a children’s theater at Malmö Folkets Park. In her teens, she danced ballet at Malmö Stadsteater. At the end of the 1970s, she started working for Francois Bronett at Cirkus Scott and she has also performed at the Paris Olympia.
In 1966, Rydberg appeared in her first television performance with the comedy segment during the Kvitt eller dubbelt show. Owe Thörnqvist liked Rydberg’s comedic skills and asked her to work with the Hamburger Börs bar shows in 1966. That was the start of a new era in her career. Lars Kühler was Rydberg’s stage partner during several bar and television shows. She has also worked over the years with Björn Skifs, Siw Malmkvist, Tommy Körberg, Sten Ardenstam, Mikael Neumann and Ewa Roos.
She took part in Melodifestivalen 1977 with the entry “Charlie Chaplin” composed by Tomas Ledin, and placed seventh.
Ewa Roos
Ewa Maria Roos Sevenheim (born 12 June 1949 in Borås) is a Swedish singer and actress. Roos started her career at the age of thirteen when she won a talent search by the radio show Landet runt. She won a lead singer place in the orchestra Bosse Lidéns orkester; she was so young that she needed permission from childcare services to sing at nights and evenings. She recorded her first record called Polly the same year. In 1963, she won a talent competition hosted by Bildjournalen, and she represented Sweden in a singing competition in Riccone, Italy. She sang the song “I valet och kvalet”, which was written by Owe Thörnqvist.
In 1968, she entered fourth place on Svensktoppen with the song “Tre små ord och jag förlåter”, the same year she had her big breakthrough with the song “Vilken härlig dag”. After that followed hit singles “Amors pilar”, “Ole Okay”, “Ding dång jag hör bröllopsklockor” and “Sjung bort bekymren”.She was the very first guest in the televised Allsång på Skansen in 1979.
She also acted in several revue shows, among them along with Hagge Geigert at Lisebergsteatern in Gothenbyrg in 1970, and has also ventured in to theater with the role of Dolly Tate in Annie Get Your Gun at the Chinateatern.
“Rena rama ding dong” was written by Göran Sparrdahl, Kalle Rydberg, Ari Lehtonen.
6. Mustasch – ‘Contagious’
Mustasch is a heavy metal band from Sweden. They were formed in the fall of 1998 by Ralf Gyllenhammar, Hannes Hansson, Mats Hansson, and Stam Johansson in Gothenburg.
Mustasch was formed in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1998, and recorded demos at “The Mustasch Farm” on the island Orust which were released through different record labels around the world in small numbers. In 2001 they released their first EP The True Sound of the New West, embarked on a tour, and started to make a name for themselves in the Swedish metal scene. They chose the name Mustasch because many of their musical heroes had moustaches; such as Freddie Mercury from Queen and Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath.
The band went on to release Above All in 2002 and Ratsafari in 2003, both of which were nominated for Swedish Grammies. The band continued to tour hard, and released Powerhouse in 2005. In 2006 they released an EP entitled Parasite!. It was soon followed up with their 2007 album, Latest Version of the Truth, which led to their first Swedish Grammy. In June 2008, guitarist Hannes Hansson announced that he would leave the band due to family reasons.On August 19, 2009, the band announced that they had finished recording their new album, entitled Mustasch.
In November 2011 the band made the song “The Challenger”, which became a hit. It made a breakthrough in all of Scandinavia, and will go global with their new world-tour.On 22 December 2015, Mustasch announced Robban Bäck would become a full-time member.
7. Kadiatou – ‘One Touch’
Kadiatou Claudine Holm Keita, (born 6 September 2001) is a Swedish singer. She grew up in Lidingö. She was one of the finalists in Idol 2018 which is broadcast on TV4. She competed against Sebastian Walldén in Globen on 7 December and placed second. Her version of ‘ Say Something’ originally by A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera went platinum in Sweden.
‘One Touch’ which was written by: Linnea Deb, Joy Deb, Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt, and Anderz Wrethov.
8. LOVAD – ‘Allting är precis likadant’
Promised, with songs like “Tills vi dör”(Until we die ) and “Vi gjorde vårt bästa” (we did our best) have been received with millions of streams. She is on the Swedish top and gets tributes from all over pop Sweden with a solid B-rotation on P4.
With a top 50 position in Sweden, viral both at home and in Norway, she has established her place on the music map. Promised mixes hopeful melodies with personal and apt lyrics.During its inception, Lovad has attracted the attention of most music journalists, been named Stockholm’s Top 5 by Swedish Radio, and was awarded the 2019 STIM scholarship for his music and lyrics.
She has been invited to the big stages together with, among others, Plura, Mauro Scocco and Eric Gadd, where you have been able to see her in everything from the restaurant lounge to the big stage at Liseberg.
‘Allting är precis likadant’ (Everything Is Exactly The Same) was written by Mattias Andréasson, Alexander Nivek, Lova Drevstam, Albin Johnsén.
9. Danny Saucedo – ‘Dandi dansa’
Daniel Gabriel Alessandro Saucedo Grzechowski (born 25 February 1986), known professionally as Danny Saucedo or simply Danny, is a Swedish singer and songwriter. He rose to fame as one of the finalists in Idol 2006, the Swedish version of Idol, where he reached the top six.
Saucedo has released five studio albums and more than fifteen singles as a solo artist. His debut album Heart Beats and its three singles “Tokyo”, “Play It for the Girls” and “Radio” topped the Swedish charts. He was simultaneously a member of Swedish pop trio E.M.D. with Erik Segerstedt and Mattias Andréasson, which was active between 2007 and 2010. The trio released three albums and eleven singles (of which one album and four singles topped the Swedish charts). The band won a Grammis for Song of The Year 2008 with “Jennie Let Me Love You”.
He has competed in Melodifestivalen three times, every time as both artist and songwriter. In 2009 E.M.D. finished third with “Baby Goodbye” and as a solo artist he finished second in 2011 with “In the Club”, as well as in 2012, that time with “Amazing”.
His Melfest 2021 song ‘Dandi dansa’ which is written by Danny Saucedo, Karl-Johan Råsmark.
A total of 28 acts will battle for the trophy over six shows that are set to all take place in Stockholm, marking a break from the Melfest Tour where the six shows took place across the country’s cities and towns. This edition will see only one venue, which hasn’t been determined yet, and with out the attendance of audience due to the covid-19 restrictions.
Melodifestivalen live shows will kick of on March 6 while the grand final is set for March 13, 2020. Check out the Melfest 2021 will unwind below:
- 06/02/2021- Semifinal 1
- 13/02/2021- Semifinal 2
- 20/02/2021- Semifinal 3
- 27/02/2021- Semifinal 4
- 06/03/2021- Second Chance (Andra Chansen)
- 13/03/2021- Grand Final
Source: Eurofanradio.com
