Swedish national broadcaster, SVT, has revealed snippets of the six songs competing in the first heat of Melodifestivalen 2025, Sweden’s Eurovision national selection, starting this Saturday.
This Saturday marks the beginning of the first heat of Sweden’s Eurovision national selection – Melodifestivalen 2025, in the city of Luleå. As part of the selection process, 30 songs will compete in five heats, one semi-final (“Second Chance”), and a final where Sweden’s representative for Eurovision 2025 will be chosen.
First Heat Contestants
- Albin Jonhsen Feat Pa – “Upp i luften“
- Maja Ivarrson – “Kamikaze Life“
- John Lundvic – “Voice Of The Silent“
- Meira Omar – “Hush Hush“
- Adrian Maceus – “Vår första gång“
- Linnea Henriksson – “Den känslan“
Familiar Names From The First Heat:
John Lundvik began his Eurovision journey in 2014 when he composed the song “Natural,” performed by Anton Ewald, which advanced directly to the final of Sweden’s national selection. Lundvik debuted as a singer in Melodifestivalen in 2018 with the song “My Turn.” The following year, he made a triumphant return, winning the competition with “Too Late for Love” and representing Sweden at Eurovision, where he placed fifth in the grand final with 334 points!
In 2022, Lundvik returned to Melodifestivalen, this time with a Swedish-language song, “Änglavakt.” Notably, every time Lundvik has competed in Melodifestivalen, he has qualified directly for the final. He was also one of the co-writers of “Bigger than Us,” the song that represented the United Kingdom at Eurovision 2019, which finished in last place.
Albin Johnsén, 35, is set to compete in Melodifestivalen with “a Swedish party song featuring carnival drums.” He rose to prominence in 2014 with the Swedish hit “Din Soldat” (“Your Soldier”) and has previously competed in the contest twice: in 2016 with “Rik” (“Rich”) and in 2020 with “Livet börjar nu” (“Life Begins Now”), but he did not advance to the finals on either occasion. He will perform alongside Pa Modou, a member of the band Panetoz. Albin has also appeared on the show “Tror du jag ljuger?” (“Do You Think I’m Lying?”).
Linnea Henriksson, who hosted Melodifestivalen in 2020, will also participate in Sweden’s Eurovision preselection this year. The singer began her career in the entertainment industry on the reality show Idol in 2010, where she finished in fourth place. In 2012, she was named Artist of the Year by the P3 radio station.
Melodifestivalen 2025 – What We Know So Far
Full List of Cities and Dates for Melodifestivalen 2025
- Semi-Final 1: February 1, Coop Norrbotten Arena, Luleå
- Semi-Final 2: February 8, Scandinavium, Gothenburg
- Semi-Final 3: February 15, ABB Arena, Västerås
- Semi-Final 4: February 22, Malmö Arena, Malmö
- Semi-Final 5 & Second Chance Round: March 1, Husqvarna Garden, Jönköping
- Grand Final: March 8, Friends Arena, Stockholm
Song Submission and Selection
The song submission window for Melodifestivalen 2025 opened on August 23 and closed on September 13. According to official information from SVT, a record 2,794 songs were submitted. Out of these, 30 songs were selected to compete in the contest, with one ultimately chosen to represent Sweden at Eurovision 2025, to be held in Basel, Switzerland.
Changes to the Competition Format
This year, the production team introduced several changes to the Melodifestivalen format:
- Qualification to the Final:
The format remains largely unchanged, with the top two songs from each of the five semi-finals advancing directly to the final. However, this year, only the third-place songs in each semi-final will compete for the final two spots in the grand final. - Voting Updates:
The song that receives the highest number of votes across all semi-finals will automatically qualify for the grand final. Following this, an additional voting round will open for the four remaining third-place songs, from which one more song will secure a spot in the final. - Grand Final Structure:
As in previous years, the grand final will feature 12 songs. The winner will be determined through a combination of public voting (50%) and jury voting (50%).
Earlier Release of Songs
Another significant change concerns the timing of song releases. Previously, songs that advanced to the final were not released on streaming platforms until after the last semi-final, while songs that were eliminated were made available immediately after their respective heats.
This year, SVT announced that all competing songs in each semi-final will be released one day before the show. This allows fans to listen in advance, form opinions, and enjoy their favorite tracks earlier.
Ticket sales for Melodifestivalen 2025 have opened on November 6. The hosts for the event will be Kristina “Keyyo” Petrushina and Edvin Tornblom.
Sweden in Eurovision 2024
“Unforgettable” is the name of the song performed by the duo Marcus & Martinus in the grand final of Eurovision 2024. The duo was chosen to represent Sweden at Eurovision after winning the Swedish pre-selection, Melodifestivalen. Sweden finished ninth in the final with 174 points.
Eurovision 2025: This will be Sweden’s 63rd participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Sweden joined the competition in 1958 and has won it seven times over the years. Sweden’s most recent victory was at Eurovision 2023 with the song “Tattoo,” performed by the singer Loreen.
