What’s all this then? So last night, at midnight, the window for submitting songs to Melodifestivalen 2020 closed. That’s it. Time is up. SLUT.
And they have the 28 artists and songs already? Well technically, yes. But they’ll have to sift through the 2,545 entries that were submitted first, in order to find that all important 28.
So what am I reading? Well, we’ve commited a bit of geekery. We’ve put together 28 artists that we think might be in the final line-up.
And how have you come to such conclusions? Well it’s all a bit of lighthearted guesswork, really. But going by social media over the last couple of months (on which artists and writers regularly post images of them in the recording studio or at writing camps), paired with some thoughts of who might be ripe for a first shot at the competition, a second go, or a long overdue comeback, and then taking into account past ‘form’ of the Melodifestivalen selection process, there are quite a few assumptions that can be made.
And you’ve gone and made them, right? Precisely. The actual reveal of artists and songs won’t be until November at the earliest, and we’d be very surprised if even a single decision has been made yet. But we can well see a Melodifestivalen 2020 line-up that looks a little bit like this;
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01: Amanda Aasa
Well there’s actually no ‘might’ about this. Amanda last month took part in the annual P4 Nästa competition, and through that, won the guaranteed slot at competing in Melodifestivalen the following year. That, seemingly, is also a guaranteed last-place-in-your-heat finish, but we’ll be seeing her at Melodifestivalen regardless. Even if only for a week.
02: The Mamas
The unforgettable backing group behind this year’s Melodifestivalen winner ‘Too Late For Love’ by John Lundvik. We suspected they’d be back to Melodifestivalen on their own in 2020, and sure enough, they’ve just been in the studio with the writer behind Denmark’s Eurovision entry for this year (and Lina Hedlund’s ‘Victorious’ – OMG *SCREAM*!!!).
03: Andreas Wijk
Last year, the supermodel released his debut album, this year he released a few more singles, and this very month, he’s been in the studios with THE people you need to be in the studio with if you want that Melodifestivalen finalist, Joy Deb and Linnea Deb. In the immortal words of the Pet Shop Boys: he’s got the looks, they’ve got the brains, let’s make lots of money.
04: Shirley Clamp
Dame Shirl has been spotted at Mello writing camps AND has been in and out of recording studios these past few weeks with more frequency than her Melfest participation record at the start of the millenium. Let’s just hope she’s read the room correctly this time, however. As fellow Dames Hedlund and Andersson have proven these last couple of years, we be needing ourselves some schlager.
05: Klara Hammarström
SVT might not yet be able to lure in Peg Parnevik, but one reality TV star they could get their hands on is Klara – who has a show with her and her family being broadcast on SVT itself. She’s been spotted at Mello writing camps, as well. So she may well have just made the first move herself.
06: Andreas Weise
Last year’s winner of Stjärnornas Stjärna ended up in the final of this year’s Melodifestivalen, with his band Arvingarna. Lucky then, that the winner of Stjärnornas Stjärna 2019 already has some Melfest form – it’s Andreas Weise!
07: Tess Merkel Solomons
Our goddess of success, Tess, will no doubt have seen her Alcazar bandmate Lina Hedlund romp straight to the final at this year’s Melodifestivalen and thought: ‘yeah, I’ll have some of that’. Six months later and she was one of those frequent attendees to those Melodifestivalen songwriting camps. Go get ’em, Tess!
08: Etta Zelmani
Newcomer Etta released her first two singles this year, but actually hasn’t been seen at any writing camps or in any studios (that we know of, anyway). Her inclusion on this list is based solely on the fact that she’s been signed to Giant Records, the A&R for whom has been responsible for so many Melodifestivalen entries these past five years. Which brings us nicely to…
09: Samir & Viktor
‘Cos it’s time. Again. And they’ve just had two summer hits, which is the best way of getting SVT’s attention. Not that these two need to do much in the way of getting anyone’s attention.
10: Sebastian Walldén
Being the reigning champ of Swedish Idol means that you can pretty much take a place at Melodifestivalen if you want it. And given how poorly Sebastian’s recent singles have performed, he might well be wanting it.
11: Bishara
After coming second at Melodifestivalen 2019, he’d be foolish not to take a shot at Melodifestivalen 2020. Not that he’s old enough to make any decisions for himself yet, of course, but we reckon his record label knows what’s what.
12: Mariette
She’s been a staple at the writing camps, she spent last week holed up in a recording studio, and she’s fresh off a series of Stjärnornas Stjärna. All signs are pointing towards a Mariette Melfest – but can she make it four finals out of four?
13: Jakob Karlberg
He’s just signed a brand-new record deal, so let’s get those hits, yeah? And he’s another one that has been spotted at Mello-specific writing camps.
14: Magnus Carlsson
He’s just wrapped up a Greatest Hits/Greatest Showman tour and was back in the studio this month making more music. What better way to commence the next chapter of his career than with a glittering comeback to the Melodifestivalen stage?
15: Hanna Ferm
Her showboating vocals brought her to a third place finish at Melodifestivalen 2019, and were powerful enough to guarantee her a slot of 2020, as well. That, coupled with both writing camp attendance AND studio times (with the writers of ‘Hold Me’, no less), point towards a welcome return for Ferm.
16: LIAMOO
And her duetting partner competing on his own, also, would make a great story. He’s also been in the studio lots these past four weeks, and has been promising lots of music to come soon. But we won’t be too surprised if he’s holding one or two songs back for SVT.
17: Anna Book
Not only has she been in the studio recently, she also has a new single coming out next week. And a September release is a tried and tested way of trying to make some noise for yourself while SVT are sifting through submissions. Plus, she’s still ‘owed’ another shot after last time’s fiasco. Apparently, anyway. Who can ever really tell, with the enigma that is Anna Toledano Book?
18: Sven-Ingvars
Because Melodifestivalen apparently needs a token old-man or old-man group. Sven-Ingvars are the most likely lot this time around. Why? Because they’ve just released their first new album in 20 years, and SVT granted them a performance slot of this summer’s Allsång på Skansen, to test the waters.
19: Klara och Jag
A duo that we’ve been writing and raving about for a couple of years now, but for whom BIG mainstream success has thus far been avoided. They were part of a huge Mello writing camp at the end of last month, so that may have been a clue as to what they’ve set their sights on next. Plus, they’re with Warner Music, who are even more obsessed with Melodifestivalen than we are.
20: Sigrid Bernson
This year, she switched up her sound and started singing in her native Swedish. And what better way to show off her new style than at Melodifestivalen? Plus, she’s probably due a comeback after the Andra Chansen knock-out of 2018.
21: Robin Bengtsson
A former winner returning so soon? Well yes, potentially. Especially if you consider how comparatively badly his releases have performed since then. But more especially, if you consider his face popping up at recent Melfest writing camps.
22: Omar Rudberg/Oscar Enestad
Both former FO&O members, both on the same label, both entered Melodifestivalen 2019, both got eliminated in their heat, but more crucially, both went on to have streaming hits much bigger than many of the songs that knocked them out. We’d be surprised to see both of them back this year, but we do reckon one of them will be convinced to give it another go and right this year’s wrong.
23: Dotter
She’s yet to seek revenge for her shock elimination at Melodifestivalen 2018, but returned to the contest stage in 2019 to perform an interval act song which has gone on to earn seven millions Spotify streams. She’s also been in the recording studio recently, and attended Mello writing camps.
24: Malou Prytz
Having made the final on her first attempt, the natural next step is to give it another go a year later. And since the release of her underrated debut EP, she’s not really been up to much else.
25: Chris Kläfford
The Swedish Idol winner has just chanced his arm at competing in America’s Got Talent. He got knocked out, however, in last week’s semi finals. Bad news for his chances of US success. But great news for his calendar around February/March!
26: Renaida
Another contestant from this year’s series of Stjärnornas Stjärna, Renaida feels like she was owed a second shot at Melodifestivalen this year, after her first attempt got her to the final in 2018 – and after that final performance was plagued by the sound issues that she had no problems letting us all know about!
27: KEiiNO
Ok, an odd inclusion, we know. But, not only have they been attending Melodifestivalen writing camps, they’re also about to embark on a few weeks of seriously courting Sweden. On Friday, they release their new single ‘Vill Ha Dig’ – a cover of a Swedish classic, which they’ve kept in Swedish. Do we think they want to represent Sweden at Eurovision, so soon after representing their native Norway? No. But could they be going down the Margaret route of chasing Swedish streaming numbers? Well there are worse ways to make coin. Oh, and they’ve just signed up with Swedish management, as well. What else could all this be for, but the grandest stage of them all?!!!
28: The Så Mycket Bättre wildcard
This year’s series of Så Mycket Bättre is an ‘All Stars’ edition. And we have a sneaking suspicion that SVT will be going all out to get one of the artists for Melodifestivalen. The most likely of the bunch would appear to be Carola or Jill Johnson. Or could we even be getting Petra Marklund or Danny Saucedo? Petter? Miss Li? Orup? Alas, we reckon SVT would be content even with Niklas Strömstedt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7heeY_LKZEc
