More Melfest artists? A whole 9. To add to yesterday’s 9.
And tomorrow’s?… 10. Which will make it our full 28 artists for Melodifestivalen 2021.
Who did we get today? A former Melodifestivalen winner, the writer behind last year’s Melodifestivalen winner now entering as an artist himself, the artist who finished second last year returning as an artist, the artist who finished third last year returning as a writer. Everyone wants back in!
Yeah but WHO?! Let’s take a look, shall we?!
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Dotter – ‘Little Tot’
(Johanna ‘Dotter’ Jansson, Dino Medanhodzic)
Little what?! Little Tot. Apparently that was her nickname when she was younger.
How does one improve on the majesty of ‘Bulletproof’, however? Well, two points should safely do it, given how she finished runner-up in Melodifestivalen 2020 by only one point.
What’s ‘Little Tot’ all about? It’s a “modern lullaby” about keeping your ego in check and putting your phone down once in a while.
A cautionary tale. Unless, of course, you’re using said phone to vote for ‘Little Tot’ on SVT’s Melodifestivalen app, because as another cautionary tale goes – those points matter! Though she is quick to point out that she is not really here solely to improve on 2020’s result – and that this is a brand-new song for which she has a brand-new vision.
Anton Ewald – ‘New Religion’
(Jonas Wallin, Joe Killington, Anton Ewald, Maja Strömstedt)
Where on EARTH has he been all this time?! In the US. Working as a model and as a choreographer. However, in the last year or so he has started writing music again. And when he wrote this song, he couldn’t shake the feeling that it is the perfect song for Melodifestivalen. And so here he is!
What’s the song like? It was all built around the (obviously quite impressive) melody of the chorus. And from that, he’s come up with a song with which he promises to bring us a lot of energy, a lot of speed, and a lot of dancing.
What did his most recent single sound like? Well that was actually way back in 2016. So we are officially calling this a long overdue comeback!
Charlotte Perrelli – ‘Still Young’
(Thomas G:son, Bobby Ljunggren, Erik Bernholm, Charlie Gustavsson)
I’ve been burned once in Mitt Liv, I’m not getting excited again. Yeah but looks at those songwriters!
They look great, but I can’t go through the disappointment of 2017 again. She promises, PROMISES, that it’s up-tempo, glamorous, schlager-style pop music that is going to get you dancing. She had no intentions of competing again until she heard this song. And she couldn’t say no. She had to have it.
Well then in that case, Charlotte Perrelli has saved 2021. And, singlehandedly, schlager.
And what a title from the ever-youthful queen. She says it’s all about the fact that if you feel young in your head, everything else comes easy.
Patrik Jean – ‘Tears Run Dry’
(Herman Gardarfve, Patrik Jean, Melanie Wehbe)
As a Mello stan, I recognise that name. The songwriting trio behind ‘Move’ by The Mamas have united once more – and for one of their own! Patrik will now be singing his own song at Melodifestivalen 2021, thank you very much.
What’s Patrik’s music like? Well he’s just released his second EP, ‘Consequence‘, which we heartily recommend. Not one, but two songs from it are currently residing in our Best New Pop playlist.
And what’s ‘Tears Run Dry’ gonna be like? Well according to the man himself, it’s very true to him. The kind of song you don’t know whether to cry to or dance to. We detect an impending sad-banger, and we are so very here for it.
Elisa Lindström – ‘Den Du Är’
(Bobby Ljunggren, Ingela ‘Pling’ Forsman, Elisa Lindström)
The darling of the dansband genre! After winning Dansbandskampen, winning Körslaget and winning Let’s Dance, Elisa is here to battle for the Swedish popstar’s own version of the EGOT. She has entered Melodifestivalen before, in 2014, with ‘Casanova’. This time she’ll be hoping to improve upon the 5th-place finish in her heat that she earned last time.
And how’s she going to do that? She says that her song is a big, timeless ballad about daring to be exactly who you are and who you want to be. She reveals that she cried when she first heard it.
And is that the return of? The almighty Ingela ‘Pling’ Forsman, yes. Who has now had a song in Melodifestivalen in each of the last five decades.
Frida Green – The Silence’
(Anna Bergendahl, Bobby Ljunggren, David Lindgren Zacharias, Joy Deb)
Who? She made the live shows of Sweden’s Got Talent in 2018, and popped up again in Swedish Idol 2020. Now she makes her debut in Melodifestivalen with ‘The Silence’.
What’s the song like? A grandiose, energetic number that she promises will hit you and make you feel it.
And it’s got Anna Bergendahl as a songwriter! Actually, with that whole songwriting team, one can logically conclude that Anna Bergendahl penned her third Melodifestivalen entry in as many years, before deciding that no, someone else should have a go – and she thus handed it over. Country-pop-banger here we (Kingdom) Come!
Has our Fri’ got any past form herself? Last year she released this cute little ode to everyone’s favourite activist for the planet – ‘What Would Greta Do?‘.
Nathalie Brydolf – ‘Fingerprints’
(Andreas Stone Johansson, Etta Zelmani, Laurell Barker, Anna-Klara Folin)
Who? Another Idol graduate. This time from Idol 2018. And Nathalie then took the unusual next step of appearing on The Bachelor in 2019. But it’s back to music now.
What’s the song like? An elegant ballad with which she intends on shooting straight for your heart.
Any past form? None – this will be her debut single. Performance-wise, though, you can watch her command the stage in a duet with Benjamin Ingrosso – on her Idol performance of Maroon 5’s ‘Sugar’.
Lillasyster – ‘Pretender’
(Isak Hallén, Jakob Redtzer, Martin Westerstrand, Ian Paolo Lira, Palle Hammarlund)
Rock? But not just any rock. Rock co-penned by the man behind all of Dolly Style’s hits.
That sounds, amazing? Though the band themselves are quick to put us back on track. This is hard rock, REAL hard rock, they insist.
Oh. Well, you know that old saying. The difference between a rock song and a schlager song is about five pints of beer, despite initial protestations to the contrary.
WAHL feat. SAMI – ’90-talet
(Sami Rekik, Christopher Vahlberg, Josefin Glenmark, Jesper Welander, Andreas Larsson)
Who? Sami ‘SAMI’ Rekik was a member of the hip-hop duo Medina, and Christopher ‘WAHL’ Vahlberg is a member of another hip-hop duo – SödraSidan. They’re getting together now to deliver us a song about that glorious decade like no other – the nineties!
What’s the song like? They promise a colourful number with plenty of energy. Something for us to dance to.
