Melodifestivalen Grand Prix 2022 last preview
Host Oscar Zia
This weekend is the grand final of the Swedish Melody Festival, where the nation will decide its representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.
Three former Eurovision contestants will join nine other artists to fight and see who wins the ticket to represent Sweden in Turin.
So read on to find out the artists, songs, driving order, voting details, view information and even when and where you can watch it!
The artists
Before the show, we thought we would take a look at all the artists competing in Saturday night’s competition:
(To see our ranking of these songs, check out our 1st to 12th ranking article).
Robin Bengtsson
Robin Bengtsson, 31, is no stranger to Eurovision fans, and finished fifth for Sweden in 2017 with ‘I Can’t Go On’. After taking third place in ‘Idol 2008’, Robin made his first appearance at the Melodifestivalen 2016 and finished fifth. After winning 2017, Robin came back in 2020 and finished eighth and is back this year again with “Innocent Love”. Coming second in the first heat means that he has reached the final in all his four appearances in the Melodifestivalen. One of the songwriters is none other than Victor Crone who represented Estonia in Eurovision 2019.
John Lundvik
To make his third Melodifestivalen stand out is John Lundvik, 39. Best known for giving Sweden a 5th place in 2019 with ‘Too Late For Love’, John had finished third in the Melodifestivalen the year before. This year he is back with his Swedish ballad ‘Änglavakt’ (Guardian Angel) which came second in Heat 2. John has composed music for the Swedish royal family and the Swedish Olympic team and was also one of the songwriters for the UK’s Eurovision 2019 contribution ‘Bigger Than Us’ performed by Michael Rice.
Anna Bergendahl
30-year-old Anna Bergendahl represented Sweden in 2010 with ‘This Is My Life’ and became the first and only Swedish artist who did not reach the final since the semi-final system was introduced in Eurovision 2004. She continued to release music in the years that followed and also began reading medical degree. She returned to the Melodifestivalen 2019 and finished tenth with “Ashes to Ashes”. ‘Kingdom Come’ finished third in 2020 and now she is back with country pop-inspired ‘Higher Power’ who advanced to the final from the semi-final round.
Cornelia Jakobs
Cornelia, 30, is the bookmaker’s favorite to take the Melodifestivalen’s crown in 2022 with the raw and emotional ballad ‘Hold Me Closer’ which won the first heat. Cornelia has competed in the Melodifestivalen twice before as part of the girl group ‘Love Generation’ in 2011 and 2012, but this is her first time as a solo artist. Since 2018, she has released several singles in Sweden and also composed and performed the song ‘Weight of the World’ which became the soundtrack to the HBO Nordic series ‘Björnstad’.
Anders Bagge
Another chance for the title is Anders Bagge, 54, who won Heat 3 with the anthem ‘Bigger Than The Universe’. Anders is a well-known name in Sweden and has been a judge in ‘Idol’ since 2008. He has written and produced for artists such as 98 Degrees, Westlife, Janet Jackson, Celine Dion, Madonna, Santana, Jennifer Lopez, Anastacia, Nick Lachey, Jessica Simpson, Samantha Mumba, Lara Fabian, Enrique Iglesias, Ace of Base and Ashley Tisdale. He also produced Azerbaijan’s Eurovision entry in 2010 “Drip Drop” by Safura Alizadeh and co-wrote the 2012 “When The Music Dies” by Sabina Babayeva.
Klara Hammarström
21-year-old Klara Hammarström won Heat 4 with the EDM track ‘Run To The Hills’. 2022 is Klara’s third Melodifestivalen appearance in a row after finishing sixth in 2021 and failing to qualify for the final in 2020. Klara is a competition rider, well known in Sweden, after participating in the reality show “Familjen Hammarström” with her family. She has released several singles in Sweden since 2019.
LIAMOO
LIAMOO (Liam Thomassen), 24, won Swedish Idol 2016 and makes his third appearance at the Melodifestivalen. After finishing sixth in 2018, he returned as part of a duo with Hanna Ferm in 2019 and finished third. In 2022, he returns with the dance track ‘Bluffin’, which won Heat 2.
Medina
The hip-hop duo Medina consists of Sam-E (Sami Daniel Rekik) and Alibi (Ali Jammali). The couple was formed in 2003 and released several singles in Sweden and their music is strongly influenced by their Tunisian heritage. Sam-E competed in the Melodifestivalen 2021 in collaboration with WAHL with the song ’90 -talet ‘but did not reach the final. This year, Medina came second in Heat 4 with ‘Into the Fog’ (Into the Fog).
Tone Sekelius
24-year-old Tone makes his Melodifestivalen debut in 2022 and is the first openly transgender person to compete in the competition. After releasing several singles in Sweden since 2017, her anthem ‘My Way’ advanced to the final from the semi-final round.
Cazzi Opeia
Moa Anna Maria Carlebecker, 33, better known as Cazzi Opeia, is a Swedish DJ, artist, singer and songwriter who makes her debut at the Melodifestivalen. She has released music since 2010 and is also a prolific K-POP writer and works with some of the genre’s biggest names, including BTS, Twice, Red Velvet, NCT Dream, TXT, Sulli, DJ Hyo, Itzy, GFriend, Enhypen, Weeekly , Stray Kids and Verivery. ‘I Can’t Get Enough’ is a captivating colorful pop number that won its way to the final from the semi-final round.
Faith Kakembo
When she has not run away as a nurse, you can find Faith Kakembo, 36, who makes music. Originally of Ugandan descent, Faith made his debut at the Melodifestivalen 2020 but did not make it past the heat. She returns in 2022 with the gospel-inspired ‘Freedom’ which came second in Heat 3. The song is written by Laurell Barker who is known for having written several Eurovision hits including Switzerland’s 4th place contribution ‘She Got Me’ in 2019.
Theoz
The youngest contestant of the evening is 16-year-old Theoz (Theodor Haraldsson), who makes his Melodifestivalen debut with the captivating Swedish pop number ‘Som du vill’ (Som du vill). Theoz advanced from the semifinals and started his career by uploading videos online and also starred in a movie in 2020.
The current order
The order of play for the final is as follows:
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Klara Hammarström – ‘Run to Bergen’
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Theoz – ‘As you wish‘
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Anna Bergendahl – ‘Higher power’
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John Lundvik – ‘Angel guard‘
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Tone Sekelius – ‘My way‘
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Anders Bagge – ‘Larger than the universe‘
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Robin Bengtsson – ‘Innocent love’
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Faith Kakembo – ‘Freedom‘
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LIAMOO – ‘Bluffin’
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Cornelia Jakobs – ‘Hold Me Closer’
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Cazzi Opeia – “I Can’t Get Enough”
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Medina – ‘Into the fog’
Voting
The heat and semi-final results were determined to 100% by the Swedish public using either the Melodifestivalen’s app or televote, but the grand final is awarded 50% of the points by an eight-person international jury. This year, Australia will be represented on the jury, along with the Netherlands, Finland, Spain, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Israel and Italy.
The public’s voting takes place via Melodifestivalen’s official app or telephone with a maximum of five votes per person. After all 12 songs have been performed and the results of the international jury have been announced, voters will be given a chance to vote once again (one vote per person).
Just like in the heat and the semifinals, the result of the public voting via the app will be decided using the age group system.
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3-9 years, Green group
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10-15 years, Turquoise group
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16-29 years, Blue group
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30-44 years, Purple group
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45-59 years, Pink group
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60-74 years, Red group
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75 years and up, Orange group
Each age group vote gets the score 12, 10, 8-1. General votes received by telephone will be the eighth category and together with the app votes, the other 50% will be the result.
Hosts, location, audience and voting
The final of the Melodifestivalen will be hosted by the singer and runner-up 2016 Oscar Zia, who has hosted the semi-final and all the heats. TV presenter Farah Abadi will continue to act as host behind the stage and green room.
The production will be held at Friends Arena in Stockholm, which also hosted Heat 4 and the semifinals after the first three heats were held at Avicii Arena, which is also located in Stockholm.
How to look
The final of the Melodifestivalen 2022 takes place on the morning of Sunday 13 March (Australian time) and can be seen via SVT Play website.
English comments will also be available via the SVT Play app.
The show starts at
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20.00, Sat 12 March, Central European time
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03:00 (WA)
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04:30 (NT)
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05:00 AEST (QLD)
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05:30 (SA)
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6:00 AEDT (ACT, NSW, TAS, VIC)
To stay up to date and get all the latest news from the Melodifestivalen Grand Prix; find us @aussievisionnet!