Mello curiosities: Mellopedia of the week

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Join us for a deep dive into this week’s competition with the help of Mellopedia , Melodifestivalen’s own encyclopedia.

Gustav Dahlander , the brains and heart behind Mellopedia, offers compilations of Mellokuriosa that are published here every Monday during Melodifestivalen 2025. See also basic facts about the final .

• The final will be broadcast from the National Arena, officially renamed from Friends Arena to Strawberry Arena in the summer of 2024 , located in Solna outside Stockholm . The Melodifestivalen finals have been held in the arena since 2013 (except for the pandemic year 2021 ) and have usually had around 27,000–28,000 people in the audience.

1. John Lundvik – ” Voice of the Silent “

• John Lundvik went straight to the final for the fourth time in a row, which meant second place in the current category in the record books .

• Lundvik’s fourth place in the final meant a shared sixth place on the list of artists with the most final places in the modern Melodifestivalen .

• John Lundvik and Måns Zelmerlöw have several things in common. Both have now competed with four entries, all of which have gone straight to the finals and one has won.

• Both John Lundvik and Måns Zelmerlöw have also historically received a total of 9 twelve-pointers from the international jury . Loreen has the lead with 13 twelves, and Lundvik and Zelmerlöw therefore need 5 twelves to overtake.

2. Dolly Style – “ YIHAA ”

• Dolly Style celebrates ten years since the group first appeared in Melodifestivalen 2015 , and now made it to the final for the first time. Of the group’s previous three entries, two have gone to Andra chansen and one – ” Habibi ” ( 2019 ), the most played in retrospect – was eliminated in the semi-finals.

• For the first time since Malou Prytz’s ” I Do Me ” ( 2019 ), an entry with three or more female songwriters made it to the finals. Dolly Style’s entry ” YIHAA ” is written by Caroline Aronsson , Mikaela Samuelsson and Melanie Wehbe together with Herman Gardarfve , Patrik Jean and David Lindgren Zacharias .

3. Greczula – “ Believe Me ”

• In Melodifestivalen 2025, three of the entries were written by debuting songwriters only: “ Vår första gång ” ( Adrian Macéus ), “ Believe Me ” ( Greczula ) – and “ I’m Yours ” ( Vilhelm Buchaus ). Among these, it was Greczula who advanced from the semi-final. The entry was written by debutants Amanda Nordelius , John Russell and the artist himself.

• The last time a contribution entirely written by Melodifestivalen debutants made it to the final was Lisa Ajax’s ” Torn ” in 2019. Since then, debutant contributions by Malin Christin , Tribe Friday , Uje Brandelius , Klaudy , Adrian Macéus and (after Greczula) Vilhelm Buchaus have missed the final. But there are exceptions. Both 2017 ( Nano ) and 2018 ( Felix Sandman ) reached second place in the final.

• Of the entries with only new songwriters between 2002 and round 5 2025, 37 have reached the final, 25 have left the competition in the round-robin and 96 have been eliminated in the round. During the period, depending on the regulations, between 50 and 66 % of the competing entries have progressed from the round. At the same time, 39 % of the debut entries have progressed. Of the final entries during the period, between 10 % and 7.7 % have won, while 1 of the 37 debut entries that have reached the final has won (” The Worrying Kind ” by The Ark ), i.e. 2.7 %.

4. Klara Hammarström – “ On and On and On ”

• Klara Hammarström reached the final for the third time, which means seventeenth place on the list of most final places in the modern Melodifestivalen .

• Both of her previous finalist entries, “ Beat of Broken Hearts ” (2021) and “ Run to the Hills ” (2022), have finished in sixth place.

5. SCARLET – “ Sweet N’ Psycho ”

• SCARLET had the final entry in the final semi-final in 2025. The entry with that entry has won Melodifestivalen just over every fourth time, in 26 percent of cases, since the semi-finals were introduced in 2002 .

• In the 2024 final, two duos finished first and second in the form of Marcus & Martinus and Medina . SCARLET is the only duo in the 2025 final.

6. Erik Segerstedt – ” Show Me What Love Is “

• Erik Segerstedt sang offstage for Robin Bengtsson on the winner ” I Can’t Go On ” ( 2017 ) and the finalists ” Take a Chance ” ( 2020 ) and ” Innocent Love ” ( 2022 ). Now Bengtsson is reciprocating and singing offstage on Segerstedt’s ” Show Me What Love Is “. Robin Bengtsson has competed as an artist four times and gone straight to the finals each time . Now with Erik Segerstedt, he went straight to the finals even when he debuted as a choir singer.

• The entry’s songwriter and stage participant Mattias Andréasson is back in the final after his successful debut with EMD (2009). Since then, he has participated as an artist, songwriter, choir singer and/or musician in 8 entries before ” Show Me What Love Is “. The last time Segerstedt and Andréasson shared the stage in a Melodifestivalen broadcast was with EMD ‘s bronze entry ” Baby Goodbye ” ( 2009 ). But they were also seen together on stage at a rehearsal of Andra chansen in 2013, where Segerstedt’s duet partner Tone Damli (who competed in the Norwegian MGP 2025) was booked and Mattias Andréasson stepped in.

7. Maja Ivarsson – “ Kamikaze Life ”

• Maja Ivarsson, 45, is the oldest artist in the final. When she went to the final together with John Lundvik from this year’s first round, it was the first time in history that all artists who went directly to the final from a round were over 40 years old.

8. Meira Omar – “ Hush Hush ”

• Meira Omar is the only artist in the final who comes from the competition venue, Stockholm . She grew up in Botkyrka, south of Söder, and lives in Södermalm.

• Meira Omar’s final place meant that songwriter Dino Medanhodzic , based on starting numbers, reached the final with 12 consecutive entries during the years 2019–2025 – a new record . He beat Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt , who reached the final with 11 consecutive entries in 2022–2024.

• The lyrics to Meira Omar’s entry ” Hush Hush ” contain words in Dari (Afghanistan), which is a language that has never before appeared in Melodifestivalen (an early report claimed that the lyrics also contain words in Hindi, which is not entirely correct ). However, Farsi (Persian), which is closely related to Dari, appeared in Sheida’s entry ” I mina drömmar (Mani armani taha) ” ( 2007 ) and in Mahan Moin’s ” Aleo ” ( 2014 ).

9. Måns Zelmerlöw – “ Revolution ”

• Måns Zelmerlöw has reached the final as the first entry in all four of the competitions he has entered in history, which means a joint second place in the category in the Melodifestivalen record book , together with Mariette . He is one step behind the first place winner Danny Saucedo .

• Måns Zelmerlöw went straight to the final for the fourth time in a row, which meant second place in that category in the record books .

• Zelmerlöw’s fourth place in the final meant a shared sixth place on the list of artists with the most final places in the modern Melodifestivalen .

• Måns Zelmerlöw returns as a competing artist after a 10-year absence. Among the Melodifestivalen winners who have returned, this is the longest delay since Carola in 1991. She waited 15 years to return, before she competed again in 2006 and won the competition again.

• Melodifestivalen winners from 2000–2015 who have made a comeback have waited an average of 4.7 years after their victory.

• The four Swedish Eurovision winners who have returned to the competition have waited an average of 9.8 years for their comeback, which places Måns Zelmerlöw close to the average. In two out of three cases, the comeback has ended in victory for them: Carola in 2006 and Charlotte Perrelli in 2008. The third is Loreen , who was eliminated in Andra chansen in 2017.

• The Melodifestivalen-winning artists who have made their Melodifestivalen comeback in 2002 or later after winning have in thirteen cases reached the final in the comeback, while four have been eliminated in the Second Chance and two ( Charlotte Perrelli in 2012 and Marie Bergman in 2015 ) in the semi-finals. Two have won ( Carola in 2006 and Charlotte Perrelli in 2008 ). Among the artists who have won Melodifestivalen on this side of the millennium, none has subsequently won in the comeback. The Mamas’ third place in 2021 is the strongest result.

• Måns Zelmerlöw went to the final with the male trio KAJ . He also went to the final with a male trio in 2015 with “ Heroes ”, this time JTR . The same pattern occurred with Loreen , the second returning Eurovision winner from the 2000s, when she went to the final in 2023 with the rock band Smash Into Pieces after having gone to the final in 2012 with the rock band Dead by April .

• Måns Zelmerlöw has historically received 9 twelve-pointers from the international jury . Loreen has the lead with 13 twelves, and Zelmerlöw therefore needs 5 twelves to overtake.

10. Saga Ludvigsson – ” Hate You So Much “

• The youngest in the final is 19-year-old Saga Ludvigsson. She is 5 years younger than Annika Wickihalder , who is the second youngest in the final.

• Saga Ludvigsson starts as number 10 in the final, which is the starting number that has won the most times – 4 – since the final was expanded to 12 entries in 2015. The average position for the starting number during these 10 finals is 3.6.

11. Annika Wickihalder – “ Life Again ”

• Annika Wickihalder went straight to the final from the semi-final with “ Life Again ”. In 2024 she won the Final Qualifier, which she did not need help from this time. The artist was born in Switzerland, where this year’s Eurovision Song Contest is being held.

12. KAJ – “ Just taking a sauna ”

• The success of KAJ means that entries performed by foreign citizens made it to the finals for the third year in a row, following the recent successes of Marcus & Martinus and Maria Sur .

• After previous attempts from Arja Saijonmaa (2005 and 2019) and Krista Siegfrids (2016 and 2017), a Finnish entry now made it to the finals for the first time since the semi-finals were introduced in 2002.

• Among previous Finnish entries in the Melodifestivalen are Arja Saijonmaa , Krista Siegfrids (Finnish Swedish), Markoolio (Swedish-Finnish), Lleucu Young in High15 (2019, Finnish Swedish), Paul Rey (Finnish father), Johan Hirvi in Panetoz (Finnish father), Lisa Miskovsky (Finnish mother), Mark Levengood (Swedish-Finnish-Swedish, host in 2003 and in the final in 2005), most recently Käärijä ( interlude in competition 1 2025) – and then the winner Lill Lindfors , who moved to Sweden from Finland as an eight-year-old. In addition, Swedish Sandra Estberg lives in SCHLAGERZ (2025) on Åland.

• In the 2025 final, only one of the twelve entries, KAJ , has Swedish lyrics, in other words 8 %. The only entry performed by foreign artists is therefore the only one performed in Swedish. At the same time, nine of the entries in this year’s festival had Swedish lyrics: 30 %. That only one final entry is performed in Swedish is a touching record, along with 2019 , 2020 and 2024 . In 2021–2023, three of the entries in the final were in Swedish. In 2024, Medina was the only one to sing in Swedish in the final and finished in second place.

Other facts about the final

Stjernberg the only exception

• The finalists who were called first in each round were John Lundvik , Erik Segerstedt , Greczula , Måns Zelmerlöw and Saga Ludvigsson . In the 23 finals since Melodifestivalen had rounds in 2002 , only Robin Stjernberg ( 2013 ) has won the final without first winning their round. However, it has been close several times. John Lundvik (2019) and The Mamas (2020) only won their rounds by 2 points. And Ace Wilder was 3 points short of winning the final in 2014 , after finishing second in her round. In addition, Shirley Clamp (2004), Caroline af Ugglas (2009) and Felix Sandman (2018) have finished second in the final after getting there via Andra chansen .

Most women – for the first time since 2009

• For the first time since 2009 , the majority of entries in the final are performed by female artists. After a female-dominated 00s, the 10s in the Melodifestivalen finals were strongly male-dominated. The 20s have had a relatively even distribution.

• 8 of the 12 final entries have at least one female songwriter, which is 1 less than the record from 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2024. The finals feature 14 female songwriters and 26 male songwriters. Among the songwriters who are not also competing as artists in the finals, 6 are women and 21 are men.

Most common winner: An inexperienced artist

• The winning artists in Melodifestivalen since 2002 have on average participated with 1 previous entry. However, entering the final as a debutant has been the single entry value that has yielded the most wins: 10. Artists who have competed with 1 previous entry have won 7 times. Just over one in four winners have competed with 2 or more entries previously.

• In the 2025 final, only Annika Wickihalder and SCARLET have competed with exactly 1 previous entry. Erik Segerstedt has competed with 2 previous entries. John Lundvik , Dolly Style , Klara Hammarström and Måns Zelmerlöw have competed with 3 previous entries.

• In the final, 5 of the entries will be performed by Melodifestival debuting artists. This is the highest number in the last seven years. The debutants are Greczula , Maja Ivarsson , Meira Omar , Saga Ludvigsson and KAJ .

• The only winner since 2002 who had participated with more than 3 previous entries was Sanna Nielsen , who won on her 7th attempt. No one else in Melodifestivalen’s history has competed 6 years before winning. Östen Warnerbring won in 1967 after competing in 3 previous years, but with 6 different entries; in 1967 he competed with his 7th and 8th entries.

• In Melodifestivalen 2025, 2 acts from the previous year’s Melodifestival returned: SCARLET and Annika Wickihalder . Both made it to the final.

Songwriter

• The three songwriters who have been most successful in 2025 before the final and have received 3 entries each are Herman Gardarfve ( Saga Ludvigsson , Dolly Style and Annika Wickihalder ), Dino Medanhodzic ( SCARLET , Meira Omar and Klara Hammarström ) and Anderz Wrethov ( SCARLET , Meira Omar and KAJ ).

• Among the songwriters who participated with more than one entry in Melodifestivalen 2025 , only Patrik Jean managed to qualify with all of his entries for the final. He competes there with Dolly Style and Annika Wickihalder .

• Inducted into the Melodifestivalen Hall of Fame among the final contestants are Måns Zelmerlöw as well as Eurovision-winning songwriters Thomas G:son (inducted three times), Peter Boström (inducted twice), Moa “Cazzi Opeia” Carlebecker , Joy Deb , Linnea Deb , Jimmy Jansson and Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt . Half of the final entries have at least one Eurovision winner as a songwriter.

The final in brief

The final features 2 previous winners: John Lundvik and Måns Zelmerlöw .
The youngest in the final is 19-year-old Saga Ludvigsson . The oldest is 45-year-old Maja Ivarsson .
Five debutants participate: Greczula , Maja Ivarsson , Meira Omar , Saga Ludvigsson and KAJ .
The finals feature nine solo artists, a duo ( SCARLET ), a trio ( KAJ ) and a quartet ( Dolly Style ).
Seven of the contributions are performed by female artists and five by male artists.
Eight of the twelve final entries have at least one female songwriter.
One contribution ( KAJ ) has Swedish text.

The final of Melodifestivalen 2025 will take place in Strawberry Arena – Stockholm this Saturday at 20:00 CEST!

Category: 🇨🇭 Basel 2025

Raul Jac

Head of Social Media & Founder of Euro Alfa