The generic logo for Melodifestivalen, which has been in use since 2002. It is loosely based on the ''ljuskrona'', the headpiece worn on
St. Lucia's Day in Sweden.
'Melodifestivalen' [mÉlÊËdiËfÉstÉȘËvÉËlÉn] (
English: ''The Melody Festival'') is an annual
music competition organised by
Sveriges Television (SVT) and
Sveriges Radio (SR) to determine the
Swedish representative at the
Eurovision Song Contest. It has been staged almost every year since the first public competition in 1959. The competition is the most popular television programme in Sweden, a title it has held since 2000.
[1] In 2007, an estimated four million
Swedes watched the final, while the semifinals averaged around 3.1 million viewers.
[2]
The winner of the Melodifestival is chosen by regional juries and a national
televote. The event's format has changed throughout its forty-eight year history. Until 2001 participation in the televised event was limited to between eight and twelve songs, but the introduction of a system of semifinals in 2002 saw that figure rise to thirty-two. The festival has produced four
Eurovision-winning songs and fifteen placings in the top five for
Sweden at the Contest. Light orchestrated pop songs, known locally as ''
schlager'' music, are often seen to be prevalent at the competitionâso much so that it is sometimes referred to as ''Schlagerfestivalen'' by the
Swedish media[3][4]âbut other styles of music such as
rap,
reggae and
glam rock have made an appearance since the 2002 expansion. The competition makes an impact on music charts in Sweden; twenty-three participants in the 2006 competition reached the
domestic singles chart and twenty-one in 2007.
[5][6] A children's version of the competition,
Lilla Melodifestivalen, launched in 2002.
The most recent Melodifestival, which took place in February and March 2007, was won by
The Ark performing "
The Worrying Kind".
The next festival will take place in February and March 2008.
History
Main articles: History of Melodifestivalen
Early experiments
Following Sveriges Radio's internal selection of
Alice Babs as Sweden's representative for Eurovision 1958, the first Melodifestival (incorporated into the ''SĂ€g det med musik'' radio series) took place on
29 January 1959 at
Cirkus in
Stockholm with four "expert" juries deciding the winner.
[7] The competition was won by
Siw Malmkvist performing "Augustin", but SR had decided beforehand that the winning songâregardless of original performerâwould be performed by
Brita Borg at Eurovision. This policy of internally selecting the artist for Eurovision and having other artists perform entries in the national final was also adopted in 1960. In the event's early years it was broadcast to
Norway and
Denmark via the Nordvision network.
[8] The competition became a stand-alone television event in 1960, as the ''Eurovisionschlagern, svensk final''. A new format was imported from the
Italian Sanremo Music Festival, in which the participating songs were performed by two artists in the national final, one with a large
orchestra and another with a smaller jazz quartet. This meant that 1960's winning song, "Alla andra fÄr varann", was performed by three artists;
Ăsten Warnebring and
Inger Berggren at Melodifestivalen, and Siw Malmkvist at Eurovision in London. This name and format was retained until 1963, when Sweden achieved their first and only Eurovision "
nul points" with
Monica Zetterlund performing "En gÄng i Stockholm". The 1960 and 1963 competitions also included a semifinal of sorts, where a panel of judges would listen to the participating songs and select a number to go through to the televised final. Sweden did not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1964 due to an artists' strike, so no competition was held that year.
[9]
The 1965 competition marked a change in attitude at SR, with less focus on performers and more on songwriters. The competition was now known as the ''Svensk sÄngfinal''.
Ingvar Wixell performed all six songs in contention, a policy which the organisers never deliberately repeated. Wixell also performed the winning song "AnnostÀdes vals" in
English at the Eurovision Song Contest as "Absent Friends", making Sweden the first country to perform entirely in a non-native language at Eurovision.
[10] No major changes were made to the format of the ''sÄngfinal'' for 1966, apart from abandoning the one-artist approach used the previous year.
Lill Lindfors and
Svante Thuresson won the 1966 competition and finished second at Eurovision, which remained Sweden's best result at the Contest until 1974. The competition adopted its current name, ''Melodifestivalen'', in 1967. Demonstrations outside Cirkus marred the festival in 1969âthat year's Eurovision was to be held in Madrid, capital of
Francoist Spain, which led protesters to believe that Sweden should stage a
boycott.
[11]
Eurovision victory and protests
Sweden's second Eurovision abstention was in 1970, this time as a result of a Nordic-led boycott over the voting system which had led to a four-way tie for first place at the 1969 Contest.
[12] Melodifestivalen 1971 was organised as part of the ''
Hylands hörna'' television series; five semifinals were broadcast and three actsâ
Tommy Körberg,
Family Four and
Sylvia Vrethammarâperformed one song in each. Family Four received the most postcard votes in each of the semifinals, so all five songs in the final were performed by them, an accidental repeat of the 1965 scenario with Ingvar Wixell. Family Four won Melodifestivalen again in 1972, this time up against nine other artists, becoming the first act to win the competition twice running.
The 1974 winner,
"Waterloo" by
ABBA, is widely considered the most popular Melodifestivalen and Eurovision song of all-time, and earned Sweden their first win at Eurovision in 1974. "Waterloo" was voted the most popular Eurovision song at a
50th anniversary concert in late 2005.
[13][14] ABBA were not first-time entrants at the festival: in addition to a solo appearance by
Anni-Frid Lyngstad in 1969, they had participated in the 1973 competition as ''
Agnetha, Anni-Frid,
Björn &
Benny'' singing
"Ring Ring". Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson wrote four Melodifestivalen songs in total, three of which were also co-written by ABBAâs manager,
Stikkan Andersson. Following SRâs staging of the Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm in 1975, it was argued by some
left-wing groups that Sweden could not afford to win and host the Contest again. This led to mass demonstrations against commercial music, and the organisation of an anti-commercial ''Alternativfestivalen''.
[15] Sweden therefore could not send a song to Eurovision 1976, the third and most recent time the country has abstained from participating.
Melodifestivalen returned in 1977, with almost exactly the same format as had been used in 1975; the introduction of the voting system adopted by Eurovision in 1975 was the only major change. Sweden's results at Eurovision markedly worsened following the 1976 boycott; the country failed to break into the top ten at Eurovision between 1977 and 1981. This period played host to one of the most tensely contested rivalries in the history of the competition, that of
Björn Skifs and the pairing of
Lasse Holm and
Kikki Danielsson. In the 1978 final, Skifs' song was victorious over Danielsson and Holm (performing with
Wizex) following a tie-break.
[16] The two competed against each other again in
1981, when Skifs' song beat
Chipsâa band featuring Danielsson with a song written by Holmâthis time by two points. When Chips won in 1982 with
"Dag efter dag", Danielsson claimed that they won that year because Björn Skifs was not taking part.
[17]
"Schlager" success
The period between 1983 and 1991 was Sweden's most successful period at Eurovision, with the country achieving four top three finishesâtwo more than it had accumulated during the previous twenty-five yearsâand among them two victories. The voting system used during most of this period, which had been introduced in 1982, became synonymous with the competition. It remained in use intermittently until 1998, later becoming the basis for the modern semifinal format. The regional juries narrowed the contenders down to five, giving the contestants the opportunity to perform their songs again in a second round, before the juries voted again to find a winner.
[18] Not reaching the final five under this format was seen as a major failure for an artistâwhen
Elisabeth Andreassen failed to qualify in 1984, it almost ended her career.
[19] Melodifestivalen 1983 was the breakthrough of
Carola HĂ€ggkvist, a 16-year-old singer from
Norsborg. She won with
"FrÀmling", earning the maximum eight points from all eleven juries. The single sold one million copies,
[20] and HĂ€ggkvist became one of the first in a long line of Melodifestivalen winners to be managed by
Bert Karlsson's
Mariann Grammofon label.
[21] "FrÀmling" finished third at Eurovision 1983. Sweden won Eurovision for the second time in 1984, with talent-show winners
Herreysâbrothers Per, Louis and Richard Herreyâsinging "
Diggi-loo diggi-ley". Recorded viewing figures for Melodifestivalen peaked in 1990, with over five million viewers seeing
Edin-Ă
dahl beat Carola HĂ€ggkvist to win the competition.
[22] HĂ€ggkvistânow performing as simply ''Carola''âtook part for a third time in 1991 with
"FĂ„ngad av en stormvind", which won with 78 of a possible 88 points. She went on to win Eurovision in Rome later that year, after a tie-break with the French song. This was Sweden's third victory in thirty-one attempts at the Contest.
Decline in popularity
Sweden's Eurovision results remained mostly consistent after Carola's win, but the popularity of Melodifestivalen went into decline.
22 Christer Björkman won in 1992, but finished second last at the Eurovision Song Contest in
Malmö, at the time the worst result ever for a host country at Eurovision. Televoting was introduced experimentally in 1993, but was unsuccessful; the Swedish telephone network collapsed under the strain and later claims by the Swedish tabloid press suggested the use of televoting had skewed the resultâthe evening newspapers released what they claimed to be the back-up juries' votes, which showed that the winner,
Arvingarna's
"Eloise" would only have finished fourth had the juries' votes counted. SVT never confirmed the accuracy of these claims.
[23] The regional juries were reinstated in 1994, the year in which
Marie Bergman became the first person to win Melodifestivalen three times as a singer. Although the competition was only 36 years old, SVT chose to coincide Melodifestivalen's fortieth anniversary with the 40
th Eurovision Song Contest in 1995. A documentary about the competition was broadcast, hosted by
Björn Kjellman.
[24] 1998 was the last year in which the votes of the juries alone decided the winner. In 1999, televoting was reintroduced, this time permanentlyâhowever unlike in 1993 the juries were retained, with their votes counting for 50% of the final marks.
Charlotte Nilsson's
"Tusen och en natt" was the most popular song with both the juries and televoters, and went on to win the 1999 Eurovision in Jerusalem, the most recent of Sweden's four Eurovision wins. This boosted the popularity of Melodifestivalen, and the 2000 competition was the most watched since 1993.
22 2000 was the final year in which a live orchestra featured.
[25] Melodifestivalen 2001 was won by
Friends with "Lyssna till ditt hjÀrta", the first time a
reality TV music act had won the competition.
[26]
"Folkliga festival"
Melodifestivalen 2007 winners The Ark performing "The Worrying Kind" at that year's Eurovision Song Contest in
Helsinki. The group's eighteenth place finish means that the winner of
Melodifestivalen 2008 will have to qualify from a semifinal at Eurovision.
, head of Sveriges Television's entertainment division, was a driving force behind a major revamp of Melodifestivalen.
[27] Christer Björkman, winner of Melodifestivalen 1992, was appointed supervisor of the competition for 2002, and began a process of modernising the event. The competition was extended from one night to five weeks, with the addition of four semifinals and a smaller Second Chance round bringing the number of participants up more than threefold to 32. Songs in languages other than
Swedish were allowed for the first time, an opportunity which was seized upon by 15 of that year's contestants. The final moved to the 12,000-seater
Stockholm Globe Arena, which had previously been regarded as too big to stage the competition when it was staged there in 1989.
[28] The new semifinal system meant that the competition could "tour" the country, taking advantage of Sweden's numerous
ice hockey stadia. This was the first time the competition had moved outside Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö, which led to the 2002 festival being described as the "folkliga festival" (''people's festival''.)
[29] A children's version of the competition started in 2002, called ''
Lilla Melodifestivalen'', which serves as the Swedish selection for the
Melodi Grand Prix Nordic, and until 2005 selected the Swedish entry for the
Junior Eurovision Song Contest. A compilation
CD of the competition's entries has been released since 2001 and a
DVD of the semifinals and final since 2003.
The 2004 competition saw the introduction of the wildcard system where four artists are invited to take part in the competition by SVT. Lena Philipsson (one of the first wildcards) won in 2004, having lost out three times in the 1980s. As in 1995, SVT chose to celebrate the 50
th anniversary of the competition in 2005, the same year in which Eurovision reached a half-century. Two commemorative DVDs were released, and
a gala was held at Cirkus to determine the most popular Melodifestivalen song ever, a title which was won by ABBA's "Waterloo".
[30] The 2005 competition was hit by controversy over the voting system at the final after
Martin Stenmarck won the competition by three points over
Nanne Grönvall, despite Grönvall receiving over 150,000 more televotes.
[31] The juries and televoters disagreed on the winner again in 2006, but on this occasion the most popular act with the public, Carola, won the competition. The Second Chance round was revamped into a full Saturday night show with a knock-out format for 2007.
[32] While the expansion of the competition has had a huge impact in Sweden (over two million votes were cast in the 2007 final, against just under 360,000 in 2001),
[The Ark triumph in Globen. TheLocal.se (10 March 2007). Retrieved on 25 April 2007.][33] Swedenâs Eurovision results have not improved significantly;
Fame and Carolaâs fifth place finishes in 2003 and 2006 respectively are Swedenâs best Eurovision results since 2002.
Preselection
The process of narrowing thousands of potential entries down to thirty-two lasts over seven months. A traditional preselection, which is open to members of the Swedish public, provides twenty-eight of the thirty-two entries. The remaining four slots are filled by wildcards; artists invited by the broadcaster to compete. The entire preselection process can begin as early as May of the previous year, and is finished by February.
Songs
SVT begin looking for songs for Melodifestivalen nine months before the start of the televised competition, within days of the previous year's Eurovision Song Contest finishing.
[34] The deadline for songs to be submitted is in September. Songs can be in any language, but songwriters must be Swedish residents over the age of sixteen. In the preselection, song length is limited to three minutes and twenty seconds, but songs must be shortened to three minutes if they make the final 28.
[35] The songs are submitted as
demos, and can be remixed if they qualify. The preselection process for culling thousands of entries to just 28 is overseen by members of the Swedish Music Publishers Association (SMFF). The selection of the SMFF is then given to a special sixteen-person jury made up of music professionals, people inside SVT and other members of the public.
[36] The jury ranges in age from teenagers to people in their fifties.
[37] A minimum of ten of the final 32 songs (including the wildcards) must be in Swedish.
The 3,310 entries received in the preselection for Melodifestivalen 2006 is the highest number received in the competition's history.
[38] The songs that qualify, along with their composers, are announced at the end of September, and this is often followed by fervent speculation as to who will perform the songs.
Singer-songwriters are common in the competition, so it is often the case that a number of artists will have confirmed their participation before the official announcement. Songwriters that qualify are obliged to provide a number of interviews to SVT and attend a press conference before the competition, with the possibility of more promotional appearances taking place if their song reaches the final.
Artists and wildcards
SVT themselves take on the task of selecting performers for the entries. The artist who performs the demo of a song automatically enters themselves into the running to perform in the competition, and must perform their song if a suitable alternative performer cannot be found, with the risk of disqualification if they refuse.
[39] This rule has been enforced in the past, resulting in the disqualification ofâamong othersâCarola in 2003 and
Stephen Simmonds in 2006.
[40][41] It is also possible that SVT could ignore the demo performer and give the song to another artist against the demo performer's wishes, as was the case for the
Brandsta City SlÀckers in 2004 and
Pernilla Wahlgren in 2005.
[42][43] Replacements for disqualified songs have fared unpredictably at the competition: in 2006, "Naughty Boy" by
Hannah Graaf, the replacement for Simmonds' song, finished second-last in its semifinal, while in 2002 and 2007 replacement songs performed by
Jan Johansen and
MĂ„ns Zelmerlöw featured among the final ten. The age limit of sixteen also applies hereâbut artists need not be Swedish. The contestants that will perform the 28 qualifiers from the traditional preselection are announced in late November.
The wildcard (Swedish: ''joker'') system was introduced in
2004, to diversify the type of music featured in the competition.
[44] Four artistsâone in each semifinalâare invited by SVT to enter a song of their choice into the competition, provided the song is within the rules. The wildcard songs and artists are announced in mid-winter. Melodifestivalen 2004 was won by a wildcard, Lena Philipsson, and the 2005 and 2006 competitions both featured wildcards in second placeâNanne Grönvall in 2005 and
BWO in 2006. The Ark became the second wildcard to win the competition in 2007.
Televised rounds
The televised competition lasts five weeks and consists of six live shows; four semifinals, in which eight songs compete, a Second Chance round; featuring songs which narrowly missed out on qualification from the semifinals, and a live final. Ten songs contest the final; two automatic qualifiers from each of the semifinals, and the two most popular songs in the Second Chance round.
Semifinals and Second Chance
The current format of semifinals was introduced in 2002. Four semifinals are held, broadcast at 20:00
CET on consecutive Saturday nights in various towns and cities around Sweden. The venues for the semifinals are chosen by the organisers well in advance, and are usually announced in autumn of the preceding year. The semis usually begin in early-February. Eight songs compete in each semifinal, seven from the traditional preselection and one of the wildcards. Unlike in the final, no juries are used; televoting decides the results. The eight songs are performed live, and the telephone lines open for the first round of voting to narrow the number of contestants to five; these songs go through to the second voting round. Votes from the first voting round are not carried over to the second. Out of the five remaining songs, the top two in the second round go through to the final automatically, and the third and fourth placed entries go through to the Second Chance round.
The presenters announce the four songs to have advanced after the lines have closed; the exact placings of all four qualifiers are kept secret to avoid tactical voting in the later rounds based on the semifinal results.The first song to go to the final automatically is announced, following this the two qualifiers for the Second Chance, and then which of the two remaining entries is the second finalist. Both of the finalists reprise their entries at the end of the broadcast. The semifinal system at Melodifestivalen popularised the idea of televised heats at national Eurovision selections,
[45] an idea later adopted by the
European Broadcasting Union for the
Eurovision Song Contest. A semifinal system was also used in the 1960s and 1971.
The Second Chance round (Swedish: ''andra chansen'') is the fifth semifinal of the competition, in which the ninth and tenth places in the final are decided upon. The third- and fourth-placed songs from each semifinal (eight songs in total) compete in the event. The first Second Chance round in 2002 gave the decision on the two qualifiers to a panel of judges made up of former winners.
[46] Between
2003 and
2006, the semifinal performances were re-broadcast and a vote took place to narrow the number of songs down to three or four. Another voting round then took place to determine the two finalists. The programme was broadcast on the Sunday afternoon after the fourth semifinal had taken place, from smaller venues than would have hosted the semifinalsâsuch as
Berns Salonger in Stockholm, which hosted the Second Chance round in 2005. Since 2007, the Second Chance round has become a semifinal in itself, taking place in a venue comparable in size to those hosting the other semifinals. The new-look Second Chance takes place on a Saturday night, adding an extra week to the timetable of the event.
The format of voting changed as well; from 2007 a knock-out system was introduced, with the eight participating songs paired off against each other and narrowed down to four, before being paired off again. The winners of the two second round pairings go through to the final. The new system gives artists who qualify for the Second Chance the opportunity to improve upon their semifinal performances, as artists are allowed to perform their songs competitively againâhowever, the two finalists do not reprise their songs at the end of the programme.
Final
The final takes place at 20:00 CET on the Saturday after the semifinals have finished, in mid-March. Ten songs participate, with the running order decided by the competition's supervisors during the week beforehand, to ensure that similar songs and artists are kept apart in the final.
[47] Every final since 2002 has taken place at the Stockholm Globe Arena. Dress rehearsals for the final take place on the Friday, and in recent years tickets for it have sold out almost as quickly as the final itself.
[48] As at Eurovision, the television coverage of the final is preceded and closed with a broadcast of the EBU logo, accompanied by the prelude to
Marc-Antoine Charpentier's setting of
Te Deum.
Video postcards introduce the entries, and these usually feature the contestants themselves. For example, in 2004 the postcards featured the R.E.A. comedy show from Hamburger Börs impersonating the finalists,
[49] and in 2006 the postcards illustrated each artist's path to the final, as described by commentator
Pekka Heino.
[50] The final features many interval acts, performed while the juries are deliberating and before the close of the televote, in a similar style to the "shows" seen at Eurovision. Many former Melodifestivalen contestants have performed as part of interval acts in the past, including Carola and Lena Philipsson in 2005 and the multi-artist medley of former entries in 2000.
[51][52] The winner receives a trophy, known as ''Den störa SĂ„ngfageln'' (''The Great Songbird'')âdesigned by
Ernst Billgrenâfrom the previous year's winner. The trophy was unveiled in 2005, and awarded to all previous Melodifestivalen winners at the
Alla tiders Melodifestival gala in March of that year.
Martin Stenmarck was the first person to win the trophy at the final.
[53] The winner of the competition reprises the winning song at the end of the event.
Voting
Main articles: Voting at Melodifestivalen
Ulf Elfving announcing the votes of the Stockholm jury at the 2005 final. The points scored by each entry are shown on a graphic scoreboard.
The current voting format, a variation on the
Borda count similar to that used at the
Eurovision Song Contest, has been in use since 1999. Eleven juries based in towns and cities around Sweden award 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 points for their seven favourite songs. Televotes are given an equivalent weighting; 11, 22, 44, 66, 88, 110 and 132 points are awarded. The song with the highest number of points at the end of both sets of results is declared the winner. Telephone lines for the final open immediately following the final radio preview, and remain open until the jury voting is complete on the night itself.
[54] Two televoting numbers are used, giving voters the option of whether they want to donate money to SVT's ''
VĂ€rldens barn'' charity or not as they vote. It is also possible to vote by
SMS via the
Telia Mobil or
Halebop mobile phone networks. Televoting is only possible within Sweden.
[55] Planned changes to the televoting procedure in 2006 following the controversial 2005 result never materialised.
[56]
The juries' votes are announced by spokespeople, who are rarely members of the voting juries. The votes are announced in ascending order, beginning with one point, and finishing with twelve. As the votes are read out, they are repeated by the host, for example:
Spokesperson: "Ett poÀng för melodi nummer tvÄ." (''One point for melody number two.'')
Presenter: "Melodi nummer tvÄ fÄ ett poÀng." (''Melody number two gets one point.'')
SVT has eleven news districts, each of which is represented by a jury in the final of Melodifestivalen.
SVT vary the way the jury votes are announced from year to year, for example allowing the finalists of '' to act as spokespeople in 2004, and having
Fredrik Lindström announce each jury's points in 2006, using the dialects of each region.
[57][58] The televoting results are announced by the host(s), also in ascending order from 11 to 132. The televote at the final of Melodifestivalen attracts a large amount of interest among the Swedish public, having broken Nordic voting records since its introduction in 1999. Televoting figures topped two million for the first time in 2007.
[59]
In the event of a tie, the song which received the most votes from the public is given the higher position. If the songs in question did not receive any points from the televote, the song which received the most twelve points from the juries is given the advantage. If the tie still cannot be broken, the song with the most ten points is given the higher place, and so on down to one point, until the tie is broken.
[60] A tie for first place has not occurred under the current system, but was needed to decide the winner in
1969 and
1978.
Rules
Most of Melodifestivalen's rules are dictated by the
rules of the Eurovision Song Contest. However, some other notable rules have been introduced by the Swedish broadcasters during the competition's history. The official rules of the competition are released by SVT very early in preparation for each year's Melodifestival, to ensure that any changes are noted by songwriters and performers.
Artists are limited to a maximum of six people on stage, and that includes the Melodifestivalen choir (''huskören'' in Swedish)âa five-person group of flexible backing singers used by the majority of participants. Contestants are not obliged to use all of the backing singers, but can pick and choose to suit their act, or use their own backing group. All vocals must be 100% live: human voices are not permitted on the backing tracks.
A live
orchestra was used from the beginning of Melodifestivalen until 2000, except in 1985 and 1986âindeed, two orchestras were used between 1960 and 1963: the usual large orchestra, and ''Göte Wilhelmsons kvartett''.
[61] Since 2001, the participants have been performed to backing track, due in part to rule changes at Eurovision, where the orchestra was last used in 1998.
The entries cannot be publicly broadcast until the semifinal stage of the competition. The first time the songs are made public is the ''Inför Melodifestivalen'' preview shows, broadcast on radio the night before each semi.
[62] Entries which are eliminated in the semifinals can be publicly broadcast as soon as their semifinal has finished. An
embargo is placed on songs which qualify for the later rounds until the preview for the Second Chance has been broadcast. Restrictions on the broadcast of contestant songs are lifted after the Second Chance round.
The broadcasters make sometimes sweeping changes to winning songs when they go to Eurovision. An example of this is Melodifestivalen 1961, in which Siw Malmkvist won with "April, April". Her performance following her victory was marred by mistakes, as she stumbled on the lyrics of the song and laughed out loud. Critics were unkind to Malmkvist after the competition so SR replaced her with
Lill-Babs for the Eurovision Song Contest.
[63] Another example of this is the 1987 winner "
Fyra bugg och en coca-cola" performed by Lotta Engberg; the song's title was changed to "Boogaloo" for Eurovision due to the use of a brand name. The name "Boogaloo" was chosen as Sweden's two previous Eurovision winners had included the suffix "-loo".
[64] Until 2001, competing songs were only permitted in Swedish. This did not stop most winning entries recording English versions (and other language versions) of their songs, and in 1965, 1973, 1974 and 1975 the winning song was performed in English at Eurovision. Since the relaxation of the Eurovision language restrictions in 1999, every Swedish entry has been in English, regardless of the song's language at Melodifestivalen. Other languages have featured as well as English and Swedish;
Spanish (twice),
French,
Portuguese and
Persian.
Cameron Cartio's entry in Melodifestivalen 2005 was performed in an imaginary language.
[65]
Musical styles
Melodifestivalen's image has changed drastically throughout its nearly half a century of existence, however one word has defined the competition's music more than any other: ''
schlager''. In Sweden, schlager (a
German word literally meaning ''a "hit"'') has come to represent any song associated with the competition, from the
jazz music which featured heavily in the 1960s, to the
ballads which were prominent in the late 20th century.
Jazz artists such as Svante Thuresson, Ăsten Warnebring and Monica Zetterlund were very successful in the competition's early years, although their success did not always transfer well to the international stageâSweden only finished in the top five at Eurovision twice during the 1960s, and it was during this period that the country scored its only zero points score at the Contest. Despite ABBA's victory at Eurovision in 1974, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus' style of pop music was not successful in the period immediately after. Male performers such as
Lars Berghagen and Björn Skifs were instead successful in the mid-to-late 1970s with slow ballads. The 1980s, results-wise Sweden's most successful period at Eurovision, was dominated by
dansband music and light pop songs such as those of Kikki Danielsson and
Lotta Engberg. In the 1990s, the trend shifted towards orchestrated pop ballads such as those which gave Christer Björkman and
Jill Johnson their victories, and nostalgic throw-backs to previous decades, such as those which were successful for Arvingarna and Charlotte Nilsson. The early twenty-first century has seen more variety in the competition, such as The Ark's
glam-rock effort and
Afro-dite's disco winner. Older-style songs are still successful in the competition however, with acts such as
Linda Bengtzing,
Magnus Carlsson and
Shirley Clamp representing the more traditional Swedish Eurovision sound.
On-stage
gimmicks have long been a part of performances at the competition, going back as far as Siw Malmkvist's whistling in "April, April" in 1961,
but this phenomenon has increased in frequency in the modern festival. An example of this is Lena Philipsson's use of a microphone stand in her performance of
"Det gör ont" at the competition in 2004âwhen Philipsson hosted Melodifestivalen in 2006, a number of tongue-in-cheek short films were broadcast during the semifinals to show what had happened to the mic stand in the two years since her win.
[66] Pyrotechnics have become another common gimmick in Melodifestivalen performances, with four acts out of 32 using them in 2007.
Media coverage
Melodifestivalen is broadcast live on television, radio and the internet. On television it is broadcast on
SVT1, with international coverage on
SVT Europa. On radio it is broadcast on Sveriges Radio's
P4 network of regional stations. Until 1987 the competition was broadcast on Sveriges Radio TV, later known as TV1. Between 1988 and 1999 the event was broadcast on a different channel depending on where it was held; finals in Stockholm were broadcast on Kanal 1 (formerly TV1), and finals in Gothenburg or Malmö were broadcast on
TV2.
[67]
Since 1987 the event has been covered for radio by
Sveriges Radio P3 and later P4. The competition has had an official website since 1999, and a
webcast of the competition was provided in 2005 and 2007.
[68][69] Only the final was webcast in 2006.
[70] Although the final traditionally takes place on a Saturday, in 1990 it was held on a Friday, as TV2 claimed that this would attract more viewers, and in 1991 it was held on
Easter Sunday for the same reason.
[71] The 2002 final was delayed by a week in order to facilitate SVT's coverage of the
Salt Lake City Olympics.
[72]
The semifinalists are previewed each Friday night during the competition on P4, the first time the songs are publicly broadcast.
In addition, since 2006 P4 has webcast a radio station dedicated to the competition between February and the Eurovision final in May, called ''P4 Melodifest''. A ''dagen efter'' (''day after'') programme, broadcast the night after the final, acts as an
epilogue to the event, gauging the reactions of the finalists after the competition has finished. There is no commentary on the event for television, although
Pekka Heino, former commentator on Eurovision for SVT, acted as commentator in 2006.
Carolina Norén is commentator on the event for
Sveriges Radio, joined for the 2007 final by
Björn Kjellman.
The festival was first broadcast in widescreen in 2002, and has been broadcast in
Dolby Digital since 2004. In March 2007, SVT confirmed that they were exploring the possibility of broadcasting the competition in
high definition in 2008.
[73] The competition's viewing figures have been steadily rising since 2002. In 2007, approximately 4.1 million peopleâalmost 44% of Sweden's populationâwatched the final, and between 2.9 million and 3.2 million people watched each of the semifinals. The viewing figures for the 2007 festival are nearly two million short of the highest recorded viewing figures from 1990.
Melodifestivalen is traditionally given heavy coverage in the Swedish press, especially tabloid
Aftonbladet and
Expressen, both of which had websites devoted to the competition in 2007.
[74][75] The press have introduced phrases into the Swedish language owing to the event, most notably "Fel lÄt vann" (''The wrong song won'') and its opposite "RÀtt lÄt vann".
[76]
Notable contestants
Melodifestivalen has featured performers with international recognition, and was the launch-pad for the success of many acts. Winners who have had success outside Sweden include
Monica Zetterlund,
Siw Malmkvist,
Tommy Körberg,
ABBA,
Björn Skifs and
Elisabeth Andreassen. Notable acts who participated but did not win include
Svenne & Lotta,
Peter Jöback,
Alcazar,
Magnus Uggla and
Lisa Nilsson. The competition has also played host to a number of performers from outside Sweden including
Cornelis Vreeswijk (Netherlands),
Baccara (Spain),
Katrina Leskanich (United States),
Alannah Myles (Canada) and
Sanne Salomonsen (Denmark). Many former participants have also represented other countries at Eurovision such as Siw Malmkvist (
Germany), Elisabeth Andreassen (
a Eurovision winner for
Norway),
Sahlene (
Estonia),
Andreas Lundstedt (as a member of
six4one for
Switzerland) and (a songwriter for Norway and
Spain).
[77]
While local success for Melodifestivalen winners is common, many artists return to obscurity following their winâand very few have major international success. The impact that the competition makes on the Swedish charts means that in some cases an artist need not win the competition to achieve significant domestic record salesâfor example the song which finished last at Melodifestivalen 1990, "Symfonin" by
Loa Falkman topped the Swedish singles chart.
[78]
Records and statistics
Appearances and victories
The person with the most Melodifestivalen entries is lyricist and one-time composer
Ingela "Pling" Forsman with 30 participations between 1981 and 2007. Behind Forsman is
Bobby Ljunggren with 26, and further back are with 21, Lasse Holm with 17 and
Peter Himmelstrand and
Henrik Wikström with 15 entries each.
[79] Lasse Holm has the most Melodifestivalen wins, with five; once as a singer and four times as a songwriter.
[80] Songwriter
Ă
ke Gerhard has four victories, and Bobby Ljunggren, Carola HĂ€ggkvist, Ingela "Pling" Forsman and Marie Bergman have three wins each. The person with the most participations without victory is
Ann-Louise Hanson, who entered thirteen times between 1963 and 2004 without success.
[81]
The closest victories were
Tommy Körberg's in 1969 and Björn Skifs' in 1978âin 1969 Körberg tied for first place with
Jan Malmsjö, before winning after each jury member was asked to vote for their favourite out of the two. In 1978 Björn Skifs tied for first place with Lasse Holm, Kikki Danielsson and Wizex, but won after each jury was called again to vote for their favourite out of the tied songsâunlike in 1969 each jury ''group'' (rather than each individual jury member) counted for one point in the tie-break. Since the current voting system was introduced in 1999, results have been more clear-cut, with the televoters and juries agreeing on the winner in seven out of nine finals between 1999 and 2007. The closest victory since 1999 was Martin Stenmarck's three-point win in 2005. The biggest straight-points victory in the history of the event was ABBA's win in 1974 with 302 pointsâin fact, this total would be impossible under the current voting system, where 264 points is the highest possible score. Two songs have scored top marks from each voting region: Carola HĂ€ggkvist in 1983 with "FrĂ€mling", and Arvingarna in 1993 with "Eloise"âhowever in 1993 experimental televoting was used, so the two results are not entirely comparable. The biggest victory in terms of points as a percentage of the total possible score is also held by Carola and "FrĂ€mling", which defeated Kikki Danielsson's "
Varför Àr kÀrleken röd?" by 43 points, 48% of the total potential mark.
Venues
The Stockholm Globe Arena hosted the first of its seven finals in 1989.
Melodifestivalenâs early years were spent at one venue:
Cirkus in Stockholm, which hosted the first ten competitions. In total, Cirkus hosted the final of Melodifestivalen seventeen times. The Stockholm Globe Arena has hosted seven finals (including the 2007 final), and SVT's "TV-Huset" headquarters in Stockholm has hosted five. The competition first took place outside Stockholm in 1975 as part of a
decentralisation policy at SR.
[82] Stockholm has hosted 31 finals in total, including the first fourteen, while
Gothenburg has hosted eight, and
Malmö seven. The competitionâs final has never been held outside these three cities. Under pre-2002 rules, the host of the previous year's Melodifestival would host the Eurovision Song Contest in the event of a Swedish victory. Hence, the 1985 Eurovision was held in Gothenburg, and the 1992 Contest in Malmö; however since 2002 the final has been held at the Stockholm Globe Arena.
[83] Since the 2002 expansion, the only city which has hosted more than two semifinals is Gothenburgâthe
Scandinavium has hosted a semifinal every year since 2003.
Jönköping,
Karlstad,
Sundsvall and
VÀxjö have staged two semifinals each.
List of winners
Main articles: Melodifestivalen winners
Forty-six of Sweden's forty-seven Eurovision representatives have come from Melodifestivalen, the exception being the country's first, in 1958. The following table lists those entries which finished fifth or higher at Eurovision:
See also
★
Music of Sweden
★
Livet Àr en schlager
★
Melodi Grand Prix
★
Danish Melodi Grand Prix
Notes
- Also referred to as 'the Melodifestival' or 'MF', and incorrectly as ''the Melodifestivalen''.
- Translated by SVT as ''The Swedish Eurovision Song Contest''.
- Sveriges Radio controlled Swedish public service television and radio until 1 July 1979, when a new company (SVT) was created.
- The Austrian entry in 1963 was performed ''partially'' in English.
- Bergman won the competition twice as part of a groupâFamily Fourâand once as part of a duet with Roger Pontare.
- In 2002 and 2003 only the top four songs went through to the second voting round.
- Tommy Nilsson, The Ark, Sanna Nielsen and Anna Book.
- Forsman co-composed Sonja Aldén's "Etymon" in 2006.
- The band changed their name to ''Nova'' for Eurovision.
References
1. Television in Sweden. Sweden.se (30 September 2005). Retrieved on 20 October 2006.
2. Magnus Helander (12 March 2007) SVT: Vi Àr otroligt stolta . Resumé.se. Retrieved on 8 April 2007.
3. "Jag koncentrerar mig pÄ schlagerfestivalen" . Aftonbladet.se (27 February 2002). Retrieved on October 20 2006.
4. Anders Foghagen (13 October 2006) Agnes diskad frÄn Schlagerfestivalen . TV4.se. Retrieved on October 20 2006.
5. Sietse Bakker (March 24 2006) Melodifestivalen invades Swedish charts. ESCtoday.com. Retrieved on October 20 2006.
6. Barry Viniker (16 March 2007)
Melodifestivalen invades charts. ESCtoday.com. Retrieved on 20 April 2007.
7. Leif Thorsson. ''Melodifestivalen genom tiderna'' (1999, second edition 2006). Pg. 19. Stockholm: Premium Publishing AB. ISBN 91-89136-29-2
8. Thorsson, pg. 17.
9. Thorsson, pg. 48â49.
10. Eurovision Song Contest 1965. Eurovision.tv. Retrieved on 2 May 2007.
11. Thorsson, pg. 76â77.
12. Thorsson, pg. 82â83.
13. 344540 Alla tiders Melodifestival . SVT.se (3 March 2005). Retrieved on 24 May 2007.
14. ABBA win 'Eurovision 50th' vote. BBC News (23 October 2005). Retrieved on 25 April2007.
15. Thorsson, pg. 118â119.
16. Thorsson, pg. 130.
17. Melodifestivalen 1982 . Gylleneskor.se. Retrieved on 20 October2006.
18. Thorsson, pg. 154
19. Thorsson, pg. 170.
20. Carola History. Carola.com. Retrieved on 21 October 2006.
21. Andreas Ekström (4 March 2005). 386689&previousRenderType=1 Storskalig attack gör Bert Karlsson till vinnare . Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved on 16 May 2007.
22. MelodifestivalenâTittarsifror. ESC.info.se. Retrieved on 21 October 2006.
23. The tabloid's "winner" was Nick Borgen's "We are All the Winners". Thorsson, pg. 233
24. Björn KjellmanâHela Sveriges Melodifestivalfan nummer 1 . Gylleneskor.se. Retrieved on 24 May 2007.
25. Thorsson, pg. 290.
26. Thorsson, pg. 282â283.
27. Melodifestivalen 2002 . Gylleneskor.se. Retrieved on 29 January 2007.
28. Thorsson, pg. 202.
29. Thorsson, pg. 294.
30. Roel Phillips (12 December 2004). Three Melodifestivalen DVDs to be released. ESCtoday.com. Retrieved on 24 May 2007.
31. Stenmarck pips Grönvall. TheLocal.se (March 15 2005). Retrieved on 22 October 2006.
32. 637174&lid=puff_637174&lpos=rubrik Melodifestivalens cup . SVT.se (11 August 2006). Retrieved on 28 April 2007.
33. Thorsson, pg. 291
34. Sietse Bakker (26 May 2006). SVT announces Melodifestivalen 2007. ESCtoday.com. Retrieved on 21 October 2006.
35. Melodifestivalen 2007âTĂ€vlingsregler . Sveriges Television AB (May 2006). Retrieved on 21 October 2006.
36. Melodifestivalen 2006âselection. ESC.info.se. Retrieved on 21 October 2006.
37. Melodifestivalen 2007. ESC.info.se. Retrieved on 20 April 2007.
38. 455345&lid=senasteNytt_320027&lpos=rubrik_455345 Nytt rekord för Melodifestivalen . SVT.se (23 September 2005). Retrieved on 16 May 2007.
39. /
40. Sietse Bakker (17 December 2002). Carola's Autumn Leaf exits. ESCtoday.com. Retrieved on 22 October 2006.
41. Alexander Borodin (25 November 2005). Stephen Simmonds disqualified from Melodifestivalen. ESCtoday.com. Retrieved on 22 October 2006.
42. Daniel Ringby (25 October 2003). Brandsta City SlÀckers kicked out from Swedish preselection. Retrieved on 22 October 2006.
43. Alexander Borodin (14 January 2005). Swedish artists criticise Melodifestivalen official. Retrieved on 22 October 2006.
44. Melodifestivalen 2007âFAQ in English. SVT.se. Retrieved on 1 May 2007.
45. Svante Stockselius. ''Melodifestivalen genom tiderna'' (2006), foreword pg. 5.
46. Thorsson, pg. 299.
47. Alex Keech (4 March 2007). Melodifestivalen final running order. ESCtoday.com. Retrieved on 26 April 2007.
48. Barry Viniker (March 17 2006). Sell-out public dress rehearsal at the Globen. ESCtoday.com. Retrieved on October 28 2006.
49. Thorsson, pg. 322.
50. Thorsson, pg. 340.
51. Carola HĂ€ggkvist Biography. CarolaInternational.com. Retrieved on 28 April 2007.
52. Thorsson, pg. 280â281.
53. Den stora sÄngfÄgeln flaxar in i Melodifestivalen . Gylleneskor.se (22 February 2005). Retrieved on 29 April 2007.
54. Melodifestivalen 2006âikvĂ€ll avgörs det! . SR.se (March 2006) Retrieved on 16 May 2007.
55. Melodifestivalen 2007âBidragen i Ărnsköldsvik . Blupp.nu (February 2007). Retrieved on 4 May 2007.
56. Alexander Borodin (14 March 2005). SVT plan changes for Melodifestivalen 2006. ESCtoday.com. Retrieved on 26 April 2007.
57. 190231 Melodifestivalen 2004: Juryn vs Folket . SVT.se (March 2004). Retrieved on 28 April 2007.
58. Johanna Melén (18 March 2006). "Tack hela svenska folket" . Aftonbladet.se. Retrieved on 28 April 2007.
59. 781349&lid=senasteNytt_741385&lpos=rubrik_781349 Melodifestivalen engagerar som aldrig förr . SVT.se (13 March 2007). Retrieved on 4 May 2007.
60. Nordman undvek sistaplatsen . SR.se (13 March 2005). Retrieved on 28 April 2007.
61. Later a quintet. Thorsson, pgs. 19, 28.
62. Hör lÄtarna först i Sveriges Radio P4 . SR.se (30 January 2007). Retrieved on 4 May 2007.
63. Melodifestivalen 1961 . Gylleneskor.se. Retrieved on 7 April 2007.
64. Christer Björkman (2005). ''Melodifestivalen 50 Är: vinnarna'' [DVD]. Pan Vision/SVT.
65. Pourya E. Cameron CartioâBorderless: review. Bia2.com. Retrieved on 28 April 2007.
66. Linda och Andreas direkt till final . Aftonbladet.se (18 February 2006). Retrieved on 16 May 2007.
67. Thorsson, pg. 196.
68. Sveriges Television | Melodifestivalen 1999 . SVT.se. Retrieved on 25 May 2007.
69. Melodifestivalen 2005âOm Melodifestivalen . SVT.se (2005). Retrieved on 20 May 2007.
70. Marcus Klier (7 January 2007) Melodifestivalen: extensive TV coverage. ESCtoday.com. Retrieved on 20 May 2007.
71. Thorsson, pgs. 210, 216.
72. Thorsson, pg. 300.
73. 777825 Varför sÀndes inte Melodifestivalen i hd? . SVT.se (8 March 2007). Retrieved on 4 May 2007.
74. Melodifestivalen . Expressen.se. Retrieved on 12 April 2007.
75. Schlager! . Aftonbladet.se. Retrieved on 12 April 2007.
76. Fel lÄt vann? . Expressen.se. Retrieved on 12 April 2007.
77. Swedes abroad. ESC.info.se. Retrieved on 29 April 2007.
78. Thorsson, pg. 213.
79. Flest bidrag. ESC.info.se. Retrieved on 29 April 2007.
80. Flest segrar. ESC.info.se. Retrieved on 29 April 2007.
81. Ann-Louise Hanson: Melodifestivalens mesta madam . Gylleneskor.se. Retrieved on 29 April 2007.
82. Thorsson, pg. 113.
83. Eurovision Song Contest 1985 . ESCSweden.com. Retrieved on 27 May 2007.
Bibliography
★ Leif Thorsson. ''Melodifestivalen genom tiderna'' (1999, second edition 2006). Stockholm: Premium Publishing AB. ISBN 91-89136-29-2.
External links
★
SVT's official site
★
SR's official site
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