Melodifestivalen 2018 was the 58th edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen, which selected Sweden's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. The competition was organised by (SVT) and took place over a six-week from 3 February to 10 March 2018.
The format of the competition consists of 6 shows: 4 heat rounds, a second chance round and a final. An initial 28 entries were selected for the competition through three methods: an open call for song submissions, direct invitations to specific artists and songwriters and a wildcard given to one of the artists that participated in the Svensktoppen nästa competition organised by Sveriges Radio P4. The 28 competing entries were divided into four heats, with seven compositions in each. From each heat, the songs that earned first and second place qualified directly to the final, while the songs that placed third and fourth proceeded to the Second Chance round. The bottom three songs in each heat were eliminated from the competition. An additional four entries qualified from the Second Chance round to the final, bringing the total number of competing entries in the final to 12. All 6 shows were hosted by David Lindgren and Fredrik Svensson, known as Fab Freddie.
The winner of the competition was Benjamin Ingrosso with the song "Dance You Off." He represented Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 which was held in Lisbon, Portugal, where he came seventh with 274 points.
Format Melodifestivalen 2018, organised by (SVT), was the seventeenth consecutive edition of the contest in which the competition took place in different cities across Sweden. The four heats were held at the Löfbergs Arena in Karlstad (3 February), the Scandinavium in Gothenburg (10 February), the Malmö Arena in Malmö (17 February) and the Fjällräven Center in Örnsköldsvik (24 February). The Second Chance round took place at the Kristianstad Arena in Kristianstad on 3 March while the final was held at the Friends Arena in Stockholm on 10 March. An initial 28 entries competed in the heats, with seven entries taking part in each show. The top two entries from each heat advanced directly to the final, while the third and fourth placed entries advanced to the Second Chance round. The bottom three entries in each heat were eliminated. An additional four entries qualified for the final from the Second Chance round, bringing the total number of competing entries in the final to 12.
+ Competition Schedule Show Date City Venue Heat 1 3 February 2018 Karlstad Löfbergs Arena Heat 2 10 February 2018 Gothenburg Scandinavium Heat 3 17 February 2018 Malmö Malmö Arena Heat 4 24 February 2018 Örnsköldsvik Fjällräven Center Second Chance 3 March 2018 Kristianstad Kristianstad Arena Final 10 March 2018 Stockholm Friends Arena
Presenters In October 2017, it was speculated by Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet that former Melodifestivalen contestant and host David Lindgren would be one of the presenters of this year's competition. On 2 November 2017, SVT confirmed that Lindgren would be the host of the competition. Lindgren hosted the competition in 2017, having previously also competed as an artist in 2012, 2013 and 2016.
Competing entries The twenty-eight competing entries were announced to the public during a press conference on 28 November 2017. Artist Song Songwriter(s) Barbi Escobar "Stark" Barbi Escobar, Costa Leon, Andreas ”Stone” Johansson Benjamin Ingrosso "Dance You Off" Benjamin Ingrosso, MAG, Louis Schoorl, K Nita Dotter "Cry" Linnea Deb, Peter Boström, Thomas G:son, Johanna ”Dotter” Jansson Edward Blom "Livet på en pinne" Edward Blom, Thomas G:son, Stefan Brunzell, Kent Olsson Elias Abbas "Mitt paradis" Anderz Wrethov, Hamed “K-One” Pirouzpanah, Sami Rekik Emmi Christensson "Icarus" Thomas G:son, Christian Schneider, Andreas Hedlund Felicia Olsson "Break That Chain" Bobby Ljunggren, Kristian Lagerström, Joy Deb, Henrik Wikström Felix Sandman "Every Single Day" Noah Conrad, Parker James, Jake Torry, Felix Sandman Ida Redig "Allting som vi sa" Yvonne Dahlbom, Jesper Welander, Ida Redig Jessica Andersson "Party Voice" Fredrik Kempe, David Kreuger, Niklas Carson Mattsson, Jessica Andersson John Lundvik "My Turn" Anna-Klara Folin, John Lundvik, Jonas Thander Jonas Gardell "Det finns en väg" Calle Kindbom, Jonas Gardell, Mats Tärnfors Kalle Moraeus & Orsa Spelmän "Min dröm" Thomas G:son, Alexzandra Wickman Kamferdrops "Solen lever kvar hos dig" Herbert Trus, Danne Attlerud, Martin Klaman, Krstoffer Tømmerbakke, Erik Smaaland, Kamferdrops Kikki Danielsson "Osby Tennessee" Sulo Karlsson, Kikki Danielsson Liamoo "Last Breath" Liam Cacatian Thomassen, Morten Thorhauge, Peter Bjørnskov, Lene Dissing Margaret "In My Cabana" Anderz Wrethov, Linnea Deb, Arash Labaf, Robert Uhlmann Mariette "For You" Jörgen Elofsson Martin Almgren "A Bitter Lullaby" Josefin Glenmark, Märta Grauers Méndez "Everyday" Leopoldo Mendez, Jimmy Jansson, Palle Hammarlund Mimi Werner "Songburning" Göran Werner, Mimi Werner, Niki Niki, Carl Varga, Johan Åsgärde, Oliver Lundström Moncho "Cuba Libre" Jimmy Jansson, David Strääf, Markus Videsäter, Axel Schylström, Moncho Olivia Eliasson "Never Learn" Anton Ewald, Jonas Wallin, Astrid S Renaida "All the Feels" Laurell Barker, Jon Hällgren, Peter Barringer, Lukas Hällgren Rolandz "Fuldans" Fredrik Kempe, Robert Gustafsson, Regina Hedman Samir & Viktor "Shuffla" Andreas ”Stone” Johansson, Denniz Jamm, Costa Leon, Samir Badran, Viktor Frisk Sigrid Bernson "Patrick Swayze" Andrej Kamnik, Josefin Glenmark, Peg Parnevik, Sigrid Bernson Stiko Per Larsson "Titta vi flyger" Stiko Per Larsson, Emil Rotsjö
Heats As in previous years, Melodifestivalen commenced with four heats, which determined the eight entries that advanced directly to the final and the eight entries that qualified to the Second Chance round.
Heat 1 The first heat took place on 3 February 2018 at the Löfbergs Arena in Karlstad. A total of 6,617,451 votes were cast throughout the show with a total of 452,906 SEK collected for Radiohjälpen.
Artist Song Votes Place Result Total % 1 Sigrid Bernson "Patrick Swayze" 951,260 92,476 1,043,736 15.83% 4 Second chance 2 John Lundvik "My Turn" 1,048,501 103,632 1,152,133 17.47% 2 Final 3 Renaida "All the Feels" 1,037,549 89,358 1,126,907 17.09% 3Second chance 4 Edward Blom "Livet på en pinne" 801,616 63,826 865,442 13.12% 5 Out 5 Kikki Danielsson "Osby Tennessee" 555,466 rowspan="2" 555,466 8.42% 7 Out 6 Kamferdrops "Solen lever kvar hos dig" 555,778555,778 8.43% 6 Out 7 Benjamin Ingrosso "Dance You Off" 1,184,738 110,417 1,295,155 19.64% 1 Final
Heat 2 The second heat took place on 10 February 2018 at the Scandinavium arena in Gothenburg. A total of 5,880,237 votes were cast throughout the show with a total of 396,252 SEK collected for Radiohjälpen. Singer Petra Marklund, also known as September performed a cover of Lill-Babs's En tuff brud i lyxförpackning.
Artist Song Votes Place Result Total % 1 Samir & Viktor "Shuffla" 1,166,434 70,629 1,237,06321.09% 1Final 2 Ida Redig "Allting som vi sa" 721,817 57,707 779,524 13.29% 5 Out 3 Jonas Gardell "Det finns en väg" 490,911 490,911 8.37% 7 Out 4 Margaret "In My Cabana" 805,016 60,198 865,214 14.75% 3 Second chance 5 Stiko Per Larsson "Titta vi flyger" 529,194 529,194 9.02% 6 Out 6 Mimi Werner "Songburning" 744,801 67,923 812,724 13.86% 4 Second chance 7 Liamoo "Last Breath" 1,051,127 100,136 1,151,26319.63% 2 Final
Heat 3 The third heat took place on 17 February 2018 at the Malmö Arena in Malmö. A total of 4,800,971 votes were cast throughout the show with a total of 432,824 SEK collected for Radiohjälpen.
Artist Song Votes Place Result Total % 1 Martin Almgren "A Bitter Lullaby" 850,684 93,848 944,53219.76% 1 Final 2 Barbi Escobar "Stark" 426,768 426,7688.93% 7 Out 3 Moncho "Cuba Libre" 569,210 46,859 616,06912.89% 4 Second chance 4 Jessica Andersson "Party Voice" 788,787 102,041 890,82818.64% 2 Final 5 Kalle Moraeus & Orsa Spelmän "Min dröm" 537,891 58,589 596,48012.48% 5 Out 6 Dotter "Cry" 511,718 511,71810.71% 6 Out 7 Méndez "Everyday" 701,557 91,553 793,11016.59% 3 Second chance
Heat 4 The fourth heat took place on 24 February 2018 at Fjällräven Center in Örnsköldsvik. A total of 4,866,749 votes were cast throughout the show with a total of 385,483 SEK collected for Radiohjälpen.
Artist Song Votes Place Result Total % 1 Emmi Christensson "Icarus" 541,494 541,49411.15% 6 Out 2 Elias Abbas "Mitt paradis" 605,644 39,845 645,48913.30% 5 Out 3 Felicia Olsson "Break That Chain" 536,504 536,50411.05% 7 Out 4 Rolandz "Fuldans" 737,996 80,005 818,00116.85% 2Final 5 Olivia Eliasson "Never Learn" 601,932 46,425 648,35713.36% 4Second chance 6 Felix Sandman "Every Single Day" 693,167 70,118 763,28515.72% 3 Second chance 7 Mariette "For You" 816,976 84,609 901,58518.57% 1 Final
Second Chance round The Second Chance round took place on 3 March 2018 at the Kristianstad Arena in Kristianstad. A total of 6,007,515 votes were cast throughout the show with a total of 346,287 SEK collected for Radiohjälpen.
Duel Artist Song Votes % Result I 1 Margaret "In My Cabana" 877,351 59.27%Final 2 Moncho "Cuba Libre"602,94140.73%Out II 1 Renaida "All the Feels" 884,188 56.43%Final 2 Olivia Eliasson "Never Learn" 682,801 43.57%Out III 1 Felix Sandman "Every Single Day" 868,152 59.81%Final 2 Mimi Werner "Songburning"583,30540.19%Out IV 1 Sigrid Bernson "Patrick Swayze" 741,226 49.13%Out 2 Méndez "Everyday" 767,551 50.87%Final
Final The Final took place on 10 March 2018 at the Friends Arena in Stockholm. A total of 13,993,975 votes were cast throughout the show with a total of 1,965,599 SEK collected for Radiohjälpen. ArtistSongJuriesTelevote/SMS/AppTotalPlaceVotesPercentagePoints 1 Méndez "Everyday" 21,351,896 9.7% 62 64 12 2 Renaida "All the Feels" 301,116,740 8.0% 51 81 9 3 Martin Almgren "A Bitter Lullaby" 43899,049 6.4% 41 84 8 4 John Lundvik "My Turn" 66 1,349,766 9.6% 62 128 3 5 Jessica Andersson "Party Voice" 33809,292 5.8% 37 70 11 6 Liamoo "Last Breath" 52 1,171,247 8.4% 53 105 6 7 Samir & Viktor "Shuffla" 54 1,314,016 9.4% 60 114 4 8 Mariette "For You" 641,080,546 7.7% 49 113 5 9 Felix Sandman "Every Single Day" 941,401,767 10.0% 64 158 2 10 Margaret "In My Cabana" 62904,893 6.5% 41 103 7 11 Benjamin Ingrosso "Dance You Off" 1141,469,808 10.5% 67 181 1 12 Rolandz "Fuldans" 241,124,955 8.0% 51 75 10
+ Detailed International Jury Votes Song Total 1 "Everyday" 1 1 2 2 "All the Feels" 3 2 6 8 8 3 30 3 "A Bitter Lullaby" 2 8 3 2 7 6 6 1 6 2 43 4 "My Turn" 7 3 8 6 4 8 10 10 5 4 1 66 5 "Party Voice" 1 5 1 7 3 3 4 3 6 33 6 "Last Breath" 8 4 4 1 5 2 2 5 7 7 7 52 7 "Shuffla" 5 6 5 10 6 1 12 4 5 54 8 "For You" 4 7 6 5 8 5 7 2 10 2 8 64 9 "Every Single Day" 6 1 12 8 10 10 12 7 6 12 10 94 10 "In My Cabana" 12 10 7 3 7 5 8 3 3 4 62 11 "Dance You Off" 10 12 10 12 12 12 8 4 12 10 12 114 12 "Fuldans" 2 2 4 1 4 3 1 2 5 24International Jury Spokespersons Mateusz Grzesiński Kleart Duraj Felix Bergsson Nicola Caligiore Klitos Klitou Stephanie Werrett Nodiko Tatishvili Simon Proctor Anush Ter-Ghukasyan Bruno Berberes Gonçalo Madail
Gallery
Notes
References
External links Melodifestivalen Official Site