This weekend is the Grand Final of Sweden's Melodifestivalen, where the nation will decide its representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.
Three former Eurovision contestants will join nine other artists to battle it out and see who will win the ticket to represent Sweden in Turin.
So read on to find out about the artists, songs, running order, voting details, show information and also, when and where to watch it!
The Artists
Ahead of the show, we thought we'd take a look at all of the artists competing in Saturday night's competition:
(To see our rankings of these songs, check out our 1st to 12th ranking article).
Robin Bengtsson
Robin Bengtsson, 31, is no stranger to Eurovision fans, finishing fifth for Sweden in 2017 with 'I Can't Go On'. After taking third place in 'Idol 2008', Robin made his first Melodifestivalen appearance in 2016, finishing fifth. After winning in 2017, Robin returned in 2020 finishing eighth and is back again this year with 'Innocent Love'. Coming second in the first heat means he has made the final in all four of his Melodifestivalen appearances. One of the songwriters is none other than Victor Crone who represented Estonia at Eurovision in 2019.
John Lundvik
Making his third Melodifestivalen appearance is John Lundvik, 39. Best known for giving Sweden a 5th place finish in 2019 with 'Too Late For Love', John had finished third at Melodifestivalen the year before. This year he is back with his Swedish language ballad 'Änglavakt' (Guardian Angel) which came second in Heat 2. John has composed music for the Swedish royal family and Swedish Olympic Team and was also one of the songwriters for the United Kingdom's 2019 Eurovision entry '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 not to make the final since the semi-final system was introduced to Eurovision in 2004. She continued to release music in the years that followed and also began studying for a medical degree. She returned to Melodifestivalen in 2019, finishing tenth with 'Ashes to Ashes'. 'Kingdom Come' finished third in 2020 and now she is back with the country pop inspired 'Higher Power' which came through to the final from the semi-final round.
Cornelia Jakobs
Cornelia, 30, is the bookies favourite to take the 2022 Melodifestivalen crown with the raw and emotional ballad 'Hold Me Closer' which won the first heat. Cornelia has competed at Melodifestivalen twice before as part of 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 for the HBO Nordic series 'Björnstad'.
Anders Bagge
Another chance for the title is Anders Bagge, 54, who won Heat 3 with the anthemic 'Bigger Than The Universe'. Anders is a household name in Sweden having been a judge on '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 2010 Eurovision entry 'Drip Drop' by Safura Alizadeh and co-wrote 2012's '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. A competitive horserider, Klara is well known in Sweden, having appeared with her family in the reality show 'Familjen Hammarström'. She has released several singles in Sweden since 2019.
LIAMOO
LIAMOO (Liam Thomassen), 24, won Swedish Idol in 2016 and is making his third appearance at Melodifestivalen. Finishing sixth in 2018, he returned as part of a duo with Hanna Ferm in 2019, finishing third. 2022 sees his return with dance track 'Bluffin', which won Heat 2.
Medina
Hip-hop duo Medina is made up of Sam-E (Sami Daniel Rekik) and Alibi (Ali Jammali). The pair formed in 2003, releasing several singles in Sweden and their music is heavily influenced by their Tunisian heritage. Sam-E competed at Melodifestivalen in 2021 in collaboration with WAHL with the song '90-talet' but did not make the finals. This year Medina came second in Heat 4 with 'In i dimman' (Into the Fog).
Tone Sekelius
24-year old Tone is making her Melodifestivalen debut in 2022, and is the first openly transgender performer to compete in the contest. Having released several singles in Sweden since 2017, her anthem 'My Way' made it through 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 making her Melodifestivalen debut. Releasing music since 2010, she is also a prolific K-POP writer, working 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 catchy colourful pop number that won its way to the final from the semi-final round.
Faith Kakembo
When she's not run off her feet as a nurse, Faith Kakembo, 36, can be found making music. Originally of Ugandan descent, Faith made her Melodifestivalen debut in 2020 but did not make it past the heats. She returns in 2022 with the gospel inspired 'Freedom' which came second in Heat 3. The song is co-written by Laurell Barker who is well-known for co-writing several Eurovision hits including Switzerland's 4th place entry 'She Got Me' in 2019.
Theoz
The evening's youngest competitor is 16-year old Theoz (Theodor Haraldsson), making his Melodifestivalen debut with catchy Swedish pop number 'Som du vill' (As you please). Progressing through from the semi-final round, Theoz launched his career by posting videos online and also starred in a movie in 2020.
The Running Order
The running order for the Final is as follows:
Klara Hammarström - 'Run To The Hills'
Theoz - 'Som du vill'
Anna Bergendahl - 'Higher Power'
John Lundvik - 'Änglavakt'
Tone Sekelius - 'My Way'
Anders Bagge - 'Bigger Than The Universe'
Robin Bengtsson - 'Innocent Love'
Faith Kakembo - 'Freedom'
LIAMOO - 'Bluffin'
Cornelia Jakobs - 'Hold Me Closer'
Cazzi Opeia - 'I Can't Get Enough'
Medina - 'In i dimman'
Voting
The heat and semi-final results were 100% determined by the Swedish public using either the Melodifestivalen app or televote, but the Grand Final sees an eight person international jury award 50% of the points. This year Australia will be represented on the jury, alongside The Netherlands, Finland, Spain, Czech Republic, Ireland, Israel and Italy.
Voting by the public is via the official Melodifestivalen app or phone with a maximum of five votes per person. After all 12 songs have been performed and the results of the international jury announced, voters will be given a chance to vote one more time (one vote per person).
As in the heats and semi-final the public voting results via the app will be determined using the age group system.
3-9 years old, Green group
10-15 years old, Turquoise group
16-29 years old, Blue group
30-44 years old, Purple group
45-59 years old, Pink group
60-74 years old, Red group
75 years old and above, Orange group
Each age group's vote will carry a score of 12, 10, 8–1. Public votes received via phone become the eighth category and together with the app votes make up the other 50% of the result.
Hosts, Venue, Crowd and Voting
The final of Melodifestivalen will be hosted by singer and 2016 runner-up Oscar Zia, who has hosted the semi-final and all of the heats. Television presenter Farah Abadi will continue to act as the backstage and green room host.
The production will be held at Friends Arena in Stockholm which also hosted Heat 4 and the semi-final after the first three heats were held at Avicii Arena also located in Stockholm.
How To Watch
The Final of Melodifestivalen 2022 will take place on the morning of Sunday March 13 (Australian time) and can be watched via the SVT Play website.
English commentary will also be available through the SVT Play app.
The show will begin at:
8:00pm, Sat Mar 12, Central European Time
3:00am (WA)
4:30am (NT)
5:00am AEST (QLD)
5:30am (SA)
6:00am AEDT (ACT, NSW, TAS, VIC)
To keep updated and get all the latest Melodifestivalen Grand Prix news; find us @aussievisionnet!