For weeks the Melfest rumour mill has been churning out suspected artists for Melodifestivalen 2018. But now Sweden’s SVT has finally separated fact from fiction by confirming the 28 acts who have made it to Europe’s glitziest and sexiest national selection. The line-up includes some of Sweden’s hottest artists, Melfest legends, as well as newcomers. Let’s take a look.

SVT revealed the artists and their song titles in a press conference today. We won’t hear the songs until the rehearsal week of each semi-final in February.



Schlagermaster general Christer Björkman has promised a mix of styles, from humour to edgy tracks to big pop hits.

Semi-final 1: Karlstad – 3 February

Renaida – “All the Feels”

Renaida Braun was a contestant on last year’s series of Swedish Idol, where she placed sixth. The 20-year-old singer will be making her Melodifestivalen debut.

Songwriters: Laurell Barker, Jon Hällgren, Peter Barringer, Lukas Hällgren

Benjamin Ingrosso – “Dance You Off”

Benjamin made his Mello debut earlier this year with the Timberlake-alike song “Good Lovin'”, which placed fifth. Back in 2006, he won Lilla Melodifestivalen with “Hej, Sofia!”.

Songwriters: Benjamin Ingrosso, MAG, Louis Schoorl, K Nita

Edward Blom – “Livet på en pinne” (“Life on a stick”)

Edward is television personality known for his love of food. He released his Christmas (food) single “Nu Lagar Vi Julen” and had the viral hit “När Man Festar Festar Man”.

Songwriters: Edward Blom, Thomas G:son, Stefan Brunzell, Kent Olsson

John Lundvik – “My Turn”

John Lundvik’s best-known work is “When You Tell the World You’re Mine”, for the 2010 Swedish royal wedding. He also wrote Anton Ewald’s Melfest entry “Natural”.

Songwriters: Anna-Klara Folin, John Lundvik, Jonas Thander

Kikki Danielsson – “Osby Tennessee”

Schlager queen Kikki has twice represented Sweden at Eurovision in the 1980s. This will mark Kikki’s tenth appearance at Melodifestivalen.

Songwriters: Sulo Karlsson, Kikki Danielsson

Sigrid Bernson – “Patrick Swayze”

Sigrid is best known as one of the professional dancers on the Swedish series Let’s Dance. Earlier this year she released her debut single, “This Summer”.

Songwriters: Andrej Kamnik, Josefin Glenmark, Peg Parnevik, Sigrid Bernson

Kamferdrops – “Solen lever kvar hos dig” (“The sun is still alive with you”)

Kamferdrops is known for her dreamy, electronic versions of schlager classics. Earlier this year she had a hit with Kikki Danielsson’s 1999 song “Jag trodde änglarna fanns”.

Songwriters: Herbert Trus, Danne Attlerud, Martin Klaman, Krstoffer Tømmerbakke, Erik Smaaland, Kamferdrops

Semi-final 2: Gothenburg – 10 February

Ida Redig – “Allting som vi sa” (“Everything that we said”)

Singer-songwriter Ida Redig has performed in both an acoustic, folky style, and more recently in a stronger synthpop style, as heard on her single “Shout”.

Songwriters: Yvonne Dahlbom, Jesper Welander, Ida Redig

Jonas Gardell – “Det finns en väg” (“There is a road”)

Jonas is a comedian, novelist and even wrote a comedy film about Melodifestivalen. He’s been long sought after for Melfest and will finally make his debut.

Songwriters: Calle Kindbom, Jonas Gardell, Mats Tärnfors

Margaret – “In My Cabana”

Margaret is the Polish singer who placed second in the Polish national final in 2016 with her killer hit song “Cool Me Down”. She was rumoured to be part of Melfest 2017, but makes her Swedish debut in 2018.

Songwriters: Anderz Wrethov, Linnea Deb, Arash Labaf, Robert Uhlman

Liamoo – “Last Breath”

Singer and rapper Liam Cacatian Thomassen — who performs as Liamoo — was the winner of Swedish Idol 2016. His debut single “Playing with Fire” reached No.6.

Songwriters: Liam Cacatian Thomassen, Morten Thorhauge, Peter Bjørnskov, Lene Dissing

Samir & Viktor – “Shuffla”

This is the third time at Melfest for Samir Badran and Viktor Frisk. They made their Melfest debut in 2015 with “Groupie”, and followed up in 2016 with “Bada nakna”.

Songwriters: Andreas ”Stone” Johansson, Denniz Jamm, Costa Leon, Samir Badran, Viktor Frisk

Mimi Werner – “Songburning”

Mimi Werner is a country singer who made her Melfest debut in 2016 with “Ain’t No Good”.

Songwriters: Göran Werner, Mimi Werner, Niki Niki, Carl Varga, Johan Åsgärde, Oliver Lundström

Stiko Per Larsson – “Titta vi flyger” (“Look, we’re flying”)

Earlier in the year, acoustic singer-songwriter Stiko won the radio song competition P4 Nästa. He was also the judges’ pick for the Melfest wildcard.

Songwriters: Stiko Per Larsson, Emil Rotsjö

Semi-final 3: Malmö – 17 February

Martin Almgren – “A Bitter Lullaby”

Martin won the 2015 series of Swedish Idol and is known for his rich soulful voice. He has since released a number of singles, including the uplifting “Unbreakable”.

Songwriters: Josefin Glenmark, Märta Grauers

Dotter – “Cry”

Johanna “Dotter” Jansson is a singer-songwriter. She made her Melfest debut in 2017 as one of the songwriters behind Mariette’s entry “A Million Years”.

Songwriters: Linnea Deb, Peter Boström, Thomas G:son, Johanna ”Dotter” Jansson

Moncho – “Cuba Libre”

Ramón “Moncho” Monserrat is a rapper and vocalist from Uppsala. He has previously been involved with the hip-hop and reggae group LöstFolk.

Songwriters: Jimmy Jansson, David Strääf, Markus Videsäter, Axel Schylström, Moncho

Méndez – “Everyday”

The Chilean-born DJ has competed twice at Melodifestivalen. In 2002, he placed second with “Adrenaline”, and in 2003 he reached Andra Chansen with “Carnaval”.

Songwriters: Leopoldo Mendez, Jimmy Jansson, Palle Hammarlund

Kalle Moraeus & Orsa Spelmän – “Min dröm” (“My dream”)

Kalle is a successful Swedish folk musician, who competed at Melfest in 2010 with “Underbart”. Kalle returns to Melfest 2018 after being rumoured for 2017.

Songwriters: Thomas G:son, Alexzandra Wickman

Jessica Andersson – “Party Voice”

Jessica is a six-time Melodifestivalen veteran. In 2003 she performed at Eurovision as part of Fame, who placed fifth in Riga with “Give Me Your Love”.

Songwriters: Fredrik Kempe, David Kreuger, Niklas Carson Mattsson, Jessica Andersson

Barbi Escobar – “Stark”

Barbi Escobar is an R&B singer. She makes her Melodifestivalen debut.

Songwriters: Barbi Escobar, Costa Leon, Andreas ”Stone” Johansson

Semi-final 4: Örnsköldsvik – 24 February

Felicia Olsson – “Break That Chain”

Felicia Olsson competed in Melfest 2013 with “Make Me No 1”. It was eliminated in its semi-final.

Songwriters: Bobby Ljunggren, Kristian Lagerström, Henrik Wikström, Joy Deb

Felix Sandman – “Every Single Day”

Felix was one-third of the boyband FO&O. Felix is using Melodifestivalen to launch his solo career. FO&O placed 11th at Melodifestivalen 2017 with “Gotta Thing About You”.

Songwriters: Noah Conrad, Tony Ferrari, Parker James, Jake Torry, Felix Sandman

Mariette – “For You”

This is Mariette’s third Melfest appearance. In 2015, she placed third at Melfest with “Don’t Stop Believing” and earlier this year she placed fourth with “A Million Years”.

Songwriters: Jörgen Elofsson

Rolandz – “Fuldans” (“Ugly dance”)

Rolandz is a parody dansband fronted by the popular comedian Robert Gustafsson. Rolandz came to fame in 2008 through the talent show Dansbandskampen.

Songwriters: Fredrik Kempe, David Kreuger, Robert Gustafsson, Regina Hedman

Emmi Christensen – “Icarus”

Emmi is best known as a musical theatre performer. She has recently starred as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera in London’s West End.

Songwriters: Thomas G:son, Christian Schneider, Andreas Hedlund, Sara Biglert

Elias Abbas – “Mitt paradis” (“My paradise”)

Upcoming singer Elias Abbas is only 15, but he will turn 16 in December. Elias released his debut single “Min Queen” earlier this year.

Songwriters: Anderz Wrethov, Hamed “K-One” Pirouzpanah, Sami Rekik

Olivia – “Never Learn”

Olivia Eliasson came to fame with a YouTube cover of Anton Ewald’s “Begging”. Earlier this year she released her debut single “Do You”.

Songwriters: Anton Ewald, Jonas Wallin, Trond Smeplass

What do you think of the Melodifestivalen 2018 lineup? Can one of these artists give Sweden its seventh victory? Share your thoughts below!