Photo: Lizel Strömberg (ZEL Photography)

Benjamin Ingrosso returned to Melodifestivalen after a respectable fifth-place debut in the contest, to win the opinions of both the Swedish public and the international juries. In composing the song, Benjamin once again drew from a personal place of inspiration to write about his attempts to get over a break-up and spruced it up with some funky production and catchy melodies. The personal narrative was better communicated to viewers with the best camera work of the year that not only showcased a phenomenal set and art design, but often cut in close to Benjamin himself so as to facilitate that closer connection between himself and the viewers. Zain and Dennis were yet again the winning team as they choreographed and styled Benjamin to be the sole performer on stage with inspiration drawn from retro MTV, and effectively showcased Benjamin's charisma and showmanship.

Watch our full interview with Benjamin Ingrosso here:

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Photo: Lizel Strömberg (ZEL Photography)

I've interviewed Benjamin Ingrosso numerous times. When you have repeated opportunities within a close period of time to ask a public figure questions of which the answers will be distributed for public consumption, it's good to find ways to mix things up a bit instead of repeating the same questions again and again. The entire genesis of Benjamin and I getting along and striking up a camaraderie was in the lead-up to Melodifestivalen 2017. I had done a bit of browsing through his social medias as part of my research and preparation for the new season. Upon discovering he had posted a tweet comparing Batman suits between Batman v Superman and Justice League (which hadn't been released yet) I was incredibly excited at the prospect of having a fellow-DCEU fan to interview, even if the majority of the questions I'd be drafting would naturally be pertaining to the matter of music and Melodifestivalen.

I met Benjamin for the first time in Malmö, the city at which he'd be competing in his semi-final. I was introducing myself to his publicist, as I'd never met anyone from Ten (his label) before. They proceeded to introduce me to Benjamin and he was all smiles and friendliness, exactly how he comes across in the other interviews I've posted with him. The first question out of my mouth was, "Are you a fan of the DCEU?" His face lit all the way up and he excitedly exclaimed that he was and we began chatting away about our shared love of the universe.

So upon returning to cover Melodifestivalen 2018 and he was set to return, I decided to compile the photos I had gotten since we'd last met during Melodifestivalen 2017 with various creatives involved with the DCEU, such as Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins, The Batman director Matt Reeves, and none other than Ezra Miller. At one of the press conferences, I decided to have him react to the photos, knowing it would be good content since he's so expressive and free with his emotions. It went over even better than I anticipated.

Watch the full video here:

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Photo: Lizel Strömberg (ZEL Photography)

Zain Odelstål have entered Melodifestivalen 2018 following a victorious run in 2017 in which the entry that they designed won the whole contest (Robin Bengtsson's "I Can't Go On"). This year they have choreographed and styled entries for Benjamin Ingrosso ("Dance You Off"), Mariette ("For You"), Méndez ("Everyday"), Jessica Andersson ("Party Voice"), and Moncho ("Cuba Libre"). Odelstål has a background in dance and is largely responsible for developing the choreography of the entries he works on, while Brøchner has done extensive work as a drag queen in Sweden and contributes his styling skills. Together, they also design the creative concepts for the entries they work on alongside the artists and other team-members involved.

Watch our full interview with Zain Odelstål and Dennis Brøchner here:

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Photo: Lizel Strömberg (ZEL Photography)

Benjamin Ingrosso premiered in Melodifestivalen in 2017, during which he won over a new batch of fans and impressed the international juries well enough to finish fifth overall in the finals. Despite our previous conversations with him hinting that he wasn't looking to become a regular of the contest, he has returned just one year later with another song he co-wrote called "Dance You Off."

He promises that this is the sexiest song he has released to date and has this time collaborated with choreographer Zain Odelstål and stylist Dennis Brøchner, the same creative team behind last year's winning staging for Robin Bengtsson's "I Can't Go On".

Watch our full interview with Benjamin Ingrosso here:

Benjamin Ingrosso also released two follow-up singles between last year's Melodifestivalen run and now, entitled "Do You Think About Me" and "One More Time", both of which he co-wrote on. With such a promising quality of content and strong work ethic, we have no doubt that big things will come from Benjamin Ingrosso, both in and out of Melodifestivalen.

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With the first semi-final mere weeks away, SVT unveiled the last anticipated announcement regarding the show, that of the running order. With the most coveted spot being the closer (7), followed by the opener (1) and pre-closer (6), the most dreaded spots are going second (2), followed by third (3). So who has benefitted most and who will be made to fight that much harder for a qualification?

KARLSTAD – DELTÄVLING 1

1. Patrick Swayze
Artist: Sigrid Bernson

Sigrid was always the most obvious choice to open the show given her performance background and familiarity to the public as a professional dancer. Typically the producers will favour something that can offer a big show and strong impression to viewers. Start the show with a bang!

2. My Turn
Artist: John Lundvik 

It's unfortunate that an artist as quality as John Lundvik would end up in the worst slot in the running order but given his decision to enter the contest with a ballad, it's less surprising that he'd have a lot to overcome in winning over the viewers (and producers, apparently).

3. All The Feels
Artist: Renaida 

SVT has had a shoddy record when it comes to quality diversity and representation in the contest. So are we surprised that this is one of three semi-finals where artists offering representation to a more diverse audience are crammed back-to-back in the worst spots of the running order? Not at all.

4. Livet på en pinne
Artist: Edward Blom

Somehow an act that is listed (on Wikipedia, anyway, so we'll tread lightly on claims of accuracy) as an archivist, trade historian, writer, and television personality warrants a more favourable treatment from producers than legitimate artists who have made an effort to release music. Yikes.

5. Osby Tennessee
Artist: Kikki Danielsson

Kikki's been around for a while now but she's had an influx in popularity more recently so the timing was right for her to return to the contest.

6. Solen lever kvar hos dig
Artist: Kamferdrops

We saw this one coming for a while. Given that Kamferdrops had gained momentum in the last year in Sweden (she's originally from Norway) by releasing a cover of a Kikki Danielsson song, it was entirely predictable that SVT would not only put these two back-to-back in the same semi-final but that Kikki would go first between the two in order to ensure the maximum effect of emphasizing the connection between the two.

7. Dance You Off
Artist: Benjamin Ingrosso

He closed his semi-last year as a newcomer to the contest, qualified direct to the finals where he finished in the Top 5; there was never any doubt that Benjamin would be the one to close his semi-final once again in the 2018 contest!

GÖTEBORG – DELTÄVLING 2

1. Shuffla
Artist: Samir & Viktor

Samir & Viktor were tapped to open the show during their last competitive run and given how competitive a line-up they've found themselves in yet again, we just knew that they'd be the ones to open the show with another signature party number.

2. Allting som vi sa
Artist: Ida Redig

Despite having heard from some Swed-pop fans that have rated her favorably, it would seem that producers don't feel inclined to help out Ida Redig at all in this bloodbath of a semi. We can hear the echoing choruses of "Robbed!" from fans already.

3. Det finns en väg
Artist: Jonas Gardell

No surprises or objections here.

4. In My Cabana
Artist: Margaret

Perhaps it's not entirely surprising that the producers wouldn't favour Margaret as much as her fans would like. It's also a highly competitive semi-final with only seven slots to fill. But still, this borderline-position leaves us concerned about her qualification. She will really have to deliver every component at a high level to push past the threshold.

5. Titta vi flyger
Artist: Stiko Per Larsson

This was a big surprise. The winner of the Svensk Nästa Toppen contest didn't have much of an impression with viewers as this particular contest has long been treated as a giant question mark to fans since little to none of its winners have been able to even make it past the first round of voting in the semi-final. Nonetheless, we're intrigued. It's always fun to have good surprises in the line-up.

6. Songburning
Artist: Mimi Werner

Mimi had a rough ride in her debut back in 2016. Despite bringing an impressive and highly commendable song and performance, she found herself up against other strong competitors that had a larger name and establishment beforehand so she ended up finishing fifth in her heat. Now that she's back, we couldn't be happier to see that producers believe in her entry enough to give her such a strong position.

7. Last Breath
Artist: LIAMOO

Ever since LIAMOO was announced for Melodifestivalen 2018, there was little doubt to his potential and now he's shot up to number one in the betting odds even over the likes of Mello veterans Mariette and Benjamin Ingrosso. Who better to close this powerhouse semi-final?

MALMÖ – DELTÄVLING 3

1. A Bitter Lullaby
Artist: Martin Almgren

One of two Idol winners to this year but Martin's more old-fashioned (in comparison to LIAMOO) impression to the public may account for why he's been tapped to open instead of close this semi-final. Still, this capable vocalist may impress with something uplifting and up-tempo and we look forward to what that may be.

2. Stark
Artist: Barbi Escobar

Now we return to the tomfoolery. Our concerns beforehand regarding this semi-final would be that the three 'Latin' entries would be stacked back-to-back in the running order. Despite Mendez being able to break free of that, it's highly irksome to see the remaining two still pressed up against one another and in particular, going second and third.

3. Cuba Libre
Artist: Moncho

Given that Barbi's song is said to be more of a ballad while Moncho's is more up-tempo, it's not surprising that he would get the more favourable slot of the two (this same concept applies to semi-final 1).

4. Party Voice
Artist: Jessica Andersson

Though many veterans of the contest have gone out in the lowest manner possible (finishing last in their semi-final), Jessica Andersson's most recent foray back in 2015 saw her still manage to qualify direct despite having a more old-fashioned style of ballad (and staging). Will she maintain a steady set of decent results with a more up-tempo song? We'll se!

5. Min dröm
Artist: Kalle Moraeus & Orsa Spelmän

We have no idea.

6. Cry
Artist: Dotter

Dotter has had some decent start in gaining momentum as a solo artist and has displayed a more secure artistic presence. We always expected her to have a decent slot in the running order.

7. Everyday
Artist: Mendez

But perhaps the most pleasant surprise of all was to see that despite it being fifteen years since his last go in the contest, Mendez has been tapped to close his semi-final! He's been very clear in communicating his desire to bring a big party that will have everyone up, dancing, and having fun with a Latin (Spanglish) flavour! We can't wait!

Ö-VIK – DELTÄVLING 4

1. Icarus
Artist: Emmi Christensson

Emmi is more so known for being a musical theatre artist so this is a surprising announcement considering how many other traditionally-pop artists are available to choose from in the line-up. This is an intriguing choice.

2. Mitt paradis
Artist: Elias Abbas

This is perhaps the most shocking and outrageous development in the running order. Elias gained huge traction this past year with his infectious summer jam "Min queen" and has the legendary composer/producer Anderz Wrethov on his track. Yet somehow he's been stuck into the worst spot possible. Outrageous.

3. Break That Chain
Artist: Felicia Olsson

Felicia was last seen back in Melodifestivalen 2013 and presumably has developed quite a bit as an artist and person since then. So why bring her back into the fold at all if her 'upgrade' in running order is from 2nd to 3rd? Good grief.

4. Fuldans
Artist: Rolandz

A joke act getting a better spot than legitimate, diverse artists who were relegated to slots 2 and 3? Entirely on-brand with SVT's track record.

5. Never Learn
Artist: Olivia Eliasson

As Olivia is managed by the same team that has backed Anton Ewald and Wiktoria's runs in the contest, we're expecting staging with a large budget. As for the song, it's too early to tell.

6. Every Single Day
Artist: Felix Sandman

Despite coming alone this time, Felix (the 'F' in FO&O) Sandman is a highly experienced artist and performer. Regardless of the shift in musical style, his established popularity and extensive touring and performing experience will be major assets to him as he competes to establish himself as a solo artist.

7. For You
Artist: Mariette

This has been the announcement everyone knew was coming. The last artist in the last semi-final has always been someone with a lot of hype about them leading into the contest. It doesn't necessarily result in winning the whole thing but the build-up to seeing what they deliver is always exciting.

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Photo: Lizel Strömberg

Mariette makes a surprising return to the contest, as it will mark her third participation in the last four years. Her song was written by famed Swedish composer Jörgen Elofsson and Mariette promises that her staging will be designed by the same choreographer that worked on her previous two entries. It will be a pop song with a great deal of expectations placed on it by fans and viewers but despite her desires to finally win the contest, she assures us that she doesn't feel the pressure from others to win.

Photo: Lizel Strömberg

Samir & Viktor make an exciting return to Melodifestivalen with a song called "Shuffla" that they co-wrote. The concept is about a 'shuffle' dance that many young kids have gotten into in Sweden through their use of the Musical.ly app. While professing love to the fans and viewers that have supported them over the years, Samir jokes about how they also love their haters who have made them go viral by posting death wishes towards them. Though humour is the go-to coping mechanism they've used over the years when dealing with the animosity hurled at them by trolls and 'professional' media alike, we hope that people will get over themselves and simply enjoy Samir & Viktor for all that they bring to the contest: fun, energy, and an emphasis on togetherness.

Photo: Lizel Strömberg

Margaret is a Polish pop powerhouse making her Melodifestivalen debut with a song "In My Cabana" that boasts writers that have worked on some of her most popular international hits including "Cool Me Down" and "What You Do". Margaret has gained traction in Sweden with these prior releases and now hopes to allow the Swedish audience to better connect her image to the songs that they have played on radio and streaming services. She shares that her song is "sexy" and though she still had to work on the design of her performance, she did tease on the idea of incorporating dancers to what seems to be one of the must-have bangers of this year's line-up.

Photo: Lizel Strömberg

Felix Sandman will now be stepping out from his long-standing gig as the 'F' in FO&O who were finalists in Melodifestivalen 2017 ("Gotta Thing About You"). He will be entering Melodifestivalen 2018 with a song he co-wrote in Los Angeles called "Every Single Day" in a style he describes as really personal and inspired by his deeper thoughts and feelings. Despite his reputation of being skilled at acrobatic tricks, he hopes to design a stage performance that will showcase the song's lyrics and allow the audience to better connect with them.

Photo: Lizel Strömberg

Benjamin Ingrosso makes a welcome return after winning over a wave of new fans and impressing the international juries to finish fifth overall in the 2017 contest with his song "Good Lovin'". Ingrosso consistently co-writes on the music he releases and excels in bringing an energetic charisma and showmanship to his performances. He has teased that "Dance You Off" is the best song of what he's released thus far and he has already shot a music video for it.

Photo: Lizel Strömberg

Mimi Werner previously competed in Melodifestivalen 2016 ("Ain't No Good") relatively unknown in a competitive Göteborg line-up and finished fifth overall much to the disappointment of all her new fans that were impressed with her lively performance and catchy, country-pop song. Now she returns to battle it out once again in a competitive Göteborg line-up. "Songburning" is another country-pop song Werner has co-written though it is said to be a more personal song.

Photo: Lizel Strömberg

Méndez is a Melodifestivalen veteran, having formerly competed in Melodifestivalen 2002 ("Adrenaline") and 2003 ("Carnaval") with the former finishing as the runner-up in the finals. His return to the contest is one that he has been pursuing for quite some time, having sent in songs for roughly the last four years straight. He was also one of the many acts tapped to appear in the large medley that unfolded during the Melodifestivalen 2016 finals. Originally from Chile, Méndez promises that "Everyday" will be another Spanglish party song that is true to his artistic style.

Photo: Lizel Strömberg

John Lundvik is best known to Melodifestivalen viewers for having written Anton Ewald's 2014 entry "Natural" that Lundvik himself declares is not the style of music he creates for himself. His Melodifestivalen entry "My Turn" is an honest, personal ballad that speaks to his own determination to pursue his solo career. Though he has not recorded a music video for it, he admits he would love to create one, though the final decision rests on his label, Warner Music Sweden.

Photo: Lizel Strömberg

Barbi Escobar is one multiple newcomers to this year's Melodifestivalen. Having co-written her song "Stark" with Costa Leon and Andreas "Stone" Johansson, Escobar shares that the song is personal and was written not long after her father passed away from cancer. Escobar is of a Chilean background and looks forward to bringing a soulful R&B musical style to the contest.

Watch our full interviews with the aforementioned Melodifestivalen 2018 artists here:

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SVT held it's artists-announcement press conference and now the fan circles can begin speculating on who will rise to the top of this year's Melodifestivalen.

The line-up of artists, their songs, and composers are as follows:

Semi-final 1 (Karlstad)

• Renaida "All the Feels" (Written by: Laurell Barker, Jon Hällgren, Peter Barringer, Lukas Hällgren)
• Benjamin Ingrosso "Dance You Off" (Written by: Benjamin Ingrosso, MAG, Louis Schoorl, K Nita)
• Edward Blom "Livet på en pinne" (Written by: Edward Blom, Thomas G:son, Stefan Brunzell, Kent Olsson)
• John Lundvik "My Turn" (Written by: Anna-Klara Folin, John Lundvik, Jonas Thander)
• Kikki Danielsson "Osby Tennessee" (Written by: Sulo Karlsson, Kikki Danielsson)
• Sigrid Bernson "Patrick Swayze" (Written by: Andrej Kamnik, Josefin Glenmark, Peg Parnevik, Sigrid Bernson)
• Kamferdrops "Solen lever kvar hos dig" (Written by: Herbert Trus, Danne Attlerud, Martin Klaman, Kristoffer Tømmerbakke, Erik Smaaland, Kamferdrops)

Semi-final 2 (Göteborg)

• Ida Redig "Allting som vi sa" (Written by: Yvonne Dahlbom, Jesper Welander, Ida Redig)
• Jonas Gardell "Det finns en väg" (Written by: Calle Kindbom, Jonas Gardell, Mats Tärnfors)
• Margaret "In My Cabana" (Written by: Anderz Wrethov, Linnea Deb, Arash Labaf, Robert Uhlman)
• Liamoo "Last Breath" (Written by: Liam Cacatian Thomassen, Morten Thorhauge, Peter Bjørnskov, Lene Dissing)
• Samir & Viktor "Shuffla" (Written by: Andreas "Stone" Johansson, Denniz Jamm, Costa Leon, Samir Badran, Viktor Frisk)
• Mimi Werner "Songburning" (Written by: Gören Werner, Mimi Werner, Niki Niki, Carl Varga, Johan Åsgärde, Oliver Lundström)
• Stiko Per Larsson "Titta vi flyger" (Written by: Stiko Per Larsson, Emil Rotsjö)

Semi-final 3 (Malmö)

• Martin Almgren "A Bitter Lullaby" (Written by: Josefin Glenmark, Märta Grauers)
• Dotter "Cry" (Written by: Linnea Deb, Peter Boström, Thomas G:son, Johanna "Dotter" Jansson)
• Moncho "Cuba Libre" (Written by: Jimmy Jansson, David Strääf, Markus Videsäter, Axel Schylström, Moncho)
• Mendez "Everyday" (Written by: Leopoldo Mendez, Jimmy Jansson, Palle Hammarlund)
• Kalle Moraeus & Orsa Spelmän "Min dröm" (Written by: Thomas G:son, Alexzandra Wickman)
• Jessica Andersson "Party Voice" (Written by: Fredrik Kempe, David Kreuger, Niklas Carson Mattsson, Jessica Andersson)
• Barbi Escobar "Stark" (Written by: Barbi Escobar, Costa Leon, Andreas ”Stone” Johansson)

Semi-final 4 (Örnsköldsvik)

• Felicia Olsson "Break That Chain" (Written by: Bobby Ljunggren, Kristian Lagerström, Henrik Wikström, Joy Deb)
• Felix Sandman "Every Single Day" (Written by: Noah Conrad, Tony Ferrari, Parker James, Jake Torry, Felix Sandman)
• Mariette "For You" (Written by: Jörgen Elofsson)
• Rolandz "Fuldans" (Written by: Fredrik Kempe, David Kreuger, Robert Gustafsson, Regina Hedman)
• Emmi Christensson "Icarus" (Written by: Thomas G:son, Christian Schneider, Andreas Hedlund, Sara Biglert)
• Elias Abbas "Mitt paradis" (Written by: Anderz Wrethov, Hamed “K-One” Pirouzpanah, Sami Rekik)
• Olivia "Never Learn" (Written by: Anton Ewald, Jonas Wallin, Trond Smeplass)

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Photo: Lizel Strömberg (ZEL Photography)

Against the odds that bookmakers had published that either Wiktoria or Nano were the ones to look out for, Robin Bengtsson has won Melodifestivalen 2017. Though he came third in the public voting, the voting app has created an inflation on the value of the votes and so the overall point distributions from those figures meant that the international jury votes were of the utmost importance in determining who would walk away victorious. Ultimately, Robin was the clear jury-favourite after garnering 96 points from them in total as well as being the only act of the night to receive points from every country's jury. This bodes well for Robin in his next step - a run in Eurovision. This widespread appeal would suggest that the results will be favourable in May, particularly as Robin finds himself up against very few entries that are similar in style. "I Can't Go On" as a song is ready-made for radio and is a performance meticulously crafted for television.

Watch our full interview with Robin Bengtsson, and additional finalists FO&O, Ace Wilder, Mariette, Benjamin Ingrosso, Boris René, Lisa Ajax, and Jon Henrik Fjällgren feat. Aninia here:

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Photo: Lizel Strömberg (ZEL Photography)

With one night left till the finals, this year's Melodifestivalen finalists took to the stage for a live dress rehearsal in Friends Arena complete with an audience of fans of the contest to better enhance the authenticity of the experience before the actual finals. We caught up with a few of the artists at a press conference following this rehearsal show in order to see how their run-throughs went and how they are feeling leading into the culmination of months of preparation.

Jon Henrik Fjällgren has qualified direct to the finals both times competing, with a particularly strong wave of support from the northern region of Sweden. He has timed this second time in the contest with the release of a new album. "The album is a story about my past and story about who I'm living now. It's a lot of songs bout the war that's going on for the Native people in the world. It's really deep stuff."

Anton Hagman defied the odds to win his Andra Chansen duel against Loreen and qualify to the finals. Though he entered the contest with a respectable following from posting covers on his YouTube channel, he was largely unknown to the general public and international audience. "It's a lot bigger here than it is in the other cities. I'm very happy. I'm not happy that I beat Loreen; I'm happy that I know there's so many people supporting me to bring me to the finals."

Benjamin Ingrosso is another debutant that has made it to the finals, and all the while maintaining a positive attitude and great enthusiasm for the experience. "I think it went good. I was performing for the audience this time because I knew that the camera wasn't on. I did my best and I tried to have so much fun. I know that the jury watched me but I didn't watch the camera."

Robin Bengtsson has made a few revisions to his performance for the finals, including changing the F-bombs to the word "freaking" and removed the crotch shot. "It's genuinely gone. I'm going full-on "freaking" cause I'm a full-on freak."

Watch our full interviews with Jon Henrik Fjällgren, Anton Hagman, Benjamin Ingrosso, Robin Bengtsson, and Ace Wilder here:

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Photo: Lizel Strömberg (ZEL Photography)

As is customary, the Melodifestivalen acts gave a press conference on the day of the first open (to the media) Melodifestivalen rehearsals of the week. They shared about their preparations leading up to the finals and gave us an opportunity to speak with some of the people we had yet to meet, such as Jon Henrik Fjällgren, who has returned to the contest after finishing as the runner-up in 2015.

"I have [thought] about it and I have missed it," says Fjällgren of his return to the contest. This time he is entering in collaboration with a singer called Aninia who sings in Swedish in-between the Joik (a traditional form of singing for Sami people) of Fjällgren. "She is an amazing singer and we are spiritually connected. She's great so why not?"

Benjamin Ingrosso has made it direct to the finals and now faces a line-up that has many acts that have not only previously competed in the contest but made it to the finals before. Still, he remains focused on giving his best performance. "I'm feeling good. I'm so excited, it's huge! It's a lot bigger than Malmö arena so it's gonna be a lot of fun." He plans to make some small changes to his performance by switching up his wardrobe, though he has yet to decide what exactly he'll be wearing on the night of the finals. "I think I will decide on Saturday, maybe."

Robin Bengtsson has had one of the better runs since all the songs were released to the Swedish public, as the top-selling/streaming songs have been his, Wiktoria's "As I Lay Me Down," and Nano's "Hold On". Whether it will be enough for him to win the whole thing is yet to be seen, but he and his team have already done the preparations to transfer the set-up of his performance to work in Friends Arena. "It's all set up now and looking great," says Bengtsson. "We just tried the treadmills a bit yesterday, like five minutes, but today we're gonna try the whole thing."

Lisa Ajax is another back-to-back Melodifestivalen competitor and finalist. Once again she has entered with a song written on by The Family, "I Don't Give A". She won in her Andra Chansen duel against Axel Schylström in what seemed to be a close duel. "It's so hard to say when it's only two people like me or Axel and you don't know what people will like the most. It was a touch situation." She says an EP is coming and just recently recorded a new song that will be released soon.

Watch our full interviews with Jon Henrik Fjällgren, Benjamin Ingrosso, Robin Bengtsson, and Lisa Ajax during the first Melodifestivalen finals rehearsals here:

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Photo: Lizel Strömberg (ZEL Photography)

Benjamin Ingrosso has quickly broken out in this year's Melodifestivalen, having not only qualified direct to the finals on his first time entering, but also being one of only two acts to have a music video ready to release for their competing entry even before the competition had begun. He and boy-band FO&O are both the debuting acts from the Swedish label Ten in Melodifestivalen and already they are making big waves. They have demonstrated a more savvy approach to the contest, despite this being the first time the label has participated, by both having music videos to the songs themselves but also by a more rigorous social media presence in promoting their entries across social media.

Ingrosso is positively bursting with personality and enjoys sharing about his passion for Italian food, both eating and cooking it. "I'm half-Italian so of course I love pasta. My father is a chef and restaurant owner [for] thirty years. He owns more than twelve restaurants so I grew up eating fancy Italian food." He is even full of advice on how to cook the proper pasta dish. "The salt in the water. You need a lot of salt because it should taste like the ocean, like the Mediterranean [Sea], it should be very salty. It should be like a handful of salt. Then cook the pasta al dente, if the past time on the package is nine minutes you should cook it event minute and finish the pasta cooking with the sauce. The pasta has a lot of starch and when you salt the pasta that's the only way you can taste the pasta, if you have salt. It releases lot of starch and that makes the sauce thicker and that creates an emotion."

Ingrosso has also recorded a music video for an acoustic version of his Melodifestivalen song "Good Lovin'" and already knows what his follow-up single is, intending to release it just as soon as the traffic of "Good Lovin'" begins to decline. He shares that there are already plans in the works to shoot a music video for that as well. In addition to being his own solo artist, Ingrosso keeps busy as a song-writer, having co-written on Molly Pettersson Hammar's last single, "Liberate".

Watch our full interview with Benjamin Ingrosso here:

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Following a lively, energetic performance closing the semi-final, Benjamin Ingrosso was left till the very last moment to be announced as one of two qualifiers to the Melodifestivalen finals (the other being Mariette with "A Million Years"). With his soul-pop entry "Good Lovin'" which he composed himself, Ingrosso has not only achieved a milestone for himself as a solo artist but gained TEN Music Group their first success in the contest as this is the first year they have entered any of their artists in the contest.

"I'm very pleased with my performance," says Ingrosso. "I had so much fun and I enjoyed it, my dancers were amazing, I lived my dream." Ingrosso also received a loud response from the Malmö audience in attendance for the live show. "I could actually hear it, that was the best thing of the whole night, the audience." Many of the qualifying contestants make revisions to make their entries more competitive in the later rounds, but Ingrosso and his team have yet to decide what changes if any will be implemented. "Of course I will look at the show after, like on Monday, and I will probably think that I should change a few things. Maybe not the choreography, maybe just in my own dance or something."

Qualifying direct to the finals means that the song will not be released for a few more weeks. In Melodifestivalen, the only songs released after each semi-final are the non-qualifiers and the Andra Chansen qualifiers. The direct qualifying songs are all released after semi-final 4 airs. This begs the question of a release date for Ingrosso's music video, which has already been filmed and finished editing. "I think that the music video will be released the same day as the song releases." New fans of Ingrosso have already begun clamouring for him to release a full studio album, though Ingrosso remains coy at the prospect of doing so. "I actually put down an album list yesterday. Ten-eleven songs." Still, he remains flattered by the attention and it spanning an audience outside of Sweden. "You may not have voted for me though because you can't, but I'm so thankful that you like my number, if you did, and I hope to see you some time!"

Watch our interview with Benjamin Ingrosso here:

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Semi-final 2 of Melodifestivalen 2017 is underway with a fresh batch of seven competing acts ready to battle it out for a qualifying result. We caught up with some of these artists at the first press conference of the week to check in with how their rehearsals were going and again after the first public dress rehearsal to gauge their feelings going into Saturday.

Roger Pontare is an established veteran of Melodifestivalen/Eurovision, having competed at Eurovision twice (1994, 2000), and competed again in Melodifestivalen in 2006. He returns with another traditional song, "Himmel och hav". "It's exciting because it's eleven years ago. Big things have happened since 2006. There are a lot of stars I've never met. The gathering is fantastic and I just know a few of them. Then the Eurovision has [become] a lot larger than 2006 so it's exciting to see every step we take before the evening. Everything is new. The song is a kind of hymn, film music I would call it, with a lot of influences from the Arabic, from the Eastern in this song, throat song and lutes from Arabia so it's a [multi-cultural] song I would call it. The stage is a lot of fires. You walk through a fire forest from the audience, up on the stage, and then you meet the LED shootings with heaven and sea and everything. I walk with the torch so you get the right earth-feeling from the beginning. Then you try to sing and tell the audience the text to this music. It's about heaven and sea, himmel och hav. The text is a remembrance and a celebration to the sea and heaven. I hope that the public and the Swedish people are gonna like this song. I don't know, it's always a [mystery], you never know."

Semi-final 2 also brings some new faces to the contest, including reggae artist Etzia. "My song is Caribbean pop reggae song, and it's a love song, an uplifting love song. Right now, I want to create from me, so everything has to come from here, from my emotions, from what I've been through the past and I'm putting it out. I'm finally putting more of that out now so that's what I'm creating from Etzia, from the heart." Etzia has a decent amount of content already out, with many of her songs having music videos to accompany them (something that isn't necessarily a given in the Swedish music industry). "I work with a lot of people in Sweden and especially from Gothenburg where I come from, where I live. We're a tight little family, reggae family, dansa family down in Gothenburg and we just make everything happen." Her entry "Up" was one that she co-wrote on specifically for Melodifestivalen and her staging was choreographed by Thomas Benstem.

Allyawan is another newcomer to Melodifestivalen and he is bringing a mellow, mid-tempo hip-hop song. "We made this song a year earlier than when we got entered into the competition. This was actually a piece of the album that I'm working on right now that has a lot of melody and has a lot of, also rap. It's pretty blended with everything. It's pretty mainstream also but I'm trying to just play with expectations a little bit. I wrote this song in a time where there wasn't a lot of love in my life, especially not with a girl like that. I kind of dictated my own future in it cause I made a song with so much emphasis and so much love in this track, and today I have that kind of love. It took like a year from that so this song for me is just proof of, if you say something, it's gonna happen. I try to talk about love a lot cause I want love in my life. I dictate my future."

Lisa Ajax is one of several back-to-back returning acts from Melodifestivalen 2017. After a respectable run with "My Heart Wants Me Dead" she has brought another song written by "The Family" called "I Don't Give A" which was also co-written by the Swedish pop artist Ola Svensson. Her staging is more high-tech this time around, with a large LED screen behind her playing a montage of herself peacocking. "I'm on screen, laughing, and I want the audience to know what kind of feeling they're supposed to feel when they see my little show. Lisa's entry has also gained headlines for containing F-bombs, something atypical for Melodifestivalen songs though Swedish censorship doesn't block cursing from playing on television and radio. "The word is an expression in this song, it's like, 'I don't care what you say'. It's more powerful than 'I don't care what you say' when you say 'I don't give a fuck what you say'. That's more powerful and that's what we want in this song so it's really important. But we will fix it if we're going to Eurovision with the song." Lisa has taken her previous experience in stride as opposed to letting it weight pressure onto her second run. "I actually thought I was going to feel more pressure but I'm not and that's really nice to not feel.

To no one's surprise, Benjamin Ingrosso received a warm response from the audience at the first dress rehearsal. "I don't want to change anything, I just want to do it better. Small mistakes, but maybe not mistakes that you guys noticed, hopefully." He is delighted to learn that after our previous one-on-one interview that there was a response from people encouraging the prospect of him doing a full studio album. "That's amazing that I actually have people that would listen to my album, that's amazing!"

Watch our first press conference interviews for semi-final 2 here:

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Benjamin Ingrosso is no stranger to show business. Coming from a known family with relatives already having success in the music industry means an easier access to meeting professionals to help with his career. But having already released a few singles to get his career going, Benjamin aims to jump-start things further by competing in Melodifestivalen. His entry, "Good Lovin'", is a song he penned himself and was tapped to close semi-final 2. "I love my song, it's a great up-tempo soul-pop, funky sometimes, a love song."

"Good Lovin'" marks a shift in genre for Benjamin, as it's soulful influences are new to what audiences have heard from his prior releases. "This is my style definitely. My other singles that will be coming out maybe this year, hopefully, they will be more like this. Some of them are not this up-tempo but very much more soul than for example, 'Fall in Love'".

In addition to composing his song, Benjamin took a hands-on approach to the staging of his entry. "Me and Daniel, my choreographer, we did the number together. We had the same kind of idea and he's a great choreographer. We got some amazing dancers and I'm very thankful to work with him."

With an established family name, particularly in Sweden, there is an extra element of pressure to live up to expectations. "You have a lot of pressure because people think that you can sing and that you can perform so you really have to show them that you can sing and perform so that's a little bit scary."

Though competing in Melodifestivalen is new territory for Benjamin, he is well aware of the opportunities participating in it can offer. "It's a huge show in Sweden. I think like half of Sweden watches it every Saturday. People are talking about it the whole week and it's all about music. That's fantastic and that you have three minutes to show Sweden what kind of artist you are, that you have that opportunity is fantastic."

Benjamin not only demonstrates an impressive work ethic in his multi-faceted approach to the contest, including song-writing, production design, but he offers something else that's new to typical Melodifestivalen practices: a music video. Benjamin is one of two acts competing this year from the Ten Music Group label (the same label that represents Zara Larsson), the other being The FO&O (formerly know as The Fooo Conspiracy). Their uniquely impressive business savvy has manifested not only in promoting Benjamin with gusto on social media but for having a music video already shot and completed before he has even premiered the song to the Swedish public. Generally speaking, the Swedish music industry is notoriously bad at getting music videos made for their domestic artists. Those that compete in Melodifestivalen almost never get music videos made for their competing songs, much to the upset of the fans of the show. "It was done, like a month ago. I love music videos. I think we should do music videos every time. That makes the song even better. I can spoil maybe that I will not wear a shirt in the music video but I will not show my whole body. But I will have paint on my..."

Benjamin is also a fan of the DCEU films, which he is more than happy to talk about when the topic arises. We thought it the perfect opportunity to ask him about the news of Ben Affleck bowing out as director of The Batman film. "I'm a little bit sad because I love him as a director. I thought The Town was a great movie. Although it may be too much for him, to direct, write, and act, especially in that suit. It's very difficult to stand behind the camera and take off the mask. But I hope that he will find a great director and I think that they will do it together."

Watch our full interview with Benjamin Ingrosso here:

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Full disclosure here: semi-final 2 is the least competitive semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2017. The two clear front-runners (based on their past catalogue, hype, name recognition, and the way the voting app swayed the results, in 2016, favourably towards youth and contemporary pop) are Lisa Ajax and Benjamin Ingrosso. Though Oscar Zia's invented-loud backing track and incessantly choppy camera work plus SVT's sabotage of Lisa in the running order swayed things towards the former in the finals, it is important to remember that Lisa won her semi-final when up against Oscar in 2016. She's also a consistently strong artist in the calibre of her releases and getting content out in a timely manner. Benjamin Ingrosso has all the makings of a Dark Horse in this semi-final, and perhaps even in the overall contest. There's great potential in his past releases, "Crystal Clear" in particular, and he's also from the same label as Zara Larsson. Smells like we can dare to hope for some expensive staging with this entry...

Watch our full break-down of the Melodifestivalen 2017 semi-final 2 acts and their chances of qualifying here:

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