Adrijana Brings Fresh Energy, Originality, and Style to Melodifestivalen 2017

Photo: Lizel Strömberg (ZEL Photography)

Melodifestivalen is a frequent hotspot for Swedpop fans to find new artists to follow and this year is no exception. Adrijana makes her debut in the contest with a song she co-wrote on called "Amare," a Swedish-language mid-tempo love song combining pop and rap. Adrijana has an ease of delivery on stage that's purposeful, as she energises her performance when it suits the song. Having only released a few songs before the contest with only a small amount of traction built from them, her participation in the contest is an important launching platform to gain not only larger recognition from the Swedish public but to the numerous international fans that tune in annually.

Despite being new to releasing music on a larger label, Adrijana remains steady under the pressure of the fast-paced contest. "I am scared but I'm also confident in myself. I'm not used to the cameras, to the sound, to the in-ears."

Her attitude and style are a breath of fresh air in a largely monotonous industry. "I just want to be a cool artist, a new artist, with a new sound. This sound that I have, we don't have that in Sweden. I mix all the types of music, pop, hip-hop, trap, soul, I want everything in one and [to] make it my own. That's what I want, I want to do something new and fresh."

Though "Amare" is a love song, Adrijana's individuality makes the song stand out in comparison to the other releases professing romantic declarations. "It's about love but it's like, tougher love. You say what you think of because many people are afraid of saying what they think of, what they love, when [you] want someone to love you, you have to say it but this in a tougher way, a cooler way, a flirty way."

Adrijana is not only hands-on with the composition of her songs but to her visual style as well, opting to dress in her stage attire from her very first Melodifestivalen rehearsals in order to test the mechanisms and presentation of her wardrobe as soon as possible. She mulls over the possibility of taking her bulky coat off during her performance, having found the weight of it to be too cumbersome for comfort to keep on for the entire three minutes. She also worked in the design of her staging, opting for darker lighting to create the ambiance through the use of red and black along with some ballerina dancers on platforms in the back.

Adrijana has no shortage of career aspirations outside of her introduction to the Melodifestivalen-viewing public. "I have so much to release. I want to win all these things so people around the world can hear me and hear my stuff and hear my music. I have so much more than just hip-hop and rap to me."

Watch our full interview with Adrijana here: