Benjamin Ingrosso on Qualifying to the Melodifestivalen Finals (Interview)

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: