Photo: SVT

On Tuesday, November 27, SVT will hold a press conference to announce the participating artists for Melodifestivalen 2019. The artists will be present and brought out one by one, beginning at 9:30 in the morning, with media interviews to happen afterward. The show stops on the tour are as follows: 2/2 Semi-final 1 – Göteborg 9/2 Semi-final 2 – Malmö 16/2 Semi-final 3 – Leksand 23/2 Semi-final4 – Lidköping 2/3 Andra chansen – Nyköping 9/3 Final – Stockholm The press conference will be available to watch worldwide through the stream on SVT Play. For more information on Melodifestivalen, follow the official tag and social medias: #melfest Facebook: @svtmelodifestivalen Instagram: @melodifestivalen Twitter: @SVTmelfest Youtube: @Melodifestivalen

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The Melodifestivalen 2019 season is beginning to pick up steam. SVT has just announced that the host(s) will be revealed on Friday, October 26 at 12:30 Swedish time. This is the latest news to come following the host cities being shared with the public (most memorable from this announcement is that no stops will be taking place in northern Sweden).

Whom are you most hoping to see in the position of host?

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Photo: Stina Stjernkvist/SVT. 

Rejoice, Melodifestivalen fans! The season is officially underway with the first major announcement: the host cities. True to tradition, the finals are in Stockholm and both Göteborg and Malmö are semi-final host cities. But surprisingly, this year none of the shows are taking place in a northern Swedish city. Read the host cities below:

Semi-final 1: Göteborg (Scandinavium) - February 2
Semi-final 2: Malmö (Malmö Arena) - February 9
Semi-final 3: Leksand (Tegera Arena) - February 16
Semi-final 4: Lidköping (Sparbanken Arena) - February 23
Andra Chansen: Nyköping (Nyköpings Arenor Rosvalla) - March 2
Finals: Stockholm (Friends Arena) - March 9

Feel free to share whom you're hoping to see announced for hosts or as a participating act!

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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)

LIAMOO was favored by many after being announced as a potential winner for Melodifestivalen 2018. Despite only placing sixth in the finals, LIAMOO's artistic style was undeniable. In teaming up with Sasha Jean-Baptiste, he was able to have to have his song elevated with a show that utilised dark but warm colour design, close and often quick camera shots, and even a few visual effects. The song wasn't as high-impact in an obvious sense, but LIAMOO did excellent work in conveying his personal narrative in the lyrics and showcased both his singing and rapping ability in the three minutes given.

Watch our full interviews with LIAMOO here:

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Photo: Lizel Strömberg (ZEL Photography)

Samir & Viktor could've stayed away from Melodifestivalen after coming last in the finals in 2016. Instead, they came back better than ever in 2018, with not only their best entry to date but the best song of their career. Not only is "Shuffla" enormously catchy, it offers a different approach to the production due to producer Andreas Stone's love of big-time jazz music. It's the type of song that could be the warm-up to introducing today's adolescents into the greatest Baz Luhrmann films of decades past. Samir & Viktor have fought past the criticisms claiming a lack of talent on their part and delivered on the choreography they were given to produce one of the best shows of the year's line-up. Even their vocal capabilities have truly developed; clearly they've been rehearsing hard with vocal coaches since they first began their musical journey.

Watch our full interview with Samir Badran here:

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Photo: Lizel Strömberg (ZEL Photography)

Méndez did what few others before him had managed; getting to the finals sixteen years after his last appearance in the finals. With such rapid transformations in technological capabilities in the camera work, set design, and numerous other aspects, the production design is considerably higher in "Everyday" than "Adrenaline". But the spirit, joy, and love of music and performing remains the same and lies at the core of Méndez's appeal to the Swedish public. The warm colour palette is cohesive to the emotion and heart of the entry, just as the choreography is matched to the Latin production.

Watch our full interview with Méndez here:

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Photo: Lizel Strömberg (ZEL Photography)

Margaret's run in Melodifestivalen had tremendous hype from the very beginning. After finishing as the runner-up with the tremendous fan-favourite song "Cool Me Down," which went on to become a hit in Sweden, there were rumors swirling even last year that she'd be tapped to compete in Melodifestivalen. In 2018 she brought a fun and cheery party song called "In My Cabana" that served some well-planned camera work that moved Margaret around the stage to interact with her dancers and backgrounds through various scenarios that matched the song's lyrical narrative and show. Margaret consistently served the attitude required to properly sell the song and always showed up with multiple outfits to try on and mix things up for those tuning in.

Watch our full interviews with Margaret here:

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Photo: Lizel Strömberg (ZEL Photography)

Renaida quickly shot up to become one of the biggest fan-favorites, particularly among international viewers. Her song "All The Feels" was a tremendously catchy and hard-hitting pop banger and Renaida performed with tremendous force, charisma, and attitude while all present on the stage donned orange outfits at the request of Renaida herself. With far too few artists bringing pop bangers to the show and even fewer having this level of energetic charisma on stage, we can only hope that Renaida will continue to deliver releases of this calibre throughout her career.

Watch our full interviews with Renaida here:

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Photo: Lizel Strömberg (ZEL Photography)

John Lundvik's flawless vocals are by in large the leading factor of why his number is so strong. At the very least, they are the most obvious selling point. But with his being a co-writer on his song, it's also apparent that the personal narrative and emotional honesty further allow the audience to connect with him as he performs the song on stage. The staging isn't particularly complicated or flashy but the strength of the other factors make up well for it, and proved to be enough for him to finish third in the finals.

Watch our full interview with John Lundvik here:

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Elias Abbas brought one of the most fun-spirited and catchy songs of Melodifestivalen 2018, with a bright and colourful number that mostly translated well on camera. The main problem with the number was the audio-mixing, something that many other entries had issues on this past year. But Elias did more than enough to warrant at least qualifying out of his semi-final, something the Swedish public failed to comprehend.

Watch our press conference interview with Elias Abbas here:

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Photo: Lizel Strömberg (ZEL Photography)

Moncho had previously been known for releasing hard rap songs but brought a more joyful, feel-good approach to Melodifestivalen. When Universal Music Sweden was searching for an artist to sing tropical pop song "Cuba Libre," Moncho got the call and brought his Caribbean flair to the number. While Axel Schylström brought his signature flair for catchy dance songs to the songwriting, Zain and Dennis put together a colourful number to elevate the visual presentation of the song itself.

Watch our full interviews with Moncho here:

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Photo: Lizel Strömberg (ZEL Photography)

Mimi Werner made her Melodifestivalen comeback with an orange-tinted, inspirational country-pop song called "Songburning". She brought her passion for fashion to her entry by embroidering the back of her jacket with the word "Songburning" using small rope. She also bought her charisma to the show while backed with dancers beating on drums and everything climaxed with a shower of sparks raining down behind her. It was all very well pieced together, cohesive, and a generally entertaining show.

Watch our full interviews with Mimi Werner here:

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Photo: Lizel Strömberg (ZEL Photography)

Mariette returned to Melodifestivalen for a third competitive run within a four-year time-span. Her song was the first entry she brought that she hadn't written on herself, but still held a style similar to her own artistry. The presentation was one that kept her alone on stage atop a pyramid with a platform. The song was pleasant enough and Mariette conveyed the emotional narrative of the song to the best of her ability, but it ultimately wasn't enough to take home the trophy.

Watch our full interview with Mariette here:

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Photo: Lizel Strömberg (ZEL Photography)

Jessica Andersson is a well-established veteran of the contest, but despite the tendency for many veterans to spiral downward in their results with continued returns to the show Jessica Andersson managed to once again qualify direct to the finals with a revitalised energy to her entry. "Party Voice" brought a spruced up production and lyrics cohesive to Jessica herself, with a particularly glossy choreography and visual presentation courtesy of Zain and Dennis (the duo behind five popular entries in Melodifestivalen 2018 including the eventual winner, Benjamin Ingrosso).

Watch our press conference interview with Jessica Andersson here:

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Photo: Lizel Strömberg (ZEL Photography)

Martin Almgren neatly transitioned from Swedish Idol winner to Melodifestivalen direct-qualifier. In addition to his strengths as a singer, Martin has considerable charisma and likability which is a strong contributor to the Swedish audience's affection for him. The song is a solid fusion of rock with country elements that Martin sings well. The presentation is simple but Martin's charisma is what compensates for this. The main weakness to the number is the unflattering wardrobe choices but Martin has always made it clear that his artistic choices tend to favour the more organic approach as opposed to the glossier, produced sides of the music industry.

Watch our full interview with Martin Almgren here:

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Olivia Eliasson first rose to prominence by posting a cover of Anton Ewald's Melodifestivalen 2013 entry "Begging" on YouTube. Things came full circle when she got her own opportunity to compete in Melodifestivalen. Her entry "Never Learn" was co-wrriten by Anton Ewald himself and offers a catchy 1990's-influenced dance-pop chorus. While the song is an excellent pop song and Olivia sang it well enough, the main negative is that the dancers show more showmanship compared to Olivia's smaller contribution to the showmanship.

Watch our full interview with Olivia Eliasson here:

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Photo: Lizel Strömberg (ZEL Photography)

Barbi Escobar emerged in Melodifestivalen as a revamped version of herself, having previously worked as an R&B artist under the name "Barbi Esco" as well as a songwriter. Despite having one of the strongest songs of the year's line-up, the overall staging didn't match the quality of the song. In particular, the camera-work was poorly designed as it would often make the number appear empty instead of elevating Barbi as an artist or performer, or even properly showcase the choreography of the dancers.

Watch our full interview with Barbi Escobar here:

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Felicia Olsson returned to Melodifestivalen with a song more contemporary than her prior effort but sadly wasn't rewarded for her revamp in approach. The song was a mixture of both contemporary and slightly throwback styles to resonate with many young adults who remember the abundance of soulful pop-diva power-ballads of the early to mid noughties. Felicia's staging and camera work could've benefited from a more impactful design that would've had more power and connection between her and the audience. Still, overall an improvement from her prior entry.

Watch our full interview with Felicia Olsson here:

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Photo: Lizel Strömberg (ZEL Photography)

Ida Redig is one of the most professional and efficient artists to enter Melodifestivalen 2018. With an impressive back-catalogue of songs and music videos to go with them, the only major let-down with her entry is that the song doesn't pack as hard a punch as some of her past releases or some of her co-competitors (particularly in the context of being placed in the most competitive semi-final). It's by no means a bad song, and she brings her indie flair to both her sound and performance. Her determination and do-it-yourself approach will undoubtedly serve her well in all future endeavors.

Watch our full interview with Ida Redig here:

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