All opinions expressed in this article are those of the person quoted and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the other team members or That Eurovision Site as a whole.
With less than 48 hours to go until Melodifestivalen 2026 is due to commence, Kittens and Tim had a chance to watch some of the rehearsals for the first semi-final of the competition, where they gave their opinions and predictions for Saturday’s show.
Greczula – “Half of Me”
(c) Stina Stjernkvist / SVT
Greczula is lit in red with silhouettes of faces in the background, in a very dramatic fashion. He’s wearing a diamante encrusted suit with chains and belts on it, and standing on a white diamond shaped platform with a mic. He is completely alone on stage, and the staging including the floor screen is very minimal. At the end he walks down the path to the B-stage and gets onto a pole that is lifted into the air, where he ends with a big pose as pyro goes off in the background.
| Kittens | Tim |
| This isn’t anything new, and I totally get all of the Queen and ABBA comparisons that have been bandied about, but the song is well done, a toe-tapper and very catchy. I do think there just needs to be so much more energy from him in comparison to the song – the performance is very static and much more posing and camera angles than movement. The end trick is nice, but just doesn’t quite have the oomph that I would have liked to see, especially from a returner. | I really want to love this. It is very catchy. There is that bit that reminds me that sounds a bit like, “Gloria, Gloria”, but other than that, there was something lacking. Is he holding off till Saturday? only time will tell. |
| Kittens’ Prediction | Tim’s Prediction |
| Finalkval | Finalkval |
Jacqline – “Woman”
(c) Stina Stjernkvist / SVT
Four female dancers appear in shadow at the start. Jacqline wears a black bubble hem dress with an underbust corset top and bubble wristed sleeves, and poses on a curvy sculpted piece of staging. The staging block first appears like a chaise longue, but is shifted through the performance by two male dancers who join, including a moment where she is lying on it and is lifted to standing. A bridge with more elegant posing rounds things off, and she returns to the now upright staging block for the end.
| Kittens | Tim |
| Oh I am WOWED. This is FULL of attitude, very stompy and rhythmic but still elegant and soulful. This is absolutely star material, high impact, really well put together, and feels very fresh. The dancers really do add to the performance and the whole show is very slick – just really 100% to my taste. | The sass, the confidence, Jacqline did not disappoint with her return. This is just a rehearsal, but she gave it her all, and it was slick af. |
| Kittens’ Prediction | Tim’s Prediction |
| Direkt till Finalen | Direkt till Finalen |
Noll2 – “Berusade Ord”
(c) Stina Stjernkvist / SVT
The duo appear in greyscale but standing on green and orange blocks, holding corresponding colour microphones. As they sing, words appear on the back screen corresponding to their block colour, and graphics burst out in front of the camera and on the floor. The two leave their blocks into the second chorus and come together before moving their separate ways, and coming back together for the breakdown before it kicks off again nearer the end.
| Kittens | Tim |
| Harder to call for me on this one. I did find that the staging was so distracting from their actual performance – while it’s certainly very impressively shot, it’s just a lot going on at once. The song is cute and very singalongable, but just doesn’t have that much of a grab to it, and fails to stick in your memory for long. Ready to be proved wrong, but I just can’t see this having the oomph needed to make it. | Personally, I do not know how to rate this. The song is nice, but it’s too middle of the road? I like the story-telling aspect of the staging, maybe having an audience will help? I’m so unsure. |
| Kittens’ Prediction | Tim’s Prediction |
| Out | Out |
Junior Lerin – “Copacabana Boy”
(c) Stina Stjernkvist / SVT
The artist starts on stage in a full carnival outfit, with flamboyant yellow headdress, blue sparkly clothing and a yellow mane. He is shortly joined by 4 female dancers in sun hats and sparkly dresses, and a male dancer on the steel drum. The stage floor turns into a pool at some point for a dance bit. Everyone makes their way down to the B-stage for the ending.
| Kittens | Tim |
| This is absolutely a disaster bop in action. It’s ridiculously catchy and full of cliches, and feels like it might be from Melodifestivalen 2015, not 2025. But it is a party. Feels a bit baffling for this to not be a show opener or closer, to be honest, at least it has the charisma and energy, even if it does fall flat a bit in the end. | OMG, this was so infectious, and bless Junior Lerin, there was an attempt, and you have to commend him for it, and it’s a disaster bop and I’m here for it. |
| Kittens‘ Prediction | Tim’s Prediction |
| Out | Out |
Indra – “Beautiful Lie”
(c) Stina Stjernkvist / SVT
Indra is alone on stage in the dark, and the camera pulls back to reveal she’s on the B-stage. She’s wearing a beige textured top with matching balloon trousers. Moving to the main stage where a large object looms in the background, smoke and lighting moves to orange, and at the bridge she is showered with confetti.
| Kittens | Tim |
| While this isn’t my thing to just listen to, this is a stunningly engaging performance, considering there’s not much bells and whistles involved. It feels like a Bond theme in terms of drama, in that it’s technically a ballad but with all of that tension in it. A pleasant surprise – and if I had one chance to say ‘ooh, close call, this could really go in’ with my prediction – this one would be it. | I will preface this by saying that I think Indra and the song ticks the right boxes, it just so happens she’s in a semi that is so strong, and I am really gutted about it. I really hope to be proven wrong. |
| Kittens’ Prediction | Tim’s Prediction |
| Out | Out |
A*Teens – “Iconic”
(c) Stina Stjernkvist / SVT
All four of the group are on stage in boxes with a lit up ‘X’ shape at the back of them which pulses as the song starts. All of them wear blue outfits in their styles. The dance moves mirror the X on the back of the boxes. ‘Iconic’ appears on the LED and on the floor throughout. At the bridge, the group move to on top of the boxes, and finish the show from there.
| Kittens | Tim |
| If you were expecting a big departure from the A*Teens sound, prepare to be disappointed. But if you’re happy to hear some top tier pop music, then this is absolutely for you. While there’s no doubt that this will be a floorfiller for a while, my only concern is that it might feel a little dated and lose momentum. But the performance of this is exactly what I would expect from them – these are seasoned performers who know what they’re doing, after all. | Okay, I did not know what I was expecting from an A*Teens comeback, but it was certainly not this. It will not be for the younger age groups, but I think that their choreo work, along with everything that they do on stage is more than enough to bring them to Stockholm. |
| Kittens’ Prediction | Tim’s Prediction |
| Direkt till Finalen | Direkt till Finalen |
The first semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2025 will air on the 31st of January at 20:00CET. Don’t forget to follow That Eurovision Site to keep up to date with the latest coverage of this year’s selection.
What we know about Melodifestivalen 2026
As we earlier reported 30 songs will participate in Melodifestivalen 2026, two songs will directly qualify for the final from each semi-final, (which will consist of ten entries for the final)
The entry that placed third in each semi-final will still have a chance to make it to the final (which will be made up of five entries). Out of the five participants who placed third in each semi-final, the act with the highest score across all of the Semi-Finals will automatically be given a place in the final, with the remaining four acts fighting it out for the remaining spot. The act with the highest points from the vote will then be awarded the last spot in the final
As usual, Sweden’s Eurovision 2025 representative will be selected via a mixture of televoting and an international jury.
Sweden’s Eurovision Journey
In 1958, Sweden made their debut in the Eurovision Song Contest, with Alice Babs representing them with the song “Lilla stjärna” which placed fourth. Since their debut, the Scandinavian nation has managed to win seven times (1974, 1984, 1991, 1999, 2012, 2015 and 2023).
In 2025, Sweden were represented by Finnish group KAJ, singing “Bara bada bastu”. At the close of voting in the grand final, they had received 321 points, finishing in 4th place. 126 points were received by the juries, while the trio received 195 points by televoters.
Are you excited for the return of Melodifestivalen in 2026? Who would you like to see represent Sweden at Eurovision in 2026? Let us know in the comments or on social media. Be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tik-Tok as we prepare for Eurovision 2026!
News Source: SVT/That Eurovision Site
Photo Credit: Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026