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 Euan 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.
Arwin – “Glitter”
Credit: Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026
Arwin stands on a curved semicircle platform with a vinyl record graphic on the floor LED. He is wearing a red pleather jacket and trousers combo with a glittery top and is flanked by two 70’s retro styled band members holding guitars. He is joined by two dancers and later another two. Glitter rains down on the back screen and on the floor screen videos, complete with sparkler fireworks, and the camera becomes a fisheye lens for the bridge, more sparklers and real glitter of course – and a bombastic key change for the end.
| Kittens | Euan |
| This is not quite what I was expecting from Arwin but it’s a really great addition to his catalogue! And nice to hear it in Swedish too! It’s much more rock influenced than I expected and I certainly see the Benjamin Ingrosso comparisons here with the near falsetto. I would have liked to have seen just a touch more tempo, but the song is catchy – this is gonna be stuck in my head for a while, but I worry for it in this heat. | This song is an odd choice for an opener as there’s not really much here to grab your attention. It’s just there. Arwin is capable of much better. Visually there’s a tad too many sharp cuts and transitions that really harm the connection Arwin makes with the camera, which I think really hurts him since his stage presence is usually much better. |
| Kittens’s Prediction | Euan’s Prediction |
| Out | Out |
Laila Adele – “Oxygen”
Credit: Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026
Laila is alone on stage wearing a sparkly fishtail dress, on a platform raised slightly off the stage with delicate lighting. The lighting comes out from underneath the platform, and pulses with the song as it goes along.
| Kittens | Euan |
| On a technical basis, this song is such a tricky song and having a voice like this which just cuts through it almost effortlessly is such a boon. However, it’s a bit of a plodding song, and feels definitely of a different age – which could be good or bad depending on how you see it. The staging is a little too simple for my liking and the song a little unremarkable, but the vocal talent on show is just so good. | The line between throwback and dated is a fine one and I feel like this is a tad too much on the latter side. While Laila performs it outstandingly with great vocal ability, the song just isn’t memorable enough in itself to be carried through into the final. It really isn’t helped with the overly simplistic staging. While Laila is great herself, she needs more of a package. |
| Kittens’s Prediction | Euan’s Prediction |
| Out | Out |
Robin Bengtsson – “Honey Honey”
Credit: Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026
The performance opens with Robin walking forward with a guitar as the stage is dark with only some orange lights and some dry ice. He’s on his own the first chorus as the stage is bathed in purple lighting. After that he’s accompanied by 6 men dancing behind him clapping a lot. The last chorus sees them all move right to the front of stage intermixed with Robin.
| Kittens | Euan |
| Jay Smith wants his stage back, Robin. Robin is an accomplished vocalist and a performance professional, and the song is catchy, with the woohoo elements in particular – this is going to have a great audience who love this pop country stuff – but it’s not for me. Everything is so slick though, so I still can’t help but think it’ll qualify. | This is fine, though a little repetitive. Robin performs this slickly, but it’s really lacking some heart and soul. Something that I think that a country song of this nature should have. However a slick poppy country song is exactly what Sweden seems to like, and coupled with his good performance skills, I can see this easily qualifying. |
| Kittens’s Prediction | Euan’s Prediction |
| Direkt till Finalen | Direkt till Finalen |
FELICIA – “My System”
Credit: Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026
FELICIA is lit delicately in pink on a dark stage in her trademark mask, wearing a long black & red dress, glitter mesh top and long black PVC fingerless gloves with long red nails. The lasers kick in with 6 dancers joining and the long black skirt is gone, transforming into a short bustle dress with high boots. For the last chorus she switches to diamante encrusted sunglasses, removing her mask.
| Kittens | Euan |
| If you’ve been following FELICIA’s career since her first release, this will not be a surprise, and the songwriters on this song have written exactly as I would expect for her. I do feel like it’s slightly less impact than some of her other tracks – think less edgy pop like her previous releases and more Alan Walker and you’ve got the gist here. That means it won’t be for everyone and will lack that cross-age group appeal – but those that love it will REALLY love it, and it’s the most together staging of the week. | Felicia is encaptivating on stage. This performance draws you in at the beginning with the promise of a great banger in its opening and delivers for all three minutes. It’s extremely simplistic in its structure but perfects it. If I have to come up with any negative, it’s that the ending is a tad too abrupt. |
| Kittens’s Prediction | Euan’s Prediction |
| Finalkval | Direkt till Finalen |
Klara Almström – “Där hela världen väntar”
Credit: Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026
Klara is on stage surrounded by purple curtains hung up on ropes surrounding her. She is wearing a dress made from white tulle with a cape, and white & gold ruffle bloomer shorts. She steps out from the cloths at the end and waves her arms around to the song, as the crescendo raises to the last chorus.
| Kittens | Euan |
| I was a bit surprised by this one as it has much more punch and drama than I was anticipating, but the staging is slightly baffling, as it doesn’t really go anywhere – you really are waiting for the curtains to raise, which never happens! However, she has really good charisma and vocals, and I feel she could come back another time with a better song and staging and really go far in the contest. | If this were a just world this would landslide the semi final. The whole package here works fantastically. Klara comes off so charming on stage, and her vocals have an almost dreamy quality to them. Which is complemented greatly with the subtle staging. Ending on the big loud moment was a good choice here. |
| Kittens’s Prediction | Euan’s Prediction |
| Out | Out |
Brandsta City Släckers – “Rakt in i elden”
Credit: Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026
The performance begins with a few of them sliding down a pole before we get a mini drum solo. They’ve went heavy in the close up shots before opening up to allow all the pyro to be seen. The stage is bathed in red, white, and blue lights with intermittent varied pyro in the choruses.
| Kittens | Euan |
| Right from the start this is high impact, and honestly just camp. When we talk about universal appeal – there’s certainly some people who will find this cringe. But this has all the hallmarks of something that is going to be a classic for a while – singalongy bits, drumsticks that are literally on fire, absolutely daft staging with nods back to “Kom Och Ta Mig” – this is one that is gonna set people’s hearts on fire. | I feel like this would have made more sense to open the show with. It’s big, loud, and fun. I completely agree with Kittens here with it becoming a classic Melfest number. It can be quite hard to pull this off without it being too naff, but the guys have done really well here. This is a fun number. |
| Kittens’s Prediction | Euan’s Prediction |
| Direkt Till Finalen | Finalkval |
The second semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2025 will air on the 7th of February 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
Photo Credit: Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026