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 continues for another week, Tim and Kittens 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.
Patrik Jean – “Dusk Till Dawn”
(c) Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026
Patrik stands on a dimly red/orange lit stage wearing a leather jacket with red ‘rips’ in it, with the lighting turning dark with a blue tint. The camera zooms out to reveal he’s standing on a glowing box. In the second verse we see dancers inside the box pushing their hands against the surface. By the second chorus they pop out and join Patrik on top of the box, caressing Patrik and lifting him at the drop. For the last shot it fades back to a similar shot to the start, with the orange lighting again.
| Tim | Kittens |
| This is promising, a growth from “Tears Run Dry”. I really hope he pulls through, cos it is a very niche song, and my concern is it might get lost with the variety of songs we have. | I’ve always been a fan of when Patrik brings the bangers, and this is intensely for me. It’s very slickly done but his voice seems to suffer a little (maybe he is saving himself for main performances though). Putting my personal feelings aside, I worry that this won’t be enough to really push it to a wide audience across the age brackets, and might find itself a bit lost. Not a firm prediction by any means but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it crash out, unfortunately (but I will be streaming!). |
| Tim’s Predication | Kittens’ Prediction |
| Finalkval | Out |
Korslagda – “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll”
(c) Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026
Ubbe walks out onto stage moodily wearing a winged jacket with his name on it while the band play on stage. The staging features a stack of ‘Korslagda’ branded ‘speakers’ on each side of the drummer and a huge hanging gold crown in the middle of the stage. The band play throughout and end triumphantly with arms outstretched.
| Tim | Kittens |
| I really have no comment, it’s something you’d here in the 80’s/90’s, it personally doesn’t stick out to me, my concern is the appeal on the age groups, where I don’t think they would make it past. There is a very small path for them to get through to the next round, but only time will tell if it will happen. | This is firmly “För Männen som byter kanal”. Classic rock sound here with a no-fuss staging that is exactly as I would expect for them. This is definitely gonna get an audience and while I suspect some of the standard Melfest crowd might recoil, I think it may well find fans across more age groups than you might expect. The job might be simple – there’s no flashy staging here, but they do it well. |
| Tim’s Prediction | Kittens’ Prediction |
| Out | Direkt till Finalen |
Emilia Pantić – “Ingenting”
(c) Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026
In the beginning, we see Emilia sitting on a park bench, with a green background that is dark and orange, then when we get to the chorus, Emilia then moves towards the front of the stage, then walks around, as the stage is filled with smoke. Emilia then walks towards a lamp post and circles around it until we go back to the second chorus where Emilia walks around the stage, goes up the park bench and walks around the stage. Emilia then ends the song sitting back on the bench.
| Tim | Kittens |
| The song does remind me a bit of Christina Parri and Gracie Abrams. I really felt the emotion in her performance. I do agree with Kittens that there is a lot happening, it might take away from the performance. Based on pattern, I’m finding it difficult to envisage a way for this getting past (for the moment.) | Sad girl with a guitar alert! The worst thing about this is the shaking camera, irregular cuts and too much smoke that seem to be prevalent throughout – I do really think they make it disorientating and take away from the song itself, and would love to see it stripped back – there’s just TOO much being done on the staging here for a song like this. Not for me musically or staging wise despite a lovely drifting borderline angry vocal from Emilia here. |
| Tim’s Prediction | Kittens’ Prediction |
| Out | Out |
MEDINA – “Viva L’Amor”
(c) Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026
Ali and Sami start in the audience, Sami holding a lit torch, both of them surrounded by dancers, one of which holds a flag with a stylised red heart on it. Everyone is wearing red pleather in various styles. The two move their way through the audience and eventually on to the substage pathway, and up to the main stage where the heart (from the flag) is broken apart in two pieces. At the bridge, Sami places his torch into the heart and sets the center on fire, as the two pieces are pushed together. They all finish with hands in the air and making various heart signs.
| Tim | Kittens |
| This is a banger, they make use of the stage effectively, and it is a very anthemic entry, this will definitely go to the final, no questions asked. | I had to go and look up the lyrics to this one because I suspected it was not just a party track and I was right. This is a party and valentines appropriate track for those who want to hear it, but, a declaration of protest otherwise. Given the subtle yet powerful staging, and the message on show here, I suspect that if you enjoyed Medina’s previous offerings you’ll enjoy this one, and boy does the Swedish public like their previous offerings. A clear DTF for me. |
| Tim’s Prediction | Kittens’ Prediction |
| Direkt Till Finalen | Direkt Till Finalen |
Eva Jumatate – “Selfish”
(c) Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026
Eva sings into a bedazzled mic & stand (with matching bedazzled nails!) in a short white dress with frills at the bottom, while stars appear on the back screen. After the first chorus, she steps away from the mic and sparkles follow her footsteps on the stage. For the last chorus, a firework curtain sparkles in the background.
| Tim | Kittens |
| It’s simplistic in its own right, Eva definitely shows off her vocals on this one. I really hope that everyone in the crowd cheers her on and that I am proven wrong here. | The song just…it’s a bit basic. It feels like a number in the second act of a musical theatre show that is mostly there to fill in time. Unfortunately it’s just not that memorable, and even with Eva giving it absolute gusto vocally and looking stunning I just wanted something much more elevated here. |
| Tim’s Prediction | Kittens’ Prediction |
| Out | Out |
Saga Ludvigsson – “Ain’t Today”
(c) Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026
We start with a shot of Saga standing, with the light shining at the back. We see her standing in the middle of the stage until the chorus, where she then walks around the stage where she is joined by the backing dancers, and she stays there as they dance around her for the second chorus. During the bridge, Saga lays on the floor for a brief moment, then stands bak up for the chorus, where she dances along with the dancers in the middle of the stage.
| Tim | Kittens |
| Definitely different from what we had last year, Saga definitely pulled out all the stops for this one. There is no way that this is not qualifying. | You kinda know what you’re getting with Saga and that’s no bad thing. The one thing that sets her apart from others is charisma, which she’s got in spades here. It’s very catchy and the whole performance is very slick – it is nothing new, but if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Given the Swedes seem to love their country inspired pop, I’m saying finalkval on this, but I do feel this one could end up literally anywhere. |
| Tim’s Prediction | Kittens’ Prediction |
| Direkt Til Finalen | Finalkval |
The third semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2025 will air on the 14th 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 Melodifestivalen this week? 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