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 the fourth semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2026, Kittens and Euan had a chance to watch some of the rehearsals, and they gave their opinions and predictions for Saturday’s show.
Cimberly – “Eternity”
(c) Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026
Cimberly stands alone dressed in a gold mesh draped dress on a slightly raised platform on the stage with diamond-style visuals on the back screen. She is eventually joined by two dancers/backing vocalists (think Dreamgirls style vibes). They leave her at the bridge and rejoin her for the last chorus.
| Kittens | Euan |
| This is significantly better than I expected, and if you enjoyed Jacqline’s funky entry this might be right up your street. Vocals are on point as you would expect from an Idol winner, and she looks so confident on stage, but the rest of the staging is a bit baffling, including her backing singers just popping up at one point which is unintentionally funny. It’s distracting a little from her own star quality – and I hope this won’t be the last we see of her. | If you’ll allow me a moment of Yassery; Yass. Cimberly is fantastic on the camera and the song has a fun atmosphere to it. Let down a tad by the staging that leaves her alone a more than I think she should be. I do think that despite how great this is, she won’t manage to make it into out of the semi. |
| Kittens’ Prediction | Euan‘s Prediction |
| Out | Out |
Timo Räisänen – “Ingenting är efter oss”
(c) Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026
Timo wears a black suit on stage and starts close to camera. His hands are subtly marked with a stripe (a reference to the song lyrics). The camera zooms out to show him standing in a circle of lights like a ferris wheel, which splay out in reds and pinks. He leaves the wheel to stand on the stage where dynamic travelling colours rush around at a pace during shots from above. The stage erupts in colours and lights for the last chorus before dropping to a close.
| Kittens | Euan |
| This is personally not to my taste at all, but will definitely reach an audience who love this kinda radio-friendly anthemic pop song. It really feels made to be sung in a stadium, and I can see this really coming alive with an audience. The staging feels completely irrelevant to the performance be honest – he’s just enjoyable to watch. This could end up qualifying directly, but if nothing else it definitely feels like something that will have legs post-competition regardless of what happens here. | It’s an okay song, but the staging and presentation of it just feels off. Like it was made for a different song entirely. Timo doesn’t seem natural on this stage. Even with the decent enough memorable tune I can’t really see this sticking with the audiences. |
| Kittens’ Prediction | Euan‘s Prediction |
| Finalkval | Out |
Meira Omar – “Dooset Daram”
(c) Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026
6 dancers appear on stage all holding small lit pots, with stone visuals on the screens and a large stone in the middle of the stage containing Meira, who is wearing a stone coloured sculptured dress and also has a lit pot. Dancers join her on the stone and eventually carry her off and onto the floor. A long line of fire appears in front of them and they move to the bstage, where Meira throws and dances with sand, and the dancers join her, throwing sand at the end.
| Kittens | Euan |
| If you liked ‘Hush Hush’ you’re going to be yasssssing already because it’s more of the same. Although there’s definitely more to the production this time, I can’t help but feel the vocals suffer a bit for it (although they may be being saved for the live performances). There’s so much going on on stage to distract you though – a catchy song and a dance routine that’s going to be on everyone’s TikTok by the end of the show, and I don’t think there’s too much risk of this crashing out. | Aye so this is DtF AF. It’s not a vocally taxing number but one that Meira manages to pull off well. There’s drama in the beat that really hooks you in early on. The one criticism I do have is that Meira in her outfit doesn’t stand out enough and that combined with the lighting does make her seem a tad lost towards the middle part of the performance. |
| Kittens’ Prediction | Euan‘s Prediction |
| Direkt till finalen | Direkt till finalen |
Felix Manu – “Hatar att jag älskar dig”
(c) Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026
Felix sits surrounded by cardboard boxes with images projected onto the faces of some of them. He’s wearing a black outfit with a snakeskin jacket while lights beat softly around him. He stands as the song swells, and alternates between standing and seated as the song retracts and goes harder. He ends seated, looking into the camera for the final notes.
| Kittens | Euan |
| This is song is unfortunately just a bit too generic for me, and the staging doesn’t really bring it much – it all just looks a bit basic, and a bit forgettable, which cannot be a good thing when it comes to voting. It’s a cute vibe when it’s on, and I wouldn’t turn it off, but it’s undercooked in nearly all of its elements, and just needs a big boost somewhere. Lots of potential here but not that memorable. | Felix sings this so well but this is a song that definitely will get lost in the mix. It feels like this is slowly building up to a bigger moment that just doesn’t arrive. The concept and elements are there; it’s just needs something a bit more to give it any impact. |
| Kittens’ Prediction | Euan‘s Prediction |
| Out | Out |
Erika Jonsson – “Från landet”
(c) Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026
Erika starts at the front of the stage where she is joined by a guitarist and a violinist, we then see that she is joined by a whole band, with Erika at the front playing the guitar. By the end of the first chorus, we see her walk around the stage, and stays in the same vicinity until the second chorus, where she walks towards the drummer then towards the mic stand. On the final chorus Erika walks counterclockwise, interacting with the whole band and ending the performance at the front of the stage.
| Kittens | Euan |
| It’s so aggressively traditional country (but in Swedish) that our Samantha is going to go gaga for this. It definitely doesn’t drag, and it’s got some pace and chantability, but the real gem is Erika’s charisma as a performer – she’s just so watchable. Honestly I could see this doing much better than I have predicted, considering how much we know that Sweden loves country. Yihaa and all that. | Not the kind of song I typically vibe with, but this came off so well. Erika manages to connect so well with the camera and work great with it. The whole concept from the song to the staging is so simple in its elements but everything they’ve done here is done to perfection. I know Sweden does love a country bop but I’m going to be cautious and put this in the Finalkval camp. |
| Kittens’ Prediction | Euan‘s Prediction |
| Out | Finalkval |
Smash Into Pieces – “Hollow”
(c) Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026
Chris Adam was not part of the rehearsal due to illness, and was replaced with a stand in, who lip synced the track.
We see the stand in singer in the middle with Per and Benjamin on the sides, with APOC on the drums and was lowered down to a platform filled with screens., where we see the guys in a sort of glitchy sequence, which is accompanied by smoke and lasers.
The guys mostly stay in the same position, with Per and Benjamin moving around the stage with pyros occurring all round them. Towards the end of the song, they all join APOC on the platform, and are lifted up as the song ends, and is accompanied with fireworks.
| Kittens | Euan |
| While it’s hard to judge the performance with the vocalist out of commission, this is Smash on their absolute usual. The song is quite poppy and leaning almost into some of the more rocky elements of EDM, but my only concern is that they have such a big staging piece and such a story they could be telling with it and it doesn’t really get told – it’s just flashy staging. A bit of a missed opportunity, but I don’t think for one minute it won’t qualify regardless. | I know Malmö is a big scarred from the last time they hosted Eurovision, but I do think that when they host next year it should be there over Stockholm. That is to say because this is a winner. They have leaned much more into an electronic pop vibes while still managing to keep some class rock here. I would disagree with Kittens when it comes to the story aspect. Yes, it doesn’t convey a story, but I don’t think they or the song need one here. It stands out in itself enough to justify being what it is. |
| Kittens’ Prediction | Euan‘s Prediction |
| Direkt till finalen | Direkt till finalen |
The fourth semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2025 will air on the 21st 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