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 next heat of Melodifestivalen 2026 is due to commence, Kittens and Euan had a chance to watch some of the rehearsals for the fifth semi-final of the competition, where they gave their opinions and predictions for Saturday’s show.
AleXa – “Tongue Tied”
(c) Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026
AleXa starts on stage alone wearing a white and galaxy colour dress and long white boots. Moons and black holes appear on the screen behind her. She is joined by dancers in combat style outfits with masks over their faces and lasers kick in as the beat kicks off and the dance routine goes off. Archways and windows appear on the screens behind her and choreo moves to the floor screen for a short period before coming back up to the main stage. She is left solo on the stage for a brief bridge but is joined by the dancers again for the end.
| Kittens | Euan |
| A challenger approaches! You know that pic of the pink house next to the black house? That’s AleXa and FELICIA right there. The K-pop high energy is all there in spades, and this is certainly the one that is gonna be spawning TikToks like it’s going out of fashion this week. For me, it’s super catchy, and has that rolling bass beat and catchy flute that people will be humming for days. And while it’s a tough week, I can see this being a big hit especially with the lower ends of the age brackets. | She has great energy that comes off great on stage and she really manages to work well with the camera. I don’t really have anything more positive to say about it. The song doesn’t really work. The composition feels rather messy, and not in a “chaotic but good” way. There’s catchy elements, but it doesn’t come together well. I think AleXa is capable of much better songs. Despite my criticism, I still think this is absolutely going to be a sure fire DtF. |
| Kittens’ Prediction | Euan‘s Prediction |
| Direkt till Finalen | Direkt till Finalen |
JULIETT – “Långt från alla andra”
(c) Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026
The band start off in a ‘room’ designed to look like they’re rehearsing in a dingy garage, with stacked record boxes and equipment all over the place. Three of them have mics, and one a guitar and one a mixer/drum pad. The three with mics sit on the sofa in the middle of the room as the chorus kicks in, and bounce along to the song. The walls fall outwards to reveal the rest of the stage as the song reaches the second chorus, and the group stand in line on the stage, moving along to the catwalk to the b stage for an audience participation moment as confetti rains from the roof.
| Kittens | Euan |
| I have to admit to being charmed by these guys throughout the performance – I started off with a sigh and then was bopping along to it by the end. The tune reminds me of some early Benjamin Ingrosso stuff, but what if it was being chanted at you by a troupe of giggling soft lads who have just fallen out of a pub after the rugby. This is gonna be a big hit this summer regardless of anything, but in this heat I cannot see it making it out unfortunately. | I am OBSESSED. Charming and intoxicating from the start. They all have great stage presence and fill the stage with so much fun. It’s a simple tune , but one that’s perfected to be a great earworm. Absolutely no way in hell is it qualifying, but this is definitely one I can still see doing well in the charts. |
| Kittens’ Prediction | Euan‘s Prediction |
| Out | Out |
Bladë – “Who You Are”
(c) Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026
Starting lying on the floor on a large circular white panel, Bladë is dressed in distressed sparkling denim jeans and matching bra top, with her long red hair splayed out behind her. She sits up and moves across the panel and is joined by dancers in torn white outfits, minimal makeup and red hair to match hers and the message of the song. The lighting changes to red for the bridge and the dancers move out and then back in behind her for the last chorus, running off for the final moments, leaving her alone on the white circle.
| Kittens | Euan |
| Oh I really wanted to connect with this but it is really missing a kick for me. The vocals are great and the styling is great, but the song itself is trying to do a lot of things and I am not sure it’s doing any of them that well. It’s a real shame because clearly the performance chops are there but it’s the song itself that is just a bit unmemorable. | I love this. The voices layered voices in the backing track feels a bit off. I think her voice stands enough on it’s own and would have had a better impact with just the focus on that. It’s a shame because she’s probably the best female vocalist we’ve had in Melfest this year, but I really can’t see this managing to make it out of the heat. |
| Kittens’ Prediction | Euan‘s Prediction |
| Out | Out |
Lilla Al-Fadji – “Delulu”
(c) Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026
On stage in a sequined blue jumpsuit, he starts crouched on the stage while various motifs match the song lyrics behind him. The camera zooms out to show he is on a circular platform, which has a map of the world on it. He is joined by 6 dancers in similar (but not sequinned) blue jumpsuits with ‘Delulu’ written on the back of them as key words from the lyrics appear on the back screen. Two dancers join him on the platform for the second verse. Pyro goes off after a short bridge, and confetti rains down on the audience as the circular platform rotates for the last chorus.
| Kittens | Euan |
| Well, this feels a Melfest interval song, funnily enough, given the writer. It’s definitely the song that’s going to be the ‘watercooler moment’ for the week, but it does feel slightly undercooked. I really feel like it could have done a bit more to really ramp up the comedy elements of this – the performance is a bit too static and doesn’t really go far enough. Entertaining for sure, but not a real challenger for me. | Now I don’t speak Swedish so can’t really comment on the comedic aspects of the song, but it does not translate well. The backing track is great and does have a nice beat that stays with you. The whole package feels like it needs something more. There’s a lot of energy in the song, but the performance is completely lacking it. It makes it feel quite jarring. Can’t see this qualifying. |
| Kittens’ Prediction | Euan‘s Prediction |
| Out | Out |
Vilhelm Buchaus – “Hearts Don’t Lie”
(c) Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026
Vilhelm leans back against equipment boxes and speakers (stolen from JULIETT’s garage maybe?) wearing a embellished sparkling top and with a guitar around his shoulder. The camera zooms out to show a line of lights that cut across the stage, lighting him delicately as the song swells. Smoke fills the stage and he stands, moving forward to a mic stand at the pointed end of the stage as the lighting rig flips around and around, shining lights across the screen and camera effects shake the screen as the chorus reaches the peak. He takes to the guitar for the second verse, abandoning it for the chorus as smoke goes off everywhere. He moves to the b-stage for a quiet bridge moment and the song explodes as big pyro goes off on the main stage for the last chorus.
| Kittens | Euan |
| This is classic sadboi pop/rock music and it is done really well. Vocally it’s incredibly on point, and the performance is really engaging. I am going to come straight out and say I’m not the audience for this, but I can appreciate that it absolutely will be a winner for so many – and in any other heat I would have placed this as a definite DTF. Unfortunately in this one I think it might suffer somewhat, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see my prediction be totally incorrect. | Well. This is not what I was expecting. Cursing Kittens for not preparing me to brace myself for such a brilliant performance. I’m predicting Finalkval, but I think if any of the non-DtF predictions were to make an out of the blue first qualification, it would be this. There’s something je ne sais quoi about this performance that I could see it touch a lot of people in a lot of different demographics. |
| Kittens’ Prediction | Euan‘s Prediction |
| Finalkval | Finalkval |
Sanna Nielsen – “Waste Your Love”
(c) Stina Stjernkvist / SVT for Melodifestivalen 2026
Sanna appears on stage in a silver sparkly hooded bodysuit, with black lighting closing the stage except for a small strip of light outlining her. As the chorus kicks in, the lighting changes to pink and creates a catwalk which she struts down confidently. It recedes back for the second verse, beating softly and then kicking back up to the catwalk for the chorus. Lights in close range above her light her way before the whole arena explodes into lights for the last chorus and she walks down to the b-stage and onto a raised box as confetti rains down and pyro goes off for the final moments.
| Kittens | Euan |
| This is a more modern soulful anthemic pop vibe than I was expecting, but that’s no bad thing at all, and I think it will make it appealing to a lot of people. The talent on display here is exactly what you would expect from Sanna – and this is high energy, stonking pop music that wouldn’t be out of place being sung by someone like Jessie Ware. It is truly executed perfectly. What a closer! | Everything about this is Sanna by numbers. (which is not a bad thing!). Not leaning too much into traditional pop-schlager was definitely the right choice here. It isn’t the song for me, but I can see this quite easily dominating certain demographics. Sanna carries the stage well. This is definitely getting played hourly at euroclub this year isn’t it. |
| Kittens’ Prediction | Euan‘s Prediction |
| Direkt till finalen | Direkt till finalen |
The last semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2025 will air on the 28th 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: SVT