Ahead of his participation in Melodifestivalen 2026 tomorrow night, Vilhelm Buchaus, who is participating for the second time with his entry “Heart’s Don’t Lie”
Hi Vilhelm, I would like to start off by asking how are you?
I’m great! I’m in the middle of preparing for Melodifestivalen and it’s very fun!
We’ll start with something light, I first wanted to ask you, how does it feel to be participating in Mello once again, and what made you want to participate again?
I really liked it last year and it was great to see the response on my song and performance, which made me excited to come back.
Even though you did not make it to the final, the Swedish public took to heart “I’m Yours”, I wanted to ask you, how have things changed for you since gaining all of this exposure in Sweden?
It has been really fun to do shows in Sweden this year, after all that’s what I love about music, to play my songs live. And this year has really opened up the opportunity to do more shows.
In 2025, you also released your debut album “Shades of Blue”, which had some time in the lead-up, how would you describe the experience completing this record, what has been the highlight, and out of the 15 tracks, and which song is your personal highlight?
I’ve been writing songs for this record for the last 2 years. Since it is my first album, this experience is completely new! It has been fun so really dig into a certain kind of sound that I enjoy, and then find my voice inside of it. My favorite song always change but now I think it’s Live Forever.
Looking into Mello, you are back once again with your entry “Heart’s Don’t Lie”, what’s your entry about, and the process like creating your entry
Hearts don’t lie is about realising that you can’t control what someone feels about you, and how hard that can be. I wrote a lot of different versions and tried to pick out the best part of each for the final version.
How does “Hearts Don’t Lie” differ compared to “I’m Yours”
Hearts don’t lie is definitely a bigger sounding song. I recorded it with a full band and it is much more rock genre compared to I’m Yours.
I was looking at the song credits for your entry, and noticed that you wrote this with Isa Molin and David Zandén, who co-wrote “Hold Me Closer”, I remember from our previous interview, you mentioned that it is one of your go-to Eurovision songs, what was it like to work with them on “Hearts Don’t Lie”
It was amazing! I’ve been writing a lot of songs with Isa and David for the last 2 years so we know each other very well. We have a very similar taste in what we like when we write and record music which makes everything much easier and better.
At the time of this interview, we’re just over a month away, how are the preparations going for Mello?
The preparations are going great, everything is almost done and that feels great.
You’ve captivated a lot of people with the staging of “I’m Yours”, are you looking to replicate this or are we expecting something completely different this time round?
It would feel boring to replicate I’m Yours this year. I did that last year and now I wanna do something different, because the song is different. There will of course be some similarities, but I will focus more on making the performance bigger and inviting the audience, than I did last year.
Going into my last set of questions, you are going into this, having had the experience, what is the one thing you learnt from last year, that you are applying, as you do Mello again?
I’ve learnt that it’s just music and you can’t control the results, which means that I just have to focus on making myself proud.
Finally, let’s fast-forward to February, you are on stage performing “Heart’s Don’t Lie”, what message did you want to send to the audience as you perform your entry.
I want people to really feel the message I’m trying to share. The song is based on my own experiences, and I hope that anyone who’s been through something similar can connect with it.
Who is Vilhelm Buchaus
Stockholm-based Vilhelm Buchaus, 24, has developed his musical identity drawing inspiration from Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and John Mayer. He first gained attention by posting original songs and cover performances on YouTube before making his official debut in 2023 with the single “First Cut.” The following year, he released his EP “Quiet Rooms.”
Vilhelm made his debut in Melodifestivalen in 2025 with his entry “I’m Yours”, which unfortunately, did not advance further in the competition. Since he participated in Melodifestivalen, he has toured around Sweden, and released his debut album “Shades of Blue”
Vilhelm Buchaus will be participating in Melodifestivalen 2026 with his entry “Hearts Don’t Lie” which was written by Vilhelm alongside David ZandĂ©n, and Isa Molin.
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 to hear Vilhem’s entry for Mello? 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: That Eurovision Site
Photo Credit: V Dan Design
Thomas James