Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest - 2009

The Swedish Final, Melodifestivalen 2009, was held on March 14th at the Globe Theatre in Stockholm, hosted by Petra Mede. The winner was chosen by televoting (50%) and 11 regional juries & an international jury (50%).

Before the final there were 5 semi-finals.

The Swedish Semi-Finals were also hosted by Petra Mede. The first 4 semi-finals had three rounds of televoting. In the first round, the top 5 songs were chosen, before the top 4 songs were chosen in the second round. In the third round, songs competed in pairs (indicated below by P1 & P2). The most popular song from the second round competed against the song that came 4th, and the 2nd & 3rd placed songs also competed against each other. The winner of each pair qualified for the final, while the other song went forward to the 5th semi-final where they had a second chance to qualify for the final. In the 5th semi-final songs competed in groups of pairs. The most popular song from each pairing was chosen by televoting, then the winners of pairs 1 & 2 competed against each other to qualify for the final as did the winners of pairs 3 & 4. An international jury selected one song from the first 4 semi-finals, and after all the semi-finals had been held they awarded a 'wildcard' for the final. The international jury's favourites were Caroline af Ugglas, Amy Diamond, Sofia & Sarah Dawn Finer - Sofia was awarded the 'wildcard'.

Results:

Semi-Final 1 - February 7th - Scandinavium, Gothenburg

1. Stay the night - Alcazar (P1) (Final)
2. You're my world - Emilia (P2) (Final)
3. Snälla, snälla - Caroline af Ugglas (P2) (Second Chance)
4. Jag tror på oss - Scotts (P1) (Second Chance)
5. Tick tock - Nina Söderquist (out)
6. Disconnect me - Marie Serneholt (out)
7. Welcome to my life - Jonathan Fagerlund (out)
8. Med hjärtat fyllt av ljus - Shirley Clamp (out)

Semi-Final 2 - February 14th - Skellefteå Kraft Arena, Skellefteå

1. Hope & glory - Måns Zelmerlöw (P2) (Final)
2. 1000 miles - H.E.A.T (P1) (Final)
3. It's my life - Amy Diamond (P1) (Second Chance)
4. Show me heaven - Lili & Susie (P2) (Second Chance)
5. What if - Cookies 'n Beans (out)
6. Kärlekssång från mig - Markoolio (out)
7. Never been here before - Jennifer Brown (out)
8. Jag ska slåss i dina kvarter! - Lasse Lindh & Bandet (out)

Semi-Final 3 - February 21st - Ejendals Arena, Leksand

1. Baby goodbye - E.M.D. (P1) (Final)
2. Så vill stjärnorna - Molly Sandén (P2) (Final)
3. You're not alone - BWO (P2) (Second Chance)
4. I got u - Rigo & The Topaz Sound feat. Red Fox (P1) (Second Chance)
5. Du vinner över mig! - Mikael Rickfors (out)
6. The queen - Velvet (out)
7. Alla - Sofia (out)
8. Här för mig själv - Gullstrand (out)

Semi-Final 4 - February 28th - Malmö Arena, Malmö

1. La Voix - Malena Ernman (P2) (Final)
2. Love love love - Agnes (P1) (Final)
3. Higher - Star Pilots (P1) (Second Chance)
4. Moving on - Sarah Dawn Finer (P2) (Second Chance)
5. Sweet kissin' in the moonlight - Thorleifs (out)
6. Esta noche - Next 3 (out)
7. Killing me tenderly - Anna Sahlene & Maria Haukaas Storeng (out)
8. Du är älskad där du går - Susanne Alfvengren (out)

Semi-Final 5 - March 7th - Himmelstalundshallen, Norrköping

Jag tror på oss - Scotts (out) V Moving on - Sarah Dawn Finer (Q)
Show me heaven - Lili & Susie (Q) V You're not alone - BWO (out)
It's my life - Amy Diamond (out) V Star Higer - Pilots (Q)
I got u - Rigo & The Topaz Sound feat. Red Fox (out) V Snälla, snälla - Caroline af Ugglas (Q)

Moving on - Sarah Dawn Finer (Final) V Show me heaven - Lili & Susie (out)
Higher - Star Pilots (out) V Snälla, snälla - Caroline af Ugglas (Final)


The Final - March 14 - Globen, Stockholm

01. La voix - Malena Ernman, 182 points
02. Snälla, snälla - Caroline af Ugglas, 171 points
03. Baby goodbye - E.M.D., 145 points
04. Hope & glory - Måns Zelmerlöw, 144 points
05. Stay the night - Alcazar, 139 points
06. Moving on - Sarah Dawn Finer, 87 points
07. 1000 miles - H.E.A.T., 82 points
08. Love love love - Agnes, 40 points
09. You're my world - Emilia, 28 points
10. Alla - Sofia, 12 points
11. Så vill stjärnorna - Molly Sandén, 2 points

The final winner was Malena Ernman with the pop/opera song La voix, composed by Ernman and last year's winning composer Fredrik Kempe, and was sung in both English and French. Ernman received top marks from the televoting public, and only came 8th with the juries. Second place went to Caroline af Ugglas with Snälla snälla, while third place went to boyband E.M.D. with Baby Goodbye.

Since Sweden is not one of the "Big Four" and was not the host of the 2009 contest, it had to compete in one of the two semi-finals.

Following a draw in Moscow, the Swedish entrant took part in the first semi-final on 12 May 2009, performing 5th. At the semifinal, Sweden's entry qualified for the final, which took take place on May 16. Sweden finished 21st of 25 participants with just 33 points.

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Sara Magdalena Malena Ernman (born November 4, 1970 in Uppsala, Sweden) is a Swedish opera singer (coloratura mezzo-soprano). Malena Ernman is a versatile artist in her field, who outside the world of opera and operettas also has performed chansons, cabaret, jazz, appeared in musicals and she is a performer who's declared that she's very much attracted to the attributes of varité theatre and small, intimate stage rooms. Malena represented Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia. Malena Ernman is a member of The Royal Swedish Academy of Music.

Malena has sung in many opereas and operettas and she is today a highly renowned concert artist with concerts in Tokyo, Berlin, Madrid, Rome, Paris, London and Los Angeles. She has performed with many notable conductors and artists.

On November 28, 2008 it was announced that Malena Ernman would enter Melodifestivalen 2009 for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, with the song La voix written by Fredrik Kempe. On February 28, 2009 Malena competed in the 4th semi-final of Melodifestivalen in Malmö and was announced as a finalist. She then went on to win the final on March 14 at the Globe Arena in Stockholm and to represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow. Sweden was put into the first of two semifinals from which the songs would advance to the finals. At the end of SF1, Ernman emerged as a finalist. La voix was the first Swedish entry to contain a substantial amount of French lyrics, written by Ernman herself who speaks French fluently. Malena revealed that the dress for her Eurovision performance cost 400,000 kronor (€37,471) and was made by designer Camilla Thulin. Singer Dea Norberg joined Ernman as one of the choirgirls. She qualified through the first semi final on May 12 to the final on May 16 where she finished 21st with 33 points.