Yeah, they’re finally out! Through a long-awaited press conference, the Swedish national broadcaster SVT has now revealed the names of the artists that are going to participate in one of the most popular national selection procedures, Melodifestivalen.

SVT had received 2,771 proposed entries for the competition, which marks the largest number of submissions after 2012. Only 28 of them have now made it to the live shows, with the first having been determined via a wildcard. It was the singer Stiko Per Larsson, who won the music contest P4 Nästa in late August and was announced as the first comfirmed 2018 act.

From these 28 confirmed acts, 7 will be participating at each of the 4 scheduled semi-final evenings, each hosted in a different Swedish city. Following the four semi-finals and the Andra Chansen (Second Chance) round, the national selection will conclude in March with the Grand Final, which will feature 12 entries being one breath away from the Lisbon-hosted Eurovision.

One of them is the Swedish 2018 entrant!

After a long period with the rumour mill being in overdrive, the confirmed competing acts are the following:

Semi-Final 1: Karlstad

• Renaida – All the feels 
  Laurell Barker, Jon Hällgren, Peter Barringer, Lukas Hällgren
• Benjamin Ingrosso – Dance you off 
  Benjamin Ingrosso, MAG, Louis Schoorl, K Nita
• Edward Blom – Livet på en pinne 
  Edward Blom, Thomas G:son, Stefan Brunzell, Kent Olsson
• John Lundvik – My turn 
  Anna-Klara Folin, John Lundvik, Jonas Thander
• Kikki Danielsson – Osby Tennessee 
  Sulo Karlsson, Kikki Danielsson
• Sigrid Bernson – Patrick Swayze 
  Andrej Kamnik, Josefin Glenmark, Peg Parnevik, Sigrid Bernson
• Kamferdrops – Solen lever kvar hos dig
  Herbert Trus, Danne Attlerud, Martin Klaman, Krstoffer Tømmerbakke, Erik Smaaland, Kamferdrops

Semi-Final 2: Göteborg

• Ida Redig – Allting som vi sa 
  Yvonne Dahlbom, Jesper Welander, Ida Redig
• Jonas Gardell – Det finns en väg 
  Calle Kindbom, Jonas Gardell, Mats Tärnfors
• Margaret – In my cabana 
  Anderz Wrethov, Linnea Deb, Arash Labaf, Robert Uhlman
• Liamoo – Last breath 
  Liam Cacatian Thomassen, Morten Thorhauge, Peter Bjørnskov, Lene Dissing
• Samir & Viktor – Shuffla 
  Andreas ”Stone” Johansson, Denniz Jamm, Costa Leon, Samir Badran, Viktor Frisk
• Mimi Werner – Songburning 
  Göran Werner, Mimi Werner, Niki Niki, Carl Varga, Johan Åsgärde, Oliver Lundström
• Stiko Per Larsson – Titta vi flyger 
  Stiko Per Larsson, Emil Rotsjö

Semi-Final 3: Malmö 

• Martin Almgren –  A bitter lullaby 
  Josefin Glenmark, Märta Grauers
• Dotter – Cry 
  Linnea Deb, Peter Boström, Thomas G:son, Johanna ”Dotter” Jansson
• Moncho – Cuba Libre 
  Jimmy Jansson, David Strääf, Markus Videsäter, Axel Schylström, Moncho
• Mendez – Everyday 
  Leopoldo Mendez, Jimmy Jansson, Palle Hammarlund
• Kalle Moraeus & Orsa Spelmän – Min dröm 
  Thomas G:son, Alexzandra Wickman
• Jessica Andersson – Party voice 
  Fredrik Kempe, David Kreuger, Niklas Carson Mattsson, Jessica Andersson
• Barbi Escobar – Stark 
  Barbi Escobar, Costa Leon, Andreas ”Stone” Johansson

Semi-Final 4: Örnsköldsvik

• Felicia Olsson – Break that chain 
  Bobby Ljunggren, Kristian Lagerström, Henrik Wikström, Joy Deb
• Felix Sandman – Every single day 
  Noah Conrad, Tony Ferrari, Parker James, Jake Torry, Felix Sandman
• Mariette – For you 
  Jörgen Elofsson
• Rolandz – Fuldans 
  Fredrik Kempe, David Kreuger, Robert Gustafsson, Regina Hedman
• Emmi Christensson – Icarus 
  Thomas G:son, Christian Schneider, Andreas Hedlund, Sara Biglert
• Elias Abbas – Mitt paradis 
  Anderz Wrethov, Hamed “K-One” Pirouzpanah, Sami Rekik
• Olivia – Never learn 
  Anton Ewald, Jonas Wallin, Trond Smeplass

Melodifestivalen 2018 sees a total of 23 artists debuting and 14 artists who have participated in the past returning this year.

From each semi-final, 2 songs will be automatically qualified to the Grand Final and a further 2 will be offered another chance to make it to the Final through the Second Chance round. An additional 4 entries will progress to the final from the Second Chance, bringing the total number of competing entries in the final to 12.

Melodifestivalen 2018 calendar

The 58th Melodifestivalen is going to start on 3 February in the city of Karlstad, which will host the first semi-final evening. After 5 weeks, the Grand Final will be hosted at the Friends Arena in Stockholm. The show presenter will be the singer David Lindgren, after a successful course in 2017.

Here is the event’s full calendar:

• 3 February: Semi-final 1 – Karlstad, Löfbergs Arena
• 10 February: Semi-final 2 – Gothenburg, Scandinavium
• 17 February: Semi-final 3 – Malmö, Malmö Arena
• 24 February: Semi-final 4 – Örnsköldsvik, Fjällräven Center
• 3 March: Andra chansen (Second chance) – Kristianstad, Kristianstad Arena
• 10 March: Final – Stockholm, Friends Arena

Tickets are already available for purchasing from both Live Nation and Ticket Master!

Which is your favourite Melodifestivalen 2018 act? And who will be Robin Bengtsson’s successor?