Undoubtedly, they had to carry out quite a difficult task… Among a total of 2,295 songs that were submitted to the forthcoming edition of Sweden’s Melodifestivalen, a 15-member jury panel was appointed to whittle them down and determine which – only – 28 would embark on the live shows that start in February.

As the Swedish broadcaster SVT reports, the selection committee consisted of music experts, people involved in Melodifestivalen in any way, as well as some regular viewers. Their final verdict became known a few weeks back, with the revelation of the 28 acts that will fight for the ticket to Tel Aviv.

Here are their names:

1. Karin Gunnarsson (Head of jury), 42, Assistant Competitor, Melodifestivalen
2. Arantxa Álvares, 27, TV hostess
3. Keisha von Arnold, 23, Dancer/Choreographer
4. Michael Cederberg, 54, Music editor/TV host, Sveriges Radio P4
5. Johan Fridlund, 24, teacher
6. Martin Glemme, 37, Music industry consultant
7. Leo Gullberg, 25, Project Manager
8. Mari Hesthammer, 30 år, Music editor, Sveriges Radio P3
9. Ida Isaelsson, 31, Economist
10. Rickard Keilor, 47, NRJ Program Manager
11. Naya Lamaj, 27, Program Manager P3 Star, Sveriges Radio P3
12. Carl-Philip Landin, 28, Competition Manager, Melodifestivalen
13. Sophia Olofsson, 27, Senior editor, Spotify
14. Robert Sehlberg, 49, Music Director, NENT Group Radio
15. Germund Stenhag, 50, Music Director, Sveriges Radio P4

Melodifestivalen 2019 starts on 2 February with the conduct of the first semi-final, live from Gothenburg, while the final is set to be held on 9 March at Stockholm’s Friends Arena. The event’s hosts for 2019 are Marika Carlsson, Eric Saade, Kodjo Akolor and Sarah Dawn Finer.

Sweden at Eurovision 2018

Lisbon’s Eurovision edition saw the Scandinavian country being represented by the young artist Benjamin Ingrosso, right after winning Melodifestivalen 2018 with his pop entry Dance you off, which later managed to hit the charts of many European countries (like France, Spain, Poland and the United Kingdom) and finish in high peak positions.

The song was penned by Benjamin himself, as well as MAG, Louis Schoorl and K Nita. Benjamin flew to Lisbon in May, where he placed 2nd in the second semi-final and finally made it to the Grand Final’s Top 10, coming 7th with a total of 274 points from both the national juries and the public.

Here’s his performance at Lisbon’s Altice Arena: