All songs for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 have been selected. During the weeks between the national final season and the actual Eurovision Song Contest, we will introduce all 43 entries in random order. Part twenty of the series is dedicated to the Swedish entry.

Basic information

Performer:	Eric Saade
Song:	Popular
Language:	English
Music:	Fredrik Kempe
Lyrics:	Fredrik Kempe
Draw:	8th in the second semi final

The song

Popular is an up-tempo dance pop song. Through the lyrics, the protagonist tells about his way into the the spotlight in order to get the girl he desires:

You never look my way
I can say
You will one day
I can say
You will one day

I will be popular
I will be popular
I’m gonna get there popular
My body wants you girl

The performer

Eric Saade became famous as a member of Swedish boyband What's Up! that he co-founded in 2007. With them he released the hit single Go girl, which reached number five on the single charts. In 2009 he left the band and persued his solo career. His first single Sleepless was released in December that year and it was followed by the successful debut album Masquerade in March 2010. The CD reached number two on the album charts. Besides, he is also a television host for children's programmes.

In 2010, Eric Saade competed in Melodifestivalen for the first time. With Manboy he won the second semi final and finished third in the final. In 2011, the returned with the song Popular. This time he managed to win in the grand final getting the highest number of votes both from the jury and the televoters. The song also reached the top of the single charts making it Eric Saade's second number one hit after Manboy.

The songwriter

Popular was written by Fredrik Kempe. He is no stranger to the Eurovision Song Contest as he already wrote or co-wrote the Swedish entries in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008 (Hero, 18th place) and 2009 (La voix, 21st place) as well as the Norwegian entry in 2010 (My heart is yours, 20th place). Since 2004, no less then 17 of his songs competed in Swedish Melodifestivalen. In 2004, he also competed as a performer.

The national selection

Melodifestivalen was once again to determine the Swedish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. Four semi finals and a second chance round had been held before the grand final, where ten songs competed. The winner was chosen by eleven international juries and televoting.

Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest

Sweden was the second Scandinavian country to enter the Eurovision Song Contest in 1958. Since then, theytookhome the victory four times in 1974, 1984, 1991 and 1999. The country finished in the top ten another 25 times and is one of the most successful participating countries. Until last year, it was also the only country apart from the big four that has been in the final of every Eurovision Song Contest since relegation started in 1993. However, the last four years were not very successful and last year Sweden did not qualify from the semi final for the first time.

Statistics

This will be Sweden's 51st participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. For the 16th time in total and for the first time since 2005 the country is represented by a male solo performer. Sweden remains one of the countries that had each of their entries at least partly performed in English since the abolishment of the language rule in 1999. Previously, all Swedish entries between 1973 and 1975, when the choice of language was free, had been performed in English. Sweden was also the first country without English as an official language to present a song in English in 1965.

Popular is the eighth song to be performed in the second semi final. It is preceeded by the up-tempo pop rock song from Moldova and it is followed by the mid-tempo pop ballad from Cyprus. An adavantage might be the fact that it is the first up-tempo Europop song in the second semi final.

Vi önskar Sverige och Eric Saade lycka till och ett bra resultat i Düsseldorf!

Videos

National final performance/preview video:

The video clip (director's cut):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VybgIkjycU

Eric Saade in the 2010 national final:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtK7lsAdBos

Tomorrow, we will take a look at the Bulgarian entry.

Previous parts of the series:

1. Estonia
2. Italy
3. Croatia
4. Slovakia
5. Lithuania
6. Finland
7. Switzerland
   
8. Ukraine
9. Norway
10. Moldova
11. Belgium
12. Azerbaijan
13. Ireland
14. Portugal
    
15. Austria
16. Latvia
17. France
18. Bosnia & Herzegovina
19. Romania