Unknown Marie Lindberg, a teacher from the small town of Munkedal, decided to write a song and send it to Melodifestivalen. The song �Trying to recall� was – to her big surprise – accepted and today she makes her debut in Melodifestivalen. Despite her lack of stage she is now considered one of the favourites in the final tonight and has received a lot of attention in the Swedish press the last couple of days. esctoday.com had the chance to speak with Marie.
How do you feel about your participation in Melodifestivalen?
– I have had some mixed feelings about my participation in the contest. There have been moments when I have been terrified but also moment of happiness. It is a big event and I don�t think I realized how big this was until I came here.
You don�t have any stage experience at all. Do you feel nervous when entering the stage in Scandinavium?
– I decided before I came here to try to think of the arena as a big living room. I wanted to keep the feeling I have at home with my guitar and focus on my song. It�s that kind of feeling that I want the viewers and listeners to get. But it didn�t really work, I guess. This living room has so many, many chairs… have you seen how huge this is? I have to admit that I felt quite small on stage in the beginning.
Can you explain how you felt after the first rehearsal and how it was to enter the stage?
– The rehearsal went fine! I have had the chance to practise a lot off stage and that has helped me a lot. It is very important for me to keep the genuine feeling of the song and I think I was able to do that today. However, it is good that we have had many chances to rehears on stage. Scandinavium is a huge arena and it takes a while to get used to it, I guess.
Are you nervous about your performance on Saturday night? Will you be able to sleep the day before?
– I am not nervous at all, actually. It would be so much better if I felt nervous earlier, but I feel quite calm. Actually I am enjoying my time here and think I will be able to sleep well. And � I�ll need that sleep to be able to give a good performance.
You are competing against some really well-known names here in Göteborg. What is your feeling about that?
– There are so many new impressions all the time. Every single thing here is new to me and I simply have to try to focus on my own song and performance. I haven�t had the chance to speak very much with the other artists yet and I haven�t even heard all the songs. They seem very nice, though. One has to remember that we are all just people. I am a teacher and am new to this, but the others are also just people as well even though they are more experienced artists than I am.
What do you think about your chances in the contest?
– I have no expectations at all. I don�t think about winning or loosing. I just want to give a good performance on stage that people can like and that I can feel proud of.
Marie, you are working as a teacher in Munkedal. Are you hoping to get support from your pupils on Saturday?
– I know that they are going to watch the show. I hope that they will be proud of me and that they will vote for me!
Good luck, Marie!
– Thank you very much!
