Kalle Johansson was named the first act for Melodifestivalen 2015 back in August after winning a radio competition. His sweet song ‘Den där dan’ won over fans and this Saturday Kalle Johansson will join six other acts at Deltälving 3 in Östersund. Kalle won’t be singing ‘Den där dan’ – instead he’ll be performing a new composition, ‘För din skull’, written with veteran ESC composer Thomas G:Son. We caught up with Kalle to chat about his performance and aspirations for Melodifestivalen 2015…
Hi Kalle, you won Svensktoppen Nästa back in August and as a result the opportunity to sing at Melodifestivalen. Have you been busy waiting to perform at Östersund?
Oh yes, I’ve been looking forward to this ever since I knew I was going to take part in it. And finally it’s this week! I’ve been rehearsing and preparing for this for months now. I’m ready for this!
You have already won one competition with public support – has that made you more confident entering Melodifestivalen?
For sure. I’m so very happy to have come this far but of course I’m hoping to be a contender in this very strong third qualifying round.
Why did you pick ‘För din skull’ as your entry for Melodifestivalen? Is it a different sound to ‘Den Där Dan’?
Because it’s such a good song! The song is really my taste and, yes, you can feel a litlle bit of the vibe from ”Den där dan”. The genre is Swedish pop with a touch of a schlager.
You have worked with Thomas G:Son on the song – do you think his experience will help?
I’m very sure of that. He’s a real legend within the Eurovision and knows his stuff very well obviously.
Have any other Melodifestivalen artists given you any advice for the competition?
I talked to some of them and they all say: Have fun during your week and enjoy every second of it.
What is the message of ‘För din skull’?
The title of the song is ”For your sake” in English. It’s about me doing anything for a girl. The song has beautiful lyrics and it’s kind of desperate but in a nice way.
Why did you decide to sing the song in Swedish? Did you have the option to record it in English?
I have kinda felt for a long time that I´ve wanted to sing in swedish. There’s no English version at the moment. But if we have reasons to record in English we´ll do so. 😉
What will your performance be like? Will you rock a simple look like in the Melodifestivalen promo pictures or do you have something else in mind?
It’ll give you a lot of energy and I really hope that I can get that across. The clothing in the pictures is me and I will stick to that look.
Lastly Kalle, thank you so much for the interview – do you have a message for your fans at wiwibloggs?
If you’d like to see pictures and videos behind the scenes of this week, don’t forget to like my Facebook fan-page. I hope you’re gonna like me and my song ”För din skull” (Even if it’s in Swedish). Thank you!
YOU CAN FOLLOW ALL OUR SWEDEN AND MELODIFESTIVALEN NEWS HERE
To support Kalle Johansson you can find him on Facebook here and on Instagram and Twitter at @JohanssonKalle
Photo Credit: Kalle Johansson Facebook
Not someone I would rule out for Andra Chansen.
D: actually that’s not true. In 2013, Therese Fredenwall competed in Melodifestivalen as the winner of Svensktoppen Nästa and she made it to the second round 😀
Considering Kalle’s song is composed by Thomas G:Son D, it’s worth keeping an eye out on him.
Winning Svensktoppen Nästa is basically like being given a ticket that says “Congratulations, with this ticket you will now place last in your Melodifestivalen semi-final”. No matter how good his song is, I doubt it’ll make it through to andra chansen or the final. EKO’s song was amazing and probably one of the best songs in all of Melodifestivalen 2014 yet it got 8th place in its semi.
Much like “The Way You Are” in Denmark, he seems like a sweet, talented kid. He’s going to get his arse handed to him.