At Melodifestivalen 2016 she placed third behind Frans and Oscar Zia.
But despite her towering performance at Friends Arena, the characteristically confident Ace Wilder says that she was uncharacteristically terrified on the night.
Speaking to Allehanda.se ahead of Saturday’s Melodifestivalen semi-final, she says the complexity of the “Don’t Worry” routine was seriously stressful.
“I don’t want to go through that again,” she said.
The sassy Swede turned to a sports psychologist, who helped her overcome her inner demons and go on to dazzle on stage. But behind the scenes all was not well.
“I got panic attacks and thought I would die a few times. The show needed to run smoothly and that meant I had so much to think about and so much that was out of my control.”
Ace Wilder on “Wild Child”
One thing she is happy to go through again is Melodifestivalen, which has fast proved “addictive”.
Her approach this year is “back to basics” and that means the staging for her entry “Wild Child” will be suitably stripped back.
A lot of the pressure last year came from anticipation after “Busy Doin Nothin”, and now she feels she can enjoy herself more.
“Of course I want to go to the finals and for things to go well for my number, but I’m just doing this now because I want to.”
Now on her third Melodifestivalen song, it sounds as though she isn’t tampering with her winning formula too much.
“It’s dance friendly and based on my life so it’s very personal. You’ll either love it or hate it, and I’m prepared for the fact that some people won’t understand it. I’ve come second and third, so now I’m gambling a bit and we’ll see what happens.”
We love fighting talk. Ace Wilder performs sixth at Deltävling 1, live this weekend from Gothenburg.
queen! love her attitude!
an esc fan
What on earth are you talking about…?
@Purple Mask I’m sad instead, he’s a Melfest fanboy(so doesn’t have the rights to say which songs are the worst, as MF is the most trashy NF)but still, says Rona Nishliu(the real 2° of Baku)is “trash”..
@Purple Mask
Exactly the comment I wanted to post! 😀
Won’t we get to hear song snippets like in the years before?
Yey! Angus Quinn is back!! 🙂
Sorry, off-topic I know…
@an esc fan: That paragraph actually doesn’t make sense to me, sorry.
I’m glad that Ace Wilder is able to stand up for herself; it’s one of the reasons I like her as an artist. Always put the music first though, and things will go well. 🙂
I don’t know why nordic women are so nice if their men are gay. Come in June to the Mediterranean Sea and you will meet men.
When are the snippets coming?
That song gave me headaches, and judging by the tragic lyrics her new entry Satan’s Child will be even more basic.