Swedish Summer singalong show Allsång på Skansen is in full swing, with weekly live shows featuring iconic Swedish acts, including some from Melodifestivalen and Eurovision. This week Duncan Laurence stopped by for the traditional Eurovision winner’s performance.
The Dutch star took to the Skansen stage and gave a rendition of his Eurovision winning song “Arcade”. He was accompanied by the show’s live band, giving a slightly different feel to his Eurovision performance.
Duncan performed the song at the end of the catwalk of the iconic Skansen stage. He brought a feeling of peace and stillness, with the sunlit evening Stockholm landscape providing a scenic backdrop.
The “Arcade” singer wore a light brown shirt with metal snap fastenings, along with black jeans and white sneakers. It was a simple look, but — just like with his Eurovision wardrobe — it let the emotional intimacy of his vocals be the focal point of the performance,
Icona Pop goes to Skansen
Also on the lineup was Icona Pop, the Swedish pop duo best known for their 2012 international hit “I Like It”. They returned to the Skansen stage to perform their new single “Next Mistake”.
Introduced by series host and Swedish Eurovision queen Sanna Nielsen, Caroline and Aino brought their energetic pop tune to the summer stage.
For their audience singalong song — an important part of the Allsång på Skansen tradition — Icona Pop covered Kikki Danielsson’s Eurovision 1985 hit “Bra vibrationer” (Good vibrations).
It wasn’t the first time Icona Pop had covered a Kikki Danielsson song. On the 2017 series of Så mycket bättre, both artists performed each others songs. Icona Pop did a tropical house take on Kikki’s “Don’t Slam the Door”, while Kikki did a down and dirty rock take on Icona Pop’s “Emergency”.
But Icona Pop’s appearance on Allsång på Skansen and their performance of a Swedish Eurovision classic has got fans wondering if something else is going on.
Icona Pop have long been said to be at the top of the Melodifestivalen producers wish list. There is speculation that the duo nearly agreed to be part of Melfest 2019, but ended up not taking part.
With Sweden not having selected a female of winner of Melodifestivalen since Sanna Nielsen in 2014, the show producers are thought to be on the lookout for strong female acts who’ll be challengers for the win. Could Icona Pop be tempted back for 2020?
What do you think? Did Duncan soothe you with his “Arcade” performance? Would you like to see Icona Pop at Melodifestivalen 2020? Tell us your thoughts below!
Please, STV, let Icona Pop compete in Melfest! It’d be also awesome if we had Skott, Smith & Thell, Seinabo Sei, Sofia Karlburg, Vulkano, Lune, Mahan Moi and Reinada in the competing act.
Off topic but since its about female artists.. I would love to see Laleh in MF. Of course it’s wishful thinking since she isn’t that type of artist but I think she is represents Sweden in a great way. She could grace the stage as a guest or something….
Duncan still slays!!! So beautiful….
you do know it’s ‘I Love It’ right?
“With Sweden not having selected a female of winner of Melodifestivalen since Sanna Nielsen in 2014, the show producers are thought to be on the lookout for strong female acts who’ll be challengers for the win.”
YES PLEASE!! 😀 😀 😀 I would not be able to stand the 6th solo male act in a row – it is getting boring… Celebrate diversity! <3
Pretty that sure that while this whole article gives centre stage to Duncan … a lot of you are focusin on the generic trash Icona Pop … I mean … with the majority prefering Soldi to Arcade despite none topping neither televoters nor juries … watching the Icona girls must be a thrill … no boring ballad-wah wah no emotional bs … just generic uptempo fun cause I rather pretend I am a teen than listening too stuff that speaks way to close to home.
Before his European tour he said in an interview , that will be end of September I think. His new songs are great. Can’t wait for his album to come out.
It always does make you wonder: considering how rarely Sweden’s contributions to the pop music world overlap with their Eurovision selections (save for the one notable exception that simultaneously made them major players in both), how come you don’t see more assistance on either side? Eurovision could use more Icona Pop, Tove Lo, or First Aid Kit. (Please, for all that is good and holy, send First Aid Kit one year.) And you cant say career worries, since, again, Sweden have the most iconic example in history of a hugely successful band who were launched into superstardom through Eurovision.
In the 70s … while two other Swedish groups durinv the 80s and 90s achieved #1 on the Billboard charts without needing the aid of Eurovision …
Sweden does seem to send acts whose success is contained domestically, it has to be said. Much like Australia, the acts they send have often had a fairly major local impact but not really made a dent overseas. However, much like a Sia or 5SOS, and like Adele and Ed Sheeran in the UK, the aforementioned acts might be too “big” for ESC, and fans themselves may not welcome them if it meant that Sweden (especially Sweden right now for a lot of fans) got a huge seventh victory off of an act so internationally renowned that the efforts of… Read more »
Unfortunately, many well known singers and producers here in Sweden aren’t interested of Melodifestivalen, because the songs won’t make an impact on the market, in comparison to, a commercially released song. Also, the success isn’t guaranteed. There is always a risk that a well known artists loses if they take part, which can hurt the reception of the song commercially. Melodifestivalen songs generally do well on the local Spotify list and on radio, but that’s basically it. Songs who actually succeeds abroad is quite uncommon, apart from the winner obviously, and although there are a few cases of non-winning songs… Read more »