Entries for Melodifestivalen 2021 open today, but we’re already one step closer to discovering the first confirmed artist. Sverigesradio has announced the eight finalists who will compete in P4 Nästa 2020 next month.
The contest is run by Swedish Radio network P4 and it aims to find new artists and new music suited to the station format. The eight finalists were selected from 25 nominees representing the regional P4 stations.
The eight acts will compete at the grand final of P4 Nästa on 12 September and the winning song will be playlisted on the P4 network. As well, one act will be given a wildcard entry to compete in the semi-finals of Melodifestivalen 2021.
The eight acts who will compete at the P4 Nästa 2020 grand final are:
- Agnes Rehn – “Goodbye”
- Alicia Jern – “Friendzone”
- Amskøld – “Standby”
- Hilde & Erik – “Som det är”
- Julia Alfrida – “Dark doom”
- Nina Bring – “Nära”
- Northlight – “Equally different”
- Sanna ft. Re:Bond – “Aldrig det”
The ticket to Melodifestivalen
Since 2012, P4 Nästa has also given one act a place in the semi-finals of Melodifestivalen. The ticket originally went to the overall Nästa winner, but since 2015 it has been decided separately by the competition jury. The adult radio favourites of Nästa haven’t always been a good match for the bright television aesthetic of Mello.
The Nästa acts with the best results at Melfest were Terese Fredenwall with “Breaking the Silence” in 2012 and Smilo with “Weight of the World” in 2015. Both acts each placed fifth in their respective semi-final, and both narrowly missed out on Andra Chansen.
Most recently, popstress Amanda Aasa placed sixth in her Mello semi-final with the upbeat number “Late”. To date, no Nästa act has made it all the way to the Melfest grand final.
As the P4 Nästa 2020 competing songs have been released before the 1 September release deadline for Eurovision songs, the winner of the Melodifestivalen wildcard must enter Melfest with a new song.
The grand final of P4 Nästa 2020 will take place on 12 September at Västerås Konserthus. The Swedish government currently has a limit of 50 people maximum for such events due to Covid restrictions.
P4 Nästa 2020 finalists
Agnes Rehn – “Goodbye”
Alicia Jern – “Friendzone”
Amskøld – “Standby”
Hilde & Erik – “Som det är”
Julia Alfrida – “Dark doom”
Nina Bring – “Nära”
Northlight – “Equally different”
Sanna ft. Re:Bond – “Aldrig det”
Who is your favourite P4 Nästa 2020 finalist?
Who is your favourite in this year’s contest? Listen to the eight finalists and vote for your favourite. You can vote for as many acts as you like, but you can only vote once — so make it count!
[polldaddy poll=10598013]Which is your favourite P4 Nästa 2020 entry? Who should win the contest? And who should get the Melfest wildcard? Sound off below!
They all sound pretty great! After a first listen, my favourites are Goodbye and Nära.
„Friendzone“ direkt till final *_* this song is soooo good
Actually the one who wins MUST write a new song for Melfest. The rules.
really? but why? 🙁
Because it has to be new original songs..
Lovely report. Thanks love.
My faves are “Friendzone” and Goodbye” (testing the functions of bold and italics btw xD). P4 Nästa seems to have a lot of “lounge” and “chill” music this year, so I was happy listening to “Goodbye“, because it’s a bit more upbeat and straight forward in this field 😀
Maybe, it would be better for the P4 Nästa songs to be created for Eurovision and to be presented after Andra Chansen. There could be an online voting after Andra Chansen, and the act with the most votes secures an additional ticket to the final. In theory, the singer/group that wins the PM4 Nästa wildcard could switch to a song not many people like, which could be avoided this way. The majority of the Melodifestivalen finalists are generally returnees. Young and talented singers/songwriters could bring a breath of fresh air to the Melfest final. I don’t think that an additional… Read more »