Since 2015, they’ve been bringing colour and energy to Melodifestivalen with their quirky pop songs. However, now the dynamic duo Samir & Viktor have announced they are putting their joint music career on hiatus. But they’re not quite bowing out yet — the duo are giving fans one last single, “Arbetslös”.
Samir Badran and Viktor Frisk have been performing as a pop duo since 2014, but are now putting their music career on pause. But they’re making sure they go out with a bop.
Their new song “Arbetslös” (“Unemployed”) and is a playful look at the state of the workforce in these trouble times of the pandemic.
As Viktor explained to Aftonbladet, “It is with a twinkle in the eye regarding everything that has happened due to Covid-19 and everything that has happened during the year.”
But Viktor was clear to explain that the song wasn’t autobiographical. While the two performers will be leaving the world of pop, they have new career plans. Viktor revealed, “I will open a social media agency that will be launched in a few months. It will be exciting to enter the tech industry, so if the Swedish people think I would be unemployed because of the single, it is not so.”
Samir, meanwhile, is training to be a broker and is currently focusing on his studies.
Viktor was clear that there is no bad blood between the pair — it’s just time for them to go on separate directions. And, as Viktor told Aftonbladet, “there will definitely be a reunion in the future.”
Samir & Viktor at Melodifestivalen
Samir & Viktor made their Melfest debut in 2015. At the time, Samir Badram was best known for his time on the reality show Paradise Hotel, while Viktor Frisk was a fashion blogger.
They debuted at Mello with “Groupie”, an ode to taking a selfie with a group of friends. The song placed eighth at Melfest but reached No.3 in the Swedish charts.
Samir & Viktor returned in 2016 with “Bada nakna”, a celebration of swimming naked in the Sergels Torg fountain in central Stockholm. The Melfest performance included copious amounts of water and shirtlessness and the duo reached No.1 in the pop charts.
The duo made their final Melfest appearance in 2018 with the energetic “Shuffla”. For the first time, the won its semi-final and went directly to the grand final. There it finished fourth, and it also reached No.2 in the single chart.
Samir & Viktor have also had success with other singles, including their aptly named debut “Success”, “Saxof*ckingfon”, “Fick Feeling”, “Kung” and “Put Your Hands Up för Sverige”.
But with the pair putting their career on pause, it’s clear that they won’t be part of the lineup of Melodifestivalen 2021. SVT typically announces the full Melfest lineup in late November.
What do you think? Should Samir and Viktor enter Melodifestivalen as solo artists? Who else would you like to see on the Mello lineup? Tell us your thoughts below!
Everyone’s favorite best friends. I hope they keep hanging out together!
they should host the melfest greenroom together
Well, I guess we’ll see them on onlyfans.