08 March 2026
Felicia won Melodfestivalen 2026 with My System and will present Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, in May. Heavily favoured heading into the final, Felicia saw off a minor challenge from Medina (performing Viva L’Amor) and Greczula (Half Of Me) during the jury phase of the voting before winning the public vote comfortably, and therefore Melfest itself. Greczula was able to score more public votes than Medina to snatch second place overall. The final totals were 161, 134 and 132 points, respectively. Smash Into Pieces (Hollow) was a distant fourth with 90 points.
The final of Melfest 2026 wasn’t a great one with so many banal, higher tempo entries and no slower songs or ballads at all. To make matters worse, the excitement of the many returning artists evaporated by nearly all of them bringing inferior or dud songs, which further contributed to a lacklustre and passe final. Felicia really stood out as something different, even if her entry wasn’t that great itself.
Results (Jury/Public)
01 Felicia – My System – 161 (71/90)
02 Greczula – Half Of Me – 134 (64/70)
03 Medina – Viva L’Amor – 132 (66/66)
04 Smash Into Pieces – Hollow – 90 (49/41)
05 Brandsta City Släckers – Rakt in i elden – 82 (34/48)
06 Cimberly – Eternity – 78 (48/30)
07 A-Teens – Iconic – 67 (31/36)
08 Lilla Al-Fadji – Delulu – 63 (24/39)
09 Meira Omar – Dooset daram – 41 (33/8)
10 Sanna Nielsen – Waste Your Love – 33 (17/16)
11 Robin Bengtsson – Honey Honey – 29 (22/7)
12 Saga Ludvigsson – Ain’t Today – 18 (5/13)
Review & Scores
01 A-Teens – Iconic (8)
Such an iconic Swedish entry with its catchy vibe, dancing, and key changes, and from an iconic Swedish group. Sad that it could only finish seventh.
02 Meira Omar – Dooset daram (7)
Another catchy, dance entry, and offered something a little different with its Middle Eastern vibe.
03 Lilla Al-Fadji – Delulu (6)
A fun, silly entry that kept me engaged. Not much more than that, and much more than some others could handle.
04 Saga Ludvigsson – Ain’t Today (5)
Backed up after her first appearance last year. I don’t remember anything about it other than her first name is familiar. This year is similarly unforgettable. I didn’t get much out of it at all. Too generic. Finishing last wasn’t a surprise.
05 Smash Into Pieces – Hollow (6)
Fourth place is actually their lowest result after finishing third on their previous two appearances. This was just too generic, even for them as a rock band. They need a much better song if they ever hope to win.
06 Cimberly – Eternity (8)
Beautiful vocals and harmonies from Cimberly and her team, and a song as engaging as Cimberly herself. Probably got lost among the more popular entries around her to achieve anything much better than sixth place.
07 Medina – Viva L’Amor (3)
Usual party music from the duo, except particularly bland this year, and quite lame. I have no idea how it reached anywhere near third place other than it was a bit different.
08 Greczula – Half Of Me (7)
Another that backed up after debuting last year. Half of me wasn’t that interested. The other half appreciated the performance and vocals. All of me was still hoping to see something that would knock my socks off.
09 Robin Bengtsson – Honey Honey (4)
Sweden’s Eurovision representative in 2017, Robin went country this time, and this was so soulless and repetitive. Finishing second last was probably one spot too high.
10 Felicia – My System (8)
Loved the versus, loved the vocals, hated the mask, and the choruses weren’t much more than a dance and light show. The mask evolved from her time as the vocalist behind Fröken Snusk when she performed under a pink balaclava, notably at Melfest 2024. She was replaced in April 2025 and went solo, with her story capturing the attention of the Swedish public. That no doubt helped her win. She continues to cover her face because she became used to it as Fröken Snusk and now it makes her feel safe. I wish she’d drop it. Not because those face coverings are still so triggering from the Covid era; more so because there seems to be a mega babe underneath. Her eyes are beautiful. Let’s see all of her. At once!
11 Sanna Nielsen – Waste Your Love (6)
Sorry Sanna, this was a waste of time. So lame and generic, and a deserved tenth placed finish. My score of 6 is mostly because it is Sanna.
12 Brandsta City Släckers – Rakt in i elden (5)
A fun and fiery finale, at least in presentation. The song lacked the spark to really stand out from this generic lot.
Watch all performances on the official Melfest YouTube Channel
My Top 3
01 A-Teens – Iconic
02 Felicia – My System
03 Cimberly – Eternity
The only real change from my preview was switching Felicia and Cimberly around. These three were the only entries to score 8.
After several strong years of Melfest finals, the average score of 6 for the 2026 edition highlights it as a weaker one. The previous two years were 6.2, and before that was 6.4 and 6.5. This year would be 5.9 if I didn’t give Sanna Nielsen a couple of bonus points just because it was her.
For the second straight year, nothing scored more than 8. With the line up and the likely winner in Felicia, it was a show that I didn’t even look forward to watching. I got through it, and Felicia was the right winner in hindsight. The main interest now with Sweden at Eurovision is whether Felicia will ever dump the face covering. It’s not just a stage act at all. She wears it at all her public appearances. Perhaps only a win at Eurovision will see her throw it off. Free the face!
Mr Eurovision Australia 