One of the biggest national selections in the world; Melodifestivalen 2017 was highly competitive. It crowned Robin Bengtsson with “I Can’t Go On” as Sweden’s Eurovision 2017 representative. He will be jetting off to Kyiv, Ukraine, in May.
He started his musical career in 2008; where he came third in the fifth season of Swedish Idol. As well as that, he also took part in many other TV shows including the Swedish version of Wipeout, where he came second. In 2016 he took part in Melodifestivalen 2016, placing fifth with his song “Constellation Prize”.
It was a tough competition, with 28 entries that were split into four semi-finals. Of the entries, was 1999 Eurovision winner Charlotte Perrelli, and 2012 Eurovision winner Loreen. The two winners didn’t make it to the final, which consisted of 12 acts. The winner was decided by 50/50 international juries and televote split.
Robin Bengtsson came out on top, even beating Wiktoria’s “As I Lay Me Down”, which is currently at number three on the Swedish charts Sverigetopplistan. Instead, she came sixth overall. In second place was Nano with “Hold On”, and in third place was Jon Henrik Fjällgren feat. Aninia with “En värld full av strider (Eatneme gusnie jeenh dåaroeh)”
Watch Eurovision’s Robin Bengtsson Perform “I Can’t Go On” Here:
The staging for this song at Melodifestivalen 2017 might have given us a bit of an insight into what we are to expect from Robin Bengtsson this year, at Eurovision.
This has a good shot of winning if the staging is bigger and better than in the national selection. The song is completely catchy, and Robin Bengtsson will surely get votes for his good looks too.
With under two months to go, many countries have selected their acts for this year’s contest. These are the acts who have been announced so far: Cyprus’ Hovig, The Netherlands’ O’G3NE, Belgium’s Blanche, Macedonia’s Jana Burceska, Azerbaijan’s DiHaj, Ireland’s Brendan Murray, Austria’s Nathan Trent, Albania’s Lindita, Armenia’s Artsvik, Montenegro’s Slavko Kalezic, Greece’s Demy, Georgia’s Tako Gachechiladze, Belarus’ Navi, The United Kingdom’s Lucie Jones, Finland’s Norma John, Switzerland’s Timebelle, Germany’s Levina, France’s Alma, Spain’s Manel Navarro, Italy’s Francesco Gabbani, Israel’s Imri Ziv, Czech Republic’s Martina Bárta, Croatia’s Jacques Houdek, Malta’s Claudia Faniello, Poland’s Kasia Mos, Hungary’s Joci Pápai, Slovenia’s Omar Naber, Denmark’s Anja Nissen, Moldova’s SunStroke Project, Ukraine’s O.Torvald, Latvia’s Triana Park, Serbia’s Tijana Bogicevic, Estonia’s Koit Toome & Laura, Romania’s Ilinca feat. Alex Florea, Portugal’s Salvador Sobral, Australia’s Isaiah, Lithuania’s Fusedmarc, Norway’s Jowst, and Iceland’s Svala.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 will be hosted at the International Exhibition Centre in Kyiv, Ukraine after Jamala won last year with “1944”. The semi-finals will take place on 9 May and 11 May, with the Grand Final taking place on 13 May 2017.