Entries
A record-breaking 3,440 songs were submitted to the competition, with only 28 proceeding to the next round. The final 28 songs chosen to compete in the semi-finals were released by SVT on 14 October, along with the names of their authors. The names of the performers were held back, and were released in groups over the following weeks. However this did not stop speculation on who would perform certain songs in the semi-final.
The first eight participants were revealed on 18 November 2009: they included former participants Alcazar, BWO, Måns Zelmerlöw, Lasse Lindh, Caroline af Ugglas and Sarah Dawn Finer, as well as debuting artists Emilia and Jennifer Brown.
On 23 November, the tenth act was revealed by Melodifestivalen producer Christer Björkman on the reality TV show Dansbandkampen. The Scotts, a participant on the show, was revealed to have been selected to compete in Melodifestivalen 2009 with "Jag tror på oss". SVT followed by releasing the next group of competing artists, all of whom had never competed in Melodifestivalen before: H.E.A.T, Jonathan Fagerlund, Maja Gullstrand, Mikael Rickfors, Molly Sandén, Next 3, and Rigo & The Topaz Sound feat. Red Fox were all announced to have been successful in their applying for Melodifestivalen.
Six more artists were revealed on 2 December by SVT's Culture News – Idol winner Agnes was announced to be making her debut to Melodifestivalen after being disqualified in 2007. The remaining artists announced were all making their returns to Melodifestivalen, including Shirley Clamp, Lili & Susie, Amy Diamond, Sofia and Velvet.
A day before the next group of artists were released by SVT it had been rumoured that two former Eurovision participants would compete in a duet – Estonia's 2002 participant Sahlene, and Norway's 2008 participant, and current host of Norway's equivalent of Melodifestivalen, Melodi Grand Prix, Maria Haukaas Storeng. The following day, on 9 December, SVT confirmed the news, and also announced the names of four more artists: Susanne Alfvengren, the Thorleifs, Nina Söderquist and Cookies 'n Beans.
The final non-wild card entry to be announced was revealed on 16 December, with the Star Pilots performing "Higher" in the contest.
Read more about this topic: Melodifestivalen 2009