Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lena Philipsson in the national final.
Lena Philipsson in the national final.

Sweden was represented by Lena Philipsson and the song "It Hurts". The Swedish song selection Melodifestivalen 2004 was held at the Globe Arena in Stockholm on March 20, hosted by Charlotte Perrelli (winner of the 1999 ESC), Ola Lindholm and Peter Settman. 32 songs were divided into 4 semi-finals in order to find 10 finalist for the final. As usual, 2 songs from each semi-final qualified and all 3rd and 4th places went to the Wildcard round, where 2 more songs would make it to the final. The winner was chosen by regional juries (50%) and televoting (50%) of which Lena Philipsson was the favourite with both. The song is written and composed by Thomas 'Orup' Eriksson.

At Eurovision, Lena sang "Det gör ont" in its English version, "It Hurts". Lena appeared on stage with her backing singers lined up on the side. She moved on stage by herself very effectively and gave one of the best performances of the night. Lena's performance and attire was very similar to her Melodifestivalen performance. Sweden closed the contest performing last in the 24th spot and eventually making their way up to a joint 5th place with 170 points. They received 4 sets of 12-points.

Final - March 20

Position Song Singer Points Place
1 Min kärlek Shirley Clamp 174 2nd
2 Här stannar jag kvar Sandra Dahlberg 19 8th
3 Olé Olé Andrés Esteche 14 9th
4 C'est la vie Hanson, Carson & Malmkvist 7 10th
5 Paradise E-Type 75 5th
6 Det gör ont Lena Philipsson 232 1st
7 Vindarna vänder oss Fame 66 6th
8 La dolce vita After Dark 156 3rd
9 Som stormen Sara Löfgren 52 7th
10 Tango! Tango! Petra Nielsen 151 4th