Smajling Swedes, a three-piece tropical house band, have won a wildcard entry to Melodifestivalen 2016 after earning the right during the Svensktoppen Nästa Swedish radio competition, despite not actually winning the competition itself.
The group are therefore the first act confirmed as a participant in next year’s edition of the popular selection process, which will decide the host entry for Eurovision 2016. The group’s tropical deep house song “Goosebumps” was chosen out of the final selection of entries as the most impressive indicator for a strong Eurovision candidate, although the group’s Melodifestivalen entry will need to be a new composition owing to the September 1st publication rules implemented by the EBU.
The open submission process to decide the other 31 entries in Melodifestivalen 2016 is open. Interested artists, singers or writers can submit an entry for consideration by following SVT’s guidelines here (in English).
Previous winners of the Svensktoppen Nästa wildcard have included Kalle Johansson in 2015 and EKO in 2014.
Listen to Smajling Swedes’ “Goosebumps” here.
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