Sweden selected its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 by holding an extending national selection, namely Melodifestivalen 2008. A record of 3,489 entries were submitted to the broadcaster SVT, and 28 were chosen to compete. They were completed with 4 wildcards in the end of December. Melodifestivalen was also this year held on Saturdays, starting with the first of the four heats on 9 February and ending with a final on 15 March. It was the last of the year’s national selections, as the official ESC draw was held on 17 March. Four songs progressed from each heat, two to the final and two to the second chance round, where the songs were competing in a knock-out round to gain the last two places in the final.
The final was won by Charlotte Perrelli with the song „Hero„, which was written and composed by Fredrik Kempe and Bobby Ljunggren. Sanna Nielsen, who was the favourite of televoters, came second, as she did not receive enough points from the 11 juries.
Charlotte Perrelli competed in the second semi-final on 22 May. She did not actually finish among the ten best, but thanks to the new rule that the last finalist will be chosen by the back-up juries, she took the final ticket at the expense of Macedonia. The actual placement was 12th, 7 points after Macedonia and 2 points after Bulgaria. She was drawn into the 15th spot in the final. Although being one of the heavy favorites before the final, Sweden did not finish higher than 18th, receiving only 47 points.
Melodifestivalen 2008 was the 47th Melodifestivalen, and the selection process for the 48th song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. A new rule—Lex Agnes—went into effect in 2008 calling for each submitted entry to include a document containing all information relevant to the song. It was named after Agnes Carlsson, who was disqualified from the 2007 competition for publicly revealing details of her song before the deadline.
Format
Melodifestivalen 2008 included 32 songs split up into four heats with eight participants in each. The heats were held between 9 February and 1 March 2008 and at each, the two top placing songs went to the final, while the third and fourth place songs went to the Andra Chansen (Second Chance Round). At the Andra Chansen, held on 8 March 2008, the eight songs paired off in two rounds with the two winners at the end of the night qualifying for the final. The final was held on 15 March 2008 and included the eight songs from the heats along with the two from the Andra Chansen to make ten songs in all. The winner and selected entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest was then chosen by (insert voting process here).
It was hosted by Kristian Luuk, who also hosted the 2007 event. Luuk was assisted by Björn Gustafsson and Nour El-Refai.
Preselection
The deadline for the submission of songs was 25 September 2007, and 3,434 songs were submitted, a new record. The titles and composers of the 28 semifinalists (excluding the wildcards) were announced on 10 and 11 December 2007. The wildcards were announced in January 2008.
Schedule
| Date | City | Venue | Notes |
| 9 February | Gothenburg | Scandinavium | Semifinal 1 |
| 16 February | Västerås | ABB Arena Nord | Semifinal 2 |
| 23 February | Linköping | Cloetta Center | Semifinal 3 |
| 1 March | Karlskrona | Telenor Arena | Semifinal 4 |
| 8 March | Kiruna | Arena Arctica | Second Chance |
| 15 March | Stockholm | Globen | Final |
Competition
The semifinals for Melodifestivalen 2008 began on 9 February 2008. There were five semifinals in Gothenburg, Västerås, Linköping, Karlskrona and Kiruna (Andra Chansen) leading up to the final at the Globen on 15 March 2008. Nearly four million votes were cast in total, raising over 5.7 million kronor (€605,000) for charity.
In the four heats, the top two songs of the eight competing went directly through to the final. The third and fourth-placed songs went to the Andra Chansen round. Two rounds of televoting selected the qualifiers, the first round selectiong the top five songs with the second round choosing the two finalists and two songs to go to the Andra Chansen round.
Heat 1
The first heat of Melodifestivalen was held at the Scandinavium in Gothenburg on 9 February 2008. Eight songs in total competed, seven songs which had been submitted to SVT, along with one of the four wildcards.
The two songs that progressed automatically to the final were „Thank You“ by Amy Diamond, the wildcard, and „I Love Europe“ by Christer Sjögren. The two songs that passed to the Andra Chansen round were „Line of Fire“ by E-Type & The Poodles and „Visst finns mirakel“ by Suzzie Tapper.
| Votes | ||||||||
| Draw | Artist | Song (English translation) | Songwriter(s) | Round 1 | Round 2 | Total | Place | Result |
| 1 | E-Type & The Poodles | „Line of Fire“ | Martin Eriksson (m & l), Jakob Samuelsson (m & l) | 46,333 | 56,105 | 102,438 | 3 | Second Chance |
| 2 | Face-84 | „Alla gamla x“ (All the old x’s) | Lars Diedricson (m), Martin Hedström (m), Wille Crafoord (l) | 13,626 | — | 13,626 | 8 | Out |
| 3 | Velvet | „Déjà vu“ | Niclas Molinder (m & l), Joacim Persson (m & l), Pelle Ankarberg (m & l), Niko Valsamidis (m & l), Fredrik Larsson (m & l), David Jassy (m & l) | 25,451 | 31,047 | 56,498 | 5 | Out |
| 4 | Brandur | „Lullaby“ | Henrik Wikström (m), Kristian Lagerström (l) | 18,727 | — | 18,727 | 7 | Out |
| 5 | Michael Michailoff | „That’s Love“ | Michael Michailoff (m & l), Joakim Övrenius (m & l), Patric Jonsson (m & l) | 23,198 | — | 23,198 | 6 | Out |
| 6 | Amy Diamond | „Thank You“ | Sandra Nordström (m & l), Mathias Venge (m & l), Peter Wennerberg (m & l) | 79,075 | 96,508 | 175,583 | 1 | Final |
| 7 | Suzzie Tapper | „Visst finns mirakel“ (Certainly there are miracles) | Amir Aly (m), Maciel Numhauser (m), Robin Abrahamsson (m), Bobby Ljunggren (m), Suzzie Tapper (l) | 24,469 | 32,13 | 56,599 | 4 | Second Chance |
| 8 | Christer Sjögren | „I Love Europe“ | Torgny Söderberg (m), Magnus Johansson (m), Ingela „Pling“ Forsman (l) | 71,396 | 81,471 | 152,867 | 2 | Final |
Heat 2
The second heat was held on 16 February 2008, at the ABB Arena Nord in Västerås. Again eight songs competed in total, seven songs which had been submitted to SVT and one of the four wildcards.
The two songs that progressed automatically to the final were „Empty Room“ by Sanna Nielsen and „Just a Minute“ by Rongedal. The two songs that passed to the Andra Chansen round were „One Love“ by Andreas Johnson & Carola Häggkvist, the wildcard, and „Love in Stereo“ by Ola Svensson.
| Votes | ||||||||
| Draw | Artist | Song (English translation) | Songwriter(s) | Round 1 | Round 2 | Total | Place | Result |
| 1 | Ola | „Love in Stereo“ | Tony Nilsson (m & l), Mirja Breitholtz (m & l) | 39,972 | 52,615 | 92,587 | 4 | Second Chance |
| 2 | Lasse Lindh | „Du behöver aldrig mer vara rädd“ (You never need to be afraid) | Lasse Lindh (m & l) | 15,396 | — | 15,396 | 6 | Out |
| 3 | The Nicole | „Razborka“ (Disassembly) | Nicole Fuentes (m & l), Tord Bäckström (m & l), Stefan Åberg (m & l) | 6,121 | — | 6,121 | 8 | Out |
| 4 | Alexander Schöld | „Den första svalan“ (The first swallow) | Fredrik Thomander (m), Anders Wikström (m), Ingela „Pling“ Forsman (l) | 13,352 | — | 13,352 | 7 | Out |
| 5 | Rongedal | „Just a Minute“ | Amir Aly (m), Henrik Wikström (m), Magnus Rongedal (m & l), Henrik Rongedal (m & l) | 68,121 | 94,101 | 162,222 | 2 | Final |
| 6 | Sanna Nielsen | „Empty Room“ | Bobby Ljunggren (m & l), Aleena Gibson (m & l) | 102,39 | 126,356 | 228,746 | 1 | Final |
| 7 | Andra generationen | „Kebabpizza Slivovitza“ (Kebab pizza Slivovitz) | Vlatko Ancevski (m & l), Vlatko Gicarevski (m & l), Mats Nilsson (m & t), Stevan Tomulevski (m & l), Teddy Paunkoski (m & l), Otis Sandsjö (m & l) | 33,011 | 43,509 | 76,52 | 5 | Out |
| 8 | Johnson & Häggkvist | „One Love“ | Carola Häggkvist (m & l), Andreas Johnson (m & l), Peter Kvint (m & l) | 77,778 | 79,106 | 156,884 | 3 | Second Chance |
Heat 3
The third heat of Melodifestivalen 2008 was held at the Cloetta Center in Linköping on 23 February 2008.
The two songs that progressed directly to the final were „Lay Your Love on Me“ by BWO and „Upp o hoppa“ by Frida feat. Headline. The two songs that passed to the Andra Chansen round were „Smiling in Love“ by Caracola and „When You Need Me“ by Thérèse Andersson. The wildcard entry, „Hallelujah New World“ by Eskobar, came last in the televoting and failed to qualify.
| Votes | ||||||||
| Draw | Artist | Song (English translation) | Songwriter(s) | Round 1 | Round 2 | Total | Place | Result |
| 1 | BWO | „Lay Your Love on Me“ | Alexander Bard (m & l), Anders Hansson (m & l), Bobby Ljunggren (m & l), Henrik Wikström (m & l) | 58,136 | 82,381 | 140,517 | 1 | Final |
| 2 | Mickey Huskić | „Izdajice“ (Traitors) | Mickey Huskić (t & m) | 11,721 | — | 11,721 | 7 | Out |
| 3 | Frida feat. Headline | „Upp o hoppa“ (Up ’n‘ Jump) | Anderz Wrethov (m & l), Frida Muranius (m & l), Sam Persson (l) | 27,675 | 40,852 | 68,527 | 2 | Final |
| 4 | Thérèse Andersson | „When You Need Me“ | Pontus Hagberg (m & l), Malin Eriksson (l), Jonas Sjöström (l) | 25,034 | 33,849 | 58,883 | 4 | Second Chance |
| 5 | Patrik Isaksson & Bandet | „Under mitt tunna skinn“ (Under my thin skin) | Patrik Isaksson (m & l) | 26,056 | 33,808 | 59,864 | 5 | Out |
| 6 | Caracola | „Smiling in Love“ | Henrik Bie (m), Mattias Olsson (l), Angelica Thelin (l), Magnus Lanner (l) | 31,652 | 35,491 | 67,143 | 3 | Second Chance |
| 7 | Ainbusk | „Jag saknar dig ibland“ (I miss you sometimes) | Ingela „Pling“ Forsman (l), Henrik Wikström (m & l), Bobby Ljunggren (m) | 18,249 | — | 18,249 | 6 | Out |
| 8 | Eskobar | „Hallelujah New World“ | Daniel Bellqvist (m & l), Frederik Zäll (m & l), Robert Birming (l & m) | 11,672 | — | 11,672 | 8 | Out |
Heat 4
The final heat of Melodifestivalen 2008 before the Andra chansen round was held on 1 March 2008, at the Telenor Arena in Karlskrona.
The final two artists to automatically secure their place in the final were Charlotte Perrelli with „Hero“ and Linda Bengtzing with the song „Hur svårt kan det va?“. The two artists to proceed to the Andra Chansen round were Sibel Redzep with the song „That Is Where I’ll Go“ and Nordman with the song „I lågornas sken“. The wildcard entry for this heat was Niklas Strömstedt with the song „För många ord om kärlek“, which came last in the televoting.
| Votes | ||||||||
| Draw | Artist | Song (English translation) | Songwriter(s) | Round 1 | Round 2 | Total | Place | Result |
| 1 | Niklas Strömstedt | „För många ord om kärlek“ (Too many words about love) | Mahan Moin, Anderz Wrethov | 13,067 | — | 13,067 | 8 | Out |
| 2 | Calaisa | „If I Could“ | Ingela „Pling“ Forsman, Bobby Ljunggren, Jimmy Jansson | 30,124 | 47,846 | 77,97 | 5 | Out |
| 3 | Daniel Mitsogiannis | „Pame“ | Jakke Erixson, Jon Bordon, Loren Francis, Kristofer Östergren | 20,432 | — | 20,432 | 7 | Out |
| 4 | Linda Bengtzing | „Hur svårt kan det va?“ (How hard can it be?) | Andreas Johnson, Johan Lyander, Peter Kvint, Yohio | 53,813 | 70,571 | 124,384 | 2 | Final |
| 5 | Nordman | „I lågornas sken“ (In the light of the flame) | Fredrik Kempe | 39,019 | 58,673 | 97,782 | 4 | Second Chance |
| 6 | Sibel | „That Is Where I’ll Go“ | Bobby Ljunggren, Henrik Wikström, Karl-Ola Kjellholm, Sharon Vaughn | 46,289 | 59,03 | 105,319 | 3 | Second Chance |
| 7 | Fronda | „Ingen mår så bra som jag“ (No one feels as good as me) | Sylvester Schlegel | 25,234 | — | 25,234 | 6 | Out |
| 8 | Charlotte Perrelli | „Hero“ | Fredrik Kempe and Bobby Ljunggren | 98,666 | 137,738 | 236,404 | 1 | Final |
Andra Chansen round
The third and fourth placed songs in each semifinal perform in Andra Chansen (Second Chance) round. Eight songs performed, paired off against each other. The winners of the first two pairings compete against each other in the first final, while the winners of the other two compete in the second. The winners of the two final pairings go through to the final.
The two winners of Andra Chansen that went on to the final were Sibel Redzep with the song „That Is Where I’ll Go“ and Nordman with the song „I lågornas sken“.
First Round
| Duel | Draw | Artist | Song | Votes | Result |
| I | 1 | E-Type & The Poodles | „Line of Fire“ | 87,002 | Out |
| 2 | Sibel | „That Is Where I’ll Go“ | 103,077 | Second Round | |
| II | 1 | Ola | „Love in Stereo“ | 78,477 | Second Round |
| 2 | Caracola | „Smiling in Love“ | 51,038 | Out | |
| III | 1 | Johnson & Häggkvist | „One Love“ | 202,353 | Out |
| 2 | Nordman | „I lågornas sken“ | 316,118 | Second Round | |
| IV | 1 | Thérèse Andersson | „When You Need Me“ | 57,335 | Out |
| 2 | Suzzie Tapper | „Visst finns mirakel“ | 73,12 | Second Round |
Second Round
| Duel | Draw | Artist | Song | Votes | Result |
| I | 1 | Sibel | „That Is Where I’ll Go“ | 137,065 | Final |
| 2 | Ola | „Love in Stereo“ | 103,624 | Out | |
| II | 1 | Nordman | „I lågornas sken“ | 166,735 | Final |
| 2 | Suzzie Tapper | „Visst finns mirakel“ | 88,075 | Out |
Final
The final of Melodifestivalen 2008 was held on 15 March 2008 at the Globe Arena in Stockholm. The eight direct qualifiers and the two Andra Chansen winner competed in the final, where the 11 regional juries of Sweden, along with televoting, selected the winner that would represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008.
The winner of Melodifestivalen 2008 was Charlotte Perrelli with the song „Hero“, receiving a total of 114 points from the juries and 110 points from the televote. The winner of the televote, however, was Sanna Nielsen with „Empty Room“.
| Televote | ||||||||
| Draw | Artist | Song | Juries | Votes | Percentage | Points | Total | Place |
| 1 | Charlotte Perrelli | „Hero“ | 114 | 397,907 | 16.5% | 110 | 224 | 1 |
| 2 | Sibel | „That Is Where I’ll Go“ | 39 | 120,587 | 0,05 | 0 | 39 | 7 |
| 3 | Rongedal | „Just a Minute“ | 76 | 273,521 | 11.5% | 66 | 142 | 4 |
| 4 | Linda Bengtzing | „Hur svårt kan det va?“ | 64 | 115,321 | 4.8% | 0 | 64 | 5 |
| 5 | Christer Sjögren | „I Love Europe“ | 1 | 228,674 | 9.5% | 22 | 23 | 9 |
| 6 | Amy Diamond | „Thank You“ | 25 | 188,872 | 7.8% | 11 | 36 | 8 |
| 7 | Sanna Nielsen | „Empty Room“ | 74 | 449,419 | 18.7% | 132 | 206 | 2 |
| 8 | Nordman | „I lågornas sken“ | 4 | 233,467 | 9.7% | 44 | 48 | 6 |
| 9 | Frida feat. Headline | „Upp o hoppa“ | 6 | 81,691 | 3.3% | 0 | 6 | 10 |
| 10 | BWO | „Lay Your Love on Me“ | 70 | 320,741 | 13.3% | 88 | 158 | 3 |
Detailed Regional Jury Votes
| Draw | Song | Örebro | Luleå | Falun | Karlstad | Umeå | Norr köping | Göte borg | Sund svall | Växjö | Malmö | Stock holm | Total |
| 1 | „Hero“ | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 114 |
| 2 | „That Is Where I’ll Go“ | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 39 |
| 3 | „Just a Minute“ | 8 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 76 | |
| 4 | „Hur svårt kan det va?“ | 6 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 64 | |
| 5 | „I Love Europe“ | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 6 | „Thank You“ | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 25 | ||
| 7 | „Empty Room“ | 10 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 74 | |
| 8 | „I lågornas sken“ | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ||||||||
| 9 | „Upp o hoppa“ | 6 | 6 | ||||||||||
| 10 | „Lay Your Love on Me“ | 4 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 70 |
Ratings
| Show | Date | Viewers | Votes (Telephone/SMS) |
| Semifinal 1 | 9 February 2008 | 3,240,000 | 600,084 |
| Semifinal 2 | 16 February 2008 | 3,340,000 | 752,537 |
| Semifinal 3 | 23 February 2008 | 3,410,000 | 701,978 |
| Semifinal 4 | 1 March 2008 | 3,410,000 | 701,978 |
| Second Chance | 8 March 2008 | 3,090,000 | 1,464,000 |
| Final | 15 March 2008 | 4,045,000 | 2,410,200 |
- Velvet (Jenny Petersson) was a backing singer for Greece in ESC 2001 and Sweden in ESC 2003, 2004 & 2005.
- Carola (Häggkvist) represented Sweden in ESC 1983, 1991 & 2006.
- Charlotte Perrelli previously won ESC 1999 (as Charlotte Nilsson). At the ESC, she came equal 18th.
