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Måns Zelmerlöw

© EBU/Elena Volotova

About

Quick Facts

Name
Måns Petter Albert Sahlén Zelmerlöw

Born
13 June 1986

Nationality
🇸🇪 Swedish

National Selection
Melodifestivalen 2015
Melodifestivalen 2008
Melodifestivalen 2007

In Eurovision
2015 Vienna

Song
Heroes (2015)

Biography

Måns Petter Albert Sahlén Zelmerlöw, born on June 13, 1986, in the Lund Cathedral Parish, Malmö County, is a Swedish presenter, musician, and songwriter.

Måns  Zelmerlöw attended a music-focused program at Lars-Erik Larsson Gymnasium in Lund, where he primarily focused on choir singing and later sang in the Lund University Male Voice Choir. In 2002, he participated in a production of the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, where he played one of Joseph’s eleven brothers.
 
He competed in TV4’s Idol 2005 where he finished in fifth place. In 2006, he emerged as the winner of TV4’s “Let’s Dance” together with Maria Bild. In the second half of 2006, he played the lead role of Danny Zuko in the musical Grease, which was staged in Malmö.

Zelmerlöw reached the final of Melodifestivalen, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest, in 2007 with the song “Cara Mia,” which finished in third place with the second-highest number of viewer votes. The song topped the Swedish sales chart. In 2007, he performed the song on TV programs such as Allsång på Skansen and Lotta på Liseberg.

On October 5, 2007, he hosted Lilla Melodifestivalen (the Junior Melodifestivalen). At the same time, he appeared in the musical Footloose, where he played the villain Tommy. The musical premiered on November 8, 2007, at Storan in Gothenburg and was staged in Stockholm from February 20, 2008.

In 2008, he participated in the Diggiloo Tour along with Lasse Holm, Linda Bengtzing, Lotta Engberg, Thomas Pettersson, Molly Sandén, Nanne Grönvall, Stefan and Kim, and Magnus Johansson.

He participated again in Melodifestivalen 2009, this time with the song “Hope & Glory” (lyrics: Måns Zelmerlöw, Fredrik Kempe; music: Fredrik Kempe, Henrik Wikström). He advanced directly to the final at the Globe Arena, where he took the lead after the jury groups had voted. After the viewers’ votes were cast, Zelmerlöw finished in fourth place with 144 points.

In 2009, he participated in the TV program Så ska det låta together with Lill Lindfors. He also performed in “Allsång på Skansen.” He hosted “Sommarkrysset” directly from Gröna Lund and went on The MZW Tour, which consisted of a five-member band and four dancers. The tour started in Västerås on June 26 and concluded on August 15, 2009, in Kristinestad. During the year, Zelmerlöw also performed at Crown Princess Victoria’s birthday, which was broadcast on Swedish Television on July 14, 2009.

During the second semifinal of Dansbandskampen 2009, he served as a guest judge in the second round, where his songs were the evening’s theme.

On November 10, 2009, it was announced that Zelmerlöw would be one of the three hosts of Melodifestivalen 2010. He co-hosted the show with Dolph Lundgren and Christine Meltzer. He also took on the role of Romeo in Romeo and Julia

In connection with Dansbandskampen 2010, he co-wrote a song with Peter Wennerberg for Elisa’s titled “Varenda veranda,” which the band also recorded for the album “Det här är bara början” in 2011. For Christmas 2010, Zelmerlöw released the solo album “Christmas with Friends.”

On February 23, 2011, it was announced that he would be the new host of Allsång på Skansen.  For Christmas, Zelmerlöw released the album “Kära vinter” (Dear Winter).

Måns Zelmerlöw released the single “Ett lyckligt slut” in collaboration with the Swedish Childhood Cancer Foundation in 2012. The same year, he participated in the panel of opinions in SVT’s music program Inför Eurovision Song Contest. He was named “Årets Lundensare” (Lund Citizen of the Year) by the Grandiosa Society in Lund.

For the third consecutive summer, he hosted Allsång på Skansen in 2013. However, during the final episode on August 13, he announced his intention to quit.

Zelmerlöw participated as a songwriter in Melodifestivalen 2013 with the song “Hello Goodbye,” performed by Erik Segerstedt and Tone Damli, which advanced to the Second Chance round. In the fall of 2013, he played the lead role in a new version of the musical Spök (Ghost) alongside Loa Falkman, Sussie Eriksson, and Lena Philipsson, among others.

In February 2014, he released the personal album “Barcelona Sessions,” which he had been working on for almost two years. 

Zelmerlöw competed in Melodifestivalen 2015 with the song “Heroes”, which he won, thus earning the opportunity to represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. Zelmerlöw won with 288 points, achieving the largest margin of victory (150 points) in Melodifestivalen history. In the Eurovision final on May 23, Zelmerlöw won with 365 points.

During the summer of 2015, Måns Zelmerlöw made several appearances at music festivals in Sweden and Finland. Following that, he embarked on a European tour in September. Before the tour, he also visited Shanghai, China to promote his latest album, “Perfectly Damaged,”.

In January 2016, Zelmerlöw traveled to Australia and surprised audiences by joining Guy Sebastian‘s Concert Tour, “You..Me..Us Tour,” as a guest artist. He performed with his band at two dates.

In May 2016, Zelmerlöw co-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm alongside Swedish TV presenter Petra Mede. During the three shows, he performed his winning song “Heroes,” as well as his new song “Fire in the Rain.” Additionally, he showcased two musical sketches, co-written with Edward af Sillén, titled “Story of ESC” and the highly acclaimed “Love, Love, Peace, Peace” with Petra Mede.

In October 2016, Zelmerlöw appeared in the TV series “Chevaleresk” with host Alexander Wiberg, which was broadcast on TV6.

In 2021, Zelmerlöw returned to Melodifestivalen as a host for the final together with Shima Niavarani and Christer Björkman.

In the same year, he joined the Swedish edition of “The Masked Singer,” where he is part of the panel. In 2022, Zelmerlöv was one of the participants in TV4’s show Så mycket bättre (So Much Better).

Entries

Song Title

Country
🇸🇪 Sweden

Year
2015

Language
English

Lyrics
Anton Malmberg Hård af Segerstad
Joy Deb
Linnea Deb

Music
Anton Malmberg Hård af Segerstad
Joy Deb
Linnea Deb

Backings
Britta Bergström
Linnea Deb
Jeanette Olsson
Alexander Holmgren
Michael Blomqvist

Results Semi

Points: 217
Position: 1 
Running order: 13

Results Finals

Points: 365
Position: 1
Running order: 10