Eurovision 2023 Sweden profile: 'Tattoo' by Loreen

Photo credit: Charli Ljung

Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest

Sweden is one of the undisputed powerhouses of Eurovision in the competition's 66-year history. Sweden has won the contest six times, second only to Ireland with seven wins. They've also finished in the top five on a whopping 26 occasions.

Sweden famously first won Eurovision in 1974 with ABBA and their song 'Waterloo' - and they also won the Contest in 1984, 1991 and 1999. Their most recent triumph was with Måns Zelmerlöw in the 2015 competition in Austria, who won with his song 'Heroes'.

And, of course, four years earlier Loreen herself hoisted the glass microphone aloft in 2012 in Azerbaijan, when she notched up Sweden's 5th triumph with her entry 'Euphoria'.

Since they last won in 2015, Sweden's best performance was at last year's Contest, when Cornelia Jakobs finished 4th with 'Hold Me Closer'.

2023 Entry: Loreen - 'Tattoo'

• Loreen is performing in 11th place in semi-final 1

• My Eurovision Scoreboard Ranking: 1st

• Odds To Win Ranking: 1st

(as of April 20 2023)

About the artist

Lorine Talhaoui - aka Loreen - needs no introduction to Eurovision devotees.

Loreen first broke onto the Swedish music scene by competing in the local version of Idol in 2004, where she finished 4th. She then worked as a TV presenter and behind the scenes of various reality shows before she rebooted her singing career in 2011 and competed in Sweden's national competition, Melodifestivalen.

After just missing out on the final that year, she returned in 2012 with 'Euphoria' and went all the way to win Melodifestivalen and the right to represent Sweden at Eurovision in Azerbaijan.

Loreen's entry 'Euphoria' was an instant hit with the audience and the juries - and the song romped its way to victory in the Grand Final scoring 372 points.

Loreen continued with her music career before announcing another tilt at Melodifestivalen in 2017 with her song 'Statements'. Similar to 2011, she failed to qualify directly and was eliminated in the second chance round.

She continued to release music and also made a cameo in the film 'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga', alongside other former winners of including Israel's Netta and Norway's Alexander Rybak. In late 2022, Loreen announced she would be entering this year's Melodifestivalen contest with her song 'Tattoo'.

About the song

'Tattoo' was written by Loreen and five other songwriters - Jimmy Thörnfeldt, Jimmy Jansson, Moa Carlebecker, Peter Boström and Thomas G:son.

The song is a slickly-produced up-tempo track combining tender moments with a banger of a chorus. Loreen has previously described 'Tattoo' as a "love song" with "energy and power" and "a depth".

"As usual, I like to talk about love, because there is nothing more important. Above all in these times, it is extremely important that we lift the collective love."

'Tattoo' has already hit No.1 on the Swedish charts and is sitting 45th on Spotify's playlist of the Eurovision Top 100 most played songs of all time.

Photo credit: Charli Ljung

How Loreen was selected for Eurovision

Loreen triumphed in Sweden's official Eurovision selection contest - Melodifestivalen - over 11 other Grand Finalists on 11 March.

After wowing everyone with her semi-final performance two weeks earlier (despite a stage invasion by protesters which required her to perform twice) - she went straight through to the Grand Final, and was the clear favourite to win.

Loreen won both the public and jury votes and received a grand total of 177 points, 39 points clear of second-placed Marcus and Martinus with their song 'Air', and band Smash Into Pieces with 'Six Feet Under'.

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Sweden will compete in semi-final 1 on 9 May (European time) in Liverpool.

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