She has been a favorite from the start with "My system", which has more techno and house vibes than her previous songs in the epadunk genre, like Fröken Snusk. Felicia herself has speculated whether it could scare away viewers.
"I think the song is one that does better outside of Sweden," she said.
She last competed in 2024 with the song "Unga & fria," which advanced to the final qualifying round but fell at the finish line. Now she is celebrating her first final place – with bubbles.
"I have to spray someone in the face with bubbles. Honestly, I would like to do it at Brandsta. I spray bubbles at them and they throw a fire extinguisher back at me," she says.
“Not sure”
It's been over 20 years since they last competed in Melodifestivalen - first with the classic “Kom och ta mig” and the following year with “15 minuter” - but the fire has not died down. Brandsta City Extinguishers' “Straight into the fire” took second place in the final.
"We had hoped, but it was a really strong field, so you weren't sure," he says.
During the last seconds of the band's number, one of the big pyro effects failed to go off. Frontman Glenn Borgkvist says the band hasn't yet learned what happened.
"We have no idea," he says.
Earlier this week, the band suffered another mishap when member Olle Östberg injured his hand and was therefore unable to slide down the fire pole in the number as originally planned.
"But I'll have to fix that for the final. Four weeks of rest should do the trick. I'm well healed," he says.
Bengtsson to the qualifiers
Previous Melodifestival winner Robin Bengtsson, who competed for the fifth time, took third place and thus advanced to the final qualifying round with the country song "Honey honey".
"It was pretty much expected. Even though I went in with the goal of making it to the final, I'm super grateful," he says.
The competition kicked off with a bang in the form of a gospel number. Hampus Nessvold, backed by a choir, sang about how Melodifestivalen is his religion.
Previous winner Charlotte Perrelli was a guest in the intermission and, together with Dirawi, performed a newly written song with lyrics about how to become a true pop diva.
There was no unmasking of Felicia as had been speculated. Instead, the former Miss Nasty stuck to the plan. She threw off her mask with her face turned away and then put on a pair of silver sunglasses.
Directly to the final:
Felicia - “My system”
Brandsta City Extinguishers - “Straight into the fire”
For the final qualifiers:
Robin Bengtsson - "Honey honey"
Eliminated:
Laila Adele - “Oxygen”
Klara Almström - “Where the whole world is waiting”
Arwin - “Glitter”
