ESC Favorites: Sweden

Sweden's Melodifestivalen - the contest where the country selects its Eurovision contender - has a cult following. Millions of viewers crouch in front of TV screens and cross their fingers for their favorites.

When it comes to Sanna Nielsen, fans have had to keep those fingers crossed for quite some time. This year was her seventh time in the running to go to the ESC. Even this time, it was a cliff hanger for the 29-year-old. The jury had selected the playful and unconventional Ace Wilder, but the audience vote put Sanna over the top. Winning by just two points, she's off to Denmark now. There had never been such a close finish in the 55-year history of Sweden's national finals.

Swedish standards

Sanna Nielsen has some big shoes to fill. Her country has already won the competition five times, from 1974 with Abba's "Waterloo" to Loreen's "Euphoria" in 2012. And bookies are saying Sanna may go all the way.

Her gentle pop number "Undo" was written by Frederik Kempe, a prolific songwriter and pop and opera singer. Highly popular in Sweden, Kempe has performed twice at the Melodifestivalen, and his compositions have been there more often.

"Undo" is slightly reminiscent of Celine Dion, which might be due to Sanna Nielsen's delivery. The Swedish songstress cites the Canadian diva as her greatest source of inspiration.

Little hurdles

There's no doubt that Sanna can sing. That is, she can hit the notes - not always a safe bet at the ESC.

"I love ballads. 'Undo' reflects who I am as an artist," she said of her song.

However, singer and team had to re-record the song after realizing that a few embarrassing grammatical mistakes in her English had crept into the official video.

Outside Sweden, Sanna Nielsen has been unknown until now, but at home she's released nine CDs, including five Christmas albums. More than a few YouTube commenters have dismissed her as too old-fashioned, but that seems not to have hurt her chances in general. For weeks, the bookies have listed Sanna alongside Armenia's Aram Mp3 as favorites.