Saade and Zelmerlöw favourites for Melodifestivalen 2015

The 28 songs will be fighting it out in February and March next year for the right to represent Sweden in Vienna. Five prime-time TV shows will lead up to the grand final, televised live from Stockholm's huge Friends Arena. Who will follow in Sanna Nielsen's footsteps and represent Sweden in the Eurovision?

Many of the names will ring familiar to followers of the contest, with people like Jessica Andersson, Andreas Johnson and Magnus Carlsson competing for the 456th time. Well, almost. But there are some new names, while some of them are completely unknown, others do have their followers, like the duo Samir and Viktor. Samir is best known for being in the scandalous docu-soap Paradise Hotel, and has almost 300,000 followers on Instagram alone. They had a big hit this summer with the song "Success".

Other throwing their hat into the ring for next year are a Swedish band fresh from the Australian version of X Factor, called JTR, where they finished in seventh place.

"Every Swede has some kind of relationship to Melodifestivalen", they told Radio Sweden, "We all grew up with it. We wanted a positive, uplifting pop-song, and that's what it is. It's poppy, building it up. I think everyone wants to win, but there's a lot of good competition, so who knows?

Another singer who got her big breakthrough this year is Kristin Amparo. She too is a veteran of talent shows, competing in the Swedish version of X-Factor, but is probably best known as the vocalist on the huge summer hit "Din Soldat" together with rapper Albin. Her recent success led to some in the music industry warning her off competing in Melodifestivalen, worried it may damage her career, but competing in the show has been a dream for her, she says.

"It's been with me all my life", she says, "I grew up with it. I love those kinds of traditional things. Even though it has changed in many ways, the song is still the main focus. I like that. And I also like plenty of the old songs from before. In Swedish you say they are like "pearls". I want to say to my grandchildren one day that I did it, and that I'm proud of it."

Kristin Amparo has written her song herself, together with veteran Fredrik Kempe and David Kreuger. She describes it as "a warm intimate song" with only piano and strings.

But while she is one of the newcomers to the contest, other names will be more familiar to Eurovision aficionados. Marie Bergman, Ellen Benediktsson, Caroline Wennergren, Linus Svenning and Behrang Miri are even more familiar names that will all try their luck again.

But even though the general public and the media still have yet to hear the songs, two favourites have already emerged.

Eric Saade, who won with Popular in 2011 is back, and with his sights firmly set on winning Eurovision in May. His biggest challenger to the crown may well be pop singer and TV host Måns Zelmerlöw, who last competed in Melodifestivalen in 2009 and has since hosted the show. He says he is in the contest to win it.

"It's an amazing song", he says, "it's very big, very epic in a way, and there are a lot of elements that you could use on stage with effects and so on. I wouldn't participate if I didn't think that this song had a shot at winning. But as long as I have a good run and I do my best... that's quite boring but it's the truth."

The contest will also see the first ever entry in the Sami language. Jon Henrik Fjällgren will sing the song "Jag är fri (Manne Leam Frijje)".

Here are the entries in next year's contest:

Semi 1: Gothenburg, 7th February 

• Can't Hurt Me Now
  Artist: Jessica Andersson
  Songwriters: Aleena Gibson, Fredrik Thomander

• Det rår vi inte för (It can't be helped/We can't help it)
  Artist: Behrang Miri feat. Victor Crone
  Songwriters: Behrang Miri, Albin Johnsén, Måns Zelmerlöw, Tony Nilsson

• Hello Hi
  Artist: Dolly Style
  Songwriters: Emma Nors, Palle Hammarlund, Jimmy Jansson

• I'll Be Fine
  Artist: Molly Pettersson Hammar
  Songwriters: Molly Pettersson Hammar, Lisa Desmond, Tim Larsson, Tobias Lundgren, Gavin Jones

• One By One
  Artist: Elize Ryd & Rickard Söderberg
  Songwriters: Elize Ryd, Jimmy Jansson, Karl-Ola Kjellholm, Sharon Vaughn

• Pappa (Dad)
  Artist: Daniel Gildenlöw
  Songwriter: Daniel Gildenlöw

• Sting
  Artist: Eric Saade
  Songwriters: Fredrik Kempe, Hamed ”K-one” Pirouzpanah, David Kreuger, Sam Arash Fahmi

Semi 2: Malmö, 14th February

• Don't Stop Believing
  Artist: Mariette
  Songwriters: Miss Li, Sonny Gustafsson

• Där och då med dig (There and then with you)
  Artist: Emelie Irewald
  Songwriter: Emelie Irewald

• Forever Starts Today
  Artist: Linus Svenning
  Songwriters: Aleena Gibson, Anton Malmberg Hård af Segerstad, Fredrik Kempe

• Groupie
  Artist: Samir & Viktor
  Songwriters: Anton Malmberg Hård af Segerstad, Kevin Högdahl, Maria Smith, Viktor Thell

• If I Was God For One Day
  Artist: Neverstore
  Songwriters: Thomas G:son, John Gordon, Jacob Widén

• Möt mig i Gamla stan (Meet me in the Old Town)
  Artist: Magnus Carlsson
  Songwriters: Thomas G:son, Lina Eriksson

• Nonetheless
  Artist: Marie Bergman & Sanne Salomonsen
  Songwriters: Andreas Stone Johansson, Allison Kaplan

Semi 3: Östersund, 21st February

• Bring Out the Fire
  Artist: Andreas Weise
  Songwriters: Anton Malmberg Hård af Segerstad, Henrik Janson, Thomas G:son 

• Don't Stop
  Artist: Isa
  Songwriters: Isa Tengblad, Johan Ramström, Gustaf Svenungsson, Magnus Wallin, Oscar Merner 

• För din skull (For your sake)
  Artist: Kalle Johansson
  Songwriters: Martin Eriksson, Thomas G:son, Thomas Karlsson

• I See You
  Artist: Kristin Amparo 
  Songwriters: Kristin Amparo, David Kreuger, Fredrik Kempe

• Insomnia
  Artist: Ellen Benediktson
  Songwriters: Ellen Benediktson, Anderz Wrethov

• Jag är fri (Manne Leam Frijje) (I am free)
  Artist: Jon Henrik Fjällgren
  Songwriters: Jon Henrik Fjällgren, Erik Holmberg, Tony Malm, Josef Melin 

• Living To Die
  Artist: Andreas Johnson 
  Songwriters: Andreas Johnson, Bobby Ljunggren, Karl-Ola Kjellholm

Semi 4: Örebro, 28th February

• Black Swan
  Artist: Caroline Wennergren
  Songwriters: Nicklas Eklund, Joel DeLuna, Aimee Bobruk
  
  
• Building It Up
  Artist: JTR
  Songwriters: JTR (John Andreasson, Tom Lundbäck, Robin Lundbäck), Erik Lewander, Iggy Strange Dahl
  
  
• Don't Say No
  Artist: Midnight Boy
  Songwriters: Johan Krafman, Kristofer Östergren, Olle Blomström 
  
  
• Ett andetag (A breath)
  Artist: Annika Herlitz 
  Songwriters: Amir Aly, Maciel Numhauser, Robin Abrahamsson, Sharon Dyall, Sharon Vaughn
  
  
• Guld och gröna skogar (Gold and green forests)
  Artist: Hasse Andersson 
  Songwriters: Anderz Wrethov, Elin Wrethov, Johan Bejerholm, Johan Deltinger
  
  
• Heroes
  Artist: Måns Zelmerlöw
  Songwriters: Anton Malmberg Hård af Segerstad, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb
  
  
• Make Me (La La La)
  Artist: Dinah Nah 
  Songwriters: Dinah Nah, Dr Alban, Jakke Erixson, Karl-Ola Kjellholm