"Hero" is a 2008

pop song Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

performed by the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

singer Charlotte Perrelli, written by

Fredrik Kempe Fredrik Kempe (born 29 April 1972) is a Swedish songwriter and opera and pop singer, who was born in Vårgårda. He has participated in Swedish versions of the musicals ''Les Misérables'' and ''Chess''. In 2002, Kempe had a hit with ''Vincerò' ...

and

Bobby Ljunggren Bobby Ljunggren (born 1961) is a Swedish songwriter. He has entered the Eurovision Song Contest as a composer six times, five times for his native Sweden (1995, 1998, 2006, 2008 and 2010), and once for Lithuania, in 2005. He is a veteran of ...

. It was entered into the

Melodifestivalen 2008 Melodifestivalen 2008 was the 47th Melodifestivalen, and the selection process for the 48th song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. A new rule—''Lex Agnes''—went into effect in 2008 calling for each submitted entry to inclu ...

, winning at the

Globen Avicii Arena, originally known as Stockholm Globe Arena and previously as Ericsson Globe, but commonly referred to in Swedish simply as Globen (; "the Globe"), is an indoor arena located in Stockholm Globe City, Johanneshov district of Stockh ...

arena on 15 March 2008. Due to this, it represented at the

2008 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was the 53rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Belgrade, Serbia, following the country's victory at the with the song "Molitva" by Marija Šerifović. Organised by the European Broadcastin ...

in Belgrade,

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

. The single "Hero" was released on 12 March 2008. It topped the Swedish Singles chart, and was certified Gold, in recognition of 10,000 copies sold. After the contest, it was

certified Platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

, as 40,000 copies sold. The song entered the 3rd place at

Svensktoppen ''Svensktoppen'' () is a weekly record chart airing at Sveriges Radio. Until January 2003, the songs had to be in the Swedish language. Svensktoppen has aired since 1962, except for the years 1982-1985. The last years before the January 2003 cha ...

on 13 April 2008, and it stayed on the chart for eight weeks until 1 June 2008 peaking at #3. The Swedish single top 100, she peaked at #1 for 5 weeks, and left the charts after 19 weeks. Her position in the 'best of all time' is #503 with 769 points.

Melodifestivalen and Eurovision

"Hero" participated in the fourth heat of the 2008 Melodifestivalen which was held on 1 March 2008 at the

Telenor Arena Telenor Arena, sometimes referred to as Fornebu Arena, is a multi-purpose indoor arena located at Fornebu in Bærum, outside Oslo, Norway. It serves as a venue for a variety of events, including concerts, exhibitions, action shows, family shows ...

in Karlskrona. The song was the last of the eight competing entries to perform and directly qualified to the contest final as one of the two songs song which received the most telephone votes. On 15 March, during the final held at the

Globe Arena Avicii Arena, originally known as Stockholm Globe Arena and previously as Ericsson Globe, but commonly referred to in Swedish simply as Globen (; "the Globe"), is an indoor arena located in Stockholm Globe City, Johanneshov district of Stock ...

in Stockholm, Perrelli was the first of the ten competing acts to perform, and "Hero" won the contest with 224 points, receiving the highest number of votes from the regional juries and the second-highest number of votes from the viewing public. During the month of April and part of May, Perrelli went on a promotional tour through Europe. She visited

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The single was released to radio stations in those countries to which she competed in the semifinal. She originally planned to visit

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

as well, but she didn't receive a visa in time and her tour there was cancelled. Perrelli made it through the semifinal on 22 May in Eurovision Song Contest 2008 as the jury wildcard and competed in the final. She competed as number 15, the same that she had in , when she won with "

Take Me to Your Heaven Tusen och en natt is a 1999 album from Swedish dansband Wizex Wizex is a Swedish dansband formed in Osby in 1973. It purchased the rights to the name from a band that started as ''Ulrik Wittmans Kvintett'' in 1957''.'' When Ulrik Wittman left t ...

". However, she only managed to finish 18th out of 25 entries with 47 points.

Music video

The Music video was shot in Stockholm on 14 April 2008, and the filming went on for two days. Among other shooting spots some of the scenes were filmed in the room of Globen Arena.Charlottes lyxvideo ''(Expressen.se)''
During the shoot Perrelli was assisted by a personal make-up artist and stylist, ten cameramen, and her sister, Kina Björk. The music video was officially released on 7 May 2008.

Cover versions

*At

TV4 TV4 or TV 4 may refer to: *TV4 (Poland), a private Polish television station *TV4 (Sweden), a Swedish television network **TV4 Group, owners of the Swedish television station *South African Broadcasting Corporation TV4, a channel operated by the st ...

's ''

Så mycket bättre Så mycket bättre (, "So Much Better") is a Swedish reality television show that airs on TV4. The basic premise is that each artist attempts to do their own version of another artist's well-known songs, with each person getting an episode feat ...

'' in 2018, the song was performed by

Linnea Henriksson Ellen 'Linnea' Petrea Henriksson (born 9 November 1986) is a Swedish singer and songwriter who participated in '' Idol 2010'' in which she placed fourth. , she is also the lead singer of the jazz band Prylf. In 2012 Henriksson released her first ...

Track listing

#"Hero" #"Hero" (instrumental version)

Chart positions

Year-end charts

Release history

References

External links

"Hero" at the Swedish singles chartOfficial VideoBiography, Photo, Video
{{authority control 2008 singles 2008 songs Eurovision songs of 2008 Eurovision songs of Sweden Melodifestivalen songs of 2008 Songs written by Fredrik Kempe Songs written by Bobby Ljunggren Number-one singles in Sweden Charlotte Perrelli songs Universal Music Group singles