Sweden was represented by

Lena Philipsson Maria Magdalena Philipsson (born 19 January 1966), known by her stage name Lena Philipsson, is a Swedish singer, songwriter and media personality. She represented Sweden in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing fifth. Career Philipsson ...

and the song " It Hurts", which won the song selection

Melodifestivalen 2004 Melodifestivalen 2004 was the selection for the 44th song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. It was the 43rd time that this system of picking a song had been used. Five heats had taken place to select the ten songs for the final, ...

under the title "Det gör ont".

Before Eurovision

Melodifestivalen 2004

Melodifestivalen 2004 was hosted by

Charlotte Perrelli Anna Jenny Charlotte Perrelli (; ; born 7 October 1974) is a Swedes, Swedish singer and television host. She was the winner of the Melodifestivalen 1999, 1999 Melodifestivalen and subsequently Eurovision Song Contest 1999, that year's Eurovision ...

(winner of the

Eurovision Song Contest 1999 The Eurovision Song Contest 1999 was the 44th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 29 May 1999 at the International Convention Centre in Jerusalem, Israel. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Isr ...

), Ola Lindholm and Peter Settman. 32 songs were divided into 4 heats in order to find 10 finalists for the final. As usual, 2 songs from each heat directly qualified for the final, and all 3rd and 4th places went to the Wildcard round, where 2 more songs would make it to the final. The winner was chosen by regional juries (50%) and televoting (50%) of which Lena Philipsson was the favourite with both. The song is written and composed by Thomas 'Orup' Eriksson.

Heats and Second Chance round

* The first heat took place on 21 February 2004. "Tango! Tango!" performed by Petra Nielsen and " Som stormen" performed by

Sara Löfgren Sara Therese Löfgren, (born 11 April 1977), is a Swedish singer known for her participation in Fame Factory and her song "Starkare" (''Stronger''). Background Löfgren started singing at the age of 12. She got a break in the talent show Fame ...

qualified directly to the final, while "Love Turns Water Into Wine" performed by

Karl Martindahl Karl Glenn Martindahl (born in Bankeryd, Sweden on 5 June 1980) is a Swedish singer and son of Swedish footballer Glenn Martindahl. Beginnings Karl Martindahl had his debut in the TV program ''Söndagsöppet'' in the early 1990s as a child sin ...

and "Älvorna" performed by

Sarek Sarek is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. He is a Vulcan astrophysicist, the Vulcan ambassador to the United Federation of Planets, and father of Spock. The character was originally played by Mark Lenard in the e ...

advanced to the Second Chance round. "En gång för alla" performed by Nina and Kim, "Still Believe" performed by Joachim Bergström, "It's in the Stars" performed by

LaGaylia Frazier LaGaylia Frazier (born 16 February 1961) is an American-born Swedish singer who specializes in Soul and jazz. Early life and work LaGaylia Frazier was born in Miami, Florida. and grew up in Miami Shores. As a child she played classical piano ...

and "Tro på mig" performed by Niklas Andersson were eliminated from the contest. * The second heat took place on 28 February 2004. "

Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...

" performed by E-Type feat.

Nana Nana, Nanna, Na Na or NANA may refer to: People and fictional characters * Nana (given name), including a list of people and characters with the given name * Nana (surname), including a list of people and characters with the surname * Nana ( ...

and "

Vindarna vänder oss Vindarna vänder oss is a song written by Henrik Sethson, Pontus Assarsson and Dan Attlerud, and performed by Fame at Melodifestivalen 2004. The song participated in the third semifinal inside Scandinavium in Gothenburg on 28 February 2004, mak ...

" performed by Fame qualified directly to the final, while "Finally" performed 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 "Säg att du har ångrat dig" performed by

Anne-Lie Rydé Anne-Lie Rydé (born 17 October 1956 in Stockholm) is a Swedish pop and rock singer. Rydé grew up on Lidingö, but moved to Gothenburg in 1976. There she played with the Gothenburg-based band Extra from 1978 to 1983. She moved back to Stock ...

advanced to the Second Chance round. "Soy tu Venus" performed by

Baccara Baccara was a female vocal duo formed in 1977 by Spanish artists Mayte Mateos (born 7 February 1951) and María Mendiola (4 April 1952 – 11 September 2021). The duo rapidly achieved international success with their debut single " Yes Sir, I C ...

, "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" performed by Jennifer Escola, "Trendy Discoteque" performed by Pay TV and "(Are U) Ready or Not" performed by LaRoxx were eliminated from the contest. * The third heat took place on 6 March 2004. "Här stannar jag kvar" performed by

Sandra Dahlberg Maria Sandra Marlene Dahlberg (born 13 March 1979) is a Swedish/Sami singer. She sings a mix of folk and pop music and has had hits as "Kom hem hel igen", "Här stannar jag kvar" (which she performed in Melodifestivalen 2004 and finished in 8th p ...

and "

C'est la vie C'est la vie may refer to: * C'est la vie (phrase), ''C'est la vie'' (phrase), a French phrase, translated as "That's life" Books * C'est la Vie (comic strip), ''C'est la Vie'' (comic strip), an English-language comic strip by Jennifer Babcock * ...

" performed by

Hanson Hanson or Hansson may refer to: People * Hanson (surname) * Hansson (surname) * Hanson (wrestler), ringname of an American professional wrestler Musical groups * Hanson (band), an American pop rock band * Hanson (UK band), an English rock ...

Carson Carson may refer to: People *Carson (surname), people with the surname *Carson (given name), people with the given name Places ;In the United States * Carson, California, a city * Carson Township, Fayette County, Illinois *Carson, Iowa, a city * ...

and Malmkvist qualified directly to the final, while "Efharisto" performed by

Bosson Staffan Olsson (born 21 February 1969), better known by his stage name Bosson, is a Swedish singer-songwriter. Early life His stage name comes from the fact that his father's first name is Bo – hence he is Bo's son. Career Bosson first gaine ...

and "Blow the Spot" performed by Bubbles advanced to the Second Chance round. "Innan mörkret faller" performed by Emil Sigfridsson, "Baby I Can't Stop" performed by

Gladys del Pilar Eva Gladys del Pilar Werner (born 11 October 1967) is an Ecuadorian-born Swedish singer and dancer. She is best known for being a member of the pop group Afro-dite, with which she represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002. Career G ...

, "Super Mega Nova" performed by Itchycoo and "Bulletproof Heart" performed by Autolove were eliminated from the contest. * The fourth heat took place on 13 March 2004. "

Det gör ont "It Hurts" is a song recorded by Swedish singer Lena Philipsson. It was written by Thomas "Orup" Eriksson and produced by Anders Hansson for Philipsson's studio album '' Det gör ont en stund på natten men inget på dan'' (2004). It is the best ...

" performed by

and "

La dolce vita ''La Dolce Vita'' (; Italian for "the sweet life" or "the good life"Kezich, 203) is a 1960 satirical comedy-drama film directed and co-written (with Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli and Brunello Rondi) by Federico Fellini. The film stars Marcell ...

" performed by After Dark qualified directly to the final, while "Olé Olé" performed by Andrés Esteche and "

Min kärlek "Min kärlek" (Swedish: ''My Love'') is the greatest hit and fourth official single from the Swedish pop singer Shirley Clamp. The song, composed by Ingela "Pling" Forsman, Bobby Ljunggren and Henrik Wikström, was one of the entries at the Swedi ...

" performed by

Shirley Clamp Shirley Natasja Clamp (born 17 February 1973) is a British-Swedish pop singer.Shirley Clamp
posh24.se, accessed on May 7, 2010 ...

advanced to the Second Chance round. "Just Like Me" performed by Anders Borgius, "Boom Bang-a-Bang" performed by Glenn Borgkvist and Lotta Nilsson, "Runaway" performed by Pandora and "Äntligen" performed by Fre were eliminated from the contest. * The Second Chance round (''Andra chansen'') took place on 14 March 2004. "Olé Olé" performed by Andrés Esteche and "

" performed by

Shirley Clamp Shirley Natasja Clamp (born 17 February 1973) is a British-Swedish pop singer.Shirley Clamp
posh24.se, accessed on May 7, 2010 ...

qualified to the final.

Final

The final took place on 20 March 2004 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 Stockho ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

At Eurovision

For the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, a semi-final round was introduced in order to accommodate the influx of nations that wanted to compete in the contest. Since Sweden placed 5th in the previous contest year, Sweden automatically qualified to compete in the final along with the Big Four countries and nine other nations that were also successful in the 2003 Contest. Lena sang "Det gör ont" in its

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

version, "It Hurts". Lena appeared on stage with her backing singers lined up on the side. She moved on stage by herself very effectively and gave one of the best performances of the night. Lena's performance and attire was very similar to her Melodifestivalen performance. Sweden closed the contest performing last in the 24th spot and eventually making their way up to a joint 5th place with 170 points, receiving 4 sets of 12-points, meaning that Sweden automatically qualified for the final in the 2005 contest.

Voting

Points awarded to Sweden

Points awarded by Sweden

References

{{Eurovision Song Contest 2004 2004 Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 Eurovision Eurovision