Last year, Marcus & Martinus finished second place at Sweden’s Melodifestivalen with Air, with returning champion Loreen making it through to the final stages of the Eurovision Song Contest where she became the first female artist to take home the trophy twice. 

Undeterred, they returned once more this year and with a new song, Unforgettable, in tow, the twins came out on top and will represent the country on home turf at the Malmö Arena on May 11 – 50 years since ABBA’s iconic win with Waterloo. It all worked out for the best, says Martinus: “I love Air, but Unforgettable is more us and it’s more Eurovision. I feel like it’s an upgrade.”

They’re not the only ones that think so; 12 songs took part in the final of Melodifestivalen for the public and jury vote (split 50/50), with Unforgettable winning each with a huge margin. “We didn’t know, the first time we went to Melodifestivalen, how huge it actually is,” laughs Marcus. “The support we got was incredible so we really wanted to do it again – because we felt like, as long as Loreen’s not there, we have a chance!”

With a global audience of 162 million viewers last year alone, Eurovision is the biggest stage in music and, in Sweden, Martinus says it’s equally as important in the pop sphere. It’s a far cry from the UK’s approach to the Contest in previous years. “And I think that’s so crazy,” insists Marcus. “When you think about it being the biggest singing competition in the world. I guess it’s something to do with people not wanting to be remembered as a Eurovision act and wanting to be known for something they’ve done themselves. But you shouldn’t be ashamed to be remembered for taking part in the biggest singing competition in the whole world.”

A change in fortunes with Sam Ryder’s second-place 2022 finish with Space Man marked something of a turning point in the UK’s 21st Century Eurovision journey, with this year’s performer, Years & Years star Olly Alexander, hoping to reach similar heights with his hit, Dizzy. 

But Marcus has another suggestion to increase enthusiasm around Eurovision – which previously catapulted classic acts like Bucks Fizz and Gina G to the global stage. “The UK has such great artists and I feel like you should have a qualifier competition like we do in Sweden to make a bit more hype around it,” he offers.

The boys are a fan of Olly’s song but name Holland’s entry, Europapa by Joost Klein, as their personal favourite. All three acts have had considerable success globally – Marcus & Martinus have released three studio albums (a fourth will arrive weeks after Eurovision), and have also fronted two documentary films and two TV series – with the pair also playing the Malmö Arena earlier this year on their European tour. 

Now, they’re in full Eurovision mode and as they prepare for the show, there’s a few logistical issues to iron out. “We want it to look big and we’re perfectionists, so we want to upgrade our outfits and there are other things we need to change because of the Eurovision rules,” says Martinus, referring to the screens they use as part of the staging.

“The walls are too tall; I think the maximum height is three metres and our walls are seven metres, so we have to do something there,” he adds. They’re not the first Swedish act in recent years to face such issues; last year, there was doubt as to whether Loreen’s now-iconic box would make it over concerns it was too heavy for the roof of the arena in Liverpool.

“But we’re working on it, so we’ll get it all through and it’ll be bigger and better.”

As the reigning winners, Sweden automatically qualify for the Grand Final and Marcus & Martinus will perform first. “It’s going to be such a weird feeling, after so much hard work, to be first out and it all be over in two minutes and 50 seconds,” admits Marcus, with Martinus adding: “We’re going to be in the green room for two hours – by the end of the show we’ll be super drunk!”

When it comes to their big moment, though, the boys are following Loreen’s advice. “We talked to her at the Melodifestivalen final and she told us she really liked our performance,” smiles Marcus, with Martinus agreeing: “She said that we killed it, so we’re just gonna go out there and do our thing.”