Måns Zelmerlöw

Måns Zelmerlöw first gained widespread attention as a Swedish pop singer through several prominent domestic television competitions. At nineteen he joined the 2005 edition of Idol, Sweden’s domestic adaptation of the global Pop Idol franchise, where his powerful vocals and youthful charm carried him to the finals and a fifth-place finish. The next year he took part in Let’s Dance, the Swedish counterpart to the worldwide Dancing with the Stars format, and claimed victory, which markedly increased his visibility. That success led to leading roles in Swedish stage productions of Grease and Footloose.

In 2007 Zelmerlöw competed in Melodifestivalen, Sweden’s national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest and one of the nation’s major pop events. Blending his vocal and dance skills on the upbeat, Latino-inflected “Cara Mía,” he advanced directly to the grand final. During one of the year’s most-watched broadcasts he placed third behind clear frontrunners the Ark and singer-songwriter Andreas Johnson. Despite the result, “Cara Mía” outperformed both winning entries commercially, holding the top spot on the Swedish charts for a full month. His debut album Stand by For appeared soon afterward, also reaching number one and achieving strong sales while featuring several tracks he had written himself. Additional Top 20 singles arrived with “Work of Art (Da Vinci)” and “Brother Oh Brother.” Zelmerlöw concluded the year with a Top Three duet alongside Idol 05 winner Agnes Carlsson on their cover of Mariah Carey’s holiday standard “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”