Sweden's Benjamin Ingrosso gets a star at Eurovision 2024

The live broadcasts of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 are not just about the competing songs. There are flashbacks to past shows, interstitial material and most importantly, performances by some of the host country's most beloved artists.

One of Sweden's brightest stars made a tour-de-force appearance this week in the first semi-final for Eurovision 2024. Benjamin Ingrosso performed a seven-minute medley of some of his best songs, including his new single, “Look Who's Laughing Now.”

Ingrosso has a long history with Eurovision. When she was 8 years old, she competed in Lilla Melodifestivalen for younger artists in 2006 and won. In 2017, she competed in the Swedish national final with the song “Good Lovin'”, but did not win and did not qualify for Eurovision. It was a completely different story in 2018 when Ingrosso's 'Dance You Off' won Melodifestivalen and opened the door for him to compete in Eurovision that year.

Advertising sign caught up with Ingrosso at Malmö Arena to talk about this year's Eurovision, his new album and what happened when he sang “Wild World” in front of Cat Stevens.

What is it like for you to be back at Eurovision but not competing?

It's really nice to come back and not compete, because you don't win and you don't lose. You can just go on stage and have fun. But for me, the biggest difference is that when I was here six years ago, I was a younger, almost completely different artist. I was 21 and now I'm 26 and I've toured a lot and I think I've grown as an artist. People who haven't seen me since 2018 will see me as a different performer and I think I'm more of a performer now. Back then I was just an artist singing a song, but now I'm an entertainer. At least, that's what I'm aiming for.

I saw your rehearsal and you are definitely a performer.

I worked hard to get where I am today. I always like to work on every little thing I do. I really want to get better. Back in 2018, I loved a music video as a number and this is the opposite. This is more of a live pop show. I'll be on stage with 21 people for a seven-minute medley of my recent songs.

Describe the work you did in your show.

Covid stopped everything happening, but I worked a lot during the pandemic. I released a lot of music in Sweden. Since participating in Eurovision in 2018, I have released four studio albums and three live albums. I've done a TV show. I've been doing concerts and touring, so I think I'm growing both as a person and as an artist.

What advice would you give yourself if you went back in time to perform at Lilla Melodifestivalen?

I would just give him a big hug and say, “I'm proud of you.” I sent my mom a video last night of the rehearsals and said, “Imagine if I could go back in time and show my 8-year-old that number, he'd be so proud.” This is like a full circle moment. When I was a kid, I loved John Travolta, and tonight I'm going to be on stage in a white John Travolta suit, so I'm doing this for the little kid I was.

Tell me about your new single.

I just released “Honey Boy” last week with Purple Disco Machine and Nile Rodgers and Shenseea and that song is one of my favorite songs. I wrote the chorus two years ago and we've been working on it a bit. I performed it last summer on my tour, so my core fans have been asking for this song for a long time. This song will be the end of the medley. I will also be premiering a new song tonight, “Look Who's Laughing Now”, and that song will be released this month on May 31st.

Did you write “Look Who's Laughing Now”?

I wrote it in Los Angeles with David Stewart and Jessica Agombar. They had a number one on Billboard. We're talking about the younger David Stewart [not the Eurhythmics Dave Stewart]. They did “Dynamite” with BTS. Shakira's new album just finished. He is extremely talented. We were at Westlake Studios for four days and on the fourth day, the guy who works at the studio asked if I wanted a tour of the place. I passed Michael Jackson's gloves and a painting. “Wait a minute. Why are there pictures of Michael Jackson everywhere?” “He did Thriller here. And I said, 'And you're telling me that? I've been here for four days. That could have been inspiration!' But it turned out to be a great song that starts with a Queenish/ABBA beat.There's some energy in this studio.

Are you working on a new album?

Yes. I was on my first European tour. It's sold out, and I'm so blessed to be able to do a European tour for the first time in my career. And on that tour, I did 80% new songs, teasing the next album. I didn't tell anyone before because I thought people wouldn't buy tickets if it was only songs they never heard. But to be honest, I got people singing along in a weird way. Thanks to TikTok and Instagram, people could learn the songs before the show.

Are you planning to do more recording in America for this upcoming album?

Maybe I'll be back in September after the tour to finish some songs. Before Covid, I used to go to LA often. I think for the next album, I'll do maybe 80% of the songs in Los Angeles, because I've worked with a lot of great songwriters and producers.

The European tour is over, so what's next?

The European tour lasted a month. The new tour is in Scandinavia and is on a much larger scale. There are 12 of us on stage. There are 45 people in the crew, so it's a huge production. We play Stockholm in August in a 30,000 capacity stadium. It's my biggest show of my career so far, so it's going to be cool.

Are you thinking of trying to invade America?

100% That's my goal and it's been my goal since I was a kid, although when I was 8 years old, I wanted to be a Broadway musical artist. I used to do musicals but that changed and then when I was a teenager I wanted to be the next David Foster and now I'm really aiming for a world tour in the future.

Marcus and Martinus from Norway are representing Sweden this year Have you given them any advice about performing on the Eurovision stage?

We talked yesterday. I was in the bathroom in the bathroom and I heard the kids come in and I said a word in Norwegian and they said, “Benjamin?” I asked how they could hear what I was saying. They replied, “We've been listening to 'Honey Boy' for 24 hours. So we recognized your voice in a second.” We talked about the fact that it's a three-minute show, so make sure you enjoy those three minutes because that's how they go[finger snap]. I told them to have fun and enjoy it and not take it too seriously. Winning Melodifestivalen is already a big achievement. It is very difficult for a country to win Eurovision twice in a row [Sweden won in 2023 with “Tatttoo” by Loreen]. I told them we are all proud of them.

I was sitting at a table closer to the stage at the Polar Music Prize in 2023 when Chris Blackwell was awarded, so I saw you sing 'Wild World' up close. What was it like when Cat Stevens got up from his seat and came on stage to hug you?

It was crazy. First of all, I had been rehearsing all day for the tour, so I had an hour to jump in the car, put on my clothes, go on stage, sing the song and then all of a sudden, people were standing and I just turned around and cat stevens was there, right next to me, he hugged me. It was a wonderful night. The next day, I thought, “What happened yesterday? Did I hug Cat Stevens?' It was so cool. And then I performed the song on my tour and I never expected it to become such a big thing. A lot of older artists from his generation came up to me in Sweden and said things like, “Well, Cat Stevens really embraced you. That's impressive.”

We couldn't tell from the floor — when he was hugging you, did he say anything in your ear?

He didn't say anything to me, but I saw him interviewing the host and he said, “This guy is really talented. I really want to work with him.” Just the fact that he said it was very dope.