Ahead of it debut season on NBC, Sharleen Wright looks at the origins of the American Song Contest, what to expect, and how it all works.

Anders Bagge's emotional rollercoaster played out before millions of viewers has made this beloved teddybear - an icon on Swedish TV - one of the hot favourites to win Melodifestivalen. Ben Robertson tells us the Anders Bagge story, and why this year there's an extra hurdle in place that makes victory a step harder to achieve.

Twelve songs compete in the biggest National Final of the season as Sweden selects their Eurovision song. But who are the ones to watch and where is the excitement going to come? Ben Robertson gives his tips

With online promotion and direct contact with fans becoming a key part of marketing music, Ewan Spence looks at strengths and weaknesses of these platforms at the Eurovision Song Contest.

This Saturday sees Melodifestivalen scrap Andra Chansen and replace it with a new concept... a Semi Final. Ben Robertson explains what it is, how it works, and how the results may change because of it