Sweden chose their song and singer for the Eurovision Song Contest 1989 in the national preselection Melodifestivalen 1989 which was held at the Globe Theatre in Stockholm on March 11th, hosted by Yvonne Ryding-Bergquist & John Crispinsson. The winning song was chosen by 11 regional juries.
With a small mariginal, the winner was Tommy Nilsson with the power ballad En dag, written by Tim Norell, Ola Håkansson and Alexander Bard.
Results:
01. En dag - Tommy Nilsson, 113 points
02. Upp över mina öron - Eriksson-Glenmark, 108 points
03. Mitt ibland änglar - Fingerprints, 80 points
04. Du (öppnar min värld) - Lisa Nilsson, 74 points
05. Okey okey - Lill & Sussie, 67 points
06. Nattens drottning - Haakon Pedersen & Elisabeth Berg, 67 points
07. Världen är vår - Visitors & Sofia Källgren, 50 points
08. Genom eld - Cajsa Bergström, 39 points
09. När stormen går - Catrin Olsson, 29 points
10. Jorden är din - True Blue, 19 points
The song was drawn #10 at the contest in Lausanne, Switzerland. It scored very well, receiving a total of 110 points, making Sweden finish 4th, only 1 point behind their neighbour Denmark.
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Erik Tommy Nilsson (March 11 1960, Köping) is a Swedish singer and composer. Swedish critics state that he has one of the best voices of Sweden.
In the late 70's, Tommy was the singer of Swedish heavy metal band Horizont. The group released two albums but a French producer, Yves Accary, contacted Nilsson and signed him to a French record company. The singer enjoyed his first big hit in France in 1981 with the song No Way No How. The single sold one million copies and the album 200 000 copies. No Way No How, his first album, included disco tracks and ballads. A follow up LP Tommy Nilsson was released in 1982 and this time the songs were composed by Tommy Nilsson and Alex R Contanstinos. This was a rock album, recorded in Stockholm and Los Angeles, but it did not sell very well and after two years of travelling between France and the United States, Nilsson decided to go back to Sweden.
He first joined another metal band, Easy Action, and they released two albums. The group eventually split up and Nilsson started a solo career. He represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 1989 with the ballad En dag and placed 4th. He has also made several Swedish hits in Sweden; Allt som jag känner (a duet with Tone Norum) in 1987, Öppna din dörr in 1994, Dina färger var blå in 1996, and Amelia in 2005. In 1988, he was given an award for best Swedish male artist and in 1990 received a gold disc for his album Follow the Road.
In 1997, Tommy co-starred with Mary Wilson of the Supremes in "SupremeSoul", the story of a black singer who arrives in Sweden to do a show with a white singer. The show consisted of music, as well as humorous moments that highlighted culture differences between Sweden and the United States of America.
In 2001, a compilation of his songs En samling 1981-2001, went platinum in Sweden. Nilsson has also collaborated with Swedish television, dubbed cartoons, and acted in several plays. In 2005, his album Tiden före nu reached # 2 on the Swedish sales chart just after its release.
Nilsson took part in Melodifestivalen again in 2007. He performed the power ballad Jag tror på människan in Melodifestivalen 2007's first semi final in Jönköping and qualified for the final round, along with Anna Book. The song placed tenth and last in the final after failing to receive any points from the judges or the televoting audience. Nevertheless Jag tror på människan reached #9 on the Svensktoppen.
The singer played the part of Captain von Trapp in the musical The Sound of Music that ran in Stockholm beginning 29 September 2007, ending with a tour and the last performance in Örebro in May 2008.
Nilsson has been married to the Swedish actress Malin Berghagen.
Nilsson is also known for his dubbing work for animated films and series, including Top Cat, Batman: The Animated Series, The Busy World of Richard Scarry, among others. He dubbed Mel Gibson's voice of John Smith in Pocahontas.
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