Twin Norwegian Pop Stars Finish Second for Sweden

MAY 15 2024 · 12:00

Marcus & Martinus · "Unforgettable" · Sweden · 2024 Placement: 9 · Score: 174 · Language: English · Composers: Martinus Gunnarsen, Marcus Gunnarsen, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb, Jimmy Thornfeldt · Venue: Malmö Arena · Host: Malmö, Sweden · Type: deep cut · Broadcast: streaming era The Gunnarsen twins — Marcus and Martinus, Norwegian teen-pop stars since 2012 — take the Malmö Arena stage in matching white tailoring for Sweden, the adopted Eurovision country where they won Melodifestivalen. 'Unforgettable' is clean dance-pop with tight harmonies. 9th place with 174 points in the host country's year. Nemo wins for Switzerland with 'The Code'. Context The twins had built a Scandinavian pop empire as teens with 8 million monthly Spotify listeners across the Nordics. Their 2024 Swedish Melodifestivalen win was controversial — they were Norwegian and had never recorded in Swedish. SVT framed the win as pan-Nordic pop collaboration; Norwegian fans were ambivalent. Legacy 'Unforgettable' solidified the twins as pan-Scandinavian pop stars. Their Eurovision appearance received heavy Nordic radio rotation. The 9th-place finish was seen as disappointing relative to host-country expectation. The twins' cross-border representation reopened conversations about Eurovision artist-nationality rules.