Eurovision 2025: How Swedish composer Thomas G:son wrote over 100 songs for Eurovision

Eurovision fans are holding their breath: just one day left until the grand finale of the 2025 edition, which is being held in the Swiss city of Basel. Bookmakers are betting on a victory for Sweden and its delirious Bara Bada Bastu , by the trio KAJ, and predicting a fine third place for France thanks to Louane's mother . Among the candidates of this 69th edition, the singer Parg will represent Armenia with the song Survivor . A song co-written by a name that aficionados know well: Thomas G:son.

Anyone who follows Eurovision has surely heard one of his compositions. Maybe ten. Maybe even a hundred; since his very first collaboration with the contest, this Swedish songwriter has written 117 songs for the competition or its national selections. Delegations from some fifteen countries, from Denmark to Poland to Spain, have called upon his services. And two of his songs have won.

"It's a long adventure," the 57-year-old artist joked to BFMTV.com, 26 years after his first contribution. "But it's a great adventure. So far, I'm having fun."

It was by chance that Thomas G:son, born Thomas Gustafsson in the Swedish city of Skövde in 1968, got his hands on the world's biggest talent show. In 1999, the musician, then in his early thirties, came across a TV spot calling for songwriters to submit songs for Melodifestivalen. This Swedish television competition, a true national institution, elects the country's Eurovision candidate every year.

"I wrote a few songs, recorded them, produced them, did it all by myself, burned them onto a CD, and mailed them," he recalls. "Later, they announced the selected songs on a show. I was sitting in front of the TV and... 'Oh! That's my song!'"

Natten är min vän , performed by a singer named Cleo Nilsson, finished eighth in Melodifestivalen. The second attempt was the right one: two years later, Thomas G:son co-wrote the song Listen to Your Heartbeat , for the band Friends. It won the competition, which earned the band the right to represent their country at Eurovision 2001 in Copenhagen. And to reach the Top 5.

A consensual pop title, evoking ABBA hits, a thousand miles from the genre of predilection of its author. Because it was cradled by hard rock that Thomas G:son grew up: "The first time I heard Van Halen , I was shocked," he remembers. "And I learned the guitar."

In fact, he had long intended to pursue a career as a guitarist: "That was my goal, I played the guitar all the time, I wore it on me like a t-shirt." In the early 1990s, he played strings for the Swedish hard rock band Masquerade.

But once he entered the Eurovision circuit, Thomas G:son never left: every year since 2001, he has written one or more songs for the Swedish pre-selection. But also for the Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Spanish pre-selections... all the way to the Eurovision stage: to date, 17 of his songs have participated in the contest, for nine different countries. Including France: he co-wrote Mon allée , performed by Tom Leeb, which was supposed to represent France at the 2020 edition before it was canceled due to Covid-19.

"I don't know how it happened," he laughs. "Sometimes it's a delegation that asks me, a manager, the artist himself... it's different every time."

Her guiding principle? Fun : "I participate in projects that I find interesting and fun. If it looks fun, I jump at it. Otherwise, I say no. If it's original, new... I do what I consider interesting and fun."

How do you find inspiration after working on the same competition for more than twenty years? "Eurovision isn't about one particular sound. There's hard rock, all kinds of music. And I like writing for different styles of music." Furthermore, "Each country has its own tastes, its own music; they like different things and think differently."

"I don't write for the competition, but for the artists," he adds. "Of course, there's a goal in mind: we want to win, we want to represent a country, but above all, we write for an artist and their country."

And Thomas G:son achieved this goal twice: in 2012 and 2023, both times for Sweden, co-writing the songs Euphoria and Tattoo by singer Loreen. The strongest memories of all his participations:

"You remember it forever. First in Baku with 'Euphoria,' and two years ago. Those are great memories. But almost every time I've been there, it's been good memories."

The 2025 edition may offer him another chance with the Armenian song. It probably won't be his best result: two days before the competition, Survivor is in last place in the bookmakers' rankings. Because at Eurovision, there's no formula: "It's a mystery every time."