Dotter: Difficult situations with people have been the greatest inspiration for the lyrics.
Our editor Matt caught up with Dotter who’s competing in Semi Final 2 of Melodifestivalen next weekend.
Hi Dotter. Congratulations on being chosen for the Melodifestivalen! What first got you into music?
I’ve always been in love with music. I started singing and creating my own versions of My little pony when I was around 4 years old, recording my ideas on the kitchen radio on cassette tapes.
How were you chosen for Melodifestivalen?
I wrote a song with my fiancé and our friend Erik one day. We didn’t decide before writing to whom the song would be written for but in an early stage I felt that the song belonged to me and I felt that it would be really nice performing the song in Melodifestivalen. So we sent it in and got a lovely response.
You’ve wrote a number of Melodifestivalen songs including ‘A million years’ by Mariette Hansson ‘Victorious’ by Lina Hedlund aswell as your own song ‘Cry’ in 2018 and ‘Bulletproof’ for this years contest. How did you write the songs and what is the songwriting process like?
The process has been different for each song. Both Cry and A million years I stepped into when the melodies where already created. On Cry I actually made just a few small changes but on A million years I wrote most of the lyrics.
On both Victorious and Bulletproof I’ve been involved from the very beginning. Bulletproof was created really quickly. My fiancé had an idea for the verse then I just sang a pre that fitted immediately.
We got a little stuck with the chorus melody and I zoomed out for a bit then I remember I jumped up from the sofa, put my phone on recording and said “Hey, this is how the chorus should be” and then I sang the whole A-part and then we finished the B-part together.
We struggled with the lyrics for weeks. We tried to find the title before we started writing. Then one day, after me and my fiancé had had a fight I locked myself in the bedroom and wrote most of the lyrics. I think the lyrics is 100% based on that fight actually cause the song is about me telling a person I care for that I do have feelings and the things the other person says can be really hurtful.
How do you find the creative process when writing songs? What inspires you?
Mostly I get inspired by things happening in my life, either now or earlier in my life. I use quotes or lines from books or movies that I’ve collected for inspiration to describe my feelings and stories of my life.
What can you tell us about your song ‘Bulletproof’? What is it about and what inspired you to write it?
It’s about showing and telling another person that you’re vulnerable and that their words can be really hurtful to you. I think difficult situations with other people that I care for have been the greatest inspiration for the lyrics.
You went on tour with Mans Zelmerlow. What was it like and did he give you any advice in performing?
It’s been an awesome time touring with Måns! He’s such an amazing and professional artist and it’s been so much fun performing with him and his wonderful band. Haven’t got any advice yet about the performance but maybe I will closer to the competition. We’ll see.
What’s been your favourite Melodifestivalen song?
Euphoria with Loreen, cause she’s such a wonderful artist and her performance was something really unexpected and cool! I think it changed the whole Melodifestivalen scene a bit, really.
What’s been your favourite Eurovision song and why?
Right now it’s actually the song that won last year, Arcade. It’s stuck on my head and it’s a really lovely song and Duncan’s voice is magical
Thanks for talking to us Dotter and Good luck in the Competition!