Linnea Deb has defended the small pool of prolific Melodifestivalen songwriters who were heavily criticised for their involvement earlier this year. 

Half of the 28 songs that competed in Melfest 2023 were written by either Linnea Deb, Thomas G:son, Anderz Wrethov, Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt or Jimmy Jansson. 

Speaking exclusively to The Euro Trip as a guest on The Contest & Me series of episodes, the Eurovision-winning songwriter defended the involvement of the group. 

“A lot of people that are bitter about that, maybe they send in one song or two songs,” Deb said. 

“What we do – [Thomas] G:son, Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt, Anderz Wrethov – we work the Melodifestivalen songs and Eurovision songs almost all year long. 

“It’s almost a full-time job. 

“We put all of our lives in it. It’s not strange that we might have one or two or three songs in it because it’s our full-time job.” 

Of the 28 songs in Melfest 2023, Deb and G:son wrote four songs each, Anderz Wrethov and Jimmy Jansson wrote five each, while Jimmy “Joker” Thörnfeldt wrote six. 

All five writers had songs in the final of the competition, with G:son and Jansson helping to pen Loreen’s Melfest and Eurovision-winning entry, Tattoo. 

The number of songs each songwriter had in the competition drew criticism from fans online who were unhappy with their continued involvement. 

“We do also do other songs for other things, of course, but we do have this passion for it,” Deb added. 

“It would also be weird if the jury and SVT would say ‘no’ to songs just because she already has a song in it. 

“In the end, it’s about the song. It’s a song contest. It’s not an artist contest or a songwriter contest. The best song wins.”