Interview: Marcus & Martinus on Eurovision, UK fans and what’s next

Identical twins Marcus and Martinus first burst onto the music scene when they won Melodi Grand Prix Junior in their native Norway back in 2012. Since then they’ve become two of the biggest stars in Scandinavia, with three chart-topping albums – ‘Hei’, ‘Together’ and ‘Moments’ – under their belts, as well as opening for Jason Derulo on tour and even winning Sweden’s version of ‘The Masked Singer’ in 2022!

Last year the duo competed in Melodifestivalen (the Swedish Eurovision selection process), coming second to eventual Eurovision champion Loreen, and this year they’ve gone one better. Next week, they’ll be opening the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final in Malmo, representing Sweden with their song ‘Unforgettable’.

Whilst they were in London recently, I caught up with the brothers to chat about their Eurovision preparations, UK fans’ response to their song, how it feels to be following in the footsteps of legends, what else they’ve got planned for this year and much more.

How have you been finding London?

Martinus: Good. I support a London team [Chelsea] so I enjoy it here. Yeah, it’s a nice city and we’ve been very busy while we’re here. So we haven’t seen too much of London, but yeah, it’s been nice so far here.

You’ve been here for the Eurovision pre-parties. What’s the reaction been like from UK fans?

Marcus: I think it’s been very good. It’s so fun to see the passion they have for Eurovision and for our song as well. It was so much fun last night and can’t wait to get back to the UK. Hopefully they’ll sing along with more songs.

You’ve mentioned your song ‘Unforgettable’ which is your song for Eurovision representing Sweden this month. Tell us a bit more about that…

Marcus: Yeah, it was kind of similar from the year before when we tried to qualify for Eurovision. We came second in behind Loreen with our song ‘Air’. We sat down with three amazing people together with us two, Jimmy [Joker], Linnea and Jey [Deb]. Jimmy also wrote ‘Tattoo’ for Loreen, and it was just Jimmy that showed us this instrumental first and said, “OK guys, I have this idea”. And we were like, “OK, we gotta sit down”. And then he showed us the beat and the instrumental and me and Martinus really liked it. It had this mystical feeling to it at first and then the clubby vibe to it as well. And then me and Martinus just started to lay melodies and get the structure on and then we wrote the lyrics and everything. We were so happy with the song. It was so important for us as well, after we did that, that the staging also was very good because the staging is a big part. It’s like 50-50, with the Eurovision. So we had to think very big and we have amazing people we work with and we’re so happy with everything around the song, with the outfits and the staging.

Is that collaborative approach quite typical of how you write your songs?

Martinus: Yeah, I think so too. It could be different. It could be us starting with ideas, or having an idea from before that we want to take into the studio. But yeah, Jimmy, he loves the Eurovision so he has a lot of ideas often. So he came in with the instrumental and showed us that and then we just started working from there.

How is the whole experience of being at Melodifestivalen? Because we don’t have a selection show like that here…

Martinus: I think you guys should have it! It makes Eurovision even more fun to watch.

I would love it if we did! So how is it being in that whole environment?

Martinus: It’s the biggest thing in Sweden. As the Swedish people say they celebrate birthdays, Christmas and they celebrate Melodifestivalen. So it’s the biggest thing there. And it’s crazy. It’s a crazy vibe. And they love it so much there, so it’s so amazing to be a part of it. And when we win it, it’s even crazier.

You’ll be competing for Sweden but you’re originally from Norway. Is it quite a strange thing for you both to represent Sweden at Eurovision?

Marcus: No, we’ve been working so much in Sweden lately. We’ve been there for a lot of years, and we have our whole team there, label, everything there. So it kind of feels like home. And we feel Swedish. So it feels very natural for us to represent them, and yeah, it’s nice.

Do you feel any kind of pressure at all in terms of representing the host nation, the reputation Sweden has at Eurovision, following in the footsteps of Loreen and ABBA and so on? Or is it more excitement and embracing the opportunity?

Marcus: I think it’s a mix of everything. Of course we’re nervous because just being on Eurovision is so big. But also 50 years since ‘Waterloo’, Loreen won last year, it’s in Sweden this year – it’s a very Swedish year in Eurovision. So we’re gonna try our best. We’re gonna do our best to enjoy the moment. It’s so huge to be in Eurovision and especially the legacy Sweden has in Eurovision so we wanna make them proud and the whole Eurovision proud. So it’s gonna be a fun experience for us.

You’re going to be opening the Grand Final which is obviously a huge thing…

Marcus: [gasps] I know! [lauighs]

We’ve talked a bit about the importance of the staging already – can you give us any hints of what it will be like yet?

Martinus: No, it’s still a work in progress. So we’re gonna do our best to make everything fit in. Because of the rules we have to change a bit on our staging, but we’re gonna improve, make it bigger and better. So we’re excited to show the people.

What have you enjoyed most about your Eurovision experience so far?

Martinus: Well, you know, it’s amazing to be a part of this bubble. It’s crazy. Everybody loves Eurovision, everybody’s so in it, so interested in everything we do, what we’re going to do in Eurovision. And it’s fun, you know, because you feel like everyone is a part of something and it’s something very special. And yeah, it’s super fun.

You’ve also been out on your own headlining tour in Scandinavia – how has that been going?

Marcus: It’s been great. We just finished our Scandinavian tour right before Melodifestivalen, and it was super, super cool. Arena tour. We actually just had the concert in Malmo where the Eurovision final is going to be, so it’s fun. And right after Eurovision we’re going to release an album and then we’re going on a European tour in the autumn. So it’s a lot of things happening but it’s nice, very nice.

What can you tell us about the new album? Is it going to be a similar sort of sound to ‘Unforgettable’ and ‘Air’?

Martinus: Yeah, a little bit. We’re trying to figure that out. But it’s a lot of new music, new style and a very exciting album. I’m very excited to show the people how it is.

The other thing I wanted to ask you both about was being on The Masked Singer in 2022. What was that like?

Marcus: It was very fun and a cool experience to win it as well, as two Norwegian boys there. And you get to show another side of yourself there, which is amazing. You get to sing music you usually don’t sing. I got to do a cover of ‘Wicked Game’ by Chris Isaak which is not the type of music we do, but I did my own version of it and it was a lot of good comments to get from the judges. So it was nice to show the people that we actually can sing and we can show we do other types of music than only pop music.

Following on from that – is there a song you wish you’d written, and over your career is there a song you’re particularly proud of that you’ve worked on?

Martinus: Well first thing is that we’re very proud of our song ‘Electrisk’. It’s a Norwegian song, it’s the most Norwegian streamed song ever in history. So I’m very proud of that. And a song that we wish we wrote… that is a good question. I would actually say ‘The Winner Takes It All’ by ABBA. We were at the ABBA Voyage just a few days ago and the lyrics are so powerful and strong. Every ABBA song is powerful but it’s just something with it. So, yeah. But ABBA is amazing. And now we get to do something ABBA did 50 years ago, we’re like walking in these dream boots. And now it’s our time, we’re gonna be in Eurovision, so it’s gonna be so cool.

What’s still on your bucket list in terms of people you’d want to work with, places you’d want to perform at and so on?

Marcus: Winning Eurovision! [laughs]

Martinus: Well, yeah, going on tour again. We’ve missed it so much. And I think that’s on our bucket list. And of course having our own concert in the UK again, that will be super fun.

Marcus: We’ve never had our own concert here.

Martinus: No, so that’s on our bucket list as well. And of course as Marcus says [whispers] winning Eurovision!

And after Eurovision – are the tour and the new album going to be your main focus for the rest of the year?

Marcus: Yeah, the focus is going to be on the album coming after Eurovision and then the European tour in the autumn after Eurovision. That is our main focus.

Lastly, have you got plans to come back to the UK soon?

Martinus: Yes. Yes. It’s on the European tour, so we are coming back.

Marcus & Martinus’ new single ‘Unforgettable’ is out now. They will be performing the song at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmo in Semi Final 1 on 7 May 2024 and opening the Grand Final on 11 May.

Tickets for Marcus & Martinus’ ‘We Are Not The Same Part 2’ Tour at O2 Academy Islington on 5 March 2025 are on sale now at https://www.marcusandmartinus.com/.