Eurovision 2024: Sweden’s Twin Twinks Are Hosting 🇸🇪
ABBA, Loreen… Sweden’s Eurovision contestants have a hefty legacy to live up to. Marcus and Martinus Gunnarsen (also known as MM) are identical twin brothers who have already released three albums, toured Europe, and won Melodi Grand Prix Junior in 2012 (when they were 10), The Masked Singer and Melodifestivalen. Cain Cooper Zoomed with the 22-year-old twink twins.
DNA: First of all, who is who?
Marcus: I’m Marcus with the black hoodie, and this is Martinus with the black shirt. We’re both in black, I’m sorry.
You’re so big in Europe but we’ve never heard of you! Are you hoping Eurovision exposure leads to a more global audience?
Marcus: Before covid we’d done two European tours and we were supposed to go on a world tour in 2020, including Australia, but covid destroyed our dreams. So we’ve tried to build up again with Melodifestivalen… and with Eurovision it is a chance for us to share ourselves to the people in Europe and also Australia. But we want to make Sweden proud and do our best in Eurovision for them.
What do your family think about you representing Sweden, and not your native Norway?
Martinus: They think it’s amazing. They know how big it is in Sweden, like… it’s the biggest thing in Sweden. So, yeah, they’re very proud of us and can’t wait to see us perform on the stage in Malmö.
Tell us about your song Unforgettable.
Martinus: Unforgettable was written by the same people as our song last year, Air, when we came runner-up to Loreen at Melodifestivalen. It has the same vibe.
Marcus: When we are in the studio with these amazing people, we are always thinking about what would be cool for Eurovision. We wanted to make a song that is fun to do on stage. Some people may think pop is very basic.
But for us, pop music is our job. We’ve been on the stage for 12 years now. We started when we were ten.
We want to show that when we are on stage we feel comfortable, we can sing, we can dance… and I feel like we’ve done a great job with our team to make the staging look amazing and exciting.
Guess it’ll be one of those Unforgettable Eurovision moments?
Marcus: One of our first memories must have been Alexander Rybak with Fairytale in 2009. But it’s always been a part of our life growing up; family and friends sitting together, watching it, having a party. To be a part of it now and not sitting in front of the TV watching is going to be a dream come true. Our friends are going to sit together and root for Sweden.
Are you glad it is this song, or would you have preferred the other one?
Martinus: I think Unforgettable is more of a Eurovision song. It’s an upgrade from Air. It’s more of a show song, more us. When we performed Air we were on a little box, and now we can use the whole stage. We have big walls, we have lights, we have a dancer. So, yeah, I’m very happy that Unforgettable won and Air didn’t.
Marcus: We wouldn’t be mad if Air had won though!
OMG, there would have been two sets of twins at Eurovision in Liverpool!
Marcus: Yes, with Azerbaijan! So funny.
Tell us more about your staging.
Marcus: Firstly, Eurovision has rules which mean we have to change a bit but, of course, we want to improve on what we did. Everything will look bigger, not just for the people watching, but also for the crowd.
You must think it’s cool when fans sing the lyrics back to you?
Marcus: Being on stage and seeing the people give you support and sing along to your songs… it’s the best feeling as an artist, yeah!
Who do think is your competition this year?
Martinus: Everybody. Anybody can win Eurovision. Our focus is that we’re going to do our show. We’re going to practice a lot. We’re going to make the people love it. And we’re going to have fun. Eurovision doesn’t happen often; it might be a once in a lifetime moment for us.
With all the rehearsing, are you keeping a tally of how many times you have sung Unforgettable?
Marcus: We’ll be singing this song backwards at the end because we’ll know it so well. That is a good thing. We want to be as prepared as possible for Eurovision.
Sweden alumni Benjamin Ingrosso and UK’s Olly Alexander released a song together; are you looking to collaborate with any of your fellow contestants?
Marcus: We know Olly from Years & Years, but that’s the fun thing about Eurovision: you get to explore many new artists you haven’t heard about before and their type of music. I think there’s a lot of unique styles of music this year, so it’s going to be fun to get to know all of them and maybe one day collab with one of them.
What does the Eurovision slogan United By Music mean to you?
Marcus: Everyone has a passion for music in their own way, and that’s exciting. We’re super happy to be a part of it and show our style, support each other, and learn from all these artists. We’re first out on the final, so it’s going to be a long night!
Why do you think Eurovision is a draw card for people from the LGBTQIA+ community?
Martinus: Eurovision is very easy to love for anyone – young, old, anybody – it’s easy to love the music, the different sounds… how people are at Eurovision, they’re always themselves.
Marcus: People are their real self at Eurovision. They’re not scared to show who they are. Where I am from, people are very scared to step out of the basic and stand out. But in Eurovision, it’s all about showing who are you as a person and the type of music you like.
We can’t wait for Sweden to open the show on finals night, and look forward to sharing your Eurovision journey. Come Down Under sometime, yeah?
MM: Tusen taak. [Thank you.]
