4 things to know about Molly Sandén, the voice behind Netflix’s Eurovision, starring Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams
Netflix’s smash hit comedy, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, brings to life the madness that is Eurovision with Hollywood stars and some unexpected cameos
In Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, the surprising hit film recently released by Netflix, a lovable Icelandic musical duo sets their sights on winning the famed international song contest. While the musical comedy includes a good serving of the side-splitting humour that audiences have come to expect from Will Ferrell – one of the movie’s writers and stars – an unexpected highlight of the film is the goose-bump-inducing music (read vocals) belted out by Sigrit, the female protagonist charmingly played by Rachel McAdams.
Although McAdams’ sings parts of the music herself, most of the heavy belting is done by Molly Sandén, the voice behind the film’s hauntingly good hit song Húsavík, which is uncoincidentally also the name of the main characters’ northern Icelandic hometown. Sandén’s singing is so impressive it’s almost all that anyone who has watched the movie is talking about.
So, who is the woman with that incredible voice? We take a closer look at the vocal virtuoso, arguably the movie’s biggest breakout star.
A songstress from Stockholm
Molly Sandén, who also goes by the muso moniker My Marianne, is a young and evidently skilled vocalist and Swedish pop music star. The Stockholm native was brought into the Netflix production by songwriter and producer, Arnthor Birgisson, a fellow Scandinavian who co-wrote and produced Double Trouble, one of the film’s other original songs featuring Sandén.
She’s sung in several contests herself
Like many of her musically inclined Swedish peers, Sandén grew up an avid fan of the film’s eponymous song contest. With unquestionable musical gifts and more than a little taken by the annual singing competition, a then-14-year-old Sandén competed in 2006’s Junior Eurovision and achieved third place.
Sandén has also took part in other singing tournaments, like Melodifestivalen a wildly popular annual competition in Sandén’s homeland, the winner of which goes on to represent Sweden at Eurovision.