Eurovision queen Loreen: 'I want to write a boring song'

The nails are out.

Loreen isn't even performing today. She's meeting the press, mostly on Zoom, from a hotel room in Sweden.

Nonetheless, she's in full stage gear: Draped in black, with her hair carefully toussled and her trademark talons.

Today, they're three inches long and shaped like icicles, reflecting sunlight onto the walls.

That's the sort of dedication it takes to win Eurovision twice - something that Loreen achieved with victories in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 2012 and last year in Liverpool.

Since last year's contest, her winning entry, Tattoo, has been streamed 493 million times on Spotify, making it the third-biggest Eurovision song of all time.

Loreen will be back at the contest this weekend, performing her new song Forever during the grand final, before setting off on a massive European tour.

Ahead of that, she spoke to the BBC about Forever, her attempts to write a boring song, and the demonstrations that have overshadowed this year's contest.

So you’re back with a new song. Tell us everything.

I created this song specifically for Eurovision on Saturday. I had a narrative in my head, I knew what the performance needed to look like and then I said, “Okay, I need a song for this”.

So you hadn’t written any music at that point?

Exactly. So I went into the studio with my team and the funny thing was, I said “Let's find the right chords" and they just came. Then I took the mic and it was like [makes a coo-ing noise like a pigeon] “You make me feel like forever”.

And it was like, there you go, that’s the song.

Can I just say how much I enjoyed your pigeon impression?

I don’t know why I do that! It just does something to the energy in the room. Sometimes I make noises without knowing why.

It’s a good way to communicate. If you don’t have the perfect word, you can convey the feeling.

[Loreen coos like a pigeon]

You’ve said that Forever is a continuation of the story from Tattoo. Is that a narrative that’s going to run through your new album?

Well, there's a whole suite of songs. My album is definitely going to be a journey. There’s some crying, some joy, I want all of those feelings to be. I might even have a song that is so boring that you’re like, “Huh, what is this?”

What would a boring Loreen song sound like?

Oh God, something with no passion, no drama.

Give us an example. What counts as a dreary day for you?

It would probably be like, “Loreen, gather up your receipts, we need to see your accountant.”

Well, The Beatles have a song called Taxman, so why not you?

That’s a really good idea! Wouldn’t it be funny if I had a song on the album called Tax Return?

And the lyrics can be about how Eurovision has put you in debt.

I wouldn’t call it an expensive performance, though. More like super expensive!

Take me back to last year. You arrived in Liverpool having already won Eurovision once. Did that put pressure on you to win again… or was it the opposite and the pressure was off?

Oh no, I always feel pressure. The reason why is that I’m very aware that people are giving up their time to watch these performances. They have paused their lives to focus on this one point in time, and for me not to pressure myself for those three moments is a disrespect. I'm not going to waste people's time.

How unusual is that? Don’t most artists create music to fulfil something inside themselves?

The way I see it, I can create all by myself - but what I create would not exist if it wasn't for a connection. Everything is about connection.

But at the end of the day, Eurovision is competition. How did you feel as the votes came in?

The thing is, I was sitting there and I thought, “I can’t control this. I have to let it be what it is going to be.”

But let me tell you, the energy in that room was crazy. Everyone was so nervous, and that made me nervous too.

The vote was very close. In the end, there wasn’t much separating you and the Finnish contestant Käärijä. Did you hug it out afterwards?

I was actually a bit sad when I won – because when I stood up, I wanted to go over to Käärijä and congratulate him. I knew how he’d be feeling. Sitting there, you're so vulnerable. But there were so many people around him that I couldn't find my way through.

But we spoke afterwards. He was like, “When are you coming to Finland to have a drink with me?”

After you won, an interviewer asked how you planned to celebrate and you replied, “I’m going to sleep”.

I’m not a party chick at all. When I’m on tour people get frustrated because I’m like, “Do you know what, I’m going to go to bed now” and people are going, “What do you mean? The party’s just started!”

Off stage, this year’s contest has become very politicised, with a lot of criticism of Israel. What do you make of the protests that are happening in Sweden?

I understand that. All of us are affected by what’s going on [but] we don’t know what to do because it’s such a complex situation. Some react with aggression, some cry, some shut down. We are different in that way, so I understand where it [the protesting] comes from.

Israel’s contestant, Eden Golan, has been booed. How do you think that will affect her performances?

It's not the way. It’s not helping anybody. We are creators. Me, her, anybody.

I understand that people think they’re making a change. They’re feeling, “What can I do? This [situation] is not fair”. But we need to find a constructive way of doing things, in our hearts.

What's your advice to this year's contestants?

Be in the moment. That's really important.

But also, we need a break from all the distortion that's going on in the world, everything that's traumatising people. If artists can create a positive energy, when millions of people are watching, we might change the balance of things.

Finally, you’ve just announced a massive European tour. Twenty different cities. How much are you looking forward to that?

I’m so excited. I want to play play in a billion different cities! We're gonna have some amazing gatherings, and I’m going to take care of you guys. I can’t wait.