| "Hold Me Closer" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byCornelia Jakobs | ||||
| Released | 26 February 2022 (2022-02-26) | |||
| Length | 3:19 (single) 3:00 (Eurovision version) | |||
| Label | Freebird Entertainment | |||
| Songwriters |
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| Cornelia Jakobs singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Hold Me Closer" onYouTube | ||||
| Eurovision Song Contest 2022 entry | ||||
| Country | ||||
| Artist | ||||
| Languages | English | |||
| Composers |
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| Lyricists |
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| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | 1st | |||
| Semi-final points | 396 | |||
| Final result | 4th | |||
| Final points | 438 | |||
| Entry chronology | ||||
| ◄ "Voices" (2021) | ||||
| "Tattoo" (2023) ► | ||||
"Hold Me Closer" is a song by Swedish singer and songwriterCornelia Jakobs, released as a single on 26 February 2022. It representedSweden at theEurovision Song Contest 2022 inTurin, Italy, after winning theMelodifestivalen 2022 final with 146 points. At Eurovision, Jakobs performed 17th of the 18 acts in the second semi-final, where she qualified for the grand final. In the grand final, she performed 20th of 25th acts and finished in fourth place in the Eurovision grand final with 438 points.
The song was Sweden's best performing song at Eurovision in the seven years sincetheir last victory and scored the most points ever received by a Swedish entry in the grand final before being surpassed by next year's entry, "Tattoo".
Jakobs was announced as a participant inMelodifestivalen 2022, the Swedish national selection for theEurovision Song Contest, with the song "Hold Me Closer" on 26 November 2021.[1] Drawn to compete in the first heat on 5 February 2022, following a technical glitch during the show's broadcast, voting through the competition'smobile app failed and only telephone votes were counted during the heat as a result, despite telephone votes typically making up just one of eight voting categories which determine qualification at Melodifestivalen.[2][3] "Hold Me Closer" ultimately received the most telephone votes during the heat, leading to Jakobs and the song qualifying directly to the final.[4][5][6] The final was later held on 12 March, where "Hold Me Closer" went on to win the competition, receiving the most points from the international juries and second-most points from the Swedish public.[7][8][9]
As the winner of Melodifestivalen, Jakobs represented Sweden at theEurovision Song Contest 2022 inTurin with "Hold Me Closer". The song competed in the second semi-final on 12 May, where it qualified to the final after placing first in the semi-final, receiving the highest number of points from both the juries of music professionals and the viewing public.[10][11] Going into the final, Sweden was considered one of the frontrunners to win the competition, and was awarded the Composer Award by theEuropean Broadcasting Union (EBU) at theMarcel Bezençon Awards, voted on by the participating composers for the best and most original composition.[12] The final was held on 14 May, where Sweden placed fourth overall, placing second with the juries and sixth with the public.[13][14]
| Year | Organization | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2022 | Marcel Bezençon Awards | Composer Award | Won | [12] |
| Rockbjörnen | Swedish Song of the Year | Won | [15] | |
| Musikplats Stockholm | Song of the Year | Won | [16] | |
| Musikförläggarnas Pris | Song of the Year | Won | [17] | |
2023 | Grammis | Song of the Year | Nominated | [18] |
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Streaming | ||
| Sweden (GLF)[36] | 3× Platinum | 24,000,000† |
† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone. | ||
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