Background and career
Måns Petter Albert Sahlén Zelmerlöw (Swedish: [ˈmɔnːs ˈsɛ̂lmɛˌɭøːv]; born 13 June 1986) is a Swedish singer and television presenter. He took part in Idol 2005, eventually finishing fifth, won the first season of Let's Dance, and scored a hit with his 2007 song "Cara Mia", which was his entry in that year's Melodifestivalen. Zelmerlöw was the host of Allsång på Skansen from 2011 to 2013. He participated in Melodifestivalen three more times: in 2009, 2015, and 2025; his 2015 win with "Heroes" led him to represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015, which he won as well.
Born in Lund in the province of Scania, in southern Sweden, Måns Zelmerlöw is the son of Birgitta Sahlén, a professor at Lund University, and surgeon Sven-Olof Zelmerlöw. He is partly of Danish descent, with a grandmother from Hillerød. Zelmerlöw studied music in high school in Lund and was part of a school choir project. In 2002, he played one of the brothers in the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Slagthuset in Malmö.
Zelmerlöw first entered the public eye in 2005, when he took part in season 2 of the Swedish version of Idol, which was broadcast on TV4. He came in fifth place overall, and was eliminated on 11 November after eight weeks on the show. He had placed in the bottom three once and the bottom two twice.
Zelmerlöw took part in the first season of Let's Dance in 2006, partnering with Maria Karlsson. They won the competition, defeating singer Anna Book in the final. In the same year, he also appeared in the Swedish version of the musical Grease, playing the lead role of Danny Zuko. As a result, Zelmerlöw signed a record deal to release a solo album with M&L Records, a division of Warner Music Sweden.
In November 2006, it was announced that Zelmerlöw would compete in Melodifestivalen 2007, Sweden's national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, to be held in Helsinki, Finland. He competed with the song "Cara Mia" in the third semi-final on 17 February 2007 in Örnsköldsvik, and progressed to the final, which was held on 10 March at Globen in Stockholm. There his performance of "Cara Mia" finished in third place behind winners The Ark and runner-up Andreas Johnson. "Cara Mia" was released as a single and Zelmerlöw's debut album Stand by For... followed shortly after. The album reached number one in Sweden and was certified platinum by IFPI. Four singles were released from the album, all of which reached the top 50 in Sweden. Stand by For... was also released in Poland in September 2007. On 5 October 2007, Zelmerlöw was the presenter of Lilla Melodifestivalen on SVT. He also participated in the musical version of Footloose, playing Tommy. The musical was performed in both Gothenburg and Stockholm. In 2008, he participated in the Diggiloo tour along with singers Lasse Holm, Linda Bengtzing, Lotta Engberg, Thomas Pettersson, Molly Sandén and Nanne Grönvall.
On 18 November 2008, it was announced that Zelmerlöw would again compete in Melodifestivalen, this time with the song "Hope & Glory". The 2009 contest featured many former entrants, including Sarah Dawn Finer, Sofia, BWO and Amy Diamond. He took part in the second semi-final on 14 February 2009, and again progressed to the final on 14 March at Globen. "Hope & Glory" ultimately placed fourth, despite receiving the most votes from the jury. In 2008, Zelmerlöw went back to the studio to work on his second solo album, MZW, which was released in late March 2009. It was certified gold by the IFPI and reached number one on the Swedish album charts. The album was also released in Poland. In 2009 he played a summer tour of Sweden performing songs from both albums.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
