Photo: Youtube/Tinseltown/Shutterstock
She's quite accomplished in her own right!
By Bernadette Giacomazzo — Written on Jun 27, 2020
In Netflix's hit film Eurovision (whose full name is the mouthful Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga), Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams play Lars and Sigrit, who are helping their country win the world's biggest song competition. The film, which also co-stars Demi Lovato &andDan Stevens, features cameos from real Eurovision singers, and is already a seemingly huge hit for the streaming giant.
But many people have noticed that McAdams' voice isn't "played" by her. With a little bit of research, the real voice behind McAdams' character of Sigrit was revealed, and she's well-accomplished in her own right — and, in fact, competed in the real Eurovision.
Who sings Rachel McAdam's part in Eurovision? Meet Swedish pop singer Molly Sandén!
Sandén competed in the Junior Eurovision song contest.
Sandén knows a thing or two about Eurovision because in 2007, she competed in the Junior Eurovision song contest! Representing her home country of Sweden, she came in third place that year. To this day, Sweden's third-place position earned by Sandén remains the country's best result in the competition.
She comes from a musical family.
Sandén isn't the only one in her family with a musical background. Her sisters, Frida and Mimmi, also have musical careers. Additionally, Sandén and her sisters are part of the Swedish supergroup, the Helges All Stars, which also features pop superstar Zara Larsson.
She said the Netflix opportunity was her chance to be "big in the States."
Sandén said that she initially wanted her career to include a successful hit in the United States, which she would see as her "big break." That, however, didn't happen. It was only after she returned to Sweden that she got the call to have her vocals appear in the Eurovision film.
"It’s ironic because I lived in L.A. for almost two years, and my big dream was to be successful in the States ... to have an opportunity like this. But when I gave up my dream and moved back to Sweden, that’s when I kind of got this call and this opportunity. For me, it was kind of the opposite. Just let go, and then you might get a phone call one early morning when you’re hungover,” she said.
She had very public relationships with Swedish pop stars.
Though Sanden is relatively unknown in the United States (though that seems to be changing now), she's well-known in her home country of Sweden. She's so well-known, in fact, that when she began dating, her relationships made headline news. Her first relationship was with a Swedish pop star named Eric Saade, who she was with from 2007 to 2012. But then, her more high profile relationship was with Danny Saucedo, with whom she co-wrote the song "Youniverse." They were together from 2013 until 2019, and at one point, they were even engaged.
She said she really "connected" to McAdams' role of Sigrit.
When she was first approached with the opportunity to sing in the film, Sandén said she really enjoyed Sigrit's journey, and really "connected" to the role.
"I felt like a failure the last time I tried to compete for Sweden because the plan was for me to win. It now feels so good to come back from this angle. It feels like I'm coming back to Eurovision … but this time I'm winning," she said.
Sandén suffered a bout of depression in 2016.
While Sanden is riding a bit of a wave right now, she said that in 2016, she suffered from a depressive bout after her performance in a festival called Melodifestivalen. Sanden explained that her boyfriend at the time wanted her to enter into the festival with a song that she didn't think was going to win. She ignored her gut instinct and entered with the song anyway. And, when it turned out that she was right, she said she felt "very disappointed" in herself. You can check out her performance above.
You can hear her voice on the film's soundtrack.
Now that she's gotten her "big break" in America, Sanden is enjoying all the success that comes with it. You can hear her voice on the soundtrack to the film, which was released the same day as the film itself. Hopefully, we'll be hearing more from her in the future because her voice is incredible.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, publicist, and photographer whose work has appeared in Teen Vogue, People, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, BET.com, and more.