Eleven years ago, Loreen stormed the Eurovision stage with her lauded sing-along smasher and gay favourite Euphoria. Widely regarded as one of the most iconic performances in the contest’s history, the Swedish songstress memorably received the second-highest number of points ever (at the time) and topped the charts in [insert ridiculous number here] countries around Europe.

This year, Loreen is launching her comeback at the annual extravaganza with the equally hypnotic and cinematic Tattoo. If she wins, she’ll be inducted into the Eurovision Hall of Fame as the second person – after Johnny Logan (who won for Ireland in both 1980 and 1987) – and first-ever female artist to win twice. While Loreen doesn’t necessarily believe in “winning”, she tells GAY TIMES that if Tattoo reigns supreme, it would “mean that [the world is] heading in the right direction” as a result of its universal themes of ‘strength and love’.

“I’m a representative of certain values and this effortless and positive energy,” says Loreen. “So for me, if I were to “win” – there’s no such thing – it would say a lot about that. Whatever exists in me, whatever I represent or present, if it resonates with you or other people then it’s because it exists within them. Period.”

Ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest – which airs its final on 13 May – we caught up with Loreen to discuss the track (the favourite to win this year, just FYI), how the LGBTQ+ community “accepted” her after she came out as bisexual and her pick for Eurovision’s gayest ever song.

Loreen, you’ve done the Eurovision process twice now. What does the run-up to the ceremony usually look like for you?

It’s very square. There’s a lot of exercising. My days are very disciplined. There’s certain things I need to do to prepare for the performance, physically. There’s certain foods I eat to build strength. Then, there’s the promo, so it’s very scheduled. There’s not that much wiggle room! There’s no space for, ‘You know what? I’m gonna have a glass of wine and enjoy this day.’ It’s not like that! Now it’s, ‘I’m going to sleep because I need my eight hours.’

You can have as much wine as you want after the performance, right?

They better have bottles prepared for me. I won’t need that much though because I haven’t had a sip in many months!

How does the second time representing your country compare to the first?

The time before, it was a little bit more focused. Now, there’s a lot more promo and meetings and conversations like this, which I love, so it’s even more intense now. It’s important to be mentally and physically and spiritually prepared for the performance, because it’s not just standing there, you need to have a focus. If you don’t have the energy, the audience won’t feel it, so there’s a lot of things happening apart from what you see and hear. I’m very protective of building up that energy, ‘Why am I doing this? What is my vision? What energy do I want people to feel?’ It’s so important to have that mindset and goal and never lose it.