Eurovision 2015: Sweden selects singer who made anti-gay remarks
Mans Zelmerlow will perform 'Heroes' in Vienna at the annual song contest
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Your support makes all the difference.Sweden has chosen a singer who made homophobic comments to represent their country at Eurovision.
Mans Zelmerlow won national selection process Melodifestivalen in Stockholm last night, after first rising to fame on Swedish Idol in 2005.
He will perform “Heroes” at the annual song contest in May after being voted for by the Swedish audience and 11 international juries.
Zelmerlow’s appearance in the competition will likely raise eyebrows, however, after he was forced to apologise for saying that gay couples should not be parents on a celebrity cookery programme.
The 28-year-old claimed it “isn’t equally natural for men to want to sleep with one another” and branded homosexuality an “avvikelse” (abnormality), according to WiWiBloggs, before quickly adding that “there isn’t anything wrong with it at all”.
Zelmerlow later clarified his remarks in a statement, apologising to “all who take offence”. “I believe and hope that the vast majority know that I respect differences and all forms of love,” he said.
Sweden’s last entry was Sanna Nielsen, who placed third in Copenhagen with “Undo” despite losing to Austrian trans singer and LGBT rights activist Conchita Wurst.
Electro Velvet will represent the United Kingdom at Eurovision this year while a punk band with learning disabilities are bidding for glory for Finland.
Our entry received a mixed reaction when announced earlier this month, with our music critic slating song “Still In Love With You” for having “all the charisma of soggy lettuce”.
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