Wuhuu we’ve got a song in the Swedish Melodifestivalen 2026. 🎉 In april this year I went to Stockholm and wrote “Oxygen” with my talented producer/writer buddy Jonas Thander & the amazing artist Laila Adèle. We had a magical day in Jonas’ studio (picture 2) and a great Japanese lunch nearby where Whitney Houston sent us a cosmic message from beyond!
I really appreciate getting through the eye of the needle this year with a record amount of song entries (3888 songs - insane!)
This is the third time I’m competing in Melo as a songwriter. Last time was (also with Jonas) for Dear Sarah with a song we wrote at a camp in Mallorca called “The Silence After You”, inspired by fresh break-ups for everyone in the studio!
My first was in 2020 where we made it to the final with “Take A Chance” with the great Robin Bengtsson (who will also be at our semifinal in Gothenburg in february!). That one was also written in Palma Studios, Mallorca, with the one and only Jimmy Jansson & Karl-Frederik Hilarius Reichhardt
So happy to be back and part of this ultraprofessional show! Looking forward to seeing all my Swedish music people
#melodifestivalen #lailaadele,#songwriter #sangskrivning #writehits
A summer day last year I met up with Ida Laurberg,, Frederik Thaae and Lise Cabble to write the themesong for this year’s season of the popular Danish TV Christmas calendar, “Valdes Jul, Vintermiraklet”.
I am very proud of the glittering blue but optimistic Christmas pop song we came up with. Basically about struggling to fit in and find yourself. Christmas can be a kind of emotional magnifying glass for this and other feelings, so hopefully Vintermiraklet can be a place to seek solace and a little seasonal hope🎄❤️
“Vintermiraklet” will finish each episode on Danish national TV2 from the 1st to the 24th of December ✨ what a Christmas miracle for this happy songwriter 🎅🏼
Thanks to my publisher @andersfredslundhansen
#valdesjul #vintermiraklet #idalaurberg #christmassongs #julemusik #julekalender #tv2 #writehits #thearrangement
3 things every artist dreams for in a co-writer (but might not say out loud...)
1. big Ideas but a small Ego
* Artists love a co-writer who brings great lines, chords or concepts… …but doesn’t insist on them. Flexibility = flow.
2. Help them shine- your job? make the artist sound their best self, clever and poetic in lyrics, catchy melodies that suit their voice etc. When they win, you win!
3. Be the calm in the chaos. 🎧 Listen deeply. 🤝 Say “yes, and…” 🎯 Make it clear you’re here to serve their vision, not your own agenda.
* Trust brings truth
What do you look for in a co-writer? Tag your dream collaborator—or the one who already gets it. 💛 And save this for the next time you walk into a session.
#songwriters #songwriter #writehits #sangskrivning #cowriting,#teamwork
3 Chord Progressions To Kickstart Your Next Song✨ + 1 pro-tip
1. The Classic Hit Machine I – V – vi – IV (Key of G: G – D – Em – C)
behind 1000’s of hits. (No Woman No Cry (Bob Marley), Someone Like You (Adele) Love on the brain (Rihanna) etc. It just works. Start strumming and watch melodies write themselves.
2. The “No Resolution” Trick IV and V — but NEVER the I. (In C: F and G — skip the C)
keeps you floating and longing
Think: Dreams (Fleetwood Mac), Teenage Dream (Katy Perry). No home base = tension = magic.
3. The One-Chord Hypnosis
Yes. One. Chord.
Hold it. Let rhythm and melody do the lifting.
Think: Get this Party Started (P!nk), Chain of fools (Aretha Franklin)
Pro Tip
Don’t just strum—loop and vibe. Hum. Freestyle. Nonsense lyrics. Let your brain surprise you.
Record everything (on your phone) don’t judge or edit till there’s lots of ideas 👉 Progressions aren’t songs—but they unlock them.
Next time you’re stuck — play one of these. That’s how songs begin.
👉 Save this. Use it.
#songwriters #songwriter #writehits #songwriting #lyrics #chords #dreams #fleetwoodmac
3 great habits for a songwriter
(Spoiler! It’s not passively waiting for inspiration)
1. always have antenna out for potential lyric ideas (conversations, on t-shirts, on tv, news headlines brands, etc.)
2. Write often Don’t be precious. It’s just a song, write another one tomorrow (Practice makes better
3. Be a fan! Study new releases (always skim through NMF) deconstruct how songs do what you like BUT ALSO be curious about what makes hits you do not like work for so many who love them
What’s your best songwriting habit?
Photo: @william.wintherjohn
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#songwriters #songwriter #writehits #sangskrivning, #musicbusiness #lyrics #creativehabits,
Put something real in your song.
My girlfriend and i had just split up before a writing camp in Mallorca I was at a while back. One day I was in a session with two other guys who were in the same situation. And it felt like the universe had pretty much ordered a song based on real life from us.
So, I started interviewing my Swedish producer friend who was going through a really bad breakup and lot of the stuff he said, actual words and lines, ended up in the final lyric for the song we wrote, which was called “the Silence After You”.
A while after, a Swedish artist called Dear Sarah brought some of her magic to it and we made it to the Swedish Melodifestivalen, which was amazing!
Putting something real in a song will often seem very real to listener as well. And the listener will probably connect it to something real in their own life. Which is amazing.
So, I wonder. Have you written a song based on a real experience?
Then please put it down there in the comments and let’s inspire each other.
#songwriter #songwriters #melodifestivalen #songwritingwisdom #lyrics #writehits #creativeprocess #writeyourlife
Jeg har svært ved at finde på noget jeg hellere ville have brugt mine 20’ere på end at være på mission med at bringe 90’er musikken ud sammen med mine bedste venner✨❤️#insidethewhale #danskrock #vielsker90erne #grunge #dengrønnebølge
Vil du gerne kende mine 3 yndlings tips, tricks og værktøjer i forskellige afdelinger af sangskrivningens verden?
Lige nu kan du få “3 vigtige ting at huske som sangskriver” gratis når du skriver dig på min mailingliste på wintherjohnsongs.com
”3 vigtige ting at huske som sangskriver”
… er den første i mini e-bogsserien ”3 vigtige ting …”, som zoomer ind på 3 vigtige pointer, der vil løse mange underliggende problemer og udfordringer i din sangskrivning. Den succesfulde sangskriver, forfatter og underviser, Marcus Winther-John deler i denne bog sine bedste bud på hvordan du skærper din overordnet tilgang til det at være ”sangskriver”. Dvs. hvordan du skaber de bedste forudsætninger for din fornemmeste opgave som sangskriver: at skabe og færdiggøre sange!
Andre bøger på vej i serien fokuserer på sangtekster, melodi og produktion.
#songwriter, #sangskriver, #sangskrivning, #denkreativeproces, #skrivhits, #writehits,
Don’t be original!
Here’s something from “Unblock your writing,” chapter 21, “Don’t be original”.
If someone actually created a truly 100% original work of art, something that had never been portrayed before in a way never done before, I’m guessing that it would be more of a scientific novelty than an emotional experience.
What we relate to, what makes us cry, laugh, or feel inspired is not original. It’s a handful of universal themes consisting of the same feelings and life experiences that everyone on earth goes through in their own context. So, in that sense, writers are recyclers.
Salvador Dali said, “those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.”
So, as long as your angle is inspiring and driving your work forward, don’t let concerns or ambitions of originality get in the way of your writing.
Using somebody else’s work as a reference or inspiration can even be a great way of getting a focussed start on your writing.
#songwriters, #songwriter #writersblock #unblockyourwriting #salvadordalí
Regarding sidste torsdag …
Tusind tak til alle jer der kom, det var en kæmpe fornøjelse endelig at spille for jer. Og spille lidt mere af mit repertoire for jer. Wauw en opbakning, you guys!!
Swipe for at se setlisten over tracks der ligger i pipeline as we speak, som man siger..
havde endda også @arveneftereva lidt med - basher blandt andet årgasme-gappet i en af sangene.. det var full circle.
Tak til min partner in crime, one-man-army @marcuswj
Og til @william.wintherjohn for smukke billeder både på og bag scenen. Til @siri_neel for at dele scenen med mig og til @raahuset for perfekt afvikling 🖤
Det glæder jeg mig sindssygt til at 2025 byder på meget mere af..
#newmusic #artist #singer #feminist
My grey January garden needed a bit of beach boys today… and so did my soul✨❤️ “God Only Knows” is so beautifully written. For me it is one of those songs that stops time and space and gives me a feeling of connection to something greater! Or something … it’s just a fucking amazing love song😊 #beachboy #godonlyknows #acousticsong #lovesongs
Her er et lille tilbageblik på en livesession fra STRYG-projektet med @sofietrollle og @whokilledbambidk – hvor jeg har haft fornøjelsen af at skrive strygerarrangementet. 🎻✨
Denne livesession er til alle bymennesker, der drømmer (måske lidt naivt) om at flytte på landet – et skud stryger-punk til de trængende, krydret med noter af Dan Turéll, velspillede strygerlinjer og en killer cello-attitude. Alt sammen optaget i en forladt bankboks dybt under Studenterhuset i Aalborg.
Det har været en kæmpe ære at arbejde sammen med så mange dygtige mennesker:
🎤 Sangskriver: @sofietrollle
🎼 Strygerarrangement: Simon Buhl Sørensen
🎻 Strygerensemble: @whokilledbambidk
🎻 1. violin: @annajalving
🎻 2. violin: @silkekirstine
🎻 Bratsch: @mettedkdk
🎻 Cello: @benedikte_borum
🎥 Filmet/Klippet: @montaukmontauk
💻 Video FX: @william.wintherjohn
🎚️ Live Rec: @simonkavi_
🎛️ Mix/Master: Simon Buhl Sørensen
Lavet i samarbejde med: @studenterhusetaalborg
Støttet af: @aalborg_kommune
En kæmpe tak til Mads Mulvad (@studenterhusetaalborg ) og Jens Ole Amstrup (@maskinhallen_ ) for at bakke op om projektet. 🙏❤️
#musikinordjylland #stryg #originalmusik #studenterhuset #whokilledbambi #singersongwriter #sofietrolle
