After months of preparing, Cornelia Jakobs has landed in Turin for the Eurovision Song Contest.
On Thursday, she takes the stage to compete for a place in Saturday’s grand final.
To Expressen, the artist spoke about the phone ban, the support on place from both best friends and boyfriend and the feeling of being one of the competition’s big favorites.
– I understand that now it’s expected that I’ll eventually win here, says Cornelia.
It has been almost two months since Melodifestivalen victory. When Expressen talks to Cornelia Jakobs, 30, she’s sitting in her hotel room in Turin, where preparations for the Eurovision Song Contest are in full swing.
– There’s so much love and energy. It doesn’t really feel like a competition. I met Chanel (Spain’s contribution) down in the lobby and it just feels like a school trip type. I think that is really nice, says Cornelia.
On Thursday night, she takes the stage in Turin during the second semifinal and hopes to qualify to Saturday’s grand final.
“Hope people still vote”
But even before the start of the competition, Cornelia is one of the big favorites to take it all home.
– So far it has felt like such a compliment and I feel very honored and just grateful and happy that my artistry has reached outside Sweden as well. I have received such incredibly nice treatment and support from all possible angles, she says and continues:
Do you feel any pressure to be a favorite?
– I understand the pressure, but I doesn’t feel it and it’s really nice. I understand that now it’s expected that I will eventually win here and you know nothing about that until you’re there. Voting you never know anything about in advance, it has happened before that favorites haven’t won or even reached the top three.
But it also comes with some concern.
– I hope that people don’t think that “we don’t need to vote for her because she is the favorite so I vote for my number two”. Hope that people still vote.
During Melodifestivalen, Cornelia left her phone to avoid thinking about opinions, comments and odds lists.
Before the semi-final, she does the same, a trick to be able to focus.
– Most things are really nice stuff, but that’s exactly what you don’t want to be reminded of, the whole world outside. I think it’s positive to feel that you’re in a bubble, to take in that there are 200 million people watching and how big it’s. It can be damn difficult and can take away the focus from what I have to do. It’s better that I feel that here we’re in our little bubble and not be so reminded of the world outside.
