{"id":372767,"date":"2026-04-10T10:00:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T10:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/372767\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T10:00:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T10:00:13","slug":"felicia-swedens-eurovision-artist-wears-a-mask-this-is-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/372767\/","title":{"rendered":"Felicia, Sweden\u2019s Eurovision artist, wears a mask \u2013 this is why"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"What she says, when the mask will come off \u2013 and what she actually looks like (sort of)\"\"<\/a>share-arrowDela<\/p>\n

unsaveSpara<\/p>\n

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helsk\u00e4rm\"FeliciaFelicia behind her mask Foto: Jerker Ivarsson<\/p>\n

Felicia is Sweden\u2019s representative in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 with the song \u201cMy System\u201d.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s why she has never revealed her face, instead choosing to cover it with a face mask or oversized sunglasses.<\/p>\n

Why an English version? Because Eurovision fans through out Europe are starting to speculate, so let\u2019s get Felicia\u2019s story straight.<\/p>\n

You may already have heard or seen Felicia\u2019s vibrant EDM track \u201dMy System\u201d, which won over both TV audiences and international juries in Sweden\u2019s Eurovision preselection show, Melodifestivalen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The song has topped the Swedish charts for eight consecutive weeks and is currently the second most streamed entry in this year\u2019s Eurovision lineup (after Italy\u2019s Sal Da Vinci with \u201cPer sempre s\u00ec\u201d).<\/p>\n

Video clips of Felicia\u2019s performances at Melodifestivalen have amassed over 3 million views across the official Melodifestivalen and Eurovision Song Contest<\/a> YouTube channels.<\/p>\n

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helsk\u00e4rm\"FeliciaFelicia after winning Melodifestivalen. Foto: Robin Lorentz Allard<\/p>\n

In her performance, she begins wearing a face mask that covers the lower part of her face. During the show, she removes the mask while turned away from the audience and cameras. When she turns back, she instead wears oversized sunglasses, still concealing much of her face.<\/p>\n

In all promotional photos and interviews, Felicia also chooses to wear face coverings. <\/p>\n

Here is why.<\/p>\n

Felicia first rose to fame<\/a> performing under a mask \u2014 a pink ski mask \u2014 as the artist Fr\u00f6ken Snusk<\/a> (\u201cLittle Miss Filthy\u201d). Her repertoire mainly consisted of explicit songs about sex, drinking, and partying within the Swedish \u201cepa dunk\u201d genre. She topped the charts with the sexually explicit track \u201cRid mig som en dalah\u00e4st\u201d, which caught the attention of Melodifestivalen. She competed in 2024 with the more family-friendly song \u201cUnga & Fria\u201d, still wearing the ski mask.<\/p>\n

Her contract with her former record label explicitly forbade her from revealing her identity or removing the mask in public. In interviews after leaving the label, she has said that what initially felt fun eventually became a problem. She has also spoken openly about her mental health, explaining that she was diagnosed with depression at the time but still felt forced to perform in order to get paid.<\/p>\n

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helsk\u00e4rm\"FeliciaFelicia as Fr\u00f6ken Snusk at Melodifestivalen 2024 Foto: Jimmy Wixtr\u00f6m<\/p>\n

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helsk\u00e4rm\"FeliciaFelicia as Fr\u00f6ken Snusk 2024 Foto: Carolina Byrmo<\/p>\n

During a dispute with the label, Felicia lost access to the Fr\u00f6ken Snusk social media accounts, while still being bound by strict contractual terms preventing her from revealing her identity. The label replaced her with another performer using the same pink ski mask persona.<\/p>\n

The label also threatened legal action if she disclosed details of the contract.<\/p>\n

Felicia then launched a new Instagram account under her own initial, \u201cF\u201d, posting cover performances while still hiding her face behind a mask. As fans realised she was the original voice behind Fr\u00f6ken Snusk, her following quickly grew, eventually surpassing the official Fr\u00f6ken Snusk accounts.<\/p>\n

She was soon signed by Warner Music and debuted under her own name, Felicia, but continued to conceal her face.<\/p>\n

In her first interviews as Felicia, she was so concerned about potential legal consequences that she brought a full team with her, including her manager, a lawyer, a record label representative, and a PR advisor.<\/p>\n

She has continued performing with a face covering. At the same time, she has spoken openly about her mental health and social anxiety, explaining that the mask makes her feel stronger and more secure on stage. She also values the anonymity it provides, allowing her to move freely in public without being recognised.<\/p>\n

At the same time, she has repeatedly stated that she will eventually reveal her face \u2014 when she feels ready.<\/p>\n

This is also why she began switching to oversized sunglasses during Melodifestivalen performances and after-parties, gradually adjusting to showing more of herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the mask on, I can be more vivacious,\u201d she told me in an interview after her Melodifestivalen <\/a>victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try every day to dare to show my face and prepare myself for the day when it comes off. Because it will, one day. It\u2019s a bit like a prison, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

After she revealed parts of her face during Melodifestivalen, fans used AI to recreate what she might look like. At Aftonbladet, one of our experts also attempted to reconstruct her face \u2014 a result that made her laugh.<\/p>\n

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helsk\u00e4rm\"Felicia\u2019sFelicia\u2019s face, as puzzled together by Aftonbladet\u2019s expert, a picture that made Felicia laugh out loud: \u201dConsidering it\u2019s a picture without a nose, it\u2019s quite striking\u201d. Foto: Christine Olsson\/TT \/ Bj\u00f6rn Larsson Rosvall\/TT Kollage: Maria Sand<\/p>\n

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helsk\u00e4rm\"Felicia\u2019sFelicia\u2019s face, as puzzled together by Aftonbladet\u2019s expert, a picture that made Felicia laugh out loud. Foto: Christine Olsson\/TT \/ Bj\u00f6rn Larsson Rosvall\/TT Kollage: Maria Sand<\/p>\n

\u201cIncredible. Considering it\u2019s a picture without a nose, it\u2019s quite striking. It\u2019s the closest resemblance I\u2019ve seen,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She has not yet decided when she will fully reveal her face to the public.<\/p>\n

However, in my interview she described Eurovision as \u201ca great opportunity\u201d to do so:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m ready. We\u2019ll have to wait and see. I haven\u2019t closed any doors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Felicia and \u201dMy system\u201d competes in the first semifinal of Eurovision song contest 2026, May 12th.<\/p>\n

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helsk\u00e4rm\"Aftonbladet\u2019sAftonbladet\u2019s Tobbe Ek helping out with lighting during the photo op with Felicia. Foto: Jerker Ivarsson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What she says, when the mask will come off \u2013 and what she actually looks like (sort of)share-arrowDela…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":372768,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[156,157,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-372767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372767"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372767\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/372768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}