I'm Always The Last To Know...

Melodifestivalen fever has hit hard with almost all of the artists being announced! It won't be long until we've heard the songs and the first 2 acts will make it through to the finals. Across Europe and across the globe there are all kinds of music competitions but there really is nothing that compares to the scope and magnitude of Melodifestivalen in Sweden.

At this time when the internet is on fire with stories about the entires this year I'm looking back at some of my favorite entires of the past.

I'd love to hear what your favorites are! Maybe we can do a vote on some of the best Melodifestivalen hits and misses of the last decade?

Excellence - Last To Know

This is actually the very first Melodifestivalen performance I ever saw back in 2003. Excellence won the swedish television show - Popstars and had a handful of hit singles from their debut album before entering Melodifestivalen in 2002. They performed in the first semi-finals and placed 4th initially making it to the second chance round where they placed 7th out of 8. I loved the song and their performance but unfortunately their vocals were far too weak to make it into the finals.

Sarek - Genom Eld Och Vatten

*Link Updated with correct song ;)

In 2003 Sarek performed one of of the most memorable Melodifestivalen entries in recent history. They were voted first place in their semi-final but when it came down to the finalen they placed 6th overall when they received a relatively low score from the jury.

Sweden Does Us Proud!

On Saturday Night Sweden showed that 'it wasn't hard at all' to put through the two biggest schlager anthems through direct to the finals!

Every year Sweden outdoes itself with the calibre and quality of the songs in Melodifestivalen. The SVT does a spectacular job of choosing a wide variety of songs to enter the competition.

I never thought the public would put through Linda and Charlotte in the top 2 but they did and I am so happy!

Everyone has already posted about this on every pop blog around so I'll keep my thoughts brief...

First, after seeing the performances I changed my mind about two of the songs.

1. Daniel... talk about ruining a perfectly good song. After hearing the one minute clip of Pame, I was on cloud nine, sure that the song would be one of my favorites of the year. I believe I said it may even be better than Cara Mia! Well my apologies to Mans... because Daniel was horrific on stage.

I'm sorry but everything about that performance was just wrong. His outfit... the dancing... his whole attitude on stage. He was too "showey" but maybe that's not the word I'm looking for.

The song is sooo good, I just felt like the performance didn't match the song, it made it too 'hokey.' I'm actually glad he didn't make it to the final now.

2. Sibel. WHAT A VOICE! Does anyone else think she looks a little strange though? But wow that girl can sing! It's a very different ballad than Empty Room... but with vocals like that she definitely earned her spot in the Andra Chansen.

But the night belonged to two women last night:

Linda and Charlotte! I LOVE Linda on stage... she has such fantastic energy and she is so genuinely happy after every performance... i dont care what anyone says about any of her past performances... i've loved every single one. She isn't the worlds best singer, but she gives 110% and I adore her!

Charlotte gave us the final 'new' melodifestivalen performance of 2008 and they saved one of the best for last. The heels, the dress, the glitter microphone, the hair, the lasers, the wind machines and of coarse... the key change. With all the drama on stage it really wasn't much of a contest at all.

Congratulations Sweden... you've done us all proud this year.

Next Saturday one of the most amazing second chance rounds will take place. There is only one thing Sweden has to correct in order to put everything right this year... and that is send Carola and Andreas to the Finals on March 15th!

I am sooooo excited!

Heads Up: I leave for London, England on Wednesday. I'll be there for 5 days where I will be doing a lot of shopping, dancing and seeing Same Difference live on tour!

On March 10th I'll be heading to Stockholm! I'll be seeing the dress rehersals on Friday and then I've got floor seats to see the Final at 8pm on Saturday March 15th!

I will have time for one more music post before I leave... I will have mini updates while I'm away!

So while I may not update very often for the next 20 days... stay tuned because when I get back there will be a tonne of new music to share!

Linda vs Charlotte

WOW!!!

If you don't follow Melodifestivalen this is the time for you to start! This contest is about great music and this semi-final is FULL of great songs. This is like Christmas for Pop music lovers.

You can now hear one minute clips of all the songs for the next 24 hours.

Here are some thoughts:

1. Niklas Stromstedt - This song is very very retro sounding, like hippy music from the 70's. It doesn't do anything for me unfortunately. I think he's definitely out of the running with this one.

2. Calasia - A pretty song... but it has absolutely no wow factor. It's no Empty Room or For Att Du Finns. They have no chance and I think they'll be out of the competition in the first round of voting.

3. Fronda - Absolute utter crap. There is nothing I like about this song. I actually have a bit of a headache listening to it. Please let this song get voted out first away.

My prediction is that these songs will be the top 5.

5th Place - Sibel - That Is Where I'll Go: I heard a lot of positive things about this song and I can't say that I agree. Sure it's nice... but it's not very catchy and isn't something you could sing along to. I think she'll lose out in the end, not even a second chance for Sibel.

4th Place - Nordman - I Lagornas Sken: You know... I actually like this song! If they can perform it well I think they're guaranteed a spot in Andra Chansen.

3rd Place - Daniel Mitsogiannis - Pame: WOW! One of my favorite songs of the entire competition this year! OMG I can't spot listening to it. I think I love it more than Cara Mia!!! This is going to be one of my favorite songs of 2008 I think!

2nd Place - Carlotte Perrelli - Hero: When the song started I was sort of like... This is it? I was like... what is the big deal? Then the Chorus starts and the rest is history. Charlotte will go direct to the finals with this track. The verses are a bit weak I think... but WOW that Chorus is spectacular.

1st Place - Linda Bengtzing - Har Svart Kan Det Va: Ok so maybe Linda won't actually get first place... but she deserves it! I honestly think she will end up in second or third place tomorrow... but she deserves to go directly to the finals with this. It's perfect swedish schlager all the way with an AMAZING key change to end it all.

I sort of want to call in sick to work so I can sit here and listen to these songs all day!

I Was Wrong!

So after listening to the one minute clips from tonights semi-final I was pretty un-impressed.

Maybe I was just in a bad mood, or maybe it took the full performance to really hit home for me... but after watching tonights semi-final live... I was WOWED!

Every performance (with the exception of Eskobar) was SPOT ON! The vocals were great, the performances were each special in their own way and the songs were MUCH better than I first thought.

First off... BWO ROCKED THE HOUSE! Now that I've seen it live and heard the whole song, I think Lay Your Love On Me is better than Temple Of Love. They definitely deserved to go straight to the final.

Therese was amazing... she borrowed Carola's wind machines and flags from 2006. Glad to see they're going to be used again in the second chance round. She'll go up against Sussie Tapper and Therese will win no contest!

Boy was I wrong about Caracola... the song is fun and extremely catchy... I've been singing it all day and they could sing live! I'm glad they get a second chance, but I'm a little scared that they're going up against Ola in the second chance round. My vote is going to have to be for Ola I think.

Finally the SHOCKER of the night! Frida vs Patrik! I LOVE Patrik's song. It's going to get a lot of play on my iPod. I was SURE he would go direct to the final.

But then along comes Frida and she really proved what this contest is all about. With a great song, great personality and great performance, the public will do the right thing. I never thought she had a chance (neither did she!) and sure enough she was voted direct to the final while Patrik is out of the competition.

I'm really happy with the results. I'm EXTREMELY happy that Eskobar didn't make it... the song was mediocre and the vocals were by far the worst of the night.

What A Show!

I cannot wait until next week!!

The Calm Before The Storm...

For the next 24 hours you can listen to one minute clips of the next 8 songs in Melodifestivalen.

I hate to say it but this may end up being the most boring semi-final yet.

There are only 2 songs that I really like, the rest are all pretty lacklustre to me, I don't even care who else goes through.

1. BWO - Lay Your Love On Me

Look, I LOVE BWO. They've produced one of the best albums of all time (Prototype) but I'm sorta getting bored of these singles they continue to release. Maybe it's just me? But this sounds like every other song they've ever released mixed in with Madonna's 'Hung Up.'

I do like it, but I don't LOVE it. When you compare it to the other songs we have in thie round, BWO is my vote to go straight through to the finalen.

2. Patrik Isaksson & Bandet - Under Mitt Tunna Skinn

This is the song I probably like the best in this semi-final. It's in swedish which I love and the chorus is high energy with a lot of layers. This year is lacking in Swedish entries and I think if this gets performed well he can make it to the final!

3. Caracola - Smiling In Love

No surprise that I like this song. It's very summery and cheery. I'll be interested to see how they can sing this live though. It's not as good as Cosmo4 from last year and Cosmo4 sung it great live. I doubt the girls will be able to pull this one off live.

The rest of the songs I'm not even going to bother ranking because I really don't like any of them. Therese is ok, but I don't think the opera bits work in the song. It would have been a much stronger entry if it just had a normal chorus. You can tell the song was written by 'Evan' but Evan should have sung it himself.

Eskobar will probably get to the final with this track, but it's extremely boring and if they send this to Eurovision they would never get past the semi-final.

The other songs aren't even worth me talking about.

The good news is that next Saturday is the Heat Of Death!!

So lets hope Patrik and BWO go through and Caracola get a second chance.

Maybe I'll like the songs more after they're performed?!

Why It's Ok!!!

So at first I was FURIOUS!!

How could CAROLA end up in the Andra Chansen?

Then It hit me... why this is a GOOD THING!

1. Sanna Nielsen deserved to go automatically... the song is beautiful and the vocals were flawless. The song is different from any other ballad that's been to the finals in sometime.

2. Ola was great, and deserved to go to Andra Chansen. I don't think he'll make it to the finals... but if he does he'll be a welcome addition.

3. Rongedal are fun, catchy and the song is pure fun. If they would have gone to the Andra Chansen, there is no chance they would have made it to the finals... this way they already have their ticket to the final!

4. Carola and Andreas will have no problem winning the second chance round and will end up in the final anyways!

So there you have it... It's ok that Carola and Andreas go to the Andra Chansen. Because it means that a great act like Rongedal get to have a minute in the spotlight and will be in the finals too!

Everybody Wins!

P.S. I LOVED tonights show... it was a HUGE improvement on last week. I still really like Alexanders song and I imagine I'll be playing the cd version a lot once I get my hands on the 2008 album!

Next week: BWO & Caracola!!

Songs Online Now!

OMG OMG OMG OMG

So I have absolutely no time to talk... but here are my favorites from Melodifestivalen Night 2!

You can hear the clips online starting today for 24 hours!

Here are my faves though! This could change once I see the live performances... but I am VERY surprised!

First off Ola and Sanna aren't even in my top 3!!

1. Carola & Andreas - One Love

2. Alexander Schold - Den Forsta Svalan

3. Rongedal - Just A Minute

4. Sanna Nielsen - Empty Room

5. Ola - Love In Stereo

6. Lasse Lindh - Di Behovar Aldrig Mer Vara Radd

7. Andra Generationen - Kebabpizza Slivovitza

8. The Nicole - Razborka

Who will make it to the final? I think Carola and Andreas will go Direct... but the rest it a toss up... I really have no idea. No other song is absolutely good enough to go direct... I think its going to be very tough to call this one. I think the only other person who is guaranteed anything will be Sanna... she will either go direct or to to Andra Chansen.

MELODIFESTIVALEN 2008!

So the first semi-final has ended... the dust has cleared and two songs have been put through to the Finalen.

I'm not surprised by the results. It was clear that Amy and Christer would go through from the start.

As you can imagine I'm THRILLED that Amy got through! I did think her vocals were a bit weak, but the choreography was great! You have to remember she is only 15! She did an interview with esctoday where they ask her how she'd feel competing against the Swiss song if she made it to Eurovision. She handled the question very well and basically said that she didn't write the song, and that it's something the song writers have to deal with and that she wishes the song luck.

As for Christer... I realise the song is cheesy... but I have to admit I find myself smiling when I listen to it. It's all in good fun... but I sure do hope that he doesn't get very far with the song in the finals.

As for the Andra Chansen... I'm happy that E-type & The Poodles got through, I was sure they would... but I'm really dissapointed that Velvet didn't make it. It really is a crime. A lot of people said her vocals weren't very good, but I actually thought she sung it really fantastic live! An upbeat song is really hard to sing live, and she did a superb job.

I LOVED Brandur's voice live. He has a lot of talent, but the song just wasn't right.

Michael's song is great, I'm definitely going to be playing it a lot... he also did a great job live, but I think there's nothing really special about the song that hasn't been done in the past.

So until the next 8 songs are released!

MELODIFESTIVALEN 2008

THIS IS IT!

The first 14 acts have been announced for the first 2 semi-finals in February!

There aren't too many suprises here, most of these artists were rumoured to be taking part this year. The most exciting entries are:

Sanna Nielsen - Empty Room The first time she's ever entered with an english song. I'm a HUGE fan of 'Vagar Du, Vagar Jag,' but its rumoured that this song is a ballad which is a little dissapointing :-(

Ola - Love In Stereo After a very successful year in 2007 Ola is planning on starting 2008 off with his first entry in Melodifestivalen. I can't wait to hear this track.

E-Type & The Poodles - Line Of Fire Both acts have entered in the past and this year they're hoping that combining forces will be enough star power to get them a ticket to Eurovision. Both acts have such a unique sound, it will be interesting to see how they mesh.

Velvet - Deja Vu Velvet has had a string of hits in Sweden and after reaching the semi-finals in 2006 she's giving it another shot in 2008.

We still have 14 more semi-finalists to be announced and 4 wildcards!

I've just finished booking my flights as well!

I'll be in London England on March 6th - March 9th

Then it's off to Sweden for Melodifestivalen March 10th - 20th

If anyone wants to meet up while I'm over there shoot me an email - lanocty@hotmail.com

March 15th... The Countdown Begins.

On October 5th tickets for Melodifestivalen 2008 go on sale. I took the trip from Canada to London to pick up some cd's and catch a performance at G-A-Y, from there I flew to Stockholm for the first time ever to watch as some of the biggest names in Pop music fought for a chance to represent Sweden at Eurovision.

After careful consideration I've decided to do it all over again! Cross your fingers on Oct. 5th as I try to get better tickets than I got last year!

If you're planning on making the trek to Stockholm this year I'd love to hear from you... shoot me an e-mail - lanocty@hotmail.com

The rumours are already flying fast about who will be there... Danny, Linda Bengtzing, BWO, Carola, Helena Paparizou, the new Alcazar? In less than 3 months some of these questions will be answered!