Melodifestivalen 2014 - Sanna Nielsen won!

The problem when I delay these posts is that I forget what I wanted to write about. Up until last year I was blogging as soon as the semis and the final were over. But not this year. So many things happened this year that I kinda abandoned the blog. But here I am, 5 days after the final.

Sanna did it! 7th time's the charm in her case! Her dream finally came true! She will represent Sweden in Copenhagen! And I'm so happy for her! Even happier coz she won mello with only 2 points above Ace Wilder! Thank God! 3 more points for Ace and we would have the worst Swedish entry ever! I have no problem with Ace. I don't even know her. But I hate her song.

So, Sanna first, Ace second and my Alcazar finished 3rd! Both in juries and televoting! So proud for them! :') And that top 3 got actually the biggest response in the arena! The audience went crazy during and right after Alcazar's performance! It was insane! They also cheered for them during the voting numbers' announcement. And that happened only during Alcazar's and Ace's numbers! However I knew that Sanna was going to win as soon as she stepped on Friends' stage. The second the playback kicked in the audience started cheering. It was too obvious she'd win. In the televoting at least.

And then we have Helena Paparizou who finished 4th! Amazing Helena! I saw her after the final and she was so happy. Her comeback in Sweden was great. And now we wait for the album on March 26th.

About the rest of the acts, I don't really care. I'm just happy that Yohio did so bad. He should change that "I'm a star" attitude. I was waiting at the after party entrance (as always) for the artists and Yohio arrived with about 10 others who made a circle around him so that nobody would go near him. Such a diva! Honey, you're nobody so stop acting like you are.

And then we also have Anton Ewald who came last both in juries and televoting! Hahaha! Sooo happy about that! Even happier coz Sanna won. That "do people want a popstar (refering to himself) or a Sanna Nielsen?" ate him alive! And after the final he blamed the media for his last place! LOL

Unfortunately I didn't get to see Alcazar after the final. I went behind the green room after the final was over and when they were done with the interviews, Tess saw me and screamed a "Heeeey Ifiiiiiii!" on her way out. At least they knew I was there to cheer for them haha. Ah an EP is on its way so I will have chances to see them somewhere. And they should definitely keep coming back to Melodifestivalen. If Sanna could do it so can them!

The rest of the night was good. I liked the opening and interval acts but really there's nothing more to say. Only that the final needs to return to Globen. Asap.

So, Sweden 12 points! :D

Melodifestivalen 2014 - Songs we will miss in the final

I'm kinda ok with the final's line up but I will miss some songs and I'd rather have them in Friends Arena instead of some finalists. So, just a quick post!

Alvaro Estrella instead of Yohio!
JEM instead of Ellen Benediktson!
Martin Stenmarck instead of Linus Svenning!
EKO instead of Ace Wilder! (One of this year's best songs!! How on earth did it came last in the semi?)
Jessica Folcker & Dr Alban instead of Oscar Zia! (I'm ok with Oscar but I'd rather have Jessica and Dr Alban in the final. I adore Jessica's vocals and I think it would have been better if she had sung this by herself)
Linda Bengtzing instead of Anton Ewald!
Janet Leon... I want to fit this in the final but there's no room. So we can have the "jury's choice" like in 2009. 11 songs in the final!

So the ideal 2014 final is like this (random order):
Alcazar
Helena Paparizou
Sanna Nielsen
Panetoz
Alvaro Estrella
JEM
Martin Stenmarck
EKO
Jessica Folcker & Dr Alban
Linda Bengtzing
Janet Leon

Ah I wish!

Melodifestivalen 2014 - Final's running order revealed

This is so sad! :(

1. Anton Ewald – Natural
2. Ellen Benediktson – Songbird
3. Alcazar – Blame It On The Disco
4. Oscar Zia – Yes We Can
5. Linus Svenning – Bröder
6. Helena Paparizou – Survivor
7. YOHIO – To the End
8. Sanna Nielsen – Undo
9. Panetoz – Efter solsken
10. Ace Wilder – Busy Doin’ Nothin’

3? 3?! 3?!?!??!?! Goodbye Copenhagen! :'(

Melodifestivalen 2014 - Andra chansen - Results

Photo: Christian Örnberg

I think the photo is more than enough but ok... Helena made it! She is in the final!! Wooohooo! Linus Svenning is the second finalist. Helena ("Survivor") beated Outtrigger ("Echo") in the first duel and Linus ("Bröder") beated Martin Stenmarck ("När Änglarna Går Hem"). Poor Martin! :( I wanted him in the final. And for him it's 2005 all over again. Actually the whole night felt like 2005. Helena and Linus were both in the first semi. Just like Alcazar and Linda Bengtzing who were also in the first semi in 2005 and both made it to the final through andra chansen...

The rest of the songs:

5. State of Drama – ”All We Are”
6. JEM – ”Love Trigger”
7. Ellinore Holmer – ”En himmelsk sång”
8. Ammotrack – ”Raise Your Hands”

Well Sweden, your next task: Alcazar to Copenhagen, Helena to be the runner up. :)

Melodifestivalen 2014 - Fourth semi - Results

Photo: Olle Kirchmeier/SVT

Tears of joy! Literally! I don't think I was ever as obssessed as tonight! I almost got two heart attacks. Stupid SVT announced them last! I am going to watch this SHOW live! :'D Tack Sverige!

Alcazar ("Blame It On The Disco") made it to the final!!!!!!! Yeah Anton Ewald ("Natural") too with a totally indifferent song but it was totally expected and as long as my 3 loves are in I don't care!

Ammotrack ("Raise Your Hands") and Ellinore Holmer ("En Himmelsk Sång") made it to andra chansen.

5. Linda Bengtzing – ”Ta Mig”
6. I.D.A – ”Fight Me If You Dare”
7. Josef Johansson – ”Hela natten”
8. Janet Leon – ”Hollow”

Linda came 5th! :( :( Not even to andra chansen! I was so sad when it was either her or Alcazar! And Janet Leon last? Really? Oh well. The most important for me was Alcazar making it to the final and I got what I wanted the most! Next stop Copenhagen please!

Reminder for tonight's mello semi

Please Sweden. Be wise tonight!

Spain: The candidates, the songs, the NF

It's been a couple of weeks since the songs were announced but this year I'm too busy with Melodifestivalen that I didn't have the time to blog about Spain's NF. However, I did listen to the songs the day they came out. So tomorrow at 22:00 CET is the final in Barcelona. Thank God it's after mello's semi!

So, the songs!

Brequette - Run (Más)
Spain, this is your entry! I love it! I just wish there was more Spanish instead of English in the song but either way it's amazing! And out of the 5 it's the only one that can bring Spain a place in the top 10. Even a top 5 place! Such a powerful ballad! Tony Sánchez and Thomas G:son did it again! Please Spain pick this one!

Jorge González - Aunque Se Acabe El Mundo
Classic Spanish summer hit! I get a Eurovision vibe but this would have worked 7-8 years ago. Definitely not in 2014. That doesn't mean I won't be listening to it!

La Dama - Estrella Fugaz

Yes I want Brequette to represent Spain but "Estrella Fugaz" is my favourite out of the 5! I adore it! It's all in Spanish, great beat, summer sound, Eurovision vibe! But once again, this should have come 7-8 years earlier. Now it's too late.

Raúl - Seguir Sin Ti
A nice ballad but I'm not crazy about it. And there's really not much to say here. It is such a familiar sound so I don't think it will work in ESC...

Ruth Lorenzo - Dancing In The Rain
I'm kinda disappointed... I was expecting something better from Ruth. More Spanish lyrics please (who am I kidding?)!! There are a few good moments in the song but other than that I find it boring. However I think this is the second best choice for Spain.

So this year Spain has the best final! Songwise. Yeah 3 kinda dated songs but I love 2 of them and the third is also nice. But there's only one right choice for Spain and that's Brequette!! So vote wisely mis amigos!

About tomorrow's final, THANK GOD Anne Igartiburu is back!! Love her! Once again, there will be a jury and this year the members are Monica Naranjo, David Bustamante and Merche! Looking good! Can't wait until tomorrow!

Melodifestivalen 2014 - Rehearsals of the fourth semi

Finally! The semi I waited for the most is here! Well, the rehearsals. But still!

Alcazar - Blame It On The Disco
I must have watched this 1-minute clip 30 times since they put it online. Maybe more. Seriously! I don't know if I like it more than "Stay The Night" but I love it. But yeah how can I like it more. I've been listening to "Stay The Night" non stop for the last 5 years. "Blame It On The Disco" is brand new, plus it's only one minute of the song. Anyway, Alcazar are back! Making a fab entrance inside a giant discoball coming from the roof! The choreo is fab! This time they dance non stop during the entire song! There are moments where I get that Eurovision vibe that is so hard to explain, so I won't. Alcazar to win mello!

I.D.A. - Fight Me If You Dare
No these kind of songs are not my thing. And after Alcazar's performance I doubt I'll even pay attention to this!

Janet Leon - Hollow
Janet tries something different this year. I like the chorus a lot. Though Janet isn't doing much on stage. At least not in this one minute. And yes, I think I like the song!

Ammotrack - Raise Your Hands
Why do we have so many rock/metal (whatever) songs this year? Where is schlager???? I don't like this! At all!

Josef Johansson - Hela Natten
I've read some pretty positive reviews about Josef and his song but I don't really see the reason why... Ok song I guess. Some extra points for singing it in Swedish but not really my thing.

Linda Bengtzing - Ta Mig
Hm... Yeah of course I wasn't expecting a schlager song since it's Nicke Borg who wrote this but it's good! I like it! And what can I say? I love Linda! To Friends please!

Ellinore Holmer - En Himmelsk Sång
I would say that we have our 8th place but I won't. I mean the Swedes sent "Songbird" to Friends! Both songs make me sleepy so no, I don't like this either!

Anton Ewald - Natural
So yes, they took last year's choreo and put it in a much worse song than "Begging". At least "Begging" was catchy. "Natural" is pretty crappy and definitely so forgettable! Anton is still a horrible singer. Why can't he just dance (he should stop grabbing his crotch that often though)? Unfortunately these crazy 15-year-olds will vote like hell for him. -.-


So yes. Alcazar to win Melodifestivalen 2014! Period

Melodifestivalen 2014 - Third semi - Results

Photo: Olle Sporrong

Worst semi of the year. Period. When they announced the 5 first finalists I thought they were showing us the fake results of the dress rehearsal but no! It's actually Oscar Zia ("Yes We Can") and Ace Wilder ("Busy Doin' Nothing") who made it to Friends Arena. I'm fine with Oscar but I don't think I'll be able to listen to Ace's song live. It's horrble! Like an American teen song performed at a college party (before or after State Of Drama's song).

And yes, State Of Drama ("All We Are") and Outtrigger ("Echo") made it to andra chansen. Eew.

5. Dr. Alban & Jessica Folcker - ”Around The World”
6. Shirley Clamp – ”Burning Alive”
7. CajsaStina Åkerström – ”En Enkel Sång”
8. EKO – ”Red”

By the time we knew the first 5 who were through I wanted Oscar and Dr Alban & Jessica Folcker to Friends. Generally I think I'd go with Dr Alban & Jessica and EKO to the final. I really liked "Red".

The rest of the show was also boring. They brought back Björn Gustafsson. Generally I love Sweden's sense of humour but Björn? No. I hate him.

I can't say anything else really. I'm waiting for next Saturday and Alcazar to rescue mello! 

Melodifestivalen 2014 - Rehearsals of the third semi

Yeah I didn't blog about the results of the 2nd semi but you already know what happened. I'm so glad Sanna made it to the final! I liked Panetoz, Martin was ok even though I expected him to be the second finalist and JEM were also good. And big "thanks" to Sean Banan for ruining a true classic. -.- Herreys were great as always! Met them after the semi! :)

So, rehearsals of the third semi!

Outtrigger - Echo
Good news, it's the first song we're gonna hear. Bad news, everything else! I don't think I can listen to the entire song. Unfortunately, I will have to.

EKO - Red
Yeah after "Echo" anything else sounds so much better! But I don't know about this one... It's ok but I can't tell a lot from that one minute.

Oscar Zia - Yes We Can
I don't think I will ever become a fan of every cute boy that attracts all the teen girls... Oscar is not bad. His voice is nothing special. The song is ok-ish. Semi 3 isn't looking that promising so far...

Shirley Clamp - Burning Alive
No! No Shirley! What happened to schlager-Shirley? Where is she? Bring her back! I need to listen to the entire song before I can say something more but I was expecting something else. :(

State Of Drama - All We Are
Just like those hundreds American bands who are playing at college parties. There's nothing special about the song. It feels like we've heard it so many times before...

CajsaStina Åkerström – En Enkel Sång 
I got bored! So bored! Snoozefest! Enough said! 

Ace Wilder - Busy Doin' Nothing  
Another song that escaped from the States and made it to Sweden. What on earth is going on in that semi?! 

Dr Alban & Jessica Folcker - Around The World  
I found a song I kinda like but I'm not crazy about it. 

Yeah, definitely the worst semi! I have no idea what's gonna happen! 

Melodifestivalen 2014 - Rehearsals of the second semi

So, rehearsals of semi two!

JEM - Love Trigger
I think I like the song but their voices are so indifferent and bland. There's nothing special about JEM. Not when they perform "Love Trigger" at least...

The Refreshments - Hallelujah
No, definitely not my cup of tea. This would be the perfect toilet break but I never do that while Melodifestivalen or Eurovision is on. So it's gonna be really boring for me. It's good to have diversity in the contest but at least give us some good songs of each genre.

Manda - Glow
I think I like this... It's really nothing special but ok... I can see it making it to andra chansen. 

Panetoz - Efter Solsken
Ok... Just ok. Enjoyable song but it can't make it that far I'm afraid...

Pink Pistols - I Am Somebody
Now you can't have a mello without a drag act right? Ah sure you can but still... I actually like the chorus quite a lot but generally it's not a song I'd listen to outside the mello bubble.

Sanna Nielsen - Undo
Ladies and gentlemen here is our first finalist! There's something in the chorus that kinda bugs me but the verses are amazing! At least what we've heard so far! It's not an "Empty Room" but it's really good!

Little Great Things - Set Yourself Free
I wasn't expecting that kind of song by Little Great Things! I was expecting a teen pop or something. Well I hadn't read or heard any of their comments on the song or the music they do. The song is actually ok but not my thing.

Martin Stenmarck - När Änglarna Går Hem
Thank you Martin for not entering with something like "Las Vegas"! This is so much better! I like it! It's really a Martin Stenmarck song!

Well it looks like that Sanna and Martin will sail to the final without a problem. But hey! It's the Swedish who vote here! ;) And finally February 8th is here! Well almost here! First row for me in the live tomorrow! :D

Melodifestivalen 2014 - First semi - Results

Photo: Lindwall Sven

I don't know what's wrong with me this year... :S The truth is that there is a lot of work to do with Paparizou's interviews. I need to translate them from Swedish to Greek for the official fan club. I had promised a post about Friday's dress rehearsal but I got back home at 3am, slept at 5am and was at work from 11am to 7pm so there was no point and no time to blog about it. Anyway...

Oh Sweden... You never get it right (except for 2012). To the final made it Ellen Benediktson ("Songbird") and Yohio ("To The End Of The World"). Really? Ok Yohio's place to the final was more than expected but Ellen? The song is too boring for my taste.

To andra chansen we have Helena Paparizou ("Survivor") and Linus Svenning ("Bröder"). Are you deaf Sweden? What on earth is Helena doing in andra chansen? She should have easily sailed to the final! By far the best song, vocals and performance! I don't get how you guys are thinking when it comes to voting! Linus was fine. I still don't like the song but whatever.

5. Elisa Lindström – ”Casanova”
6. Alvaro Estrella – ”Bedroom”
7. Mahan Moin – ”Aleo”
8. Sylvester Schlegel – ”Bygdens son”

What is Alvaro doing in the 6th place? The catchiest song of the night. Yes, pretty bad lyrics but the melody is catchy as hell! Had "Bedroom" been sung by a guy like Saade or Ewald, it would have been to the final before we even got to listen to it!

My ideal results would have been like this: Helena and Alvaro to Friends, Elisa and Mahan to andra chansen.

The rest of the night was ok. I liked the intro and there were some funny moments. Nour seemed to be very nervous during the entire evening. I don't know if it was because of the first dress rehearsal on Friday coz they had a lot of technical problems! But they should have fixed them in the second dress rehearsal on Saturday...

Let's see what will happen this week. Hopefully I will blog about it later tonight...

Melodifestivalen 2014 - Rehearsals of the first semi

I'm so unfaithful to my blog this year... And it's gonna be a hectic mello for me!

Rehearsal-day today and we have officially kicked off! All the rehearsals' clips are here.

Yohio - To The End
Yohio is so freaking fake. On everything. It's all about the image. Without it he's really nothing special. The song is average. It has nothing to do with his Japan material and yes, this might be Melodifestivalen but shouldn't he stay true to "his music"? Hopefully I won't see him in Friends Arena.

Mahan Moin - Aleo
Hm... ok... I don't know. Not a big fun of it... Sometimes I find some vocals annoying, sometimes I don't. It's a 50-50 for that 1 minute.

Linus Svenning - Bröder
It's really hard when you lose a family member. But I'm sorry. I think it's too much putting all these photos on the LED screens. People should vote for the song itself and not for story behind the song. I don't like it.

Elisa Lindström - Casanova
Schlager-ish but kinda old-ish too. It's fun but that's all. I won't get bored though. That's for sure.

Alvaro Estrella - Bedroom
I like it! Great music! But I'm not a big fan of the lyrics... And I wonder if he will able to pull it live...

Ellen Benediktson - Songbird
Nope. Not my cup of tea. I'm not a ballad fan unless it's a super wow ballad. Don't like this.

Sylvester Schlegel - Bygdens Son
Hey there 8th place! On my ranking at least!

Helena Paparizou - Survivor
How can I be objective here? "Objective"... that word doesn't exist in my vocabulary! Helena to Friends Arena! Now! The song is amazing! Smash hit! Can't wait until tomorrow! Love it love it love it! The more I listen to it the more I love it!

I'm off to Malmö for the general rehearsal. Once again! And it's Helena's birthday after all. How could I not be there? There will be a full post about this just like last year but I don't know when...