Alcazar - Back in full action!

Photo: Tess' instagram

Aah! They.Are.Back. And not only in Melodifestivalen! And that's the best part! They are 100% back! All three of them are fully focused on the group! They are going to release a new album!! When? No idea. I'm hoping sometime after Melodifestivalen, in spring. New album, new gigs, new interviews!! That comeback makes me wonder. When did they decide to come back? I think I read it on Aftonbladet or on Expressen that after the interval act last February they wanted to take part again. So those faces Andreas made while we were talking back then might have been actual hints! Or maybe not. And then they posted a couple of photos in the studio! The first one was in April if I recall correctly and the second one around September (?). Which could possibly mean that they were recording the mello song (in the last one)!

Melodifestivalen! I'm glad I waited until today to make this post coz Andreas blogged about it! He describes "Blame It On The Disco" as a real Alcazar-song and that we should be prepared for an amazing show! What else can I ask for? :D He also says that he'll be blogging all the time about their mello journey (of course!). Too excited already!

I'm just quite pissed at SVT. They put Helena in Malmö's semi (I might make it to the reheasal though) and Alcazar in Örnsköldsvik! Really? Why don't you send them to Kiruna next time? -.- So they have to make it to the final so I can get to see them performing in Friends Arena!

I guess that's all I wanted to say. For now. I hope I didn't forget about anything. Needless to say that I haven't stopped listening to them since yesterday, right?

Malmö, Alcazar and Eurovision!

The best weekend since I moved to Sweden! Maybe the best weekend of my life! Left Linköping at 8am. Had only slept for about 4,5 hours the previous night and I wasn't supposed to get any sleep the entire weekend. Hadn't booked any rooms in Malmö. Anyway I arrived in Malmö at 11:00. Went around the city for a while and then went to the arena. Saw some of the greek OGAE members and then went back to the center. There was no chance I'd meet the artists in the arena. All Eurovision related locations are near the central station (including the hotels ;)) so I began walking toward the Eurovillage. As I was walking I saw some people across the street with accreditation tags and there was one woman who seemed so familiar. I was too far, she had sunglasses on but I could swear it was Hannah Mancini from Slovenia. So I said to myself "go closer, you have nothing to lose". I went there and yup! It was Hannah! I took a photo (of course) and I chatted with her for a while. She's amazing and extremely friendly!

I went to the Eurovillage after that. Klapa s Mora from Croatia, Zlata Ognevich from Ukraine and Hannah would perform there. After that they'd all give an interview to Andreas Lundstedt. Apart from the gig with Alcazar he'll be all week in Malmö interviewing the artists. You can watch the interviews here.

Andreas interviewing Hannah

After the interviews I met both Klapa s Mora and Zlata. I also saw Hannah and we talked again. I asked her about the fb pages. If both of them are official because both are getting updated. She said one was created especially for Eurovision and probably it will stop being updated after the ESC. She joked and said "just like both of them" hahaha. I already had. We said goodbye and Hannah said "see you". I mean which artist says "see you"? They usually say "nice meeting you, bye"... Really liked that "see you". It's like she wants to keep contact with the fans! Pretty great!

Anyway, I went to grab something to eat and then walked around the city for a while. Went back to Eurovillage and Andreas was in the "Super-studio" with Tess and Lina. An Alcazar interview!

Watched them while they were being interviewed. They also sang "Stay The Night" a capella. When they were done I met Tess and Lina. We talked for a few minutes and they left. I stayed there until Andreas was done and I met him after he finished. Talked with him for a while as well. The gig at WONK club would be at 2:30am and it was around 22:00. As I said I wasn't supposed to get any sleep while I was in Malmö but I was too tired. So I was lucky to find a hotel with free rooms with a good price. Slept for about an hour and a half and then went to the club. Saw them performing and then I got to meet them. Backstage... Here they are!

I was too tired but really happy. Hadn't seen them all three at the same time since August 2011! Went back to the hotel at around 4am. The sun was rising!

Slept for 5 hours, had breakfast, checked out and went back to the Eurovillage to spend the last day in Malmö. Estonia had a party there. Tanel Padar and Ott Lepland started singing. Then PeR got on stage and then Birgit. Krista Siegfrids was supposed to sing as well but she didn't come. I don't know why. Missed the chance to meet her. Met Ott, PeR and Birgit though. After the party Switzerland, Montenegro, Lithuania, Austria and Greece would perform at the Eurovillage. Met Natália Kelly, Takasa and Koza Mostra & Agathon. I also got a Austria's and Greece's promos. And a chocolate from Estonia with Birgit's face on it. Is this their promo this year? lol

I also saw the boys and Nina from Montenegro along with Andrius Pojavis from Lithuania but didn't take a photo. The lead singer of Dorians was also walking around at the Eurovillage wearing a hood and sunglasses. It was like he didn't want people to recognize him. lol Later I met Lozano & Esma from FYROM. There were two girls there, no older than 20, who literally got crazy when they saw Esma! They almost fainted! They were like "oh my God! Esma! I can't believe it! oh my God!". I mean, Esma? Seriously? o.O

Later in the afternoon I saw Andreas again. I asked him if he'd be interviewing any artists and he said he would. Takasa, Zlata and Margaret Berger. When I asked him he didn't remember which artists were coming for an interview so he looked at his schedule and he saw Margaret's name. He told me about her interview in a "look what I got for you ;)" way because when I met him after the gig we talked a bit about our favourite songs this year. And of course I told him Norway is my winner. I met Margaret after her interview and she was the last artist I met. On Sunday was the opening party so all the artists were there.

Looked at my watch two hours before my train was leaving and I got depressed. Didn't want to leave! But stupid money and stupid uni (just for these two ESC weeks)! :( But seriously if Eurovision takes place near me next year I'm going! With accreditation and everything! I don't know how, but I'm going!

Stockholm Pride 2011 - Can I re-live the last three days of Pride?

One of those moments where I don't know where to start! Seriously this time is so hard! I'd better take it day by day.

Thursday, August 4th
Schlager day! The most schlager-ish day of my life so far! Melodifestivalen's final was nowhere near this! Let me give you the list with the artists and the songs they performed at Stockholm Pride.

D'Nash - Amanda
Fredrik - Fem i tolv
Man Meadow - Viva La Musica
Anna Book - Samba Sambero
Mathias Holmgren - Långt bortom tid och rum
Simon Forsberg - Tid att andas
Shirley's Angels - I Thought It Was Forever
Molly Sandén - Så vill stjärnorna

Evan - Under Your Spell
Kikki Danielsson - Bra Vibrationer
Sara Löfgren - Som stormen
Hanson/Carson/Malmkvist - Du vet var jag finns, Zum Zum lilla sommarbi, Augustin, Vem fångar vinden, Kärleken lever, På en gammal bänk, Alla har glömt , Svenska flicka & Det är kärlek
Jenny Silver - Something in your eyes
Pernilla Wahlgren - Tvillingsjäl
Arja Saijonmaa - Vad du än trodde så trodde du fel
Natalie Paque - Jái Voi la vie
Thomas Lewing - Tjuvarnas natt
Lotta Engberg - 100%

Hanson/Carson/Malmkvist - C’est la vie
Kerstin Dahlberg - Här är min sång till dig
Pontus Platin - Nattens sång
Kate Ryan - Je T’adore & Lovelife
Josh Dubovie - That Sounds Good to Me and If I can't love her
Babsan - Ge mig en spanjor
Elysion - Golden star
Man Meadow - Love's Gonna Get You
Kikki Danielsson - God Morgon
Sanna Nielsen - I’m in love
Thomas Forstner - Nur Ein Lied
Velvet Inc - Tricky
Arja Saijonmaa - Högt över havet
Bryan Rice - *don't remember the song*
D´Nash - I love you mi vida and Abrázame
Anna Book - ABC
Pernilla Wahlgren - Piccadilly circus
Lotta Engberg - Juliette & Jonathan
Sanna Nielsen - Empty Room
Shirley Clamp - Min kärlek


Do I need to say more? It was a schlager heaven! Panic when Shirley's Angels got on stage, panic when Hanson, Carson & Malmkvist got on stage and when they were done, the crowd screamed several times the phrase "en gång till" which means "one more time". Yes, they came back on stage but without the texts! During their performance they had the texts on stage but after they finished their number, the techs prepared the stage for the next artist so when the trio came back and the music started playing... "Oh my God! The texts are gone!" Ann-Louise Hanson ran and took the texts and she shared a pair of reading glasses with Siw Malmkvist! Hilarious moment!


And after the end of the show I got to meet Josh Dubovie and Javi from D'Nash. I had to ask him! D'Nash said that they're gonna sing a song from their album which was released a few months ago. The song was called "Abrázame" and it was Lucía Perez's "Abrázame"!! So I asked Javi what happened with this song. He told me that they saw Lucía on tv performing it and they liked it so they contacted the writers and they asked for the song. And that's how they put it on their album.


Here's a photo of Thursday's finale

Friday, August 5th

I didn't go to Kungsan because I didn't like the program that day. I went for a walk in Stockholm to take some photos and then I went back home. I left again at 23:00 to meet my friend Margot and go to club Paradise to see Annikafiore! It would be the first time for me! I had never met Annikafiore before! She got on stage aroun 1:30-1:45 and sang "Shut Up And Dance", "Don't Wanna C U 2nite" and her own version of "Crying At The Discoteque" which I loved! She rocked! Annikafiore was the last artist to get on stage. We also saw Diamond Dogs! They did a quite nice show! But we were there just to see Annikafiore! After her show we waited for quite a long time at the backstage entrance but she never came out... I asked a security guard if there was an exit backstage (stupid question! there's always one!) and of course she said "yes". We decided to go backstage and as soon as we opened the door, a club employee came out. We asked if Annikafiore had left. He said "yes"... :/ We decided to leave. I had already lost the last bus to go home and I had to take a cab (don't ask me how much I paid!!). At least I saw her performing live!

Saturday, August 6th

The big day! The last day of Pride, the last performance of Alcazar! After 7 hours of sleep I log in on facebook to upload some photos and see if Annikafiore wrote anything about last night's gig. Yup. There was a status. This status:

Did we manage to meet? YES! But how we did that is the part I cannot reveal. I will just thank her once again for what she did for us! I met her in front of the big stage. We talked for a while and took some photos. And I'm so glad that I finally met the last (ex)Alcazar member! Now what's missing is a photo with all 5 of them. But yeah, what are the odds? Anyway I'm not done about that meeting! Before Annikafiore's arrival I was waiting for Margot. When Annikafiore came to me I called Margot several times but she didn't pick up! Annikafiore had to go... She told me she had to buy new shoes because she didn't want to celebrate the Pride with the ones she was wearing (which were fine!). Such a diva! Well we all know her passion for shoes, don't we? So she had to go... But what about Margot? Wouldn't she meet her? Of course she did! This is the second part that I cannot reveal. It's a bit different from "my case" but I'm not sure I can say anything about it.
I will only say that, I seriously doubt if any other artist in the world would do what Annikafiore did just to meet a couple of her fans! So once again, thank you Annika!

And now let's go to part two! The meeting with Annikafiore took place aroun 15:30. Since then I didn't leave my spot right in front of the stage until a little after midnight! Until Alcazar finished their last gig! Their last gig ever? I sure hope not! A few weeks ago they said that they will come back. But today I read an interview (in swedish) that they gave yesterday saying that Alcazar might come back with different members! WHAT?!!? I discovered Alcazar in summer 2004 with Magnus in the group. I loved them! When they decided to take a break in 2005 I was devastated because I didn't know it was a break. I thought they'd split up for good. When I was looking for some lyrics in 2008 I logged in alcazarworld.com and I was surprised! Different layout and this photo!

My first reaction was "oh my God! They're back!! Without Magnus but it's ok! They're back with the original format!" but after a closer look I realise that the girl on the photo isn't Annikafiore! So I had my doubts at the beginning but no. Lina fitted perfectly in Alcazar! And if you ask me which Alcazar era is my favourite, please don't wait for an answer. You won't get one! Each era is perfect for different reasons. But my point is that I accepted Lina in no time. But I'm not sure if I can keep doing this! Please no more new members/eras! They should come back the way they are now or don't come back at all! And I hate myself for saying this right now! But no more changes! And I just thought about something! If they don't plan to come back I say they do a very special show. Starting from the very beginning with Andreas, Annikafiore and Tess performing songs from the "Casino" album, Magnus joining them - let's say in act 2 - singing songs from the album "Alcazarized" and then Annikafiore and Magnus leave the stage and in act 3 Lina joins Andreas and Tess and they sing songs from the album "Disco Defenders" (and of course singles that are not included in any of the albums). And for the final song? Well all 5 of them should record a brand new song and perform it only once! Poor Andy and Tess! They will get extremely tired performing for that long! Even with breaks! :P But seriously I just fell in love with this idea! Again, what are the odds of something like this happening? :/ 

But let's go back to Pride! Too many artists performed! Apart from Alcazar which was the highlight of the evening, another highlight for me was the reunion (even for only one song) of my beloved Afro-Dite!! I saw them performing live!! Ooh! :D But unfortunately it wasn't "Never Let It Go"... It was a new song with Jonas Hedqvist called "I Am What I Am". And I will just write all the names that come up right now because the important part is after Alcazar's performance! So we saw on stage Shirley's Angels with the new single "Love In The First Degree", Getty Domein, NEO, Tove Styrke, Le Kid, Ulrik Munther... And then a girl comes on stage and starts singing. I go "God why is she so familiar?" and then they say her name. Tatiana! "Yes! It's Tatiana Okupnik from Poland!" She was the lead singer of Blue Café when they represented Poland in ESC 2004!! So I can add to the list another ESC artist that I saw live! :P But let's go on with the rest of them. Shirley Clamp gave us an extra performance. She was supposed to sing at the wedding of two girls but from what I got she couldn't make it and she performed just for them. Here comes a photo

Then we had Bryan Rice, Anthony Callea, Diamond Dogs with a great show, Lili & Susie, Adam Tyler, Anders Fernette, Christian Walz, Straight Up, Kazaky and of course Alcazar!

So it's over. Alcazar finished their performance we were waiting for them. Luckily Bonnie and Sara had access to the backstage and they brought Alcazar to us! Now I seriously doubt if it was (only) my message that made them do what they did. Let me make it clear to you. A week ago we saw this photo 

on Tess' blog. We wanted so badly those t-shirts! So I sent a message to Tess and asked if there was a way to get them. So on Saturday night when they came out to see us, Tess was holding a bag full of these t-shirts! They gave them to us and they also gave us some t-shirts to send to the other fans that weren't there. For example our friend Raoni from Brazil and Jessica from Italy! Oh Alcazar! <3 

And then came the photo session! Some people coming and go to the backstage were stopping by to get photos with Alcazar so when my turn comes I say "ok guys. My turn now" and Andreas goes "no! We have to go! Bye!"!!!!! He always does that! Hahahahaha Of course I got a photo! A historical one! A photo with Alcazar right after their last gig! Oh yes! And I asked them to sign the t-shirt! Once again, why does Tess have to do all the writing? Lina and Andreas just signed the t-shirt but Tess wrote a few words...

"Love

Ifi

Sagapo" 

and she signed it. The fan part is that she started saying phrases in greek. "Ti kanis? Kala. Afto ine ena potiri" (How are you? Fine. This is a glass). Hahahaha the last one was so off! Hahahahaha 

That was it! 3 great days! And now it's official! The best day for the year 2011 is August 6th! And I know that we still have 4 months to go but what else could happen? Hm maybe the special show? ;P

This was my first Pride! If it's gonna be like this every year then next year should hurry!

Alcazar will take a break

What a sad day was yesterday... I just did my regular everyday check at alcazarworld.com only to see in the news section that Alcazar will take a break. A few minutes of shock and then I ran to Tess’ blog to see if there's something there while at the same time reading the QX interview (page 44, in swedish) trying to understand if they'll come back at some point. Nothing but a few comments from friends at Tess' blog. In the QX interview they say that they'll deal with some solo projects and stuff until they find something new and "alcazar". They say they will come back and Tess said that too in her latest blog entry where she explains why they take a break but, there's always a but... They say this now but who can guarantee this to us, fans? Who can guarantee that they will have the excitement they need to go on with Alcazar? A lot can change in a year! Maybe two? We don't even know how long this break will last! Let's face it! Andreas and Tess are no longer 30! They don't have the same energy as they used to. Maybe by the time they decide to come back they will be tired, both physically and mentally...

I sound too pessimistic but I am a pessimistic person. To me this is 2005 all over again! I discovered Alcazar in summer 2004 and they broke up a year later! I was devastated! Mostly because I didn't get the chance to meet them. You can't imagine how I felt when I visited their website to get some lyrics in January 2008 and I saw a completely different layout! They were back! Even with Annika and Magnus missing but with their new member Lina. But now things are different. My fear is not "when will I meet them?" coz I have already met them a few times. My problem is how will we survive without their music? I was expecting an album and instead I got a break! They just left us with their collaboration with Same Difference, "Karma Karma" and "Feel 4 U" with Dream Beats...

So Alcazar's last appearance will be on August 6th in Stockholm Pride. I don't know if I'll be back in Sthlm by then! I chose a really bad time to come back to Greece or they chose a really bad time to take a break! Shit! Nothing I can do now.

All we can do is HOPE that they will come back...