Melodifestivalen 2013 - Robin Stjernberg won!

So yeah, I was supposed to blog last night but I was too tired. So many things I had to fix before I can start blogging. Photos, videos… And I know you're waiting for the phrase. Here it is: I don't know where to start! Nah, not really.

When I heard the songs of the 4th semi and especially after the end of the 4th semi I started regretting buying a ticket to the final. I still believe it was the worst Melodifestivalen we ever had. Even though I'm only familiar with the years after 2000. But if I had the chance to give the ticket back and take my money I wouldn't do it. The feeling of being inside the arena worth every single crown I paid. It's an amazing experience!

On my way to the arena

First of all I need to say that I feel really lucky that I got to be in two finals that were held in Globen! And to be honest I missed Globen… I love Globen. I can't really say why. I just love it! Everything about it. Especially the name (no I NEVER call it Ericsson Globe Arena!). Friends Arena is cool alright. It's huge. And I mean HUGE. They didn't use the entire arena. It would be impossible to see the stage had they used all the space. I don't know but I think Melodifestivalen's final belongs to Globen. But I don't think we're going back there. Like, ever.

Inside the arena

In position!

Dååå kör viiiiii! I liked the opening act! Previous hosts of the ESC and Petra Mede! Pretty good! 

Ulrik Munther - I liked him. I mean I had seen him in Malmö's first general rehearsal so it wasn't the first time I heard his song in an arena.

David Lindgren - Yeah, the hype stopped already from the second semi. And then comes Christer Björkman and gives spot number 2 to David! This is the cursed one! No wonder why David was last in the televoting! I was really surprised! I didn't expect him high in the final but definitely not last in the televoting! He was really good though...

State of Drama - I was expecting them to finish last. Not because they have a bad song but because they're so forgettable. It's something we've heard many times before. Yeah we've heard David's song before. But I mean all the other artists had something! Some of them returned to mello and others had that something. I was close about their final place. 9th.

Anton Ewald - I hate his pants! I really do! There, I had to say this! The song grew on me a lot so I really enjoyed it. The cheerings for Anton inside the arena were hysterical...

And somewhere at this point my parents called me! I mean SERIOUSLY?? They're doing it on purpose! They called me 10 minutes before the DMGP's final and 15 minutes before the 4th semi in Malmö asking me to video-call them in Skype! And yesterday they called me while I was IN the arena! SERIOUSLY?? Respect to the eurofan please!

 

Getting ready for Louise

Louise Hoffsten - The only woman in this mello final! All I'm gonna say here is that her song is definitely one of my favourite in this Melodifestivalen! I would be totally fine if she was the winner! It was pretty great when she was on stage.

Ralf Gyllenhammar - Many people in the ESC forums wanted him as the winner. Me? I don't know. His song is not my cup of tea but I didn't mind listening to it in the arena...

Ravaillacz - They got what they deserved. Although, not really. They shouldn't have even been in the final! The song is horrible. And I'll say it again, it's far from "en riktig jävla schlager"! Light-years away!

Sean Banan - I still dislike him. I still find him disgusting. There was no way he'd win. But yeah. Inside the arena everything is enjoyable! And so was his show. Song's melody isn't original. It's catchy and sticks in your head but it's not something we haven't heard before. People say it's "Dragostea Din Tei". I say "Can-Can".

Robin Stjernberg - Thank you Sweden! When I first heard the song, I said that his voice annoys me. It was ok in Malmö's rehearsal. Even better in andra chansen and now it's totally fine! It doesn't annoy me at all! The same happened with Salem al Fakir in 2010! The song? I liked it from the beginning (now I totally love it!) and in this final, it was the best choice for me! I'm so glad that Sweden sends a decent entry! He just needs to work on his vocals! It's a difficult song and he needs to be perfect! Especially for the juries!

It took me a while to realise that those two sitting in front of me were YOHIO's fans...

YOHIO - I'm so glad he didn't win! Well technically he did win. He won the televoting. But just for that night, thank God we had the juries! I don't like his song. And I don't like him. Not because he's different. I don't like his "attitude". He is so full of himself because he's the only one in Sweden doing something like this. Oh and I totally hated the way he ended his song! My ears! 

Lynda Woodruff! That accent! That voice! I LOVE Sarah Dawn Finer!! "The home of the eurOWvision song contest 2013!" Hahahahahaha 

Then came Loreen! That version of "Euphoria" was amazing! And it was so Loreen! I got serious goosebumps when she got on stage! It brought back the 2012 memories in Globen!                 

One question. Why did Gina present the ukrainian votes again? Hm... 

CAROLA

CAROLA

Yup. Carola! Carola Häggkvist! You can say whatever you want about her as a person. I will even agree about all the stuff you're gonna say when it comes to her relationship with God and religion. I believe in God (most of the times. I won't discuss that topic though) but she should keep all this to herself. She's a public figure but that doesn't mean she has to "promote" God like this coz honestly, most of the times she comes across as crazy. BUT, Carola the artist... That Carola, I love! And I loved her performance even though her vocals weren't perfect. I liked the remix of "Främling" but I was expecting to hear the original version. No matter what, I got to see Carola in such a big arena! And this moment was magical! We "rehearsed" this part a few minutes before the live began and even without Carola it felt amazing. Imagine singing along with her! 

Photo: Olle Kirchmeier SVT

Yes. Results! It's old news that Robin won but the (tele)voting was a nail-biting moment! Especially when it was between Anton, Robin and YOHIO. That's when I was scared that YOHIO was going to win! Robin got the 75 points, he had a total of 166 and I immediately started making calculations in my head trying to figure out if YOHIO's points are enough to top Robin's. What calculations? At that point we didn't know how many points YOHIO was supposed to get. I didn't have the time to count the points that were already given in order to find out how many had left to be given from the 473. But as soon as Gina said it's 103 points (plus the 30 he had from the jury voting) I jumped off my chair (again!)! Robin won! My favourite won! Second year in a row! And then it hit me. Robin is the first Melodifestivalen winner that made it to the final via andra chansen! 

 

Reprise of "You" and the cameras went off. But it's not over for me. Yet. I stayed in the arena. I always do that until the security personnel ask us to leave. I went to the catwalk. Just to see it. And in a few seconds I saw Loreen passing by right in front of me! I stopped her to ask for a photo. She didn't say no. Damn she is so thankful! I don't even know how many times she said "thank you", "take care" and stuff like that. Of course by that point there were many people around her. Especially kids. Loreen was with one of her people. She told him to let her know when she had to leave (she would give an interview with Robin for SVT's "Eftersnack") because she wanted to stay there and take photos with the kids! 

 

Haters, hate her as much as you want. You won't change the fact that she's an amazing person!

Then I saw Edward af Sillén. The man behind the scripts of Melodifestivalen and most likely, Eurovision 2013! Then the security "kicked us out". lol 

You know, when they announced that the final would be held in Friends Arena I was like "oh no! where are they gonna have the efterfest?". It wasn't difficult to find the entrance. Right next to the door that I entered the building earlier. But seriously Mr Weather. All week the temperature was above zero but no! On Saturday it had to be -8! -.- I froze to death (once again!) But I saw a lot of artists. Got a photo with Camilla Henemark (La Camilla of Army of Lovers), the father of schlager Thomas G:son, Nanne (and one of her friends who didn't step aside LOL) and Alcazar's Tess! Tess told me that Andreas wasn't coming. I knew that. He was in Gävle (gotta love instagram! xD). But neither was Lina. :( 

Many other artists walked by but I didn't really care. Under other circumstances (temperature!) I would have asked for a photo but I was freezing. I was waiting for Carola. Nope, I didn't see her. 2 and a half years in Sweden and I still haven't met her! -.- :P I couldn't wait any longer. I couldn't feel anything. So I left. A few hundred meters from the arena I ran into 3 of the Timoteij girls. Or they ran into me. Actually one of them almost ran over me! And she did it in a way "hey! look who you're crossing paths with! I'm a Timoteij girl". Yeah yeah I know who you are (I actaully saw who she was just because she almost blocked my way) but I-am-freezing-and-I-wanna-go-home. 

Oh! I almost forgot. Ok I didn't, I just wanted to tell you about this in the end. Lena Philipsson's fans are probably gonna hate me but I don't care. It's their idol's fault. I met Lena in 2011. Right after the mello final in Globen. And I was pretty shocked to see her right in front of me coz she kinda was "the wrong time in the wrong place". I asked her to take a photo. She said yes but she was like "oh come on hurry up! I don't have all day! get over with it!". Really grumpy. Last night I saw her again and asked for a photo. She had the exact same attitude! She just looked at me without saying anything. She turned around to "look for her friend", she told her something and then she just left! Like I never talked to her! She totally snubbed me! And then they call Carola a diva. Yeah I didn't meet her, but when and if I ever meet her I'd be the first to admit that she is one. That is, if she actually acts like a diva. But for now, congratulations Lena Ph for making it to the top of the Divas list! I will keep listening to her mello songs (and not only) but as a person she gets a big X! And I'm not saying all this just to badmouth her or because I didn't take a photo with her. As I said, I already have a photo with her. I just ignore people I don't like. Besides, if I didn't like her, I wouldn't even ask for a photo. 

So, Melodifestivalen 2013 is officially over! 

The leftovers...

        

 See you next year and good luck to Robin!

PS1 I keep writing "yesterday" but it's actually 3:30am, on March 11th... Oh well. xD

PS2 No mello next Saturday and the only thing I'm glad for is that we won't get to see Danny looking at the script instead of the camera all night long.

Loreen - "Euphoria" video release

Photo: Ruben Broman

So the video of "Euphoria" is out! I have to say that I'm disappointed... I was expecting something really good but all we got is Loreen taking a walk in the woods... I really don't like the concept and it's not something I will watch over and over again. I totally prefer the live performances of MF/ESC.We have some really great shots and the feeling is amazing but the concept is really bad IMO. What I like in the video is the second verse. I wish Ausben was there too...

ESC 2012 - Barbara Dex Award

And we have a winner! Congratulations to Rona Nishliu from Albania for the Barbara Dex Award 2012! I voted for her even though it was a tough choice this year. Many bad outfits but Rona got my vote. The top 10 is here if you wanna see it. I was expecting Joan Franka to be second but she's 4th! Jedward are 2nd and Sofi Marinova is 3rd! Loreen is also in the top 10... Haters? ;)

ESC 2012 - Pastora Soler in the final

Photo: Thomas Hanses (EBU)

Ok, when I wrote the blog entry about the final I said I'd write a new blog post just for Pastora. Well here it is.

First of all, I'd like to say that for the first (and probably the last!) time I was right about one thing regarding the ESC. Well two things. The first one was Loreen. I've been saying that she's the one who can win the whole thing since we found out she'd be in Mello 2012. The second one was of course Pastora Soler! And I know I said this a few times but I'm vindicated and it feels so great! Remember September's post? Well I wrote she's the only one who can bring the contest to Madrid. I still believe that. She didn't win but she did bring Spain the best result since 2004! A place in the top 10! She didn't deserve that! She should have been at least in the top 5! Top 3 if you ask me! She should have been the runner up!!

She gave one of the best performances that night. Amazing performance! What went wrong? Probably the running order... Željko performed 24th. Then we had FYROM as well (yes I hate it but apparently Europe likes it). Then I blame Europe for not voting for Spain. Spain doesn't have friends. Plus the fact that several commentators in many countries tried (and probably succeeded) to "manipulate" the viewers by telling them NOT to vote for Spain coz they don't want to win. Because they won't be able to host the contest. I wonder if the EBU will do something about this. I know the results can't change but this is unacceptable! The commentators are supposed to be impartial. They're supposed to be neutral. Just giving the information about the song and the performer. They're not supposed to try to affect people's choices!

You might think I'm trying to find excuses, put the blame on someone about Spain's result. Well no. I'm just trying to figure out why a performance and a song like this ended up only 10th while other songs which were in the top 10 shouldn't even be in the final! Of course that's my personal opinion. You might agree, you might disagree, but at the end of the day everything is subjective!

About Pastora's appearance... I liked it and I didn't like it. I wasn't a big fan of the dress. I still wish she had worn the one from the spanish NF. But I also wanted to see the second one. I've seen so many videos on YouTube so I know she could have looked better (or worse! xD) with different make-up and hairstyle. The entire look made her look like a Greek goddess. It was ok I guess but I don't think it fitted the song...

Well nothing can change now but you know I'm trying to stay away from the PESD/PEB which will soon kick in no matter what. But I still have things to say about this year's ESC so the PESD/PEB can wait a bit longer... ;)

ESC 2012 - Semi-final 1 - Running order for the 10 finalists

Ok here is the list of the 10 finalists and their running order on Saturday!

Romania 14
Moldova 26
Iceland 7
Hungary 2
Denmark 15
Albania 3
Cyprus 8
Greece 16
Russia 6
Ireland 23

Lucky Moldova!!! So lucky! Ok draw for Romania. Good for Greece. That #6 for Russia I hope it's enough to stop them from placing high. I loved their performance tonight but they can't win! Hungary and Albania, bad draws. Iceland and Cyprus, not good. And damn Ireland! But you know what? Loreen will pick #24 muahahaha!

ESC 2012 - Loreen's outfit!

from her facebook page

Those people never learn! xD This is Loreen's outfit for the semi (and the final I guess). We've seen it today (in the end of this video) and in this photo. But we haven't seen Loreen wearing it. They posted the photo above on her facebook page along with the next one

This one isn't so clear... But well let's go back to the first one. It's a negative. I don't get why people keep posting photo-negatives! Don't they know that negative + negative = positive? Enough with the talking! Here's the photo!

ESC 2012 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "S"

San Marino sends Valentina Monetta with the song "The Social Network Song (Oh Oh - Uh - Oh Oh)" written by Ralph Siegel, Timothy Touchton and José Juan Santana Rodriguez.
What is this San Marino? Seriously? It's just horrible and meaningless! I absolutely have nothing to say here. Just that they won't make it to the final. For sure.
San Marino competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #11.

0pts from me and good luck to San Marino!

Serbia sends Željko Joksimović with the song "Nije Ljubav Stvar" written by Željko Joksimović, Marina Tucaković and Miloš Roganović.

Such a beautiful song by Željko once again. To be honest I wasn't so excited the first time I listened to this but now I really like it! And I think it's a great opening for the second semi!

Serbia competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #1.

8pts from me and good luck to Serbia!

Slovakia sends Max Jason Mai with the song "Don't Close Your Eyes" written by Miroslav Šmajda.

Oh God! So not my cup of tea. I don't like this at all! Metal/rock fans probably will love it but not me. It's good to see different genres in ESC but those will be three minutes I won't enjoy.

Slovakia competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #15.

0pts from me and good luck to Slovakia!

Slovenia sends Eva Boto with the song "Verjamen" written by Vladimir Graić and Igor Pirković.

Lovely sLOVEnia! Great and beautiful song! Even though it was my second favourite! I wanted "A Si Sanjal Me" for Slovenia! It's soooo slovenian and I adore it! But as I said I also love Verjamen. Eva is a good live performer so I expect Slovenia to make it to the final once again!

Slovenia competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #9.

8pts from me and good luck to Slovenia!

Spain sends Pastora Soler with the song "Quédate Conmigo" written by Thomas G:son, Erik Bernholm and Tony Sánchez-Ohlsson.

Hahahaha! What do you want me to say here? THIS IS MY WINNER!!! Yeah it was (and sometimes still is) between Sweden and Spain this year but aah no! It's Spain! It is SPAIN! I won't say the Pastora story again. Just read all the posts about her and you'll understand... Just make sure you vote for Spain this year! This deserves at least a top 5 if not a top 3!

Spain competes in the final with running order #19.

12pts from me and good luck to Spain!

Sweden sends Loreen with the song "Euphoria" written by Peter Boström and Thomas G:son.

And here I present you the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012! Again, what do you want me to say here? The regular readers I'm sure remember that 99% of all posts regarding Melodifestivalen 2012 ended with the phrase "LOREEN TO BAKU!!"! So that's it! Loreen is going to Baku and will return with the 1st prize! Oh yes, and she will break Rybak's record! Word. ;)

Sweden competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #11.

12pts from me and good luck to Sweden!

Switzerland sends Sinplus with the song "Unbreakable" written by Gabriel Broggini and Ivan Broggini.

When Switzerland chose this back in December I never thought it would become one of my favourites! A bit bad accent in english but I think that "adds" to the song for some strange reason. I really like Switzerland this year!!

Switzerland competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #9.

10pts from me and good luck to Switzerland!

Melodifestivalen 2012 - LOREEN TO BAKU!!

Photo: Olle Kirchmeier/SVT

ÄNTLIGEN SVERIGE! RÄTT LÅT VANN!!!!!!

I don't know where to start vol ∞. I've said this phrase so many times that I lost count. EXTATIC! That was the best day of the entire 2012 and I don't care if it's still March!

Poor Danny... Once again he came 2nd. I really wouldn't wanna be in his shoes! As soon as I arrived in Globen I knew Loreen would be the winner. Everyone around me said Loreen, Loreen, Loreen. There were some contests where you were supposed to guess the winner. Everyone was saying Loreen. And then in the arena! PANIC! I don't know if you noticed that but while Sarah (Dawn Finer) was introducing Loreen, the public, well including me, was screaming and clapping. Honestly I didin't hear a word of what Sarah said! I seriously doubt if this ever happened before! Actually I'm sure about it! Not to mention the new record she made! 670.551 votes just for Loreen! 3 of them were mine! Hahahaha

Full results:

1. Loreen – "Euphoria"
2. Danny – "Amazing"
3. Ulrik Munther – "Soliders"
4. David Lindgren – "Shout it out"
5. Molly Sandén – "Why am I crying?"
6. Top Cats – "Baby Doll"
7. Dead by April – "Mystery"
8.Thorsten Flinck & Revolutionsorkestern –  "Jag reser mig igen"
9. Lisa Miskovsky –  "Why Start a Fire"
10. Björn Ranelid feat. Sara Li – "Mirakel"

You can't possibly imagine how happy I was when Danny got those 106 points coz right then we knew Loreen was the winner! I literally jumped off my chair! My hands hurt so much from all that clapping! Well they hurt last year too but this year was x2! :P

And then we have the one and only! Helena Paparizou!

 
Amazing performance of "Popular". Better than Saade!

Well I don't know what else to say about the night. I always forget all that! Oh I loved Sarah's video with Azerjan. Ajerban. Azerbaijan! :P And shame on Sweden for giving the minimum votes to Lisa Miskovsky! Less than Ranelid? Gee!


And now the fun part! Waiting for the artists at the efterfest entrance. Just like last year! ;) It was freezing cold! Really windy! When I left I couldn't feel anything! Seriously! But anyway, when I got there, there were very few people. I was looking left and right all the time to see if any of the artists was coming. As I turn my head I see right in front of me Sandra Kim!! Oh my God!! Sandra Kim!! Yup! Got a photo! :D Yay! Then my beloved Helena!! We had a little chat too! Then Eric Saade! I only took a photo with him because people hadn't seen him yet. Hahaha Had people jumped on him, I wouldn't wait for a photo but I had a chance so why let it go? Also, Marie Serneholt, Love Generation, Youngblood, Dynazty, Dead by April and David Lindgren were there but I didn't take photos with any of them. Well Marie was on the phone when she arrived so I didn't want to interrupt her. Actually out of all the artists tonight, I only wanted to see Helena and Lisa. As I said I met Helena so now I had to wait for Lisa. Luckily I recognized her while she was too far. I went to her, asked for a photo, we took it and then I said "Thank you! Now I can go home!!". Hahaha She thanked me back, hugged me and when I started walking away she said "Wait! That's for you"...

..."It's bad but..." "Haha it's ok! Thank you!" *HUG* hahaha I had the feeling that Lisa would be very friendly in person. Well I was right. ;)


And now that Loreen is going to Baku, what's the new slogan? I mean we can't keep saying "Loreen to Baku" right?