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...

Melodifestivalen 2014 - Running order revealed

Earlier today, SVT announced the running order of the Melodifestivalen 2014 contestants.

Semi-final 1: Malmö 1/2
1. ”To the End” - Yohio
2. ”Aleo” - Mahan Moin
3. ”Bröder” - Linus Svenning
4. ”Casanova” - Elisa Lindström
5. ”Bedroom” - Alvaro Estrella
6. ”Songbird” - Ellen Benediktson
7. ”Bygdens son” - Sylvester Schlegel
8. ”Survivor” - Helena Paparizou

Semi-final 2: Linköping 8/2
1. ”Love Trigger” - JEM
2. ”Hallelujah” - The Refreshments
3. ”Glow” - Manda
4. ”Efter solsken” - Panetoz
5. ”I Am Somebody” - Pink Pistols
6. ”Undo” - Sanna Nielsen
7. ”Set Yourself Free” - Little Great Things
8. ”När änglarna går hem” - Martin Stenmarck

Semi-final 3: Göteborg 15/2
1. ”Echo” - Outtrigger
2. ”Red” - EKO
3. ”Yes We Can” - Oscar Zia
4. ”Burning Alive” - Shirley Clamp
5. ”All We Are” - State of Drama
6. ”En enkel sång” - CajsaStina Åkerström
7. ”Busy Doin’ Nothin’” - Ace Wilder
8. ”Around the World” - dr. alban & Jessica Folcker

Semi-final 4: Örnsköldsvik 22/2
1. ”Blame It On The Disco” - Alcazar
2. ”Fight Me If You Dare” - I.D.A
3. ”Hollow” - Janet Leon
4. ”Raise Your Hands” - Ammotrack
5. ”Hela natten” - Josef Johansson
6. ”Ta mig” - Linda Bengtzing
7. ”En himmelsk sång” - Ellinore Holmer
8. ”Natural” - Anton Ewald

Just two comments. Helena Paparizou performs last in her semi. Alcazar perform first in their semi. Someone wants them in the final... ;)

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?

Melodifestivalen 2014: Artists to be announced next week

Next Tuesday, 26th of November and Thursday, 28th of November at 9:50 CET, SVT will announce the artists that will compete at Melodifestivalen 2014! There will be a live webcast (here).

On Tuesday, we have the press conference of the artists that will compete in Malmö and Linköping! Fingers crossed that Helena Paparizou will compete in Linköping's semi! I got my ticket (first row!) so I really want her to compete in Lkpg but I doubt it. I bet they put her in Gothenburg's semi! And yes, I am 100% sure that she's in. I know it. I can bet my life on it. ;)

I'm also pretty sure that YOHIO (meh), Sanna Nielsen (yay!) and Linda Bengtzing (yay!!) are in. But I don't bet my life on these 3. I don't know it for fact. ;)

And on Thursday, we have the press conference of the artists that will compete in Gothenburg and Örnsköldsvik.

Tick tock, tick tock...

Melodifestivalen 2014 - The hosts

Photo: Johan Paulin/SVT

"I'll try to keep up with everything from now on." The last phrase of my last post. On September 18th. Obviously things don't always go as planned.

So, earlier today SVT announced the hosts of Melodifestivalen 2014. Nour El Refai and Anders Jansson. Uhm... where is Petra Mede?! I don't know... The first impression wasn't good. Anders is a giant, Nour is "tiny". Sure, that's not a reason for not liking them. But if we just focus on their looks and how they look together when standing next to each other, well, it's not a good picture. I have no idea about their professional lives even though they both played their own parts in Melodifestivalen 2008. I can't say I remember them though... 

Right now I'm really skeptical... We'll see... I'm mostly interested in the artists. There's a lot going on and I really wanna talk about it but I will wait until the 25th of November. That's when we'll have the official announcement! The artist I mostly wanna talk about is Helena Paparizou! Obviously! Less than two weeks left!

Melodifestivalen 2014 - 2628 songs were sent to SVT

Reading a specific part of SVT's article made me laugh! "Quality before quantity. Just like last year"! Seriously? Looking back at 2013 makes me see that Melodifestivalen 2013 was the worst mello ever! Song-wise, that is. I can't find 5 songs that I'm still listening to! And we had 32!

This year they got themselves 2628 songs. How hard is to pick 32 decent to great songs? All I need is 31 schlagertastic songs and a great one to send to Copenhagen!

Oh and something I wanted to comment. The cities!

• Semi 1: 1st February, Malmö, Malmö Arena
• Semi 2: 8th February, Linköping, Cloetta Center
• Semi 3: 15 February, Göteborg, Scandinavium
• Semi 4: 22 February, Örnsköldsvik, Fjällräven Center
• Andra chansen: 1st March, Lidköping, Sparbanken Lidköping Arena
• Final: 8th March, Stockholm, Friends Arena 

2011: I live in Stockholm, Linköping hosts a semi
2012: I live in Linköping, no semi here
2013: I live in Linköping, no semi here
2014: I live in Linköping, Lkpg gets to host a mello semi!
FUCKING FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!
So I'm going to one semi and the final this time. Which means I need money. Which means I can say goodbye to Copenhagen.
Donations anyone? Anyone?

And I wish they take the final back to Globen someday... That's where it belongs... 

PS There is lots of news about Eurovision. 3 countries picked their artists, we're going to Copenhagen etc but I won't comment on any of these. I'll try to keep up with everything from now on. 

ESC 2013 - Rehearsals Day 8

Day 8... It doesn't sound right. It's more like a Day 10 but on Monday and yesterday we had only dress rehearsals, the jury rehearsal and of course the semi. So I can't count them... Whatever. It doesn't really matter!

DAY 8

Spain - ESDM - "Contigo Hasta El Final" (2nd rehearsal) 
Raquel changed the dress and she's also barefoot. She walks down the catwalk near the end of the song, they play with those "flying lanterns" and then she goes back to finish the song. I like the song but the whole performance (along with the song) doesn't stand out. It's a bottom 5. Unfortunately.

France - Amandine Bourgeois - "L'Enfer Et Moi" (2nd rehearsal) 
I like the outfit but that's it. Ok and the music of the song. But the performance? No. Not at all! Amandine is overacting! I really don't like it!

Germany - Cascada - "Glorious" (2nd rehearsal)
What the hell are they doing?????? Where is the second half of the first verse????? Are you kidding me? You cut the best part of the song just to keep the instrumental part after the first chorus and istead of -AT LEAST- taking advantage of it, Natalie just stands there and claps her hands? PLEASE! For 2,5 minutes Natalie just stands there and they're only using the stairs for the "we are glo-glo-glo-glo-glo-glo" part! Wow right? Yeah I know it's the same as the NF performance but this is bad! Really bad! And with the first half draw, it's the right side of the scoreboard for Germany! :(

Sweden - Robin Stjernberg - "You" (2nd rehearsal)
That outfit... So bad... But I like the performance. They've done some changes but I think it looks really nice. Love the fireworks! Wish he could change that outfit though...

United Kingdom - Bonnie Tyler - "Believe In Me" (2nd rehearsal)
Amazing Bonnie Tyler! Love that performance. Not a big fan of the song coz it's not my cup of tea but I really like what I see! And I totally love the outfit! Hope it goes well for the UK.

Italy - Marco Mengoni - "L'Essenziale" (2nd rehearsal)
That's not his stage outfit right? He looks like he's dressed to go for a walk. The performance is too static. And he's also using the catwalk in the end. I would like to see him sitting at the piano. I think it'd have been much better...

ESC 2013 - Rehearsals Day 7

DAY 7

Spain - ESDM - "Contigo Hasta El Final" (1st rehearsal) 
Yellow dress... I'm sure after the results they'll put the blame on the dress. Last year Pastora said her outfit wouldn't be black or yellow. I don't know why she didn't wear a black one but the yellow is considered bad lack for the Spiniards. Don't remember the actual story behind this though. ESDM's performance looks similar to the NF one. Raquel is another artist who uses the catwalk. Really like the song but it's a bottom 5 for my Spain...

France - Amandine Bourgeois - "L'Enfer Et Moi" (1st rehearsal) 
Don't like it. At all. And I seriously don't like that she acts like lunatic when she sings... What was that in the soundcheck? :S

Germany - Cascada - "Glorious" (1st rehearsal)
Natalie!! So crazy! Love her! I'm so glad about the outfit she's wearing! That was my biggest concern! The performance is the same as the NF one but she's also using the catwalk and that's where she ends it. I need to hear the backing vocals though... I'm worried about them.

Sweden - Robin Stjernberg - "You" (1st rehearsal)
I must've been the only one who loved his mello outfit. Now everyone says that this outfit is worse. It is but you guys went crazy about him changing it. Sorry Robin but it's really bad. The performance has some minor changes. We already knew that. I really want to see the entire rehearsal though.

United Kingdom - Bonnie Tyler - "Believe In Me" (1st rehearsal)
Another use of the catwalk but this time it's one step forward. It lifts Bonnie in the last seconds of the song. I couldn't clearly hear her vocals though... Some musicians on stage so I guess it's an ordinary performance...

Italy - Marco Mengoni - "L'Essenziale" (1st rehearsal)
Much hotter with the beard. But that's not the point. :P Looks like he's just standing there. I wonder if there's anything else during his performance... Not a fan of the song though...

ESC 2013 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "S"

San Marino sends Valentina Monetta with the song "Crisalide" written by Ralph Siegel and Mauro Balestri.
Once again, Valentina. Once again, Ralph Siegel. But this time with a great song! Such a huge change! I bet most of the viewers won't be able to tell that Valentina is the same artist as last year! Big chance that San Marino makes it to the final this time!
San Marino competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #2.

7pts from me and good luck to San Marino!

Serbia sends Moje 3 with the song "Ljubav Je Svuda" written by  Saša Milošević Mare and Marina Tucaković.

Love it! :D They really need to work on a new choreo (I think they do). I don't really like the way it ends. It's too abrupt. Ah, tiny detail! They're so in the final!!!

Serbia competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #16.

10pts from me and good luck to Serbia!

Slovenia sends Hannah with the song "Straight Into Love" written by  Hannah Mancini, Gregor Zemljic, Erik Margan, Matija Rodic and Marko Primuzak.

When I listened to the song for the first time I wanted the first 15 seconds out! Now I don't mind them. So we had the first version then we got the final one and originally I liked the final more. But now I changed my mind. I prefer the first version! There are some new lyrics added in the final version but I miss some parts of the original. But ok, I love it no matter what! That's my sLOVEnia!

Slovenia competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #3.

10pts from me and good luck to Slovenia!

Spain sends El Sueño de Morfeo with the song "Contigo Hasta El Final" written by  Raquel del Rosario, David Feito and Juan Suárez.

One thing was for sure this year. No matter what Spain sent, it would never top last year's entry. Unless it was Pastora with a better song (kinda difficult to do this though). I said from the beginning that I wasn't a fan of ESDM. I also said that despite this they might make it to my top 10. They did. For a while at least coz Finland kicked them out. Now I want to put this back to my top 10 but there's no place... And yes, I like the song but I predict a bottom 5 placing. It just screams last place... :/

Spain competes in the final. Running order TBA.

8pts from me and good luck to Spain!

Sweden sends Robin Stjernberg with the song "You" written by Robin Stjernberg, Joy Deb, Linnea Deb and Joakim Harestad Haukaas.

I think this is the grower of the year for me. It started by being really annoying, not so annoying, bearable, ok, great! It turned out to be the best choice for Sweden! A great entry for the hosts. Decent and really nice! A top 10 isn't impossible.

Sweden competes in the final. Running order TBA.

10pts from me and good luck to Sweden!

Switzerland sends Takasa with the song "You And Me" written by Georg Schlunegger, Roman Camenzind and Fred Herrmann.

Another one that I really really like!! Especially the chorus! That "aaaaah aaah ah"! I really hope they make it to the final! They deserved it last year and they stayed out. I don't want the history to be repeated!

Switzerland competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #16.

10pts from me and good luck to Switzerland!

Melodifestivalen 2013 - Third semi - Results

Photo: Lindwall Sven

And it keeps getting worse! I seriously don't get how the Swedes vote. Years now. To be honest I was expecting Ravaillacz (En Riktig Jävla Schlager) to make it to the final. They always send a crappy song to the final! I wasn't expecting State of Drama (Falling) to the final though. I like the song but it's more like a radio song. They're not gonna win anyway.

To andra chansen: Caroline af Ugglas with "Hon Har Inte" and Martin Rolinski with "In And Out Of Love".

I actually wanted Martin to the final! I like the song a lot even though the chorus is almost identical to Modern Talk's "Cheri Cheri Lady". I don't care. I like Martin's song and he looked great tonight! Loved his outfit. So simple and yet so great!

I'm also glad for Caroline. Not a big fan of her song but I kinda like it. It's so....Caroline!

5. "Heartstrings" – Janet Leon
6. "Alibi" – Eddie Razaz
7. "Dumb" – Amanda Fondell
8. "Island" – Elin Petersson

I can't believe that Janet, Eddie and Amanda are out! I wanted Janet to the final. Amanda was a disappointment for me. Well the song, not her. She has a great attitude on stage and I like that. As for Eddie, well the 1-minute snippet sounded promising but listening to the entire song didn't do it for me. I'm just surprised coz it was a favourite...

I didn't comment previous weeks' interval acts but I will do it now coz they sucked! So boring! And enough with Gina and Danny being in every one of them! At least next week we'll have Carola! Yes Carola! Carola Häggkvist! At least that's what she hinted in one of her blog posts.

Ps. Det dröjer ett gäng lördagar innan jag står på denna scen i år..

That's from her blog. "It will take a couple of weeks before I get on that stage this year"

So I think it's safe to say she'll perform in mello next week! Yay! Some real schlager people!


EDIT: About Carola... Yeah she might perform in ac or in the final. Who knows?

Melodifestivalen 2013 - Rehearsals of the third semi

Busy day yesterday! I was all day at the uni and I almost missed the german final coz I was in the lab. So, no time to blog about the mello rehearsals. But here I am! Let's go!

Eddie Razaz - Alibi
I like this! It's a bit David Lindgren and a bit Anton Ewald but that's mello!

Elin Petersson - Island
Nice hairdo! xD The song... ehm ok I guess...

Ravaillacz - En Riktig Jävla Schlager
Oh my God! This is embarassing and no! It's not en riktig jävla schlager! At all!

Amanda Fondell - Dumb
Oh those mirrors are so Cyprus 2005! I'm not crazy about the song. I guess I was expecting something else. It's not bad though...

Martin Rolinski - In And Out Of Love
I like it! For some reason I'm expecting a gimmick here. We'll see if there is one. (I'm not reading  bloggers' comments so I don't know anything more other than what I see in those 1 minute clips) Oh and I'm glad Martin got a haircut! He looks so much better!

Caroline af Ugglas - Hon Har Inte
The classic Caroline but I'm afraid I don't like this one.

State of Drama - Falling
Radio song. I like his voice and generally it's not boring.

Janet Leon - Heartstrings
Like like like! Give me more!

It's Martin and Janet to the final for me!

Melodifestivalen 2013 - Second semi - Results

Photo: Lindwall Sven

Really? -.- Really Sweden? Sean Banan (Copacabanana) to the final? I'm gonna have to watch that thing live? *puking*

Second finalist is Louise Hoffsten (Only The Dead Fish Follow The Stream). Now that was a surprise! I don't really mind her but there were better songs than this.

To andra chansen: Anton Ewald with "Begging" and Erik Segerstedt & Tone Damli with "Hello Goodbye".

5. "Make Me No 1" – Felicia Olsson
6. "On Top of the World" – Swedish House Wives
7. "En förlorad sommar" – Rikard Wolff
8. "Annelie" – Joacim Cans

Sad for SHW! :( I wanted them at least in ac!

Liked it a lot that Hanson, Carson and Malmkvist made a comeback. But Danny next time do your homework. They entered mello together in 2004 not 2005!

Oh I can't say anything else right now. I'm watching the MGP final! Go Margaret!

Melodifestivalen 2013 - Rehearsals of the second semi

Today's rehearsals can be found here.

Anton Ewald - Begging
Was he singing? It looked like it was a playback. Maybe because it was just a rehearsal... I like the choreo and the song. But I don't like that "aauuuu". Sounds like a wolf.

Felicia Olsson - Make Me No1
Oh God. Those lyrics... Don't like 'em. And I'm not a fan of the song either...

Erik Segerstedt & Tone Damli - Hello Goodbye
I like the chorus. It's quite nice but from this one minute, the chorus is the only part I like. I need to listen to the entire song.

Swedish House Wives - On Top Of The World
Rooting like hell for them! Did you expect me not to? Especially now that I heard the song and I like it a lot! Love their name! Hahaha And if you simply call them SHW you actually have the initials of their last names. Awesome! Haha!

Joacim Cans - Annelie
Wow. Ok I wasn't expecting this by Joacim. I was expecting a hard rock song. Definitely not that. It's not bad actually and I like that he sings in swedish but yeah. Not something I would listen.

Louise Hoffsten - Only The Dead Fish Follow The Stream
Oh that title! I can't say a lot here. It's just the chorus... But I like what I hear actually. Maybe not for the ESC though. Weird staging...

Rikard Wolff - En Förlorad Sommar
The sleeping pill of week no2! Don't like it. At all.

Sean Banan - Copacabanana
Oh such an original melody! Don't you agree? I so dislike him! He's annoying and disgusting! And of course I don't like the song! I hope we don't get to see him in the final! I really don't want to experience this live!

Melodifestivalen 2013 - First semi - Results

Photo: Lindwall Sven

First semi is over. Yup. It was the worst mello semi ever! I can't believe that the songs were that bad! Out of 2549 songs that were sent to SVT this year, these 8 were what? The best? Those that can do great in ESC? Are you kidding me? Obviously they're not picking the songs with that criteria! The thought of switching to another preselection round crossed my mind. Too many times. But I didn't do it. Because it's Melodifestivalen! 

Well let's go to the results... David Lindgren with "Skyline" and Yohio with "Heartbreak Hotel" are the two finalists! I was 100% sure about David. I had no clue about the rest.

To andra chansen: Cookies N Beans with "Burning Flags" and Eric Gadd with "Vi kommer aldrig att förlora".

5. "Gosa" – Mary N'diaye
6. "We’re Still Kids" – Michael Feiner & Caisa
7. "Porslin" – Anna Järvinen
8. "Paris" – Jay-Jay Johanson

Really I can't say anything here. About the interval acts, well I was chatting at the same time so I missed a few frames. I can't say I was a big fan. Oh and Danny, please, come out already!

I really really hope that the next semi will have some nice songs. We really need them!

Melodifestivalen 2013 - Rehearsals of the first semi

We have the one-minute clips from yesterday's rehearsals and I'm gonna make some comments. Please note that my thoughts about each song will probably change once I hear the full songs. As usual. xD All the rehearsals are here.

David Lindgren - Skyline
Ok this is not much different from "Shout It Out" but I totally prefer his last year's attempt.

Cookies N Beans - Burning Flags
Hm... I don't know what to say about this... I could call the chorus "nice" but that would be all. I don't see them going far. Mostly because they have no fans. But you never know...

Jay-Jay Johanson - Paris 
Really? REALLY?! That was just painful! And with some parts in french. I think I said enough!

Mary N'diaye - Gosa
Hello Stella Mwangi! Oh sorry! It's not Stella. I'm sorry I'm not a fan of this. At all. African music is not my cup of tea even though I love "Yeba"!!

Eric Gadd - Vi Kommer Aldrig Att Förlora
So so so indifferent! And so so so forgettable!

YOHIO - Heartbreak Hotel
Really not my thing! He has the right voice for his kind of music but I don't like the song nor his music.

Anna Järvinen - Porslin
*yawn* No ok she has a really nice voice but the song is so boring! And I didn't get much sleep last night so if I play this one more time I'm so gonna sleep!

Michael Feiner & Caisa - We're Still Kids
Was that what I think it was? A 12-second chorus?! :O

Oh God! David Lindgren is so in the final! And he's my winner from the weakest mello semi ever! I honestly have no clue about the second finalist and the 2 who will make it to andra chansen! Maybe YOHIO could do something. Even though I don't like him.

Really bad start dear Melodifestivalen! 

ESC 2013 - Petra Mede to host Eurovision!

Photo: Peter Knutson

I hate it when it happens! All the important news is revealed when I am at the uni! Of course I was checking my cell all the time so I found out about the hostess right away but I missed the entire press conference.

But it doesn't matter now. We got Petra Mede!!!!! Thank you SVT!! It was either Sarah Dawn Finer or Petra for me! I love love love Petra! Amazing sense of humour, great english and french so we have everything we need! God I'm so happy with this decision! The only right decision SVT has done so far!

Now please give us Lynda Woodruff in the green room and we're all set for 3 funny as hell nights! Plus, Europe will see that Lynda is just a character and nothing more. Coz some (maybe a lot) people didn't get this when she was announcing the swedish votes and thought that she's making fun of Azerbaijan. Of course I found it extremely hilarious since I knew about Lynda from mello's final. 

Anyway! PETRA MEDE people!! Wooohooo!  

ESC 2013 - The logo and the semi-final allocation draw

eurovision.tv

Let's start with the logo and slogan... (click on the photo to enlarge it). I have to say that the first impression wasn't so good... It's beautiful but it looks random. It has nothing to do with Sweden and SVT said there won't be any slogan this year. On the other hand, after all those press releases about this year's concept, the randomness kinda makes sense. Add to that the story behind it and ok! I like it!

The slogan... Well as a member on escforums.com said, do we actually need it? I don't know. The logo does look better without the slogan right there. "We are one"... yeah I don't really like the slogan...

Let's go to the semi-final allocation draw...

I'm glad for Greece and Israel for now... Sad for Slovenia and Iceland (if they pick Erna's song). Right now I can't say much! I need to listen to the songs and then I will see which countries will be benefitted and which not...

Melodifestivalen 2013: The artists, the songs, the composers - Heats 3 & 4

So here we have the last 16 acts of Melodifestivalen 2013!

Semi-final 3, Skellefteå February 16th

1. Eddie Razaz – Alibi (Peter Boström, Thomas G:son)
2. Amanda Fondell- Dumb (Freja Blomberg, Fredrik Samsson)
3. Ravaillacz (Körberg, Rabaeus, Malmberg & Ronander) – En riktig jävla schlager (Kjell Jennstig, Leif Goldkuhl, Henrik Dorsin)
4. State of Drama – Falling (Göran Werner, Sebastian Hallifax, Emil Gullhamn, James Hallifax)
5. Janet Leon - Heartstrings (Fredrik Kempe, Anton Malmberg Hård af Segerstad)
6. Caroline af Ugglas – Hon har inte (Heinz Liljedahl, Caroline af Ugglas)
7. Martin Rolinski - In and out of love (Thomas G:son, Andreas Rickstrand)
8. Elin Petersson – Island (Elin Petersson)

Semi-final 4, Malmö February 23rd

1. Ralf Gyllenhammar – Bed on fire (Ralf Gyllenhammar, David Wilhelmsson)
2. Therese Fredenwall – Breaking the silence (Terese Fredenwall, Simon Petrén)
3. Behrang Miri - Jalla dansa salwa (Behrang Miri, Anderz Wrethov, Firas Razak Tuma, Tacfarinas Yamoun)
4. Lucia Piñera – Must be love (Peter Kvint, Jonas Myrin)
5. Army of Lovers - Rockin’ the ride (Alexander Bard, Henrik Wikström, Per QX, Andreas Öhrn, Jean-Pierre Barda)
6. Ulrik Munther - Tell the world I’m here (Peter Boström, Thomas G:son, Ulrik Munther)
7. Sylvia Vrethammar - Trivialiter (Thomas G:son, Calle Kindbom, Mats Tärnfors)
8. Robin Stjernberg – You (Robin Stjernberg, Linnea Deb, Joy Deb, Joakim Harestad Haukaas)

Ok let's see... From semi 3 I'm looking forward to Amanda Fondell. I like her voice and for some reason I find the title of the song very promising...

Ravaillacz - oh my God! (Interpret this however you want...)

Comeback for Caroline af Ugglas and Martin Rolinski (BWO)... Caroline is crazy (in a good way!). I can't say I'm a fan but I like her as a person and I actually like her previous mello attempts. As for Martin... I don't like him so much although I love "Lay Your Love On Me".

Semi 4. Army of Lovers! Army of Lovers!!! Now that's the biggest surprise! AOL reunited! Well just 3 of them but still! I'll be honest here. I haven't heard many songs by them but I know they were huge back in the '90s! Besides it's Alexander Bard we're talking about! Really really interested in them!

And Ulrik Munther is back. I don't care actually. And I don't like his last year's attempt.

Now who's that Lucia Piñera? Spanish name so let's flag that entry! :P

Overall I'm not pleased by this year's line-up. Of course judging just by the artists since we haven't heard the songs but still...

Melodifestivalen 2013: The artists, the songs, the composers - Heats 1 & 2

Busy day today! I took a quick look at the artists in the morning but I had no time to blog. Ok let's see.

Semi-final 1, Karlskrona February 2nd

1. Cookies N Beans – Burning Flags (Fredrik Kempe)
2. Mary N’diaye – Gosa (Johan Åsgärde, Mattias Frändå, Mary N’diaye)
3. Yohio – Heartbreak Hotel (Johan Fransson, Tobias Lundgren, Tim Larsson, Henrik Göranson, Yohio)
4. Jay-Jay Johanson – Paris (Jay-Jay Johanson)
5. Anna Järvinen – Porslin (Björn Olsson, Martin Elisson)
6. David Lindgren – Skyline (Fernando Fuentes, Henrik Nordenback, Christian Fast)
7. Eric Gadd – Vi kommer aldrig att förlora (Eric Gadd, Thomas Stenström, Jacob Olofsson)
8. Michael Feiner & Caisa – We’re Still Kids (Michael Feiner, Caisa Ahlroth)

 Semi-final 2, Gothenburg February 9th

1. Joacim Cans – Annelie (Joacim Cans)
2. Anton Ewald – Begging (Fredrik Kempe, Anton Malmberg, Hård af Segerstad)
3. Sean Banan – Copacabanana (Sean Banan, Ola Lindholm, Hans Blomberg, Joakim Larsson)
4. Rikard Wolff – En förlorad sommar (Tomas Andersson Wij)
5. Eric Segerstedt and Tone Damli – Hello Goodbye (Robin Fredriksson, Mattias Larsson, Måns Zelmerlöw)
6. Felicia Olsson – Make Me No 1 (Amir Aly, Henrik Wikström, Ingela Pling Forsman, Maria Haukaas Mittet)
7. Pernilla Wahlgren, Hanna Hedlund, Jenny Silver – On Top Of The World (Peter Boström, Thomas G:son)
8. Louise Hoffsten – Only The Dead Fish Follow The Stream (Louise Hoffsten, Sandra Bjurman, Stefan Örn)

There are quite a lot names that I've never heard before. I can't say a lot right now coz I need to listen to the songs first. If we just see the artists, I'm rooting like hell right now for Pernilla, Hanna and Jenny! And judging by the composers (combined with the artists) it's safe to say we're talking about a schlager song! Yay! :D 

I'm also interested in David Lindgren's song since I love "Shout It Out". 

You guys should google Yohio! Personally I don't like him (her?) at all. Well he's an interesting person (I watched an interview) but I don't like his music.

Then we have a comeback for Cookies N Beans. I can't say I'm a big fan of "What If" but sometimes I enjoy it... When I'm in the country mood. It's weird but I see that the Swedes really enjoy country and rockabilly music...

Oh I'm also interested in Erik Segerstedt and Tone Damli's duet! And it's more interesting that the song is written by Måns Zelmerlöw, among others. I've never heard of Tone before but when was the last time we saw, well heard, a duet by two young singers? No, Lotta and Christer aren't young!

Joakim Cans is 2013's Dead by April I guess. xD It's good to have a variety of genres. Even if his style is not my cup of tea.

Finally let me puke coz I saw Sean Banan's name there. Eeew!!


These are my comments for now. The rest of the artists will be revealed next Monday at 10:00 CET. And I have a full schedule that day as well. -.-

Time to get back on track!

I stopped using informative posts a long time ago. That's because I don't blog regularly and because there are hundreds of websites out there which are updated several times a day. I'm here to make personal comments on (mostly) ESC and music related topics. And we're almost in the middle of November. Soon the NFs will begin and it's time for me to find my pace again. Probably not everyday blogging but not one post every 2 weeks either!

Now I'm really excited about Melodifestivalen 2013 because on November 19th SVT will reveal the artists! There's a list on several website with some artists names. Not too happy about it so I hope it's not the real one...

About ESC 2013... I just read this... The running order will be decided by the producers and not by draw. I'm not sure whether I like it or not... I'm not a big fan of that idea... But that's done now. We'll see how it will work in May...