Spain 2013 - With "Contigo Hasta El Final" to Malmö!

Photo: TVE

Yeah I know it's old news by now but I was too busy with the uni. I watched the final though. How could I miss it? Pastora Soler performed! Twice! Spain picked my favourite song. "Contigo Hasta El Final". However I don't think they will do well in Malmö! I even predict a bottom 7! :/ I wasn't so optimistic from the beginning about ESDM... I liked CHEF from the snippet and I was expecting it to be really good but no. It has no climax. It's quite forgettable and finally, it's Spain!

Lo siento mis amigos... Best of luck in May!

Melodifestivalen 2013 - Fourth semi - Results

Photo: Lindwall Sven

Fourth semi is over and honestly I couldn't care less about the results right now. ALCAZAR! Just wow!

Ok so Ulrik Munther with "Tell The World I'm Here" and Ralf Gyllenhammar with "Bed On Fire" made it to the final. Ehm. Ok.

To andra chansen: Behrang Miri with "Jalla Dansa Sawa" and Robin Stjernberg with "You".
Damn I wanted Behrang to the final!

5. "Breaking The Silence" – Terese Fredenwall
6. "Rockin' The Ride" – Army of Lovers
7. "Trivialitet" – Sylvia Vrethammar
8. "Must Be Love" – Lucia Piñera

So Army of Lovers didn't make it. Not even to the ac! But really couldn't they sing live? I mean camera caught La Camilla lip synching! Lame! And damn I was so close about Sylvia! Not last. Second-to-last! At least the cleaning crew won't have so much work to do in her dressing room. xD

So yeah, highlights of the 4th semi: Petra Mede, Sarah Dawn Finer and Alcazar. Anything BUT the competing songs!

And once again all the good songs are in andra chansen! 

EDIT: So after hearing all 32 songs I have to say one thing. Why couldn't Lisa Miskovsky enter this year with "Why Start A Fire"? It would have been the perfect entry for the hosts! :(  

Melodifestivalen 2013 - 1st general rehearsal of the 4th semi (plus some extra details about my day in Malmö)

Back from Malmö! What a day! And night! I left Linköping at 10:18 (yeah I'm becoming a Swede lol) and arrived in Malmö at 13:35. Again, the only reason I went there is Alcazar! I knew in which hotel they were staying (long story but honestly if you follow them on instagram it's not difficult to find out ;)) so I went there to meet them. I will leave out lots of details on the how-I-knew-about-their-schedule. Anyway, they weren't there. I left and went to Malmö Arena hoping to run into them. I was out in the cold for about two hours. Almost froze to death (yeah not the first time I'm doing this). During these two hours I saw Danny and Gina (didn't care to talk to them or take a photo), Jean-Pierre of Army of Lovers (nope, no photo with him either. too "frozen" and too depressed to the idea that I might not meet my Alcazar) and La Camilla of AoL! Now, I'm not 100% sure it was her... She was wearing snglasses (it was cloudy!) so it has to be her right?

And the time went by... I decided to go inside the mall which was right across the street. Just for 5 minutes. To get my body temperature back to normal. Needless to say that I was terrified that Alcazar might show up while I was inside. Well I knew the girls would stay in the arena all day but who could guarantee that they actually stay in? Andreas was tricky. I was told he was in the arena but he wasn't. I went outside again and within the next 2-3 minutes a bus stopped and Andreas got off! It took me a while to recognize him and I literally stopped him on his way in! We talked for a few seconds and he went inside. Last thing he told me: "Don't freeze to death!" I was thinking "aaaww how sweet" but I said "I will!" (like "I will because of you (Alcazar)! Coz I want to see you! So I will freeze to death if I have to!") Anyway, let's go to the part you're probably reading the post for.

General rehearsal

After meeting Andreas I went back to the mall so I wouldn't freeze to death. The arena doors were still closed. But eventually they opened the doors, I went inside and I got my seat (a good one I might add) and the show began.

Opening act! A great one! They make it look like we're about to watch Eurovision's final! The music, the old ESC logo, the commentators! Danny and Gina acting like Ell and Leyla. I laughed a lot with that and you'll see why... ;) And then comes Petra! Petra Mede! She scolds them for making fun of it and doing her job! She takes over and presents Melodifestivalen in french! Respect! Her french (even though I dislike the language) is really really good! Totally the best choice to host the ESC (Sarah Dawn Finer would be great for me as well but I don't know if she speaks french). Sarah had her own part in the semi... ;)

Then we go to the first contestants. Army of Lovers! I don't know what to say about their song. It's weird with a "wtf is this?" feeling but catchy at the same time! I liked what I saw but it could have been better. It's AoL after all!

Lucia Piñera is next. Yeah the song is too Adele but I like it! Nothing special on stage. Unlike AoL.

Robin Stjernberg gets on stage and I have to say that the song is good but his voice still annoys me... Smoke and dancers on stage.

Then comes Sylvia Verthammar with the ultimate snoozefest! And probably the most boring staging of this year's mello! In the mello magazine there's a question asked to her: "What will you do if you finish last?". She replies: "I will go to my dressing room and break everything!". I say: The cleaning crew will have a lot of work to do in Sylvia's dressing room. ;)

And here comes Ralf Gyllenhammar. Remember when I told you I got scared for a sec? I was prepeared yesterday. Can't say the same about the rest of the audience though. There's a lot of fire on stage. I was sitting quite far (as you can see) and I felt the heat! I wonder what those people in the first row felt!

Behrang Miri. All I'm gonna say here is: SEND HIM TO THE FINAL!! Love the song! So happy and uplifting! Amazing!

Terese Fredenwall tries to pull a Lisa Miskovsky but it doesn't work for me. Sorry.

And finally we have Ulrik Munther. He grew up in one year! At least that's how he seemed to me. And I liked what I saw.

Then it's (fake) voting time. The weekly video they do (which I didn't pay any attention to) and the (fake) results. Army of Lovers are 6th, Behrang 7th and Ulrik 8th! xD

And here comes the highlight of the evening! The reason I came to Malmö! Alcazar's comeback! New fluo outfits, new choreos and a new member. Danny. Well they start without him with "Stay The Night" then "Alcastar" and Danny joins them in "Not A Sinner Nor A Saint". I was really negative about Danny joining them but I have to say it was good! What I'm really happy about is that I got to see them performing "Stay The Night" in a big arena. A la Melodifestivalen! Simply amazing!!

I actually left the rehearsal right after Alcazar performed. Andreas told me earlier that they would leave right away so I left too. I went back to their hotel waiting for them. While I was waiting (outside again! brr) a woman passed me by. It was dark, she was wearing a hood... I thought it was Lina. She looked at me but she didn't react so I thought it wasn't her. I found Andreas and Tess later at a hotel a few steps away from the one they were staying. (it's a hotel chain. in both hotels are staying the artists and crew of mello). They were outside ready to go so yeah. I finally met them! They told me Lina had gone back to the hotel coz her baby was with her in Malmö. So I'm pretty sure it was Lina who passed right in front of me earlier...

Anyway I got my photo with Andreas, Tess and a "new" member who I asked to pose as "Lina". Sarah Dawn Finer! I got to meet Sarah too! :D Oh, I talked with Andreas (obviously) and he asked me if I liked the show. Apart from the "YES!!!" I told him that they need to come back!

- In mello?
- No. Generally! Alcazar needs to come back!
- Mmm we will see how it turns out... (And he had a look)
- Should I take that as a hint?
- Mmm I don't know (that look again)... we'll see... (getting serious) You never know.

Oh my God! Please please let that be a comeback! Pleeeeease!

And to end the post, let me tell you that I missed (more like I let it leave) the last train back to Linköping! Thank God I found a Burger King that is open until 6am on Fridays and Saturdays! Otherwise I'd be screwed. Big time! There's no way I'd stay out for 6-7 hours in that cold! I'd had to find a hotel and pay A LOT. I couldn't afford spending more money. I really couldn't! Well I "blame" Alcazar for that. But I couldn't leave without seeing them! Even though I didn't see Lina... :/ Call me crazy for doing that. Call me an idiot or whatever you want. I might be at some level. But I love them.

Melodifestivalen 2013 - Rehearsals of the fourth semi

Ok before I start commenting on the rehearsals let me tell you that Carola will perform at the interval act of the final! Malmö's interval act will be better though. For me at least. We'll get to that even though I think it's old news by now but I'm super excited about it, so yeah, I will say a few things on that.

Rehearsals ladies and gentlemen!

Army of Lovers - Rockin’ The Ride
Legends or what? However, correct me if I'm wrong but that was a playback right? The song is quite catchy. Weird lyrics but it's AoL! Green light from me!

Lucia Piñera - Must Be Love
"We could have had it aaaaaaaaaaaaaaall, rolling in the deeeeeeeeeeeep...." Sorry I got carried away. That's not what Lucia was singing. Or was it? No? Ok. It's not bad but I need to hear the full version.

Robin Stjernberg - You
His voice annoys me and the song is nothing special. Next!

Syliva Vrethammar - Trivialitet
Seriously? o.O For the love of God! Really I'm like wtf? I don't like it. I find it boring and the perfect candidate for the 8th place! 

Ralf Gyllenhammar - Bed On Fire
Brolle in 20 years from now? Hopefully not! Ralf, dear Ralf. What is this? I have to say I got scared for a moment... You'll know in which part. Not really my cup of tea...

Behrang Miri - Jalla Dansa Sawa
That's nice actually. Perfect after this snoozefest we had until now (AoL are an excpetion). 

Terese Frendenwall - Breaking The Silence
The winner of "Svensktoppen nästa".... I'm not fan of the song. I got a Lisa Miskovsky wannabe vibe and that's not good...

Ulrik Munther - Tell The World I'm Here
Better than last year's attempt. Much better I can say. For my taste. But still it's nothing "wow". I see him making it to the final though... Little girls will vote for him.


So it's Army of Lovers and Behrang to the final for me. Or Lucia (yeah I know!) instead of Behrang. I'll be fine with Ulrik too. I guess.

Anyway, let's go the important part of the fourth semi! The opening and interval acts! Petra Mede will open the semi on Staturday! :D Wiiiie!! I've no idea what she's gonna do but I don't care! It's Petra Mede!

And the highlight for me...

Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/Scanpix

ALCAZAR

Alcazar will perform on Staruday! That's the interval act! Danny will be the "4th member" (a bit -.- here)... No idea what he's gonna do. Why does he have to be involved in everything? Really? Can't they let my Alcazar do their thing? Ok, ok. I stop whinning. I'm actually in a great great mood! Because I am going to Malmö!!!! I went through a mini (serious) depression the day I found out they'll perform in mello but that was it. I bought a ticket for tomorrow's general rehearsal! There was no way I will let them "go away" again! I haven't seen them since Stockholm Pride 2011! They have reunited a few times since then but it was either for private performances, or they were too far, or I had no money (ok I don't have money now but to hell with it! I'm going!) or I found out about the performance after they did it! That's it! I'm going to see them! Tomorrow I am going to Malmö!

So on Saturday morning [(if I manage to come back home somehow) coz I haven't booked a ticket to come home yet] you will have, for the first time through my blog, a review about what you will see on tv on Saturday evening!

Greece 2013 - With Koza Mostra & Agathonas Iakovidis to Malmö!

Ok my home country picked its entry tonight. It's Koza Mostra & Agathonas Iakovidis with "Alcohol Is Free". God I don't like it! 0 points! My favourite was Thomai Apergi with "One Last Kiss". Yeah I know it's too Nina Zilli but it was the only song I liked out of these 4 we had. Alex Leon ft Giorgina with "Angel" and Aggeliki Iliadi with "Hilies Ke Mia Nyhtes" were the other two.

Apart from the results I loved the entire show! It was amazing! Ruslana, Marija Šerifović, Dima Bilan and Alexander Rybak were there and performed their winning entries along with other Greek artists. (the videos should be on YouTube soon) However the highlight of the night was totally Vicky Leandros who sang "Apre Tois" with Helena Paparizou! Helena sang also a new remixed version of "My Number One" Vegas. (thanks to helenapaparizouclub.gr for the videos!) 

We also had Despina Olympiou, the Cypriot entrant with "An Me Thimase" and Eleftheria Eleftheriou with Ivi Adamou singing a mash-up of their 2012 entries. Really nice! 

So yeah, great night, horrible result!

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?

Austria 2013 - With Natália Kelly to Malmö!

Photo: Milenko Badzic (ORF)

I'm happy again! Thank you Austria and welcome to my top 10! For the first time ever! :O You should be really happy about this guys! Hahahaha! "Shine" was my winner since the day I heard the 5 songs! I really hope Natália makes it to the final in May! Good luck guys! Good choice! :D

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!