It doesn't matter if life wanna prove us wrong

I was reading about Måns Zelmerlöw's upcoming album MZW and was pleased at a few bits of information I hadn't previously heard. Though we already knew that the Fredrik Kempe/Henrik Wikström team was involved (see: "Hope & Glory"), that Ishi was involved, and that "Impossible" was written with Aleena Gibson and Dan Sundquist, there were a few names linked to the album as either writers or producers that were new: Moh Denebi, Jason Gill/David Clewett, and Peter Boström, a.k.a Bassflow! I bet you all can guess which name I'm most excited about.

As for the others, Jason Gill has done many songs, among them Sofia's "Hypnotized," Ola's "Given To Fly" and "My Home" (I know most of you think Ola didn't do anything noteworthy until his second album and I'll agree that's where his music suddenly became amazing, but I do like a few songs from his debut album), but it's one of his most recent pieces of work that I love the most: Darin's "Paradise." David Clewett wasn't a name I was familiar with, but apparently he co-wrote Bananarama's "Move In My Direction." "Move In My Direction" + "Paradise" would be a divine combination, but, much as I'd like it to happen, I can't imagine it will: that would require a.) both songwriters to be living up to their best, and b.) a dancier direction than Måns is probably taking for this album. At least one Gill/Clewett song (I don't know how many there are) is probably "Rewind," which has in a songwriter context been referred to as "Rewind (Back To Summertime)," a fact which probably only interests you if you're desperate for every little bit of information you can get about this album...like me.

Moh Denebi is someone I associate with Dilba (including, coincidentally enough, "Every Little Thing"). His songs often have some of that "ethnic" flair to them and can be kind of R&B.

I've mentioned Ishi and his involvement with this album before. As I said then, he's done work with Petter and Lazee which, at its most interesting, combines hard electro with R&B. "Hold On" is the title of one of the songs on Måns's album and for a second the idea that it was a version of the Lazee and Neverstore track co-written by Ishi crossed my mind, but given that that was a single (and not just an album track like Fredrik Kempe's "Miss America"), it's far too unlikely that Måns would re-use it. I think.

The album is potentially shaping up to be pretty R&B-ish, but I'm going to hold onto the hope that with Måns that will just mean pop with some bite to it. Maybe the best news is that, though Oswalds Popcorn has a middling opinion of the album as a whole, Ken loves "Forever," which is a Fredrik Kempe song. Apparently it's Måns's least favorite song on the album, which is a worrying; granted, I haven't heard it yet, but I hope the (honestly respectable) fourth place finish he pulled on Saturday didn't so disillusion him that he stops working with Fredrik entirely. That would be a real shame.

On the random front, Måns has obviously co-written many songs that haven't made the cut, but, much as I love the idea of him and Johan Bobäck (Elin Lanto's "Speak 'n Spell," Cyndi Lauper's "Into The Nightlife," Darin's "Seasons Fly," Jeanette's "Undress To The Beat") collaborating together, let's be honest: it's probably best that a track with the title "Sexceed" won't be appearing on the album (it was also co-written with Joachim Nilsson, so it could easily not have been on the edgy electro side like I wish it was). Måns said in an interview last fall that he was working with Anders Bagge, but I've not seen any reference to those songs making it onto the album.