I don't usually spend much time on mash-ups--rarely for me do they exceed the pleasure of listening to the original songs. Sometimes, though, even if they can't do that, they succeed in reawakening your love for the originals and cluing you in to aspects you never fully paid attention to before.
(Thanks to Alex for the tip!)
Just when I thought I was losing interest in "Poker Face," here comes DJ King Rollo with a mash-up of Charlotte Perrelli's "Hero" and Lady GaGa's "Poker Face," re-entitled "Hero Face." Taking the instrumental from "Hero" and the vocals from "Poker Face," the end result is a-mah-mah-mazing. It's really well done and, if nothing else, should increase your appreciation for just how killer (and beautiful) Fredrik Kempe and Bobby Ljunggren's writing and Bassflow's production are, as well as maybe get you thinking that the toplines Lady GaGa co-writes could work outside the RedOne context. Though I'm sure she'll never go in this direction, "Hero"'s combination of this style of electronic beats, longing strings, and piano all creating a poppy song is something that has a substance to it that I don't think even I--who loves "Hero"--fully appreciated until hearing this mash-up. As much as "Hero" got written off as a cheap Europop rip-off of "Cara Mia" in some quarters (not here!), if anything, this mash-up proves to me just how international in quality the work that went into it is.
In short: probably the best song I've heard this week (edit: though the chorus of Girls Aloud's "It's Your Dynamite" is really good).
Showing posts with label Charlotte Perrelli. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Charlotte Perrelli. Show all posts
Friday, April 24, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
#23 Charlotte Perrelli, "Hero"
This is a story
Of love and compassion
Only heroes can tell
Whenever this song is playing, it's the best song in the world. Unfortunately, it can't be playing all the time, and I'm just a little hesitant to press play sometimes--blame the fact that it go so much play from me this year (which should hardly be something a song is penalized for, but I've yet to figure out a way beyond my excitement about a song to measure where it belongs here)--which makes me feel like I can't honestly put it at the top of this list. Almost a year on, though, "Hero" remains exhilarating. It does bear resemblance to "Cara Mia," another Fredrik Kempe-penned Melodifestival song, but there's something even more triumphant about "Hero," something that all these months on gets me all worked up about the middle 8 and the twirling camera, three part point, and key change--oh, that key change, and oh, can Charlotte sing--that accompanied it. Charlotte made being iconic look easy. I'm not sure if I had a better music-related experience this year than being surrounded by a bunch of people jumping around and going crazy while Charlotte performed this song at the Globe during the Melodifestival final. Being surrounded by people whose passion for music you love equals yours, especially when it's a type of pop we never get here in the U.S.: priceless. There may be a Melodifestival song and a Eurovision song ahead of it in this countdown, but "Hero" deserved to win both contests.Find it on: Hero
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Turning fighters into lovers
(Elements of this post have been sitting as a draft for quite some time, so not all of these links are to incredibly recent posts; that just means that they've stood the test of time, though.)
A few songs I was introduced by blogworld that I think are worth your time:
Poptastic posted "Watch This Space," a song from (the Paul-promoted British High-School-Musical-as-TV-series) Britannia High (watch the scene from the show below). It's a great pure pop song with a dance beat underneath the chorus.
PopJustice featured a clip of a song from Alesha's new album, "Let's Get Excited." It's more up-tempo than most of the sampler. Have I said on here that "Colours Of The Rainbow," the track her website is giving away, is enjoyable, too? It is.
#1 Hits From Another Planet wrote about Norwegian project Karatkorn's "The Distance In A Romance," which is lush dance/electro-pop--absolutely gorgeous. Kind of Kylie-esque, but that beautiful spacey side of Kylie, not the full-on disco rush, though it's not a slow song.
MuuMuse introduced me to the latest music from Blake Lewis--he features on a Darude cover of "I Ran" by Flock of Seagulls. Take it for what it is, an opportunity to hear Blake's vocals on something--don't go in expecting something like his debut album.
Fizzy Pop raved about the debut single from British duo Same Difference (and put it in proper pop history context), and with good reason--"We R One" is pure "pure pop" heaven, key change and all. A must-listen, definitely.
Don't Stop The Pop introduced me to Swedish singer Neo, whose song "Flower Power Supergirl"--poppy, uptempo, camp, catchy (not enough men making music like this)--is one I'm eagerly looking forward to being able to buy--album out this week! The same post also included a mention of Rosanna and her excellent song "Gameboy," with a promise to write more about it in the future.
On the non-introducing songs but still excellent front...
Adem wrote a fantastic review of Girls Aloud's "Out Of Control." I'll probably never get around to properly writing up my thoughts on even one of the songs off of it, but "The Loving Kind" and "Miss You Bow Wow" are my favorites at the moment.
Fabtastic Music made me wish Charlotte Perrelli would get to do a tour like a big US or UK act would.
Olga Loves Yuri took us on a tour of Norway with Annie.
XO's Middle Eight gives us more information about Take That's upcoming album, one which I'm very excited for (and I still love the video, cheese and all).
I adore D'luv's personal post about Pet Shop Boys.
Pop Music Notes is such a welcome part of the pop blog scene--you'll read about artists there that aren't really being covered elsewhere (as well as some who are). John's also being making me really jealous by writing about all the concerts he's been to recently.
Gosh, you start on this and you just keep thinking of a million things you want to link to...best to continue later, though, or else no one will bother with any of this.
A few songs I was introduced by blogworld that I think are worth your time:
Poptastic posted "Watch This Space," a song from (the Paul-promoted British High-School-Musical-as-TV-series) Britannia High (watch the scene from the show below). It's a great pure pop song with a dance beat underneath the chorus.
PopJustice featured a clip of a song from Alesha's new album, "Let's Get Excited." It's more up-tempo than most of the sampler. Have I said on here that "Colours Of The Rainbow," the track her website is giving away, is enjoyable, too? It is.
#1 Hits From Another Planet wrote about Norwegian project Karatkorn's "The Distance In A Romance," which is lush dance/electro-pop--absolutely gorgeous. Kind of Kylie-esque, but that beautiful spacey side of Kylie, not the full-on disco rush, though it's not a slow song.
MuuMuse introduced me to the latest music from Blake Lewis--he features on a Darude cover of "I Ran" by Flock of Seagulls. Take it for what it is, an opportunity to hear Blake's vocals on something--don't go in expecting something like his debut album.
Fizzy Pop raved about the debut single from British duo Same Difference (and put it in proper pop history context), and with good reason--"We R One" is pure "pure pop" heaven, key change and all. A must-listen, definitely.
Don't Stop The Pop introduced me to Swedish singer Neo, whose song "Flower Power Supergirl"--poppy, uptempo, camp, catchy (not enough men making music like this)--is one I'm eagerly looking forward to being able to buy--album out this week! The same post also included a mention of Rosanna and her excellent song "Gameboy," with a promise to write more about it in the future.
On the non-introducing songs but still excellent front...
Adem wrote a fantastic review of Girls Aloud's "Out Of Control." I'll probably never get around to properly writing up my thoughts on even one of the songs off of it, but "The Loving Kind" and "Miss You Bow Wow" are my favorites at the moment.
Fabtastic Music made me wish Charlotte Perrelli would get to do a tour like a big US or UK act would.
Olga Loves Yuri took us on a tour of Norway with Annie.
XO's Middle Eight gives us more information about Take That's upcoming album, one which I'm very excited for (and I still love the video, cheese and all).
I adore D'luv's personal post about Pet Shop Boys.
Pop Music Notes is such a welcome part of the pop blog scene--you'll read about artists there that aren't really being covered elsewhere (as well as some who are). John's also being making me really jealous by writing about all the concerts he's been to recently.
Gosh, you start on this and you just keep thinking of a million things you want to link to...best to continue later, though, or else no one will bother with any of this.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
A brand new star
Once again, like last year, I'm left feeling there's little left for me to say about the results of the Eurovision final; my thoughts have already been expressed elsewhere in ways much more eloquent and concise way than I would have used. I'm not thrilled about the winner for several reasons and second place finisher Ukraine would have been a much more exciting winner for me (as well as my favorite winner of the '00's, I think), but life goes on. Well, how life is going to go on for the next few months without Eurovision to distract me, I've got no idea, but apparently it does.
Let's look at Ani Lorak performing "Shady Lady" one more time, though. Love those light-up boxes.
Those disco strings in the middle 8 get me every time. And the little head bobs that accompany the beeps. When will I learn, though? I should never rewatch performances from Eurovision or national finals--they never seem to come off as great as I remember them being.
I'm sad about Sweden's result, of course, but the song is still fantastic (in my eyes); I'm not sure whether it was a matter of staging, competing with similar songs for the same votes, the song being in a style most of Europe isn't interested in, or what, but it just failed to connect with Europe. A shame, since "Hero" deserves to be remembered fondly and Charlotte thought of well--I hope that can still happen anyway, at least in Sweden. It'll be interesting to see what Sweden votes for next year--there's been kind of a "vote for something beyond what people associate Sweden with"/that fails/"vote for 'typical Swedish music'" pattern going on for the past few years--what happens next?
I would've liked to see the lovely Eurobandið higher up on the scoreboard at the end of the night, too, but I'm still happy for Iceland that they made it to the finals.
Still, ALL of these artists--three of my four favorites, the three that made it to the final--did better than my favorite last year...so I think I'm just used to my taste not lining up with Europe's in Eurovision. Plus, only four of my preferred ten may have qualified from the second semifinal and an entry I adored may not have won out in the end, but really, the final itself was really enjoyable for me.
On a slightly different but still Eurovision-related note, the UK jury's vote for the final looked roughly (though not necessarily exactly; Latvia and Norway could be reversed and Finland and Portugal, though in the right order, could possibly have one more point each) like this (thank you again!):
Let's look at Ani Lorak performing "Shady Lady" one more time, though. Love those light-up boxes.
Those disco strings in the middle 8 get me every time. And the little head bobs that accompany the beeps. When will I learn, though? I should never rewatch performances from Eurovision or national finals--they never seem to come off as great as I remember them being.
I'm sad about Sweden's result, of course, but the song is still fantastic (in my eyes); I'm not sure whether it was a matter of staging, competing with similar songs for the same votes, the song being in a style most of Europe isn't interested in, or what, but it just failed to connect with Europe. A shame, since "Hero" deserves to be remembered fondly and Charlotte thought of well--I hope that can still happen anyway, at least in Sweden. It'll be interesting to see what Sweden votes for next year--there's been kind of a "vote for something beyond what people associate Sweden with"/that fails/"vote for 'typical Swedish music'" pattern going on for the past few years--what happens next?
I would've liked to see the lovely Eurobandið higher up on the scoreboard at the end of the night, too, but I'm still happy for Iceland that they made it to the finals.
Still, ALL of these artists--three of my four favorites, the three that made it to the final--did better than my favorite last year...so I think I'm just used to my taste not lining up with Europe's in Eurovision. Plus, only four of my preferred ten may have qualified from the second semifinal and an entry I adored may not have won out in the end, but really, the final itself was really enjoyable for me.
On a slightly different but still Eurovision-related note, the UK jury's vote for the final looked roughly (though not necessarily exactly; Latvia and Norway could be reversed and Finland and Portugal, though in the right order, could possibly have one more point each) like this (thank you again!):
12 - Sweden
10 - Latvia
8 - Norway
7 - Iceland
6 - Ukraine
5 - Denmark
4 - Finland
3 - Portugal
2 - Israel
1 - Armenia
Thursday, May 22, 2008
All the pain, all the joy it brings
Just a quick, getting-things-out-of-my system post:
4/10 of my favorites through this time, but I'm really not going to complain. I mean, sure, I would've loved to see Paolo go through (though as Len said, his voice wasn't all I was hoping for), and yes, I think Bulgaria was great (and though I've not really got an attachment to "Vodka," it would have been nice to see poor Malta do well), but really...
SWEDEN AND ICELAND ARE THROUGH!
When the male announcer started to hum "Hero" and announced Sweden's name (just after Iceland had been pronounced safe), it was as if my spine disappeared and I collapsed onto the couch I was sitting on--I was already pretty sure about poor Paolo's fate, so I really couldn't have asked for more.
It's fantastic Ukraine's through as well, though that wasn't really in doubt--they'll have more of my mental and emotional support on Saturday, when it'll matter more.
Plus, the countries through generally gave solid performances.
Speaking of solid performances: tricky, tricky Denmark, trying to win my nonexistent vote with your good-looking singer. It will not work, I tell you!
Also, I'm already plotting about how on Earth I'm going to get myself to wherever Eurovision 2009 is--I mean, it's not like school or money is that important, right?
Here, in remembrance of Paolo, is the promo video for "Era Stupendo," which I love--I know it could seem incongruous to some, but for me it captures the song's energy so well.
4/10 of my favorites through this time, but I'm really not going to complain. I mean, sure, I would've loved to see Paolo go through (though as Len said, his voice wasn't all I was hoping for), and yes, I think Bulgaria was great (and though I've not really got an attachment to "Vodka," it would have been nice to see poor Malta do well), but really...
SWEDEN AND ICELAND ARE THROUGH!
When the male announcer started to hum "Hero" and announced Sweden's name (just after Iceland had been pronounced safe), it was as if my spine disappeared and I collapsed onto the couch I was sitting on--I was already pretty sure about poor Paolo's fate, so I really couldn't have asked for more.
It's fantastic Ukraine's through as well, though that wasn't really in doubt--they'll have more of my mental and emotional support on Saturday, when it'll matter more.
Plus, the countries through generally gave solid performances.
Speaking of solid performances: tricky, tricky Denmark, trying to win my nonexistent vote with your good-looking singer. It will not work, I tell you!
Also, I'm already plotting about how on Earth I'm going to get myself to wherever Eurovision 2009 is--I mean, it's not like school or money is that important, right?
Here, in remembrance of Paolo, is the promo video for "Era Stupendo," which I love--I know it could seem incongruous to some, but for me it captures the song's energy so well.
Oh my days, like fairytales
...and we're off again: my favorites in the second semifinal.
Eurobandið, "This Is My Life" (Iceland)
Ah, Eurobandið--I've been in love since the first taste of this song last fall, when it was called "Fullkomið lif" and was more schlager than the energetic dance it is now. I think I've continually complained about the change in style (not that I disliked its new version, just that I thought it lost something)...until now. I went back and listened to "Fullkomið lif" again and, whether it's just me becoming accustomed to the new version or something else, I can now officially say that I'm fine with it in its new version. In fact, I prefer it. Eep. Backtrack much? Anyway, speaking without regards to the odds, I think I can fairly say that few results this year would make me more ecstatic than an Icelandic win--I love this song and poor Iceland has sent so many great songs in fairly recent years, often without proper reward. I'll be desperately hoping they make it out the semifinals.
Charlotte Perrelli, "Hero" (Sweden)
...but boy, am I worried that the one-two-four punch of danceable pop songs is going to end up really hurting someone. Do I need to say much more about this song? I adore it--disco-pop performed by a true professional; I can only pray Europe takes it to its heart. Please let everything transfer well to the Eurovision stage! The song that I would most love to win the whole thing.
Ani Lorak, "Shady Lady" (Ukraine)
I LOVE this song. Love Ani as a performer (from what I've seen). Out of the names people are tossing around as likely winners, it's the one I'd most like to take it. "Shady Lady" is dramatic revvy disco pop, the sort of song I thought we'd be getting from Dimitris Kontopoulos in the Greek national final. My heart of hearts, though, still belongs to Sweden, though I know Ani will take to the stage like a sexy dervish with an eye towards filling up the arena and demolishing all competition and may very well have a bigger performance that leaves a bigger impression on viewers.
Paolo Meneguzzi, "Era Stupendo" (Switzerland)
Aww, Paolo. Well, I love him--that's well documented; have ever since PinkieDust introduced me to him last spring or so. "Ti Amo Ti Odio" even ranked as my eighteenth favorite single of 2007. In other words, I like his musical style, I like what he does--and I love this too. "Era Stupendo" starts off as lovely ballad before morphing into a more up-tempo song, but one that still has a bit of a ballad feel. It's a lovely feel good song with a lovely feel good promotional video and I would be so thrilled to see it do well. I'm very worried, though.
Now, those four songs I've just listed are my true favorites (out of those four, I'd be most excited about Sweden, Iceland, or Switzerland winning, but Ukraine has the best chance of it), the four that mean the most to me--not just in the second semifinal, but overall. The next song is in a kind of second tier.
Tereza Kerndlová, "Have Some Fun" (Czech Republic)
You know how I didn't complain about changes to the Icelandic song? This is where I start complaining. I always knew that this was a song that never really stood much of a chance of leaving an impression on the Eurovision audience (and apparently its rehearsals have been a mess), but in that early national finals season, this was one of my favorites, a sweet Europop song with a Timbaland-type beat underneath and some lovely string-like sound effects that are somewhere between fluttering and frantic. I know they had to shorten it down to meet the three minute requirements, but did we really have to get those added Greek-style instrumental flourishes? Sigh. Those really detract from the song for me.
...and after that, a third tier of songs:
Ruslan, "Hasta La Vista" (Belarus)
I've avoided re-listening to the original pop version of this song in hopes that I could adjust to this new rock version, so I can't go into too much detail about my complaints except to say that I remember being very disappointed when the change was revealed--who knows, maybe if I went back and relistened to the original I'd realize it was actually a change for the better. I can't say I'm too invested in this doing well, but it's OK. It does give us the line that gives this post its title (it's actually "all my days like fairytales," but that's how I first heard it and now I can't hear anything else).
Pirates Of The Sea, "Wolves Of The Sea" (Latvia)
I feel like I'm going to be attacked by Eurofans every time I admit this, but if Schlagerprick and Chig can admit it, so I can I: I like this. Yes, it's kind of cheap and tacky (catchy Europop/dance that sounds like it could have been made for young kids, by the way), but there's something about its bouncy fun that reels me in.
The countries I want to make it to the final (based just on the songs, not on how well they'll come across when performed, and what I'd like to happen, not what I think will happen), then:
Sweden
Iceland
Ukraine
Switzerland
Czech Republic
Latvia
Belarus
...oh, and I don't know after that...maybe Bulgaria. That's odd--I didn't realize it until now, but, although I've been looking forward to the second semifinal more than the first, I don't think there are ten songs I'm really cheering for here, whereas I was able to choose ten for the first. Let's throw in FYR Macedonia and...I don't know, Malta or Albania or something. Let's go with Malta. (Edit: a few more spins and I'm more enthusiastic--Bulgaria especially deserves to at least be in my third tier of songs--but I'm open to performances swaying me to shift my support.)
Random thoughts on other songs: it was while watching the promo for Inför ESC (Sweden's preview show for this year's Eurovision songs) that I realized what Denmark's song ("All Night Long" by Simon Matthews) reminds me of: it's a commercial song. As in, a song made to play in the background of a commercial--about twenty seconds of sound, mildly catchy mid-tempo chorus but in a completely non-distracting way, completely generic. Apparently he's a solid performer, but "All Night Long" is just so completely uninspiring.
I keep reading good things from the people actually in Belgrade about Croatia, but it's not won me over yet. I've got a similar reaction to the very positive feelings behind Portugal, too; apparently it comes across amazingly when performed and I know there were positive feelings about it even before that, but I'm not sold yet.
Eurobandið, "This Is My Life" (Iceland)
Ah, Eurobandið--I've been in love since the first taste of this song last fall, when it was called "Fullkomið lif" and was more schlager than the energetic dance it is now. I think I've continually complained about the change in style (not that I disliked its new version, just that I thought it lost something)...until now. I went back and listened to "Fullkomið lif" again and, whether it's just me becoming accustomed to the new version or something else, I can now officially say that I'm fine with it in its new version. In fact, I prefer it. Eep. Backtrack much? Anyway, speaking without regards to the odds, I think I can fairly say that few results this year would make me more ecstatic than an Icelandic win--I love this song and poor Iceland has sent so many great songs in fairly recent years, often without proper reward. I'll be desperately hoping they make it out the semifinals.
Charlotte Perrelli, "Hero" (Sweden)
...but boy, am I worried that the one-two-four punch of danceable pop songs is going to end up really hurting someone. Do I need to say much more about this song? I adore it--disco-pop performed by a true professional; I can only pray Europe takes it to its heart. Please let everything transfer well to the Eurovision stage! The song that I would most love to win the whole thing.
Ani Lorak, "Shady Lady" (Ukraine)
I LOVE this song. Love Ani as a performer (from what I've seen). Out of the names people are tossing around as likely winners, it's the one I'd most like to take it. "Shady Lady" is dramatic revvy disco pop, the sort of song I thought we'd be getting from Dimitris Kontopoulos in the Greek national final. My heart of hearts, though, still belongs to Sweden, though I know Ani will take to the stage like a sexy dervish with an eye towards filling up the arena and demolishing all competition and may very well have a bigger performance that leaves a bigger impression on viewers.
Paolo Meneguzzi, "Era Stupendo" (Switzerland)
Aww, Paolo. Well, I love him--that's well documented; have ever since PinkieDust introduced me to him last spring or so. "Ti Amo Ti Odio" even ranked as my eighteenth favorite single of 2007. In other words, I like his musical style, I like what he does--and I love this too. "Era Stupendo" starts off as lovely ballad before morphing into a more up-tempo song, but one that still has a bit of a ballad feel. It's a lovely feel good song with a lovely feel good promotional video and I would be so thrilled to see it do well. I'm very worried, though.
Now, those four songs I've just listed are my true favorites (out of those four, I'd be most excited about Sweden, Iceland, or Switzerland winning, but Ukraine has the best chance of it), the four that mean the most to me--not just in the second semifinal, but overall. The next song is in a kind of second tier.
Tereza Kerndlová, "Have Some Fun" (Czech Republic)
You know how I didn't complain about changes to the Icelandic song? This is where I start complaining. I always knew that this was a song that never really stood much of a chance of leaving an impression on the Eurovision audience (and apparently its rehearsals have been a mess), but in that early national finals season, this was one of my favorites, a sweet Europop song with a Timbaland-type beat underneath and some lovely string-like sound effects that are somewhere between fluttering and frantic. I know they had to shorten it down to meet the three minute requirements, but did we really have to get those added Greek-style instrumental flourishes? Sigh. Those really detract from the song for me.
...and after that, a third tier of songs:
Ruslan, "Hasta La Vista" (Belarus)
I've avoided re-listening to the original pop version of this song in hopes that I could adjust to this new rock version, so I can't go into too much detail about my complaints except to say that I remember being very disappointed when the change was revealed--who knows, maybe if I went back and relistened to the original I'd realize it was actually a change for the better. I can't say I'm too invested in this doing well, but it's OK. It does give us the line that gives this post its title (it's actually "all my days like fairytales," but that's how I first heard it and now I can't hear anything else).
Pirates Of The Sea, "Wolves Of The Sea" (Latvia)
I feel like I'm going to be attacked by Eurofans every time I admit this, but if Schlagerprick and Chig can admit it, so I can I: I like this. Yes, it's kind of cheap and tacky (catchy Europop/dance that sounds like it could have been made for young kids, by the way), but there's something about its bouncy fun that reels me in.
The countries I want to make it to the final (based just on the songs, not on how well they'll come across when performed, and what I'd like to happen, not what I think will happen), then:
Sweden
Iceland
Ukraine
Switzerland
Czech Republic
Latvia
Belarus
...oh, and I don't know after that...maybe Bulgaria. That's odd--I didn't realize it until now, but, although I've been looking forward to the second semifinal more than the first, I don't think there are ten songs I'm really cheering for here, whereas I was able to choose ten for the first. Let's throw in FYR Macedonia and...I don't know, Malta or Albania or something. Let's go with Malta. (Edit: a few more spins and I'm more enthusiastic--Bulgaria especially deserves to at least be in my third tier of songs--but I'm open to performances swaying me to shift my support.)
Random thoughts on other songs: it was while watching the promo for Inför ESC (Sweden's preview show for this year's Eurovision songs) that I realized what Denmark's song ("All Night Long" by Simon Matthews) reminds me of: it's a commercial song. As in, a song made to play in the background of a commercial--about twenty seconds of sound, mildly catchy mid-tempo chorus but in a completely non-distracting way, completely generic. Apparently he's a solid performer, but "All Night Long" is just so completely uninspiring.
I keep reading good things from the people actually in Belgrade about Croatia, but it's not won me over yet. I've got a similar reaction to the very positive feelings behind Portugal, too; apparently it comes across amazingly when performed and I know there were positive feelings about it even before that, but I'm not sold yet.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Growing stronger and stronger
The video for Charlotte Perrelli's "Hero" is out.
I would provide some actual commentary but I'm too busy disco dancing around the room--"Hero" still has that effect on me months on. Well, except to ask: wasn't she going to be standing on the Globe for part of it? I didn't really understand how that worked, so I was kind of curious to actually see it.
(News via ESC Today.)
I would provide some actual commentary but I'm too busy disco dancing around the room--"Hero" still has that effect on me months on. Well, except to ask: wasn't she going to be standing on the Globe for part of it? I didn't really understand how that worked, so I was kind of curious to actually see it.
(News via ESC Today.)
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Going through the gears...
Just an FYI...
"Bullet" by Charlote Perrelli is in all likelihood the best song you will hear ALL MONTH, and quite probably for the next few months as well.
Have you ordered the album yet? Buy it! Buy it! Buy it!
Fans of "Hero" will pass out when they hear it, but it's not a carbon copy of "Hero" in any way, shape, or form, nor does it have any of that slightly by numbers or slightly lifeless feel that some schlager (the not-so-great songs) can take--in fact, "schlager" isn't even the right word to use here. It's co-written by Fredrik Kempe (of "Hero," "Cara Mia"--why am I even saying this? You all know who he is by now) and produced by Bassflow ("Hero," Ola's "Love In Stereo"/"S.O.S."/"Natalie"/"Can't Get Enough," and loads of other ace songs), so you still have that punchy racing pop feel pulsing through the song, but there's a hint of rock here, and just this one hook that's a little pop-rock-soul--just one hook, though, pushed into the mix of a flat-out amazing Swedish pop song. In other words, it's a pop stormer of the highest order, the production style of "Hero" mixed with the punchiness of--oh, who am I kidding, basically, it's BRILLIANT.
If this isn't a SMASH HIT, I don't know what is.
I'm begging: order the album. Please don't just download it illegally. I promise, it's worth it for "Bullet" alone.
(Listen to clips on Swedish iTunes.)
(Side note: this song really makes me wish I was signed up to a forum just so I could use a dramatic picture of Charlotte as my avatar and "Could take a bullet" as the little description thing near my name.)
Edit: it's on YouTube! You really need to hear it in high quality, though.
"Bullet" by Charlote Perrelli is in all likelihood the best song you will hear ALL MONTH, and quite probably for the next few months as well.
Have you ordered the album yet? Buy it! Buy it! Buy it!
Fans of "Hero" will pass out when they hear it, but it's not a carbon copy of "Hero" in any way, shape, or form, nor does it have any of that slightly by numbers or slightly lifeless feel that some schlager (the not-so-great songs) can take--in fact, "schlager" isn't even the right word to use here. It's co-written by Fredrik Kempe (of "Hero," "Cara Mia"--why am I even saying this? You all know who he is by now) and produced by Bassflow ("Hero," Ola's "Love In Stereo"/"S.O.S."/"Natalie"/"Can't Get Enough," and loads of other ace songs), so you still have that punchy racing pop feel pulsing through the song, but there's a hint of rock here, and just this one hook that's a little pop-rock-soul--just one hook, though, pushed into the mix of a flat-out amazing Swedish pop song. In other words, it's a pop stormer of the highest order, the production style of "Hero" mixed with the punchiness of--oh, who am I kidding, basically, it's BRILLIANT.
If this isn't a SMASH HIT, I don't know what is.
I'm begging: order the album. Please don't just download it illegally. I promise, it's worth it for "Bullet" alone.
(Listen to clips on Swedish iTunes.)
(Side note: this song really makes me wish I was signed up to a forum just so I could use a dramatic picture of Charlotte as my avatar and "Could take a bullet" as the little description thing near my name.)
Edit: it's on YouTube! You really need to hear it in high quality, though.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Addicted
Super-quick post--more thoughts later, maybe, but for now, the (apparent) tracklisting for Charlotte Perrelli's upcoming album Hero, due out April 23.
1.) Bullet
2.) Hero
3.) Addicted
4.) Remedy
5.) Show Me A Mountain
6.) Appreciate
7.) Holy Man
8.) A Lot Like Love
9.) Not Alone
10.) Slowly
11.) Black And Blue
1.) Bullet
2.) Hero
3.) Addicted
4.) Remedy
5.) Show Me A Mountain
6.) Appreciate
7.) Holy Man
8.) A Lot Like Love
9.) Not Alone
10.) Slowly
11.) Black And Blue
Thursday, March 27, 2008
You should know that I am head over heels for you
Sad that you weren't able to spend your last Saturday night watching Melodifestivalen? Why not try to ease the pain with your own Swedish TV mix-and-match (i.e., feel free to skip anything that doesn't interest you) special, taken from the past few months!
I'm sure other performers have used the spinny camera at the big climatic moment in the song trick, but now that Charlotte has so totally claimed it, I can't help thinking of "Hero" right in the middle of this performance of EMD's new single, "Jennie Let Me Love You," which they performed on Let's Dance. Still, I'm totally buying this when it comes out. (Plus, bonus points for the "twisted sheets"/"sore heart beats" rhyme--that should go right up there with "fire"/"desire.")
Anna Sahlene was BRILLIANT in musical gameshow Så ska det låta this past weekend. She was teamed up with Peter Johansson against Carola and Andreas Johnson, and not only did she prove herself (as if it needed further proving) to be a fantastic singer with a great knowledge of music (she and Peter ran away with the contest), she's also made me wish even more for another album from her. Heck, I'd take an album of disco covers at this point, something which we got a taste of from several of her performances. Unfortunately, though seemingly everything her partner performed has been uploaded on YouTube, most of Anna's performances haven't been yet. Still, you can watch the whole thing here if you want to, and you can watch her perform a slowed down version of "Runaway" below.
Time for a commercial break. I'm not sure if this ad is being run in the U.S. or UK (my guess is no, at least on the US front), but it's getting airing in Scandinavian countries, even causing Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence" to creep up the iTunes charts there.
Taking us back into our regularly scheduled programming is Alcazar, performing their fantastic latest single "We Keep On Rockin'" (I was going to rave about it but never did, did I?) on Let's Dance. I'm beyond thrilled to have them back and can't wait to hear some more material from them. I think they're facing off against EMD on some upcoming TV show, too...
There's some great staging going on in September's performance of "Because I Love You" on Bingolotto. She really imbues those opening lines with emotion, and I love the use of lights for the transition into the more "dance" part of the song.
Not from TV--taken from her official website, in fact--but if you want to hear a few clips of Charlotte Perrelli working on songs for her new album in studio, go to near the end of this clip.
And what better way to end our Melodifestivalen substitute than with the track rejected from the 2006 Melodifestival that ended up being the biggest selling single in 2007? Courtesy of Så ska det låta again (though a different week), here's Amy Diamond and Fredrik Swahn singing it after winning.
I'm sure other performers have used the spinny camera at the big climatic moment in the song trick, but now that Charlotte has so totally claimed it, I can't help thinking of "Hero" right in the middle of this performance of EMD's new single, "Jennie Let Me Love You," which they performed on Let's Dance. Still, I'm totally buying this when it comes out. (Plus, bonus points for the "twisted sheets"/"sore heart beats" rhyme--that should go right up there with "fire"/"desire.")
Anna Sahlene was BRILLIANT in musical gameshow Så ska det låta this past weekend. She was teamed up with Peter Johansson against Carola and Andreas Johnson, and not only did she prove herself (as if it needed further proving) to be a fantastic singer with a great knowledge of music (she and Peter ran away with the contest), she's also made me wish even more for another album from her. Heck, I'd take an album of disco covers at this point, something which we got a taste of from several of her performances. Unfortunately, though seemingly everything her partner performed has been uploaded on YouTube, most of Anna's performances haven't been yet. Still, you can watch the whole thing here if you want to, and you can watch her perform a slowed down version of "Runaway" below.
Time for a commercial break. I'm not sure if this ad is being run in the U.S. or UK (my guess is no, at least on the US front), but it's getting airing in Scandinavian countries, even causing Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence" to creep up the iTunes charts there.
Taking us back into our regularly scheduled programming is Alcazar, performing their fantastic latest single "We Keep On Rockin'" (I was going to rave about it but never did, did I?) on Let's Dance. I'm beyond thrilled to have them back and can't wait to hear some more material from them. I think they're facing off against EMD on some upcoming TV show, too...
There's some great staging going on in September's performance of "Because I Love You" on Bingolotto. She really imbues those opening lines with emotion, and I love the use of lights for the transition into the more "dance" part of the song.
Not from TV--taken from her official website, in fact--but if you want to hear a few clips of Charlotte Perrelli working on songs for her new album in studio, go to near the end of this clip.
And what better way to end our Melodifestivalen substitute than with the track rejected from the 2006 Melodifestival that ended up being the biggest selling single in 2007? Courtesy of Så ska det låta again (though a different week), here's Amy Diamond and Fredrik Swahn singing it after winning.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Everything has a beginning...
April 23, people. April 23.
(Taken from CDOn, so I assume that's the real album cover, then?)
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Heaven help me
There's never a bad time to appreciate Charlotte Perrelli, right?
Here she is doing "Take Me To Your Heaven" at the German final, as part of a winners' medley with Ruslana and Marija.
Here she is doing a really pretty great cover of Madonna's "Like A Prayer" on Swedish TV (tiny bit of lyrics trouble, but nothing too distracting).
...and finally, let's remind ourselves one more time of the brilliant brilliant "Hero," which I'm hoping will win Melodifestivalen this coming weekend.
Here she is doing "Take Me To Your Heaven" at the German final, as part of a winners' medley with Ruslana and Marija.
Here she is doing a really pretty great cover of Madonna's "Like A Prayer" on Swedish TV (tiny bit of lyrics trouble, but nothing too distracting).
...and finally, let's remind ourselves one more time of the brilliant brilliant "Hero," which I'm hoping will win Melodifestivalen this coming weekend.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Get into the music
Random Melodifestivalen commentary from me primarily designed to make it seem like I have a reason beyond just listening to songs on repeat and hoping more will show up for still being here:
Schlagerprofilerna has the running order for the final (as well as 2007's and 2006's for comparison's sake)--and to be honest, it surprised me. Charlotte first? Not that that's a week starting spot, but I just somehow figured she'd be on last.
1.) Charlotte Perrelli
2.) Sibel
3.) Rongedal
4.) Linda Bengtzing
5.) Christer Sjögren
6.) Amy Diamond
7.) Sanna Nielsen
8.) Norman
9.) Frida
10.) BWO
In other news, Ola's single is now up for purchase (yes, I realize no one cares about this besides me), but Linda's still isn't (true for some others as well--I don't see BWO's or Caracola's yet either, among others) from iTunes (you can buy them all from other stores). Honestly, I know I shouldn't complain after getting so many songs I love to the final, but "Love In Stereo"--it, Ola, and its creators belong in the final, they really do. My over-the-top proclamations of love back from semifinal two still hold true--"Love In Stereo" is what I love about pop.
Schlagerprofilerna has the running order for the final (as well as 2007's and 2006's for comparison's sake)--and to be honest, it surprised me. Charlotte first? Not that that's a week starting spot, but I just somehow figured she'd be on last.
1.) Charlotte Perrelli
2.) Sibel
3.) Rongedal
4.) Linda Bengtzing
5.) Christer Sjögren
6.) Amy Diamond
7.) Sanna Nielsen
8.) Norman
9.) Frida
10.) BWO
In other news, Ola's single is now up for purchase (yes, I realize no one cares about this besides me), but Linda's still isn't (true for some others as well--I don't see BWO's or Caracola's yet either, among others) from iTunes (you can buy them all from other stores). Honestly, I know I shouldn't complain after getting so many songs I love to the final, but "Love In Stereo"--it, Ola, and its creators belong in the final, they really do. My over-the-top proclamations of love back from semifinal two still hold true--"Love In Stereo" is what I love about pop.
Heroes can live on their own, but heroes never die alone
Best day ever!
OK, well, I realize I said that a few days ago, but any day where I can finally buy Charlotte Perrelli's "Hero" must officially be the BEST day ever. For now.
...though now I'm spoiled and want to know why Linda's single isn't yet on iTunes yet (and Ola's)--then it really will be the best day ever. Oh well--I'm sure they'll be there soon.
Edit: and oh boy, am I going to need all the great Melodifestivalen songs that I can get, given what Spain's just gone and (unsurprisingly) done.
OK, well, I realize I said that a few days ago, but any day where I can finally buy Charlotte Perrelli's "Hero" must officially be the BEST day ever. For now.
...though now I'm spoiled and want to know why Linda's single isn't yet on iTunes yet (and Ola's)--then it really will be the best day ever. Oh well--I'm sure they'll be there soon.
Edit: and oh boy, am I going to need all the great Melodifestivalen songs that I can get, given what Spain's just gone and (unsurprisingly) done.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Try to deny what you're feeling and you know that your heart will say no
Having slightly calmed down after last night, I'm going to attempt to write something more than "AMAZING!!!!" over and over again (though really, that's what I still want to do).
10 things I loved about Linda's and Charlotte's performances last night (I had to choose some arbitrary number or else it would basically end up as a second-by-second list of what they did), in no particularly order:
1.) the aforementioned pause and look right before Linda's key change--that determined, hah-I'm-going-to-nail-this-and-prove-that-I-can moment
2.) Linda beaming and looking like she's going to bounce right out of her skin after the key change--she radiated confidence throughout the performance and now really has this incredible energy and presence on stage (I know it's a cliché, but she's grown so much as a performer), but she was obviously hugely relieved and happy she pulled it off
3.) Charlotte's opening pose and mic grab--iconic
4.) Linda's little head-cocked-back strut during the first chorus (right before the first "se mig" section)
5.) The leaning and swirling camera bit in Charlotte's performance
6.) The three-part group hand point right before Charlotte's key change (LOVE this way too much! Possibly my favorite moment of the night)
7.) Charlotte's soaring vocals overtop those of the backing vocalists singing the chorus during the key change (you know how I mentioned in one of my year end round up entries a song that had the one moment in music in 2007 that most stuck with me, that just thinking about could get me excited about the whole concept of music? I think I've found my moment for 2008)
8.) Linda's "hah"(s) (not new, but I've always loved them)
9.) Charlotte's reaching-towards-the-audience hand gestures in the second chorus, with the wind machine on
10.) Linda's styling and outfit
Also, I'd like to add that I think Linda's dancers worked fabulously and that someone needs to upload Linda's post-qualifying performance to DailyMotion--she was just so excited that it made the performance even more fun to watch. Oh, and the fact that I loved all the group strutting in Charlotte's performance is a given.
Moving onto the other contestants, I was genuinely surprised when Sibel's song ended--"that's it?" I'm not trying to be snarky or anything, but I hadn't really even realized we'd had a chorus, let alone a climax--I couldn't believe the song was over. I'm not sure whether that's a function of the song itself (which from the previews sounded great, but maybe it didn't have a chorus that stood out enough) or Sibel singing the whole thing so dramatically that it was kind of flat in a way--nothing "popped" like it should have. I'm not saying that she or the song was bad by any stretch, or that they didn't deserve to go to Andra Chansen (Sibel sang very well and I adored the "You and I belong together/We share a hidden past/And nothing more than your forever/And mine is what I ask" lines)--but I am saying she didn't deserve to go straight to the finals instead of either of the two songs that qualified.
I was kind of surprised to read the negative reactions to Daniel Mitsogiannis online after the fact. I definitely love the song, but I'd go further than that: for a young Melodifestivalen debutante to have to do that much complicated dancing (all these leg movements and hip wiggles and twists) and still manage to pull off singing an uptempo song impressed me. In the hands of many other young performers, that could have been a total unequivocal crash-and-burn scenario, but I didn't feel like it was at all for him (though I'm not saying it rivaled the night's top performances!). Apparently Sweden (and online fans) disagreed, though, and he ended up taking seventh, although that could partly be down to schlager and dance-pop fans who might otherwise have voted for him focusing their efforts on Charlotte and Linda.
I'm not complaining, though--getting Charlotte and Linda straight to the finals is a dream result that makes for a fantastic-looking final, only marred for me by Christer Sjögren. The second chance round, taking place this next weekend, has the potential to make it even better; two acts will be chosen to make it to the final.
Stealing Wikipedia's chart thing (though it looks small and blurry here--sorry about that! If you click on the picture you can see the full size version), I think the toughest matchup in this knockout format for me is Ola versus Caracola--I love both acts' songs. I think ultimately I'd like Ola to win this matchup; however, I'd prefer Ola or Caracola to either of the acts in the top bracket, where of the two Sibel is my preference. If Sibel ended up making it to the final, I wouldn't be too upset, but I'd definitely prefer it if Ola or Caracola did.
In terms of the bottom half of the lineup, my favorites are Carola/Andreas Johnson and Thérèse Andersson; put head-to-head, I'm not sure yet who I'd like to see win, though I might end up going for Carola and Andreas in the end. I haven't heard their song in a while, so it's hard to say. I'd be happy with either, though!
10 things I loved about Linda's and Charlotte's performances last night (I had to choose some arbitrary number or else it would basically end up as a second-by-second list of what they did), in no particularly order:
1.) the aforementioned pause and look right before Linda's key change--that determined, hah-I'm-going-to-nail-this-and-prove-that-I-can moment
2.) Linda beaming and looking like she's going to bounce right out of her skin after the key change--she radiated confidence throughout the performance and now really has this incredible energy and presence on stage (I know it's a cliché, but she's grown so much as a performer), but she was obviously hugely relieved and happy she pulled it off
3.) Charlotte's opening pose and mic grab--iconic
4.) Linda's little head-cocked-back strut during the first chorus (right before the first "se mig" section)
5.) The leaning and swirling camera bit in Charlotte's performance
6.) The three-part group hand point right before Charlotte's key change (LOVE this way too much! Possibly my favorite moment of the night)
7.) Charlotte's soaring vocals overtop those of the backing vocalists singing the chorus during the key change (you know how I mentioned in one of my year end round up entries a song that had the one moment in music in 2007 that most stuck with me, that just thinking about could get me excited about the whole concept of music? I think I've found my moment for 2008)
8.) Linda's "hah"(s) (not new, but I've always loved them)
9.) Charlotte's reaching-towards-the-audience hand gestures in the second chorus, with the wind machine on
10.) Linda's styling and outfit
Also, I'd like to add that I think Linda's dancers worked fabulously and that someone needs to upload Linda's post-qualifying performance to DailyMotion--she was just so excited that it made the performance even more fun to watch. Oh, and the fact that I loved all the group strutting in Charlotte's performance is a given.
Moving onto the other contestants, I was genuinely surprised when Sibel's song ended--"that's it?" I'm not trying to be snarky or anything, but I hadn't really even realized we'd had a chorus, let alone a climax--I couldn't believe the song was over. I'm not sure whether that's a function of the song itself (which from the previews sounded great, but maybe it didn't have a chorus that stood out enough) or Sibel singing the whole thing so dramatically that it was kind of flat in a way--nothing "popped" like it should have. I'm not saying that she or the song was bad by any stretch, or that they didn't deserve to go to Andra Chansen (Sibel sang very well and I adored the "You and I belong together/We share a hidden past/And nothing more than your forever/And mine is what I ask" lines)--but I am saying she didn't deserve to go straight to the finals instead of either of the two songs that qualified.
I was kind of surprised to read the negative reactions to Daniel Mitsogiannis online after the fact. I definitely love the song, but I'd go further than that: for a young Melodifestivalen debutante to have to do that much complicated dancing (all these leg movements and hip wiggles and twists) and still manage to pull off singing an uptempo song impressed me. In the hands of many other young performers, that could have been a total unequivocal crash-and-burn scenario, but I didn't feel like it was at all for him (though I'm not saying it rivaled the night's top performances!). Apparently Sweden (and online fans) disagreed, though, and he ended up taking seventh, although that could partly be down to schlager and dance-pop fans who might otherwise have voted for him focusing their efforts on Charlotte and Linda.
I'm not complaining, though--getting Charlotte and Linda straight to the finals is a dream result that makes for a fantastic-looking final, only marred for me by Christer Sjögren. The second chance round, taking place this next weekend, has the potential to make it even better; two acts will be chosen to make it to the final.
Stealing Wikipedia's chart thing (though it looks small and blurry here--sorry about that! If you click on the picture you can see the full size version), I think the toughest matchup in this knockout format for me is Ola versus Caracola--I love both acts' songs. I think ultimately I'd like Ola to win this matchup; however, I'd prefer Ola or Caracola to either of the acts in the top bracket, where of the two Sibel is my preference. If Sibel ended up making it to the final, I wouldn't be too upset, but I'd definitely prefer it if Ola or Caracola did.
In terms of the bottom half of the lineup, my favorites are Carola/Andreas Johnson and Thérèse Andersson; put head-to-head, I'm not sure yet who I'd like to see win, though I might end up going for Carola and Andreas in the end. I haven't heard their song in a while, so it's hard to say. I'd be happy with either, though!
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Like a hero
Comments from me later!
Edit: YES! YES!!! YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!! YES!!!
Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you Sweden!
Back in a bit!
Edit again:
Linda!
Charlotte!
Ahhhhhhh! Amazing! The songs, the singers, the votes!
Still running on high at the moment...more later! For now, though, I'll say that 1.) "this is a story/of love and compassion/only heroes can tell" may be my favorite line of the year, and 2.) there's this moment I love, this pause and this look from Linda right before the key change, where you could just see her thinking "I'm going to nail this and prove I can do it--prove to all the doubters that I can sing!" Revenge for '05.
Edit: YES! YES!!! YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!! YES!!!
Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you Sweden!
Back in a bit!
Edit again:
Linda!
Charlotte!
Ahhhhhhh! Amazing! The songs, the singers, the votes!
Still running on high at the moment...more later! For now, though, I'll say that 1.) "this is a story/of love and compassion/only heroes can tell" may be my favorite line of the year, and 2.) there's this moment I love, this pause and this look from Linda right before the key change, where you could just see her thinking "I'm going to nail this and prove I can do it--prove to all the doubters that I can sing!" Revenge for '05.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Take it or leave it, you better believe it
So you'd think, with all the hype, it would be difficult for "Hero" to live up to expectations, right?
WRONG!
I'll be back with more thoughts when I'm done having my mind blown by this song. Seriously, I'm about ready to use up my yearly quota of exclamation marks.
Speechless.
(Listen to clips of the entries here.)
Edit: OK, back, and I'm sorry Sibel, you may have a great-sounding ballad and everyone may say you have a fantastic voice, but I have no time for it--I am going to be hoping against hope that it doesn't click with the voters, because I am petrified right now of it going direkt till Globen, and that simply is not an acceptable option. The only result I will accept it Charlotte and Linda to the final. That's it.
"Pame" is fantastic, and I totally love it; it also doesn't hurt that everyone says it's hindered by being overchoreographed, because that only makes it more likely it won't challenge for those top two spots, and therefore I can accept it into my heart. Any other week I would be backing that to the final all the way, but not this week!
Linda's verses are indeed very "Grace Kelly;" I love the song already--that chorus demands to be sung along with--and have a feeling it'll only get better once we hear the whole thing. Plus there's like this bubbly sound effect at the end! Love love love love love it.
Charlotte--oh, Charlotte, what do I not love about "Hero"? It's too amazing for words. "Amazing" doesn't even do it justice--I need a better word. Can we invent a new word for it? And can you imagine what it's going to be like when that keychange hits on Saturday? I think pop fans are going to explode or completely melt! The chorus is too perfect musically and lyrically--"this is a story, of love and compassion, only heroes can tell..."
On the less-love but see something in them front, Calaisa's song sounds sweet--not amazing, but probably enjoyable outside of a Eurovision context. I'm even liking Nordman's song more than I expected, though I think I might like it more with someone else singing it.
How am I supposed to wait for the studio versions of these songs? Argh!
So in recap: I am all about Charlotte and Linda this week and need them both in the final. I love Daniel's song as well, as long as it continues to stay non-threatening (and I imagine I've jinxed this whole thing now). I have no time for Sibel during this week--if I'm being honest, "That Is Where I'll Go" sounds like a genuinely great ballad, but I simply cannot have it being a threat, and that's something I've feared it would be from the beginning. Therefore, no support from me until after Melodifestivalen. At which point I will probably really like it.
(Note that I can handle people disagreeing with me, though, even about songs I love!)
WRONG!
I'll be back with more thoughts when I'm done having my mind blown by this song. Seriously, I'm about ready to use up my yearly quota of exclamation marks.
Speechless.
(Listen to clips of the entries here.)
Edit: OK, back, and I'm sorry Sibel, you may have a great-sounding ballad and everyone may say you have a fantastic voice, but I have no time for it--I am going to be hoping against hope that it doesn't click with the voters, because I am petrified right now of it going direkt till Globen, and that simply is not an acceptable option. The only result I will accept it Charlotte and Linda to the final. That's it.
"Pame" is fantastic, and I totally love it; it also doesn't hurt that everyone says it's hindered by being overchoreographed, because that only makes it more likely it won't challenge for those top two spots, and therefore I can accept it into my heart. Any other week I would be backing that to the final all the way, but not this week!
Linda's verses are indeed very "Grace Kelly;" I love the song already--that chorus demands to be sung along with--and have a feeling it'll only get better once we hear the whole thing. Plus there's like this bubbly sound effect at the end! Love love love love love it.
Charlotte--oh, Charlotte, what do I not love about "Hero"? It's too amazing for words. "Amazing" doesn't even do it justice--I need a better word. Can we invent a new word for it? And can you imagine what it's going to be like when that keychange hits on Saturday? I think pop fans are going to explode or completely melt! The chorus is too perfect musically and lyrically--"this is a story, of love and compassion, only heroes can tell..."
On the less-love but see something in them front, Calaisa's song sounds sweet--not amazing, but probably enjoyable outside of a Eurovision context. I'm even liking Nordman's song more than I expected, though I think I might like it more with someone else singing it.
How am I supposed to wait for the studio versions of these songs? Argh!
So in recap: I am all about Charlotte and Linda this week and need them both in the final. I love Daniel's song as well, as long as it continues to stay non-threatening (and I imagine I've jinxed this whole thing now). I have no time for Sibel during this week--if I'm being honest, "That Is Where I'll Go" sounds like a genuinely great ballad, but I simply cannot have it being a threat, and that's something I've feared it would be from the beginning. Therefore, no support from me until after Melodifestivalen. At which point I will probably really like it.
(Note that I can handle people disagreeing with me, though, even about songs I love!)
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Du säger ja, jag säger nej
Charlotte Perrelli's song sounds like "Kempe-schlager and Kylie-pop with a splash of Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean' and S Club 7's 'Don't Stop Movin'." I have no idea how one song can sound like all of those things, but doesn't it sound BRILLIANT?! Plus, toss in a "Kalla Nätter" reference and I really don't know how it could get any more amazing-sounding.
Linda, despite falling during rehearsals, has a schlager song that will make a bunch of people religious after "Linda's three minutes of salvation" or cause the entire population of Sweden to become gay. (Also, the comparison to "Grace Kelly" did pop up again, in reference to the verses.)
Daniel has "the year's gay hit" (as well as a classic fifth placer; apparently it's overchoreographed).
Could I get any more excited? I really don't think so. And that's just three of the songs we've got to look forward to in this Saturday's Melodifestival semifinal.
One day, this blog will return to its only-semi-dominated-by-Swedish-music state, but as long as Melodifestivalen keeps going, I'm going to have Swedish music on the brain. Some day I really will finish that Fame Factory special I started, but until then, let's have another song from a Swedish group I love(d): Fame. Jessica Andersson, the female half of Fame, is off doing duets with Nordman now and the male half, Magnus Backlund--well, I've got no idea what he's doing musically, but he is talking to Gylleneskor about this upcoming semifinal.
Gjorda för varandra--I think Fame had some absolutely fantastic tracks. Oddly enough, most of those weren't on their only album (including one of my favorite Melodifestival tracks of this decade, "Vindarna Vänder Oss," their followup entry after winning all of Melodifestivalen with "Give Me Your Love"). "Gjorda för varandra," released as a single in 2005, was one of those. A mix of pop and schlager, it's not a schlager stomper in the sense of being some big uptempo song that you picture lots of big dramatic strutting across the stage to--though you could do that, if you wanted; it's just that it's more on the mid-tempo side. The song lists a bunch of things the (fictional) couple disagree on before concluding in each bridge and chorus that without those differences they wouldn't be attracted to each other and that, in the end, they're a couple, meant for each other (I think). Basically, upbeat catchy Swedish pop that, like many of Fame's songs, comes in right about at three minutes.
To buy Fame's single "Gjorda för varandra," go here (physical) or here (digital).
Next up: part of me wonders if maybe I shouldn't just skip the previews on Friday and hear them for the first time on Saturday--but yeah right, as if I have that much self control, so tomorrow will probably be writings about Melodifestivalen.
Linda, despite falling during rehearsals, has a schlager song that will make a bunch of people religious after "Linda's three minutes of salvation" or cause the entire population of Sweden to become gay. (Also, the comparison to "Grace Kelly" did pop up again, in reference to the verses.)
Daniel has "the year's gay hit" (as well as a classic fifth placer; apparently it's overchoreographed).
Could I get any more excited? I really don't think so. And that's just three of the songs we've got to look forward to in this Saturday's Melodifestival semifinal.
One day, this blog will return to its only-semi-dominated-by-Swedish-music state, but as long as Melodifestivalen keeps going, I'm going to have Swedish music on the brain. Some day I really will finish that Fame Factory special I started, but until then, let's have another song from a Swedish group I love(d): Fame. Jessica Andersson, the female half of Fame, is off doing duets with Nordman now and the male half, Magnus Backlund--well, I've got no idea what he's doing musically, but he is talking to Gylleneskor about this upcoming semifinal.Gjorda för varandra--I think Fame had some absolutely fantastic tracks. Oddly enough, most of those weren't on their only album (including one of my favorite Melodifestival tracks of this decade, "Vindarna Vänder Oss," their followup entry after winning all of Melodifestivalen with "Give Me Your Love"). "Gjorda för varandra," released as a single in 2005, was one of those. A mix of pop and schlager, it's not a schlager stomper in the sense of being some big uptempo song that you picture lots of big dramatic strutting across the stage to--though you could do that, if you wanted; it's just that it's more on the mid-tempo side. The song lists a bunch of things the (fictional) couple disagree on before concluding in each bridge and chorus that without those differences they wouldn't be attracted to each other and that, in the end, they're a couple, meant for each other (I think). Basically, upbeat catchy Swedish pop that, like many of Fame's songs, comes in right about at three minutes.
To buy Fame's single "Gjorda för varandra," go here (physical) or here (digital).
Next up: part of me wonders if maybe I shouldn't just skip the previews on Friday and hear them for the first time on Saturday--but yeah right, as if I have that much self control, so tomorrow will probably be writings about Melodifestivalen.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
I don't wanna wait until tomorrow
The fourth and final semifinal of Melodifestivalen is this coming Saturday; after that, they'll be a second chance round (Andra Chansen), at which various third and fourth place finishers from all the semifinals are matched up head-to-head in a knockout format until it's narrowed down to two, at which point those two will go to the final, which will take place the week after that. In other words, we've got three Saturdays left of Melodifestivalen: one for the fourth semifinal, one for Andra Chansen, and one for the final. For now, though, here are the artists for this week's semifinal, which is looking to be really tough. Same disclaimer as usual about all this information, and as usual, feel free to correct me or add things!
Sources: Schlagerprofilerna, Gylleneskor, SVT's official Melodifestival site, ESC Today, Schlagerklick.se, QX, Oiko Times (1, 2), MSN, Festival de Eurovisión, Style, P4's Melodifestival site
1.) Niklas Strömstedt, "For många ord om kärlek" (Too Many Words About Love)
This week's joker, Niklas Strömstedt has a music career dating back to the '80's. I guess you could say he's a mature singer-songwriter sort, though some of the songs from his most recent album (from 2001) are kind of lightly poppy (or could be made sort of poppy with minimal changes), from the little I've heard of his work. On the plus side, he did co-write Magnus Carlsson's 2006 entry "Lev Livet!" (as well as Christer Björkman's winning entry in 1992). He says "For många ord om kärlek" is uptempo. He also says the song is a little more pop than schlager and kind of '70's-influenced. Niklas has a new album, Två vagar, coming out March 19.
To watch: well, YouTube doesn't give us too many options, so let's got with this montage set to his 1990 hit "Om"
2.) Calaisa, "If I Could"
Calaisa is a female country-pop group made up of two sets of sisters. They released their self-titled debut album in 2006, preceded by the sweetly-sung single "Hey Girl." The official description of the song says that it's a ballad about losing someone near to you and wanting to do something to get them back. They've been working on a second album.
To watch: the video for their single "Hey Girl"
3.) Daniel Mitsogiannis, "Pame"
Ooo, now here's a brand new artist whose song I'm very interested to hear! Granted, Fredrik Kempe--who, among other songs, wrote last year's "Cara Mia"--says that out of his tracks in this year's contest, Charlotte Perrelli's "Hero" is his favorite, but I still have hopes that "Pame" will be good. In fact, speaking of "Cara Mia," Daniel sang on the demo version of that last year (as well as the originally English demo of Mathias Holmgren's "Långt bortom tid och rum" from 2005), making me even more hopeful of a similar revelation from "Pame" this year--though I'm trying not to let my expectations get too high. Also, apparently he and Måns sang it differently, which doesn't mean his version was necessarily worse but does mean maybe we shouldn't expect a Måns redux here...then again, Henrik Wikström, the other writer, describes the song as "'Cara Mia' with ethnic influences." As you might have guessed from the title, "Pame" has Greek influences (apparently it means "Let's go" or something like that); it's also said to be uptempo and danceable (Daniel says it's "happy, speedy, and explosive" and like a male version of Helena Paparizou). In terms of not particularly relevant or useful information, Daniel already has an official site set up in a similar style to those of Charlotte Perrelli and Linda Bengtzing--does he have management that have a lot of faith in the song or did he just hire the same people himself?
To watch: I can't find any videos of him singing whatsoever, so let's just watch the first performance of "Cara Mia" from last year again. It's still a rush. You know, I've really enjoyed this year, but now that I'm thinking about it, has any song really got me as excited as "Cara Mia" did? I have a feeling, though, that I'll get that this week, and hopefully from the song up next...
4.) Linda Bengtzing, "Hur svårt kan det va?" (How Difficult Can It Be?)
Oh Sweden--I'm begging you: I need Linda in the final. As absolutely exciting as it is to have so many upsets going on, it worries me greatly for this round. Linda participated in Fame Factory, but her real establishment as a singer came with 2005's "Alla Flickor," a schlager song which may very well be the best song ever--a statement which would be easier to get away with if her followup 2006 entry "Jag ljuger så bra" wasn't so close in quality that it's easy to prefer it depending on the day. She released an album as well in 2006, and in 2007 she had a huge hit in Sweden in the form of her and Markoolio's jokey "Värsta Schlagern." Her entry this year is by the same people that gave us "Alla Flickor" and her second single "Diamanter" (and who have also worked on her upcoming album), among a bunch of other great songs. It was also originally described as being influenced by '60's schlager (there was also one early reference to it being a little bit like "Grace Kelly," but before everyone starts going into conniptions, that seems doubtful and I've heard absolutely nothing to make that sound accurate since), but all recent writing about it has referred to it as sounding very modern but being a "classic schlager" (so yes, it has a key change). Linda says the song is a girl singing to a guy about how he's stupid for not realizing she's the best thing that's ever happened to him. I have absolute faith in this track being completely a-maz-ing and March 19, the release date of her new album, Vild & Galen, cannot get here soon enough. Fact: Linda's on the cover of at least two weekly or monthly magazines in Sweden this month--please let that be an indication of her popularity in Sweden...
To watch: her performance of "Jag ljuger så bra" at the 2006 final
5.) Nordman, "I lågornas sken" (In The Flame's Light)
Eek. I wish we could just take Nordman (who in their 2005 semifinal qualified directly to the final, while Alcazar and Linda Bengtzing had to go to Andra Chansen) out of this heat--I don't want them as a threat to my favorites. Sigh. Maybe I'm being kind of unfair here, but I just don't go in for gruff male voices, a fact that makes it difficult for me to appreciate Nordman's work. The writers of "I lågornas sken" did give us Jessica Andersson's "Kom" and Magnus Backlund's "The Name Of Love"--not classics, but not songs to make you instantly reach for the mute button either (and I actually really like "The Name Of Love"). Still, whether or not the writers call this a pop song and Nordman say it's "more schlager" (really? That doesn't fit with what I know of their work at all), I'm having trouble mustering much enthusiasm for a song that was stirring up controversy for its stage performance including the simulation of a witchburning onstage--it's not so much the act I'm upset with as I can't really imagine a song I like being conducive to that performance. Then again, the band do claim that it will be "beautiful and dramatic"--who knows, maybe it'll be a fantastic bombastic song (I wouldn't bet on it, to say the least). For the sake of the other songs in this heat, though, I'm almost hoping not. They've got a new album coming out March 12.
To watch: oddly enough, I can't find a video of their Melodifestival performance, but you can listen to the audio of it below, attached to a Lion King montage
6.) Sibel, "That Is Where I'll Go"
2007 gave us Sebastian and Måns (could have been Agnes) from the second season of Swedish Idol; 2008 brings us Ola and Sibel from the same season. Sibel finished third, behind Agnes and Sebastian, and will finally get a chance at commercial success with this power ballad. The song's writer says it's a big ballad about unconditional love. It starts out small and grows for the end and includes a lot of long high notes. For some reason, I see it as having a very good chance to do well. She (like seemingly most of the contestants this year) has an album due to come out this spring; it's called Diving Belle and comes out March 12.
To watch: her performance of (Niklas Stömstedt's) "Sista Morgonen" on Idol
7.) Fronda, "Ingen mår så bra som jåg" (No One Feels As Good As Me)
2007's Melodifestival saw two entries disqualified: first Agnes's, and then Fronda's, thus allowing Lustans Lakejer and Måns Zelmerlöw to enter the competition. Fronda's entry was disqualified because he sang the demo of it but he (/his record company) refused to sing it at the contest, at least not by himself (not all demo singers will go on to sing the song at Melodifestivalen, but SVT can choose to demand that the demo singer do so and disqualify the song if the demo singer refuses). This year, the rapper will be participating with a song that its writers describe as an uptempo party song with danceable rap beats and funny lyrics. Fronda adds that it's not a pure hip-hop track, more like "balkan-ska."
To watch: a montage (well, more like one photo) set to his song "En stor stark"
8.) Charlotte Perrelli, "Hero"
...or, as fans of Eurovision but not followers of Swedish music would know her as, Charlotte Nilsson. Charlotte was Eurovision in 1999 singing "Take Me To Your Heaven," and she's released four albums since then (if you like your upbeat schlager, her Gone Too Long album has some songs you'll definitely want to hear), with another one (in English) due out this April (which she says she wants to promote beyond Sweden). Charlotte hasn't entered Melodifestivalen since winning it in 1999, though it's often been rumored she'd be participating; her decision to finally enter again this year has a lot of people thinking her song must be something very special--and with the writers it has, that's a very strong possibility: Fredrik Kempe and Bobby Ljunggren (who's been involved in way too many Melodifestival songs to list here). The official description of "Hero" says it's a dance and rock song, and it's also been said to be uptempo, have a great chorus and a really good beat, and be a modern pop song, not "Take Me To Your Heaven" part II. Charlotte says it tells a good story and is an uptempo dance-pop song that is a little bit rockier than "Take Me To Your Heaven" (though she points out that "rockier" is relative and she'll still be doing schlager songs), and will be a good way to establish her "new style." The performance involves a lot of dancing and girls in 10 cm tall heels, and the song has been said to be a potential winner of the whole contest as well as a great song that only gets better with each listen.
To watch: well, I could embed her winning performance of "Take Me To Your Heaven," but let's go with something more recent, a performance of her most recent single (but not the most recent of songs), the schlager-disco-pop "Jag är tillbaks"
It's easy for me to make my "who do I want to go through without having heard the songs" decision this week: Linda--I'm so worried for her; she has to make it--and Charlotte to the final. The trouble is, I can see all too many potential threats from the other contestants that could prevent that from happening.
Incidentally, in March and April we're getting new albums from Linda, Charlotte, and Sanna?! Now if only Lena Philipsson would release something new, it'd be pretty much the perfect year.
In a side note related to this past Saturday's semifinal, I read online--well, why don't I just quote it, but this is all [sic]:
"Currently he [Oscar Görres] is composing and producing a record for the artist Therese Andersson performing under the name Evan. Therese Andersson is also classically schooled and sings in the genre pop/ballad."
Now, Oscar's not Evan (he co-wrote some songs on Danny's album and co-wrote Donal Skehan's "Double Cross My Heart" and LoveShy's "Mr. Gorgeous") nor is Therese, so I have no idea what to make of that, but it's at least nice to know that a record is in the works. Therese also said in an interview that Pay TV are still working on their album, though if her solo album comes out at the rate of that album, we'll still be waiting for it in 2010. Once again going off on a tangent, Oscar Görres's official site that I linked to above allows you (in the "Media" section) to listen to a clip of a Danny song called "Alive" (it's also on his MySpace). Song they wrote together but that didn't make the cut? Song that was reworked into a song that eventually made the album? I've got no idea (though if it's really obvious or something please let me know!).
Sources: Schlagerprofilerna, Gylleneskor, SVT's official Melodifestival site, ESC Today, Schlagerklick.se, QX, Oiko Times (1, 2), MSN, Festival de Eurovisión, Style, P4's Melodifestival site
1.) Niklas Strömstedt, "For många ord om kärlek" (Too Many Words About Love)
This week's joker, Niklas Strömstedt has a music career dating back to the '80's. I guess you could say he's a mature singer-songwriter sort, though some of the songs from his most recent album (from 2001) are kind of lightly poppy (or could be made sort of poppy with minimal changes), from the little I've heard of his work. On the plus side, he did co-write Magnus Carlsson's 2006 entry "Lev Livet!" (as well as Christer Björkman's winning entry in 1992). He says "For många ord om kärlek" is uptempo. He also says the song is a little more pop than schlager and kind of '70's-influenced. Niklas has a new album, Två vagar, coming out March 19.To watch: well, YouTube doesn't give us too many options, so let's got with this montage set to his 1990 hit "Om"
2.) Calaisa, "If I Could"
Calaisa is a female country-pop group made up of two sets of sisters. They released their self-titled debut album in 2006, preceded by the sweetly-sung single "Hey Girl." The official description of the song says that it's a ballad about losing someone near to you and wanting to do something to get them back. They've been working on a second album.To watch: the video for their single "Hey Girl"
3.) Daniel Mitsogiannis, "Pame"
Ooo, now here's a brand new artist whose song I'm very interested to hear! Granted, Fredrik Kempe--who, among other songs, wrote last year's "Cara Mia"--says that out of his tracks in this year's contest, Charlotte Perrelli's "Hero" is his favorite, but I still have hopes that "Pame" will be good. In fact, speaking of "Cara Mia," Daniel sang on the demo version of that last year (as well as the originally English demo of Mathias Holmgren's "Långt bortom tid och rum" from 2005), making me even more hopeful of a similar revelation from "Pame" this year--though I'm trying not to let my expectations get too high. Also, apparently he and Måns sang it differently, which doesn't mean his version was necessarily worse but does mean maybe we shouldn't expect a Måns redux here...then again, Henrik Wikström, the other writer, describes the song as "'Cara Mia' with ethnic influences." As you might have guessed from the title, "Pame" has Greek influences (apparently it means "Let's go" or something like that); it's also said to be uptempo and danceable (Daniel says it's "happy, speedy, and explosive" and like a male version of Helena Paparizou). In terms of not particularly relevant or useful information, Daniel already has an official site set up in a similar style to those of Charlotte Perrelli and Linda Bengtzing--does he have management that have a lot of faith in the song or did he just hire the same people himself?To watch: I can't find any videos of him singing whatsoever, so let's just watch the first performance of "Cara Mia" from last year again. It's still a rush. You know, I've really enjoyed this year, but now that I'm thinking about it, has any song really got me as excited as "Cara Mia" did? I have a feeling, though, that I'll get that this week, and hopefully from the song up next...
4.) Linda Bengtzing, "Hur svårt kan det va?" (How Difficult Can It Be?)
Oh Sweden--I'm begging you: I need Linda in the final. As absolutely exciting as it is to have so many upsets going on, it worries me greatly for this round. Linda participated in Fame Factory, but her real establishment as a singer came with 2005's "Alla Flickor," a schlager song which may very well be the best song ever--a statement which would be easier to get away with if her followup 2006 entry "Jag ljuger så bra" wasn't so close in quality that it's easy to prefer it depending on the day. She released an album as well in 2006, and in 2007 she had a huge hit in Sweden in the form of her and Markoolio's jokey "Värsta Schlagern." Her entry this year is by the same people that gave us "Alla Flickor" and her second single "Diamanter" (and who have also worked on her upcoming album), among a bunch of other great songs. It was also originally described as being influenced by '60's schlager (there was also one early reference to it being a little bit like "Grace Kelly," but before everyone starts going into conniptions, that seems doubtful and I've heard absolutely nothing to make that sound accurate since), but all recent writing about it has referred to it as sounding very modern but being a "classic schlager" (so yes, it has a key change). Linda says the song is a girl singing to a guy about how he's stupid for not realizing she's the best thing that's ever happened to him. I have absolute faith in this track being completely a-maz-ing and March 19, the release date of her new album, Vild & Galen, cannot get here soon enough. Fact: Linda's on the cover of at least two weekly or monthly magazines in Sweden this month--please let that be an indication of her popularity in Sweden...To watch: her performance of "Jag ljuger så bra" at the 2006 final
5.) Nordman, "I lågornas sken" (In The Flame's Light)
Eek. I wish we could just take Nordman (who in their 2005 semifinal qualified directly to the final, while Alcazar and Linda Bengtzing had to go to Andra Chansen) out of this heat--I don't want them as a threat to my favorites. Sigh. Maybe I'm being kind of unfair here, but I just don't go in for gruff male voices, a fact that makes it difficult for me to appreciate Nordman's work. The writers of "I lågornas sken" did give us Jessica Andersson's "Kom" and Magnus Backlund's "The Name Of Love"--not classics, but not songs to make you instantly reach for the mute button either (and I actually really like "The Name Of Love"). Still, whether or not the writers call this a pop song and Nordman say it's "more schlager" (really? That doesn't fit with what I know of their work at all), I'm having trouble mustering much enthusiasm for a song that was stirring up controversy for its stage performance including the simulation of a witchburning onstage--it's not so much the act I'm upset with as I can't really imagine a song I like being conducive to that performance. Then again, the band do claim that it will be "beautiful and dramatic"--who knows, maybe it'll be a fantastic bombastic song (I wouldn't bet on it, to say the least). For the sake of the other songs in this heat, though, I'm almost hoping not. They've got a new album coming out March 12.To watch: oddly enough, I can't find a video of their Melodifestival performance, but you can listen to the audio of it below, attached to a Lion King montage
6.) Sibel, "That Is Where I'll Go"
2007 gave us Sebastian and Måns (could have been Agnes) from the second season of Swedish Idol; 2008 brings us Ola and Sibel from the same season. Sibel finished third, behind Agnes and Sebastian, and will finally get a chance at commercial success with this power ballad. The song's writer says it's a big ballad about unconditional love. It starts out small and grows for the end and includes a lot of long high notes. For some reason, I see it as having a very good chance to do well. She (like seemingly most of the contestants this year) has an album due to come out this spring; it's called Diving Belle and comes out March 12.To watch: her performance of (Niklas Stömstedt's) "Sista Morgonen" on Idol
7.) Fronda, "Ingen mår så bra som jåg" (No One Feels As Good As Me)
2007's Melodifestival saw two entries disqualified: first Agnes's, and then Fronda's, thus allowing Lustans Lakejer and Måns Zelmerlöw to enter the competition. Fronda's entry was disqualified because he sang the demo of it but he (/his record company) refused to sing it at the contest, at least not by himself (not all demo singers will go on to sing the song at Melodifestivalen, but SVT can choose to demand that the demo singer do so and disqualify the song if the demo singer refuses). This year, the rapper will be participating with a song that its writers describe as an uptempo party song with danceable rap beats and funny lyrics. Fronda adds that it's not a pure hip-hop track, more like "balkan-ska."To watch: a montage (well, more like one photo) set to his song "En stor stark"
8.) Charlotte Perrelli, "Hero"
...or, as fans of Eurovision but not followers of Swedish music would know her as, Charlotte Nilsson. Charlotte was Eurovision in 1999 singing "Take Me To Your Heaven," and she's released four albums since then (if you like your upbeat schlager, her Gone Too Long album has some songs you'll definitely want to hear), with another one (in English) due out this April (which she says she wants to promote beyond Sweden). Charlotte hasn't entered Melodifestivalen since winning it in 1999, though it's often been rumored she'd be participating; her decision to finally enter again this year has a lot of people thinking her song must be something very special--and with the writers it has, that's a very strong possibility: Fredrik Kempe and Bobby Ljunggren (who's been involved in way too many Melodifestival songs to list here). The official description of "Hero" says it's a dance and rock song, and it's also been said to be uptempo, have a great chorus and a really good beat, and be a modern pop song, not "Take Me To Your Heaven" part II. Charlotte says it tells a good story and is an uptempo dance-pop song that is a little bit rockier than "Take Me To Your Heaven" (though she points out that "rockier" is relative and she'll still be doing schlager songs), and will be a good way to establish her "new style." The performance involves a lot of dancing and girls in 10 cm tall heels, and the song has been said to be a potential winner of the whole contest as well as a great song that only gets better with each listen.To watch: well, I could embed her winning performance of "Take Me To Your Heaven," but let's go with something more recent, a performance of her most recent single (but not the most recent of songs), the schlager-disco-pop "Jag är tillbaks"
It's easy for me to make my "who do I want to go through without having heard the songs" decision this week: Linda--I'm so worried for her; she has to make it--and Charlotte to the final. The trouble is, I can see all too many potential threats from the other contestants that could prevent that from happening.
Incidentally, in March and April we're getting new albums from Linda, Charlotte, and Sanna?! Now if only Lena Philipsson would release something new, it'd be pretty much the perfect year.
In a side note related to this past Saturday's semifinal, I read online--well, why don't I just quote it, but this is all [sic]:
"Currently he [Oscar Görres] is composing and producing a record for the artist Therese Andersson performing under the name Evan. Therese Andersson is also classically schooled and sings in the genre pop/ballad."
Now, Oscar's not Evan (he co-wrote some songs on Danny's album and co-wrote Donal Skehan's "Double Cross My Heart" and LoveShy's "Mr. Gorgeous") nor is Therese, so I have no idea what to make of that, but it's at least nice to know that a record is in the works. Therese also said in an interview that Pay TV are still working on their album, though if her solo album comes out at the rate of that album, we'll still be waiting for it in 2010. Once again going off on a tangent, Oscar Görres's official site that I linked to above allows you (in the "Media" section) to listen to a clip of a Danny song called "Alive" (it's also on his MySpace). Song they wrote together but that didn't make the cut? Song that was reworked into a song that eventually made the album? I've got no idea (though if it's really obvious or something please let me know!).
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Går du omkring och tror jag är förtvivlad och bara tänker på dig?
New stuff from Linda Bengtzing!!!!!
*has a heart attack*
Well...before anyone else does, I should point out it's not new music or anything. Instead, it's a redesigned website. With the cover of her single for Melodifestivalen, "Hur svårt kan det va?" ("How difficult can it be?")...
...and of...
HER NEW ALBUM!
*has a second heart attack*
It's called Vild & Galen (Wild & Crazy) and it's due out March 19.
I. am. never. going. to. make. it.
Oh, and there's a news section about "Hur svårt kan det va?", too, saying that it will be physically released March 10, get radio and video release the same day. A video?! There are even pictures from the videoshoot (with short hair still, yes).
Anyway, I know we always knew there would be an album coming out, given the reports that her record company wouldn't let her release it unless she competed in Melodifestivalen, but I did warn you I was going to go completely over the top and ridiculous when new Linda stuff started coming up.
Also, it should be mentioned that, when discussing the album, there's a line about not wanting to fall too much in the pop or dansband direction (which we kind of already knew about her). "Hur svårt kan det va?" is schlager, though.
Also, Charlotte Perrelli's site has been redesigned, too (before Linda's, but seemingly by the same people), with a great backing picture, but no news to report, at least that I noticed--there's just got to be an album at some point, though! Have I really emphasized how incredibly excited I am for the fourth semifinal, with these two both in it (well, and others too, but more on that later)?
Oh, worthy of note if you're missing music from these two is that it looks like they've both got mp3 stores installed on their sites now--yes, mp3, not just protected WMA! Well done to the record company for that, at least. It is so nice to finally be able to buy "Jag är tillbaks" (which, truth, sounds so much better in proper quality, and it already sounded great on MySpace).
*has a heart attack*
Well...before anyone else does, I should point out it's not new music or anything. Instead, it's a redesigned website. With the cover of her single for Melodifestivalen, "Hur svårt kan det va?" ("How difficult can it be?")...
...and of...
HER NEW ALBUM!
*has a second heart attack*
It's called Vild & Galen (Wild & Crazy) and it's due out March 19.
I. am. never. going. to. make. it.
Oh, and there's a news section about "Hur svårt kan det va?", too, saying that it will be physically released March 10, get radio and video release the same day. A video?! There are even pictures from the videoshoot (with short hair still, yes).
Anyway, I know we always knew there would be an album coming out, given the reports that her record company wouldn't let her release it unless she competed in Melodifestivalen, but I did warn you I was going to go completely over the top and ridiculous when new Linda stuff started coming up.
Also, it should be mentioned that, when discussing the album, there's a line about not wanting to fall too much in the pop or dansband direction (which we kind of already knew about her). "Hur svårt kan det va?" is schlager, though.
Also, Charlotte Perrelli's site has been redesigned, too (before Linda's, but seemingly by the same people), with a great backing picture, but no news to report, at least that I noticed--there's just got to be an album at some point, though! Have I really emphasized how incredibly excited I am for the fourth semifinal, with these two both in it (well, and others too, but more on that later)?
Oh, worthy of note if you're missing music from these two is that it looks like they've both got mp3 stores installed on their sites now--yes, mp3, not just protected WMA! Well done to the record company for that, at least. It is so nice to finally be able to buy "Jag är tillbaks" (which, truth, sounds so much better in proper quality, and it already sounded great on MySpace).
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