You keep telling me to grow up

My conflicted feelings about Eric Saade the popstar have been documented to the point where I'm sure it's straining reader patience, but my constantly optimistic attitude towards Swedish boy pop means that, like many other fans of Scandinavian pop, I'm looking forward to the release of Eric's second album. Oddly titled Saade Vol. 1, it's released June 29.

Hearts In The Air (feat. J-Son) by poppostergirl

There's at least one reason to feel encouraged about the end product. Around half of the tracks were co-written with Jason Gill, one of several songwriters I'm constantly wishing more European singers would employ. He has a good track record for sparkly synth-based songs with young male Swedish popstars, having turned in Darin's "Paradise" and Måns Zelmerlöw's "Rewind," "Freak Out," and "Hold On." Though not amazing, "Hearts In The Air," the second single from Saade Vol. 1 and a Gill track, is a nice attempt at a slightly more international sound for Eric.

As for additional songs, "I'll Be Alright," a mid-tempo track I initially thought of as totally throwaway, was debuted before "Popular" was released. We've also heard a low quality clip of "Timeless" (listen to it here), a Gill co-write that sounds like a cute fluttery pop-dance-R&B mid-tempo song with enough of a beat to keep it interesting. The demo I've heard of "Me & My Radio" (which could end up being the final version for all I know) falls into a similar category, though this time Eric's nursing feelings of being cheated on instead of reassuring his girl that their love will last forever. I am an eternal sucker for anything that can milk pathos out of the human-radio relationship, so as lightweight as "Me & My Radio" is, its pretty little fast-paced synth runs and lonely chimes charm me.

None of these songs is going to fill the void felt by listeners seeking a second "Popular," but Eric, for all his drawbacks, has always had the admirable quality of knowing where his bread is buttered musically; anything less than another dance track or two would be surprising.

The tracklisting for Saade Vol. 1 is reproduced below, complete with the songwriting credits I'm aware of. If you know more, please fill me in!

1.) Timeless (Jason Gill/Robin Fredriksson/Mattias Larsson/Eric Saade)
2.) Hearts In The Air (feat. J-Son) (Jason Gill/Robin Fredriksson/Mattias Larsson/Eric Saade/J-son)
3.) Me & My Radio (Mich "Cutfather" Hansen/Jason Gill/Mikkel Sigvardt/Daniel Davidsen/Engelina Larson/Brandon Beal)
4.) Made Of Pop (Jason Gill/Robin Fredriksson/Mattias Larsson/Eric Saade)
5.) Popular (Album Remix) (Fredrik Kempe)
6.) Someone New
7.) Killed By A Cop (Jason Gill/Robin Fredriksson/Mattias Larsson/Eric Saade/J-son)
8.) Big Love
9.) Stupid With You (Jason Gill/Robin Fredriksson/Eric Saade/Fredrik Kempe)
10.) Echo (Jason Gill/Robin Fredriksson/Mattias Larsson/Eric Saade)
11.) Still Loving It (Anton Malmberg Hård af Segerstad/Niclas Lundin)
12.) Popular (Original Version) (Bonus Track) (Fredrik Kempe)

Preorder Eric Saade's second album, Saade Vol. 1, here.

Time is ticking

There are a bunch of things in the music world that need to be discussed--the new Britney album, some new Eurovision songs, finally having the studio version of Danny's "Catch Me If You Can"--but with the Melodifestival final starting in less than two hours, Sweden's national selection for Eurovision has to take priority.

Half the time I don't know what I truly feel about any given entry until I have a gut reaction to how it ends up ranked. As of right now, though, I'd be happiest with a Danny win. I have a rising concern about the Moniker, though, and I'd certainly rather see Eric Saade take it instead of him.

In terms of solely my personal preferences--ignoring the odds of any of this actually happening--I'd be most pleased by a victory for Danny (in my top three favorite songs for this year as well as my favorite song and my favorite performance package of the entries remaining), Eric (there's still a missing ingredient for me, I'm frustrated that better similar entries in past years have been rejected and this one might win, and in the unlikely event that Danny should end up seriously challenging him the detachment I feel from Eric's entry would intensify, but when the song and presentation are taken together it's tough to deny that it averages out to be one of the night's best entries), Swingfly (a messy on-stage presentation, but the song is a lot of fun and gives me that rush of joy I wish I got from "Popular," even if I'm not sure that it's actually better in the long run), or Linda Bengtzing (she's had better songs and better performances but I love her and her infectious enthusiasm and enjoy "E det fel på mig"). I'd be fine with Brolle winning as well. After that, my enthusiasm would drop off precipitously, but it wouldn't feel like the end of the world if Sara Varga won. Despite its great production and great singer (though, truth be told, she's using a side of her voice here that I don't hugely enjoy), Sanna's song still leaves me cold. I like "The King" a good bit (yes, really) but feel like the Playtones' performance is a black hole for charisma. Any of the aforementioned choices would be better than the remaining two, though; Nicke Borg or the Moniker winning would leave me distraught.

Still, we should be in for a great show. Though songs I loved were lost along the way to Globen, I'm actually pretty happy with the line-up we'll be facing. Yes, two of the songs that would have made the best impression internationally were lost in Andra Chansen last week, but this year's final nevertheless includes mostly enjoyable songs that, even if they wouldn't make for great Eurovision entries, make for great entertainment.

I leave it all behind

As mentioned a few posts ago, Scandipop and Swedish Stereo recently featured thirty-second clips of Danny's new album, In The Club.

Now, another site has posted sixty-second clips of each of the songs. Listen to them here. "Catch Me If You Can" is still the song I'm most eager to have my hands on--it's the era of "oh oh oh"s, apparently. If you click on the song titles, you can also see some (though not all) of the songwriters for each track (albeit in a messy way).

While we're speaking of clips of Melodifestival albums, Eric Saade previewed another song from his upcoming album for Expressen. Eric may not say a name, but if you made me guess, I'd say it's going to be called "Timeless." It's written with Jason Gill (he of some of my favorite songs from Måns Zelmerlöw--"Hold On," "Rewind," "Freak Out"--and Darin--"Paradise"--as well as of Sofia's "Hypnotized"). Eric also mentions two other co-writers who I'm guessing are Mattias Larsson and Robin Fredriksson.

Schlagerprofilerna and Tobbe recently revealed the tracklist for the Melodifestival box set's demo CD (which is out today in Sweden). By my count, at least seven eight of the songs have been heard before (Sarah Dawn Finer's "Not A Sinner Nor A Saint," "Surrender To My Heart," Lina Hedlund's "Alla flickor," Camilla Blom Polfeldt's "Gone," Friends' "Give Me Your Love," Shirley Clamp's "A Miracle," and Sonja Aldén's "Invincible," though if I've missed one please let me know EDIT: Andrés Esteche's "Tango! Tango!" as well), but this is the first time we've been able to purchase most of them. It is, as I thought it might be, heavy on recordings by demo singers as opposed to people who were established artists at the time of the songs' recordings, but since we love many people who were previously backing and session singers--Shirley Clamp, Sonja Aldén--it should still be a treat to get to hear their vocals on songs we love. I think Jessica Andersson's version of "Jag ljuger så bra" may be the song I'm most interested to hear. Linda Bengtzing's recording is often my favorite schlager song ever, so I don't necessarily expect Jessica's version to surpass it--just provide an alternative from a singer who I desperately wish was still recording music in that style.

Dancing for my life

If you do not usually tune in to Melodifestivalen, Sweden's contest to select an entry for cross-Europe song contest Eurovision, today is not the day to start watching.

Usually, Melodifestivalen--literally, the Melody Festival--is a reliable source for well-written songs, most often of the pop type. Tonight's semifinal, the third of four that introduce new songs before a second chance round and a final, is a disappointing step back in song quality compared to both this year's previous two semifinals and the contest's previous editions.

That's not to say you won't be in for a good time if you tune in to the web stream that will be available at 2 PM EST. At this point, Melodifestivalen is a slick entertainment production. Sure, the artist introduction packages have sometimes been running a bit long this year, but tonight's semifinal will feature what reports say is the best intermission act yet: Lena Philipsson, 2004's winner, performing an English hard rock version of her classic '80s Melodifestival track "Dansa i neon."

You'll also see one of the top contenders for this year's top placing. Young Eric Saade, the breakout star of last year's Melodifestival, will be performing "Popular," an uptempo pop song that is practically unnecessary in terms of him making it to the finals--Eric advancing is the closest you'll get to a sure thing in Melodifestivalen this year. Whether you fall for "Popular"'s pulsing hard beat or not, the best thing about Eric has always been his eagerness and dedication to putting on a show. Eric's strong dancing skills and a glass-shattering stage gimmick promise a strong overall performance package.

The problem viewers will run into this week, though, is that the songs are generally enjoyable but not exceptional; there isn't anything to stir up the fiery, passionate devotion that promises heartbreak when one's favorites don't advance. Most of the players--including Linda Sundblad, Sebastian, Shirley Clamp of Shirley's Angels, and Sara Lumholdt of A*Teens--have been involved in better songs in the past, even if their offerings this week are not bad per se. It's instead a matter of songs that, one suspects, will in the long term reveal themselves to be three star affairs instead of the four and five star songs one hopes for in a contest of such prominence.

Still, even in an off week, Melodifestivalen will be must-watch viewing for me. A good performance can make you temporarily overlook a song's shortcomings. Most of all, though, even when the songs fade down the stretch, the contagious enthusiasm surrounding the online conversation about them rarely does.

Lucky you

This week's semifinal, the third of four that will introduced new songs, features a couple of big names. There's also a little bit of a course correction in presentation--I'd forgotten that I used to focus on live performances where available, to give an idea of what acts' live singing skills and stage presence are like, and have now switched back to that approach.

Sources: Aftonbladet (1, 2, 3,), Poplight, QX (1, 2, 3), SVT, VK, Expressen, Sydostran, GD (1, 2)

Linda Sundblad, "Lucky You" (Linda Sundblad/Johan "Kermit" Bobäck/Fredrik Thomander/Anders Wikström)
The lead singer of rock band Lambretta-turned-solo-act has bounced back and forth between pop-rock and '80s pop, but she enters the contest this year with what she describes as a happy, warm pop song which, though sounding at home in 2011, has ABBA influences. Her co-writers have worked with her before: Fredrik and Anders (the producing duo Epicentre, best known for their early '00s teen pop work) contributed "Let's Dance" to her latest album and Johan has co-written many songs with her, among them "Pick Up The Pieces," "Serotonin," and "Damage."

To watch: Linda performing "Let's Dance," the second single from her latest album.



Simon Forsberg, "Tid att andas" (Fredrik Kempe)
Sweden's current Mr. Gay, a former Fame Factory participant, will be singing what he calls a warm, powerful ballad that allows him to show his voice. He notes that it's challenging and has lyrics he relates to.

To watch: well, since "Tid att andas" is a ballad and there aren't that many choices, here's Simon performing "The Christmas Song."



Sara Lumholdt, "The Enemy" (Niclas Lundin/Anton Malmberg Hård af Segerstadt)
The former A*Teens member makes her third attempt at launching a solo career, having earlier found little mainstream traction with her R&B-dance sound or her singer-songwriter style. This time out, she's performing a mid-tempo mix of rock, pop, and R&B. It's written by one of the members of Le Kid, Anton, but don't let that affect your expectations--it won't be in keeping with their super-poppy sound. Niclas's discography is a bit more eclectic; he's one of those songwriters whose work pops up as random album tracks in a number of different countries. There's a demo collaboration of a song called "Saturday Or Sunday Night" between Niclas and Anton on Niclas's MySpace if you maybe want to get a feel for the mood they were in when collaborating.

To watch: there aren't very much recent performances from Sara. Here's forty seconds of her singing Michelle Branch's "Everywhere."



The Playtones, "The King" (Fredrik Kempe/Peter Kvint)
The winner of Dansbandskampen 2009, this rockabilly-influenced dansband sold more albums in Sweden in 2010 than anyone else. They've described their song, written by Fredrik Kempe (best known in the contest for schlager/pop uptempos and ballads) and Peter Kvint (best known for his pop-rock work with acts like Andreas Johnson), as rock-based with a touch of rockabilly and a big tougher than their previous work. They say it has a touch of the Stray Cats (the '80s rockabilly group behind songs like "Stray Cat Strut" and "Rock This Town").

To watch: their cover of Alexander Rybak's "Fairytale" would be the obvious choice, but I never really fell for their interpretation. Instead, I'm cheating and sharing something from the lead singer's earlier incarnation as Boppin' Steve; truth be told, from the little I've heard from both eras, those earlier performances did a better job of selling them as an appealing musical proposition. Plus, their entry this year is said to be rockabilly in sound and this performance of Jerry Lee Lewis's "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" show more of that rockabilly sound than their Dansbandskampen performances did.



Shirley's Angels, "I Thought It Was Forever" (Robin Abrahamsson/ Alexander Bard/Bobby Ljunggren/Henrik Wikström)
Shirley Clamp, much-loved by many schlager fans for songs like 2004's second placed "Min kärlek," returns to the contest after a disappointing last place in her semifinal in 2009. This time, she's performing as part of a trio (though she's definitely the frontwoman). "I Thought It Was Forever" is said to be a catchy pop song with a streak of melancholy. It's not slow, says Shirley, but it's not a disco song either and it's either very happy or very sad. Bobby and Henrik frequently appear in Melodifestivalen doing all sorts of work, Alexander is well-known for his usually pop work with acts like BWO, and Robin's previous entries have been ballads for Suzie Tapper and Cookies 'n' Beans.

To watch: easy choice--Shirley singing the fantastic "Min kärlek" in Melodifestivalen 2004. This is one of those schlager songs that creeps up on you until one day you wonder why you didn't fall for its semi-mysterious-sounding charm right off the bat.



Sebastian, "No One Else Could" (Andreas Alfredsson Grube/Sebastian Karlsson)
Former Idol contestant Sebastian returns to the contest with a track that he describes as quite different from the sound of his first three pop-rock albums: "No One Else Could" is an up-tempo synth song. He's suffered a drop in popularity since his 2007 appearance Melodifestivalen, though, meaning that he probably hopes to relaunch his career. Co-writer Andreas appeared in Melodifestivalen 2009 as part of Lasse Lindh's band.

To watch: even though he's been going around saying that his entry this year sounds totally different from his previous Melodifestival entry, here's "When The Night Comes Falling," a direct-to-the-final qualifier from 2007.



Sara Varga, "Spring för livet" (Sara Varge/Fredrik "Figge" Boström)
Sara is taking her singer-songwriter sound to Melodifestivalen and a bigger audience with "Spring för livet," a slow song with personal lyrics. Sara is an unknown quantity to most of the Swedish public, so for her this is a big opportunity for a breakthrough.

To watch: the music video for her song "Always Have"



Eric Saade, "Popular" (Fredrik Kempe)
Following on his breakout performance with last year's "Manboy," former boy band member Eric Saade returns to Melodifestivalen with another uptempo pop song, this time with lyrics about wanting to be the best. He emphasizes that he only wanted to return if his song was better than last year's (though that's what every back-to-back entrant says) and that "Popular" has an international-friendly sound. He adds that "Popular," written by Melodifestivalen veteran and co-writer of "Manboy" Fredrik Kempe, is clubbier and funkier than "Manboy." Eric has also talked a lot about how big his stage show will be. He's definitely one of the most anticipated contestants in this year's contest.

To watch: well, last year's "Manboy," of course. As you might be able to tell, my feelings towards Eric run considerably cooler than those of most Melodifestival fans, but he does at least win points for using the V performing-in-the-rain technique.



I don't know that my excitement is quite as strong as last week, but the general trend may be the reverse and I think Christer Björkman may surprise us with what he's packed into these next two weeks.

I'm looking forward to Linda Sundblad's entry--I have a few worries it could verge into overly cutesy and be too fluffy, but I generally love her work and those songwriters give me confidence; with Epicentre, you can usually count on a strong poppy hook. I'll be worried for her even if it is good, though.

Sebastian's reinvention intrigues me. I've never loved a full album of his, but he usually has at least one fantastic song per disc. I just hope his entry has a strong enough song at its core to go with the nice new stylistic trappings.

Shirley doing the sad-non-ballad thing is an enticing prospect.

Sara Lumholdt's song could go either way and I'm not too confident about her performance, but maybe we'll end up with something fun in studio.

I don't expect the Playtones to surpass Brolle in the rockabilly sweepstakes (in terms of quality), but I'd like to be proven wrong with a nice energetic rockabilly-pop song.

If Sara Varga made it into the contest, you'd think her entry would be a particularly nice version of her singer-songwriter sound.

Eric's song will probably be great-to-fantastic and I'm certainly quite interested to hear it, but I just can't work up the level of excitement for him it feels like I should have given the style of music he works in (mainly for tone of his voice reasons, I think). Hopefully this will be when he finally wins me over, though. He's certainly an energetic trier.