It's my time tonight, it's my time, it's my time, my moment, I'm not gonna let go of it, my time, it's my time, and I'll stand proud

Yes! Well done, Finland.



I've endorsed "Lose Control" by Waldo's People before, and have been strongly behind this whole comeback of theirs since the first time I heard "Back Again"--it's as if they've taken my favorite of their old songs, "1000 Ways," as the jumping off point for their new and even poppier material. If Alcazar were Eurodance with guitar riffs, "1000 Ways" is what I always thought they'd sound like, and the reincarnated Waldo's People is living up to that. "Lose Control" is great dance-pop, like the '90's style but with the production values of today.



It wasn't Finland's national final I chose to watch, though (well, I couldn't--the video web stream only worked for people in Finland)--that was Denmark's final, which was generally a pretty enjoyable show. When did Denmark's final become such a...disco? The winning song, Brinck's "Believe Again," was co-written by Ronan Keating and sounds like it, but the number of up-tempo schlager, '80's pop, and electronic pop songs was so refreshing. Most of the talk will be about Hera Björk's "Someday," a classy schlager song well-written by some true Eurovision fans and well sung by Hera; it came close to winning, making it through all the various rounds until the final one, where "Believe Again" forced it into second place. If I'm being picky, the ballad opening of the song lasts a bit long for my personal taste, but it's a real shame "Someday" didn't win--a great schlager song like that would've been very welcome at Eurovision, at least for me. Still, second is a great achievement, something she and the writers should be proud of. Watch out for the "sorrow! There has been sorrow!" bit and the key change, complete with (of course!) pyrotechnics. If you're a schlager lover, just try not to go into meltdown.



I wonder if I'm alone, though, in feeling that girl group Sukkerchok's song "Det' Det" impressed me a lot more live than I was expecting it to. In its studio version, a lot of its light '80's melodic loveliness is lost, but on stage the song came alive musically in a way I never expected it to (I think the guitars must have been further back in the live mix, allowing the synths and vocal melody to stand out more, but that's not the only reason). It starts off like it's going to be "Hot N Cold" part two, but then completely changes up for the chorus. I was glad to see them make it through to the second stage of the competition (where they faced off against "Someday" and lost)--it was one of those experiences where you can feel yourself falling in total love with the song and the group as they go, and even the ill-advised hip-hop styling of one member couldn't stop that.



Trine Jepsen's schlager "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" was great, too, but something about the staging felt underwhelming. The song will still get play from me, though. In fact, for almost all of the Danish songs, there was something positive I felt I took away from the experience.

I chose to watch the Denmark final over Norway's second semifinal, so I still haven't caught up on that yet (I would have if the stream over at NRK wasn't mysteriously missing audio when I try to play the archived show).



Romania chose a harmless catchy danceable pop track, Elena Gheorge's "Balkan Girls," as its entry. There's not much more to say about it at this point in time--it could be disposable with time or its catchiness could give it a bit more enduring power (right now I'm definitely leaning towards the former). I've never thought of Romania as part of the Balkans, though.

Meanwhile, while three countries were choosing tracks that at least have some redeeming value to them, the UK was presented with this...



...with "this" being Andrew Lloyd Webber and Diane Warren making what sounds like the worst Idol winner's song ever. Granted, Eurovision songs aren't known for lyrical complexity and love some repetition, but put that (lack of) melody and those words together and the first half of that chorus is just intolerable. You all can keep Jade, that's fine, but is it really too late to swap out the song?

You're the last time I'll ever compromise

Despite loving "Over And Over," I've never really paid much attention to Asia-focused producer-and-singer project Sweetbox; with that one exception, none of the songs I've heard from them have really had the ability to stick with me. Somehow, though, I still ended up paying semi-attention when American-born Jade, Sweetbox's singer for the past seven years or so, decided to go solo and giving her first solo release, the mini-album Out Of The Box, a listen (I still really like the somewhat trashy uptempo/urban/dance "In The Hall Of The Mountain King"-sampling "Crush," released beforehand as a duet, even with its dubious lyrics), and was interested enough to listen to her first full solo album, Bittersweet Symphony, released just a few days ago.

If you're looking for something that screams "international hit" or "you must listen to me now!", you won't find it here, but if you're looking for pleasant cute pop not made with real instruments and with lots of manipulated vocal effects and sparkling producer-created sounds, you'll find several enjoyable songs on the album. I wouldn't urge anyone to rush to add Bittersweet Symphony to your must buy ASAP list, but there are a few tracks that may make your music listening just that little bit brighter, if you don't mind your pop very bubbly, very produced, and very cheesy...which I don't! (Also, I suspect it's not that different from typical Sweetbox material, which does make it odd that I'm listening to it after having bypassed their earlier work.)

The Last

You're not the last man left
Or the last of my disasters
You're not my last mistake
Or the first to make me cry

Lucky Lady (with verses that are proof positive that lyrics can't really mean that much to me; just give me some meaningful-sounding "eee-aaay-ohhh"s and I'm happy)

California wait for me
'Cause I swear I'm coming home

Eee-aaaay-ohhh
I'm a lucky lady
But I ain't lucky when I love

If you're not all sugar-rushed and cuted out by now, "We Can Run" and "Always Mine" from the album are in a similar vein, and there are a couple of other different-but-good tracks (if you like your music slightly less...pink, "Undone" and "Unbreakable (Moonlight Sonata)" might be more your style).

To buy Jade Valerie's album Bittersweet Symphony, go here (physical).

Next up: maybe that British singer.

Know I talk too much, but for you I'd hush

I can't say that I've ever listened to much Sweetbox, though "Over And Over" is great and "Addicted" is OK. To be honest, I can't see too much changing with the new solo career of former Sweetbox singer Jade Villalon, currently going by the name Jade Valerie. And I'm not even sure how much I like the following song--I imagine I'll be over it in a few days. Still, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't listening to a decent bit at the moment. It looks like the song I'm posting was originally released in a dual language version and was a collaboration between Baek Ji Young and Jade, but it's been recorded in just English and with just Jade's vocals for her new mini-album and the full album that'll be coming out later.

Crush--all right, yes, this features some pretty dubious lyrics (that first verse and its rhymes come to mind, but you could choose just about any part of the song), and yes, it's still working the Sweetbox thing of sampling classical music and using it for modern pop (in this case, it's "In The Hall Of The Mountain King," I think...maybe). "Crush" is trying to be a track with attitude, and probably trying to be a little urban-influenced, though any song that everyone seems to hear as sampling Inspector Gadget (even if that's not the case) really stands no chance in the coolness sweepstakes. It's more enjoyable if you don't take it all seriously. By the way, the sound quality of this is subpar--sorry about that.

To buy Jade Valerie's mini-album Out Of The Box, go here (physical).

Next up: maybe a Swedish singer.