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.

How can you leave me now?

I got back just in time! The final is just about to start! I'm hoping for a Måns victory, but expecting the Ark to win.

If you want to watch, you can do so (through Windows Media Player--there's also a Real Player feed) here.

Edit: acoustic version of "Evighet." Andreas up first. I might not write that much, unless I start to lose my feed and start complaining (which I'm very worried about).

Edit: thank goodness someone restyled Sebastian--he couldn't really look worse than he did during the semifinal. I really like his song--a lot. I always liked it, but it's been a grower, too. I felt Anna Book seemed a little...off, or something, maybe vocally. I like Sonja's song as well. The stream was pretty bad during Sebastian's song, but it seems to have improved.

Edit: that acoustic guitar part in Marie's song really is lovely, and it's a nice song. Since I'm not worried (that much) about it winning, I think I'm able to enjoy it more. But Måns is up next!

Edit: oh. Maybe I've just listened to the studio recording so many times, but...is it just me, or did this not seem as good as his semifinal performance? I felt like he dropped some letters or words, some of the gestures just seemed a little off, sounded breathy at bits...I think I'm always harsher on what I'm supporting the most, though. Don't get me wrong--I love the song, love the performance, but... Still, Måns to win! Up next we have the one song I absolutely under no circumstances could live with as the winner.

Edit: thank goodness we have something exciting after that performance from Tommy--Sanna's up next!

Edit: for a big ballad, Sarah's is good. I think I heard somewhere that Andreas Lundstedt is supporting her? Sanna's performance was full of strutting, fireworks, and general fun. The Ark up next.

Edit: boy, they put on a good performance, don't they? They make it look effortless. Now, how long do we have to wait for the results?

Edit: vote for song 6, Sweden! 099-239 06!

Edit: I love this musical. I wish I could understand it. Now they're singing "Alla Flickor."

Edit: the first set of results is in...and Måns wins the first 12 points! The Ark get the 10 and Sarah gets 8. Andreas only got 1--I'm surprised; isn't he predicted to be in the top 3?

Edit: Måns gets 6, Andreas gets 8, and the Ark get 12. Sarah's doing well.

Edit: is this going to going to end up being Sarah vs. Andreas vs. the Ark? Sarah gets 8, Andreas 10, and the Ark 12, with Måns only getting 6.

Edit: Magnus Backlund presenting results. Måns only gets 2 points! Oh no...the Ark only get 6 here...strange....Sarah gets 8, 10 to Sanna--that's nice to see. Andreas gets 12. I'm getting really worried.

Edit: 2 for Sarah, 8 for Måns, 10 for Andreas, 12 for the Ark. Is Måns no longer a contender? Magnus Carlsson to present the next results--bring some good ones!

Edit: only 1 point for Måns! Shock. 8 for the Ark, 10 for Sarah 12 for Andreas. Total, Måns has 33, the Ark 60, Sarah 46, and Andreas 53.

Edit: oh goodness--Jessica's hair! Only 2 points for Måns. 4 for Sarah, 8 to the Ark, 10 to Sonja, 12 to Andreas. Sebastian's catching up to Måns.

Edit: 4 for Måns--is there even any point in me reporting what he's getting? Total, the Ark have 80, Andreas 73, Sarah 60, Måns 39, and Sonja and Sebastian tied at 31.

Edit: points are all over the place, but it seems to be a pretty set Ark victory. I'm so surprised (and disappointed) Måns isn't doing better, though.

Edit: Marie gets her first points (4). 8 for Andreas, 10 for Måns, 12 for the Ark.

Edit: Carola's presenting now...brings it all up to Andreas at 101, the Ark at 116, Sarah at 78, and Måns at 61.

Edit: we're seeing the phone numbers again. Sebastian's song is so much better than Andreas's.

Edit: telephone votes in, and the Ark win! I am happy for them, and my mood is somewhat improved by the fact that poor Måns got the second highest number of the public's votes. Andreas got the third highest and Sarah the fourth. As for overall results, Andreas came 2nd with 189, Måns 3rd with 171, and Sarah 4th with 122. It's probably just as well for any breakable objects nearby me that Mans didn't win--I think they would've ended up thrown up in the air in excitement. Can I hazard a guess that Måns would've got more votes from the public if he'd been in the top 3 after the juries' results? I would've thought the lead the top 3 had would've encouraged people to vote strategically for one of those, not for Måns. Congratulations to the Ark, though! The stream was generally great, too--skippy during Sebastian's performance, but that's about it.

You struck a match inside this frozen heart of mine

As much as it's the hope of a Jessica Andersson album that has me salivating, her former Fame partner Magnus Bäcklund has surprised me by coming up with some songs I like. They are, to be fair, more on the MOR side of things, but they're catchy in a not-particularly-aggressive guitar-based way. I suspect I may regret this post at some time in the future, but at the moment, I'm enjoying listening to some of his work. Magnus won a season of Fame Factory and was later a member of the duo Fame, which represented Sweden at Eurovision 2003 with the great "Give Me Your Love." After an album, some singles, and another try at Melodifestivalen, Magnus and Jessica are pursuing solo careers; Magnus made it to the final round of Melodifestivalen 2006, released an album, and now has a single out that I presume must be the lead single for his second album.

Burn--a ballad and Magnus's new single. I read somewhere that he was planning on releasing it in the U.S. and some places in Europe outside of Sweden, and it definitely has that "designed to be a hit" sound to it (whether or not one thinks it actually should be a hit); I can, if nothing else, imagine this being used to soundtrack TV shows. When I first heard it, it had an instantly familiar feel to it, which at first I thought was just a sign of writers tailoring a song to fit perfectly into the current music environment, taking the tropes of this sort of music and working them to their advantage...but a little research revealed why it felt so instantly familiar: it's a cover. The first version I know of is Shannon Noll's (the Australian Idol runner-up who's gone on to have continual success), but please let me know if you know of an earlier version (a version of it was released in the Netherlands by Van Velzen, but Shannon's version predates that one)! Whoever is responsible for Magnus's version seems to have decided they really wanted to go for drama and pathos--everything, from the new violin part to Magnus's voice, somehow managing to seem both stronger and more broken, is taken up a notch...and, do you know, I actually prefer it to the original. If you're going to go for a power ballad of this sort, go all the way, and the producers have, punching up "Burn" to make it more...anthemic.

"Sweet Catastrophy" (yes, that's how they've spelled it) from his first album, Never Say Never, is also good, if you want to look into what he's done any further; it's more upbeat and sort of reminds me of Anders Johansson.

You can buy Magnus Bäcklund's single "Burn" here (physical).

Next up: something far more danceable, but not from Sweden...it does have a Eurovision connection, though.

Can't get away from my one-track mind

After a run of songs that seemed to all be serious, hip, or rocky, today we're returning to "pure pop" that is, most importantly, incredibly fun and happy. Fame (who should really be shown in a color picture, because black-and-white just doesn't represent them) were a Swedish duo made up of Magnus Bäcklund and Jessica Andersson, two contestants on Fame Factory, a reality show singing contest. Though Magnus won (Jessica dropped out), the two would team up to form Fame and ended up representing Sweden in the 2003 Eurovision with "Give Me Your Love," which took fifth. Supposedly, from what I've heard (which could very well be out of date--does anyone know?), the duo is still sort of together, but Magnus released a solo album this year (it's more pop-rock than Fame's music) and they each competed separately in Melodifestivalen. Though the studio recording of "Give Me Your Love" on their album (also called Give Me Your Love) lacks some of the energy and emotion of the live version, the album nevertheless has some really great songs on it--it's incredibly poppy.

Anyway You Want It--some of the album's songs have, like "Give Me Your Love," Magnus and Jessica singing together. Others, though, feature just one of the two. This is one of those--it's a Jessica song. "Anyway You Want It" starts out with this neat overlapping, harmonizing effect before it jumps into the energetic, upbeat part of the song. The whole song is cheery, poppy fun, but the chorus deserves special mention--it'll have you wanting to sing along with it.

Like The Sun After Rain--a little more balladish than "Anyway You Want It" (though catchy and still not really slow), "Like The Sun After Rain" features both Jessica and Magnus. It's sweet and, though still very pop, it's a little more toned down--not quite bursting with exuberance like some of their other songs, but still happy.

To buy Fame's debut album Give Me Your Love, go here (physical).

Next up: Give Me Your Love also has a surprising (though I can guess why it's there) cover on it that will be appearing here in the near future. For now, either a song in Spanish or a couple of songs from the new album of an artist who often sings in languages besides English, but is American.