You'll always be the one

ESC Today is going to give me a heart attack with all this "Selma news" that turns out to not ever really be as big as I'm hoping it will be--first the whole "guess what? She'll be involved in Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins...but just as a judge" thing, and now the headline "Selma song sees UK single release." Can you imagine my excitement?

Well, it's "All I Know Of Love," a two year old duet she's done that featured on Icelandic singer Cortes's album, and it's being released as a b-side. Basically, nothing fantastic or worth getting excited about (I imagine I'd like it a lot more if Cortes wasn't such an operatic singer--that's just not my preferred style). Sigh. Some day!

On the other hand, they did alert me to the fact that you can preorder a signed copy of Martin Stenmarck's new album Det är det pojkar gör när kärleken dör (has he been taking album naming lessons from Lena Philipsson?) here. Lead single "100 år från nu (Blundar)" is still a fantastic song (it was really nice to see it top the Swedish singles chart last week, even if how much the singles chart [as opposed to, say, radio play or albums sales] means is debatable), so I'm very excited to hear more. It's released November 7.

I'll give you all that I can offer, the rest is all up to you

What does this make this, my sixth post today? Oh well--I couldn't help it when I noticed an ESC Today article about Iceland's national finals for Eurovision--apparently they're starting September 29 (which is really early). At the very least, those are something worth getting excited about; Iceland has sent a lot of great entries lately and Jónsi's "Segðu mér," which made it to the overall national final but didn't win, was great (though admittedly I wasn't paying close attention to most countries beyond Sweden--I'll get there eventually). The real reason I had to post, though? Selma news! Though, in the vein of the Jessica Andersson "news" below, it's probably not anything really worth getting excited about, but I so wish she'd make a commercial music comeback (especially if it was in the vein of "If I Had Your Love"): she's going to a jury member for the national finals.

Though I wasn't a huge fan of Iceland's 2007 entry (I haven't listened to it much, but I remember thinking it was pleasant when it was performed), they're overdue for some success, so I hope everything goes well for them this year.

Speaking of Iceland and Eurovision, Birgitta has a solo song on the Astrópía soundtrack which I remember thinking wasn't bad, but it's since been taken off MySpace; it was in Icelandic, though.

Feeling your heart beat beside me

By the time 2005 rolled around, it had been years since Selma had released any music by herself; yes, there had been a few songs on children's albums, but they weren't singles, and they really don't count. She'd spent the time continuing to do musicals (of course) and helping contestants on Iceland's version of Pop Idol, among other things. In 2005, though, she was chosen by internal selection to represent Iceland at Eurovision with the song "If I Had Your Love." Despite having an excellent song, she didn't make it out of the semifinals, for which people have variously blamed the song itself, the camera work, the performance/choreography, her outfit, or just bad luck; regardless, she definitely deserved better. Since then, the only thing I know about her is that she's done some more musicals, which is a shame--I would've loved another album from her, especially if this sort of song was the jumping-off point for it.

If I Had Your Love--if it wasn't for the apparently inevitable "Toxic" comparisons (which this song always drew), "If I Had Your Love" would still be an amazing single for any of the well-established female singers of today; it definitely works outside of the Eurovision context. Though poppy and maybe even frothy, it should (at least musically, if probably not lyrically) even appeal to people who like to analyze their pop music. The song switches tempos frequently, mid-tempo to down-tempo to up-tempo, and tosses in what might be Arabic influences, strings, and a beat that ranges from prowling to dance-pop depending where you are in the song. It's pretty much as fantastic and fabulous as a song can be. I like the concept for the music video, too--it's got Selma running around with a Cupid-esque bow and arrow, trying to shoot the guy she loves but continually missing and breaking things.

You can get Selma's song "If I Had Your Love" on the Eurovision 2005 album, which you can buy here (physical) or here (digital).

Next up: probably a group that I think is German.

Footnote for this whole series: all of this information is pieced together from what I've read online--I wasn't even listening to music when Selma released her last single, let alone paying attention to Icelandic music--so please let me know if any of it is wrong.

This was always meant to happen

After her very successful debut album, released in 1999, Selma hardly missed a beat before releasing her second album, Life Won't Wait, in 2000. She followed that up with another album in 2002, but we're glossing over that particular work as it involved her teaming up with someone to record a bunch of songs from musicals and movies. Skipping back to Life Won't Wait, the album doesn't really have any of the darker songs that you found occasionally on her debut album; pretty much all of it was happy, though I'd say--with one exception--it was less dance-influenced than her debut album. Of course, the one song I'm posting is the exception to that.

Let's Stay Up--the song starts out with a multi-tracked vocal and a capella, but that changes pretty quickly as it switches into danceable pop. Just as "Hitgirl" felt older than "All Out Of Luck" to me, "Let's Stay Up" feels older than "Hitgirl." There's not too much I can say about it, but it's no less fun or enjoyable because of that.

And, you know what, why not one more song, too...

Pass It On--this song is never going to win points for sophistication, but with its slightly retro and constantly bouncey feel, it's nevertheless a great song of the feel-good variety.

To buy Selma's second album, Life Won't Wait, go here (digital) or keep an eye on eBay.

Next up: Selma's return to Eurovision, and the last part of the series.

Footnote for this whole series: all of this information is pieced together from what I've read online--I wasn't even listening to music when Selma released her last single, let alone paying attention to Icelandic music--so please let me know if any of it is wrong.

The wind has repossessed your voice

Jumping past Selma's 1999 Eurovision 2nd place, covered in the first post, we're up to her debut album, called I Am or Selma depending on (I think) where it was released. The album was fairly diverse, and I definitely wouldn't call it a teen-pop album. It still has a good deal of lighter tracks, but it got darker and harder (comparatively so) for some of the songs, especially--as mentioned before--the songs that she'd done previously for a soundtrack. Other songs took the slight dance-influence in a different direction, more developed and less happy-go-lucky sounding. The song I'll be posting, though, doesn't fall into either of those two categories--it's more on the happy and danceable side.

Hitgirl--the follow-up single to "All Out Of Luck," I think. "Hitgirl" is faster and maybe a little more dance-influenced than "All Out Of Luck," though still not a dance track. It also feels older than "All Out Of Luck" to me--not that it's a particularly old-sounding song, but rather that "All Out Of Luck" (which I love) feels very young. Nice strings and nonsense backing syllables add to the song's appeal.

You can buy Selma's debut album (I Am or Selma) here (physical) for far too high a price or here (digital) where you'll have to deal with really strict DRM.

Next up: her second album, and we'll officially be past the half-way point of this special.

Footnote for this whole series: all of this information is pieced together from what I've read online--I wasn't even listening to music when Selma released her last single, let alone paying attention to Icelandic music--so please let me know if any of it is wrong.

I've gotta know if you wanna be

(Picture credit to Discogs.)

Part 2 of the Selma special. As I mentioned yesterday, before Eurovision (and after) Selma appeared in a lot of musicals (including Grease, which is starting to seem like a prerequisite for anyone who wants to represent Iceland at Eurovision--Jónsi [2004] and Birgitta [2003] played the leads together in 2003), but she'd also recorded some non-musical music already. Back in 1995, she was the lead vocalist for the dance group Fantasia who, as far as I know, released two singles. In 1997 or 1998, she recorded songs for the soundtrack to the movie Sporlaust; while the movie apparently didn't do that well, the songs did. Of her four songs on the soundtrack for Sporlaust--"Weekender," "All The Wrong People," "The Wannabe," and "Angels"--all except "The Wannabe" would go on to be on her debut album (released post-Eurovision) and all except "Angels" are on the darker side.

Seven--or "7," as I've seen it both ways. This song is from her time with Fantasia; it was their second single. At times, I'm very tempted to say this is the best song Selma has been involved with, but given what she would come up with for Eurovision 2005, that really isn't the case. Still, though it was released in 1995, I can still imagine people being thrilled about this song if it was released today, although that may just be due to my lack of knowledge about dance music--because dance is undoubtedly what "Seven" is. The beats are more...maybe "house" is the right word? More house than something like Catch's "Walk On Water." Still, if you like dancey music, there's a good chance you'll like this.

To buy Fantasia' single "Seven," go here (physical), where you'll get charged the absolutely insane price of $50, or here (digital), where you'll have to deal with really strict DRM.

Next up: Selma's first album.

Footnote for this whole series: all of this information is pieced together from what I've read online--I wasn't even listening to music when Selma released her last single, let alone paying attention to Icelandic music--so please let me know if any of it is wrong.

You've got to let go of all your bad memories

I don't think I've done a deliberate multi-day feature on an artist since back in September, when I wrote about a1. I'm going to try again, though; we'll see if I can stay focused long enough to get through it. As planned, though, it's going to last five days. As a warning, though I love the artist in question's music, I'm not hugely aware of much about her, so please correct me if any of this information is wrong.

I love Icelandic singer Selma Björnsdóttir, more commonly known just as Selma. She needs to release another album now, but I'm not even sure if she's doing music anymore (if anyone knows what she's been up to in recent years, please let me know). She first came to international attention when she represented Iceland at Eurovision in 1999 and took second to Charlotte Nilsson, winning Iceland its best place so far at Eurovision (Iceland is one of those countries overdue for a win, in my opinion, given how many great entries they've sent--not this year, though). Before that, she'd done a lot of acting in musicals, but she had released some songs before.

All Out Of Luck--Selma's 1999 Eurovision entry, though it's probably worth noting that this is the album version of the song, not the Eurovision edit--that's why it's over the three minute mark. Really, it's nothing more than a fun upbeat pop song; there's nothing about it that's particularly boundaries-pushing, but that doesn't make it any less great.

All Out Of Luck (Club Mix)--since it's a club mix, yes, it is on the long side (over seven minutes long), but I thought I'd upload it since a lot of people probably already have the song itself. I'm pretty picky about my long remixes, but, even though this probably won't be particularly impressive to people who know a lot about remixes, I enjoy this one. It may just be my imagination, but there's a series of occasional background notes (not the main beat) that reminds me of Gina G's "Ooh Aah...Just A Little Bit."

I've alternately seen Selma's debut album called I Am and Selma; I think the Icelandic version may have been called I Am and the international version Selma? I'm not sure. At any rate, you can buy it here (physical) for far too high a price or here (digital) where you'll have to deal with really strict DRM.

Next up: though this was the logical place to start the special on Selma, since Eurovision is what most people know her for, the next post will actually take us back in time to the group Selma was involved with before Eurovision.