All the stars in heaven will shine for me

Ohhhh, yes. It is on. At this rate, this semifinal is going to be better than the actual final. The songs...they're amazing. I'll update in just a couple of minutes.

I am incredibly impressed. All predictions were that this was going to be the best semifinal round, and so far it easily is, but I had no idea it was going to be this good. Wow. In no particular order, the best:

Magnus (opening with Bosson-esque "ohh"'s, this song is so good. It's fast, it's poppy, it's got everything you could possibly want in a song. My favorite of the round, I think, though there's so much quality here that title could end up shifting around a lot, but this was the song I found myself wanting to listen to while I was sitting around waiting for my computer to do some stuff, so it wins out for now. It's one of the favorites to make the final, and it better! To quote someone else, though--I can't remember who, or I'd cite it--it might be very Melodifestivalen but maybe not very Eurovision. I don't care, though--it's sensational. Really. I can't even begin to get across how good it is--just listen to it already!)

Nanne (I was a little worried at first because it's acoustic-sounding, but she is going to perform the heck out of this, I'm sure, which will really elevate the song. Catchy vocal part, catchy guitar, and some lovely orchestral-ish punctuation of the song...I just sort of wish it wasn't so acoustic. As I said, though, I'm sure my opinion of it will climb immensely when I see it performed--she's such a powerful performer and really makes you see how brilliant her songs are.)

Måns (I'm hoping Mans does really well with this song and then decides that he wants to continue with this musical direction, as opposed to the "singer-songwriter" direction he's threatening. Nanne's a singer-songwriter, too, but I suspect he means something less fun, and this song is AMAZING. He's probably singing "When someone loves like I do, dreams can true," but to me it sounds like "When someone looks like I do, dreams can come true," and that's what I'm going to imagine he's saying instead. I'm not sure how well he'll perform it, but on quality of the song, I'd love this to at least make it to the second chance and the final from there. Please, Måns, release a full album of music like this! He seems a little emotionless at points, but oh gosh...I love this song. It starts out dark and slower, with Mans's voice muffled, but it breaks out into fantastic dance-pop. As if that wasn't great enough, out of nowhere, we get handclaps. Handclaps! Oh my gosh, is it good. It may, ignoring the performances, steal the title of my favorite from Magnus.)

Sebastian (ahh, this is great as well, up there with some of the best of his work. Don't let my lack of words here fool you--I love it as well.)

The Attic feat. Therese (it can't be a coincidence that this song opens up with a reference to "human rights" when the theme song for Melodifestivalen last year, also made by the Attic, was called "Human Rights," can it? Very clubby, very good. Even it fails to make the final--and I wonder if it being so clubby might hurt it--I don't know how it couldn't be a club hit...I love it a lot.)

MissMatch (these girls will probably be overlooked, cursed with being in the toughest semifinal and not being famous ahead of time, and I have a feeling a lot of Melodifestivalen fans might not like it, but I like it--I hope we hear more from them. It's a little rocky without being what I would necessarily call pop-rock. Plus, it's got panting.)

Sonja also has a beautiful ballad that is growing on me, but with this much amazing up-tempo stuff, there are so many other songs I'd rather see make it through. The Shieda song is nice enough, but can't compete when up against songs like these. You can listen to all the songs here.

Please, please, please let the stream work tomorrow! My hopes for the final and second chance--well, it's tough. I'm narrowly going to go Magnus and Nanne based on the reports that Nanne's performance easily tops everyone else's (otherwise--and I can't believe I'm saying this--it'd be questionable for me as to whether she should even make the second chance. Oh, saying that feels awful!), but Måns is close, and I definitely want him at least in the second chance and making it to the final out of there (or maybe in the final instead of Nanne...I love his song so much!). The second second chance spot--between Sebastian and the Attic feat. Therese, for me. There are five absolutely top-quality songs in this round, though, and it's such a shame more can't make it to the final. In fact, given the new structure of the second chance round, there's no way more than three songs from this semifinal will end up being in the final, which is ridiculous.

I'm in music paradise! I can't believe how great this round is. It really is going to be better than the final, I think.

I've waited tonight

My incomplete guide to this week's Melodifestivalen semifinal.

I'm far from an expert on Swedish pop, but I thought I'd give some brief background based on what I do know about the artists who'll be competing this Saturday. (If any of this is wrong or you know more, please let me know!) Since Melodifestivalen seems to take over this blog on the weekends, I thought some information ahead of time might be a good idea to give a better idea of what to expect and what's happening.

1.) Måns Zelmerlöw--a former competitor on Idol (he took fifth) and later the winner of Let's Dance, Sweden's version of Strictly Come Dancing/Dancing With The Stars, so, even though he's only twenty, he's practically a veteran of televised performance competitions. Originally, he wasn't going to be in Melodifestivalen, but after Agnes's (who beat him in Idol) song and another one were disqualified, he was called in. He's described his song, "Cara Mia," as danceable, with some ABBA and BWO influences, starting out sad but building up to something much happier. Enjoy it while you can, though, because he's also said his CD will be in a more singer-songwriter style.

To watch: he hasn't released any music yet, but you can watch him singing Roxette's "The Look" on Idol.



2.) MissMatch--I don't know anything about them except that they're made up of two girls--does anyone know more? All I've got from their Melodifestivalen profile is that they're best friends and neighbors. Their song is called "Drop Dead." Expressen compares them to t.A.T.u, though I'm not sure why, and there's a reference to schlager, though the girls do say they're not typical schlager.

3.) Magnus Carlsson--former Barbados and Alcazar member turned solo artist. He competed in Melodifestivalen last year (he's actually competed in it every year since 2000 except for 2004) with the great "Lev Livet" (one of the three happiest songs of last year), making it to the finals and placing eighth. I think I've heard that there's been a lot of positive buzz around his song this year, "Live Forever," which he's said is '80's-ish (he compared it to a-ha, among other things), happy, and fast, and has said it's typical of his upcoming album (which he's also said will be pop and disco).

To watch: his performance of "Lev Livet" at Melodifestivalen 2006



4.) Shieda--I don't know anything about this group--does anyone? Their song is called "I mina drömmar" and, from what I can understand from their Melodifestivalen profile, is sung in three languages. From what I can understand from Expressen, their song is "ethnic" or "world" music.

5.) The Attic feat. Therese--the Attic released a brilliant album last year which they described as pop-house, and that's about right. They've been around for longer than that, though, releasing singles and remixing songs for other artists, and they made the music for Lena Philipsson's entrances at Melodifestivalen 2006 (she was the host). Therese, too, does really danceable music; she might be most famous for "Put 'Em High," which she did with Stonebridge, but her song "Time" is also great. Together listed as "The Attic feat. Therese," they'll be singing "The Arrival."

To watch (for the Attic): or actually, don't...just let it play so you can hear the music, but it's a typical dance video featuring a bunch of scantily clad women...which is a shame, because a truly brilliant song like this one deserves so much more. The album version is much better than this video mix, too (that quiet part in the middle doesn't exist). You don't see the two members of the Attic until the end, in the police line up.



To watch (for Therese): the music video for "Time."



6.) Sebastian--a former Idol contestant, he's a little bit of a rocker and was in the same season as Måns, ultimately placing second. He released a debut single that I couldn't stand ("Do What You're Told") but followed it up with the good "Indifferent" and the excellent (as in, one of the best singles of last year/this year) lead single for his new album, "Words And Violence." At the rate his singles are improving, his song for Melodifestivalen, "When The Night Comes Falling," should be absolutely out of this world. However, if I'm understanding his interview in Expressen correctly, he compares the song to Bruce Springsteen circa 1975, and I think it's also saying a lot of people have criticized it, but I could be completely wrong.

To watch: his live performance of "Words And Violence" on the Idol 2006 finale (not the season he was competing in).



7.) Sonya--or Sonja Aldén, as I guess she is going by. She used to be one of Shirley Clamp's backup singers. Sonya competed in Melodifestivalen 2006 with "Etymon," but didn't make it out of the semifinals. She also co-wrote the Poodles' fourth-placed "Night Of Passion." She's contrasted her song this year, "För att du finns," with "Etymon," saying that while the latter was energetic and wild, this year's is calm and will contrast with the many uptempo songs she's up against; it's a lighters-in-the-air sort of song, according to her. The co-writer of her song also worked on "Etymon," Carola's "Invincible," Shirley Clamp's "Min kärlek," and Alcazar's "Not A Sinner, Nor A Saint," among other songs.

To watch: her Melodifestivalen 2006 performance of "Etymon."



8.) Nanne Grönvall--brilliant and maybe crazy, Nanne's competed in Melodifestivalen a bunch of times, sometimes as part of a group and sometimes solo, and also tried to represent the UK once, too. In 2005, she was the viewer favorite with "Håll om mig", but the jury's votes were enough to give Martin Stenmarck the win. Her song this year is "Jag måste kyssa dig," which means "I Must Kiss You." She's definitely one of the contestants to beat, and with good reason; given her history in Melodifestivalen, her performance is sure to be entertaining and her song should be great.

To watch: her Melodifestivalen 2005 performance of "Håll om mig."



Sources: Moopy, ESC Today (1, 2), Catchy Tunes Of Sweden, Wikipedia, SVT's Melodifestivalen site, Expressen. A huge thanks to all of these sites!