Hans magi gör ingen besviken

It's my birthday today (exciting day of...work, mainly, which is just as well, since I'm trying to pretend it's not happening), which means I'm calling priority to post whatever I want, even if it's quite well known already and the artist has been featured on other great blogs and the song's original version has just recently been posted elsewhere (a very interesting read), in pseudo-celebration. I am craving new material from this new singer, though not really expecting anything soon--still, hope springs eternal, and all that. Anyhow, Linda Bengtzing is Swedish and competed in Fame Factory, but her real rise to fame as a singer came when she entered the 2005 Melodifestivalen with this song. She would come back in 2006 with "Jag Ljuger Så Bra," originally written for former Fame member Jessica Andersson. Neither of her Melodifestivalen entries came close to winning, but 2007 brought her her biggest hit yet when she featured in Markoolio's "Värsta Schlagern" in a role originally meant for Shirley Clamp (I think). The song was a huge success, and worthily so--it may be a parody, but it's a great song.

Alla Flickor--if there's a more joyous (in sound), more compelling, must-sing-along outburst of a song out there, I haven't heard it. And if there's a song out there with better ability to cross language boundaries, I don't think I've heard it either. "Alla Flickor"'s writers have created an under three minute masterpiece--it's like schlager to the nth degree, which perfectly suits Linda's style (at least in the recording studio) of full-bore singing.

To buy Linda Bengtzing's album Ingenting Att Förlora, go here (physical) or here (digital). In my eyes, it's very much worth picking up.

Next up: maybe an American group or Shayne Ward.

(By the way, this post was very nearly about the Delays' "Valentine.")