I know I told you dinner, wine, and candlelight

Swedish radio show Morgonpasset is having some of the artists who come to sing live perform Christmas songs and they've got the songs linked to on their site for you to listen to. If you like the idea of Darin singing "Oh Holy Night," Danny singing "The Christmas Song," Sibel singing "What Child Is This," or Amanda Jenssen and Erik Hassle singing original Christmas songs--all in acoustic, live, and usually abbreviated versions--go here.

Also on the Swedish music front, I recommend checking out the Idol medley from the Idol finale on Dirrrty Pop and Robyn performing at the Nobel ceremony on Oswalds Popcorn.

In this prison that we made, we both know where we belong

When Swedish Idol and Melodifestivalen contestant Sibel released her debut album The Diving Belle there was some excitement and surprise over the fact that she'd included an uptempo, more dance/disco-pop song, "Don't You Wanna Know" on it, but I found myself feeling lukewarm about the song. It felt kind of...well, token uptempo song to me. There was potential there, but it never burst through and the chorus kind of felt like a non-event when, given the verses, something bigger was needed there. It was an OK one, but, for me, it didn't feel like more than that.

Luckily, though, Sibel gave us the iTunes bonus track of "The Night Is Still Young." I'm not going to claim it's the song to end all songs, but I think it's more fun than "Don't You Wanna Know." Also dance-disco-pop (though of course not full-fledged hands-in-the-air dance-pop ridiculouslessness; this is Sibel, so there's that certain element of grown-up-ness to it, despite the lyrics that you could easily be sung by someone young, as Sibel is), it's got a chorus that feels like a chorus instead of a bridge still leading up to something.

To buy Sibel's album The Diving Belle, go here (physical) or here (digital). "The Night Is Still Young" isn't included on most versions, though; head to any European iTunes store for that edition of the album.

Next up: maybe that British song or that Spanish song or that boy band.

I want to be loved, in love--that's enough, that's enough for me

My frustration with record companies continues: is there any reason Sibel's (twenty year old Swedish singer who was in Idol a few years ago but it just now launching her commercial career via Melodifestivalen) new album The Diving Belle should be licensed out to be available on some European countries' iTunes stores (including the UK) but not in the U.S.? The whole phased release argument certainly doesn't stand here--the odds of Sibel promoting her album is the U.S. must be virtually nonexistant, and certainly much worse than the odds of her promoting in, say, Norway. For that matter (and I'm sure it's just a licensing thing based on past agreements, but I still don't get it), why does, say, Greece get it but not, for example, Austria?

Anyway, I'm not sure if I'll end up buying the whole album or not, but for now I did get two tracks, "Make Believe" and "Walking Away." "Walking Away" (co-written by Kara DioGuardi, a piece of information more useful as trivia than as any guarantee of quality in my opinion) has some fantastic verses (with great use of strings!) and a good cute chorus that probably isn't "big" enough to scream world hit or anything, but the poppy-but-fleshed-out mid/up-tempo song is definitely a very enjoyable listen (there's a clip here; you'll get a taste of one of the verses near the end). The song I'm posting today, though, is the other one I picked up.

Make Believe--the first time I heard the preview of this song on iTunes, I thought it sounded great. I then listened to the full thing over on Sibel's MySpace and felt underwhelmed--it seemed a lot less good than the preview had made out. Still, I ended up returning to it several times, and now I think it's really won me over. The strong chorus that hooked me in from the preview is still great, but my appreciation for the more toned-down piano-based verses is growing. Speaking of the chorus, I think it's a good example of something I've mentioned a few times recently: what tends to really matter to me in terms of lyrics isn't necessarily what they actually mean but how they sound, and there's something about the whole miracle/lyrical thing I love the sound of (though I could see it being too much for some people). "Make Believe" is a very pretty pop song (kind of a mix between the very produced sound of much teen-pop [as well as having a lyrical sentiment that wouldn't be out of place in that genre at all] as well as more diva-does-adult contemporary/MOR and singer-singwriter sounds...maybe with a bit of Disney), but one that doesn't sacrifice its catchiness to be pretty.

To buy Sibel's debut album The Diving Belle, go here (physical; the physical copy comes out tomorrow) or, if your country's iTunes store has it, you'll be able to buy it here (there is an iTunes bonus track, which sounds pretty great). This song will only be posted for a short time, since I think it may be the next single and/or released for charity.

Next up: maybe something French.

Try to deny what you're feeling and you know that your heart will say no

Having slightly calmed down after last night, I'm going to attempt to write something more than "AMAZING!!!!" over and over again (though really, that's what I still want to do).

10 things I loved about Linda's and Charlotte's performances last night (I had to choose some arbitrary number or else it would basically end up as a second-by-second list of what they did), in no particularly order:

1.) the aforementioned pause and look right before Linda's key change--that determined, hah-I'm-going-to-nail-this-and-prove-that-I-can moment

2.) Linda beaming and looking like she's going to bounce right out of her skin after the key change--she radiated confidence throughout the performance and now really has this incredible energy and presence on stage (I know it's a cliché, but she's grown so much as a performer), but she was obviously hugely relieved and happy she pulled it off

3.) Charlotte's opening pose and mic grab--iconic

4.) Linda's little head-cocked-back strut during the first chorus (right before the first "se mig" section)

5.) The leaning and swirling camera bit in Charlotte's performance

6.) The three-part group hand point right before Charlotte's key change (LOVE this way too much! Possibly my favorite moment of the night)

7.) Charlotte's soaring vocals overtop those of the backing vocalists singing the chorus during the key change (you know how I mentioned in one of my year end round up entries a song that had the one moment in music in 2007 that most stuck with me, that just thinking about could get me excited about the whole concept of music? I think I've found my moment for 2008)

8.) Linda's "hah"(s) (not new, but I've always loved them)

9.) Charlotte's reaching-towards-the-audience hand gestures in the second chorus, with the wind machine on

10.) Linda's styling and outfit

Also, I'd like to add that I think Linda's dancers worked fabulously and that someone needs to upload Linda's post-qualifying performance to DailyMotion--she was just so excited that it made the performance even more fun to watch. Oh, and the fact that I loved all the group strutting in Charlotte's performance is a given.

Moving onto the other contestants, I was genuinely surprised when Sibel's song ended--"that's it?" I'm not trying to be snarky or anything, but I hadn't really even realized we'd had a chorus, let alone a climax--I couldn't believe the song was over. I'm not sure whether that's a function of the song itself (which from the previews sounded great, but maybe it didn't have a chorus that stood out enough) or Sibel singing the whole thing so dramatically that it was kind of flat in a way--nothing "popped" like it should have. I'm not saying that she or the song was bad by any stretch, or that they didn't deserve to go to Andra Chansen (Sibel sang very well and I adored the "You and I belong together/We share a hidden past/And nothing more than your forever/And mine is what I ask" lines)--but I am saying she didn't deserve to go straight to the finals instead of either of the two songs that qualified.

I was kind of surprised to read the negative reactions to Daniel Mitsogiannis online after the fact. I definitely love the song, but I'd go further than that: for a young Melodifestivalen debutante to have to do that much complicated dancing (all these leg movements and hip wiggles and twists) and still manage to pull off singing an uptempo song impressed me. In the hands of many other young performers, that could have been a total unequivocal crash-and-burn scenario, but I didn't feel like it was at all for him (though I'm not saying it rivaled the night's top performances!). Apparently Sweden (and online fans) disagreed, though, and he ended up taking seventh, although that could partly be down to schlager and dance-pop fans who might otherwise have voted for him focusing their efforts on Charlotte and Linda.

I'm not complaining, though--getting Charlotte and Linda straight to the finals is a dream result that makes for a fantastic-looking final, only marred for me by Christer Sjögren. The second chance round, taking place this next weekend, has the potential to make it even better; two acts will be chosen to make it to the final.



Stealing Wikipedia's chart thing (though it looks small and blurry here--sorry about that! If you click on the picture you can see the full size version), I think the toughest matchup in this knockout format for me is Ola versus Caracola--I love both acts' songs. I think ultimately I'd like Ola to win this matchup; however, I'd prefer Ola or Caracola to either of the acts in the top bracket, where of the two Sibel is my preference. If Sibel ended up making it to the final, I wouldn't be too upset, but I'd definitely prefer it if Ola or Caracola did.

In terms of the bottom half of the lineup, my favorites are Carola/Andreas Johnson and Thérèse Andersson; put head-to-head, I'm not sure yet who I'd like to see win, though I might end up going for Carola and Andreas in the end. I haven't heard their song in a while, so it's hard to say. I'd be happy with either, though!

Take it or leave it, you better believe it

So you'd think, with all the hype, it would be difficult for "Hero" to live up to expectations, right?

WRONG!

I'll be back with more thoughts when I'm done having my mind blown by this song. Seriously, I'm about ready to use up my yearly quota of exclamation marks.

Speechless.

(Listen to clips of the entries here.)

Edit: OK, back, and I'm sorry Sibel, you may have a great-sounding ballad and everyone may say you have a fantastic voice, but I have no time for it--I am going to be hoping against hope that it doesn't click with the voters, because I am petrified right now of it going direkt till Globen, and that simply is not an acceptable option. The only result I will accept it Charlotte and Linda to the final. That's it.

"Pame" is fantastic, and I totally love it; it also doesn't hurt that everyone says it's hindered by being overchoreographed, because that only makes it more likely it won't challenge for those top two spots, and therefore I can accept it into my heart. Any other week I would be backing that to the final all the way, but not this week!

Linda's verses are indeed very "Grace Kelly;" I love the song already--that chorus demands to be sung along with--and have a feeling it'll only get better once we hear the whole thing. Plus there's like this bubbly sound effect at the end! Love love love love love it.

Charlotte--oh, Charlotte, what do I not love about "Hero"? It's too amazing for words. "Amazing" doesn't even do it justice--I need a better word. Can we invent a new word for it? And can you imagine what it's going to be like when that keychange hits on Saturday? I think pop fans are going to explode or completely melt! The chorus is too perfect musically and lyrically--"this is a story, of love and compassion, only heroes can tell..."

On the less-love but see something in them front, Calaisa's song sounds sweet--not amazing, but probably enjoyable outside of a Eurovision context. I'm even liking Nordman's song more than I expected, though I think I might like it more with someone else singing it.

How am I supposed to wait for the studio versions of these songs? Argh!

So in recap: I am all about Charlotte and Linda this week and need them both in the final. I love Daniel's song as well, as long as it continues to stay non-threatening (and I imagine I've jinxed this whole thing now). I have no time for Sibel during this week--if I'm being honest, "That Is Where I'll Go" sounds like a genuinely great ballad, but I simply cannot have it being a threat, and that's something I've feared it would be from the beginning. Therefore, no support from me until after Melodifestivalen. At which point I will probably really like it.

(Note that I can handle people disagreeing with me, though, even about songs I love!)

I don't wanna wait until tomorrow

The fourth and final semifinal of Melodifestivalen is this coming Saturday; after that, they'll be a second chance round (Andra Chansen), at which various third and fourth place finishers from all the semifinals are matched up head-to-head in a knockout format until it's narrowed down to two, at which point those two will go to the final, which will take place the week after that. In other words, we've got three Saturdays left of Melodifestivalen: one for the fourth semifinal, one for Andra Chansen, and one for the final. For now, though, here are the artists for this week's semifinal, which is looking to be really tough. Same disclaimer as usual about all this information, and as usual, feel free to correct me or add things!

Sources: Schlagerprofilerna, Gylleneskor, SVT's official Melodifestival site, ESC Today, Schlagerklick.se, QX, Oiko Times (1, 2), MSN, Festival de Eurovisión, Style, P4's Melodifestival site

1.) Niklas Strömstedt, "For många ord om kärlek" (Too Many Words About Love)
This week's joker, Niklas Strömstedt has a music career dating back to the '80's. I guess you could say he's a mature singer-songwriter sort, though some of the songs from his most recent album (from 2001) are kind of lightly poppy (or could be made sort of poppy with minimal changes), from the little I've heard of his work. On the plus side, he did co-write Magnus Carlsson's 2006 entry "Lev Livet!" (as well as Christer Björkman's winning entry in 1992). He says "For många ord om kärlek" is uptempo. He also says the song is a little more pop than schlager and kind of '70's-influenced. Niklas has a new album, Två vagar, coming out March 19.

To watch: well, YouTube doesn't give us too many options, so let's got with this montage set to his 1990 hit "Om"



2.) Calaisa, "If I Could"
Calaisa is a female country-pop group made up of two sets of sisters. They released their self-titled debut album in 2006, preceded by the sweetly-sung single "Hey Girl." The official description of the song says that it's a ballad about losing someone near to you and wanting to do something to get them back. They've been working on a second album.

To watch: the video for their single "Hey Girl"



3.) Daniel Mitsogiannis, "Pame"
Ooo, now here's a brand new artist whose song I'm very interested to hear! Granted, Fredrik Kempe--who, among other songs, wrote last year's "Cara Mia"--says that out of his tracks in this year's contest, Charlotte Perrelli's "Hero" is his favorite, but I still have hopes that "Pame" will be good. In fact, speaking of "Cara Mia," Daniel sang on the demo version of that last year (as well as the originally English demo of Mathias Holmgren's "Långt bortom tid och rum" from 2005), making me even more hopeful of a similar revelation from "Pame" this year--though I'm trying not to let my expectations get too high. Also, apparently he and Måns sang it differently, which doesn't mean his version was necessarily worse but does mean maybe we shouldn't expect a Måns redux here...then again, Henrik Wikström, the other writer, describes the song as "'Cara Mia' with ethnic influences." As you might have guessed from the title, "Pame" has Greek influences (apparently it means "Let's go" or something like that); it's also said to be uptempo and danceable (Daniel says it's "happy, speedy, and explosive" and like a male version of Helena Paparizou). In terms of not particularly relevant or useful information, Daniel already has an official site set up in a similar style to those of Charlotte Perrelli and Linda Bengtzing--does he have management that have a lot of faith in the song or did he just hire the same people himself?

To watch: I can't find any videos of him singing whatsoever, so let's just watch the first performance of "Cara Mia" from last year again. It's still a rush. You know, I've really enjoyed this year, but now that I'm thinking about it, has any song really got me as excited as "Cara Mia" did? I have a feeling, though, that I'll get that this week, and hopefully from the song up next...



4.) Linda Bengtzing, "Hur svårt kan det va?" (How Difficult Can It Be?)
Oh Sweden--I'm begging you: I need Linda in the final. As absolutely exciting as it is to have so many upsets going on, it worries me greatly for this round. Linda participated in Fame Factory, but her real establishment as a singer came with 2005's "Alla Flickor," a schlager song which may very well be the best song ever--a statement which would be easier to get away with if her followup 2006 entry "Jag ljuger så bra" wasn't so close in quality that it's easy to prefer it depending on the day. She released an album as well in 2006, and in 2007 she had a huge hit in Sweden in the form of her and Markoolio's jokey "Värsta Schlagern." Her entry this year is by the same people that gave us "Alla Flickor" and her second single "Diamanter" (and who have also worked on her upcoming album), among a bunch of other great songs. It was also originally described as being influenced by '60's schlager (there was also one early reference to it being a little bit like "Grace Kelly," but before everyone starts going into conniptions, that seems doubtful and I've heard absolutely nothing to make that sound accurate since), but all recent writing about it has referred to it as sounding very modern but being a "classic schlager" (so yes, it has a key change). Linda says the song is a girl singing to a guy about how he's stupid for not realizing she's the best thing that's ever happened to him. I have absolute faith in this track being completely a-maz-ing and March 19, the release date of her new album, Vild & Galen, cannot get here soon enough. Fact: Linda's on the cover of at least two weekly or monthly magazines in Sweden this month--please let that be an indication of her popularity in Sweden...

To watch: her performance of "Jag ljuger så bra" at the 2006 final



5.) Nordman, "I lågornas sken" (In The Flame's Light)
Eek. I wish we could just take Nordman (who in their 2005 semifinal qualified directly to the final, while Alcazar and Linda Bengtzing had to go to Andra Chansen) out of this heat--I don't want them as a threat to my favorites. Sigh. Maybe I'm being kind of unfair here, but I just don't go in for gruff male voices, a fact that makes it difficult for me to appreciate Nordman's work. The writers of "I lågornas sken" did give us Jessica Andersson's "Kom" and Magnus Backlund's "The Name Of Love"--not classics, but not songs to make you instantly reach for the mute button either (and I actually really like "The Name Of Love"). Still, whether or not the writers call this a pop song and Nordman say it's "more schlager" (really? That doesn't fit with what I know of their work at all), I'm having trouble mustering much enthusiasm for a song that was stirring up controversy for its stage performance including the simulation of a witchburning onstage--it's not so much the act I'm upset with as I can't really imagine a song I like being conducive to that performance. Then again, the band do claim that it will be "beautiful and dramatic"--who knows, maybe it'll be a fantastic bombastic song (I wouldn't bet on it, to say the least). For the sake of the other songs in this heat, though, I'm almost hoping not. They've got a new album coming out March 12.

To watch: oddly enough, I can't find a video of their Melodifestival performance, but you can listen to the audio of it below, attached to a Lion King montage



6.) Sibel, "That Is Where I'll Go"
2007 gave us Sebastian and Måns (could have been Agnes) from the second season of Swedish Idol; 2008 brings us Ola and Sibel from the same season. Sibel finished third, behind Agnes and Sebastian, and will finally get a chance at commercial success with this power ballad. The song's writer says it's a big ballad about unconditional love. It starts out small and grows for the end and includes a lot of long high notes. For some reason, I see it as having a very good chance to do well. She (like seemingly most of the contestants this year) has an album due to come out this spring; it's called Diving Belle and comes out March 12.

To watch: her performance of (Niklas Stömstedt's) "Sista Morgonen" on Idol



7.) Fronda, "Ingen mår så bra som jåg" (No One Feels As Good As Me)
2007's Melodifestival saw two entries disqualified: first Agnes's, and then Fronda's, thus allowing Lustans Lakejer and Måns Zelmerlöw to enter the competition. Fronda's entry was disqualified because he sang the demo of it but he (/his record company) refused to sing it at the contest, at least not by himself (not all demo singers will go on to sing the song at Melodifestivalen, but SVT can choose to demand that the demo singer do so and disqualify the song if the demo singer refuses). This year, the rapper will be participating with a song that its writers describe as an uptempo party song with danceable rap beats and funny lyrics. Fronda adds that it's not a pure hip-hop track, more like "balkan-ska."

To watch: a montage (well, more like one photo) set to his song "En stor stark"



8.) Charlotte Perrelli, "Hero"
...or, as fans of Eurovision but not followers of Swedish music would know her as, Charlotte Nilsson. Charlotte was Eurovision in 1999 singing "Take Me To Your Heaven," and she's released four albums since then (if you like your upbeat schlager, her Gone Too Long album has some songs you'll definitely want to hear), with another one (in English) due out this April (which she says she wants to promote beyond Sweden). Charlotte hasn't entered Melodifestivalen since winning it in 1999, though it's often been rumored she'd be participating; her decision to finally enter again this year has a lot of people thinking her song must be something very special--and with the writers it has, that's a very strong possibility: Fredrik Kempe and Bobby Ljunggren (who's been involved in way too many Melodifestival songs to list here). The official description of "Hero" says it's a dance and rock song, and it's also been said to be uptempo, have a great chorus and a really good beat, and be a modern pop song, not "Take Me To Your Heaven" part II. Charlotte says it tells a good story and is an uptempo dance-pop song that is a little bit rockier than "Take Me To Your Heaven" (though she points out that "rockier" is relative and she'll still be doing schlager songs), and will be a good way to establish her "new style." The performance involves a lot of dancing and girls in 10 cm tall heels, and the song has been said to be a potential winner of the whole contest as well as a great song that only gets better with each listen.

To watch: well, I could embed her winning performance of "Take Me To Your Heaven," but let's go with something more recent, a performance of her most recent single (but not the most recent of songs), the schlager-disco-pop "Jag är tillbaks"



It's easy for me to make my "who do I want to go through without having heard the songs" decision this week: Linda--I'm so worried for her; she has to make it--and Charlotte to the final. The trouble is, I can see all too many potential threats from the other contestants that could prevent that from happening.

Incidentally, in March and April we're getting new albums from Linda, Charlotte, and Sanna?! Now if only Lena Philipsson would release something new, it'd be pretty much the perfect year.

In a side note related to this past Saturday's semifinal, I read online--well, why don't I just quote it, but this is all [sic]:

"Currently he [Oscar Görres] is composing and producing a record for the artist Therese Andersson performing under the name Evan. Therese Andersson is also classically schooled and sings in the genre pop/ballad."

Now, Oscar's not Evan (he co-wrote some songs on Danny's album and co-wrote Donal Skehan's "Double Cross My Heart" and LoveShy's "Mr. Gorgeous") nor is Therese, so I have no idea what to make of that, but it's at least nice to know that a record is in the works. Therese also said in an interview that Pay TV are still working on their album, though if her solo album comes out at the rate of that album, we'll still be waiting for it in 2010. Once again going off on a tangent, Oscar Görres's official site that I linked to above allows you (in the "Media" section) to listen to a clip of a Danny song called "Alive" (it's also on his MySpace). Song they wrote together but that didn't make the cut? Song that was reworked into a song that eventually made the album? I've got no idea (though if it's really obvious or something please let me know!).