Although it’s painfully obvious that I love Swedish singers, given my Melodifestivalen obsession and Eurovision bonanza; I need to take a moment to give an ode to one that some might remember, but perhaps not.
His name is Pontus Hagberg, as is more commonly known as Evan. He sang in Melodifestivalen a few years ago and although not winning, he made a stir for me.
Since then I managed to get my hands on a copy of his album Under Your Spell I have listened to it endlessly over the years but his first album entitled The Other Side remained a mystery.
I scoured the internet trying to find this album. I spent times on tradera.se, eBay, Amazon, cDon.se and I couldn’t find it anywhere. So I did something unconventional; I went to the artists website and sent an email to the webmaster wondering if they could help me find it.
To my surprise, Mr. Hagberg himself contacted me and sent me a copy of it. This is beyond anything I could ever have imagined. Something so elusive became so real and rare. I’m sure I’m one of only a few thousand in the world who now have a copy of this album which as disappeared into the hidden vaults of Swedish music.
The album is pretty awesome, too; Evan is awesome.
This is the third time that a professional person has contacted me. The first was a federal politician, the second was Jonathan Fagerlund who commented on my blog entry. Now I have a third, plus something else, and I’m greatful.
Three cheers for artists that stay in contact with their fans, no matter their stature in personal or professional life!