melodifestivalen 2009

So rightfully so, I’ve been tapping my toes to the song La Voix since Saturday night. This song was written by Malena Ernman and Frederik Kempe (I’m really starting to want to call him Freddy, as we so celarly are on a first name basis!) And this song is fabulous. Before Slovenia’s entry a few years ago, Alenka Gotar, we didn’t think that opera and pop/disco could be mixed, but boy were we wrong. This song rocks my socks, and I just find myself belting everywhere I go.

Starting out in green and with sexy-salt-and-pepper older dancers, Malena busts out the theme of keeping a promise and being in love with us. What will she do next?

Well what else would SVT to besides avoid pyrotechnics, but use the abundance of light that is available. They make her look like an angel, and justly with the voice of one. And then she busts a move with the sexiest dancer on the stage, the 40-year old salt-and-pepper one who looks a bit like Pekka Heino (yes I know who he is, weird!)

Oh but wait, it gets better going back to pink from green and white, and then we’ve got the angel again belting out befoe the chorus! It’s eeirie but an awesome effect. I never would have thought that bringing the contrast so high woud make something look so cool.

Oh but wait, that’s not all before moving back to green we go to black, and with mysterious masks. I think it’s really nifty, and a nice simple little addition.

Wow what a song. And what is even better about a disco-opera song is the fact that Sweden actaully voted for it! And also, beat out Sarah Dawn Finer, probably one of the most popular singers there. Notice the change in expressions on both of the singers faces in the following comparison.

This picture is worth a thousand words. Sweden was shocked, and notice how amazingly shocked / happy the singers are. Sarah Dawn Finer becase she goes to Andra Chansen, gets the International Jury Vote, and clearly will make it through, and the success of Malena. After this Freddie (hah) came up for the kiss-and-hug, becasue he had two songs going against each other, both of which he wrote with the singers, so it was kind of awkward. I love it though!

So what did we learn today folks? Opera and Disco do mix, and they mix well when sung correctly! Now go and become a fan of Malena Ernman… !!

What else do we learn? The lyrics of course, found here:

Malena Ernman – La Voix
Can you keep a secret
Can you keep a secret
I’m in love with you
Can you make a promise
Can you make a promise
Stay forever true
Then I’m forever yours

Je t’aime, amour, quand j’entends la voix
Je t’aime, ma vie, c’est jamais sans toi
Je vis ma vie pour toi, c’est l’universe pour moi
Je t’aime, amour, quand j’entends la voix

Tell me what you’re feeling
Tell me what you’re feeling
I just wanna know
Tell me what you’re dreaming
Tell me what you’re dreaming
Let your feelings show
Stay and don’t let go

Je t’aime, amour, quand j’entends la voix
Je t’aime, ma vie, c’est jamais sans toi
Je vis ma vie pour toi, c’est l’universe pour moi
Je t’aime, amour, quand j’entends la voix

Je vis ma vie pour toi, c’est l’universe pour moi
Je t’aime, amour, quand j’entends la voix

J’entends la voix
La voix

What the hell happened, as my friend Straussi, Eurovision Colleague, says… I think Sweden hit a dud on week three, because this semi-final was dissipating, at best. My “favourites” are loose at best, relative to the other heats. Props to the great programleader, Petra Mede for keeping this train-wreck together with some humour.

Velvet – The queen
Personal Favourite

That’s one big freaking dress, but luckily she came out of it in an interesting way. This song isn’t that great, but it’s good enough, and it’s a true Velvet song. It’s got a children’s quality, that also has a good choreography with the dancers. A lot of people thought that she sang poorly, but really it’s nothing bad from a musical aspect. Her voice is clear and not quavering. Personally I feel sorry for her, it’s like the third time that she hasn’t managed to go anywhere with her song. She has a habit of coming 5th but now it’s 6th with this decent song. Swedes need to like her more, because she’s a great performer.

Rigo & The Topaz Sound feat. Red Fox – I got you
Andra Chansen

This song bothers the fuck out of me. It’s annoying and I don’t like the lyrics at all. The main singer just keeps pointing at the camera throughout the show and saying “I got you” blah blah blah. Plus the name of the group is too long and excessive. The black-and-white theme is cool, but when it comes down to it, the hombre doesn’t do it for me. It’s like a dying girafee on steroids, I think. The name of the group is also too long.

Molly Sandén – Så vill stjärnorna
Qualified

I seriously thought this was going to be some epic Whitney Huston ballad from the sound of the start. This ballad isn’t that bad. A sixteen year old who can stand alone on a stage and sing a ballad deserves props, but this song is going to get crushed in Globen. Rumours have it that Sarah Dawn Finer has a killer ballad, and frankly there isn’t room for two good ballads in the final. She’ll get pushed, despite her Junior Eurovision Contest success. It just lacks anything, but was performed well. Too much breaking between words and silence for singing, so it’s kind of awkward at times. Not impressed really at all, other than the fact she’s pretty.

E.M.D. – Baby goodbye
Qualified
Personal Favourite

Boy-band, no boy-band? Who knows really. What matters is that this is one of the better songs of the night, that justly went to Globen. The guys can sing, and (wow) sing their own harmony even decently. That’s quite impressive considering the past attempts. I think that two of them are good, but the third awkwardly looks at the camera and doesn’t seem to know what to do. Despite all this, the top-hats, and choreography is quite good and nice watch. Only thing thing musically that is wrong is the heinously awkward change of key-area, which was in the middle of a belt. I think it’s poor choice, but it still seems to be okay. The canes are sexy, by the way. Never can have too many accessories. Plus they are skitsnygg.

Mikael Rickfors – Du vinner över mig

Uhm, what exactly is this and why did people vote for it? Perhaps the old people came out to vote like last years Christer Sjögren? This song has a lot in common with something I’ve heard before in Melodifestivalen, but I can’t put my finger on it. I just think it bothers me that it’s so bland people like it, even moderately.

Maja Gullstrand – Här för mig själv

She’s cute, and she’s beating to the sound of her own drum. The side-to-side staging sort of makes me think of France’s Eurovision entry Ortal in 2005. It’s cute, but I’m not surprised that anything came of it because it’s just missing so much. The lyrics are cute also, but it doesn’t matter when it’s not got flare. I think that she can sing really well too, but the background dancers on her right bother me.

Sofia Berntsson – Alla
International Jury’s Choice
Personal Favourite

Thank goodness the jury saved one of the three better songs of the night. Three got dropped and she was saved, possibly, for the final. She’s always had a strange style but I don’t know if singing as song in Greek is a good choice in Melodifestivalen. Henrik Wikström again shows his good arranging but I think that this song has too much going on in the background, and I’m not sure what’s really going on. My mind gets mixed up in the lines of the text with the drums, and different levels of sound. At least she sang better than she did back with Hypnotized. The song ends awkwardly, but it’s not bad at all. Better songs of the evening, but still below-par.

BWO – You are not alone
Andra Chansen

What a shame that BWO decided to do a ballad-funk sort of tune this year. I think they would have been better doing an upbeat hit, because this song is going to get lost in the shuffle. He’s a dream-boat, and the space-cadet look is interesting to say the least. The light up staffs are really nifty and as always BWO proves to be a good stage-show if the song doesn’t end up being that good. I think it’s really good to have gone to Andra Chansen, but I don’t see it coming out into the final. Even if it does, I doubt it will win.

So Sweden what happend? Leksand was saved from the train-wreck by Petra, again. She’s funny and I have to make a quote of her interpretation of the contest when explaining to the anglophone in the group:

“Please put your legs together, yes. Ahh, Rigo and the Topaz Sound feat. Redfox… And here we have Mr. Redfox, and you speak English I’ve been told, yes I think you must wonder what is all this circus about really? Yeah, let me applight you a little bit. This all started fifty years ago, plus or minus, with us sending really good songs to Europe to compete and we send lots of artists like Little Babbs, and Lille Svante, and then of course came the Golden Shoes, and the Stranger and over to Dover Calais and now we are here today with all the deltävlinger and Christer Björkman as the king, and the Perrelli, and the Hero. So I think we are here in Leksand and suchforth and I think it’s clearer for you now, yes?!”

I think it’s funny how she gets flustered, it’s a guy who’s clearly not schlager, and refers to Charlotte Perrelli as “The Perelli” and Christer Björkman as the king. I had a good laugh, but it didn’t really look like anyone understood in the greenroom. Nor did people really laugh in the audience. I seem to remember that English speakers in Dalarna are few and far between, but still it’s funny to me. As Petra says herself to monster-name group, all is not lost.

Themes for tonight: reptitious songs, and if I have to hear the word “you” one more time I’ll flip!

So here it is. I’m going back to, the well, greatest singer / dancer / person ever known to mankind. Also known as Sweden’s sexiest man, who’s dating Marie Serenholt (former A*Teen gone solo, I know!) Well since his popularity in my mind goes beyond the annoying teeny-boppers that he attracts, as I stated nearly one year ago. I will bear this man’s children. It’s a compliment, not a creepy stalker-ish line. How many guys do you know that would find a way to bare a child, that isn’t from the film Junior?

Anywas, back to the star of the day… Måns Zelmerlöw becasue well, it’s justified. His recent showing in Melodifestialen has just left mewithout words, and even in tears. The anthem, Hope & Glory is not only a master-piece, but it’s an inspirational upbeat song that left me in tears, quite literally. Here is a breakdown of the good, the bad, and the ugly. I’m taking an objectified approach to understand and presenting this song, which pics of course!

Good aspects — It’s Måns Zelmerlöw — He’s heinously attractive, basically a walking wet dream — He can sing — He can dance — He can basically do anything — Song writen by Frederik Kempe & Henrik Wikström (my heroes) — Upbeat song — Schlager song — Melodifestivalen Anthem — Inspiring message and thoughts — Amazing coreography — Lots of dancers and things to look at — He tolerates having a huge gay following

Bad aspects — The outfit makes me suspicious and sketched out — The shoes make me cringe, especially with a tight bottom pant — The dancers are kind of whorish, and half-nude — The ending lacks umph with the dancers (only a pose)

As we can so clearly see, the positives outnumber the negatives. I think the only obection that I had to the song performance was the costume choice and the dancers. I understand that Måns is a straight male, of my age, but that doesn’t mean that he has to lure the basically already homosexual population to him with women? I think the song would even be better with some male dancers. I have yet to see Måns with such, apart from a mix, and I think that the result would be a pleasant surprise! On to the pics!

So when we start, it’s all dark and gloomy, but then all of a sudden some blasts of bass kick in and we’ve got a song here, with our lil man in the middle of the stage.

And then he’s serenading us with the second verse, telling us that we could be the one…

But then, what happens? We have an army of skanks behind us in little clothing, dancing and pretending to be boxers!

And then the triumphant end. Måns’ career is amazing, and it can go even farther if he goes a little bit further than just “accepting” his gay following. He must embrace them! He must go over the edge and make them know that he loves them and that the relationship is pure and safe! In addition to this, we all secretly want him to just literally embrace some bögar and see the light, and leave Marie. It would be a fairy-tale come true… quite literally

And since I love my readers so much here are the lyrics that I extracted, enjoy!

Måns Zelmerlöw – Hope & Glory
Musiken: Frederik Kempe & Henrik Wikström
Text: Frederik Kempe & Måns Zelmerlöw

It’s gonna be the one
It’s gonna be the one, yeah!

I’ll tell you, lover oh lover it feels so strong
It doesn’t matter if life wants to prove us wrong
We’re gonna make it through
We’re gonna make it through

I tell you I’ve been a soldier since childhood days
i’ve fought a battle for my life in many ways
I’m gonna fight for you
Yeah I’m gonna fight for you: Don’t stop!

I’m still standing for hope and glory
I’ll be fighting for my love story
I’m still standing for hope and glory now
All the battles are lost, and the battles are won
Cause we’ll be the one, cause we’ll be the one
Oh, I’m still standing for hope and glory now
It’s gonna be the one

(Yeah, It’s gonna be the one yeah)

Now listen, lover oh lover, our heart can break
You never know how much trouble our heart can take
I’m gonna be right there
Yeah I’m gonna be right there: Don’t stop

I’m still standing for hope and glory
I’ll be fighting for my love story
I’m still standing for hope and glory now
All the battles are lost, and the battles are won
Cause we’ll be the one, cause we’ll be the one
Oh, I’m still standing for hope and glory now
It’s gonna be the one

It’s gonna be the one
It’s gonna be the one

Don’t stop…

I’m still standing for hope and glory
I’ll be fighting for my love story
I’m still standing for hope and glory now
All the battles are lost, and the battles are won
Cause we’ll be the one, cause we’ll be the one
I’m still standing for hope and glory, oh

It’s gonna be the one!
It’s gonna be the one!

Okej let me go daydream a bit… :wave:

Simply devine was the second semifinal last night. I simply can’t find words to describe it, it was amazing in every sense of the word. However good it was, I was left shocked, in tears, and confused all in the one and half-hours that it went on for. Firstly, Petra Mede did a great job again, and although less changes of clothing this time, still funny and enjoyable. I spent the evening watching the webcast with my friend Tuomas, and we commented on little things as it went on. Hats off to SVT for having an amazing feed, where I don’t need to download any application, and even great quality for us shmucks that don’t live in Sweden or the SVT1 areas.

Lili & Susie – Show me heaven
=> Andra Chansen
❗ Personal Favourite

What do you get when you have a Finnish sister duo with a hit from the 80’s and put them back on stage in Melodifestivalen? You get a great hit, of course. A techno-schlager song to boot even still. The blondies took it one step at a time and opened the show with a great hit. Got me dancing, got me singing, but I was less than impressed with their English pronunciation. At times it sounded very strange, but luckily it goes into Andra Chansen. Personally I think it should have taken the second ticket to Globen, but tonight the Swedish people were smoking something.

Lasse Lindh & Bandet – Jag slåss i dina kvarter!

What happened Lasse? Last year it was so good, and this year it was simply catastrophic. The music itself was a little bit too rock-boyish for me, and I preferred the song from last year, but also the camera-work left me dizzy and not sure what was going on. It makes taking a screenshot even more difficult, but I just don’t blame the Swedish public for not voting it in, because I felt it was a very weak song compared to the rest this year. Still a huge fan of Lasse, but this song just doesn’t work it for me. The band was distracting me as well.

Jennifer Brown – Never been here before

I was left a little confused and bored by this song. It’s a nice little song from the 70’s feeling put into modern times but Jennifer seemed out of breath and just not with any umph. The screen fooled me thinking there were about 30 people on stage, but it really just was her and the musicians. It’s an alright song, but not enough to grab the attention of everyone and to get voted right into Globen. Consequently it was left in seventh place. The song was close and personal, but I was still missing some sort of glitter, or sparkle that the song needed. This was also one of my picks for International Jury, as it’s a generally good and well liked type of song, but clearly nobody listens to me. Better luck next time. 🙂

H.E.A.T. – 1000 Miles
=> Qualified

Keeping with the theme of going back in time we have the rock band right out of the 80’s coming at us. Even with the hair, and outfits it’s literally like we turned back the clock. Lots of Finnish and Northern representatives this time, as they all look a bit Finnish and have Finno names. I think the chorus is good but the verses are just normal rock stuff mixed with an upbeat tempo. It doesn’t do much on stage, and I was shocked an appalled when it went directly to Globen. I think it was more of an andra chansen song. Never-the-less we will see the mullets, and band again in 4 weeks time. How tragic.

Markoolio – Kärlekssång från mig
❗ Personal Favourite

I’ve got a lot to say about this one. First of all I love Markoolio. I think that he’s adorable, even thought he’s Finnish and has a weird smile. This song was not what I expected at all from him and it seemed a lot out of his element. Firstly I didn’t know that he was a decent singer, as he’s normally a rapper, but the Finnish-Swedish migrant really impressed me. Pinkish wasn’t really the best colour, but I feel that his personality came out a little bit in this song, being a little bit joking and funny. What didn’t the song have? Nothing. It had someone come out of a piano in skates, and then skate awkwardly on a pad of ice, and then get lit on fire. I’m not even joking, I think it’s fabulous. It’s also fitting because it was on Valentines Day and it’s a love song! Other than that, I noticed how painfully nervous and uncomfortable he looked the entire evening. He sang with confidence yet insecurity, and then in the green room he just sat there with his hands in his lap, clapping politely, and trying to not interact with others. I think that he felt a little out of place, especially in the clothes he was wearing, but I am so proud. I just don’t like how people always put so much emphasis on the big stars, and completely forget about the others. He looked alone, sad, lonely and really distanced from the rest of the singers. It made me sad. Other than that, should have been andra chansen, and it’s hella cute that his best friend is his doggy; but I wonder, is he married?

Amy Diamond – It’s my life
=> Andra Chansen

I have to rip into this one because it bothers me so much. I understand that Amy is very popular and has lots of hits, but people come on! This is hits for kids, and nothing else. She looks like a kid, even though she’s getting older, she sounds like a dying cat in a dumpster. I’m trying to be nice here. Her vowels, while singing, are painful to the ear and are drawn out with a whine that I commented on last year. Nobody listens to me at all, but from a musical perspective that’s what it sounds like! In addition to that, with the dancers and the whole package it’s an ok song, just I can’t stand her voice. It’s just like needles to my ears, but despite that I still like her generally as a singer. Her lower register needs major work as it sounds unnatural and uncomfortable. She was chosen to go to Andra Chansen (ok) and also as the International Jury (what?!). I will comment on this later.

Cookies ‘n’ Beans – What if

So we bring back some country ballads, again with the cats in the back dumpster. The song itself is good, nothing special, but a few of them sing with a scratchy tone in their voices. It just doesn’t fit with the genre and thus it left me sort of bland feeling in my mouth. It beat out some good songs to get to the second voting round, but was justly left. I’m just really really surprised when it was called into the next round, I was thinking that maybe the voting was a little bit weird, and that for some god-forsaken reason people in Sweden like country? Huh?!!

Måns Zelmerlöw – Hope & Glory
=> Qualified
❗ Personal Favourite

Han kan sjunga, han kan dansa, han kan bli hot-as-fuck. Den här är, vad vi heter på engelska, en triple-threat. He’s got it all. The looks, the voice, the moves and this song is the classic Melodifestivalen anthem that lit a fire in my heart. Last year I went on and on about him and how I want to bear his children and such, and it all still stands true (somehow, someday!) but this song quite literally brought me to tears. I was a blubbering idiot towards the end. It’s a happy upbeat song, but the message that it sends out and the method in which he performs it left me with chills down my spine. Henrik Wikström, Frederik Kempe and Måns, you outdid yourself and I can only hope that this is top-2 in the final. If it isn’t, thus far, I will cry and the world will come to an end. This one will be getting an ode to in the coming days, I assure you. Also, he was clearly genuinely happy to do so well, and that makes me happy too! B)

I think this international jury is a huge fraud and a joke. It’s supposed to chose songs that it thinks will fit and do well in Eurovision, but so far it’s just picking songs that are either already qualified, but also that are not really European-classics. They are mostly just popular-ish songs that could do decently well, but not necessarily win. I think there could be a better way to make the judgements, as even though it votes a certain way, it must be taking the 2nd or 3rd choices because in my opinion it should have been Jennifer Brown, this week. It’s the most widely-opened genre, and thus it has a greater chance for attention, demographically!

All in all the night was amazing. The voting went fucked up with Cookies ‘n’ Beans, and there were midgits on fire on stage, homosexual jokes, wigs, and old favourites all in one night. All I can say to Skullefteå is: vem gör den bästa? De norramännen självklart! The north always does the best, so na-na-na-na-boo-boo southerners!

I can’t lie about, the first two songs of this competition so far have just been stars in my eyes. The first is a powerful operatic-rock song, and the second a nice inspiring pop song (that I’ve also been found singing down the streets of Caen; crazy!) And thus clearly the star, Jonathan Fagerlund deserves a little bit of a credit of course! What a star at 18 years old, seriously. A great voice, a good stage-presence, and just all around-goodness.

I was so curious as to what had been going on in his history that I managed to find his fansite, which of course is hosted by Fanglobe (my good old friend Magnus), which if you are a good follower is the same hoster as the famous www.a-teens.com! Yes that’s right kiddies, the site that I joined when I was 13 years old, nearly 10 years ago, I’m still a member and I can use the same logon to go to that site too! What a bloody joy!

So logging in through that site to the marvelously hoste site of Jonathan, I discovered his blog, and began the tedious task of reading pages, pages, and pages of posts. I would like to thank Google Reader for helping me to organise my postings and such, without it I would be lost in the shuffle forsure! Thank god for Atom, and RSS, it makes my life so much better. I’m not a stalker, I swear, I was just looking for information, and brushing up on my Swedish meant that reading nearly 300 post dating back a few month (wow what a power-blogger) took, needless to say, a couple hours. I got through it and I’m proud. I wish my life could be as exciting as his, but alas I’m living in Normandy and what can I do.

At the risk of sounding strange, I really only needed to state this information to make another ode to an artist this year in Melodifestivalen!

If, by chance, (due to the commenting on his blog with my blog address), Jonathan happens to fall into this post, I would ask him to please leave a little comment. It would make my day, truly!

Och för att vara mer tydlig, Jonathan, om du är här, så vill jag att du lämnar ett meddelande.; och jag ska bli mycket glada för det, tack!!