Melodifestivalen 2010: Semi Final 3 Gothenburg Review

The third stop on the Melodifestivalen trail found us in Scandinavium, Gothenburg last Saturday! After two lacklustre weeks I was still holding out for a hero! 3 of my most anticipated artists were competing this week so I expected them to bring their A-game!
Melodifestivalen has been getting big criticism this year from the Swedish public and music industry. This article explains that the song which will represent Denmark was originally turned down by the SVT jury for Melodi! And how on earth this classic duet by two Schlager princesses was ditched I will never know: Linda Bengtzing & Velvet - Victorious

Isn't that just pop perfection?!?
Well with that in mind, lets see what Göteborg brought to the table...

Melodifestivalen 2010: Semi Final 2 Sandviken Review

Roll Up Roll for Melodifestivalen heat två at Göransson Arena in Sandviken!
After the agreeable result and on/off magic of Heat 1 last weekend, as reviewed by moi HERE the Melodi train moves on and we are graced with 8 new acts!

I'v had a crazy busy week, so this post has been stopped and started over the past 7 days!

No show stopping opening this week, though I did enjoy the presenter spoofs. As you know I can't speak much svenska so much was lost on me, but I could easily pick out Petra, Lena and Charlotte's characteristics! The stage, the show, the spectacle are all there, so are the wonderful balloons! All we are missing is the action man presented Dolph Lundgren! No clue what was up, if anyone could enlighten me that would be fabulous!

Anyway this week we have Velma Kelly and George Sampson impersonations, and someone singing a Shayne Ward song... on we go then!

A Place Where Everyone's Dares To Go... They Call It Xanadu

I logged on to Youtube today to find a newly posted video by Scottish Singer/Songwriter Sharleen Spiteri... seriously sorry for the S overload!
The video title intrigued me. I was known the sound that would be unleashed through the click of a play button, I would have ran and hide under my duvet, or shoved plugs in my ears!

(For some reason video can only be seen in full article! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr3BgSqzW_Q)
Oh Lord! As part of her 'The Movie Songbook' album Sharleen has covered this evergreen classic, broke off all its branches then set fire to it.
Why oh Why? I liked her in Texas, but her voice just grates on me in this song. I even liked her last album, but somehow her talent is lost on me in this!
This must be the most banal video ever made. It doesn't help that the backing singers are quite irritating, especially the white topped one who has to motion ever word she sings. My favourite bit though is at 2.32 when Sharleen seams to play an orchestra solely through her guitar!
Why is she singing it so seriously? Xanadu is built on camp and spectacle.
After the break I will show Sharleen how it should be done.

Melodifestivalen 2010: Semi Final 1 Örnsköldsvik Review

Wow it really is here! Last night Melodifestivalen was live from the Fjällräven Center Örnsköldsvik, showing all over the globe via the net!
The stage is magnificent, the presenters are strong especially Måns, the opening act was spectacular and the voting result was agreeable overall!
So if you missed the show and want a low-down of the night click on, If you are still to watch it cover your eyes!

I took my seat at my computer, dominoes pizza in one hand and Kopparberg pear cider in the other! Maybe next week I'll have meatballs!
I logged on to SVTPlay and sat back as the hallåa introduced Melodifestivalen 2010!
Buzzing with excitement, the last thing I was expecting was the spectacular Öppningsnumret that was to come!

Tre metallic goddesses strut onto the stage to perform a show stopping number! Two Melodi Legends, Charlotte Perrelli & Nanne Grönwall, and two time contestant Sonja Aldén make up this perfectly height stacked trio. It's only 5 minutes in and already I have witnessed the Melodi favourites; wind machine, smoke machine, smoke cannons, finger pointing, and the mother of all key changes! I already love this song, but this key change must be kept in it forever now!

With the Schlager perfection still embedded in my memory, the competition begins!

Melodifestivalen 2010: MIA Predictions

OMG! Tomorrow the Melodifestivalen finally kicks off! I hope you feel slightly prepared from my Melodi posts ett och två!

My photo above shows you my the top 10 contestants I am most looking forward to.
If you have not already noticed, I am a strange one! I love Melodifestivalen but as a strict rule I do not listen to any previews of the songs before the actual show. I judge each song on the staging, performance and emotion as well as on the song itself. I also feel by prejudging it, it looses the mystery and excitement of the live show! I am such a child, this is my Schlager Christmas ha! If you wish you can hear the clips here, however the exquisite ScandiPop warn against it!

So my Top 10 are based on past musical outputs, past Melodi songs, and general excitement to hear their song! Chances are I will be wrong , and the new comers to Melodifestivalen will have better entries! I would have never predicted loving the 2009 Scotts entry last year!

Melodifestivalen 2010: The Hosts! 3 Days to Go!

On a scale of 1 to 10 how excited is everyone about Meldoifestivalen starting this Saturday! I'm over and above tio (10) for sure!
This is the second blog giving you a heads up for 2010 comp, see part one here!

This post focusses on the masters of ceremony who will be smoothly guiding us from Ballad to Big Assed Schlager, from Reggae to Folk Rock.

The New Sound Of The Underground...

As I am sure many you will know the Swedish girlband Play are back in action!
I blogged about them a few posts ago here!
Now their lead track Famous has been launched in full on the net, I have included the video inside the 'read more' section.

Melodifestivalen 2010: The Stage(Scenskissen)! 1 Week to Go!

OMG... It is nearly that time again! The time when my heart is filled with Swedelicious music, key changes and wind machines for 6 glorious weeks!
Yes next week the first Melodifestivalen heat hits Swedish screens, and my pc via SVT live stream! I can't contain my excitement!
2010 will not just be the first Meldoi of this decade, but the first one attended by myself!! Yes it is true, Madam I'm Adam will be watching all the finalists from Globen on March 13th! EXTREME EXCITEMENT!

Before the Örnsköldsvik heat I hope to have a few posts giving you a run down of this years competition.
Today I checked the SVT site to find the magnificent concept drawing for the 2010 stage!

Looks like SVT used my blog design as their style pallet, I'm flattered!
The design looks magnificent. Bright and really displays the 'Festival' vibe which has been used in all the promo videos:

How I dream of living in this block of flats!
By the looks of the stage design, the left hand side might possibly be the green room. I can almost make out extremely uncomfortable looking seats! This positioning would benefit me though as that's the side my seats are on!

I'm Ready To Play Again.. Let's Get Famous!

When I heard the Swedish Pop Sensation Play were reforming under the extremely successful hands of their creator Laila Bagge, Andreas Carlsson and Anders Bagge I was mega excited!
When Play were big in the USA, around the same time as A*teens, they were consistently under my radar. With very little European success, I just assumed they were one of the many American girlbands in the USA at the time. However their début single 'Us Against the World' was a perfect pop gem to sum up the post-millennium pop sound:

Guess The Song: Let's Dance!

Over the past 3 weeks I have been following the Swedish version of Strictly Come Dancing/Dancing with the Stars, Let's Dance on TV4.
My love for Sweden has never been a secret on this blog, however I'm going to tell you an other reason why I love this country!
Firstly I do not watch Strictly in the UK, they take it far too seriously and as a result it has become predictable and quite dull. Let's Dance, however, is a celebration of dance and music packed with fun, and not 'Strict' at all!
The reason I love Let's Dance is their sometimes bizarre music choices. Once again in the UK Strictly are quite stuck in their traditional ballroom/latin music, and old artists such as Frank Sinatra. I understand these songs are perfect for the style of dance, but the resulting playlist would not be seen dead on my mp3 player!