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...
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!
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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!
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:
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!
When the BBC announced they were bringing So You Think You Can Dance to the UK I wasn't too fussed as I was not a massive fan of Strictly Dance Fever, practically the same show! However having watched it the past two weeks I've grown to love it! Not the voting and 'this is my life' mush in the results show, nor the judges comments which consist of Nigel talking for half and hour, leaving very little time for Icon/Pop Princess/Will-Eat-nothing-for-TV Louise to speak, I love the dancing! This week Hayley & Drew melted my heart with their outstanding performance to Lady GaGa's Beatles homage 'Speechless'!
The emotion, the technique, the story all merge together to create this artistic masterpiece! There bodies move as if on strings, like they are two fighting rag dolls. A love/hate story told so naturally through amaizng choreography! The shoulder hold and drop is the work of genius! So connected, So in time! Lady GaGa I'm sure would love the art and glamour that consumes this dance. Don't think I will tire of watching this...
It's crazy though as my two of my favourite dances from week one included both Drew & Hayley! Drew & Anabel and Chris & Hayley were in the bottom two last week, after Hayely's hip shaking Samba,
and Drew's show stopping Jive,
The funktastic song plus the lightning energy made me beam throughout their Jive! May have not been technically perfect, but I was definitely not the worst that night!
Hopefully this show will keep up and we will have some more intense and sprightly performances! Just wait till you see the dancer I'm in love with in Sweden though...
Hello one and all! Sorry my advent suddenly disappeared! I went off to Stockholm, fell in love with the city once more, got ill when I got home, then was busy bee at work! Been hectic since the 9th so here is a bumper music post! Huge thank you for following the blog for the past year, and I wish you an amazing Christmas!
P.s. The 2009 Advent Calender has been re-dated as 2008 so move it off the blog front page. Click Advent 2009 label to see them!
It's crazy isn't it!?! You wait a whole decade for an era defining popstar, and one comes along in the last 2 years! The world has gone GaGa for Lady G, and her iconic style has been copied and pasted all over the world! Prime example today comes from Cheryl Cole and her new video feat. Will.I.am.
Wowzers... all the money they saved on the cheap scale début video Fight for This Love must have been saved for this rainy day! The song is just bland I think, maybe it will be a grower! I think it will have a fantastic remix that knock the pants off me! However the video is just intense! I was transfixed throughout! Its so Swedish it hurts, so arty and beautiful! Around the 1m mark though I think Cheryl looks a little Great Expectations-esc, like she's been sitting there for days. Looks a little ill! Till 1m 40ish the whole thing is very GaGa chic... and then she just goes all out blatantly Lady G! It reminds me as a mix of Lady GaGa and Emma Bunton's Maybe video (how I heart that song!)! 2m10ish gets all Kylie Slow video! 2m27ish were back to Gaga... but a Sims Version or anime cartoon version of Lady GaGa. Cheryl looks damn pretty in it though, and rocks the white hair better than Victoria did in Not Such an Innocent Girl! As much as the song still drains on me... I can't stop watching the video... I almost want to do a Kanye and scream its the best video ever... but my common sense stops me!
P.s. I have watched the video many times for blogging purposes, and still forget Will.I.Am is in the video each time haha... he's like a human goldfish in this, so dull, and I forget him after 3 seconds!
Have been crazy busy as of late so apologise for lack of update! While I'm not here though have a click around my other posts if you need time to fill haha!
Today I stumbled across this song, I Will by Eternity from Japan on Youtube. The lead singer is various blogs' favourite Jade Valerie who was in the band Sweetbox.
Sweetbox as a band never really hit it off with me. They were good pop, but lacked the glamour of Alcazar, or the music quality of Steps. Their niche was mixing classic music with pop, a la S Club 7 Natural.
However this song I have instantly fallen for! I Will samples the Spring section from The Four Seasons by Vivaldi (which took my AGES to work out even though its the annoying phone ringtone at work!) and from the start it's used perfectly! As soon a the full scale classical blast ends, the song begins to sore higher! The 'Monday, Tuesday' bit is goes much further than silly old Craig David, and mentions marriage! The chorus is like a princesses song from a Disney musical film. The Viva La Vida style drum/violin combo just excels the song along even more! We will ignore the 1m 50s mark 'Ohs' as the song is far to pretty to be ruined by an interesting choice of 'Oh' notes. Overall it's just beautiful from start to finish!
Just as an add on I have found these guilty pleasure classical sins on spotify..
Flashdance.. What a Feeling by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra! How magnificent? It has all the sparkle of the original, but with heightened drama! I love the glorious choir, and the surprise at 2m 50s makes my heart scream with joy!
Poker Face by the St. Martin’s Symphony of Los Angeles It's just funny yet addictive. Once again their is a crazy amount of drama given to the song! Imagine Lady GaGa singing to this live... IMMENSE!
After the Darin for Meldoifestivalen news, as blogged about here, I started to think who would be ideal for Melodifestivalen/Eurovision 2010! It didn't take long for me to realise the obvious best choice for Sweden would be to pick the Dance/Pop Princess September! As reported over at one of my favourite blogs, the legendary ScandiPop, September is currently in the studio working on her next domination of the international club dancefloor scene!
2008 was the year September took it global, raking up UK Top 5, Numerous Top 10's, and a US Dance chart Number 1 with the spectacular 'Cry For You'!
This catchy, danceable tune with substance is the definition of Septembers work. Her lyrics are not the usual throw away types you get in most dance songs. They tell stories and another level to her songs, which would be perfect for what rightly is the Eurovision SONG Contest! The only Melodifestivalen connection I can find is her performance at the Lilla Meldofestivalen to promote 'Can't Get Over'. Not as strong a connection as Darin's has, but shows at least she is a supporter of the Meldoi formate!
Overall if she is busy making and album, she will have to promote it when its out. So one extra song for Sweden's biggest music show is easily done and great promotion. Also if she made it to Eurovision, even if she fails like fellow Princess of dance/pop Kate Ryan, the success Kate has had after Eurovision is easily far greater than before. So much so she is rumoured to be trying again as discussed on Esctoday! And seeing as 'Je T'adore' is one of my favourite Eurovision tracks ever, I would definitely support a similar song by September! I would even accept a Velvet style The Queen from her!
As part of the Madam Im Adam campaign to get September to Meldoi, I have started this group... so show your support and join at: http://tiny.cc/sept4melodi
A few days ago the first Melodifestivalen Wildcard was added to the 2010 list! For those of you not on planet Schlager, it is the one, the only Darin.. as blogged about here!
Now as I talk about Sweden, Meldofestivalen and Swepop nearly all the time, I have discussed with people before the idea of Darin for Melodi! He is spectacular, and when I get my ass in gear he will be made officially a MIA legend, but I am just not sure how his style will mash with Melodi! Even though I was not fully impressed by his newest album Flashback, his efforts have been Swedelicious since his Idol exit!
I am a huge musical fan! There is no denying it! I love the OTT nature, the song out of nowhere attitude, amazing costumes and fantastic emotional reactions! Two years ago when the first clips and pics of the American production of Legally Blonde the musical hit the internet I was so so so excited! Instantly fell in love with the first released track "OMG You Guys!" Since then I have been wishing for it to head to the West End in London and this year my dream comes true!
Sheridan Smith will be playing Elle Woods, which at first I thought wouldn't work as I didn't really enjoy her in Little Shop of Horrors. I saw the touring version and thought Clare Buckfield She is a perfect comedian, and ha been hilarious in 2 Pints & her new stint in one of my TV addictions, Benidorm! Duncan James will be fantastic too I believe! He has the west-end charm and stage presence to really pull off the cheesy heartthrob role! This will be more successful for him than the Blue reunion I'm sure! A Special shout out too Suzie McAdam who will be making her West End debut in this musical. Suzie went to the same school as me but was in the year above. Her voice dominated many a school production and I always thought her singing was effortless! It is amazing to see she is doing to well and landed such a pretigious musical!
Hopefully I will get to see this in December, maybe catch a few other shows when down too!
Still waiting on more Måns Zelmerlöw Chicago the musical news! He would be amazing in it so hopefully it will go ahead! was better! After seeing this clip though it's clear she is the ideal Elle!
Here, finally, is the week one showdown between the UK's and Sweden's Number one Talent searches! You might be all over it but If you missed either show last week catch up here before the next round begins! If you don't agree with my views comment away!
Week 1 is brought to you by the word: Disappointment
Top 3 Points.... 1. X Factor 2008's Diana Vickers hand has gone Scandinavian 2. Former contestants do battle 3. Cringing aplenty!
You can read in depth my first week review by expanding the post by clicking the link below!
You are about to witness one of the most disturbing things you have ever seen... Those of a nervous disposition please look away now! The official Sugababes tribute band 'The SugaJades' as they are now called (well on this blog at least) have released their newest video for their next (s)hit single "About a Girl"! The title sort of screams to me... "you liked 'About You Now' and you liked the novelty YMCA style song 'Here Come The Girls'... so we've mashed the name an you'll love this! Unfortunately a big budget, picturesque scenery, and a modern Eurovision goddess produced this....
I like the countdown at the beginning... gives me time to really think through if I want to watch the video again! Now the video starts... and I think this might seam an extremely embarrassing thing to admit, but the first thing I noticed was that it appears to be the same set as 'S Club 7 - S Club Party'! Am I right? Am I wrong? Am I sad because I recognised an S Club video set (YES!!) The bad guys speech is simply cringey, and a much better result could have been produced though mime I believe! Hold on... the script just gets better.. "You see it yet?" "Not Yet!" "Oh wait.. Is that it right there?" "Yeah that's it!"(End Scene) It's almost Shakespearean!
Look out! someone's in gear for some major chaffing! Now the plot thickens as the extremely eloquent ladies leave the car... but wait.. could It be??? Yes its Sugababes V2.0!! Here we discover it is actually based on a real life story of Heidi, Mutya and Keisha! Further on were treated to some more excellent script! It's almost like what you would get if one of those Hitler spoof videos was written by a 3 yr old! "So...? So...? You want to show it or not? You want to see it? Yes, let's see it! SEE THIS!!!" I am in LOVE with the caps lock use during this gripping piece of drama!
2:27 mark shows some fantastic shot caravan wobbling! It really captures the ruckus inside, by slightly rocking! Here's some final classic, and actually my favourite, lines... "Come over here... I will get you" "Come back here... don't do that!!" The video ultimately distracts from what is a really a mediocre piece of modern Swedish born pop! If you had given this to September or Gathantia they might have ripped it! Instead for me I think the song an video as a whole under writes everything the former band (Sugababes) have done before! They used to sing from the soul, now they flash their knickers to any hip producer that will work with them! Seriously though, watch the video... here the song... and think... If this had been a random girlband debut single with the same video, would anyone give a rats ass? Or would it be one of the many overlooked European acts that never reach the UK shores each year! On this my final point I will be... this track wouldn't have looked out of place on the very disappointing Monrose 'I Am' album (though there is still hope with Monrose, and hopefully with The SugaJades)!
For the past few days I have had a song stuck in my head! Completely wedged in and going no where, well until the next chunk of europop comes along! Here it is....
How ridiculously catchy is that song! I know I am a proud supporter of credible pop, music with substance... but you can't tell me Rigga Ding Dong Song doesn't make you smile and want to be in the sun! Avid europoppers will recognise the song as a Passion Fruit cover! Cherona are a new German Pop group formed through a TV show on German channel Super RTL!
This got me thinking about the many europop foursomes that Germany have had in this formate! Here are my favourites*... prepare for serious cheese! If any of the Spotify links don't work internationally let me know please.
First up we have ATC (A Touch of Class) Formed in 2000 after meeting while performing in the musical Cats, the members hail from New Zealand, Italy, Australia and England. An eclectic mix of nationalities, the majority having English speaking as their 1st language. Yet their music sounded typically europop a if English was their 2nd language. Their main hit was their debut single, a cover of the Russian song Pesenka...
I't catchy, It's mega European! Simple yet with a touch of class! The video is nonsense perfection, and shows that the kids in Germany were singing in cars long before Girls Aloud! Other tracks on ATC to check out are: The very Steps-esc Thinking of You and the Alcazar style New York City
Next up we have Se-Side. This two hit wonder band appeared to be in the ATC mindset with their debut single...
Though the Scalextric is now a Playstation Portable, the concept is the same and the real cars do appear at the end! The blonde guy reminds me of a cheap version of Danny Saucedo, even my favourite line of the song "A dedication, Of my affection" sounds Danny style! Their only other single was Kamboleo, which was created to promote a new roller-coaster at Phantasialand. This video shows some spectacular survival advice that Bear Grylls could only dream of! What do you do if swallowed by a giant snake??? Have a Dance Break! Genius!
3rd act is Banaroo! They are not my favourites, but have some good points! Formed in 2005 by the same Super RTL that has just created previously mentioned Cherona! They were formed as the German answer to the band Ch!pz, which I will speak about later.
Aimed at kids their videos and songs were just as playful, but not the best pop around. Their Christmas album Christmas World is worth a listen as it is surprisingly good and is the sheer essence of the festive period!
The 4th foursome is Ch!pz! Yes they are Dutch and were bigger in the Netherlands than Germany, but they still had German hits and are not good enough in my opinion to have their own post! Watch out for the my favourite section around the 3minute mark.
Their style is typical europop, but with a budget all previously mentioned could only dream of! They could be seen as the Dutch S Club 7, if S Club's TV show was about superheroes not just a band going around the USA and Spain for no apparent reason seeing as they didn't really release music over there! Ch!pz have a great style and expensive video set up, but I still feel a little empty after listening to the majority of their music!
Final act is Buttons. One flop wonders in Germany which I discovered when in Spain watching Viva in 2005. Their song is along the similar lines of Rigga Ding Dong Song with its Spanish vibe and Latin europop beats. This is on Las Ketchup style dance crazy that never caught on!
Hope you enjoyed this trip! If you know of any that I've missed out make sure you add a comment and ill look into it!
*yes A*teens, Abba, Alcazar, Bucks Fizz, Deuce and Vengaboys all fit in this band formation equation.. but they are not made in German, and of a far higher caliber to be classed in here!
We live in a majorly cute and Jazztastic world! There is so much funkiness that needs to be celebrated! Here I will give you an insight into my razzmatazz mind, through music, TV and general observations! Make yourself at home!
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