The return of Sanna Nielsen is upon us and it has definitely been worth the wait!  Last week Sanna Nielsen released the first single from her next album and it’s definitely a step in the right direction.  What makes this track great is that it’s different from anything else being released right now.  We already know she can belt out a ballad and sure I’d love an album full of Vagar Du, Vagar Jag’s but since that’s never going to happen I’m going to say that this is a great song for her.  The only thing I will say is that I think the song is missing a really strong and hard hitting climax.  Sure there is a key change in there but I think it definitely could have been a little stronger and arranged differently.

I think it’s funny that she’s releasing this track right in time for Melodifestivalen  and it’s awfully close to the 3 minute mark required for the competition… was this song rejected from the competition perhaps?

But my verdict is two thumbs up!  Let’s hope there are some other big upbeat tracks in store when the album is released.

Purchase the mp3 anywhere in the world from HERE.

Who is Suzie McNeil and why have I never heard of her?  Yesterday I went bowling and this track came on the radio and it immediately got stuck in my head for the rest of the day.  Since I still don’t have Shazam I had to google the lyrics until I found the right track and this is it!

Turns out Suzie McNeil is a fellow Canadian and has been around for awhile now.  Her big break came on the 2005 reality show Rockstar:INXS where she vyed for a positon as the new lead singer of INXS where she came in 4th place.

Since then she’s become a relative star in Canada after releasing 2 albums and 8 singles, appearing on various Canadian television shows and being nominated for a Juno award.

This track probably isn’t the best representation of what Susie McNeil is all about.  It’s a radio remix which answers the question what if  Lady Gaga and Pink were to merge?  The answer is catchy and upbeat and could easily be a hit around the world.

Suzie McNeil – Help Me Out

And here are my top 10 favorite songs of 2009!

#10. Thorleifs – Sweet Kissin’ In The Moonlight

A bunch of creepy old men in suits usually isn’t the kind of act that I go for but in this case I’ll make an exception because this song easily became one of my favorite songs from Melodifestivalen 2009.  The fact that they decided to sing one line in english makes it even better for singing along so I don’t have to continue to massacre the Swedish language.

#9. Backstreet Boys – Bigger

I think I love this song because it reminds me of a simpler time back when pop music was king and bands like the Backstreet Boys were still in their prime.  Instead their new album has been their biggest flop yet, which is a shame because I absolutely love ‘Bigger’ which was written by the musical genius – Max Martin.

#8. The Killers – A Dustland Fairytale

This anthemic song builds and builds until you just can’t take it anymore.  Their live performance of this track with an orchestra on the Letterman show will go down in history as one of the best performances on late night TV.

#7. Hera Bjork – Someday

Good ole Hera Bjork.  This track feels like it’s been ripped from a schlager fairytale and of coarse there is a happy ending with wind machines and key changes and a beautiful sunset!

#6. Sakis Rouvas – Kai Se Thelo

So this track may have been released in 2008 but since I didn’t discover it until 2009 it gets to make it onto my chart.  I loved this song for approximately 3 months straight playing it on a loop for hours on end.  It’s been almost a year since I first discovered it and I still love it to this day.

#5. Brinck – Believe Again

Let’s not talk about his utter failure at ESC 2009 and instead let the song stand on its own as a perfect pop ditty.

#4. Erik Hassle – Hurtful

Erik has easily become one of my new favorite male singers in 2009.  His album is amazing and is vying for my favorite album of the year status.  I feel like he still hasn’t reached the superstar status he deserves though.  “Hurtful’ is amazing but still hasn’t broken him internationally like it should have.  With releases in the Uk and US this year let’s hope he gets the recognition he deserves.  If you haven’t purchased his album yet you need to get on it!

#3. Same Difference – Right Between The Eyes

I just posted this song recently and as you can imagine it’s one of my favorite songs of the year.  It has every ingredient I look for in a song from a band that has to be one of the nicest and sweetest acts around.  Their new album will be released in mid to late 2010 and all reports indicate that it’s going to be one hell of a pop album.

#2. Glee Cast – Don’t Stop Believin’

As far as I see it… the massive success that Glee has had around the world wouldn’t have been possible without this song.  By far the best song from the show so far (although there are some other fantastic ones and some not so fantastic ones as well) this song is responsible for plucking a song out of obscurity and making it cool again.  Glee may be responsible for bringing pop music back into the spotlight in the US.  It’s one of the most downloaded songs of the year with good reason if you still haven’t discovered Glee this is the song to get you started.

#1.  Alcazar – Stay The Night

And here they are… Alcazar on top with ‘Stay The Night’ – the song that should have won Melodifestivalen 2009 and in my mind did win.  I’m actually dissapointed that Alcazar are returning to Melodifestivalen 2010 because I fear they won’t be able to live up to this track. There isn’t a lot I feel like I can even say about this song because I can’t find the words to desribe how much I love it.  It’s become my anthem of the year and no other song could have taken the top spot from this song.  If they play their cards right they may end up with my favorite song of 2010 as well!

I think my friend and I should be the newest members of Alcazar!

2009 is over and already 2010 has brought some fantastic new songs that I can’t wait to share with you all.   Until then turn on some Alcazar and have a great weekend!  I’m off to Mexico in 4 hours and I’ll be back in one week!

We’re getting to the top of the list now and it’s getting harder and hard to choose my absolute favorites of the year.  Some of these songs are so fantastic.  If you haven’t given some of these songs a chance yet it’s time to get with the program and give them a chance.

#19. Tone Damli Aaberge – Butterflies

The youngest contestent to ever make it onto Norwegian Idol where she ended up as the runner up and went on to release 3 hit albums.  She continued her streak of ‘runner up’ status when she came in second place to Alexander Ryback at MGP 2009.  Well Tone… you can smile knowing that at least you beat out Alexander on the You Don’t Know Pop top songs of 2009.

#18. September – Can’t Get Over

This song is perhaps the oldest song on my 2009 countdown as it was first officially relased back in 2007 in Sweden!  But due to success in the Uk the track was re-mixed and released in March and a little tweak here and there was all that was needed to take this song from good to POPTASTIC!

#17. Girls Aloud – Untouchable

I remember when I first heard this track I didn’t ‘get’ it’s awesomeness right away.  Even after it was released as a single I dismissed it and never really gave it a chance.  Then, once the album had died out and people had moved on from the last album I went back and gave the song the chance it deserved and it immediately earned heavy rotation status on my iPod.  The track is very classy and is the kind of song you can relax to when you’re feeling depressed or a song that you can get up and dance to if you’re planning a night out.  The song is unique and different from a lot of songs that were released in 2009 and that may have worked against the girls as it was their worst chart performing single to date.  Although Uk fans are trrying to change that this February with a campaign to get the track back into the top 10 based on downloads.

#16. Alcazar – One Two Three Four

In their first appearance on the chart this album track which only recently showed up on the special edition of ‘Disco Defenders’ has already become one of my favorite songs of the year.  This track rounds out one of the best years for Alcazar with a lot to be proud of including an album where every single track was listenable and pure unapologetic pop.

#15. Lady Gaga – Bad Romance

The photo says it all…. me and Lady Gaga!  She was amazing and this song is bloody brilliant.  I’m sure the song will top a lot of charts this year and it could have easily fit in a higher position than 15 but the competition is so tough that she ends up at #15 for me.

#14. Frankmusic – Confusion Girl

Where did this guy come from?!  I randomly happened upon this video while surfing online and was taken by complete surprise.  I had heard his name and see some photos but never took the time to find out who he was and that was a huge mistake.  It’s bouncy and fun electro-pop without taking itself too seriously, it’s easy to listen to and very mainstream although it’s not a great indication of the kind of music you’re going to get on his album.

#13. John Schmidt – Love Story Meets Viva La Vida

Two of the biggest songs of the decade… experience them as you’ve never experienced them before.  AMAZING!

#12. Alcazar – Burning

I remember when it was announced that Alcazar were back as a threesome with a new member.  To be honest I wasn’t really impressed or excited.  I was what I would call a periferal fan… watching from the outside.  I enjoyed some of their songs and even bought an album of theirs but I had never been completely sold on the band.  So to hear that they were back I really wasn’t expecting much.  Plus I had started to really enjoy Magnus and thought that for Alcazar to re-form minus 2 great members wasn’t going to work.  Since I had already made up my mind about them I really didn’t give a lot of thought to ‘We Keep On Rockin’ even though I may have secretly liked it.  When ‘Inhibitions’ was released I was impressed that they had actually managed to get a second single out but when I first heard it I thought ‘I knew they couldn’t pull it off.  Then it happened… I heard ‘Burning’ for the first time and from that moment on I had officially jumped on the Alcazar train and I’ve never looked back.  The song, the video, the dance routine, the pink glasses, the rollerskates in the dirty bathroom stall… it’s all too perfect.

#11. Janet Leon – Let Go

Classify this as another great surprise of 2009.  If someone would have told me that I’d have chosen a solo single by a singer from ‘Play’ as one of my favorite songs of the year I never would have believed it.  ‘Let Go’ has all the ingredients for one of my favorite tracks… it builds and builds as it goes along… it’s got a tick tick tick sound (All the best songs have tick tick ticking in them don’t you know… just ask Sarah Dawn Finer!) and it’s sung with a lot of heart.  So congrats Janet on a very pleasant surprise in 2009.

Let’s pick up where we left off with my 29th favorite song of 2009.

#29. Lili & Susie – Show Me Heaven

I think I actually like this song more today than I did back in March of last year and for that reason it deserves a spot as one of my favorite tracks.  This was really my big introduction to the amazingness of this super duo.

#28. Benny Andersson Band – Story Of A Heart

The closest thing to an official release of an ABBA track if there ever were one.  The song is what I can only describe as subtly amazing vs an in your face kind of amazing.  If you take the time to listen to it and take it all in you’ll understand why this track is brilliant.  My personal favorite part is at 1:28 – 1:36.

#27. Alexander Rybak – Fairytale

3 months ago this song may have placed higher on this list but I find that this song has begun to lose it’s appeal the more I hear it and the further we get from his landslide win at Eurovision.  That being said the song is still good ole folky fun even if his album was a bit boring.

#26. Darin Feat. Kat DeLuna – Breathing Your Love

So this song was officially released in Oct. 2008 but I never fell in love with it until 2009 and for the record it was released in Finland in 2009 so it still counts for my chart.  The track is also being released in the Uk right now which really feels like too little too late… but if any song is going to break him into the Uk this is definitely a good choice.  I’m a huge Darin fan and can’t wait to see what he comes up with for Melodifestivalen.

#25. Sarah Dawn Finer – Moving On

#24. Malena Ernman – La Voix

#23. Star Pilots – Higher

I don’t know if I should be listing the Star Pilots as one of my favorite acts of 2009 or if I should just list Johan Becker the lead vocalist of the track.  I secretly longed for an amazing album from the Star Pilots but it never materialized.  Anyone have any inside scoop on whether we will hear anything from these guys again?

#22. Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feeling

#21. Pet Shop Boys – Pandemonium

I heard this song when I was in a store one day and downloaded it immediately on my iPhone.  It’s been on heavy rotation since then and it’s the only Pet Shop Boys track I’ve ever had in my collection.  It’s a hard hitting song with a lot going on.

#20. Danny – Turn Off The Sound

#39.  Elin Lanto – Discoteque

Elin is the gift that keeps on giving.  She’s been around far longer than anyone gives her credit for and she’s really come into her own over the last year.  Her tracks keep getting better and better and if she plays her cards right 2010 could be a great year for her.  I’m hoping that Elin can do what Velvet failed to do last year and make it into the Finals at Melodifestivalen.

#38. Anders Fernette – Hungry Eyes

#37. Erik Segerstedt – Saturday Night

One of my highlights of the year was meeting Erik Segerstedt in Stockholm and getting him to sign this single!

#36. E.M.D. – I’m No Romeo

#35. Miley Cyrus – When I Look At You

So this is slightly embarassing to have Miley Cyrus appear on my favorite songs of 2009 but if you haven’t heard her EP – Time Of Our Lives then you’re missing out.  Sure ‘Party In The USA’ became everyones guilty pleasure in 2009, but this track let me see her in a differeny way.  I’d like to see her continue to record songs like this.

#34. JLS – Everybody In Love

#33. Michael Buble – Haven’t Met You Yet

The lone Canadian act on the list this year.  I tried not to love this song for a long time and I finally had to give in.  It’s just do damn catchy!

#32. Industry – My Babys Waiting

If I were giving out a best debut single of the year award this song would have a good chance at winning that title.  Industry have had a great year in Ireland with 3 number 1 singles and likely a 4th later this month when their new single ‘My Mistake’ is released.  The band are hoping that 2010 will bring their big break as they attempt to recreate their success across Europe.  Rumour has it that their debut single in the Uk/Germany will be called ‘Kill The DJ” and that it will be released in March.  With a title like that you know it’s going to be killer!  Here’s to Industry in 2010!

#31. Ola – Skys The Limit

#30. Peter Gustafson & Ankie Bagger – Du Kan Inte Lure Mig

#49. Jennifer Brown – Out Of The Ashes

Jennifer Brown first came to my attention at Melodifestivalen 2009 with her ballad ‘Never Been Here Before,’ which failed to make much of an impact at the competition.  Since then she’s been on a roll with her single choices.  Mr. Running Man was definitely a highlight of 2009, but ‘Out Of The Ashes’ really resonated with me this year.

#48. Evan – By My Side

It’s no secret that I’m a massive fan of Evans unique ‘epic pop’ style.  His songs are sweeping, romantic and dramatic tracks that can’t be compared to any other work being produced right now.  Unfortunately the most we’ve heard from him lately were a few demos released to fans on his website.  ‘By My Side’ gets me extremely excited for the possibility of a third album from him.  Originally said to be released in 2009 the album never materialized.  As soon as I have news about an album in 2010 I’ll post it here.

#47. Velvet – The Queen

#46. Johanna – Is It True

#45.  A1 – Take You Home

After threatening a comeback for over a year now, Uk based boyband A1 finally came through with new material.  Only instead of releasing in the Uk the band have started off in Norway with their first single in 7 years!  The track which was released for Charity off the heels of performance on Nowegian X-Factor ended p hitting the top 10 in Norway and has officially kickstarted their careers once more.  The band have a big year ahead of them as not only will they release a new album but the band are officially taking part in Melodi Grand Prix in an effort to represent Norway at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest.  I was a huge fan of ‘Take You Home’ and can’t wait to see what happens at MGP.

#44. VV Brown – Shark In The Water

#43. Alexandra Burke – Bad Boys

#42. Will Young – Hopes & Fears

Finally Will Young releases a single worth mentioning, after throwing a fantastic career away with a bunch of mediocre and bland song choices he finally releases one that reminds me why I used to like him in the first place.  The track was to support his greatest hits album but I fear that it’s too little too late and that he won’t be having another Greatest Hits album anytime soon.  It’s actually one of the rare songs where I like the verses better than the chorus.

#41. The Pussycat Dolls – Jai Ho (You Are My Destiny)

#40. Take That – The Garden

It was hard for me to choose between ‘The Garden’ and ‘Up All Night’ for my top Take That song of the year.  In the end I’ve listened to ‘The Garden’ more than I’ve listened to ‘Up All Night’ and I’m a sucker for a great ballad.  This track was never released as a single but can be found on their ‘The Circus’ album and is one of my favorites.

Hey Guys,

So 2009 is quickly coming to an end and it’s been a massive year for pop music.  Many blogs have done a fantastic job of reflecting on various artists and events over the past year and they’ve all done a better job than I could ever do.  So instead I’m just going to talk about some songs that stand out for me in 2009.

There are no rules to my chart, the songs may or may not have been released as singles, in some cases the songs were available prior to 2009 but may have been released officialy in 2009 or only came to my attention in 2009.

There are a ton of songs that are not on this list that were huge hits in 2009 and that I did enjoy a lot, but if the song isn’t on the list it’s because it grew ‘old’ or didn’t really stick with me throughout the year.  Every song on this list received a lot of airplay from my over the year.

#62 . Alien Beat Club – My Way

Alien Beat Club hail from Denmark where they came in second place in the Danish X-Factor.   They’re the first of 2 X-Factor acts to show up on my favorites this year. ‘My Way’ hit the top spot in Denmark

#61. Jennifer Paige and Nick Carter – Beautiful Lie

#60. Industry – In Your Arms

The third single from 2009s brightest new stars from Ireland.  The band are ready to break into Britian in 2010 and have worked with some of the best names in pop music for their debut album.

#59. Amy Diamond -  Up

#58. The Saturdays – Here Standing

It’s unfortunate that things seem to have cooled down for The Saturdays after they burst onto the scene last year.  Their latest album tanked spending only 2 weeks in the top 40.   It’s dissapointing because while the album was a bit weak, there were some bright spots like this song which hasn’t been released as a single but is still one of my favorite songs on the album.   I think it’s very unlikely that we’ll have another album from these girls again unless they can crank out one more commercially successful single this year.

#57. Jeanette – Feline

This track was never released as a single and I’ve been sitting on it for a long time and over the last year the more I listened to it the more I enjoyed it.  It definitely took a long time to grow on me but it’s managed to earn a spot on my list.  I like that it has a unique sound and isn’t like any other song on the list.

#56. Cheryl Cole – Fight For This Love

#55. The Script – The Man Who Can’t Be Moved

#54. Suzanne Alfvengren – Du Är Älskad Där Du Går

Probably one of the worst peformances of Melodifestivalen 2009… I don’t know what they were thinking with the hair and the dress, it was all kinds of wrong.  But if you close your eyes and just listen to the track you’ll hear that it’s quite a beautiful song and one of the most under appreciated of Melodifestivalen 2009.

#53. Mika – Blame It On The Girls

#52. David Archuleta – Touch My Hand

#51. Nickleback – Gotta Be Somebody

#50. Kim Lian & Linda Bengtzing – Not That Kinda Girl

For those of you that have never heard of Kim Lian you’re not the only ones.  She’s celebrity from the Netherlands that has had a lot of success on television there which led to a debut single and chart success in 2003.  Now unless you’ve been living under a rock somewhere there’s no way you haven’t heard of Linda Bengtzing my absolute favorite swedish star.  This track is immensely cheesy but a rare treat to hear Linda sing in English.

SVT announced today that the 3rd Wildcard entry will be none other than ‘Peter Joback’ who they’ve tried to get into the competition for years now since his debut in Melodifestivalen back in 1990.  The song ‘Hollow’ is written and composed by Anders Hansson and the amazing Fredrik Kempe who says “I really think this is my best song ever!”  Better than Empty Room, Hero, La Voix?!  Let’s just say expectations are running high with this one.

Peter Joback has been around for ages but I first heard of him in 2002 with the release of his second english album which spawned the hit single – Sinner.  Since 1990 he’s released over 25 singles.

That means 3 wildcards have been announced and all 3 have gone to male singers.  So we can only hope that Lena Ph is indeed the final wildcard announced on Monday.

If you don’t know who Peter Joback is check out Sinner below.

Peter Joback – Sinner

Shall we all take a little trip back to Sweden?!

So I’m WAY BEHIND with these two track and not only has every pop blog featured this track but it was the Song Of The Day on ‘Popjustice.com’ and is now available on the UK iTunes Store.  Hearing Linda Bengtzing sing in English is one of the biggest treats of 2009 and while she won’t be back to Melodifestivalen 2010 I’m betting we’re going to hear from her again in 2011.  This song wins the award for best use of the word ‘Wacko’ in a single.

Kim Lian & Linda Bengtzing – Not That Kinda Girl

Speaking of songs that completely passed me by… I only JUST heard Nanne’s ‘Otacksamhet.’  I was pretty busy this summer and had no clue this has even been released.  But it’s never too late for a little Swedish Schlager.  So if you missed this track as well you can play catch up with me.

Nanne – Otacksamhet

And I’d like to make a prediction right now that Elin Lanto is about to release one of the best music videos of the year when the video for her new single ‘Love Made Me Stupid’ is released.  You can listen to her new single on her Myspace page.  Turns out Elin Lanto was in the running for Melodifestivalen 2010 and we’ll find out very soon if she will be singing at the competition when the acts are announced.

Why didn’t Jennifer Brown sing this at Melodifestivalen 2009?  I was never a fan of her song ‘Haven’t Been Here Before’ and never really gave her any attention until this summer with the release of ‘Mr. Running Man’ which I featured here on my blog.  Now I hear a song like this and think why didn’t you send this instead?!  I think a song like this would have easily made it to the finals!  This song has just jumped to my most played track of the week.

Jennifer Brown – Out Of The Ashes