So this post is going to be a mish mash of a lot of different things!
1. Melodifestivalen Semi-Final #2:
I learnt a valuable lesson last week; you can’t fully judge a song based on a one minute preview. A performance can make or break a song no matter how good or bad it is and that’s what happened last week.
A lot of people seem to be divided on whether last weeks show was exceptionally strong or exceptionally weak in terms of song quality. I still think the songs overall were weak but that some fantastic performances the artists managed to take them to the next level.
First off Mans rocked the place with that Pussycat Dolls – Buttons inspired performance. I do think for the first time that this is a song that we’ve “heard before” but to echo a thought my my friend PPG – the lyrics are so great and set the song apart from some of its predecessors. This is one of my favorite songs in the competition so far but I don’t think he’ll win with it. I predict a 2nd or 3rd spot for Mans this year.
Lili and Susie have a weak song but with a fantastic performance managed to secure a second chance. Now let me just say personally I LOVE the song! It’s going to be a blast to sing it and hear it played while I’m in Sweden. But it feels one dimensional and dated. It’s what I would describe as ‘cheap’ pop music. I absolutely LOVE the hand clapping bit at the end though I also fell in love with Lili and Susie themselves after watching the show. I didn’t really know a lot about this duo before this week but watching them on stage they had so much fun and really loved what they were doing. I really hope they make it through the Second Chance round.
H.E.A.T were my biggest surprise of the night though and I loved their performance. It was a really cool fusion of 80’s rock meets Schlager. It’s what The Poodles tried to do twice but H.E.A.T actually pulled it off and they were rewarded with a well deserved spot in the final.
And finally my little Amy. She is LUCKY to have get a second chance with that song. I had such high expectations after last years song and considering that Alexander from BWO helped write this one. She looked fantastic though and I want to know where I can get an Amy Diamond belt buckle! Remember her Amy Diamond tee shirts last year? I think she should start her own clothing line: Gold Jackets and Glitter Capes. I admit that the song has started to grow on me and I thought her vocals were stronger than some previous performances. I think that I’m going to really start to like it more and more. I predict that she won’t make it through the Andra Chansen though.
2. Eurovision:
Although I only seem to ever talk about Sweden… the rest of Europe has been selecting songs to send to Eurovision for over a month now and I’ve started to fall in love with some of these tracks.
Written by Ronan Keating who we all know writes a great pop tune. This song has a fantastic beat and is very radio friendly. I don’t really know a lot about Eurovision but from what I understand, it’s believed that this song won’t connect with the Eurovision viewers? I hope this isn’t the case because If I was in charge this track would make top 5 for sure.
Iceland: Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir – Is It True
This year many countries have decided to send a ballad to the competition. For me a ballad is very very risky. I think it’s very easy to write a ballad… but very very hard to write a good ballad. The song needs to be really good to stand out from the crowd and have a really memorable performance. Of all the ballads I’ve heard I like this one the most. I know everyone in the Uk is in love with their ballad… but I was really un-impressed with the Uk entry. Jóhanna has a very pretty voice and I really enjoy the arrangement of this track, it builds up a bit, has interesting backing vocals which really add to the peformance. I think it could have been a bit more dramatic with the key change at the end… but she could do well with this.
Germany: Alex Swings Oscar Sings – Miss Kiss Kiss Bang
Wow! I’m really impressed with this track from Germany. It’s Micheal Buble meets Christina Agulera – Candyman. It’s upbeat, great to sing along to and really fun. Although the idea isn’t very new, it’s different from anything I’ve heard in Eurovision before which could be good for Germany this year! Now all they need is to prove that they can sing it live and Germany could be in great shape. Unlike No Angels disastrous performance last year.
3. Blog Watch:
I don’t know how to make a links section on this new blog so I can’t add the links to all my favorite blogs out there. This week there are some great blogs to check out. Karl over at Scanipop had a fantastic interview with Swedish Dance act – September which you can check out – Here.
Meanwhile DontStopThePop has introduced us to one of the more unique acts I’ve heard in awhile. Elouise is being called the best un-signed act around… a title I don’t think she’ll be able to hold onto for very long. Check out Elouise at DSTP – Here.
Later tonight I will post a NON MELODIFESTIVALEN post! Shocking but true
I JUST FOUND OUT THAT I’M GOING TO SEE THE A1 REUNION SHOW LIVE IN LONDON ON MARCH 7TH!!!!
I THINK I JUST PEED MY PANTS! I’m already on cloud 9 that I’m going to Melodifestivalen but now seeing A1 is almost too much! Same Old Brand New You, Take On Me, Be The First To Believe, Caught In The Middle… A1 produced some of the best pop songs of the last decade and now they’re back!
It’s only a matter of time before Steps re-form!!!
Anyone else in London gonna catch the show at G-A-Y?!
I just listened to the 60 second clips of the next each songs and I think this is the weakest semi final i’ve heard in a long time. I was actually sorta shocked actually! Here are my quick reactions to each track.
Jennifer Brown – Really sort of boring and lifeless. I can imagine her singing this for the judges on American Idol and the judges would just look at her and say… wow… wrong song choice. I really didn’t like this one at all. 2/5
Lili & Susie – First off I didn’t realize how old these guys were! This song is ok but I feel like it’s sorta “dated.” I don’t think it’s as high quality as the songs that we’re used to hearing over the past 2 years at M-fest. It also sounds like I’ve heard it before, it sounds recycled. For such a big reunion I thought they’d really blow us away. Overall it’s a fun track… I’ll be singing along “Gimme Gimme Gimme” with everyone else but it’s not AMAZING. 3/5
Markoolio – What happened?! This guy used to have a great sense of humour and has released some of the funnest tracks around and then he comes out with this? How is this song better than Varsta Schlagen? It’s sorta sad to hear him singing this song when you know how much better he can do. 3/5
Amy Diamond – My Girl! I was so excited to press play and then… I heard her yell – “Come On Now!!” and thought … oh god, what have they done. What I’ve always loved about Amy Diamond is that her songs are so different from anything else out there. I’ve mentioned here before that almost every one of her songs uses an instrument that you rarely hear in other songs and it’s what makes her songs interesting. But with this track is missing something and it feels very immature. I mean I like it… but I don’t love it. The chorus is just ok for me. To be honest it sounds like an album track from a 16 year olds debut album. 3/5
H.E.A.T – It’s like the poodles are back but with a new name. The worst part is that this is actually probably one of the better songs so far! It’s actually catchy even if it is very ’80’s. 3/5
Lasse Lindh – A big improvement over his entry from last year. It’s different but I don’t know if M-fest viewers will vote for something like this. I’m curious to see if he can sing it live. 3/5
Mans Zelmerlow – Hmm… not what I thought… but I like it! It’s not as good as Cara Mia, but It’s good. OOohhh here’s a nice key change in there I like that. Well, this isn’t what I expected from Mans… I guess my expectations were a little too high. Is it just me or do these songs all seem so one dimensional? Mans definitely stands out from the crowd with this one and he’ll easily take a spot in the Final with this. UPDATE: I’ve been listening to it for the last 10 minutes and I really like this one actually. It’s still no Cara Mia but I enjoy it! 4/5
Cookies n Beans – Yawn. If this gets through I give up. But hey if Caroline can do it anyone can. 2/5
Maybe I’m just tired? I should listen to the songs some more before I make my final decisions. Am I all alone here or does everyone agree with me on the quality of the songs in this semi? Also it’s hard to judge based on 60 seconds. Here’s hoping the full versions and the performances can give these songs some umph!
Here are my predictions:
Mans Zelmerlow and Lili & Susie will go direct to the final
I think it’s a complete toss up for the second chance round. The rest of the songs are so lifeless that it’s really going to come down to the performance. I obviously want Amy Diamond to go to the second chance round… I think based on the clips and how the swedish public voted last week I think Jennifer Brown will get the last spot. Peronally I’d probably vote for H.E.A.T to go to the second chance round.
I will only keep these songs available for a very short time… get them while they’re hot!
Remember starting on Friday you will be able to hear one minute clips of the next 8 songs competing on Saturday. This is going to be just as stressful as last week with Amy Diamond competing against acts like Mans Zelmerlow, Jennifer Brown and the return of Lili & Susi.
Nina Soderquist – Tick Tock
Shirley Clamp – Med Hjartat Fyllt Av Ljus
Shirley Clamp - Med Hjärtat Fyllt Av Ljus [Oscar Holter Remix]
Since I’m in a Melodifestivalen mode here’s a song from last years finalists – Rongedal.
This song was released in the summer and was the official theme song for ‘D.N. Galan’ which is a massive track and field event and the largest annual sporting event held in Sweden. Speaking of which, Sweden has a fantastic record of having pop acts record the official theme songs for any major sporting event going on in that country.
The track came about when Wei Wei was asked to write the theme song for the 2008 games which would be broadcast across the globe and reach over 1 Billion People! Wei Wei had met Rongedal while they were in Beijing and suggested that they write the music together. The result was ‘Moment Of Truth’ which was released with a Chinese and an English version.
For those of you that have neve heard of Wei Wei, she is probably the most famous singer in China and has been recording since 1986! But this Chinese superstar has strong ties to Sweden (who doesnt!) Growing up she used to listen to western radio stations that had been banned by the government. She credits acts like ABBA for inspiring her to learn English and become a pop singer.
I know this song has been available for ages but I only recently discovered it so I figured I’d share.
I hope all of you had a chance to stay home and watch Melodifestivalen tonight because if you missed it you missed out on a fantastic competition! It was one of the most breathtaking nights on television. If not here is all you need to see:
First let’s look at the performances… here are some of the notes I made as I watched them run down.
- Nina rocked the house with her performance of Tick Tock. I loved the clock themed dance routine as well! My initial though was… wow with a solid performance like that she’s almost guaranteed a spot in Andra Chansen.
- Jonathan Fagerlund was adorable but there was not a lot of confidence on stage. The vocals were only so so and he looked great, but there was no life or “Umph” behind the performance. I did enjoy the key change though! After watching him sing I was sure that he was out of the competition.
- Next up was Shirley. She was extremely confident on stage and sang beautifully. When the song first started I honestly kept waiting for it to “explode” into classic Shirley Schlager… but no such luck. Although the song is pretty It’s not “catchy” at all and I felt like it’s one of the weaker ballads i’ve heard in a long time from Melodifestivalen. The subtle performance finally came to life at the end when the wind machines powered up and she channeled Carola in her flowing blue gown… but I was left dissapointed. I was still sure that she would take a spot in the finalen though.
- Watching Scotts I felt like I was watching the reunion of ‘Barbados’ on stage. The song wasn’t breathtaking and seeing the whole thing made me question where they would end up by the end of the show.
- Emilia is a great example of how different a song can be from the one minute clip. When I heard the chorus in the one minute clip I really liked the song. But when she sang it live the song starts off with quite a jazz feel to it which I actually enjoyed! So when she broked out into the poppy chorus I ended up not liking the chorus as much anymore. I sorta though it would have been better if she stayed with that jazzy style song with a smooth chorus. I assumed Emilia would place 6th or 7th overall.
- Caroline … I will say one thing positive about Caroline. She sang her song with more emotion than any other contestant of the night. Her performance was very pure and raw and I think the Swedish public connected with her. My prediction was that she would place last.
- Marie… as far as performances go she ranked very high. What was lacking in the song she made up for with a fantsatic stage performance which was a lot of fun. High energy and very clean I was really suprised actually. I started to think maybe she would kick the Scotts out of the top 4!
- Then… the moment I was waiting for. Alcazar! All day yesterday I raved about their song – Stay The Night but that one minute clip didn’t even come close to capturing how amazing their song really is. To hear the whole song live, full costume and choreography… they pulled off the best performance of their career on stage and after that there was no way they couldn’t make it to the final.
The votes were added up… and the top 5 song were going to be announced and they would move on to the next round of voting.
Alcazar, Emilia, Scotts, Nina and …
The hush fell over the audience… one more singer would advance while the others would all be out of the competition. The camera cuts to Shirley Clamp and you can tell how desperately she wants it. Inside you know that she MUST have it… but what if… it could easily go to Marie with a performance like that. Then the announcement was made… Caroline!
WHAT!?
Not only did Caroline win… but Shirley Clamp came in LAST PLACE overall. What the heck!? Is this some kind of protest against Shirley? Clearly this is what she gets for not doing a schlager tune. Hopefully she’s learnt her lesson. What’s with Swedes building up these Schlager divas then tearing them down?
I was ready to cancel my whole trip to Sweden at that moment in time! But I didn’t have time to be upset because voting had started again and we were about to move onto the DUEL round. After another round of voting the songs were paired off and one song from each duel would move win a spot in the final while the other would get a second chance. That meant that one song with the least amount of votes would be the last song kicked from competition.
Duel. 1 – Alcazar vs Scotts – I was sure that we were finished. I actually got upset because I KNEW that Scotts would take it and Alcazar would go to the second chance round. The music came on… the crowd got quiet and… ALCAZAR did it! I screamed so loud it’s not even funny. Scotts will get another chance in 4 weeks to compete again.
Duel. 2.- The first song… going into the duel would be… EMILIA!! At this point I was a little excited at the thought of her making it into the finals… I never really thought she had a chance and now that she had gotten this far I was really happy for her. That meant that she would compete against either Nina or Caroline. And this years Melodifestivalen didn’t fail to deliver the surprises because Caroline won again and beat Nina out!
Finally it came down to the last moment when one of the acts would go directly to the Globen… Please Please Please Please… “Going directly to the Globen… Song Number… 2!!!! EMILIA!
It was an intense night and it was only just the beginning! This year also has a new twist as there is a new international jury that will pick one song each week that they feel has the best chance winning at Eurovision. It’s designed to allow a song a chance that maybe the public didn’t believe in. Each week the Jury will select one song as their favorite… As they made the announcement my heart stopped. This is it… they were going to announce Shirley Clamp and all would be saved!
Drumroll Please….
CAROLINE?! NO!!! Can anyone explain how it’s fair that they select a song that already made it into Andra Chansen?
What were your reactions? Which songs did you love? Did anyone out there love Caroline? Who else thinks this is Alcazars greatest song ever!?
Finally after almost a year of waiting the songs for Melodifestivalen 2009 have been revealed!
On Saturday night the first 8 songs will battle it out for 2 direct spots to the Finale on March 14th. This semi-final is filled with fan favorites and is generally thought that it will have the most intense competition of all the semi-finals.
This kind of speculation is based solely on artists names and we all know that it takes more than a name to secure a spot in the finals. It’s a combination of the song itself and a great live performance.
Starting today you can listen to 1 Minute clips of all the songs and now we can finally judge the songs based on more than the artist singing them. You can listen to the songs HERE.
Here are my predictions for how everything will play out tomorrow. These predictions are a mix of how I think they will actually do and how I want them to go down.
- Alcazar easily has the best song of the entire bunch. I think they’re guaranteed a spot in the finals with their – Stay The Night. Not only is it their best Melodifestivalen track so far but I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s the best song they’ve ever released!
- I think Shirley Clamp and Scotts are fighting it out for the second spot in the finalen. As we already knew Shirley has recorded a “mature” ballad and it’s good but I don’t think it’s as good as songs like Empty Room, For Att Du Finns or That Is Where I’ll Go. So I think if she makes it direct to the finalen it will be because she is Shirley Clamp and not because the song is the best song.
- In my eyes Scotts are a wildcard and could be an upset to the competition in this semi-final. I actually like the song and they’ve had a lot of promotion in Sweden as part of the dansband competition they were in. I want them to get through to andra chansen but I think that if one act is going to steal Shirley or Alcazars spot it will be Scotts.
- Why did Caroline af Ugglas enter again this year? Did she not learn her lesson last time? I see what she was trying to do and if they had a someone else sing the track and maybe in english it could be really good. But I think Caroline is going to have to settle for last place in this semi.
- Marie Serneholts song is a little dissapointing unfortunately. Listening to the one minute clip, the track is good but I don’t see it in the finals at all. It feels like it should just be an album track on her last album. For those of you that don’t know the rules have changed this year to allow artists to have more back up singers and dancers on stage and Marie is using all of those spots with her “posse” and I think if she were to sing the song really well with a fantastic performance she MAY sneak into the second chance round… but it’s going to be a long shot. I think Marie is out.
- Another song that is going to be out unfortunately is Jonathan Fagerlund and “Welcome To My Life.” I really like this track though and it’s probably going to be one of my favorite songs of the competition that don’t make it through to the finalen. I love his voice and it’s a fun summery sing along song.
- That leaves us with Nina and Emilia and two very different songs. Nina seems to be this years rock track and It’s good! We also know that this girl has the vocals to pull it off live as well. I think that Nina could take the spot that I have Scotts in right now which means she could knock Shirley or Alcazar down to the second chance. My final prediction though is that Nina will take a second chance spot. The more I listen to Nina the more I like it and the more I think she may cause an upset! I’m getting scared!
- That leaves Emilia out of the competition as well. I think in a different semi-final and with a good performance she could have made it through to the second chance round but I the competition is simply too tough in this semi. Her song is very “I just woke up, the sun is shining and I’m happy and walking down the street singing a song while everyone around me is dancing and singing and happy.” It’s retro and fun but it’s not going to be enough to put her in the second chance round I’m afraid.
Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to the future of “You Don’t Know Pop”
If you visit the blog regularly you will have noticed that last fall I stopped updating as regularly as I had in the past. Things started getting in the way and I just wasn’t as passionate about it anymore. But recently as I started coming back to it and started receiving e-mails from people that have read and enjoyed the blog I started getting excited about blogging again! That has lead me to today and the launch of the new “You Don’t Know Pop”
I’m leaving blogger behind and this new format should allow me more freedom to share even more music and information with you. You can now access the site directly at
I’ve always wanted my own website and now I have it!
Please update your bookmarks and If you have me linked to your blog it would be great if you could update the link.
Now back to the music!
So I’ve been watching American Idol this season (Did anyone else watch Hollywood Week Pt. 2? How amazing was that!) and I decided it was time to finally listen to David Archuletas album. For those of you that don’t follow ‘Idol’ David came in second place last year and has gone on to become one of the more successful second place winners in recent history.
His debut single is the highest debuting ‘Idol’ contestant single, his debut album peaked at number 2 and has sold over 610′000 copies in the US.
Now I thought his first single – Crush was OK. It was catchy enough, I wouldn’t change the station if it came on the radio, but it was nothing special.
I never went out of my way to listen to his album and had pretty much forgotten about the guy until I heard THIS!
Why isn’t this song his new single?! MY GOD! I’ve been playing this on repeat all week non stop. It’s my new favorite song of the month!
Even if you’re not a David Archuleta fan you should give this song a chance. I absolutely love when the chorus explodes and the bass kicks in. It’s the kind of song to really turn up loud and sing along to when you think no one’s watching and I speak from personal experience!
As Bloggers I know that we all get information from each other about the songs that we love and we all share that information between us… it’s what makes blogging fun and it’s how I’ve made some good friends in the blogging world.
In fact many of the songs I post come from various sources from all over. But I don’t go to other blogs, take a song and then post it on my own blog. In fact there’s often songs I want to blog about that other great bloggers get to first and then I avoid blogging about the same song because they got to it first!
If you like something I’ve posted… post a link on your blog like I’ve done here in the past.
I love to see a good blog so if you have your own blog and want me to feature your link here please e-mail me and I’ll add it.
Attention pop music lovers. Here is your new favorite song of the week!
I don’t know how I missed this last year but this song has been kicking around for ages now.
Addictiv is a Canadian singer who has released a handful of singles in Canada without any major success until recently. With each spin ‘Tonight’ continued to garner more and more airplay across the country as people began to hear the song for the first time.
With little to no promotion the song eventually made it into the top 50 and became quite the sleeper hit through the fall.
I don’t get a chance to post music from fellow Canadians too often so I’m pretty happy to share this one.
It’s a great song to dance to and could easily be mistaken for a track from the Pussycat Dolls.
I also fell in love with Lili and Susie themselves after watching the show. I didn’t really know a lot about this duo before this week but watching them on stage they had so much fun and really loved what they were doing. I really hope they make it through the Second Chance round.
