#Loreen Statements Full | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

borisbubbles · 6 years ago

Text

Eurovision 2010s: 02 & 01

It’s here.When you’re reading this I’ll be safely tucked away on a vacay, but let me say, it’s been an intense two months. 408 write-ups, 408 desperate famewhore, 408 beautiful people (and Boggie.). 406 have been ranked and now it is time to reveal whom I think the best entry of them all is.So let us start with the runner-up, the also-ran the entry that ALMOST could’ve made it, but didn’t.

02. Iveta Mukuchyan - “LoveWave” Armenia 2016

youtube

All-time ranking: #12

Hey, it’s me. Look,

I know it might sound strange but suddenly I’m not the same I used be

it’s like I’ve stepped out of space and time and ~Come Alive~

When she touched us, the world went silent. Calm before the stormed reached us. The art in motion set off all sirens. She took over our heartbeat - beat - beat

IT’S TAKING OVER ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

God I should just stop quoting “LoveWave” but it’s stronger than myself. SHE SHOOK MY LIFE LIKE AN EARTHQUAKE YOUR FAVES COULD NE-E-VER HAVE! It, too, is a stunning masterpiece, a masterclass in seduction, an example of how everyone should tackle avant garde. Completely original- ok lmfao that isn’t true, the Aminata influence is pretty obvious here. However, unlike most other copycats, Iveta understood that imitation is best served as a form of flattery: in other words she took on a great formula and made it even better. If Aminata was the “Love Injection”, the Iveta is the “Fierceness Injection”.

or more like a LOVEwave

SPREADING LOVEWAVES AND MY HEART GOES BOOM-BA-BA-DOOM-WO-OH-OH.

At the relatively small cost of a lesser vocal performance Iveta brought us a more unfiltered, more realistic, more intense exploration of what love actually does to somebody and the result is supereffective.

“LoveWave” is edgy and dynamic beyond my wildest expectations. It absolutely shatters me from start to finish. It’s a thrilling rollercoaster that never slows down and the second you believe you’ve figured out this meandering song’s musical formula, there’s yet a new twist around the corner. Its layers unfold slowly, gracefully, beautifully like the budding rose. There is only one entry that can compete with it in terms of its innovativeness and that’s the winner of this ranking.

ARMENIA

A country of high risk/high reward entries. Armenia isn’t always good, and they are in fact very often terrible. However, the moments when they are good are moments of undisputed slayage. The persistent coin flip of the Armenian selection is a very exciting ride and I always look forward to seeing what they have on offer, provided they can fix their staging problems.

________________________________________________________________

and now the moment you’ve all been waiting for: the WINNER is none other than:

01. Lena - “Taken by a stranger” Germany 2011

youtube

All-time ranking: #04

Let us start by noting that Lena is DEFENDING HER TITLE, and what a defence it is. 😍 I shan’t get ahead of myself, but know that 2011 Lena blows 2010 Lena completely out of the water. Gone are the days of constipated adorkability. This beautiful introverted cygnet finally transformed into a graceful, confidence black swan.

Okay so... as it turns out, my bitching about German women and 2011 entries was only foreshadowing for the inevitable: my favourite song in this decade is the German entry from my least favourite year of the 2010s. 😂

Of course, the fact this daring and amazing entry was sent by a country which usually doesn’t do daring, in a year which otherwise doesn’t do amazing only further enhances the spice, but there actually a more rational reason for me ranking Lena first: “Taken by a stranger” marks the first time, the first true time an avant garde entry was taken seriously in modern Eurovision.

Remember what I said about the original source always being the best? We are here. “Avant-Garde Eurovision” is Lena City and we’re all living in it. Before “Taken by a stranger” novelty entries were either greeted with mockery (Silvia Night, Pas de deux, Divine, Visionary dream) or as flukes, anomalies within the system (Sanomi, Dancing Lasha Tumbai). Critics saw them as shallow gimmicks and little more.

“Taken by a stranger” reinvented the way people look at experimental music and did it with great style. Lena proved that weird can be accessible, that quirky can be high-quality and that artistic can be enjoyed. She proved that ‘different’ has a place in Eurovision.

She also proved that giant condoms make perfect dancing costumes:

Without Lena, we have no precedent for “LoveWave” or “Love Injected” or “Rhythm inside” or “Midnight Gold” or “Skeletons”. Without Lena laying the groundwork and being greeted with praise, some of the greastest, most innovative entries in Eurovision may have been brushed off like “Telemóveis” and “The Social Network Song” were.

Now, I understand that “Euphoria” arguably set the same precedent as “Taken by a stranger” did and that’s definitely a valid point. However two counterpoints: One: Loreen came after Lena and therefore only expanded on the foundation that Lena already had established the year before. Two: I love “Euphoria” but each time anyone in my vicinity praises it for being unique, a masterpiece, ... a great... song I just *yawn* instantly becooome *yawn* soooo tiiiiiiired, :snore:. “Taken by a stranger” is the true unsung hero that shaped the contest in what it is today, and remember, unlike Dina Garipova I always reach out to those who need it the most.

However, that’s the theoretical backstory behind “Stranger” winning my ranking, what about the practice? What about the live? Does it hold up to the placement I gave her?

The answer is a resounding YES. “Taken by a stranger” is a shining example of an excellent, near-flawless perfomance: Lena takes the microphone with mad confidence, gets absorbed by her song’s dark, psychedelic energy and delivers an A+ singing and miming effort. Her soul-piercing stares into the camera are chilling beyond the bones.

The story told here is immersive (the quirky beat), credible (Lena’s faces), humorous (dancing condoms) and entertaining (all of the above), all at once. It unfolds like a neo-noir audiobook. I can only think of a handful other entries that hit a similarly wide spectrum of great eurovision qualities with the same killer accuracy as Lena did, all of which (lovewave, euphoria, love injected, city lights, etc) made it deep into the ranking.

Over the years, I’ve patiently waited to see if anyone could replace Lena as my favourite of the decade. Over the years many came close, but never were great enough to dethrone her. The act which came the closest was indeed Loreen, but with “Statements”, not “Euphoria” and we all know how that journey ended. Perhaps its for the better. In her two iconic stints Lena proved that both chartable hits AND avant garde novelties can be worthy Eurovision entries, paving the way for Eurovision’s renaissance into a contest everyone takes seriously again, which makes her, in my humble opinion, one of the most, if not the most, important people to ever participate in the Eurovision Song Contest.

ALL HAIL THE DOWAGER EMPRESS OF THE 2010S:

Germany is the ultimate hit-or-miss nation. There isn’t a single country in the history of Eurovision that has ranked as often in my bottom 5 or top 5 as Germany has (T10/B10 for the semifinal era). I always either love or hate their entries (with the exception of Jamie-Lee). At the same time however, I am often frustrated by them. Their penchant to make the WRONG decisions out of a severely misguided sense of “tolle Klasse” is what causes them to often select utter garbage and it irks me because they are capable of undisputed greatness. Lena is the quintessential example of Germany at their peak and I both look forward and dread what the upcoming decade will provide.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That concludes my ranking, I hope you’ve enjoyed it. 🤗 Since I started this endeavour my follower count almost doubled to 225-ish and BorisBubbles received 800 individual page views per day, roughly 20K per month. THANK you for all the support and for coming back to me. It means a lot and keeps me motivated to gladly return with more ranking material on the 1st of April 2020, when I hope we can kickstart the 2020s in great style.

If you want to see the full list, free to consult the overall list on IMGUR or delve into the archives

In the meantime, take care and we’ll hopefully see each other in April! 😘 Love, Boris.

#Eurovision #Eurovision Song Contest #Germany #Armenia #Iveta Mukuchyan #lena meyer-landrut #Taken by a stranger #LoveWave

41 notes · View notes

drakonfire12 · 1 year ago

Text

Idk if all of these count but:

Belgium's VRT union statement during Semi-final 2 (x, x, x)

Joost Klein's colla with Russian artists after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine with lyrics like "I love Russia man, I really wanna marry a Russian woman...", AVAROS claims he never makes political music, I see no comment from Joost (x, x, x, x)

As a kid, Eden made her career in Russia and has said nothing about performing in occupied Crimea or her parents owning a business in Russia and so paying taxes to Russia. Also: going to Crimea requires permission from Ukraine, if you don't get it, that means you illegally entered Crimea and so broke Ukrainian law, simple as that. (x, x, x)

Israel was booed during rehearsals...EBU uses anti-booing technology that was first used during Russsia's performanec in 2014 when the twins were booed due to Russia's anti-LGBT legislation. (x, x, x)

Bambi Thug not being allowed to write Ceasefire. (x, x)

Loreen says she will not hand over the trophy to Israel if they win (x)

Israeli deligation sent death threats to Bambi Thug (x)

Angelina Mango aparently fined (x)

Poland's entry made a post aboutt "United by Music" (x)

Alessandra is getting harrased by pro-Israelis (x)

Eric Saade wears kefiyyeh on his hand and gets "rebuked" (x, x, x)

Israeli deligation rehearsing entrance backstage with boos for practise. (x)

If you're *community pizza gif* about what's been going down -- I have started compiling a log-style list of Shit That Has Been Happening (to the best of my knowledge)

It's set to "commenting", so feel free to leave comments or suggest changes!

124 notes · View notes

escape-news · 8 years ago

Photo

İşte Loreen’in #Melfest2017 Sahne Performans Videosu Bu sene sürpriz bir şekilde Melodifestivalen'de yarışma kararı alan Loreen şüphesiz A'dan Z'ye herkesin merakla beklediği bir isim haline geldi.

#Loreen #Loreen - Statements Video #Loreen Eurovision 2017 #Loreen Statements Full #Melodifestivalen 2017 Loreen

0 notes

whenitsdarkweilluminate · 3 years ago

Text

Kyiv 2017 – Semi-Final 1

Host: Ukraine Slogan: “Celebrate Diversity” Participants: 42 Voting method: 12-point system (50/50 system - separated) Format: 2 Semi-Finals / Grand Final = the top 10 of semi 1 & 2 + the Big 5 + host General Overview: We go from one of the best Eurovision contests (2016) to one of the worst (2017). Of course, whoever followed Petra and Måns was going to disappoint. That's a high bar to live up to. Indeed, this year's hosting team is a return to the forced, overly scripted dialogue and badly delivered jokes. They really went with the slogan “Celebrate Diversity” and then chose 3 white guys to host the show (Oleksandr Skichko, Volodymyr Ostapchuk and Timur Miroshnychenko). Moreover, the song quality is also a downgrade from 2016. Most of the first semi-final entries are mediocre. It's like every song is missing something to make them properly click. There's just something “off” about this year. Portugal and Romania both return for 2017. Which means it's two years in a row where the winning country didn't participate in the previous contest. Meanwhile, Bosnia is out indefinitely. And Russia withdrew after Julia Samoylova wasn't legally allowed to enter Ukraine. Which seems like deliberate provocation by Russia. She was originally set to perform in the second semi-final. The show opens with a collection of Ukrainian women displaying their traditional clothing. Then we go to the live stage where Monatik performs “Spinning”. There's woodwind nudges and some fun choreo. The interval, meanwhile, includes two performances from Jamala. The first is “1944”, but with an orchestra added to the original production to make it more intense. The second is “Zamanyly”, which involves another intriguing instrumental and string dolls on screen. I added it to my playlist! There's also a filler segment starring Verka. Portugal tops both the jury and the televote in SF1. The juries saved Australia (which they ranked 2nd) at the expense of Finland. While the public saved Belgium and Poland at the expense of Georgia and Czechia (which they ranked last). Yeah, I agree with the televoters in all of those cases. Imagine “Keep the Faith” qualifying over “City Lights”.

✓ Sweden: Robin Bengtsson - I Can't Go On We kick off 2017 with last year's host country! Which gives Sweden another top 5 placement. This is an obvious choice for the opener with how the scene begins backstage. The camera shows Robin walking forwards, as the squirmy synth-line, mixed with snaps and clasps, slides in. Then a random hand holds his mic. Then, once the beat kicks in, the camera zooms out to show the backing where they all strut forward, and look sideways during the “ohh” hooks. Following this, the pre-chorus diminishes to a murmur, allowing the chorus to shove its way through. The ensemble, now on the main stage, walks on treadmills to that chorus rhythm and give “okay” hand signals. The chorus also includes synth responses and muffled “ah ah”s. In the second verse, the group slides back-and-forth and opens their jackets one at a time. While in the bridge they shuffle their feet. The stage also goes dark before the second chorus for no reason. Meanwhile the LED screen displays 1980s synthwave imagery. Sweden went for slick, stylish and confident staging here. But this is a “style over substance” entry. It lacks heart. The song, which was co-written by 2013 Robin, is about Robin B wanting to bang this girl because she looks so “freakin' beautiful”. She has a spell over him. The “wanna go OHHH” hook even sounds like an orgasm. But the “freakin'”s are unnecessary (he said the actual F-bomb in Melfest). And the chorus underwhelms to an extent – maybe the lyrics are too short. Still, the song is super catchy and it always gets stuck in my head. 2017 remains my favourite Melfest that I've followed. “Wild Child”, “En värld full av strider”, “A Million Years”, “Hold On”, “As I Lay Me Down”, and the robbed “Statements” from Loreen are all great. Even Anton’s “Stitches” rip-off is catchy. Robin wasn't my preferred winner though. × Georgia: Tamara Gachechiladze - Keep the Faith Georgia is the unlucky 11th placer of SF1, with this over-dramatic orchestral ballad. The song title says it all – Tamara wants to urge and encourage us to “keep the faith” alive. To not let anyone push you around or steal your dreams. She offers her support in this. And she repeats the phrase “KEEP THE FAIIIIIIIIIIITH” like she's holding on for dear life. But the tone is way too serious. And her hand gestures are distracting. She does a shooing motion when she demands “GET OUT”, she wags her finger during “don't you let them”, and she extends her hand on “hold my hand”. She also release a smoke puff. And she takes her cape off in a pointless costume change. The song, meanwhile, begins with an unsettled, grim piano. Then the strings expand as things progress. The second verse also adds the drums, where Tamara refutes the assumption that she's had it easy, even sounding annoyed about that perception. While the bridge introduces the distressing, invasive backing vocalists (“WOAH, WOAH”). Followed by Tamara unleashing a big note as the pyro erupts. But the orchestra becomes SO tense by the end of it. And along with Tamara's big vocals and the backing, there's just too much going on. It's basically an overwrought, unfriendly, wall of noise. And the pyro only adds to this overloaded feeling. The red and white stage aesthetic works for Georgia though. ✓ Australia: Isaiah - Don't Come Easy 171 jury points and 2 televote points. What a drastic difference in opinion. So once again, Australia hires DNA Songs to write their entry. And once again, the artist is a TV talent show winner – Isaiah won the final season of the X Factor Australia. The song can be best summed up as: good lyrics, boring melody. "Don't Come Easy" is about Isaiah's partner wanting to advance things from casual to serious, but he's hesitant to rush into things again because of his past experiences. He says a relationship isn't easy and it has a cost. But he clarifies that he isn't heartless – he's just taking a mature, sensible and self-aware approach. The instrumental is too bare and insipid at times though. It kinda reminds me of “Stay With Me” by Sam Smith. The song starts with faint piano notes, as Isaiah turns around on a pitch black stage and then walks sideways. The staging also involves a bunch of images of himself sprawled across the LED screen... which never works. The second verse, meanwhile, introduces finger snaps and this jolting effect that creates cracks in the surface. The jolts add a unique quirk to the song at least. The percussion also crashes harder in each chorus. The final chorus even brings out the fire rain. All in all, Isaiah gives a heartfelt performance here, but it's not that catchy of a song. It's too mild. × Albania: Lindita - World Another ballad! “World” is a Eurovision peace song, where Lindita is bewildered and disheartened by all the wars and needless death. So she makes a call for love to unite us all. It isn't a cheesy or an overly-serious peace song. The lyrics are general and don't refer to any specific conflict. But that message is so overused in this contest. Her vocals sound “off” in the beginning as well... but thankfully they improve after that. Like when she unleashes that super long note later on, which is actually the main highlight of this entry. Otherwise, the song opens with some agonized piano slams against a misty stage. The chorus has a nice “WHAT'S THE FINAL CALL” ascent. The second verse adds the hollow drum clicks. The second and third choruses are fuller than the first and are somewhat angst-y, thanks to the drums, vocals, and the backing “ohhhh”. The bridge, meanwhile, adds some strings, followed by the stage lights turning on to the rhythm of a horn descent, and a tenser drum rumble. On stage, Lindita stands in a wedding dress (for some reason) and makes love hearts with her hands. The screen shows clocks and floating cities. ✓ Belgium: Blanche - City Lights Belgium was on a hot streak. I didn't understand the appeal of Blanche's nervous performance at first. It's like she's about to cry from stage fright. Her husky vocals sound shy and hesitant. And it's like she's out of step with the production. But the song is about feeling scared and powerless over the future of this relationship, so it fits. She's meant to sound fragile and uncertain. Like how she keeps asking “are we going to lose it all?” for reassurance. In the song, Blanche offers her hand to her partner, who's secluded themselves. She tried to resolve their issues before but has since learned to accept them. The lyrics switch from “bright eyes” to “dark eyes” to signify this too. While the titular “City Lights” represents the couple's surrounding environment. Moreover, the “All alone in the danger zone” hook is memorable, and the production is entrancing. The song opens with slow piano notes, like taking a deep breath. Followed by finger snaps, where Blanche raises her arms to each snap. The verses then employ this tangled phone-ringing sound; alongside drum snaps and a slight bass-line. While the chorus follows spread-out piano notes, featuring submerged synths at first and city night synths later on. Later, the song reduces to just the piano and finger snaps to set up a stronger-sounding finale. The stage, meanwhile, uses a blue and white aesthetic, spotlights and moving lines on screen. × Montenegro: Slavko Kalezić - Space Yeah, this isn't my cup of tea. The spinning ponytail is a fun moment I guess, but that's the only positive thing I can say about this. It's a pretty campy sex song with all the space metaphors, like how Slavko's “spaceship” is ready to blow. The sensation will send them to the stars. There's no need to worry because he has his spacesuit on. Yeah, these lyrics are dumb. Especially that whole “Our body language / Rocket to the starts!” part. Moreover, Slavko uses a talking voice during the first verse, which I'm never into. His vocals are unappealing even outside of that. Plus the “we're taking off!” outro goes on too long. And the production sounds cheap. Otherwise, the song begins with a slam and rigid dripping synths before the clappy beat comes in. Then the disco instrumental takes over the chorus. As for the performance, Slavko moves all around the stage, with plenty of arm and hip movements, while wearing a tight see-through shirt. He rips off his skirt at one point. And he spends the second verse laid down on the floor. He entertains the audience all by himself. And he doesn't take anything seriously here, especially with this eccentric vocal tone. But this is the kind of un-serious entry that doesn't work for me. × Finland: Norma John - Blackbird The soundscape is beautiful, but the pacing is pretty slow. “Blackbird” establishes a dreamy atmosphere, complemented by Leena's angelic vocals, particularly on the “YOUUUUU”s. (Note: Norma John is a duo, not a person. The pianist, Lasse, is the other member). The instrumental paints the image of looking out the open bedroom window, as the sounds and sights of nature drift in. It's guided by a careful, delicate, gradually-paced piano. It's like time has slowed down, and you notice the long intervals between heartbeats. It's as if Leena is sitting alone in thought, stuck in this one moment of time, unable to move. There's also a scratchy distortion effect in the mix. And there's a nice piano solo during the instrumental break, where the strings make their presence. As for the lyrics, they're straightforward – Leena wishes that the blackbird below her window won't sing because it conjures up sweet memories of her past relationship, which makes her miss it. The song is written like amateur poetry, but she sounds torn up about it. The stage, meanwhile, involves a smoking piano, blue watery swirls on screen, and a misty floor, which adds to the atmosphere. ✓ Azerbaijan: Dihaj - Skeletons Hmm, I think Azerbaijan is trying too hard with the artistic staging. It starts in this chalkboard room that resembles a TV show set, while Diana shakes in torment on a bench. It's as if she's in locked in detention. The lyrics are written on the chalkboard too. The camera then pans upward to show a horsehead guy on a stepladder. Soon after, the chalkboard is dismantled, and Diana marks an “X” on the backs of the backing members. There's also a hand movement accompanying the “drum drum drum bring down the guns” hook. Which has to be the most awkward hook of 2017. And it's not the only unusual lyric - there's also “we're like alchemy” and “have my skeletons”. The song is about Diana unexpectedly falling for a bad boy, and how it changes her interests. She's ready to give him everything... but the backing chant of “I can only trick you once, bad boy” indicates that he won't keep interest. And the “bring down your guns” bit suggests hostile behaviour. As for the production, the song is powered by thumping, ground-shaking percussion slams throughout; which are heavier in the chorus. While the verses further use a brewing bass-line, trickling synths and a slight cowbell? Diana's voice is softer and higher in the verses as well. The second verse also adds a clasping sound. Despite everything, the song is catchy and different, and I appreciate the effort. Diana acts the part on stage. She's always doing something. ✓ Portugal: Salvador Sobral - Amar pelos dois (winner review in Grand Final post) ✓ Greece: Demy - This Is Love More like this is generic 2012 dance-pop. Not only does "This Is Love" sound dated by 2017 trends, but Demy doesn't give any passion or excitement to the song. The track opens with an orchestral warm-up, followed by the piano, as Demy comes to the conclusion that it's best to end this relationship. But then, once the skidding beat enters, she suddenly changes her mind. There's an “echo in her head” that she's making a mistake, even though it could be self-destructive. The pre-chorus has this easy melody to it. Then the “forever and ever and ever and ever” bit sets up the drop, where the synths hyper-accelerate, the industrial-sized dance beat takes over and Demy exclaims “THIS IS LOOOOVE”. The production switches just like her mind does. But the chorus just flat-lines. It's meant to express euphoria, but it just comes off generic, both musically and lyrically. Still, the second verse ends with a short marching drum bit and a nice melody on “Watch the sun set in the sky”, followed by constant tapping in the pre-chorus build. On stage, there's two shirtless guys splashing in the water. There's raindrops on screen. And there's a rainfall filter used before the instrumental bridge, where the strings come out and an underwater person is shown. Overall though, this doesn't do much for me. ✓ Poland: Kasia Moś - Flashlight “FIRE... like a burning DESIRE”. Well that's an overused rhyme, but I don't care. This is melodramatic in the right way. The song tells a story of forbidden love, where Kasia and her partner sneak around at night while being hunted down. I assume the “flashlight” and the “dogs” refer to the police. The couple acts fearless and daring; defying what is acceptable. They're able to escape though, which gives the song a hopeful message. She can hypnotize those dogs! The atmosphere captures this feeling of being chased too. It paints the image of them hopping over fences, crossing train tracks, and heading to the dockyard. The song opens with some scuttling footsteps, as the production swells into a bang, followed by that serious “smoking gun” lyric. The first verse production is more restrained and sorrowful, before the forceful, slamming, hollow percussion emerges in the chorus. There's a violin that runs through the track too. Later in the outro, the drums and strings become louder and approaching, with some added bells; as if they're being cornered. Kasia then finishes on a big note. She brings a very strong-willed, fighting tone to the entire song. There's a sense of determination here. On stage, the screens depict ghostly animal figures and birds scattering. It finishes with the word “Freedom” spelled out before it turns into other languages and more birds. ✓ Moldova: SunStroke Project - Hey Mamma WTF at this finishing in 3rd place. “Run Away” was better and that didn't even make top 20. Although I can understand how “Hey Mamma” was a breath of fresh air in this line-up. The song has a laid-back and uncomplicated atmosphere, and the band provides another fun stage performance. It involves a simple dance routine – ie. the single foot-tapping and turning sideways bit; as well as the marching on the spot moments. They also interact with 3 brides who sing into their bouquet-microphones (in typical weird Moldovan staging). The brides throw the bouquets into the audience at the end, which is cute. The screens are also used well, by showing a hall of mirrors illusion. "Hey Mamma" marks the return of the “Epic Sax Guy” meme from 2010. He delivers another catchy sax riff that's repeated throughout... but it's such an irritating sax riff. Musically, the verses are driven by these consistent, rigidly dripping clacks, that move into focus in the intro. While chorus adds the fiddle and a percussion build-up. The latter leads to an instrumental pause on “She'll be back home till sunrise” before the sax breakdown swoops in, which is back by this repressed, squirmy synth. The lyrics have a lighthearted tone, where singer Sergei reassures “mamma” that this girl will be safe with him tonight. But the word “mamma” is repeated too much towards the end. × Iceland: Svala - Paper I've seen criticisms over the English translation. Sure the "paper" metaphor is weird, but I think the lyrics sound absolutely fine? The only flaw to me is the forgettable staging. Svala mostly moves her arms around and points in her white cape thing – I assume this is because paper is white. And the green strobe light doesn't do much. Anyways, the song is about Svala dating someone who keeps pushing her away and dragging her down, which makes her feel like “paper”. The chorus expands on this metaphor, since “cut”, “glue”, “drawing”, “color”, “thousand words” are all associated with paper. Basically, paper is a material that's easily affected, just like she is. But she cares too much about him to give up. It sounds like he's facing mental health issues. Svala gives an empathetic tone as well. Plus the 1980s synth-pop production is right up my alley. The verses move to a rotating pattern of hollow wood sounds, repeated taps, and solitary claps. While the chorus radiates and bubbles, alongside drum slams and sparkly synth responses. The production later cools off before the last chorus. The frequent “PAAAAAAPER” shouts and the “Drawing every bit of my truth” bits are catchy as well. × Czech Republic: Martina Bárta - My Turn Czechia is back to flopping for now, although the juries were into it. There's a nostalgic, reminiscing vibe in “My Turn”; like sitting on the front doorstep on a calm night. But it's a pretty boring song overall. The singsong melody during “now that you are falling...” and “heaven knows that I'll be...” is annoying in how it bobs up and down. I don't really like how Martina sings this. And she isn't given much to do on stage. She sits down at the start to give a personal approach. And follows a yellow line on the floor. While the screen shows the music video, where a crowd of sad-looking people wander around in their underwear. The song is mainly a piano ballad, with cymbal shimmers sprinkled throughout, and tambourine(?) bell clicks from the second verse. The strings appear later, as do the drums towards the end. But it moves at this nonchalant pace. The lyrics contain a sweet message though. Martina explains how her partner was there for her doing her bad times, so now she wants to return the favour. The chorus concludes by saying “now it's my turn”. But it feels a little too sentimental, in an unnecessary way. The “baby it's you”s are an okay hook though. ✓ Cyprus: Hovig - Gravity The third year in a row where Cyprus receives basically the same placement (21st/22nd). “Gravity” is also the only Thomas G:son offering of 2017. The song is driven by this relentless pushing down rhythm. It's an imposing production that includes strong claps, nosediving ruptures, short screeches, bass notes, and click-clacks. It reminds me of “Human” by Rag'n'Bone Man, but it's an addictive sound. Both songs make me think of jangling chains. There's also a drum bit before each chorus. And a brief pause after the bridge. The LED screen matches the beat by displaying this white wall that routinely breaks into cubes and then resets itself. While on stage, Hovig and the backing walk across “balance beams” drawn on the floor to showcase the “Gravity” concept. They also hold their legs in the air, punch the floor, and toss Hovig back and forth in silhouette lighting. It's a little corny, but he kinda sells it. Hovig later lays on the floor as the graphics crumble into a nebula beneath him. In the song, Hovig offers himself up to this person, promising to be supportive of them. He basically lists everything he could be for this person – a hero, fantasy, remedy, company, someone to lean on, someone to catch them, their wings. The song is a bop though; the commanding chorus is instantly catchy and flows nicely. ✓ Armenia: Artsvik - Fly with Me I completely overlooked this in 2017, but it's an alluring song. Much like Armenia's 2014 entry, “Fly with Me” doesn't follow a conventional structure. Instead the song progressively builds for a while until the finale. It starts with a soft piano prologue, where Artsvik introduces this mysterious “girl with history”, while the stage is filled with red light. The mystical atmosphere drifts in after this; first with the bass-stringed instrument that nudges things along, plus some whispers. Then the two backing members spring into view. Then the camera violently shakes upon the distortion sound (Armenia kept the dizzying camera work from the last year!) Following this, there's an “EEEEE” chant where the hand drums appear. Those hand drums will return for the first “chorus”. Meanwhile, the backing members make hand movements around Artsvik, including a cool moment where their arms poke into the frame. At the climax, a different stringed instrument comes in, the pyro erupts, the drums heighten, and Artsvik's voice soars for the finale. The lyrics are written like a vague dream. They describe a girl who observes her surroundings and flies high from love; holding on to her belief in it. The music likewise flies high over mountains. I'm able to get lost in this imaginative place during the song. × Slovenia: Omar Naber - On My Way Oh boy. I enjoyed Omar's 2005 entry “Stop”, but this one is tedious, emotionally detached melodrama that doesn't justify the grandiosity. Omar sounds closed off singing this. He doesn't connect to the words at all. The melody is stiff. And there's no decent hooks. The “ON MY WAAAAY” shouts are tiresome. The song is about Omar leaving his hometown for good. The residents have been “very kind” to him, but he needs to spread his wings. Even though he isolates himself afterwards. He lets destiny guide him. The sentiment doesn't resonate with me though. He never explains why he's leaving and he's too serious about it. He can't trust anybody! He's never coming back! He's not gonna cry! It sounds like he's only doing this because he thinks it's what he's supposed to do. Moreover, the orchestra is as flavourless as chewing on cardboard. The song is mainly driven by the string section, but in a dry way. It feels overly full by the end too, including Omar's final big note. There's also a sputtering sound in the intro and broken metal ticks in the chorus, creating a mix of old fashioned and modern that doesn't really work. On stage, he's surrounded by this circular contraption of screens. This is a contender for worst the Eurovision entry of the 2010s. Zero redeemable qualities. × Latvia: Triana Park - Line We close out SF1 with the last placed entry of it. There's an indie-pop earworm built in the foundation of “Line”, but lead singer Agnese's quirky vocal style gets in the way. She mutters the chorus hook (“where.we.draw.the.line.”) in a low voice and delivers the “ALL. I. SEE. IS. YOU.” bit in this robotic, monosyllabic way. Her arm movements during the instrumental break are intense as well. The staging is memorable too, between the neon colours on the artwork panels and screens, the drummer's expressions, the guitarist's silver coat, and Agnese's oddball presence. In the song, her ex told her to move on, but she's leaving the door open for him, hoping he'll come back one day. She repeatedly asks where the boundary line is. It sounds like she's already crossed it, but she's unsure. Musically, the production and vocals tiptoe around for the first half of the song. "Line" opens with a vocal distortion, like being in a tunnel. Then the first verse subtly and constantly pokes before the chorus brings in the steel drum pings and finger snaps. After that, the second verse starts to move things along, before the beat stops for the “All I see is you” part. Finally, the rigid skidding dance-pop synths and guitars take over and Agnese stops using the low voice. This energy then breaks for the heartbroken bridge before building into the dance-pop again. My Ranking: 01. Iceland: Svala - Paper 02. Armenia: Artsvik - Fly with Me ✓ 03. Belgium: Blanche - City Lights ✓ 04. Poland: Kasia Moś - Flashlight ✓ 05. Cyprus: Hovig - Gravity ✓ 06. Azerbaijan: Dihaj - Skeletons ✓ 07. Finland: Norma John - Blackbird 08. Sweden: Robin Bengtsson - I Can't Go On ✓ 09. Albania: Lindita - World 10. Moldova: SunStroke Project - Hey Mamma ✓ 11. Australia: Isaiah - Don't Come Easy ✓ 12. Latvia: Triana Park - Line 13. Czech Republic: Martina Bárta - My Turn 14. Greece: Demy - This Is Love ✓ 15. Montenegro: Slavko Kalezić - Space 16. Georgia: Tamara Gachechiladze - Keep the Faith 17. Portugal: Salvador Sobral - Amar pelos dois ✓ 18. Slovenia: Omar Naber - On My Way

#eurovision song review #eurovision 2017

0 notes

eurovision-del · 4 years ago

Text

28. 2012 – Sweden – Euphoria

I first heard this song on the radio in 2012 before I properly knew what Eurovision was, and I thought it was fine. It sounded like just another dance track, nothing special. It wasn’t until 2014 I watched my first contest, then another year or so before I started checking out some recent winners, and I rediscovered this song. The visuals of the performance were nothing like what I was expecting and I really enjoyed them. I thought the song was good, but still nothing exceptional. Seeing this touted as one of if not the best winner over the years (particularly always topping the esc250) definitely biased me against it for a while, which I’m trying my best to overlook, because that’s a bad reason to dislike a song.

Euphoria starts really strong. I love the dark pop sound there, it’s full of intrigue and builds really well into the chorus. The intensity of the music grows reaching a first peak as the chorus starts, and it’s almost exhilarating, but that’s not the full payoff yet, the beat pulls back to put the focus all on Loreen, then starts building again ready to burst out and evoke that euphoric feeling… but it just doesn’t manage it for me. That dance beat kicks in and I lose interest. And I think that’s my problem with this song, the build-up is excellent but the payoff just doesn’t quite match it. The closest it comes is in my favourite part, the section spanning the bridge to the very start of the final chorus – as Loreen lets lose on that first ‘Euphoria’ as the music falls away, something special is happening, I really feel it! Then the final chorus begins in earnest and the song is back into normal dance track territory. Though maybe ‘normal dance track’ isn’t a fair assessment, the lyrics are more interesting than that, exploring the feeling of intense love and, well, euphoria in a relationship in a very poetic way – although I’m not so keen on the final line in the chorus with the repeated ‘up-up-up’, I don’t think it’s the strongest ending and it makes the song feel more repetitive than it is. Overall, Euphoria is a well composed, well produced song, and even if the chorus isn’t as good as I think it could be, it’s still a very solid track.

The song isn’t all there is to this entry – this is another case of staging and performance making a winner. The dark staging and interpretive dance makes what would otherwise be a decent song into something much more special. I love how Loreen floats across the stage, and while her delivery isn’t always the clearest, her vocals are very strong, especially considering that she’s dancing throughout this entire performance! She’s a brilliant performer and artist – I didn’t know what to make of her for a while, it wasn’t until 2018 when I started listening to national finals and discovered her 2017 Melfest entry that I realised that Euphoria wasn’t just a fluke, she’s really brilliant! Statements is a fantastic song, I so wish she could have won Eurovision with it instead of Euphoria, but the main reason I bring it up is because discovering that really made me re-evaluate my impression of Loreen as an artist, and in doing so it softened my opinion of Euphoria and helped me shake off the unfair knee-jerk reaction of ‘the fandom likes it more than I do therefore it’s bad’. I can now confidently say that Euphoria is a good song, a decent entry into the roster of Eurovision winners, and one I very much enjoy, but there are still plenty of winners I think are better.

In Its Year – Deserved Win

I honestly found 2012 a pretty sub-par year. There are plenty of memorable songs that I like (Russia, Turkey, and Slovakia to name a few) but not that many that I think are clearly winner quality. Italy, Estonia, Azerbaijan, and Serbia all had good entries, but none of them are obviously better than Sweden. I really like Macedonia, and think that it should have done a lot better than it did, maybe even challenged for the win, but in this year I think Euphoria definitely deserved its victory.

There’s a big ‘but’ though, and that’s also the reason this isn’t the first ‘Nothing Else But’ winner of my ranking, and that’s Spain’s entry. I adore Quédate conmigo, it’s easily my personal winner, and I honestly think it was just as deserving of the win as Euphoria, it was an incredible song delivered perfectly and the fact that it only came tenth is ridiculous! Maybe votes got divided between it and all the other good ballads this year. Euphoria is a clear second best though, it had the best staging and is a solid song. It stood out from the crow and I fully understand why it won a landslide victory in this year.

#eurovision #winners ranking #man this is long #but my relationship with this song is complicated and has changed over the years #also it took a lot to not derail this and add another paragraph just gushing about Statements #I love that song so much #had it won Melfest 2017 I would have been backing a seventh Swedish victory and Loreen to be the new Johnny Logan

0 notes

eurovisionastrology-blog · 8 years ago

Text

The signs as eliminated national final songs (2017 season)

Aries: A million years by Mariette (Sweden) Taurus: Hosszú idők by TOTOVA (Hungary) Gemini: Your breath by Santa Danelevica (Latvia) Cancer: I love you by Tayanna (Ukraine) Leo: Statements by Loreen (Sweden) Virgo: Contico by Mirela (Spain) Libra: Circle of light by Emma (Finland) Scorpio: As I lay me down by Wiktoria (Sweden) Sagittarius: Spirit animal by Kerli (Estonia) Capricorn: Deák by Spoon 21 (Hungary) Aquarius: Freedom hearts by Olivia Garcia (United Kingdom) Pisces: En värld full av strider by Jon Henrik & Aninia (Sweden)

#eurovision astrology

34 notes · View notes

americanateurovision · 8 years ago

Text

Results From Melodifestivalen: Andra Chansen

Andra Chansen, the second chance round of Melodifestivalen, took place in Linköping on Saturday. Eight songs were organized into one-on-one duels, and four entries advanced to the final.

FO&O vs. De Vet Du

It was the boy banders against the funny guys in this match-up. FO&O had the support of their many teenage fans, whose votes sent De Vet Du home. Which is too bad, because I think we all wanted to see DJ Hunk in the final.

Axel Schylström vs. Lisa Ajax

Though Lisa Ajax’s “I Don’t Give A” is a little crude for Eurovision (the chorus contains the word “fuck”), her starpower gave her the advantage in this duel. I’m sure we’ll see Axel Schylström in Melodifestivalen again, but Lisa will continue to the final.

Boris René vs. Dismissed

The match-up that no one really cared about saw soccer player and singer, Boris René, up against Dismissed, a genderqueer band. Boris, having competed in Melodifestivalen last year, had a slight edge, and won this duel.

Anton Hagman vs. Loreen

Anton, you in danger, girl. In the most anticipated heat the night, newcomer Anton Hagman went up against Loreen, 2012 Melodifestivalen and Eurovision winner. It was a match-up of a cute young guy with a little ditty about love, and an ARTISTE with a song about world politics, activism, and the Syrian refugee crisis. Fans of Loreen said, “Wow, a song with a message? But can it work at Eurovision??” And the rest of Sweden said, “NO! Because it’s a bummer to think about hard things!” And therefore, Anton Hagman is headed to the final next week, and not Loreen, winner of Eurovision 2012.

It was a devastating blow to Eurovision fans, but, sadly, this is not too uncommon at Melodifestivalen. While Loreen is adored by many, Swedes can be fickle, and they love what’s new and trendy. We saw it this year at MF over and over; Eurovision winner Charlotte Perrelli came last in her week, Roger Pontare was beaten by some drag queens. What is interesting is that Owe Thörnqvist, the 87 year-old man behind “Boogieman Blues,” is doing so well. The only explanation I can offer is that he is new to Melodifestivalen, and his performance is so surprising and unique.

So now we have all twelve finalists, and a running order has been released for next week’s big show.

“Wild Child,” Ace Wilder

“Her Kiss,” Boris René

“I Don’t Give A,” Lisa Ajax

“I Can’t Go On,” Robin Bengtsson

“En värld full av strider (Eatneme gusnie jeenh dåaroeh),“ Jon Henrik Fjallegren feat. Aninia

“Statements,” Loreen “Kiss You Goodbye,” Anton Hagman

“A Million Years,” Mariette

“Gotta Thing About You,” FO&O

“Hold On,” Nano

“As I Lay Me Down,” Wiktoria

“Good Lovin’,” Benjamin Ingrosso

“Boogieman Blues,” Owe Thörnqvist

Who will win Melodifestivalen? Well, it won’t be Loreen! Because the world is a dark place right now, and we certainly don’t need anyone creating art to try to make it better! Betting odds have "Girl Who Sings Near and On a Bed” Wiktoria and "Kind of Sounds Like Hozier” Nano as the frontrunners. So, that’s exciting.

7 notes · View notes

dizzydjc · 8 years ago

Text

Here we are once again, you know how this blog works by now. Let’s get started with the Top 10 artists of March 2017…

ARTISTS

#1 Ed Sheeran – 206 plays

#2 Goldfrapp – 117 plays

#3 Måns Zelmerlöw – 94 plays

#4 Zara Larsson – 83 plays

#5 Steps – 82 plays

#6 Demy – 80 plays

#7 Bruno Mars – 64 plays

#8 Cher – 62 plays

#9 Aaron Carter – 58 plays

#10 Little Big Town – 57 plays

So Mr. Ed Sheeran, you are unstoppable. He has been played so many times already this year already (425 times to be precise) and this month is no exception, totalling 206 plays in last month alone. I would imagine this would be down to the fact that he released his third studio album “÷” this month, but I could be wrong. Will that album also be my #1?

In the Top 10 this month we also see Goldfrapp, who I saw perform live a couple of weeks ago in Oxford. They were fantastic and only yesterday (31st March) their new album was finally released. I would imagine at time of publishing that I have not been able to check out the album fully due to work and other commitments but on my time off next week I fully intend to listen to the album and give my thoughts, don’t forget to look out for my review over on talkaboutpopmusic.com.

Måns Zelmerlöw is still in my Top 10 and I cannot wait to see him perform live later this month in London. Zara Larsson is my #4 most played artist last month after the release of her second album “So Good”. Also in the Top 10 there is Bruno Mars, Demy, Cher, Aaron Carter and Little Big Town.

Finally, I just want to welcome back the pop group Steps who are my #5 most played artist last month. They are back after a 5-year hiatus and have brand new material which is being released later this month as well. Not only that, they will be going on tour (along with the Vengaboys) in November and December and I am so happy as me and my friend will be going to see them at The O2 on the 24th November. I saw them at The O2 back in 2012 as well but this time around we have much better seats, I am so excited!

ALBUMS

#1 Ed Sheeran – ÷ – 197 plays

#2 Måns Zelmerlöw – Chameleon – 89 plays

#3 Zara Larsson – So Good – 76 plays

#4 Aaron Carter – LØVË – 57 plays

#5 Little Big Town – The Breaker – 53 plays

#6 Bruno Mars – Unorthodox Jukebox – 49 plays

#7 Borgeous – 13 – 45 plays

#8 Adele – 25 – 44 plays

#9 Elbow – Little Fictions – 43 plays

#10 MUNA – About U – 42 plays

So yeah, no surprise there really but Ed Sheeran’s third studio album “÷” is my most played album for the second month on the trot, will he make it to the top for a third month? The album is fantastic and I am well and truly an Ed Sheeran fan now. I can’t stop playing the album and it has so many car friendly songs, songs which you can put on in the car and easily sing along to.

New entries in the Top 10 this month come from Zara Larsson with her second album “So Good”, Aaron Carter with his EP “LØVË” (which is brilliant by the way!), Little Big Town with “The Breaker”, Borgeous with “13” and weirdly Bruno Mars with his 2012 album “Unorthodox Jukebox”. I really have no idea why this album has had so many plays this month, I think I must have left it on repeat or something whilst going to sleep, but hey it’s a great album and even though it’s old, it is still worth listening to.

Adele is still racking in a ton of plays, even after 16 months since the album “25” was released. It’s one of those albums you can listen to when you want to mellow out or belt your voice out to, it’s great for every occasion really.

Don’t forget you can check out all of these albums on Apple Music or Spotify.

TRACKS

Let’s have a countdown of March’s biggest tracks, it was fiercely competitive last month and there are many Eurovision related songs knocking about so here we go…

#10 SVALA – Paper – 38 plays

SVALA is the Icelandic representative at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Ukraine. I have been listening to this track non-stop and I hope that it will bring Iceland their best result in years. We shall see.

#9 Lucie Jones – Never Give Up On You – 38 plays

Lucie Jones is back in the Top 10 this month, with a revamped version of the song “Never Give Up On You”, which is representing us, the United Kingdom in the Eurovision contest this year. I actually think this is going to do well for us.

#8 Lana Del Rey – Love – 39 plays

Still in the Top 10 this month is Lana Del Rey with her fantastic song ‘Love” which I can’t get enough of.

#7 Katy Perry – Chained To The Rhythm – 40 plays

Down from last week’s #1 is Katy Perry with her big new single “Chained To The Rhythm”, and yes the video is really that mad. Go check it out.

#6 Steps – Scared Of The Dark – 41 plays

The video hasn’t been released for this one yet but I am absolutely loving this comeback song from Steps. The song even managed to get to #1 in the download charts but unfortunately only peaked at #37 in the official combined UK chart, mainly down to streaming. Hey Ho, I love the song and cannot wait for the new album and the video (which is due to be released soon).

#5 Ilinca (feat Alex Florea) – Yodel It! – 42 plays

Addictive earworm alert, this song will be stuck in your head all day. This is, of course, the Romanian entry for Eurovision this year and it features cheesy lyrics about coffee and also some yodelling. You have to hear it to believe it, trust me. All aboard the yodel train!

#4 Robin Bengtsson – I Can’t Go On – 43 plays

The winner of this year’s Melodifestivalen and Sweden’s representative at Eurovision. This was my second favourite in the Swedish contest this year and wanted it to win out of all of the entries in the final (more on that later). He is so gorgeous, don’t you think? Don’t forget you can watch the full videos by clicking the photos.

#3 Demy – This Is Love – 44 plays

Demy, who is representing Greece at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest has had a ton of plays for this catchy song. I really hope it does well for Greece after not qualifying to the final last year.

#2 Loreen – Statements – 46 plays

Climbing one place to this month’s #2, is “Statements” by Loreen. The song, which in my opinion, should have won Sweden’s Melodifestivalen contest. However, the song was knocked out in the Andra Chansen final, criminally if you ask me. This would probably have been a Eurovision winner had it been selected.

#1 Blanche – City Lights – 54 plays

So here we are then, #1 most played track of March 2017. This is the Belgian entry for the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest and I do think that possibly, just possibly, we may have found a winner here. I absolutely adore this song and love how it sounds so contemporary and a song that wouldn’t sound out of place on today’s radio. There is still time for the song to blow up big though, and I expect after the big performance in May this song may do well in our charts over here. Have a listen and see what you think for yourselves.

Thanks for reading, join me next month for more.

Music of the Month: March 2017 Here we are once again, you know how this blog works by now. Let's get started with the Top 10 artists of March 2017...

1 note · View note

emmadeforests · 8 years ago

Text

My Melfest Rankings Or Discourse Or Whatever

this goes in order from least liked to most liked, also i can’t do cuts from my phone so this is gonna be long and i’m sorry — Road Trip – Ok. While it would be nice to see Sweden either sing in Swedish or send a novelty act…I don’t want it to be this one. It’s annoying and the live vocals aren’t great, and the car gimmick fails to draw me in. Also, why is this “DJ Hunk” just standing there? This overall confuses me and is one of the Melfest entries I can’t stand.

Vart Har Du Vart – I can see why this placed last. It’s nice that Sweden is trying something new, but this genre is not one I enjoy. That, plus Allyawan’s somewhat questionable live vocals, adds up to a not-nice rank both for me and in Melfest.

Du Får Inte Ӓndra På Mig – It’s certainly a sweet song, and they’re perfectly fine singers. But to be honest? This is dated and boring, and would have given Sweden its second non-qualifier.

Mitt Liv – It’s a perfectly good song, but with the contest already dominated by female ballads, this is the last thing Sweden wants to send (except maybe De Vet Du). It doesn’t have much build, either, and while I’m sure this would have done great in earlier Eurovisions, it simply doesn’t have the staying power to succeed in 2017. I appreciate the sparkly guitar though.

Boogieman Blues –I would love for this to go to Eurovision purely for the meme value. And while I love this kind of retro music and Owe seems like a cool dude, it seems a little off. I don’t know if something went wrong or what in the performance but it just didn’t seem to make a ton of sense.

I Don’t Give A – I have three main critiques about this one. First, what is she wearing? Second, seeing her face projected behind her is a little unnerving. Third, and most critically, the verse and the chorus sound like two different songs. I can tell why this got Andra Chansen - I think that Lisa is a very good vocalist and a good performer who is very likely to win Melfest in the near future but I strongly doubt this is her year. This is not a good song for her.

Amare – Oh Adrijana. What is a little Albanian girl doing singing in Swedish? I love her ballerinas and her stage presence - she’s really having a good time there - but this isn’t really a good… song. This sounds like something that my choir friends would listen to. That isn’t necessarily bad but it’s honestly not for me. I’d love to see Adrijana return with a different song, maybe one that sits a little higher in her range.

Good Lovin’ – Disclaimer: I had to watch the music video for this one and not the live performance. Like many of the finalists, this sounds almost like something I’d hear on the radio or at an acapella party. This kind of music is no fun at Eurovision. Not quite sure how I feel about the song itself. I feel like I expected a bit more and it didn’t give what I thought I’d get. (Edit: it’s also not memorable AT ALL. I can’t for the life of me remember even the chorus.)

Gotta Thing About You – I’m not quite sure why I hate this so much. Decent vocals and very good dancing…I should like it, right? Maybe it’s lyrics like “you make me wanna wag my tail” and “you got the goods I’ll be getting” that puts me off. Maybe it’s the genre. I don’t know. (Edit: this has kind of grown on me, but I still don’t like it very much.)

I Can’t Go On – Generic, radio friendly pop song. Nothing really special about this. I don’t think I like his whole singing backstage thing. Seems a little like trying too hard… but it went direkt til final so I guess it worked. Also, Robin comes across as kind of douchey to me.

Bound To Fall – Sheppard meets The Lumineers. It doesn’t quite work but this is something I’d want in my iTunes library nonetheless.

One More Night – It sounds like someone spliced Amanecer with To The Sky. It sounds nice though. I think one thing that didn’t really work in Dinah’s favor is that she kind of gives me a cool mom vibe? Which is great, but it doesn’t work for her as a performer right now, and makes this youthful pop song and especially the rapping seem kind of off. She seems a little too old for her own music if that makes any sense.

Hearts Align – I would have liked this song about two years ago. While the chorus is still pretty good, it’s not a standout and I’m pretty sure this won’t come out of Andra Chansen.

Up – One of the genres I wouldn’t ever think of competing in Melfest. Not the best vocals but a fun song itself. The roller skates were an unexpectedly nice touch.

Statements – First thing: love love love the dancing. The running bit in the second verse was a bit weird but beyond that the staging was my favorite part of the song. You really felt like you were in the world, you know? That having been said, I think there was a little too much going on in this song instrumentally. There are weird, random noises that take away from the song and honestly? I can see why this got Andra Chansen. Were it any other singer singing it, it wouldn’t have qualified. Loreen is an astounding vocalists but I think her fame is what really carried her through.

Kiss You Goodbye – Someone called this the Swedish answer to Shawn Mendes? I would agree, I think. I feel bad that he’s facing Loreen in Andra Chansen - against, say, FO&O or De Vet Du he’d definitely make it to the final. As it is, he has particularly low odds to win because he has the most difficult Andra Chansen duel. Poor man. Deserves better. I like his song. (Post-AC edit: I TOTALLY WASNT EXPECTING THAT. YOU GO ANTON HAGMAN)

Snurra Min Jord �� Krista looks so great in that outfit and of course I remember her delightfully trashy number from 2013. She’s just an amazing performer. I love everything about this… except for the kaleidoscope effect, which REALLY puts me off the song. The song is a little too electro for my taste but overall I do like it a lot.

Himmel Och Hav – I unironically love this. As a musician, this is one of my favorite compositions in Melfest. It sounds epic - and this, I think, is his downfall, because it doesn’t sound like a Eurovision song, it sounds like it should be in a fantasy movie. I am also a little confused as to what he is wearing. I don’t think it’s traditional Sami, although I know Roger is part Sami, so that would be an explanation, but it sort of looks like China and Scandinavia got drunk and had a baby.

Gravity – She has a great voice, great presence, I love the red. I can’t find much fault with this beyond that the other songs are just better. One of the debutants I’d love to see return.

Running With Lions – Gosh I love her. She has to come back, ok??? Ok??? Her voice isn’t really my favorite ever but she is a good singer - just not to my taste. She seems super cute and if she ever wins Melfest you can catch me making a fanstagram.

När Ingen Ser – I’m not sure why everyone hates this - likely because it’s what knocked Alice out of the running, which I don’t think is super fair. This is pretty good. I’m especially impressed by the dancing. Another reason I like this so much is because Axel is one of those debutants who looks like he’s just having the time of his life up there, like Adrijana. I hope this beats Lisa Ajax in Andra Chansen. (Post-AC edit: i am SO SALTY that this didn’t qualify!!! He deserves the final way more than Lisa Snakejax. Peppapönk got treated to a whole rant earlier today.)

A Million Years – Another song where I couldn’t find the performance (odd, because I found Owe’s just fine), but I know this is the one where the dancers are kind of hanging from the ceiling. She has a good, very pure voice but the song is a little underwhelming. Nevertheless it’s well done and doesn’t sound too mainstream for Eurovision as is the problem with many Melfest entries.

Wild Child – I just love this woman. She emulates sass and her song this year is, characteristically, anthemic. Unlike with Dinah Nah, I have no trouble believing this song is the right song for her. I have no idea whether she’d do well or fail in Kiev because this song is just so unlike what you usually hear. I’m curious to see how the international audience would respond to this and I’d love to see her go to ESC soon.

As I Lay Me Down – WIKTORIA! She’s such a good performer and I love her style. My only thing with her is her voice. While she has energy and power, and is technically accurate, her voice is pushy and shouty and overall too aggressive for my taste. But she’s amazing enough at everything else that I sort of give her a pass for that.

En Värld Full Av Strider – This song sounds epic if you only listen to the chorus. There isn’t a real verse, or at least not so far as I can tell. Another one of those songs that sounds like it ought to be in a movie soundtrack.

Crucified – I love this. I made a vow to love Bella and Filippa when the artists were first revealed and they had the lowest odds…and they did NOT disappoint. Chorus is kinda repetitive and I honestly expected more harmonies but I love this shit. They are my precious children. Even though they’re like a year older than me. They’re still my daughters.

Her Kiss – Ok, what is it with me and ex-footballers? First Axel and now Boris, and I love them both. This song is just SO catchy, I love his voice, and I’m loving the performance too. I know this isn’t his year to win but I’m going to hope for it anyway.

Hold On – Yes, look at me being basic with my fave once again. But of the main contenders - Ace, Mariette, Wiktoria, and this - I definitely like Nano the best. His vocals are better than Ace’s or Wiktoria’s, at least in the studio version. And I connect to it, you know? In my head I connect the lyrics to anxiety and stuff so that makes me like it more.

#kat talks nf season #melodifestivalen #also i accidentally abbreviated andra chansen as AQ #it won't let me edit and idk why

4 notes · View notes

ismael37olson · 8 years ago

Text

Loreen Completes Road To ‘Nude’ EP With The Ambient ‘Ocean Eyes’!

Good things come in sets of three…

Following the release of the genuinely great “Body” and the island-tinged “Jungle,” Loreen completes the road to the Nude EP with “Ocean Eyes” and some very exciting news: the Scandinavian Queen has signed a brand new recording deal with BMG for the release of her sophomore album, which she is currently working on with Swedish producer Petter Winnberg and is slated for release on November 17th.

“For me, 2017 was about establishing a sense of independence and channeling it into a new and exciting direction for my music,” Loreen said in a statement. “I really connected with BMG’s mission to support independent artists in a transparent way, but also keeping their creative interests close. When I presented them my vision for the future there was an immediate click and I am really excited to begin this journey between our teams.”

Sanken Sandqvist, managing director, BMG Scandinavia, added: “We are more than excited to welcome Loreen to BMG. Loreen is a true vocalist, her eclectic style can transcend all music genres, from pop to trance music. Her upcoming album has captured that diversity and we cannot wait to introduce it to her fan community.”

As for the Nude EP‘s final cut “Ocean Eyes,” the track is purely the heaven-sent stuff of Loreen when compared to the brief sonic shift that is “Jungle” and “Body.” “Fly away, fly away, an ocean away/ Where I won’t let you hurt me again/ Far away, far away, an ocean away/ Where I won’t let you hurt me again…,” she softly purrs above the spacey ambient textures and solid electronic pulse. It’s a beautifully complex production, despite it never really elevating to its full potential. Still, the song is something sublime – sad disco in its purest form, just the way I like my Loreen.

Based off the new information, it seems as if the Nude EP might just be the mini-collection of “experimental” tracks that Loreen couldn’t see fitting into her forthcoming record. It’s a very satisfying transitional project, if you will, and I’m perfectly content with that. Bring on the album, mama!

youtube

Loreen’s NUDE EP is available now on Apple Music and Spotify!

from Jon ALi's Blog http://jonalisblog.com/2017/08/25/loreen-completes-road-to-nude-ep-with-the-ambient-ocean-eyes/

0 notes

popblank · 8 years ago

Text

Finally watched the 4th heat --

Jon Henrik Fjällgren feat. Aninia, “En värld full av strider” - Very dramatic and solid. Basically what I expected from him.

Alice, “Running with Lions” - Something is weird about the sound. For some reason her voice is getting lost in the production, even though I can hear her clearly. They seem to have thrown all sorts of visual and aural things in but they don’t quite fit together.

Les Gordons, “Bound to Fall” - Pleasant.

Wiktoria, “As I Lay Me Down” - Catchy song and good performance that only seems a little effortful.

Axel Schylström, “När ingen ser” - Wasn’t expecting that voice after hearing him talk. Strong performance, song is okay. I kind of wish he would come back next year with a song that I like better.

Sara Varga & Juha Mulari, “Du får inte ändra på mig” - It’s a pretty song, but not really what I would expect to succeed in the competition. The performance wasn’t quite crisp either.

Loreen, “Statements” - Debs! Super interesting to watch but I am having trouble understanding the lyrics. Loreen is all about the vowels.

This is definitely my favorite of the four shows so far.

David Lindgren in the green room with a bucket of ice water. MVP.

#melodifestivalen #melodifestivalen 2017

0 notes

demonoflight · 8 years ago

Text

I missed last week’s installment of Melfest because I was very much too asleep to do anything about it. I’m mostly disappointed about missing out on probably killer interval acts.

Here are my opinions about the fourth semi songs that no one cares about:

1. En värld full av strider - This is freaking incredible. Jon Henrik Fjällgren is freaking incredible. I love joik. Sweden please send him to Eurovision now thank you. I actually like it more than his previous Mello entry oops

2. Running With Lions - Christ, that sounds like every other song on the radio these days. Also the singer looks like she’s wearing a hand-me-down dress from a high school theater production. It just doesn’t stand out at all.

3. Bound To Fall - Ah yes, 2000-era whiny Britrock, just what we needed in Melfest! The vocalist even has the dumb modern faux-Beatles haircut down. All those obnoxious Britrock-style bands had them back then. It’s like they’re cut from the same bloody cookiecutter. How was this style even so popular? Ew.

4. As I Lay Me Down - I liked Wiktoria’s entry from last year more, but she improved her pronunciation and it’s not a bad song at all so more power to her. She’s a good kid, she’s doing good.

5. När ingen ser - Song has a really good beat to it but goddamn, this Axel dude is ugly. No, I’m definitely not bothered by the obvious scarring on his face (from his electrocution incident, I gather?), that is a total non-issue. Maybe it’s his nose. I think it’s the nose. It’s an unpleasant nose. But he’s a good singer. Is he also a good dude? I hope he’s a good dude.

6. Du får inte ändra på mig - There are songs that have all the potential to be really good but they do one thing wrong and the song ends up crashing and burning. With this song, it’s the vocals. This song sounds so good to me but the vocalists are trash. No wonder it got 7th, they fucked up a perfectly good song with shit vocals.

7. Statements - Holy WOW, Loreen! Holy goddamn WOW. I mean, shit, I do not understand like 85% of the choreography at all, but this was impressive as all hell and the song is KICKASS. I think I like it more than Euphoria even, there’s this underlying darkness in this song that I find so exciting. Just WOW.

#melodifestivalen #melodifestivalen 2017 #melfest #eurovision

5 notes · View notes

eurovision-austria · 8 years ago

Text

Die Ergebnisse des vierten Semis

Die Ergebnisse des vierten Semis: Wiktoria und Jan Henrik Fjällgren feat. Aninia sind im Finale.

Wiktoria sehen wir im Finale wieder.

Schweden – Wiktoria (Foto) und Jan Henrik Fjällgren feat. Aninia wurden direkt ins Finale gewählt!

Das vierte und letzte Mello-Semifinale ist vorbei! Vier der sieben Kandidaten sind weitergekommen:

Wiktoria –“As I Lay Me Down” (Finale)

Jon Henrik Fjällgren feat. Aninia –“En värld full av strider (Vearelde gusnie jeenh vigkieh)” (Finale)

Loreen – Statements (Se…

View On WordPress

0 notes

americanateurovision · 8 years ago

Text

American “Experts” Weigh In

Melodifestivalen, Sweden’s annual selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, comes to an end on Saturday. Many Eurovision fans pay close attention to the happenings at Melodifestivalen, as Sweden is consistently a strong contender at the Contest.

Your typical American doesn’t follow Melodifestivalen, or Eurovision, for that matter. But I am fortunate to have a small group of American superfans that spend their Saturdays with me, adhered to a broadcast of a Swedish television show.

These American devotees share their thoughts on who should win Melodifestivalen this weekend, and go on to represent Sweden at Eurovision.

Lisa Ajax

I wish I could back Dinah Nah, but I simply cannot because of that pink shake-and-go wig she wore on stage. Granted, her recent legal woes probably kept her from having the time to find a decent lace front, but Dinah, honey, that wig cost you what would have been an inevitable victory! SO. This year's reigning supreme will be none other than the young ingenue, LISA AJAX. This girl is serving up everything I wanted from Melodi: a modern, catchy pop anthem, a bedazzled bra, simple staging, and an unnecessary raincoat. Lisa's provocative lyrics make a clear *STATEMENT* that stays with the audience and has the people singing along with her. Come on, Sweden, this is the moment that counts! #JusticeForLisaAjax -Sean Serluco

Charlotte Perrelli’s Broke Off, Dozed Off Air Guitar Playing

When the tens of American Eurovision fans heard the grande dame of schlager music was returning, we shrieked, "Props to ya, Mama!" When we heard she was doing an acoustic guitar ballad, it turned into, "Oooh, I have a thing during her performance"/ a convenient bathroom break. But those that gave up on her missed the true HERO of Melodifestivalen: Charlotte's immaculate guitar playing.

Charlotte's song, "Mitt Liv" (translated: "Oh Dear God No"), was an artistic masterpiece. She must have been dreaming about pushing her hairline further up her forehead because her strumming did not even come close to matching the guitar in the song. She manages to strum three times slower than the guitar track and plucks only one string at a time, despite constantly changing multi-string cords with her other hand. Nothing says TRUE ARTISTE like faking instrumental talent.

Some may criticize her for being so off, BUT THEY WOULD BE WRONG. It was a brave choice to interpret guitar-playing like she did, and the Swedes were simply not on her plane of existence. She was awarded dead last place in her semifinal, quite an accomplishment for a former champion. This result will surely go down as the worst outcome of voting in the past five years.

No one else may want to, but TAKE ME TO YOUR HEAVEN with that guitar playing, Charlotte! -Sharif Shawki

Robin Bengtsson

As someone who generally orders food with an eye for the sides rather than the main, Robin Bengtsson’s “I Can’t Go On” is serving me up a pile of my favorite accompaniments on top of the open-mouthed cod entree that is Robin himself, and I am FEELING IT.

Robin has clearly learned from his first foray into Melodifestivalen last year that it’s going to take more than a harmonica to propel him to victory. 2016’s “Constellation Prize” and this year’s “I Can’t Go On” share some of the same catchy beats and themes, but the similarities stop there. “I Can’t Go On” is giving us MOAR on every level and hardly any of the improvements have to do with Robin as a human performer (aside from the fact that his prominent forehead line appears to have been quietly Botox’d away).

There are three major areas I’ve identified that make “I Can’t Go On” the standout entry of Melodifestivalen 2017, and the only deserving performance to move forward to the Eurovision competition in May.

Lyrics

Along with Lisa Ajax, Robin is breaking down barriers by throwing a couple casual “fuck”s into his mix. “Constellation Prize” gave us the standard fare of,

I'm breaking down the wall That you're a star But now I'm about to fall Because you are, 'cause you are beautiful Beautiful, babe

But “I Can’t Go On” goes edgy, with a tinge of porn, when he croons (open-mouthed and committed to continual emoji hands 👌 ),

I just can't go on no more, When you look this fucking beautiful Ooh hands down to the floor my love And I'm doing whatever you want

Staging

We get our first taste of the greatness to come when Robin and his gaggle of gays start walking it OUT towards a row of treadmills that will be their stage for the next three minutes. Immediately, they are posing, they are unbuttoning jackets, they are hair flipping, and they are giving us full and unadulterated crotch shots, all while constantly in motion.

The effect is incredible. The energy emanating from four queens feeling every oat on earth (plus Robin, I guess) is palpable, as they strut, swerve, and body roll their way through every rotation of the treadmill belt. Must be seen to be believed.

BACK. UP. DANCERS.

Words cannot, and will never be able to, adequately describe how the addition of Daniel Koivunen to any performance elevates it into the realm of the supernatural. Daniel is 1/7th of Complete Dance Crew, but he may as well be the only dancer in all of Sweden.

While the other boys on stage do deserve some props, it’s difficult to see anyone else when Daniel winds it up and turns it out. All eyes are immediately drawn to his charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent. Points of interest to the unseasoned viewer come at 1:25 (second from front), 1:48 (full on everything), and my personal favorite, 2:34 (far right, giving the most).

We’ve seen Daniel before alongside Dinah Nah and Anton Ewald, but his spotlight stealing performance in “I Can’t Go On” is reason #1 why Robin Bengtsson must be advanced to represent Sweden in Eurovision. This national treasure deserves an international stage.

In conclusion, “I Can’t Go On” is the one to watch during the Finale this weekend. It’s gay, it’s straight, it’s fun, it’s gross, and it’s giving me everything I’m looking for. ONWARD TO EUROVISION. -Anna File

De Vet Du

I have discovered, through writing these opinion pieces for my friend’s Eurovision blog, that I have a problem. And that problem is called Hot Guys™. I have written for this blog in the past, and at the time, I went against my personal views of having English-only Eurovision submissions in favor of hotness. This year is no different. Allow me to make my case for De Vet Du as Sweden’s entry for Eurovision.

De Vet Du is basically Sweden’s Lonely Island, BUT with a super Hot Guy ™ named DJ Hunk, who only appears topless. Let’s also say that this is a subtle knock against The Patriarchy, because I’m pretty sure that Sweden is woke enough to pull that off too.

So here’s the brass tacks: I have no idea what’s going on in this song because it’s not in English. However, it contains some great things:

Falsetto singing

Totally bizarre back-up dancers

A Volkswagen bug

A HOT GUY™ WHO IS ALSO SHIRTLESS

Some sort of joke about NASCAR

A reference to the 1997 movie, A Night At The Roxbury

Key change

They have pizza on their jackets, and pizza is the best

I want to see the Eurovision audience salivate over De Vet Du, as I have been for six weeks. This, sadly, is impossible because they did not make the final. However, this weekend, I WILL be screaming for De Vet Du like a teenager, as I was in the arena for their live performance (the author of this blog will attest to the veracity of that statement). I will continue to show it to people I work with, who have no idea what Eurovision even is. And I will watch it every night before I go to bed for... another reason.

ALSO FUCK SWEDEN FOR NOT ADVANCING LOREEN TO THE FINALS. -Ali Carney

Not Wiktoria

All signs are pointing to Wiktoria being crowned the winner on Saturday. May I use this time to appeal to you, Sweden? This is not the correct representation of Sweden as a nation. It is a girl in a periwinkle bridesmaid dress who sings around and on top of a bed. This is not the best you can do.

Sweden, your musical artists, writers, and producers are responsible for some of the biggest hits of the last few decades. Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and Ariana Grande are just some of the recent patrons to your vast musical export market. International superstar and Swedish native, Zara Larsson, is performing at the Melodifestivalen final, in the interval act. Is this to invite comparison? “Look at what we can do, world... And look at what we’re sending to Eurovision!”

Yes, Wiktoria is adorable. She’s charming and sings (mostly) well. “As I Lay Me Down” is catchy (even though it’s basically the same damn song as her entry last year). And I get it, you just shelled out 125 million krona (around $14 million USD) to host Eurovision last year, so you’re not eager to do it again. But please, let me implore you, pick Robin Bengtsson and his squad of vogueing treadmill dancers. Choose Lisa Ajax with her bejeweled rain poncho and potty mouth. Or, please, pick Mariette, because that is a Eurovision-ready entry. Send something that will stand out among the competition. Not Wiktoria.

#sweden #melodifestivalen #eurovision #ESC2017 #lisa ajax #Dinah Nah #Charlotte Perrelli #Robin Bengtsson #anton ewald #daniel koivunen #wiktoria #Mariette #zara larsson

0 notes