Meldoifestivalen Fever!

Oh yes. Today, SVT, the Swedish broadcaster, announced the 28 songs and names for next year’s Swedish national final, the Melodifestivalen, the biggest national final there is. To explain just how big this event is in Sweden, it is watched by 75% of the nation.

That’s the equivalent of a show in the UK having 45 million British viewers (wow)

And so, this event is dragged out over five weeks, with four semi-finals, a second-chance round, and then the Grand Final, which is actually turning into a mini Eurovision itself. A lot of Eurovision fans attend this event from all over, including a memorable moment when an Irish flag was seen flying during S-Club-7-like Alcazar’s performance in the 2003 Melodifestivalen Final. This was blamed by some fans as being the reason why Alcazar were not chosen, although nothing’s been proved. It doesn’t matter anyway, as half of Alcazar are having another go at representing Sweden this year. As are a lot of former Swedish Eurovision and Melodifestivalen stars.

Here is the list of the 28 participants for Melodifestivalen 2007, split into their four semi-finals. Just to let you know that there will actually be 32 songs altogether, not 28, as SVT add one ‘wild-card’ entry into each semi-final. The crazy Swedes. Those four songs will be announced soon. But in the meantime, here’s the rundown of the 28, with a note on the more familiar names…


Semi-Final 1 (3/2/07)
Andersson & Gibson – Anything But You
Addis Black Widow – Clubbin’
Sofia Berntson – Hypnotised
Tommy Nilsson – Jag Tror Pa Manniskan
Elin Lento – Money
Andreas Lundstedt – Move
Anna Book – Samba Sambero

The most established artist here is Tommy Nilsson, who came 4th for Sweden in 1989 with the anthemically marvellous En Dag. That said, Andreas Lundstedt is no stranger to Melodidfestivalen, trying to compete as a soloist twice in the 90s, and twice as a member of Alcazar in the 00s. He failed every time (loser). He did, however, represent Switzerland last year as part of Six4One, a group comprising of six singers from six nations to grab as many points as possible. They grabbed 30, none of which came from Sweden funnily enough. Maybe people just don’t like him.


Semi-Final 2 (10/2/07)
Lustans Lakejer – Allt Vi En Gang Trodde
Jimmy Jansson – Amanda
Svante Thuresson & Anne-Lie Ryde – Forsta Gangen
Jessica Andersson – Kom
Regina Lund – Rainbow Star
Malin Lindberg – Trying To Recall
Cosmo4 – What’s Your Name

Jimmy Jansson has entered Melodifestivalen three times, most recently in 2005 with the highly overrated Vi Kan Gunga, which came 6th in the Melodifestivalen grand final. Jessica Andersson has had more luck though, representing Sweden in Eurovision 2003 with the cheese-tastic Give Me Your Love as part of the duo Fame. Svante Thuresson has also represented Sweden before… in 1966. That year, Sweden finished 2nd (their best result ‘til Abba!) with Nygammal Vals, a song about a swineherd. I don’t know what Forsta Gangen translates as, but it best not be about pigs.


Semi-Final 3 (17/2/07)
Mans Zelmerlow – Cara Mia
MissMatch – Drop Dead
Sonja Alden – For Att Du Finns
Kapell Sheida – I Mina Drommar
Nanne Gronvall – Jag Maste Kyssa Dig
Magnus Carlsson – Live Forever
The Attic ft. Therese – The Arrival

Here, all eyes will be on Swedish superstar Nanne Gronvall, who enters the Melodifestivalen for an astonishing seventh time. Eighth if you count her attempt to enter for the UK in 2001 with the superb Men (it came last in our national final, no justice). It’s fair to say that, although the photograph doesn’t show it, Nanne Gronvall is utterly bonkers. She’ll don alien ears, sing in bizarre operatic styles and dress in period dress if she feels the need. It’s almost ironic that when she got picked to represent Sweden as part of the group One More Time in 1996, she sang the Enya-like ballad Den Vilda into 3rd place. Whether Jag Maste Kyssa Dig is a ballad or upbeat number, it’ll be one to watch for sure.

Elsewhere in Semi-Final 3, it’s nice to see Magnus Carlsson, the other bloke from Alcazar, have another go. This will be his seventh attempt to represent Sweden in eight years and, unlike Nanne, he’s never got through. Like Andreas Lundstedt, I fear that no-one likes him. Another performer to laugh at this year is Sonja Alden. Apart from entering Melodifestivalen last year, she was also a backing singer for Lithuania in 2005, where they finished last. In the semi final.


Semi-Final 4 (24/2/07)
Andreas Johnson – A Little Bit Of Love
Sarah Dawn Finer – I Remember Love
Verona – La Musica
After Dark – Ah, Nar Ni Tar Saken I Egna Hand Er
Caroline af Ugglas – Tror Pa Dig
Emil Azar – Vi Hade Nat
Sanna Nielsen – Vagar Du, Vagar Jag

Andreas Johnson was a big favourite to represent the Swedes last year with the Beatles-esque sing-a-long of Sing For Me, but only finished 3rd in the end. Sanna Nielsen is a big name in the Melodifestivalen, getting to the Melodifestivalen final three times, but scoring fewer points on each occasion. The act to watch in this semi-final though is After Dark, a transvestite duo who should have won the Swedish ticket to Eurovision in 2004, instead of Lena Philipsson and the drippy It Hurts. Hopefully there’ll be some justice this year.


Well, this is rather a long post, but the Swedish preselection is a long and lengthy process with lots of big names in it this year! And we’ve still got the wildcards to be announced… Carola isn’t out yet.

It all kicks off on 3rd February next year, and I, for one, can’t wait.

Nul Points, hopefully not!

When France want to get it right, they can get it very right indeed. They may not have won since 1977, but they’ve had some corkers over the last 30 years. When France get it wrong, however, they can get it terrificly wrong. This is very true of the last four French entries, none of them finishing higher than 15th.

In 2003, the world-beats of Monts Et Mervailles failed to sway the judges. They had a good ballad in 2004, but its poor result could have been explained by the bald black lady on stilts tottering around the young, scared-looking Jonaton Cerrada. 2005 was probably the summit of their problems. Finishing 23rd, a young lady called Ortal walked about the stage whilst murdering Chacun Pense A Soi, the most upbeat song France had entered for ages. And last year, France had only 5 points to show for their rather dated ballad.

So what about 2007? France have already confirmed that they want to win it again, so their entry could possibly be the most enthused-over French entry for many years. Although it seems they’re going to have a national final, two names have come forward as possible French representatives. The first is 24-year-old female singer Najoua Belyzel (pictured).

She’s pretty, isn’t she.

Last year, she had a top three hit in France with the dance track Gabriel – it even went to #1 in Belgium! So she must be good.

The second name being thrown around is Les Wampas, a French punk rock group formed in the 80s. This doesn’t sound particularly promising, but bear in mind that their biggest hit of late has been Chirac en prison (Chriac in Prison), then you could be on to a winner.

I tell you, all France need is a strong ballad and they could easily go top five again. Let’s just hope they don’t stuff up again.

A true fantasy...

It has become traditional that each Eurovision Song Contest should have a theme, provided by the host broadcaster. This nonsense began in 2002, when Estonian broadcaster ETV hosted 'a fairy tale', where the two presenters fell in love (as usual), resulting in a break between the songs to allow them to sing an operatic song about music making them "sometimes sentimental". Not wanting to break with this ingenious idea, Latvia, the hosts of the following year, saw the two presenters yet again fell in love, the twist being that they didn't want to (ho! ho!)

In 2004, the theme was 'Under The Same Sky', celebrating the fact that the contest was in Istanbul, the only city in the world bordering two continents. Ukraine's 2005 'Awakening' was in reflection of their coming out of the Orange Revolution, and last year Greece gave us 'Feel The Rhythm', providing Terry Wogan to remark, in one of his more brilliant moments, 'I don't know about you, but I'm certainly feeling it' during the Turkish song.

So what of 2007? Well, Finland have opted for the theme 'True Fantasy'. Why, you may ask? YLE, The Finnish broadcaster have said that this can help for Finnishness to be embraced. By this, they mean looking at elements such as 'light and dark' and beauties of Finland to help create a magnificent stage. Hopefully, the stage won't look like all the other stages that graced us between 2003-2005, and will work on becoming more unique from its predecessors, like Greece did with its 'amphitheatre' last year.

YLE have also said that they want the Eurovision 2007 to become a fantasy for its viewers too. But when you see songs performed by Mancunian rappers, Lithuanian football chanters and, of course, Finnish monster rockers, it's clear that the contest is quite a way from reality.

The build-up of excitement...

It's the end of November, and as such, a lot of countries begin to confirm the artists and songs in the running for their national selections in 2007. Some with more success than others though.

Take Belarus for example. Their biggest pop star, diva Angelica Agurbash (see the lovely picture), submitted a rather Eurovisiony song called 'Miracle', hoping to improve on her 13th place in the ESC Semi-Final 2005. Hopes were high... until someone noticed that the song had been performed in public before, at a random Swedish concert. Alas, she's been disqualified as this is against the rules. This will make her sad, because when she didn't score enough points in the 2005 semi final with the equally Eurovisiony Love Me Tonight after telling everyone all week how she would probably win, she stomped off and sulked saying that the public didn't vote for the best vocal performances. If anyone remembers her performance of Love Me Tonight, then they will soon realise that this is bollocks. How she took this disqualification makes the mind boggle.

On the bright side, Poland seem to have got their act together with their 10 potential songs being announced this week. Acts include The Jet Set, who finished 3rd in their national final last year, and Mikael Erlendsson, who participated in the Swedish Finals of 2003. Poland came 11th last year in the semi final and must have been kicking themselves for failing to qualify by 6 points. When we will get to hear these songs is another matter, but I'm sure there'll be some good ones after such a close call last year.

In Albania, they're ahead of the game as always. For the fourth consecutive year, they'll pick their entry first, on December 23rd, five months before the ESC! It's a rather complicated procedure picking their entry, with 30 acts being spread out over two semi finals, ending in a final of 20 songs, picked by 50% televoting and 50% jury. With such a complex system, it's almost amazing that they haven't actually entered a decent song yet. They finished 14th in the semi-final last year and will be battling out for a final position on May 10th.

On Tuesday, 28 participants in the Swedish national final, the most prestigious of all the national finals, will be announced. It is more than likely that we will see many former Swedish Eurovision stars returning, so watch this space.

No news about the national final from the UK yet, although names that have circulated include Scissor Sisters, Ace of Base and... Daz Sampson. God bless his soul.

Ireland return to their roots - Dervish for 2007!

And so the countdown to Eurovision 2007 can officially begin with the news that Irish broadcaster RTE have picked the traditional Irish band Dervish to represent them in Helsinki next year! Following the success of internally selecting Brian Kennedy last year – gaining 10th place and guaranteeing that Dervish will automatically perform in the final – RTE stuck with the same format of choosing an established artist. They will then perform four songs, written by songwriters from the general public, at the Irish national final in February, where the winner will be chosen.

So who are Dervish? And if they’re established, why have we never heard of them?!

Dervish are a six piece band, who formed in Sligo in 1989. They are made up of five men and one woman – the vocalist Cathy Jordan (although the picture shows seven members. Don’t know who the randomer is. But Eurovision rules only allow six performers onstage so one of them will have to go!). And it’s no wonder Ireland have chosen them to represent them; with instruments such as mandolins, flutes, whistles, fiddles, bouzoukis and bodhrans, it sounds like the Irish entry is going to be a rather ethnic affair, which proved rather well for Serbia & Montenegro in 2004 (2nd) and Bosnia & Herzegovina last year (3rd).

Of course, their entry sounds like it could more reminiscent of Sanomi, the traditional ethnic song that Belgium sent in 2003. Against all the odds it managed to finish 2nd, only two points behind the eventual winner.

So could Ireland, the seven time winners, be on course for their eighth in Helsinki? Either way, it sounds like the Irish entry is going to be quite a corker! Strike up the fiddle…

Who to follow in Lordi's footsteps?

Yes, Eurovision 2007 may be six months away, but already the Finnish broadcaster YLE have announced the 12 artists that will compete to represent Finland on home ground next May. Unsurprisingly, about half of these twelve are ‘rock’ acts, with three appearing to be particularly ‘hard rock’ (‘hallelujah!’, I’m sure Lordi would say…). These three are:

Jann Wilde and Rose Avenue (left)...

and

Lovex (right)...

and

Thunderstone, described by wikipedia.org as ‘a melodic power metal band’… (below right)...

On top of these three, the other Finnish competitors include Humane, another rock band; Jani & Jetsetters, more rock guitar; and Katra, an 'unknown' rock act. That accounts for half the entrants! The other six performers are urban group Beats&Styles, schlager veteran Jukka Kuoppamaki, balladeer Johanna Kurkela, soft rock Finnish Pop Idol winner Hanna Pakarinen, soloist Kentala, and also Finland's 2002 entrant Laura Voutilainen, who finished (unfairly) in 20th position with Addicted To You.

But are Finland right to try and go for another rock entry? I'm very doubtful. Lordi was very much a one-trick-pony, and although I think it was fantastic, I think most televoters will think that any entry that bears a resemblence to Lordi will be just seen as copying - especially if that country is Finland! Let's not forget that when Turkey's ethnic song won in 2003, they entered a ska song the year after - Ukraine won in 2004 with a tribal song, and then entered a protest anthem - Greece's 2005 win with an upbeat eastern pop song was followed the year after with a big ballad.

Surely Finland wouldn't risk sending another rock song? And if Finland will do it, how many other countries will? Will 2007 just end up being Eurovision's arockolypse?! Only time will tell...

The Puzzle of Italy

This week, Italy have got the fans hot under the collar as their national broadcaster, RAI, have announced that an Italian return to the Eurovision Song Contest is 'not impossible'. If they were to return in 2007, it would be their first entry in 10 years.

So why did Italy sit out in the first place? Well, it's all a bit of a case of sour grapes (a la The Austrian Situation). Italy were one of the seven founding Euro-countries and entered a song every year from 1956-1993, winning it on two occasions. However, Italy always thought of themselves as the 'Land of Song', and it's highly speculated that after Italy's 12th placing in 1993 (a fair position, Sole d'Europa wasn't spectacular) they had had enough of not doing well in the contest and left in a big sulk, possibly embarrassed that their songs were only finishing mid-table. I don't know why, they'd only won it three years previously!

Italy came back for one last time in 1997 with the rather excellent Fiumi Di Parole, a mid-tempo ballad with a good chorus. It was performed by the duo Jalisse (see the lovely pic) and was one of the favourites to win. It didn't of course, 'cos the marvellous Katrina and her Waves did. However, not only did Italy have to settle for 4th place, they had to live with the embarrassment of being beaten by the Turkish entry, Dinle. It has to be noted that up until '97, Turkey had only ever finished inside the top 10 once, and their entries hadn't been particularly brilliant. However, they decided in 1997 to send a brilliantly ethnic song with one of the most infectious clap-a-long choruses known to man. It finished in 3rd place, seven points ahead of Italy, and this was the last we ever saw of the 'Land of Song'.

Since then, times have changed. Smaller countries perhaps not known for their musical merits (Moldova anyone?) have been winning the contest, and Turkey won in 2003 with a polished bellydance number, not too unlike Dinle. So now that Italy may have accepted the change in Eurovision over the last 10 years (i.e. the top two don't usually consist of UK and Ireland anymore), it seems the 'Land of Song' may be returning to the world's biggest song contest. What's more they'd probably be given an automatic final place, making the 'Big 5' with UK, Spain, Germany and France.

So could the European Broadcasting Union be looking at a potential 45 countries at Eurovision 2007? Well, possibly not - Moldova's participation next year is looking doubtful. But a return for Italy would be welcome. They had some good songs, y'know...