Lopez Blogs

Sigh. Where has the weekend gone? I texted that to a friend earlier and they replied "it's been sucked into Katie Price's fanny along with everything else good and pure in the world". I don't think they ever forgave her for corrupting gareth gates... Anyway, it's been quite a lovely weekend - was my parent's combined 70th birthday party, which was groovy enough. I also had lots of time for reading (finished Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief; started Two Queens One Isle about Queen Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scots - I'm so diverse), writing and piano (a rather good piano ballad version of Ego). Then of course the brilliant Same Difference did an amazing DJ set at Nightingales last night, spinning some of the greatest dancefloor hits of recent years/decades. And hurrah for them performing a couple of songs too, as well as giving the world a sneaky peek of an intoxicating new Pete Hammond composition. Their second album is shaping up to be a pop opus of gargantuan proportins. Can't wait to hear it - and yay, they are playing at gay pride in Trafalgar Square this year. Bonus.

Top 21 Songs of the Week:

21 ~ Diana Vickers, Once (NE)
20 ~ Alex Gardner, I'm Not Mad (NE/VID)
19 ~ JLS, One Shot
18 ~ Alphabeat, Hole In My Heart
17 ~ Robbie Williams, Morning Sun
16 ~ Hurts, Blood Tears & Gold
15 ~ Nerina Pallot, When Did I Become Such A Bitch
14 ~ Natalie Imbruglia, Scars
13 ~ Donkeyboy, Ambitions
12 ~ Jason Mraz, Kicking With You
11 ~ Leona Lewis, I Got You
10 ~ Matt Morris, Money
09 ~ Barenaked Ladies, You Run Away
08 ~ The Pipettes, Stop The Music
07 ~ Mika, Rain
06 ~ Simon Curtis, Diablo
05 ~ Bjorn Johan Muri, Yes Man
04 ~ Marina & The Diamonds, Hollywood
03 ~ Music Go Music, Light of Love
02 ~ Boyzone, Gave It All Away
01 ~ Elouise, Fireman of my Dreams (4 weeks)

Congrats to Elouise on a tremendous week of shows opening for Miss Polly Rae :)

Grekland har publicerat sina Oslo-kandidater. Mina favoriter såhär långt är Christos Hatzinasios’ "Illusion" och Giorgos Karadimos’ "Polemao". Jag ger ett extra plus till Giorgos eftersom han sjunger på grekiska. Jag är trots allt en hängiven fan av landets musik, på grekiska.

Uttagning i den grekiska nationella uttagningen verkar vara en härva av konstigheter och mystiskt läckande låtar. Jag börjar nästa tro att det är ett symtomatiskt agerande som hänger samman med oredan i det övriga samhället. Eleftheria Eleftheriou diskvalificerats för några dagar sedan på grund av läckage, trots att hon var förhandsfavorit. I samma veva så sades det att övriga låtar också kommer att läcka i förtid. I det läget valde ERT att släppa bidragen till allmänheten för att undvika nya skandaler. Det betyder att det nu finns sju låtar kvar som slåss om Oslo-biljetter. Finalen hålls den 12 mars.

Här kan du lyssna på låtarna:
http://eurovision.ert.gr/el/eurovision-song-contest-2010/diorganosi/00333-eurovision-2010-oi-ellinikes-ypopsifiotites
1. Christos Hatzinasios- "Illusion"
2. Sunny Baltzi & Second Skin - "Game of Life"
3. Manos Pyrovolakis - "I Kivotos tou Noe" (Noah's Ark)
4. Giorgos Alkaios and Friends - "Opa"
5. Giorgos Karadimos - "Polemao" (Fight)
6. Melisses - "Kinezos" (Chinese)
7. Emigré - "Touch Me Deep Inside"

I Lettland vann Aisha med "What For” som också är en ballad med dragspelskomp. Börjar tro att dragspel är det mest frekventa instrumentet i årets tävling, Återstår att se om Aisha’s sång kommer att tilltala publiken bättre är fjolårets Intars Busulis eller tidigare förekommande pirater och herrar i hög hatt som sjunger opera på taskig italienska. 2002 vann Marie N efter att hon genomfört ett klädbyte i “I Wanna”.

I Georgien bestämde man redan i januari att Sopho Nizharadze ska framför landets bidrag. Nu har man också valt låt och det blev den vackra balladen “Shine” som är skriven med norsk hjälp av Hanne Sørvaag, Harry Sommerdahl och Christian Leuzzi. Georgien tog en paus i fjol efter kontroverser i samband med en politisk anspelning i deras
utvalda bidrag.

Slovakiens låt "Horehronie" som sjungs av Kristina hotas av diskvalificerning på grund av plagiat, dagen efter att den vunnit. Horehronie är en region i centrala Slovakien som besjungs i denna etno-poplåt. Tidigare indikationer om plagiat brukar mest vara tomma hotelser. Vi får se hur det här fallet utvecklar sig.


Källa/Foto: ERT, eurovision.tv, oikotimes.com, LAT, STV

A week is a long time in Melodifestivalen: and this year's contest has had a tough time over the past seven days. Firstly, there was the accidental leaking of two song clips (by Sibel & Peter Jöback) which forced SVT to publish the clips on its website a few days early, thus avoiding the need for disqualifications; and then there were several Swedish media articles attacking this year's contest for its poor quality and lack of traditional schlager. The criticism came thick and fast, from columnists, songwriters and previous contestants - all having a go at Christer Björkman's alleged "war on schlager" this year.

Then Måns Zelmerlöw fell sick, and there was the possibility of him missing out on presenting duty this week.

But the show must go on...'Då kör vi!!" Much to our relief, Måns had recovered sufficiently to co-present this week and looked very nice in his purple satin tie :) Christine meanwhile was dressed in a little blue satin number. She still annoys me though, for some reason.

On to the songs!

1: "Stop" - Sibel: I loved her little loopy-dress although was less enthusiastic about the styling of her backing-dancers who were far too distracting. I think this will have a post-MF life on my iPod, it's a nice little foot-tapper. I thought she was good, and hoped that this would qualify....

2: "Magisk Stjärna" - Py Bäckman: Like many others watching this, I thought she reminded me of Ozzy Osbourne :) First military-coat of the night. This was like a Eurovision trip back in time....with backing singers actually standing still and not dancing around in silly costumes. She even threw in a harmonica solo. This was pretty wrong, on so many levels.

3. "Human Frontier" - Neo: Yes, yes, yes! This is the kind of pop song that I like in Melodifestivalen, and there haven't been many of them this year. I liked his outfit although the cane was a bit annoying, anyway visually and vocally he was so reminiscent of Mika. He performed well and by the end of it I had him down as a qualifier.

4. "Thursdays" - Lovestoned: this took the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach. Co-written by G:son, and they threw everything at this one - barrel organ, accordion, an Abba-style redhead/blonde girl vocal mix, but in the end it was all too desperate.

5. "This Is My Life" - Anna Bergendahl: former Idol contestant using MF for career-revival purposes. Unfortunately I missed most of this as my webstream chose this moment for its weekly breakdown.

6. "Jag Vill Om Du Vågar" - Pernilla Wahlgren: A woman of a certain age in a short glittery dress - remind you of anyone? Admittedly she was very professional, although this threw in every cliche, cliche, cliche....wind machine, male dancers, being lifted up Paparizou-style and then a big key change. It could have been a lot worse though: could have been Carola.

7. "Idiot" - Noll Disciplin: apparently one of this combo was previously in a skate-punk band which won Lilla Melodifestivalen. From the beginning I felt this was only there to make up the numbers, even with all the onstage pyrotechnics....

8. "Hollow" - Peter Jöback: and so to this year's winner (although not if I can help it). Honestly, every time I see Fredrik Kempe and his smug face, I want to throw something at the computer but then I realise it's not worth damaging my computer for :) anyway he looks like something out of Les Miserables, it's all very theatrical and he's working the military-jacket look. I don't like his hair tonight though. There's a nice laser-lit backdrop - but what about the song? Very dramatic, with multiple key changes (although a reassuringly un-dramatic end); unfortunately I find his voice a bit annoying for much of it. Also, it reminds me a little of "On My Own" the Norwegian entry from 2001, which significantly bombed that year. (All the more reason why Sweden MUST send "Keep On Walking" to Oslo!!)

Anyway, once the songs were over it was time for sketch-time. I may not have been too impressed by Christine Meltzer this year but her Malena Ernman spoof was absolutely hilarious. (Anyone think she looked more like Anna Anka though?) Malena sings "Singel"! Malena in the supermarket with her masked sidekicks! Malena crossing the road....oh this sketch was one of the funniest in this year's MF.

And then there was Dolph: this week he was off to a gay club and appropriately attired - I didn't get the joke this week though, can anyone explain it to me? The pink feather boa was top though.

Top 5 songs this week - Noll Disciplin, Neo, Anna Bergendahl, Peter Jöback and Pernilla Wahlgren. I was pretty shocked that Sibel didn't make it to the top 5.

Results time: and a big big surprise - this week's vote-winner was not the foregone conclusion of Peter Jöback, nor Pernilla Wahlgren - but Anna Bergendahl! I think this had a similar impact to Marie Lindberg's "Trying to Recall" from a couple of years ago, or maybe Sarah Dawn Finer, although listening back this wasn't vocally perfect - but it was a passionate performance and maybe the Idol-connection counted for something?

Interval act: this week it was a blast from the past, with Mans and Christine singing some very old MF entries - and being joined on stage by the original, truly vintage MF performers - Svante Thuresson, Ann-Christine Barnsten, Claes-Goran Hederstrom, and Lill-Babs. I didn't catch the full interval act as I was watching Gabriella Cilmi, who was the interval-act on "Let's Dance for Comic Relief" on BBC-1 at the same time: I need to get better at this multi-tasking.

Results time (again): Neo to Andra Chansen (yay!!)
Peter to Globen.
Pernilla to Andra Chansen.



Above: Anna and Peter, going to Globen (picture courtesy of Aftonbladet).

Talking of which....those duels in Örebro next week are as follows:

"Sucker for Love" vs "Heaven Or Hell":
Pauline's cheeky charm might have the edge, but Swedes love their rock music so....I'm sitting on the fence here. Whoever wins this one will inevitably be beaten by the winner of the previous duel....

"Underbart" vs "Human Frontier":
Human Frontier all the way! I think Neo will become one of the biggest stars to come out of this year's MF.

"Headlines" vs "I Did It For Love":
Alcazar's stage presence and professionalism will go a long long way.

Prediction:
Pernilla & Alcazar to Globen, although I'd be happy to swap Pain of Salvation for Pernilla any day. "Road Salt" has really grown on me.

All will be revealed next Saturday night!!

Wow - så kul att det skräller igen i Melodifestivalen. Anna Bergendahl med låten ”This Is My Life” sopade banan med förhandsfavoriterna och tog mest poäng av alla och en plats i finalen. Otroligt kul eftersom hon hade kvällens bästa låt och bästa röst!
Mindre överraskande var att Peter Jöback tog den andra finalplatsen. Han övervann därmed kvällen "hot", dvs skidåkande Charlotte Kalla. Jöback är proffsig, har en bra röst och gör ett bra framfröande. Men - jag klarar bara inte av dessa pekoral, svulstiga musikallåtar. Såååå tråkigt!
Nåjå -om trenden fortsätter så kan det skrälla i finalen också! Jag hoppas Jöback får en rejäl fight och inte tar något för givet.

Till andra chansen tog sig kvällens charmtroll NEO som enligt designern Marina Kereklidou såg ut som den döende Dandyn i sin outfit. Låt ”Human Frontier” har avancerat dramatiskt som favorit under de sensate dagarna. Kul! Grattis NEO. Även veteranen Pernilla Wahlgren får en andra chans. Det innebär att hon missar sin brors brällop på lördag. Too bad men det var nåt hon hade i beräkande.

Mest besviken är nog kvällens andra charmtroll Sibel. Hon var förhandsfavoriten som dalat dramatiskt i samband med repetitionerna. Jag tror att mycket berodde på låtens konstiga slut. Det kommer tre gånger och till slut fattar ingen när det egentligen är slut. Att tonårigarna i Noll disciplin hamnade bland de fem översta med ”Idiot” var nog en överraskning för mig och många andra.

Py Bäckman hamnade sist och jag är mest förundrad över hennes klädsel och glasögon. Kolla in detta foto från Expressen - visst är likheten med Ozzy Osbourne slående!

Traditionell schlager har ju lyst med sin frånvaro i årets Melodifestival. Kanske är det för att kompensera detta som man satsade på ett mellanaktsprogram i schlagerns tecken. Christine Meltzer och Måns Zelmerlöf tar sig an ett antal gamla godingar tillsammans med:
- Lill-Babs (ESC 1961, Norges MGP 1969, MF 1973)
- Ann-Christine Bärnsten (MF 1975)
- Claes-Göran Hederström (ESC 1968, MF 1975)
- Svante Thuresson (MF 1966, MF 1967, MF 1968, MF 1969, MF 1977, MF 2007)

I nästa vecka kommer Andra Chansen från Örebro och då ska åtta bidrag duellera om de två resterande finalplatserna. Såhär tävlar bidragen mot varandra:
Duell 1:
Artist: Pain Of Salvation ”Road Salt”
tävlar mot
Artist: Pernilla Wahlgren ”Jag vill om du vågar”

Duell 2:
Artist: Pauline ” Sucker For Love”
tävlar mot
Artist: Crucified Barbara ”Heaven Or Hell”

Duell 3:
Artist: Kalle Moraeus & Orsa Spelmän ”Underbart”
tävlar mot
Artist: NEO ”Human Frontier”

Duell 4:
Artist: Alcazar ”Headlines”
tävlar mot
Artist: Jessica Andersson ”I Did It For Love”

Det ska bli ytterst intressant.

Källa/foto: SVT, Expressen

You know, when I think back there isn't a time I can remember when my life hasn't been saturated in Abba music. I came kicking and screaming out the womb (a far too large 10lbs 10oz - my mother still hasn't forgiven me, covered in placenta to the sound of Abba's Waterloo being the UK number one. Everyone always knows the singles that Abba have done - they are part of the collective consciousness and have popped up numerous times in movies and musicals. Indeed, everytime I hear Waterloo now I want to scream "Nicole's having an affair with Chook. Muriel saw them fucking in the laundry room on your wedding day. Stick your drink up your arse Tania. I would rather swallow razorblades than drink with you." (and quite often I do) So when I need a change of pace from the REALLY popular stuff, I seek out their album tracks and b-sides. And let's face it, even the most casually flung together Abba track is filled with genius that most modern pop acts can only dream of achieving. Here are my (current) favourite ten (ish)...

10= ~ Love Isn't Easy; This could have been one of about 15 songs. There's something so charming and innocent about the production and raw use of live instruments that appeals to me (plus that big drum boom in the chorus is almost comedic)... The lyrics of the chorus are almost a template for the theme of every Abba song ("Love isn't easy, but it sure is hard enough/sweet sweet, our love is bittersweet), the catchy hook and sliver of novelty value abounds and it's all too heavenly...
10= ~ Hasta Manana; This mid tempo ballad is so delicious, I could pop a dollop of cream on it and devour it whole. I believe this was a single in some countries and considered alongside Waterloo as the Eurovision entry for Sweden that year. I love the spoken intro to the second verse, the optimistic message of the chorus and the whole "lighters in the air" sway-along feel to the tune. Never fails to make me ever so happy but with a tinge of sadness (but that's an Abba song all over for you)...
09 ~ The King Has Lost His Crown: Every single track on Voulez Vous could easily have been a single and thus, this slightly dark, ever so gently malicious disco chugger is no exception. A tale of the scorned woman noting how her aging ex-lover isn't quite the draw he used to be, and of course she takes absolutely no delight in pointing this out. Lovely wall of sound effects & harmonies leading into each chorus, which have just the right hint of strings in them. Yet sung so sweetly you would never know it was a bit of slap in the knickers. Plus the whole tune plays like it's been ripped from the headlines (Disaster and Despair!)...
08 ~ I've Been Waiting For You (above): Abba show incredible restraint on this absolutely stunning ballad, refusing to let drama take over. It's just a stunning vocal performance, filled with emotion and yearning that powers forward a delightful melody. It's the perfect love letter song and I just can't help but hoping that these two crazy kids of the lyrical story have a happy ever after as they na na nah themselves off into the sunset...
07 ~ My Love My Life: Another entirely gorgeous ballad, with exquistely layered vocals and harmonies becoming as essential to the tune as the instruments played. Works as a terrifyingly sad juxtaposition to I've Been Waiting For You and a devastating insight into the end of a relationship. Quite quite beautiful yet marred by the painful narrative that makes the song flow. Tear...
06 ~ I Am The City: An 'unreleased' song until the More Abba Gold cd arrived on the scene - it shows that the direction wasn't really changing as they approached Opus Ten, but with a track as good as this, there was no need for dramatic reinvention. There's such cleverness in this song - the metaphor in the lyrics, the siren-esque synths in the chorus creating the chaotic city life sounds they need, ridiculously brillo lines like "and in the wind if you listen hard you'll hear me laugh..." What more do you need?! (Better than Put On Your White Sombrero anyway!)

05 ~ As Good As New: The beginning of this song is as beautifully classical as anything I've ever heard with a rather wonderful string section introducing the tune prior to a funky guitar riff taking over. The strings are back for the most enveloping chorus that is complete with a sing along refrain and some essential-in-pop hand clapping. There's a rather lush middle 8 breakdown too that leads into a rather pleasing key change. Damn, this group still gives me a solid happy right to this day!
04 ~ Lovers (Live A Little Longer): ooo I do adore a Frida lead vocal. She starts off with another funky disco number in a lower register before building up a harmonic crescendo with Agnetha into a slightly manic chorus - the message of which I adore. Ain't that nice. Often with Abba songs there is a simplicity within the genius, and here it's the repetitive guitar riff that works really well. Lo-hoving the corny dance moves in the video :P
03 ~ When I Kissed The Teacher: Sigh. This song soundtracked my secret lust for one of my teachers in high school. The acoustic start of the song mirrors the tentative confession before the inappropriate feelings take over and it swirls into something more assertive and dramatic. It's a theme that would return to pop, when Busted donned their school uniforms for That's What I Go To School For - a song that while pleasing enough, wasn't a patch on this earnest tour de force...
02 ~ If It Wasn't For The Nights: It's the mundane lyrics of this song that are later mirrored in the more morose Day Before You Came (my favourite Abba song ever, fact fans) that make this an instant fave ~ actually scratch that; it's not that i think the lyrics are mundane ~ they just describe the mundane activities of the day before they go a little bit bonkers because they have time to dwell on everything with the insomnia. All this is set to a joyous, uplifting, lilting piano driven pop melody that just soars. Absolutely positively should have been a massive massive single...
01 ~ Kisses of Fire (above): The lovely ballad beginning. The sentiment of the lyrics filled with a fiery passion. The build up to the sudden disco ball drop of the first chorus. It's several songs in one and a format that would be built upon by xenomania with Girls Aloud Biology. That stunning long note held at the end. It's just so darn kitschy yet so darn wonderful. I can listen to this hundreds of times (and I have) and never ever tire of it's utter magnificence...

So, did I miss any out?!

If the shark was circling around the pre-Christmas series of "Harry Hill’s TV Burp" then it has gone swimming off in the opposite direction. Harry is back on form, most definitely. And the icing on the cake is ....big fanfare...."The K Factor - So You Think You Can Knit" which has me in (pardon the pun) stitches every week: Knitted-Rolando from "Popstar to Operastar" is an inspired creation. And awww....poor Peter the duck.

Vitrysslands nationella tv-kanal BTRC har bekräftat att de skickar ett band med namnet ”3+2” till Oslo. Låten heter "Far Away" och som gruppnamnet antyder består gruppen av fem medlemmar. Låten har utsetts ut av en jury som totalt hade 41 bidrag att välja mellan. I fjol representerades landet av blonda sockkillen Petr Elfimov som inte tog sig vidare till finalomgången med låten ”Eyes That Never Lie”.

Största hotet mot lördagens deltävling i Melodifestivalen är avvärjt. SVT anpassar låtarnas framförande till Charlotte Kallas skidåkning. Enligt ursprunglig tidtabell skulle Peter Jöback, med startnummer 10, krockat med Kallas start i längdskidåkning. Nu tar man det säkra för det osäkra och stuvar om i programmet så att tittarna inte missar Jöback. Med tanke på hans startnummer så drar jag slutsatsen att SVT gärna vill ha med honom i Globen.

Du kan lyssna på 1 minuters snuttar av låtarna här:
http://svt.se/2.123451/1.1870509/tjuvlyssna_pa_bidragen?lid=puff_1870509&lpos=rubrik
Startordning i Malmö:
1. Sibel - ”Stop”
Upphovsmän: Mikaela Stenström, Dimitri Stassos
Sibel inleder sitt nummer med att landa på scenen i en burliknande pjäs som går under namnet ”dödsringen”. Av alla 32 bidragen så är det här Melodifestivalens mesta uptempo-låt. Bra refräng och jag hoppas att det räcker för att ta tävlingens charmigaste artist till finalen.


2. Py Bäckman – ”Magisk stjärna”
Upphovsmän: Py Bäckman (musik, text), Micke Wennborn (musik)
Py är årets mest rutinerade artist och hon har faktiskt vunnit en gång – som kompositör av ”Stad i Ljus” med Tommy Körberg 1988. Här sjunger hon själv i ett avskalat framträdande där munspelet på slutet verkar vara det mest som händer. Låten går rätt spårlöst förbi och det finns ingen magik som kan föra den vidare.


3. NEO – ”Human Frontier”
Upphovsmän: Anneli Axelsson, Tobias Jonsson
Ta Mika och gör en copy-paste. Som alltid blir kopian aldrig lika bra som originalet, men jag tycker ändå att NEO’s låt är okey. Han är charmig och sjunger han dessutom bra när det gäller så kanske detta kan bli kvällens skräll.



4. Lovestoned – ”Thursdays”
Upphovsmän: Peter Boström (musik), Thomas G:son (musik), Sharon Vaughn (text)
Lovestoned = 2 tjejer och 2 killar. Tempot är mittemellan och så känns hela låten. Verkar oklart vilken genre man ska förlita sig på. Det är lite Ace of Base feeling, en dos av sentimentala dragspelsinslag, lite stämsång osv. De rutinerade upphovsmännen borde bädda för en viss framgång men dessvärre betvivlar jag någon större succé.


5. Anna Bergendahl - ”This Is My Life”
Upphovsmän: Bobby Ljunggren (musik), Kristian Lagerström (text)
Trots det lilla jag hört av denna ballad så är jag imponerad av Annas röst som både är speciell och har substans. Det här känns som kvällens mest svårtippade bidrag. Allt kan hända och jag hoppas på det bästa.



6. Pernilla Wahlgren – ”Jag vill om du vågar”
Upphovsmän: Pontus Assarsson (text & musik), Daniel Barkman (text), Jörgen Ringqvist (text & musik)
Traditionella schlagerlåtar är bristvara i år. Man blir glatt överraskad när en sådan plötsligt dyker upp. Pernilla leverera en glad, klämkäck uptempo dänga och det är paljetter och fläkt och hela rubbet. För många är detta en typisk låt som personifierar fenomenet Melodifestivalen. Därför kommer Pernilla helt klart att plocka röster. Återstår att se om det blir final direkt eller andra chansen. Det är 25 år sedan Pernilla vann med ”Piccadilly Circus”.


7. Noll disciplin – ”Idiot”
Upphovsmän: Per Aldeheim, Niklas Jarl
En av dessa utfyllnadslåtar som ska bredda Melodifestivalens utbud. Den kategoriseras som ”skatepunk”. Det är bra att testa nya grepp men i fortsättningen tycker jag att just denhär musikstilen kan tävla i nåt annat forum.



8. Peter Jöback – ”Hollow”
Upphovsmän: Anders Hansson, Fredrik Kempe
Typisk Jöback-ballad i Kempe-stil. En av förhandsfavoriterna om nu inte skiddrottningen tar över i SVT kanal 2. Jag förstår att folk gillar detta men jag tycker dessa musikalpastischer är SÅ tråkiga. Dessutom har Kempe redan vunnit med en likadan låt i Norge. Det borde räcka.

Källa/foto: SVT, eurovision.tv, ONT

Someone in the office today actually said in a non-ironic quoting way "oh my god, you look like Shakira" and I thought I was being dead witty and urbane when I quickly threw in there "no, no she's Catherine Zeta, actually her name's Marina" only to be met with a barrage of clueless stares. Sigh. It was then that I knew my day could only get better with some lovely pop to listen to when I got home. And hurrah! It was! So let's have a look at some of the super new tunes I got to aurally assess...

Industry ~ I played Industry's My Baby's Waiting when I was on Larry Flick earlier this month (on again on Thurs March 4th!) and I thought, hmmm, as much as I like your ballads (particularly My Mistake), where is this balls to the wall, pecs on patrol, sweaty gonad disco stomper you've been promising? And ta-dah! Much like buses, you wait for one and two come along at once. Splendid. Kill The DJ is a dark ominous electro thumper with some rather saucy lyrics and a swirling chorus. Love the opening line "party's packed/but the music kind of sucks/sick n tired of hearing the same old ga-ga" and the chorus "if you don't keep this song on replay/we're gonna have to kill (kill) the DJ". Genius. Drown In The Music follows along the same theme of excellent electro frippery and a massive skybound pop chorus drenched in dance beats and sing along lyrics. They've been building a following for a while now, but I'm about to go crazy for these tunes. Immense.

The Candle Thieves ~ I wrote about their EP earlier this month, and have since become rather besotted with their lovely brand of sunshine pop. Luckily (as happens when you discover a band a little bit into their career), I didn't have to wait too long for something new and smashing to come along. Their new single We're All Gonna Die is already up on youtube and released for your purchasing pleasure on March 29th, which isn't very far away at all is it? And honestly, it's well worth several of your pennies because it's equally as marvelous as anything on The Sunshine EP. Scott and Glock have created another winning melody that lets their quintessentially English charm shine through (the vocal has shades of my beloved Upper Room's All Over This Town) ~ the single has a positively joyous feel that juxtaposes nicely with the gorgeously bittersweet lyrics, all mixed together in a jangly casio-pop production. It is not only entirely endearing but a real delight to listen to again and again. Their debut album is getting more and more promising with each note they play. Essential.

Rongedal ~ After the mika-tastic Just A Minute "dropped" two melodifestivalens ago, I had a bit of a love affair with the maniac music that was Rongedal. Absolutely adored their debut album, milked it for singles harder than a call girl milks her john in the last five minutes of his paid hour (ew). So hurrah for a second album having just been released in Sweden, because i'm all over it like a rash. The first single proper (Day In Day Out) isn't a million miles away from the jaunty pop sound they showcased on their debut; however I'm going with Nick's recommendation of Because of You as a great example of how they have progressed to a more aggressive, electronica vibe that works well with their penchant for dramatic piano and ridiculously memorable hooks. Can't wait to spend more time getting into the album - full review no doubt some time soon!

Sergey Lazarev ~ There was a bit of a sneak peek last month of Sergey's forthcoming album when Heartbeat leaked on the net. I did quite like that track and wished I'd thought of what one commentator said with "it's like Beat Again over a One Republic beat". It's safe to say that Alarm is radically different to that song. It's Simon Curtis' Diablo/Quentin Mossimann Toc Toc mixed with a Lord Gaga rising instrumentation that slams the beat down in the chorus. It's a great tune, and great to see some boy pop in this vein; very reminiscent of what Darin was doing a couple of years back but Sergey manages to make the tune stand out and remain memorable after a few listens. Could be enormous depending on how saucy the video is :)Plus the dude does look ridiculously good in a suit...

Frankrikes representant har blivit utsedd. Det är Jessy Matador som ska framföra "Allez! Ola! Olé!".
Sången har tydligen någon form av koppling till fotbolls-VM i Sydafrika inkommande sommar. Franska TV tror att låten kan bli en stor sommarhit ifall man kopplar ihop Eurovision med fotboll. Det är ju en ny vinkling. Ska bli intressant om det fungerar. Enligt de franska eurovision-fansen så kommer det att bli en katastrof.

Georgien hoppade av i fjol, mycket beroende på att de hade en del oklara kontroverser med Ryssland. Texten i deras låt var anti-Putin och det godkändes inte av arrangören EBU som vill hålla alla politiska antydningar borta från tävlingen- i den mån det går. I år är landet tillbaka med sångerskan och skådespelerskan Sopho Nizharadze. Det är däremot inte klart vilken sång hon ska framföra. Det får vi veta på lördag 27 februari. Georgien deltog första gången 2007 med Sopho och året därpå med Diana Gurtskaya. Båda gångerna har man tagit sig till final med hedersamma placeringar som 12 och 11. I år blir det tredje försöket. Jag måste också få inflika att en av de bästa tillställningar jag deltagit i var Georgiens party i Helsingfors 2007. Vill bara påpeka att vinets ursprungsland är Georgien och självklart fanns där ett specialvin för Sopho!

Turkiet är en verklig ”stormakt” i Eurovision-sammanhang. I år har man valt gruppen Manga, som ska framföra tre bidrag, egna kompositioner, och de ska sjungas på turkiska och engelska. I slutet av februari bestämmer en jury vilken av sångerna som ska kvalitetssäkras för att framföras i Oslo. Då är det engelska språket som gäller. Turkiet har ju en historik som tål att försvaras. Sertab vann med ”Everyway That I Can” 2004 och ifjol blev Hadise och ”Düm Tek Tek” fyra.

Källa/foto: oikotimes.com, eurovision.tv

After a very long and arduous day, it was most pleasant and surprising to return home to find the Elouise ~ Stardust EP sitting on my doormat. Those of you who are regular here will exhibit no surprise that this was a joyous occurence ~ I fell and fell hard for the seductive tones of Elouise early last year and have avidly followed her ever since. While none of the songs on the EP are new to me, having them in physical format is quite the delight. They come in a digipack cd, with a rather lovely cover where Elouise has the most enormous doe-eyes and the imagery (both on the cd cover and postcard) is evocative of some of the greatest Disney princesses of our times. There's a vulnerability in the bare shoulders, the way the eyes look up at you - yet as you start to play the music a resilient strength also begins to shine through. My adored Larry Flick says it best on the press release...

"Elouise is a rare breed of artist, who has the forward vision of a future superstar, while also revealing an unabashed reverence for the classic divas of all time. Elouise is unlike any other performer I've encountered in recent years. She's the ultimate, fresh faced ingenue, yet she's as assured as a seasoned veteran"

Let's investigate, shall we?

1. Another Day ~ It's no surprise that after a weekend of listening to singers such as Dusty Springfield, Karen Carpenter and Agnetha Falgstok, I naturally progressed to Elouise. Eschewing latest sound trends for a more timeless feel rich in melody and resonance, Another Day is a soaring ballad filled with heartache, emotion and regret. Strings and a persistant syncopated drum beat add to the drama while oohs and ahhs bring a richness to the chorus. Written by Steve Anderson and Terry Ronald, they clearly trust Elouise with a song that requires full commitment from the singer as well as emotional investment ~ in lesser hands, the song could have floundered under the vivid production. Elouise carries the tune, brings you into her story and leaves you wanting the next chapter. It's not an easy task to pull off... (and those wanting more uptempo from Elouise, try imagining a dance remix of this song - totally fits and would be an immense disco anthem!)
2. Pretender ~ If I remember correctly from twitter, Terry Ronald had this song laying around for about ten years before he found a performer worthy of the challenge. Once again, the lyrics are about yearning, what could have been and holding onto long gone possibilities. The vocal performance here is exquisite - completely matches the changing needs of the song. Elouise goes from confident to tremulously whispering to seductive to soaring diva without missing a beat. Thus it becomes not just a song but a performance where even the most tame and reserved listener is drawn into a theatrical world where imagery leaps at you from each lyric. Painting a picture with the EP is quite the achievement and lyricist, producer and singer weave their brush strokes together seamlessly to bring the magic to life. It's one of the most poignant post-break up songs I've heard in a long time and makes me just hold onto Darren tighter than ever...
3. Fireman of my Dreams ~ With two high drama songs, it's time for some light relief. Fireman is a tune that Elouise and her brother wrote (listen to a different version here) and then Steve Anderson added a bit of pixie dust to make it an even more camp experience. Trust me when I say (and I mean this as a high compliment) drag queens will be performing this song for years to come in the not to distant future. I know people hear Tears On My Pillow and Beauty School Drop Out in there, and that's true and quite possibly intentional. It's almost a medley of these great timeless pop tunes and I hear a little of Girl For All Seasons in there and definitely shades of I Will Always Love You as Elouise takes it to the dramatic finale. There's a cheeky wink in the lyrics, a bit of bawdiness (let me slide down your pole indeed!) and an endearing charm to the tune. It's no wonder it's been number one on my playlist for nearly 4 weeks now. Just immerse yourself and let the music do the rest...

So there you have it. The Stardust Ep. It's Star Dusty. To me, it's a dramatic journey through what happens when the spotlight goes off and the singer goes back to their personal lives - the human side of The Fame Monster if you will. I can't wait for the album now - and don't worry, it promises to have a few grab the one you love and shimmy swirling disco ball moments on there. This is just the start of something special...
(Check out Mike's review here)

Spaniens Daniel Diges valsar hela vägen till Eurovision Song Contest efter att igår ha vunnit den nationella uttagningen, Destino Oslo.


Daniel Diges låt "Algo pequeñito" (Something small) blev vald som etta både bland publiken och juryn. Ett enhälligt val med andra ord. Låten går i valstakt och har inslag av cirkus och musikal både musikaliskt och scenografiskt. Daniel är en rutinerad artist från musikalsammanhang och teater. Bland har han spelat i Mamma Mia och High School Musical.

Spanien ingår i kvartetten The Big 4 vilket innebär att de är direkt-kvalificerade för finalen, liksom Tyskland, Frankrike och Stor-britannien. Nu återstår att se om Daniel Diges är mer lyckosam är de senaste Spanska bidragen. Fjolårets Soraya med ”La Noche Es Para Mi” slutade på 23:de plats (av 25). Året innan var det pajasen Rodolfo Chikilicuatre som slutade 16:de med ”Baila El Chiki Chiki”.



Källa/foto: oikotimes.com, eurovision.tv, TVE

Oops...following a couple of next Saturday's songs being leaked (or was it just clips of them, I don't know?) SVT decided to release all the song clips today rather than next Friday, in order to avoid any unfair advantages to the songs in question.

So here's this week's line-up....and you'll be delighted to know that I'm still not all that impressed!

1. Stop - I love Sibel's fabulous new look (that fringe, those eyelashes) but this isn’t quite as fabulous - however I’m happy that she’s doing something uptempo and I think she’ll do this song justice on the night.

2. Magisk stjärna - Despite Py Bäckman's long history as an artist and singer, I thought this was disappointing, and based on the clip it was just boring to these ears.

3. Human Frontier - ooh he’s got Mika-hair and he even sounds like him too. This probably won’t qualify but there was something about it that I quite liked on first hearing.

4. Thursdays - Is there such a thing as reggae-schlager? With accordions. As you do. A pleasant enough song if a little old-fashioned, but enjoyable in its own way. And G:son wrote it. But he has been spreading himself thinly all over national finals in recent years, so qualification isn't a foregone conclusion anymore.

5. This Is My Life - Bears no similarity to the wonderful Euroband. It's a pretty dull, by-the-numbers ballad, but she does have a good voice and a good performance on the night could carry it to Andra Chansen.

6. Jag Vill Om Du Vagar - bit of electro-pop schlager. I’ve never liked her if I’m honest, but this will fly all the way to Globen with no problem. Very Linda-Bengtzing-esque, and one to finally quench the thirst of the schlager-fanatics who've been short-changed this year :)

7. Idiot - Despite Crucified Barbara and Pain of Salvation’s qualification I don’t think the voters will go for this Green Day soundalike.

8. Hollow - it’s the best draw position in the whole of Melodifestivalen and that counts for an awful lot. Unfortunately it’s one of these big building showstopping ballads which will no doubt have a few key changes to spare....but dare I say it left me, um, ‘hollow’?

Predictions: It's all about name-recognition this week, so the much-loved Peter and Pernilla will effortlessly sail through to Globen; Andra Chansen is wide open, but if they put in good vocal performances it very likely will be Sibel and Anna. I want "Human Frontier" though!!

SVT har lagt ut 1-minuters snuttar av låtarna i den kommande delfinal i Malmö. I går upptäcktes det att två av låtarna hade läckt ut, nämligen Peter Jöbacks och Sibels bidrag. Ett tag hotades låtarna av diskvalificering men efter att SVT konstaterat att orsaken är ett internt handläggningsfel så publicerar man istället alla åtta tävlande. På så sätt undviker man att Jöback och Sibel får en fördel. För de tidigare delfinalerna har låtarna lagts ut dagen innan.

Lyssna på låtarna här:
http://svt.se/2.123451/1.1870509/

Slovenien och Malta har valt sina bidrag i helgen. Jag hade gärna åkt på Eurovision Song Contest till Ljubljana nästa år men efter att ha kollat in deras final så lär det inte bli så. Årets vinnarlår ”Narodno zabavni rock” med Anzambel Roka Žlindere & Kalamari verkar vara fight mellan tjejen som gillar folkmusik, följaktligen iklädd i folkdräkt och rockkillen i skinnpaj (givetvis) som gör allt för att charma henne. Dethär är någon sorts 80-tals rockpastisch med folkmusik. Det är två låtar i en och jag blir alldeles mållös och vet inte vad jag tycka. Bedöm själva:


På lilla öriket Malta tar man Eurovision Song Contest på största allvar. I lördagens final tävlade 20 låtar och unga fröken Thea Garrett tog hem segern med operaballaden "My Dreams". Därmed fortsätter hon Maltas balladtradition som till stor del präglats av Chiara. Vackert men jag tror inte det blir nån resa till Malta heller i nästa år.


Källa/foto: SVT, Thea Garrett, rtvslo

Had a brilliant Saturday night when the Ace Gang came round for an evening of ribald entertainment :) We did some lovely niblets and I conjured up a super tasty desert treat or two for the folks while we chatted and laughed and listened to music and told stories; then played an increasingly filthy game of Balderdash. I always end up being really obvious for using the words 'spaff', 'chuff', 'squirt' and (apparently revolting) 'clunge) in nearly all my answers (I blame the white wine spritzer). Then because everyone was leaning on old copies of Attitude Mag, the game kept getting derailed as they judged which pages had been fingered the most! Crikey! Was absolutely brilliant night though which left me feeling oddly melancholy on Sunday. We aren't all able to get together as often as I would like and although I see them individually fairly regularly, it's just lovely when we are all together. So played lots of lovely Dusty Springfield today including of course the amazing well known stuff like You Don't Have To Say You Love Me, I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself and Son of a Preacher Man, as well as some of the lesser known (I think) songs such as the heavenly What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life. Then of course that put me in the mood for some Carpenters, including my all time favourite song of theirs I Need To Be In Love which just gets me to the very core every time. Heavy sigh - just such gorgeous voices and timeless pop with such heart and emotion poured into it ~ made it a lazy, lovely, memory filled Sunday afternoon...
(PS ~ Both Dusty and Karen Carpenter deserve much much longer posts than this!)

TOP 21 SONGS OF THE WEEK:

21 ~ Robbie Williams, Morning Sun (NE)
20 ~ Alphabeat, Hole In My Heart
19 ~ JLS, One Shot
18 ~ Ryan Ferrada, Room 501
17 ~ Hugh Sheridan, All About Me
16 ~ Hurts, Blood Tears & Gold
15 ~ Donkeyboy, Ambitions
14 ~ Nerina Pallot, When Did I Become Such A Bitch?
13 ~ Natalie Imbruglia, Scars
12 ~ Leona Lewis, I Got You
11 ~ The Pipettes, Stop The Music
10 ~ Bjorn Johan Muri, Yes Man (NE)
09 ~ Mika, Rain
08 ~ Jason Mraz, Kicking With You
07 ~ Matt Morris, Money
06 ~ Barenaked Ladies, You Run Away
05 ~ Simon Curtis, Diablo
04 ~ Marina & The Diamonds, Hollywood
03 ~ Music Go Music, Light of Love
02 ~ Boyzone, Gave It All Away
01 ~ Elouise, Fireman of my Dreams (3 weeks)

Vinnarna i Melodifestivalens deltävling 3 blev förhandsfavoriten Darin och gräsflickona Timoteij som får nonstop biljetter till Globen. Äntligen en skräll som heter duga. Alcazar verkar vara den eviga andra-chansen-aspiranten som tillsammans med Crucified Barbara får ta en mellanlandning i Örebro.
Som tidigare påpekats så var detta omgångens starkaste startfältet och det var också upplagt för en balladfight. I förhandssnacket aspirerade Timoteij på en plats i andra chansen men knappast trodde någon att de skulle få kvällens högsta poäng och segla in till finalen som ett luftigt försommarmoln . Vid ytterligare genomlyssning så innehåller låten en dos ingredienser som en schlagerlåt i tiden bör ha. Lite svenskt, lite balkan-etno, "Ruslana-trummor", ett oskyldigt framträdande av fyra blonda söta tjejer som håller instrument i händerna. Detta kan bli riktigt farligt i finalen!
En kort resumé ger följande vid handen:
Kvällens skräll: Timoteij
Kvällens rymdchock: Elin Lanto och "Doctor Doctor".
Kvällens konstigaste framträden: Också Elin Lanto och hennes 3 skyltdockor med blixtrande ögonhålor.
Kvällen tjatigaste låt: Elin Lanto och Doctor Doctor". 2007 tävlade Lanto i Melodifestivalen med låten "Money". Undrar om hennes rop på doktorn beror på att pengarna är slut.
Kvällens mesigaste: Utan tvekan Erik Linder trista låt ”Hur kan jag tro på kärlek”.
Kvällens blåast fejkögon: Det blir en jämn kamp mellan Blue Man Group som uppträdde under rösträkningen och Erik Linders linser.
Kvällens snyggaste kläder: Getty Domain
Kvällens roligaste: Att Crucified Barbara får en chans till.

Alcazar borde få utmärkelsen för lång och trogen tjänst.Kör hårt i andra chansen. Ni är värda en finalplats!

Källa/foto: SVT, SR
PS: Tänk om Timoteij tar hem vinsten, hamnar i final i Oslo tillsammans med Finlands Kuunkuiskaajat. Det vore nästan som en landskamp i ishockey. Folkmusik med etnoinslag och blonda sångerskor spelandes dragspel. Förhoppningsvis sjungandes på svenska och finska.

OK after I've heard all the songs tonight, here are my predictions:

To Globen: Darin & Alcazar
To Andra Chansen: Timoteij and Erik Linder.

Based on only one listen...

"Headlines" - Alcazar: the verse isn't really promising, but it goes into a Alca-tastic stompy chorus and I think the minute they take to the stage they will sell, sell, sell this one. On first hearing I don't like it as much as "Stay The Night" though.

"Tonight" - Johannes Bah Kuhnke: not really much going on if this clip was anything to go by - a bit repetitive but it might be ok on the night, bit Robbie Williams-sounding.

"Doctor Doctor" - Elin Lanto: I know she has a lot of fans and I'd like her to do well, especially with such a good writing team, but it's a bit standard Britney-pop off the conveyor belt. Again it will be all down to the performance.

"Hur Kan Jag Tro På Kärlek" - Erik Linder: I really don't know which way this will go - the fact that Kenneth Gardestad is one of the songwriters may swing it, plus the fact that he was in "Sweden's Got Talent" - it's a nice song, maybe a little boring though.

"Yeba" - Getty Domein: You get the idea that this is going to be one of those weeks where the songs are falling well short of expectations, and it will all be down to the stage performances. Same goes for this: it's different, and that may work for it. Or maybe not.

"Kom" - Timoteij: Sarek-style turbo-Swedish-folk-pop. Again I'm sitting on the fence :))

"You're Out Of My Life" - Darin: arguably the most eagerly awaited entry in this year's contest...but despite the nice dramatic feel, the end result is a bit Westlife-by-the-numbers and a little reminiscent of "What About Now" (although I quite like that song) - anyway he's going all the way to Globen, and I'm looking forward to seeing him anyway.

"Heaven Or Hell" - Crucified Barbara: good draw position which might sneak in and grab a qualifying position. It's girly emo-rock which wouldn't be out of place on a teen-flick soundtrack.

So this week it's harder than ever to predict who's qualifying and going where .....anyway I'll have a guess that the Swedish viewing public will go for the established names this week and send Darin direct to Globen, then Alcazar will win the second round vote and take the second Globen place.

To Andra Chansen: Crucified Barbara and either Erik Linder or Timoteij.

(But I will probably be wrong!!)

You can always tell when it's going to be a good weekend. I finished work early. There was hardly any queue in Starbucks. I got some great new I've got great boots boots. A backlog of Entertainment Weekly all arrived at once. Ruthiepoos & LoobieLoo and BurnIce are coming over tomorrow. Monday is two whole days away. Yes, it's all feeling quite right and proper. So here are lots of things that you might want to investigate should you have a few minutes this weekend. By the way, I heard a new song this week that is a secret. It is brilliant though.

THINGS YOU MIGHT LIKE:

The Hurly Burly Show: Miss Polly Rae isn't a new pop act per se; more of a new experience that must be seen. She launches her west end burlesque show this very weekend and with people like Steve Anderson & Terry Ronald involved (creative types that I really admire), it promises to be something quite marvelous indeed. Channelling the spirit of the amazing Ruth Wallis, but with a more curious rack, Polly Rae (Miss) has whipped up (literally I'm sure) a show full of titillation, sensation and musical delights and packed it with a stageful of buff and bronzed dancing boys and girls, whose every shimmy will have the audience tingling in delight. I hear the musical arrangements are quite magnificent so if you're in London this week, you absolutely must pop along and let me live vicariously through you. Oh, and of course fizzypop fave the gorgeous Elouise is providing a stunning support set and I have it on good authority that the Steve Anderson arrangements of her music would have sent me into a cardiac tizzy. The Stardust EP review is coming...

Diana Vickers: I wrote about her quite fine Once single not so long back so you know my admiration of her music is a bit of a turnaround for me. Well betcha by golly wow, like Alex Gardner, her album sampler promises some really exciting stuff ahead. The amazingly titled Boy Who Murdered Love is a punchy little number with a driving beat, restrained wistful verses and then it's all in for the feisty chorus with it's "shot shot shot like a bullet" refrain; My Hips is a million miles removed from that indie-rocker and places Diana in a euro-dance vein, one that she handles incredibly well - it's a lot more lively than I expected her to be and a lot more fun. And of course anything Nerina Pallot touches (in this case, the mid tempo Put It Back Together Again) is five by five with me. 4 out of the 5 songs on the sampler are more than strong enough to be future singles and I suspect I'll be quite enamoured of her full debut proper.

Heidi Cullinan: The name probably rings a bell (wife of Dan, writer of her own blog and other amazing things). What you might not know (but should) is that Heidi currently has not one, but two novels currently in print. Now I've been a bit limited in my reading of gay fiction (it's usually David Levithan or Alex Sanchez), but Heidi has lured me with tales of escaping reality through fantasy (and threesomes) in Special Delivery and mystical forces at play in Hero, a story so engrossing you are pulled in and left satisfied yet with a strange craving for more. And as they are available for e-download, you can grab them straight away. Whaddya waiting for?

QUICK BITZ PLAY LIST:

• Screaming Maldini ~ I Know That You Know That I Would Wipe A Teardrop From Your Eye: From the song title along, this new indie-esque band get a huge thumbs up from me. On their EP (And The Kookabura Sings) they have weaved an eclectic mix of sounds through their tunes that shows they are not afraid of taking chances and spicing things up with a bit of variety. For me, this song was a stand out and one i've had on repeat all week. The song is positively thrust forward by some persuasive drums and an upbeat sultry sixties brass section. It's juxtaposed with some rather sad lyrics making it a giddy, yet heartbreaking experience over all - while it works incredibly while, I yearn for a stripped down acoustic version to compare it to. Rather special indeed.
• J Marie Cooper ~ Kissing A Porn Star: Frankly I'm a bit bored of everyone trying to copy Lady G'Gah and failing to deliver anything remotely interesting. J Marie (who has recently been played on Larry Flick's Sirius OutQ) doesn't have that problem. Her ace pop tune is delivered with such verve and energy, that her personality absolutely shines through both in the energetic almost rawk verses, and singalong chorus. It's got a hook that keeps on giving and an overall feel that carefully balances the rock chick and playful pop elements of the song. Tsk on the dude who kissed a porn star, though we've all been there haven't we?! :P
• 2AM Club ~ Worry About You: 2AM Club are another act offering free downloads the more their twitter followers increase. Their latest offering remind me somewhat of Maroon 5 inasmuch as it's an instantly radio friendly, laid back band driven pop tune (with some jarring rapped middle 8 that becomes better each time you hear it) and a knack for creating a great melody and chorus. Elements of funk, hip hop and a soulful vocal performance from Marc Griffin all permeate the song and make it an utterly enjoyable after dinner treat. More please.
• Capra ~ Low Day: OK, i keep pretty quiet about loving shows like MI High, Half Moon Investigations and Aaron Stone. But I can stay silent no longer - Kelly Blatz (star of aforementioned Aaron Stone) has a band and their song Low Day (which I found about courtesy of Nick) is pretty darn corking. It's not exactly the tune you'd expect from a disney star - it's actually a confidently swaggering handclapping feel good tune reminiscent of The Days. It probably sounds absolutely immense live - it has a real "audience participation" feel about it, which is always a winner in my book. Totally made for brightening up these gloomy winter mornings...
• Jimmy Robbins ~ Gonna Get Better: Another pleasant surprise. Jimmy has the perfect face for a cheesy pop star career, ideal for churning out one faceless forgettable tune after another. Stand by to be stunned because Jimmy actually has a solid collection of guitar-centric pop tunes that rely on all the elements good pop should have - a hooky chorus, strong vocal, smidgeon of novelty in the melody and something that just makes you want to smile. His album See Through Secrets is chock full of songs like this, but if you want to check out one prior to investing, be sure to look up Gonna Get Better. It will wiggle it's way into your brain, kickstart your synapses and make sure you don't forget it in a hurry.

Back sunday with a melodifestivalen themed weekly round up!