Lopez Blogs

Danmark: Chanée & N'evergreen ” In A Moment Like This”
Danmark är i ledning lite här och var. Det är inte bara Eurovision fansen som gillar Danmarks låt med Tomas N’evergeen og Chanée i år. Även bookmakers tror på dem och är därför inte villiga att betala speciellt mycket till de som lägger sina slantar på landet. Det ryktas till och med att dansk TV har bokat Parken i maj nästa år. Vet ej om jag ska tro på det. Fler än en gång har det visat sig att förhandsfavoriterna inte alltid lever upp till förväntningarna.

Skulle Danmark vinna så blir det ju som en svenskseger eftersom låten är skriven av en välkänd skara schlagerkompositörer: Thomas G:son, Henrik Sethsson & Erik Bernholm. En annan intressant aspekt är att denna låt har ratats av den svenska Melodifestivalsjuryn. På ren Finlandssvenska kan man fråga sin om inte det 'harmar' SVT en smula.

”In A Moment Like This” är en mainstream, midtempo popsång som är ganska käck och trallvänlig och passar ypperligt för radio. Jag hör den nästa varje dag och tycker den är helt ok om än lite karaktärslös. Egentligen är det en ganska typisk eurovisionslåt enligt det "gamla" klassificeringssättet med slutmodulationen på plats. Den bör därför tilltala ESC-traditionalisterna. Danmark startar som nummer 4 i semifinal 2.

Medverkat i ESC: Sedan 1957 men avbrott mellan 1967-1977 och 1994, 1996, 1998, 2003.
Bästa placering: Har vunnit två gånger: 1963 Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann ”Dansevise”  och 2001 med Bröderna Olsen ”Fly On The Wings Of Love”.
Min personliga favorit: Har många favoriter men måste jag välja en blir det fjolårets låt med Brinck ”Believe Again” (bild till vänster)



Källa/foto: www.eurovision.tv, www.tv2oj.dk

This weekend is kind of a big one as it represents a few significant milestones in my life. To commemorate these, Darren and I are going away to "the north" to stay in a nice B&B (not featured on tv's 3 In A Bed) and doing lots of exotic stuff, like seeing Jane McDonald live! Anyway, here are some of the things I am celebrating over the next few days...

• May 1st is 10 years since i got the all clear from the big Cancer...
• May 3rd is not only my birthday, but also 10 years since I met Darren, when i was all bald still and blotchy from treatment :)
• He loved me anyway because May 6th is our 10th anniversary!!

So that's all rather splendid. I'll be computer free (by choice! Gasp!) for a few days, but feel free to leave comments, say hello on twitter, email me. I like to come back to a plethora of e-ness! Right, here's some stuff to tide you over :)

Video magnificence:

• Mans Zelmerlow & Maria Haukass ~ Precious To Me: I happen to think lovely Mans is one of the finest specimen of man to walk the planet. Plus he puts out stonkingly good pop music, which always delights me. He's back duetting with Maria on a song from her album, which is basically not only a rather lovely modern take on Kylie & Jason's Especially For You in aural form, but a visual nod of the head to it too. Mans looks heavenly in his shirt/tie/cardi combo while Maria struts around in killer heels giving some vixen colour to the mix. It's ever so dreamy and romantic and the perfect song to soundtrack the weekend ahead :) More please, more...
• Alphabeat ~ DJ (I Could Be Dancing): The title in parenthesis works much better as the official song title for me. Possibly because it then puts it in line with epics like SS I Don't Feel Like Dancing and SD If You Can't Dance. Both aces. The remix makes it a bit fresher, a bit funkier and the video - well Stine and Anders both look great. Loving the loose limbed tambourine playing :)
• Alexandra Burke ~ All Night Long: Oh dear. The beginning sounds like Don't Stop Gleelieving. The chorus sounds like a bit of a reheat of Paparazzi. No one else agrees with me on this theory. I still quite like the song though. The video is a slightly more frenetic, less polite, debauched version of Steps' Stomp... (And Alexandra has way to much eye makeup on)! PS I do love a piano at a party. I always go down well when there is one :)
• Hurts ~ Better Than Love: I initially fell much more in love with Blood Tears & Gold but I'm willing to cheat on it with this song. What i love about this video is that it puts the formal nature associated with a suit outfit and puts it against a more sleazy, underworld background. The two boys both look beautiful and the song is a slow growing, mid paced ditty that on a few listens becomes an absolute belter :)

Things I am looking forward to...

• The video to Sergey Lazarev's single Alarm - the thought of the vid (still above) has halted it's decline down my charts for several reasons. He has robbed my new hair"do" from last week; he ALWAYS looks good in a tie; those boots are quite amazing; it might invigorate and give new life to the song. Aces.
• Brandon Flowers solo album - oh yum yum indeed. I shall miss the Killers til they return but this will be a lovely interlude hopefully. D'Luv has all the details - I just hope it does better than my beloved Preston Ordinary Boy :(
• New singles by the Scissor Sisters and Kylie have me anxiously awaiting the first radio play - both have the potential to be utterly massive. The internet may very well explode. Check out XO for some scisster love...
• JLS are already moving onto a second album and have a new single out in early July. It's called The Club Is Alive and apparently samples The Sound of Music. I suspect in more of a I'm Too Sexy Sugababes way than a Gwen Stefani Wind it Up sort of way. I'm just said they haven't covered KLS... "JLS are gonna rock ya/ancients of mumu"; now that would be ace...
• Once the black smoke (monster) has settled over the Lost finale, season 3 of Tru Blood starts. Cannot. Wait!

Top 21 tracks of the week:

21 ~ Diana Vickers, Once
20 ~ Bjorn Johan Muri, Yes Man
19 ~ Gravitonas, Kites (NE)
18 ~ Music Go Music, Light of Love
17 ~ Donkeyboy, Sometimes
16 ~ Sergey Lazarev, Alarm
15 ~ Darin, You're Out Of My Life
14 ~ Kimberley Locke, Strobelight
13 ~ Alcazar, Headlines
12 ~ Mika, Kick Ass
11 ~ Ola, Unstoppable
10 ~ Candle Thieves, We're All Gonna Die
09 ~ Neo, Human Frontier
08 ~ Simon Curtis, Super Psycho Love
07 ~ Mariah Carey, 100%
06 ~ Sophie Ellis Bextor, Bittersweet
05 ~ DeeDee, Endure
04 ~ Maria Mena, All This Time
03 ~ Gabriella Cilmi, On A Mission
02 ~ Adam Tyler, Friction
01 ~ Eric Saade, Manboy (1 week)

back early next week catching up with aceness from Miley, Music Go Music, foxy shazam, the ark, etc...

Kimberley Locke, in a nutshell, is very brilliant indeed. She was my standout contestant from the last proper American Idol season I watched (year 2) and hasn't disappointed me since. So I was delighted to learn that she would be putting some feisty new music out preceeding a no doubt magnificent album from her. Strobelight is a glittering, thrilling disco extravaganza drenched in retro rhythms, a percolating beat and a super chorus that dances like the sunlight on a rippling river. It takes you back to a time when satin shorts and roller skates were the norm at the disco rink - in fact it may be the most 70s infused track since the glorious Step Back In Time by Kylie of Minogue. While to me it sounds completely heavenly in it's original radio mix, you may like something a bit more up to date, and for those people there are a whole plethora of rocking remixes available on iTunes. Kimberley's done well in the past with dance remixes of her songs, so concentrating on the uptempo is no doubt a wise career move - yet when done in such an engaging manner, it doesn't feel like a career move at all. Just lovely aural popcorn...

Best of the past:

• 8th World Wonder (from One Love) ~ one of the most uplifting pop songs ever to come from an idol alumni. Totally sterling from start to finish, it set out Kimberley's stall as an artist who wanted classic pop tunes rather than bowing to current trends or fads...
• Fall (from Based On A True Story) ~ not only a stirring, emotive, deliciously heartbreakingly delivered ballad, but in it's rather good Bimbo Jones mix, a thumping dance anthem as well! Peter Cox of Go West fame has just recorded this for his latest solo album, fact fans...
• We Need A Little Christmas (from Christmas) ~ Everything about Kimberley's Christmas project was so timeless and classic that it was perfect listening for just about every holiday season since it's release. This track from Mame was the icing on the christmas cake, the angel on the top of the tree :)

Back at the weekend with a mammoth wrap up!

I just found out this afternoon, whilst browsing the web during my afternoon tea break at work, that Eddie Razaz, one of the most beautiful men in Sweden, has come out. He announced in an interview to QX magazine that he is gay.

9 hours later....*still blubbing into my straight-woman hankies: obviously I was too much in love with him to notice that the batteries in my gaydar needed replacing*

Straight-woman-blubbing aside, I'm very happy for him so let's celebrate a "beautiful day" with one of Eddie's Idol performances from last year's competition....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwBTLR8Mo9I

Finally...

Slovenia: "NARODNOZABAVNI ROCK" - ANSAMBEL ZLINDRA & KALAMARI: another trip into the Eurovisional timewarp. Terrifying blend of Soviet-era rock and folksy, em, folk. Unfortunately Slovenia doesn’t seem to get the same points-swapping as its ex-Yugo neighbours and this just sounds like them sticking two fingers up and, I guess, doing what they want and not caring about the result?

Ireland: "IT’S FOR YOU" - NIAMH KAVANAGH: I suppose I should say nice things about this as it’s written by the same fan-group responsible for "Someday", but unfortunately it’s not as schlager-tastic as that, rather it’s another "You Raise Me Up"-variation. She is a good singer though and will deliver a faultless performance on the night. But will it be enough?

Bulgaria: "ANGEL SI TI" - MIRO: There is something very appealing about this....it’s got the 90s euphoric-dance vibe right, it’s got a little bit of the ‘Tornero’ about it too, and he looks very nice in the video. It reminds me of "Tokyo" by Danny Saucedo, which can only be a good thing. And it makes me think of Nek, for some reason, as well. Anyway it’s the kind of Europop I like to see at ESC.

Cyprus: "LIFE LOOKS BETTER IN SPRING" - JON LILYGREEN & THE ISLANDERS: Now this is very very nice indeed. A very pleasant contemporary acoustic-flavoured mid tempo ballad,with performed by an appealing young man from....Wales! Not very Cypriot then, but this year I think they can be very proud of their entry and it will hopefully get more votes than the usual 12 points from Greece ;)
　
Croatia: "LAKO JE SVE" - FEMINNEM: this would be the same Feminnem who represented B-H, right? I have a problem with big Balkan ballads, as they are usually all drama and no significant hooks for me. This is probably no different, but it’s quite strong and contemporary enough to pick up votes from all corners of Europe. In with a big chance.

Georgia: "SHINE" - SOPHO NIZHARADZE: Another pretty brunette with a mediocre, contemporary ballad. That’s the best I can say really: there’s nothing too wrong with it, but it washes over me and I wouldn’t really bother if I never heard it again. It also faces some tough competition in this semi-final.

Turkey: "WE COULD BE THE SAME" - maNga: whilst I wait for my unfulfilled dream of Tarkan representing Turkey, I’ll settle for the country’s biggest rock band doing their duty. This is maybe not my favourite Turkish ESC entry (the ska-tastic "For Real" by Athena from 2004 continues to hold that honour) but again it’s different from the usual and that’s enough to get my attention.

And finally, the "Big 4" who, along with host nation Norway, qualify directly to the final:

France: "ALLEZ OLA OLE" - Jessy Matador: Oh flippin’ eck, it sounds like one of those Magic System songs which always get in the French charts during the summer :) Anyway it’s catchy and it got me tapping the old feet. However it will probably alienate the traditional ESC voters and won’t repeat the Patricia Kaas result of last year. Or I could be totally wrong - maybe the voters might want a party-song among all those mid-tempo ballads this year?

Germany: "SATELLITE" - LENA: Almost 3 million views on YouTube: it’s looking good for the young winner of the talent show to find this year’s German entrant. Incredibly contemporary by ESC standards, it sits very well within the current fashion for quirky female singers, however whether this will translate to the traditionalists is another thing. Her voice is an acquired taste, to say the least. But I can’t get the song out of my head...

Spain: "ALGO PEQUENITO" - DANIEL DIGES: First things first: he’s quite easy on the eye, and he has lovely curly hair (which is usually a deal-breaker for me) but I’m not letting this cloud my judgement. Because for some reason this carousel-style soundtrack still annoys me. It’s extremely theatrical, which could either work very well or be over-staged and totally kill its chances. Who knows?

Norway: "MY HEART IS YOURS" - DIDRIK SOLLI-TANGEN: All together..."you raise me uuuuuup...." Co-written by that well-known native of Oslo, Fredrik Kempe (!). This is one of this year’s big hitters and a very strong (and not entirely unattractive) contender to defend Norway’s honour, even if (IMHO) I’d rather have seen A1 or Alexander Stenerud, or Bjorn Johan Muri for that matter, doing the honours. It’s a poor draw position, but I think he will do his country proud on the night.

United Kingdom: "THAT SOUNDS GOOD TO ME" - JOSH DUBOVIE: um, no, it doesn’t actually. How do I begin to imagine all the happy faces I’d like to see? Well don’t worry Josh, because you won’t see them, they’ll all be too busy squirming and wondering why one of the world’s most influential musical nations (well maybe not at the moment, but we were once) gleefully f***s it up again when it comes to Eurovision. Poor Josh: another lamb to the ESC slaughter. Being the Millwall of Eurovision (no-one likes us, etc etc) we’ll be back in the bottom half of the scoreboard without any question. No one likes us....but I just wish somebody cared enough to give us an entry to be proud of, for once!

Josh Dubovie är Storbritanniens representant i Oslo och hans låt ”That Sounds Good To Me” är skriven av de Brittiska popgiganterna Pete Waterman, Mike Stock och Steve Crosby. Josh passade på att debutsjunga den slutliga versionen av sin låt i samband med förra helgens Pre-Eurovision event i Zaandam-Amsterdam. Direkt efter framförande fick jag möjlighet att intervjua honom och få hans egna kommentarer till låten och ESC i allmänhet. Ifjol stod musikalgurun Andrew Lloyd Webber för bidraget och det gav landet en hedervärd 5:e plats. Josh medger att han känner en viss press på sina 19-åriga axlar.

Många har väntat på att få höra hur ditt bidrag egentligen ska låta. Hur kändes det att äntligen få framföra din slutliga version av “That Sounds Good To Me”?
Jag är otroligt glad över att låten äntligen är på plats och publiken gav ett fantastiskt gensvar.

Vad är skillnaden mellan låt nu och den du framförde i brittiska finalen?
Kompositörerna Waterman, Stock och Crosby skrev en låt som skulle fungera för sex olika artister. När det blev klart att jag vann så har de skrivit om låten och anpassat den till mig och min röst. Man har också lagt till ett tuffare beat i bakgrunden.

Känner du dig mer komfortabel med den här versionen?
Ja absolut. Nu känns det att det är min låt istället för någon annans. Det är otroligt viktig att jag och låten hör ihop i ett så pass viktigt sammanhang som Eurovision. Jag hoppas också att alla andra ska gilla den nya versionen.

Hur är det att jobba tillsammans med superkända låtskrivare som Stock, Waterman och Crosby?
Det är en ära och ett privilegium. De har väl cirka 200 hits bakom sig vilket är ett fenomen i sig. Jag har haft en fantastisk tid fram tills nu och jag hoppas få chansen att jobba med dem även i framtiden.

Hur kommer din show att bli i Oslo – blir den annorlunda än i den brittiska finalen?
Produktioner och scenframträdandet är helt nytt. Vi kommer att ha full styrka på scenen, dvs. 6 personer som sjunger backing vocals och dansar. Hela scenytan används och vi kommer att ha olika nivåer som vi rör oss emellan. Dessutom ska vi använda vindmaskinen!

Blir det några fler promotion resor förutom denna till Amsterdam?
Kommande helg är det en motsvarande Pre-Eurovision på The Shadow Lounge i London. Egentligen skulle jag vilja besöka att medverkande länder i Eurovision men det är praktiskt omöjligt. Min förhoppning är att det åtminstone blir några till. Jag har också en del TV-framträdanden inbokade.
(Här på fotot poserar Josh med Nederländernas Sieneke)
Har du tid för nåt annat just nu?
Nej det har jag inte. Mitt fokus är 100% Eurovision och kommer så att vara fram till den 29 maj.

Har du följt Eurovision under tidigare år?
Ja det har jag har fått mer fokus på tävlingen sedan jag började sjunga för tre år sedan. När jag var barn brukar vi sitta framför TV i vardagsrummet och speciellt minns jag Katarina and The Waves. Eurovision är för mig en positiv tillställning och jag är otroligt glad att få representera mitt land i år.

Har du någon favorit ESC låt eller artist?
Katarina and the Waves som jag nämnde tidigare och även “Waterloo” med ABBA. Och jag älskade verkligen fjolårets vinnarlåt med Alexander Rybak. Det är en verklig kvalitetslåt som går direkt ”under your skin” och man kommer ihåg den. Jag träffade Alexander i samband med vår uttagning och jag hoppas träffa honom igen i Oslo. Han har ju vunnit tävlingen och det är alltid bra att kunna utbyta erfarenheter.

Ifjol var det Jade som representerade Storbritannien och det gick väldigt bra för henne. Känner du någon prestationspress?
Absolut. Jade bröt isen och höjde kvalitén tillsammans med Andrew Lloyd Webber och de gjorde det mycket bra. Vem vet vad som kommer att hända i år. Det handlar ju om hur folk röstar under finalkvällen.

Storbritannien är ju en av ”The big four” vilket innebär att ni inte behöver kvalificera er. Är det en fördel eller nackdel?
Det är en fördel att vara garanterad finalplats men också en nackdel att inte synas och höras i någon semifinal. Det kan innebära att de som röstar bara får en chans att höra låten.

Tack till Josh för denna intervju, som gjordes av Lilian runt midnattstimmarna mellan 24-25 april.
Lycka till i finalen i Oslo!



Foto: Lilian, JP

I do adore the outrageous pop empressario known as Alexander Bard. He has had his finger well and truly in the pie of many brilliant pop groups including Army of Lovers, Vacuum and most recently BWO (the artists formerly known as Bodies Without Organs). The latter group I think was one of the defining pop groups AND pop statements of the first decade of the new millenium. The music was always infernally catchy, mostly impressively creative and the videos always visually arresting. What more could a boy want, other than perhaps the UK recognising them for the pop genuis they are. Sigh. Anyway, Alexander has moved onto a new group for the time being called Gravitonas. They are different to BWO but equally pleasing based on the first single. Do read on for more...

Gravitonas ~ Kites: When I first heard that Alexander was setting up a new rock band, I was a little bit hesitant to say the least. I certainly needn't have worried. Kites isn't a rock song in the traditional sense, although it does have stadium sized concert qualities to it - it would absolutely sound immense blasting out across a field at a summer festival. What you have here is a song that instantly grabs you with it's viva-la-vida-meets-untouchable vibe and an ably delivered engaging vocal by Andreas. It gently builds into a solid electronic trance anthem with a glorious chorus, that is both memorable and soaring. Amidst the electronica is some lovely piano work, a pleasing and pleasant guitar riff, and some wonderful sounding strings. It could all get a bit kitchen-sinky but it's strung together magnificently and works ever so well. There's even a choir added on at the end, which is a little bit Right Here Right Now meets Robbie's Bodies, but overall does work within the confines of the song. And the luscious key change of course is brilliant. So yes, I adore and hope to hear much much more from the latest Bard project in the coming months...

Best Bits:

• 31 seconds ~ the guitar riff kicks in, joining the pretty piano plinkings that dominate the first half minute...
• 1m16 seconds ~ the strings join the mix and it's all a little bit glorious really...
• 1m30 - 1m35 seconds ~ there is a brief pause, then everything that has been building up to this point all blends together for a rather euphoric second verse. Aces...
• Im50 seconds ~ It goes proper full on pop-rave, a bit like Girls Aloud's Untouchable...
• 3m25 seconds ~ the choir starts "ooo"ing in the background. It's a nice subtle addition at first, but builds up...
• 3m38 seconds ~ ... for a few seconds until they sing the final line "the kites won't make you fly". Indeed

Best Bard:

• Army of Lovers ~ Crucified: Imagine the bonkers drama of Erasure's uh Drama mixed with the high camp of Ms Minogue's Better The Devil You Know and mixed with Like A Prayer and you aren't even half way to experiencing the epic sound of AoL greatest tune. Still sounds utterly fresh and magnificent to this day...
• Vacuum ~ I Breathe: Their first single is also their most pleasing; a delicious piece of electro synth that was years ahead of it's time and could easily be covered today and sound completely relevant.
• BWO ~ Chariots of Fire: Everything that BWO epitomised is in this perfect slice of summery pop. Immense chorus, clever lyrics, great video - they were at the peak of their game when they released this gem...

Tomorrow(ish): Kimberley Locke!

Ah, what a lovely weekend this has been. It has seen the civil partnership of one of my very best friends Ruth to the very lovely indeed Lou. Darren and I had the honour of being the best men, and despite the stress and trauma over the speech, that was all forgotten on the actual day. The ceremony was heavenly (though no religion allowed of course), the setting delightful, the speeches went down a treat, and the whole day was just magnificent (particularly the discovery of a Port based drink called Cheeky Vimto. Amazeballs). So enjoy some photos of people you don't really know, enjoy the speech below and enjoy love (how cheesy) because i think if you look for it, love, actually, is all around :P

BEST MEN'S SPEECH:

Paul: Hello ladies and gentlemen and variations there of. I hope you can all hear me at the back? If you can't, the silence from the people at the front should reassure you that you're not really missing out on much!! Now if I could just start with some audience participation... if you can all shuffle forward a little bit in your seats. That's it, don't be shy. Now if everyone on the left side of the room could give me a big "ooo" - that's it! And everyone on the right, if you could give me an "aah"! Brilliant. There you go, Ruth & Lou, I told you I'd have everyone oohing and aahing on the edge of their seats :)

Sadly that's about as funny as the speech gets today so if you could all just laugh when I raise my right hand in the air we will get through this a lot quicker. No doubt most of you know that we are Paul and Darren, the best men of Ruth and Lou. However, my full name is Paul-would-you-like-a-drink. I do hope you will use it when you are standing next to me at the bar later on!!


We are thrilled and honoured to be the best men of Ruth and Lou. According to tradition, the first of my tasks is to thank certain people for their contribution today. Frankly, I think they have had it easy - standing around, pouting, preening their hair and looking pretty, but without them today would not have been the same. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you... the fathers of the brides, Keith and John (rapturous applause, etc)...

I've been asked to keep this speech clean and free of any of my usual smutty sexual innuendo, so if there's anything the slightest bit risque - well you know me, i'll whip it straight out!! So with that said, I better hand over to Darren!!

Darren: Hello everyone. I have to confess I'm a bit nervous about this speech. I do feel comforted by the fact that I actually rehearsed this in front of a live audience yesterday. Yes, I nipped into the local old people's home and they absolutely loved it. Well - they pissed themselves anyway...

I've researched the responsibilities of being the best man to a lesbian couple. I trawled the internet for hours and found some great stuff. Then I remembered that I was meant to be looking up best man speeches, not tittering at bad Britain's Got Talent auditions...

Typing in "lesbian speeches" into google is a bit of an eye opener, I'll tell you that for nothing! I eventually ended up in a chatroom where a lovely lass called Brenda (with a five o clock shadow) told me I was the most feminine girl she had chatted to in ages! SCORE!! Anyway, she told me to present you with something called a furry cup!! I have no idea what this is - Ruth, Lou would you perhaps like to explain to people how on earth you drink from a furry cup?!?!

It turns out my main job here is to sing Lou's praises and tell you what a great girl she is. As I can't sing and I shouldn't lie, this will be a very short speech! I also discovered that the speech should be shorter than it takes the bride to down a four pack of lager, so already I'm way way over!!


Rather brilliantly, I first met Lou at my own civil partnership to Paul. It was a ridiculously hot day and Lou and I bonded over a couple of guests at the reception we became very fond of - Stella and Becks! They were great - tall, blonde, cool and Lou tells me they went down a treat! Trouble was, we could never agree whose round was next...

We further cemented our friendship over what I was told would be a luxury spa break in North Wales. Turned out to be a weekend playing Balderdash in a plumbed in caravan in prestatyn sands :/ I was struck by Lou's sensible nature and practical approach to life. The four of us were walking along a nice river, when rather inconsiderately the path stopped and turned into a rocky free for all. Before I even had chance to turn around to ask if we were carrying on, Lou was already halfway back down the path with a cheery yell of "bugger that! I'm off to the pub for an ice cream and a pint!!" - which was where we found her half an hour later when we all finally realised that this had been the best idea all along...

I did ask Lou's mom and dad if they had any cute photos of her from her past that I could show today. They did have this really cute one of her lying on a sheepskin rug, gurgling, eating a chocolate biscuit and dribbling. I was going to blow it up to show you all today, but it was a bit too much - they did after all only take it last wednesday!!

I did want to say that Lou is always a delight to be around - she's funny, giving, caring and yes, can drink me under the table. And Lou, you look stunning. I'm so glad I talked you out of the dungarees and doc martyns idea :P It's been lovely being your best man today - so thank you, and I'll hand you back to Paul...

PAUL: Well, I didn't think I was nervous about this, but let's just say this isn't the first time I've got up from a warm seat today with some paper in my hand...

I've actually known Ruth for 15 years and have amassed loads of inappropriate stories to tell about her. However, Ruth literally begged me not to tell them here today - so I shall be telling them over there, by the bar, later!

I'd like to share 2 rather heartwarming, charming anecdotes about Ruth. The first is reflecting back on my own civil partnership when Ruth had the honoured job of holding the rings. In true "comedy wedding" style, i had left the rings at home and sent poor Ruth running back through Birmingham City Centre to find them. She had to tear the apartment apart before they turned up and I assured her by phone that there would be a taxi at the rank down the road which could bring her the 15 minute walk to the registrars. There wasn't and poor Ruth demonstrated what an amazing friend she is by picking up her hoop (ooer) and running all through Birmingham to get them to the church on time. Amazing.

She further demonstrated her true caring nature - that which I like to believe she demonstrates on patients as a nurse - at one of our annual pilgrammages to the V Festival. I had come down with a bit of a dicky tummy and Ruth did a sterling job looking after me. And by looking after me, what I actually mean is that she came back to the tent, through some Alka Seltzer at me, yelled "here you go, you owe me a fiver. I'm off to watch the indigo girls!!" Thanks ruth, thanks a lot :)

Ruth has actually become my anyway friend. An anyway friend is a person in your life who no matter what you say, and no matter what you do - no matter what they go through in their life will love you anyway. So my sincerest wish is that for Ruth - Lou, and for Lou - Ruth, you will become each other's anyway friends. It doesn't matter how old you are or what your responsibilities are, if you have true unconditional love you will not only make it but enjoy it. So to my anyway friend and her anyway friend, I wish you a life of happiness and joy.

Ladies, gentlemen, variations thereof - the blushing brides, Ruth and Lou...

Soon: Gravitonas! Kimberley Locke! Michaela Wright!

Susan Aho och Johanna Virtanen i finska duon Kuunkuiskaajat räknar dagarna tills det är dags för avfärd mot Eurovision Song Contest i Oslo. När vi träffades i samband med ’Eurovision In Concert’ i Amsterdam var de flesta förberedelser under kontroll.

Kuunkuiskaajat har ett starkt team bakom sig och redan i somras bestämde man sig för att satsa rejält på att ta hem segern i den finska uttagningen. Enligt gruppens manager J-P Jouppi har man jobbat aktivt med promotion vilket innebär mesta möjliga TV-tid och pressexponering. Det gav resultat. Kuunkuiskaajat segrade i finalen, som sågs av mer än en miljon tittare, vilket är en mycket hög siffra i Finland. Nästa delmål är att kvalificera sig för finalen i Oslo. Bidraget "Työlki Ellää" kommer att framföras på finska och startar som nummer 5 i semifinal 1 som går av stapeln den 25 maj.

Hur känns det såhär några veckor innan Eurovisionen drar igång?
Vi är otroligt laddade och ser verkligen fram emot evenemanget.

Har ni gjort en massa promotion inför Oslo?
Vi har huvudsakligen gjort intervjuer i olika sammanhang. Däremot har vi inte rest runt så mycket i olika länder. Nu är vi här i Amsterdam och så vi har gjort spelningar på hemmaplan. Förra veckan medverkade vi i samband med invigningen av en ny färjelinje mellan St.Peterburg och Helsingfors.

Blir det några ändringar i ert framförande jämfört med finalen i Finland?
Lite småändringar. T.ex i koreografin.

Kan ni berätta lite om er bakgrund?
Vi sjunger båda i folkmusikgruppen Värttinä som funnits i 27 år. Vi har varit med i 14 (Susan) respektive 9 år (Johanna) och det var här vi lärde känna varandra.

Hur startades Kuunkuiskajaat?
Man kan säga att det var en tillfällighet. Vi blev kontaktade av en tysk konsertarrangör som sökte en duo som sjöng gamla finska sånger. Eftersom vi båda gillar finsk dansmusik, typ tango och Harmony Sisters schlagers, så vi bestämde oss för att nappa på förfrågan. Vi skickade in en demo arrangören nappade. Resultatet blev Kuunkuiskajaat och en två veckors turné i Tyskland förra året.

Ni har både en gedigen musikutbildning.
Susan: Det stämmer. Jag har en examen i folkmusik från Sibelius Akademin i Finland.
Johanna: Jag skulle egentligen ha tagit min examen vid Sibelius i vår men Eurovision kom emellan så nu blir det till hösten istället.

Hur tror ni att Eurovision kommer att påverka er karriär?
Vi hoppas att den ska leda till några nya internationella kontakter. Vår vision för framtiden är ’månen’. Därav namnet Kuunkuiskajaat eller Moon Whispers som vi heter på engelska.

Vad säger de andra medlemmarna i gruppen Värttinä om er solo- eller duokarriär?
Vi är alla freelance musiker och behöver jobba med olika projekt för att kunna leva från musiken. De har full förståelse för att vi just nu är väldigt upptagna med Eurovisionen.

Era kläder är lite speciella och kommer från ett finskt designermärke som heter Noolan, hemmahörande i Jakobstad. Hur kommer det sig?
Noolan är en av våra sponsorer och idén kom från vår manager J-P Jouppi. Han kontaktade designern Marja Rak och hon blev genast intresserad av ett samarbete. Kläderna är gjorda av speciella naturmaterial och var precis det vi letade efter. Stilmässigt matchar de vår musik.

Hur ser er kalender ut nu fram tills det är dags att resa mot Oslo?
Vi har en del praktiska saker att som ska fixas. Våra kläder för framförandet är inte riktigt klara ännu. Vi samarbetar även med smyckestillverkaren Kaleva Koru och de håller på att ta fram några speciella accessoarer för oss. En annan av våra sponsorer är finska Lumene, som är ett välkänt kosmetik- och hudvårdsmärke. Vi skall inom kort träffa dem för att få lite råd och tips kring make up.
En del fans och även andra är lite förvånade över att Finland inte skickar en rocklåt i år.
Vi tycker det är bra att det kommer nåt nytt som omväxling. Vår sång har en finsk karaktär och det tror vi på. En del säger att det också finns slaviska influenser och det är ganska naturligt med tanke på närheten till Ryssland och Baltikum.

Är ni själva Eurovision fans och brukar ni följa tävlingen?
Ja absolut - sedan barnsben. Det var en tävling som man väntade på varje år. Sedan Lordi vann har den dessutom fått ett uppsving i Finland.

Har ni några egna Eurovision favoriter från tidigare år?
Susan: Det finns många att välja mellan. Varje år har jag hittat några bra låtar att rösta på. Bland de nyare finska bidragen väljer jag nog Hanna Pakarinen och Lordi.
Johanna: Lordi självklart men jag minns speciellt Celine Dion. Efter att ha sett hennes medverkan blev jag ett stort Celine Dion fan.

Har ni några favoriter bland årets startfält?
Susan: Jag är mycket förtjust i Goran Bregovic’ musik och därför gillar jag Serbiens låt, som ju är skriven av honom.
Johanna: Mina favoriter är Israel och Norge.

Tack så mycket Johanna och Susan. Lycka till i Oslo. Kiitos and paljon onnea Oslossa.

Intervjun gjordes den 24 april 2010 i samband med evenemanget Eurovision In Concert, i Zaanstad/Amsterdam. Videon är från konserten samma kväll.



Källa/foto/video: Lilian

You know summer is on the way when our favourite Swedish outdoor TV-spectaculars are back on screen.

According to Aftonbladet today, TV4's "Sommarkrysset" will return on Saturday 15th May and the first show has an unmissable Swedish pop line-up: Eric Saade, Orup, Linda Bengtzing and Velvet! And if that's not enough....EMD will present the show!

The following artists will also appear in this summer's series:

Eric Gadd
Timoteij
Shout Out Louds
Linda Pritchard
Lazee & Apollo Drive
Petter
Weeping Willows

More info when I get it!

I'd hoped to finish this off this weekend but as usual the best laid plans....

Tonight I'm having a first-listen to the first 10 songs in Semi-Final 2. Which in my opinion is a much stronger semi-final and it will be more difficult to qualify from this one, I think...

Lithuania: "EASTERN EUROPEAN FUNK" - INCULTO: so Lithuania have astutely realised that they probably won’t have any chance of winning ESC anytime soon, so they’re just going to have some fun. And why not? This has novelty value and puts a much-needed smile on the face of this year’s contest. It’s not quite up there with my all-time favourite Lithuanian entry ("U Got Style", 2001 if you’re interested) but it’s good fun.
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Armenia: "APRICOT STONE" - EVA RIVAS: The lyrics can only be described as pretty bonkers, but it ticks all the ethnic-boxes seemingly required of a Eurovision entry of recent years....it’s got a little of the Shakira vibe about it and of course Armenia is one of those countries which will always be an automatic final qualifier. This might do well.

Israel: "MILIM" - HAREL SKAAT: This might give Israel its best result in many years, as it’s quite an old-fashioned jury-pleasing big orchestral ballad...he is a very good singer and capable of greatness (and he’s also very easy on the eye) but I feel this song could have benefitted from a more definite hook and memorable chorus.

Denmark: "IN A MOMENT LIKE THIS" - CHANEE & N’EVERGREEN: For me, this is one of the biggest songs in this year’s contest and I can see the Danes getting their best result in years. Written by that well-known native of Copenhagen, Thomas G:son :))) They may be a bizarrely-named duo, but this song is very instant and memorable, which is after all what the Eurovision Song Contest is about. A back to the 80s blend of "Simply The Best" and "Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now", and one of the few songs I remembered after just one hearing.

Switzerland: "IL PLEUT DE L’OR" - MICHAEL VON DER HEIDE: Something seriously wrong here - I like a Swiss entry two years in a row! They couldn’t be more different either. Last year some indie-rock, this year a good old Europop stomper. This was one of my early favourites, of the few songs that I had actually heard. Don’t be put off by the big ears, just enjoy the music.

Sweden: "THIS IS MY LIFE" - ANNA BERGENDAHL: In this year’s Swedish final, there was an uplifting song with an incredibly memorable chorus, performed with bucketloads of charm and charisma by a hugely talented singer/songwriter. Which could have gone a long long way at Eurovision if its success with the international juries at Melodifestivalen was anything to go by.
That song was not "This Is My Life" by Anna Bergendahl. The only positive thing I can say about this song is that it’s a good cure for insomnia. Sweden may have wanted its own version of Yohanna’s "Is It True" which did so well last year - but this falls way short and I am still of the view that this will disappear in Oslo and may struggle to even make it out of the semi-final.

Azerbaijan: "DRIP DROP" - SAFURA: if all the rumours are to be believed, this is the chosen one this year - and in recent years the chosen ones have gone on to win, so... Unfortunately I was comatose by the end of it. Sooo boring! She sings "I wanna run away from myself"...I know how she felt. By the end I wanted to run away too. Is this the one that was co-written by that well-known native of Baku, Anders Bagge? Not one of his better moments.
　
Ukraine: "SWEET PEOPLE" - ALYOSHA: Oh Ukraine, what have you done? This is so boring that I was even longing for the return of the "Anti-Crisis Girl"!! Another one which belongs in the Eurovision Non-Song Contest. Come back Verka, or Ani Lorak....we miss you!

Netherlands: "IK BEN VERLIEFD (SHA-LA-LIE)" - SIENEKE: Or as it is known at EuropeCrazy HQ, "let’s do the time warp again". There is nothing remotely 2010 about this - from its writer Pierre "Father Abraham" Kartner to its cheesy singer. It will either surprise or bomb, and I couldn’t possibly predict which one.

Romania: "PLAYING WITH FIRE" - PAULA SELING & OVI: ignore this at your peril. It’s a thumping anthemic pop song which stuck in my brain from first hearing - and I can see it doing very, very well at this year’s contest, I’ve just got this strange, spooky feeling that Romania is looking at a top 5 place!

More to follow!

Bear in mind that these are all reviewed on first listen (apart from Iceland, which I had already heard a couple of times)

Malta: "MY DREAM" - THEA GARRETT: Old-fashioned ballad which is not too far away from an Idol-winner’s song. I know that Malta has a big ESC-fan-contingent, however it is not the most memorable Maltese entry I’ve ever heard and although it’s not the worst, it has the feel of a toilet break about it :(

Albania: "IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU" - JULIANA PASHA: The backing track has a touch of the "Womanizer"/"For Your Entertainment" about it, which can only be a good thing :) however the end result is a little bit of a let-down on first listen. It could be a grower though and might just qualify...

Greece: "OPA" - GIORGOS ALKAIOS & FRIENDS: They look like a boyband who’ve seen better days and all they’ve got to look forward to is the cabaret circuit. It’s all very formulaic and Greece-by-numbers, but it’s a potential crowd pleaser. And they are Greece, so they are absolute qualifiers - they only have to turn up! They need to shout the "Opa" but louder though, as it lacks a real hook.

Portugal: "HA DIAS ASSIM" - FILIPA AZEVEDO: She warbles this power ballad like a Portuguese version of Leona Lewis, however there’s not much of a song in here and it will struggle to qualify. It certainly has none of the pretty charm of last year’s Portuguese entry.

Macedonia: "JAS JA IMAM SILATA" - GJOKO TANESKI, BILLY ZVER & PEJCIN: More Balkan rock, however I didn’t like this as much as the Bosnian song and again I think this could struggle despite the good old ‘Balkan bloc vote’. The rap section in the middle was ok though, but rap is notoriously looked upon unfavourably at ESC :(

Belarus: "BUTTERFLIES" - 3+2: Now this puzzles me. They are obviously going for the well-dressed Il Divo vote, only without the opera. I think this is aiming fair and square for the jury vote this year and may do well for that reason, although it’s pretty boring and old-fashioned and light years away from "Work Your Magic" - one of the best songs never to have won ESC!!

Iceland: "JE NE SAIS QUOI" - HERA BJORK: one of the more traditionally appealing ESC songs this year. She’s a good singer and the song has a good dance beat - and that all-important key change!! I’d like to see it doing well (as I keep my fingers crossed for Iceland every year), but the whole volcano-situation may have a negative effect on the voting???

I have been vaguely stressed all week by the speech that I am due to give as best man (or one of two best men, Darren being the other) at Ruth & Lou's civil partnership today (if you are reading this on Sunday). In one of my most brilliant procrastinations of all time, I literally left it way too long and then panicked over it non-stop since about Thursday morning. And when I say panicked, i mean completely obsessed over the placement of each word to make sure it was perfect - god, if I spent this much time on my novels I'd be a best seller by now! And poor Darren had to put up with one creative strop tonight, but as always he just ignored my immaturity and watched The Whole 19 Yards. Still, it's all done now, hopefully magnificent and i'll let you all know how it goes sometime on Monday...

What this does mean is that I've not really paid attention to anything else for a few days so I'm just going to give you my weekly charts and hopefully be back to sanity (whatever that is) sometime next week! On the plus side, my wedding hair cut (above) on Friday looks quite nice, despite the fact I will NEVER get it to look like this again!!

TOP 21 SONGS OF THE WEEK:

21 ~ Diana Vickers, Once
20 ~ Donkeyboy, Sometimes (NE/VID)
19 ~ Music Go Music, Light of Love
18 ~ Bjorn Johan Muri, Yes Man
17 ~ Mika, Kick Ass
16 ~ Sergey Lazarev, Alarm
15 ~ Darin, You're Out Of My Life
14 ~ Kimberley Locke, Strobelight
13 ~ Alcazar, Headlines
12 ~ Candle Thieves, We're All Gonna Die
11 ~ The Pipettes, Stop The Music
10 ~ Ola, Unstoppable
09 ~ Neo, Human Frontier
08 ~ Simon Curtis, Super Psycho Love
07 ~ Mariah Carey, 100%
06 ~ Maria Mena, All This Time
05 ~ DeeDee, Endure
04 ~ Gabriella Cilmi, On A Mission
03 ~ Sophie Ellis Bextor Jones, Bittersweet
02 ~ Eric Saade, Manboy
01 ~ Adam Tyler, Friction (3 weeks)

Back on mon with pics and tales from the wedding!!

If all goes to plan I'll publish the rest of the Gothenburg Diaries and also parts 2,3 and 4 of that ESC preview.

(I haven't been able to devote as much time as I'd like to this blog of late - particularly the music side - and I can't really see that changing over the next couple of weeks....so after this weekend I'm probably going to put the blog on hold for a week or two as I have a few other things going on)

Thanks again to Popjustice for bringing Dekade to my attention: formerly known as NiteVisions, they are none other than the sons of Andy and Roger Taylor from Duran Duran. Which is a good enough reason to get excited. And on the evidence of "Haunt You" on their MySpace, they're sounding good....

www.myspace.com/dekade

I'd like to tell you a story. Are you sitting comfortably? Good. Then I shall begin. Many moons ago (it was around the Chorus era so you can work it out for yourself), I had just learnt to drive in Mama's automobile and was very obsessed with the brilliantly, dramatic, theatrical, bonkers pop that was/is Erasure. My vair vair bonne ami at the time, Michelle Gregoire (name Frenchied up to protect the innocent) and I desperately wanted to go and see Erasure play in London, only our parents wouldn't let us. The killjoys. But we bought tickets anyway (ooo rebellious. Take that James Dean) and got second row! Second row for Erasure! This was a big deal at the time because it was in the days before people would get brilliant concert seats and then hawk them for treble the price on e-bay. We decided that we would tell our respective folks that we were sleeping over at each others homes. This was quite avant garde sleepover arrangements for teens in high school, but Michelle's parents clearly were aware of my love of all things manbum and willy, and my parents were just happy that I was showing an interest in girls. So we drove to London in my brand new Ford Fiesta, went to the concert and my god, it opened my eyes. The front few rows were full of (what seemed to me) these amazingly colourful, flamboyant, confident gay people who were lapping up every moment of Erasure. It was a fantastic evening and one that showed me being gay didn't have to be furtive moments with Jason Donovan posters in the bedroom but a world of excitement, sleaze and magnificence. And I've loved Erasure even since...

Andy Bell ~ Non Stop: Which leads me nicely into a review of Andy's second solo album. Andy has had some great moments in his solo career - his duet with KD Lang on Enough is Enough was a corker (i'm still aiming to get Simon Curtis and Adam Tyler to do a modern day take on that :P); and there were some stunning moments on his last album Electric Blue. He has once again created in Non Stop, a set of tunes that reflect a change from the Erasure sound. His voice is more soulful, the songs more club-oriented - it seems that as Andy grows older, he is preoccupied with relationships, truth, honesty, memories, money worries and health. This sounds like the album could be mightily depressing - it's not, because it's juxtapositioned with some soaring melodies, great beats, life affirming lyrics and the clear fact that he just wants to dance, he just wants to fucking dance...

At the heart of it, Non Stop is a club-dance album saturated in electronica and pop-friendly beats, with an overriding nod to the pioneers of the post punk era in the 1980s such as Claudia Brucken and Ladytron. The couple of singles that have already surfaced (Running Out and Will You Be There) are both solid enough tracks (particularly the latter) which are both get-your-hands-up-and-dance-til-you-drop type songs with a persistant groove and fairly memorable choruses. This theme is continued in several songs on the album, including the swirling, throbbing title track and the far more industrial sounding Touch, all about Andy's distaste with the current obsession with celebrity culture and famous for the sake of being famous. The latter in particular is quite intoxicating, and while the dance-club groove produces some solid tunes, it's Touch with it's impassioned delivery and manic production that makes it the more interesting, stand out tune.

It's the moments like this, and those fused with pop genius that create the more thrilling tunes that genuinely make Non Stop a pleasurable experience. Current single Call On Me is a delicious slice of summer dance magic - anthemic chorus, seductive vocal, alluring groove, all underwritten by a lovely disco vibe. It's completely feel good and even references robots, which are obviously very de rigour in pop right now. Say What You Want is equally as pleasing, a devilishly sublime tune where the chorus hooks you instantly - Andy's unfettered vocals are a delight to listen to. However, it's the camptastic DHDQ (Debbie Harry Drag Queen) that is the stand out of the album for me - an ode to the all the drag queens who imitate but never quite reach the giddy heights of glamour and amazosity of the Blondie lead singer. It's a tip of the hat to the more bonkers pop that Erasure do, and one of my favourite Andy Bell moments in a long time. It's gleeful, witty, joyous and positively brilliant.

So all in all, a solid club-dance album with some genuinely soaring pop majesty mixed in for good measure. Bonza!

Att förstå svenska språket som svensktalande är inte alltid så lätt. Jag tänker på hur betydelsen av vissa ord kan resultera i totalt motsägelsefulla meningar beroende på om de uttrycks på Finlandssvenska eller Sverigesvenska.


Ett roande exempel som dök upp i huvudet igår är:
"Jag pajar min katt och njuter av en örfil".
Den svenska betydelsen blir:
"Jag kraschar min katt och njuter av ett kok stryk"
Den finlandssvenska betydelsen blir:
"Jag klappar min katt och njuter av en kanelbulle"

På sistone har det skrivits om Finlandismer i Svenska Dagbladet och som Finlandssvensk i Sverige är det en intressant och roande läsning. Ett av orden som dykt upp är just "paja".

http://www.svd.se/kulturnoje/mer/sprakspalt/grodpingla-ar-en-finfin-finlandism_4457891.svd
http://www.svd.se/kulturnoje/mer/sprakspalt/smek-din-alskade-och-paja-katten_4582227.svd

Jessica Simpson Father Joe

The Singer Jessica Simpson with her father Joe leave her midtown hotel in New York City dated April 21, 2010.

Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth

Miley Cyrus with her boyfriend Liam Hemsworth at the Robeks Juice in Toluca Lake, CA dated April 16, 2010.

Halle Berry 2010 Silver Rose Gala & Auction

Halle Berry attending the 2010 Silver Rose Gala & Auction held at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA dated April 18, 2010.

Cameron Diaz Shrek Forever After

Cameron Diaz at the movie premiere of "Shrek Forever After" held at the New York City, NY dated April 21, 2010.