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Hope you haven't missed first episode of "Inför Eurovision Song Contest 2011" - preview-show where Swedish music experts discuss songs of upcoming Eurovision - probably you have analogues in your countries if you live in Europe but however the show is really worth watching because of quite interesting participants - Lotta Engberg, Andreas Johnson, Sarah Dawn Finer, Christine Meltzer, Thomas Lundin, Christer Björkman.
It's hard to follow if you don't know Swedish but you have ability to switch subtitles, maybe it'll help you!
So if you want to know which entry sounds like Magnus Carlsson with "Dansar I Månens Sken", who reminds mix of Anastacia, Pink and bat, what common "One More Day" and One More Time have, if it's good to send Le Kid from Serbia and who tried to steal Gaga's "Born This Way", come here and watch.
Switzerland, Norway, Serbia and Finland have got highest marks, watch full table here.

It's always heart-melting when huge artists make some charity activity releasing new music to help those who really need it. This Autumn Idol-show has made successful shot when show participants released song "All I Need Is You" that reached #2 of Swedish chart and a bit later we've got another release from whole bunch of the loudest names of Swedish pop - Ola, Darin, Alcazar, Jessica Folcker, Sarah Dawn Finer, Plura, Velvet, Hanna Hedlund, Martin Stenmarck, Lasse Berghagen, Anna Maria Espinosa, Claes Janson, Dolly Dolores, Jasmine Kara, Anna Sahlin, Kim Fransson, Promoe and Jakob Hellman. Something incredible? Whole project was initiated by Tess Merkel from Alcazar in collaboration with SOS Barnbyar organization to help kids who lost parents or who live in financialy especially problematic terms. The song "Ta Min Hand", very kind hopeful a bit funky and a bit gospel-breathing track, was written by Christopher Dominique and Mårten Edh and released physically and digitally.
Company around "Ta Min Hand" was also supported by big concert in Kungsträdgården and performances on TV and radio, so below you can watch official video for this song and performance in Efter Tio.

Could SVT make a better present to their viewers than showing concert of one of the most successful Christmas artists of this winter?
Sarah Dawn Finer's golden album "Winterland" has become a big hit of this season and Sarah has performed almost all songs from the album with all its emotional spectrum in very intimate atmosphere standing on the stage surrounded by jazz-band in gorgeous dress but with warm feeling of domestic gig with only close friends around the singer. Here you can watch whole concert and check setlist of gig below.
For all fans of Sarah Dawn Finer here's also another recent concert of Sarah in Berwaldhallen with Fredrik Lycke and Joachim Bergström singing classic hits of Frank Sinatra, Barbara Streisand and Liza Minelli from "Great American Songbook", you could get a sneak peek of the show this summer at Allsång på Skansen and now you can listen full programme.

I'll Be Home For Christmas
In The Bleak Midwinter
Maybe This Christmas
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
The Christmas Song
Auld Lang Syne
Angel
Winter Song
I'll Be Your Wish Tonight
What A Wonderful World
Sometimes It Snows in April
Jul Jul

Dear followers of Swedish Stereo, warmest congratulations to you in the first day of new year! This year was really happy for our blog, we've just started in May but already have got thousands of visitors, positive responses from our beloved artists and the main thing - we've got you, our friends who share interest and passion about everything regarding Swedish music and that's what keep Swedish Stereo going and coming into New Year with bright hopes and huge excitement. I wish New Music Year already have something interesting for you - great news from amazing artists, those ones you love long time and some new ones - artists you don't know yet but you will know about them with us. So happy new year once again and here's something for you - our new page on Facebook - liking it you'll be able to get our updates and news right in your Facebook newsfeed so feel free to join!
Finally I'd like to share incredible song that celebrates 30 years - all this time people around the world have it as the biggest classic New Year celebration soundtrack and it just can't go out of fashion. Sure I'm speaking about ABBA's "Happy New Year" and here's fresh performance of Tommy Körberg and Sarah Dawn Finer with this song in Skansen (+ performance of Tommy and Sarah with cover of Kent's hit "Sverige").

End of this year gave some albums I haven't managed to talk about yet and I hope to fix this before the end of month starting from Sarah Dawn Finer's splendid Christmas album "Winterland" that has already reached #2 in Sweden.
When Sarah announced in the first half of year that she was going to release acoustic album it was clear that it's gonna be good album and when later she revealed that it will be Christmas album there were no doubt left it will be fantastic and it hasn't disappointed at all becoming big beautiful Christmas story with 14-chapters - fragile fairytale gently purred with Sarah's sweet timber.
Album starts from "I'll Be Home For Christmas" classic mix of soul and Christmas ballad that demonstrates whole mood of this album with waving instrumentals and mostly soft Sarah's vocal that rarely gets high and strong here as if it can break fragile atmosphere of the album. Album has its core and it doesn't break strict distance but sometimes it's a bit more country, sometimes it's more classic, sometimes it's more gospel. Talking about highlights undoubtfully it's utterly touching "Maybe This Christmas" with Sarah's voice clicking all the necessary feelings - all the sadness and love of this song. "The Christmas Song" is track that just can't be covered bad and this smiling relaxing warm remake is not exception and could easily top collection of its best covers. Sarah McLahan's "Angel" is one of the most pleasant surpises of the album, you get it completely different with original, it's less impressive, it has huge Sarah's personality in every note and it's not less adorable than McLachlan's version, it's beautiful in it's own way. You can actually hear Sarah Dawn Finer's slight inspiration from Sarah McLachan in some songs like epic "In The Bleak Midwinter". Another surprising (or not?) song-choise is Scottish traditional "Auld Lang Syne" that is sung in Scottish by Eric Bibb - truly anthemic track. On the album you can find as well original song "I'll Be Your Wish Tonight" - calm piano-based ballad with gospell touch and chorus feeling like classic anthem. Duet "Winter Song" with Louise Hoffsten feels like the darker track with war drums, harmonica but thin melodic rays of light, the same complicated mood of everything sad and happy left before another Christmas border you can listen in beautiful Joni Mitchell's "River". Earlier Sarah performed Louis Armstrong's hit "What A Wonderful World" and on this album of different experiments and mixed genres and emotions it feels like something more poppier and straight. The album finishes with bonus-track "Karleksvisan" (Swedish version of "For A Friend" from previous Sarah's album "Moving On") and though in the beginning of the Summer when it was released there weren't any information about Christmas album you realize it track was just made to enter this album.
Tomorrow SVT will show Sarah's Christmas concert and though right now I can't give guarantee that it will be available ouside of Sweden but it has already got the link on SVT Play so check it tomorrow in 20.00 by Swedish time and follow our twitter for information about it. Right now you can check some Sarah's live performances with tracks from the album and convince yourself that you should buy it right away if you haven't done it yet.

No day without Christmas live updates in this period and it's Sarah Dawn Finer who released her first Christmas album "Winterland" and who's gonna get my tips this time.
Though "I'll Be Your Wish Tonight" (original track written especially for the album) was intended initially to become single and promote the album seems like classic cover "Maybe This Chritmas" has become more popular for audience.
It's one of those multiple tracks from "Winterland" that doesn't matter where you hear or see - in radio-studio (watch below), on TV (watch here at 9.30 or below), in trade-center (here) or just listening in your player on a road to your office everytime combination of acoustic guitar and Sarah's lovely voice covers you with a charming Christmas feeling and brings some warmth and peace to your soul.

Charlotte Perrelli, Sarah Dawn Finer, Magnus Carlsson and Peter Jöback - isn't it too much for one Christmas show?
Stjärnklart tour with pure gold of Swedish schlager-elite is rolling around country and though we can't be there we can taste how it looks in video-cut from Charlotte Perreli's blog. This woman always knows how to amaze her fans and this is what amazes us in this video the most:

- Charlotte and Peter in cabaret gang making "All That Jazz".
- gorgeous jazz-version of Charlotte's "Tusen Och En Natt" in a sexual dress and with unbelievable shape standing back to public.
- Charlotte performing Shirley Bassey's "This is my life" covered with a monster feather fans.
- Sarah Dawn Finer, Peter Jöback and Magnus Carlsson singing "The Show Must Go On" and I just say OH MY GOD! How great Sarah sounds!!! She was born to make this cover!
- Charlotte's disco-party with mashup of "Hush Hush" and "I Will Survive" in glittering dresses and pointing moves.
- Magnus Carlsson driving public with "Kom Hem".
- Sarah Dawn Finer in golden dress with "Bad Romance" (Yes! You read right, Sarah making Gaga!!!).
- Charlotte with another great mashup of "We Need a Hero" and her own "Hero".

If this cut not shot professionally from hall looks so great how would it be to watch full concert?! If you're in Sweden you still have a chance to watch tour programme on Stjärnklart site and get your ticket.

Here I'm gonna give you tips about some brilliant latest performances at Doobidoo as every year it provides some brilliant collaborations and this year is not exception.

Nina Söderquist came back to the spotlights at Doobidoo collaborating with actor Kim Sulocki, very soon Nina is going to give a birth to her first baby and to see her huge performance after gorgeous performance on Melodifestivalen-2009 ("Tick Tock" was the best and the most underrated song of the year after "Moving On" in my opinion) is completely amazing as Nina is natural born entertainer, I hardly can name another artist putting as many artistry and expression into any performance. It's completely crazy performance of GES' "En Jävel På Kärlek" and this is so damn lovely!!!

Jessica Andersson with comic Tomas Pettersson performed rock'n'roll version of Roxette's "The Look". Both particiated in Diggiloo tour this year so it wasn't the first experience of performing together and it turned to be as full of life as rock'n'roll can be.

And the third Doobidoo-duet is from Sarah Dawn Finer and Claes Malmberg making cover for Lisa Ekdahl's hit "Vem Vet". And which are the greatest moments of this duet?
1) Trumpet imitating by Sarah. How does she do it??? She could make acoustic concert with only her vocal and trumpet by her voice. She could dig beatbox also and it would be amazing show! Seriously!
2) Flashback to 1994 when Sarah as 13-years-old girl participated in another tv-show with Claes.
3) Sarah by default. Why should I give other reasons when Sarah is so adorable and worthy to see in any live performance?

If you had no chance to visit concert of Sarah Dawn Finer's "Moving On Tour" P4 live gives you opporunity to enjoy it on their site.
Concert has started with first Sarah's album "A Finer Dawn" hit - "Stockholm At Morning", beautiful intro to a gig with blasting choruses bringing drive from the very beginning of evening. Right after it audience has got another early hit "I Wanna Try" in unexpected arrangement, hardly recognizable only with chorus start in this live and probably more calm and warm version. First performed song from "Moving On" album was "Right Track" - rhythmic song with attitude that is really rightest track for live session to play with vocal and to get public to sing along. "I Don't Need Your Love Song" as another great track to show all amazingness of Sarah's soul-vocal followed after. One of surprises of the night was duet-section contained songs Sarah recorded before with different artists - "Positive Vibrations" (Moneybrother), "The way we Were" (Fatboy), "Min bön" (Peter Joback), "Du som tog mitt hjärta" (Patrik Isaksson). Sarah was singing parts of these songs with her "manboys" (like she called her band musicians). Back to her own songs Sarah performed "Stay" released in her first EP "Sarah Dawn Finer" back in 2005 and it has got amazing guitar part presenting song in a bit more rockier style.
Time has come for some real bombs and Sarah presented "I Remember Love" she's debuted on Melodifestivalen-2007 with all possible charm of live-arrangement and logically great audience reaction. "Standing Strong" has taken audience out of beautiful trance of previous performance. Another brightest highlight of Sarah's concert was her biggest masterpiece "Moving On", it's crowds of goosebumps running all over your body, it's complete emotional breakdown and something as beautiful and touching as music can be. Sarah has finished with gentle piano performance of "For A Friend/Kärleksvisan" with a bit church feeling and tonnes of regrets that this brilliant concert is over but still advantage of radio-version is that you can always put it on replay ;)
Below you can see teaser of tour and setlist of whole programme.

Setlist:
Stockholm At Morning
I Wanna Try
Right Track
I Don't Need Your Love Song
Positive Vibrations
The way we Were
Min bön
Du som tog mitt hjärta
Stay
I Remember Love
Standing Strong
Moving On
For A Friend/Kärleksvisan

Here's 7384th reason for Swedish pop fan to dream about live in Sweden. You can wake up in the morning, switch on TV and watch ads with Sarah Dawn Finer singing cover of classic Osvaldo Farrés' hit "Quizás, Quizás, Quizás" covered before by The Pussycat Dolls, Julio Iglesias, both ex-spicies Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton and many-many others. Just like other covers performed by Sarah this version is again very personal, beautiful and seems like no one can so easily own the song like she does perhaps, perhaps...no, for real, for real, for real!

Coffee anyone? Ok, it's Monday morning not Tuesday yet but I wouldn't refuse to get musical cup of coffee from one of our newfound loves - Tuesday. Recently she gave lovely performance at Efter Tio and I'd like to share it with you. Ah, I forgot to bring some cream! Here it is with few other nice performances from Efter Tio - our another sweethearts Sarah Dawn Finer and Shiri with brilliant acoustic performances of their hits. It's gonna be a great week so wake up!

Gosh!!! This Christmas is gonna give us incredible amount of really amazing albums from some big names of Swedish music. Few days before Malena Ernman revealed that she's gonna release Christmas album soon but news about Sarah Dawn Finer's Christmas album sound like most promising release of last months. Ah, it's just words, they're not enough to say how excited I am about this release!
Last half of year soul-queen Sarah Dawn Finer constantly gave tips about her forthcoming acoustic album that she was planning for the end of year and now press-release is out on her site and we can see whole tracklist and exact date - November 3rd when the world will hear this album. Year ago Sarah recorded track "Min bön" with Peter Jöback for his album "En god Jul och ett gott nytt år" and now it's her turn to present her winter compilation. The album will consist of the most favorite Sarah's classic Christmas songs which mean a lot for her and which she was grown on and as well some which before weren't associated with Christmas like "River" by Joni Mitchell, "Angel" by Sarah MacLachlan and "Sometimes It Snows In April" by Prince. You can also find Swedish version of song "For a Friend" (from previous album "Moving On") released earlier this year as Royal Wedding single in Swedish version - "Kärleksvisan" as bonus track. The album was produced by Jesper Nordenström (The Rasmus, Daniel Lindström, Uno & Irma, Anna Ternheim, Magnus Uggla) with many guests artists and musicians involved in this record (Nisse Landgren, Eric Bibb, Louise Hoffsten, Per Lindvall, Goran Kajfes, Johan Norberg).
Below you can see tracklist and one of the song - "Maybe this Christmas" by Ron Sexsmith that Sarah performed before - quality of the video is bad but it sounds quite good to fall into complete obsession about this release!

1. I'll Be Home For Christmas
2. Maybe This Christmas
3. Have Yourself A Merry Litte Christmas - feat. Nils Landgren
4. The Christmas Song
5. In The Bleak Midwinter
6. Christmas Time Is Here
7. Angel
8. Auld Lang Syne - feat. Eric Bibb
9. I'll Be Your Wish Tonight
10. Winter Song - feat. Louise Hoffsten
11. River
12. What A Wonderful World
13. Sometimes It Snows In April
14. Kärleksvisan (Bonus Track)

Being hardcore fan of Sarah Dawn Finer I really can't miss any new-found music piece from her and sure gonna let you know about it. Taking part in series of winter radio-shows Vinter i P1 Sarah performed her previously unreleased song "You and I" in acoustic version. Simple and nice song with only guitar and vocal, not a single-stuff, just a little joyfull thing for everyone who wants to enjoy Sarah's voice another time. Who knows, maybe we'll find this song on Sarah's forthcoming acoustic album.

By the way recently Sarah visited SVT's kids programme Gabba Gabba in a role of Olycksmamman (Troubles mother) - cruel but funny witch causing all the disasters in the world for example ocassionally poured loads of water down to Eric Saade when he performed at Melodifestivalen, so if you think it was planned - no, it wasn't, just one of creative ideas of Sarah. Check it below.

During Stockholm Pride week Linda Bengtzing, Anna Bergehdahl, Jill Johnson, Sarah Dawn Finer and Magnus Carlsson gave English interviews to oikotimes and great news are that both Magnus and Linda are definitely want to come back to a big spotlight of future Melodifestivalen. Linda seems to be especially eager about comeback. Unfortunately Sarah is not so eager about it but doesn't want to say she'll never do it again. Well, you'd better check it yourself right below.

Interview with Sarah Dawn Finer
Interview with Anna Bergehdahl
Interview with Magnus Carlsson
Interview with Jill Johnson
Interview with Linda Bengtzing

And you can also check some well-recorded performances during last week. Second record of Rebound's performance is a bit distorted with agonizing dying fans but this is what actually makes me laugh to tears everytime I hear it.

MaryJet - Dear Mr. President
Anna Bergendahl - This Is My Life
Björn Skifs - Fångad i en dröm
Shirley Clamp - Min kärlek
Shirley Clamp - Med Hjärtat Fyllt Av Ljus, Att älska dig
Jan Johansen - Se på mig
Jill Johnson - Crazy in love
Göran Fristorp (Nova) - Sommaren Som Aldrig Säger Nej
Svenne and Lotta - Bang A Boomerang
Christer Sjögren - I Love Europe

Swedish music lovers keep enjoying by all the music stuff and events currently being held in Stockholm and yesterday everyone could've got a pleasure to watch a great concert in Konserthuset with some top-artists and surprisingly alive responsing audience, Victoria herself was incredibly charming and beautiful, but don't worry if you've missed it, you still can enjoy it here. You can find some really brilliant performances there. For example Sarah Dawn Finer performing her beautiful new single "Kärleksvisan" (Swedish version of song "For A Friend" from her last album), Salem al Fakir with his new devotional song "All Day Love" (that you can download for free on this site if you'll manage to be one of the first 5000) and magical charming performance, Lisa Nilsson with her version of Kent's song "Utan Dina Andetag" (that really loked like my personnal discovery of this artist who seems like a real classics of Swedish music), Peter Jöback with his cover Charles Aznavour's "She", Malena Ernman with some absolutely brilliant performances proving her like a real Goddess of the stage, Roxette with their comeback to a big stage, performance of "The Look" and standing ovations and other performances of Helen Sjöholm, The Real Group, Jazz Divas of Scandinavia (Cæcilie Norby, Silje Nergaard, Rigmor Gustafsson), Lars Cleveman, Magnus Uggla and others. You can check some of these performances below.

Sarah Dawn Finer & Lisa Nilsson - At Last
Peter Jöback - She
Helen Sjöholm - Hymne à l'amour
Magnus Uggla - Värsta grymma tjejen
Lars Cleveman - Nessum Dorma
Malena Ernman & Roland Pöntinen - Jeg Elsker Dig
Various artists - Can't help falling in love

Darin's releasing another devotional single "Can't Stop Love" for Victoria's marriage written by Tony Nilsson, very beautiful modern huge ballad that you can listen here, if you like Darin's ballads you should be totally satisfied with this song!

And don't forget to check some performances from Bröllopsstudio, you can enjoy by some amazing covers from EMD, Carola and Fibes, Oh Fibes!

...You could see Ola Svensson singing Tomas Ledin's song "En Dag På Stranden" on the stage of Skansen on National Day...

...Carola performing her new single "Det är bara vi" devoted to wedding of princess Victoria...



...Eric Gadd with his last single "Rise Up!" and well-known back-vocalists (Thérèse Löf, Michael Blomqvist and Anna Andersson) behind him (MF-2011 warning???) on a beautiful stage on Skeppsbron...



...Sarah Dawn Finer covering the winner of Eurovision-2010...



... Kalle Moraeus just having sold his new album golden with the song that really helped him with it...



and also

...especially popular these days band Johnossi performing their hit-single "What's The Point?"...

...Cookies N Beans covering Bee Gees classics "Islands In The Stream"...

... Timo Räisänen performing his last single "Outcast"...

...Rigo performing on National Day Swedish song "Stockholms Ström" (no ideas about where it came from)...

and Miss Li with really nice performance of her "Bourgeois Shangri-La".

If you're still gonna be in Stockholm in close future, don't forget to check programme of LOVE Stockholm 2010 or take a look at this short programme from Aftonbladet.

Also two summer great tv-shows "Allsång på Skansen" and "Lotta på Liseberg" have announced this year line-ups.

"Allsång på Skansen" will start 29th June and we'll see among others The Ark, Anna Bergendahl, Carola, Eric Saade, Darin, Timoteij, Kikki Danielsson, Salem Al Fakir, Thomas Di Leva, Oskar Linnros, Mando Diao, Tove Styrke, Orup, Hanna Lindblad, Charlotte Perrelli, Magnus Carlsson, Måns Zelmerlöw and Sarah Dawn Finer.

http://svt.se/2.112060

"Lotta på Liseberg"'s (starting from 21th June) line-up is not less fantastic and has a lot of interesting artists like Charlotte Perrelli, Alexander Rybak, Markoolio, Linda Bengtzing, Velvet, Alcazar, Jessica Andersson, Erik Linder, Kalle Moraeus, Sanna Nielsen, Timo Räisinen, Måns Zelmerlöw, Timoteij, Maria Haukaas Storeng, Erik Gadd, Andreas Johnson, Cookies n’ beans, Anna Bergendahl, Jill Johnson, Rigo, Caroline af Ugglas and Eric Saade.

http://www.tv4.se/1.1668077

Annual tv-show "Inför ESC 2010" currently takes place on SVT-channel. Every week you can see experts panel discussing songs of different participants of upcoming Eurovision. This year you can see among experts Marie Serneholt, Kayo Shekoni (ex-Afro-dite), Lena Philipsson, Thomas Lundin (Finnish artist and tv-host), Rennie Mirro (musical artist and brother of Sarah Dawn Finer), Christer Björkman is host of the show as always. In a third part of the show experts were amazed the most by Israeli singer Harel Skaat and on the other hand left Slovenian representatives - Ansambel Roka Žlindre & Kalamari without any points at all. In the end of the show experts revealed their favorite Melodifestivalen-songs who didn't manage to win the contest. Marie and Mirro chose "Moving On" by Sarah Dawn Finer, Thomas - Shirley Clamp's "Min Kärlek", Kayo - Alcazar's "Not a sinner nor a saint" and Lena - Nanne's "Håll Om Mig". You can see this episode here and see results below. Next week we'll see the last of 4 episodes.

By the way for all Eurovision followers now you can read official blog (in Swedish) of Swedish delegation where you'll find posts by both Christer Björkman (head of delegation) and Edward af Sillén (scriptwriter and director of Melodifestivalen) about everything regarding Anna Bergendahl's and her team's trip to Eurovision in Oslo.