Lopez Blogs

Melodifestivalens webbjokrar utsågs i måndags och de två lyckliga vinnarna blev Julia Alvgard med "Better or Worse" och Jonas Matsson med "On my Own". 













It was the second year for the web selection and this year it was live broadcasted. After the show I got a few words with the producer Christer Björkman and according to him SVT will continue to develop the concept.
Det var andra året i rad som tävlingen ordnades och denna gång blev det också ett direktsänt TV-program. Jag fick några kommentarer från Christer Björkman och han siar om att konceptet ska fortsätta växa och utvecklas.

Christer - what do you think about the results?
- The audience made an excellent choice. Both songs are very good.

How do you find the selection this year compared to last year?
-  Big difference. First of all we had a many more voters, over 800.000. Secondly the quality of the songs was higher.

Will you continue with the concept next year?
- The process with the wild card selection is a concept that we will continue to improve. We want to create a platform for new artists and give them a possibility to be seen and heard and hopefully they get a contact with producers and record labels. Tonight I have seen that many publishers and record companies are present. Obviously the expectations are high and I really hope that all five get a contract in one way or another.

What chances do you think the songs have in Melodifestivalen?
- I think they may work really well.

The overall standard and performances were acceptable. The TV-production was a budget version compared to Melodifestivalen but despite that I think SVT made a good decision when they decided to broadcast the show. According to Christer Björkman it was a possibility to test the artists and see how they act on stage.
Överlag var programmet helt acceptabelt även om det var en budgetproduktion. Jag tycker det var helt rätt av SVT att sända live och enligt Christer Björkman var det också ett bra tillfälle att se hur artisterna agerar på scen. 

Photos: www.poplight.se, Lilian, SVT

It's a busy time for music lovers. Besides interesting concerts every week (tonight Friday I have missed Gotan Project) we can follow several competitions on TV and the web. Friday is the Swedish Idol and I have to admit that I haven't been too keen on following it until now. From innumerable artists the contest is down to seven with decent quality.

För mer information om IDOL på svenska - kolla in POPLIGHT

Same goes for the Melodifestivalen web wild card. From several hundreds of song down to five. The final will be held on Monday night at the show-restaurant Golden Hits.

As originating from Finland I'm happy that Elin Blom is still on for one more week in the Idols. After all - she is from my homevillage.




 
I'm sorry for Geir Rönning who was voted out from Idol. Despite his Norwegian backround he lives in Finland with his family and I met him for the first time at the Eurovision in Kiev 2005. Unfortunately he didn't make it "throuh the grapevine". He did a fab performance of the Marvin Gaye classic ("I heard it through the grapevine") but the sms-people didn't like it.









Back to Melodifestivalen - here are the five songs that qualified for the final on Monday (in starting order):

1. Tusen nätter                
Composer: Daniel Wollbratt
Artist: Billy         

2. Better or Worse             
Composers: Manne Hjelm, Ola Holstad, Joar Lenz
Artist: Julia Alvgard

3. I Wanna Be With You   
Composers: Dennis Andersson & Anton Dahlrot
Artist: Anton & Dejo

4. Don´t Stop                  
Composer: Sargon Jakob
Artist: Engla

5. On My Own                    
Composers: Peter Autio, Sari Autio Olsson
Artist: Jonas Matsson

Listen to them HERE.
PS: On Saturdays Swedes can continue to sms-vote in DANSBANSKAMPEN!

Source: SVT, TV4

Folkets röst gör sig hörd i Melodifestivalen och i år kommer två bidrag att representeras av en icke etablerad artist. Just nu pågår slutspurten och på fredag finns fem låtar kvar av ursprungliga 424. På måndag ska dessa fem tävla i direktsänt program från Golden Hits.

Är du intresserad av att följa jokrarnas tankar och funderingar så bloggar de nu på http://www.poplight.se/.