The more the merrier?

There are a lot of rumours about how next year's ESC will be organised. Several new/returning countries seem to have shown interest in participating, for example Luxembourg, Italy, Morocco, Tunisia and Azerbaijan. So there might be two semifinals and only five entries qualified for the final (the winner + the big 4). The contest seems to get bigger each year. We also have Junior Eurovision Song Contest (JESC) and in some years maybe a Eurovision dance event. The bigger the better, or??

As a ESC-fan I wouldn't mind two semifinals I guess, but it makes me wonder where it all might end. What's next? A contest for animals? AESC? LOL This is a joke of course, but this little guy would do quite well I guess: ;)

Turkey on top

The last national selection for this year's ESC took place last yesterday in the UK. So by now, we know about all the contestants and here is my latest ranking :D :D IMO these entries 10 are all great and stand out among this year's many awful so called "rock"songs:

12 points - Turkey: Kenan Doğulu - Shake it up Şekerim
As I said earlier, I wished for a little more ethno tunes and a little less Justin imitation. But in fact, the song has a pure quality and it's obvious that Kenan is some kind of genious ;) With a good performance this will stand out for sure. I liked the choreography in his performance when announcing the song. But Kenan please do Europe a favour and loose that golden jacket.. ;)

10 points - Greece: Sarbel - Yassou Maria
Great song, nice ethno tunes, HOTTEST singer this year, good choreography. One of the catchiest entries this year along with Verka from Ukraine ;)

8 points - Moldova: Natalia Barbu - Fight
I think this was the entry chosen first, the song has been available for months now and I've had it in my mp3 the whole time. I've already grown tired of some of the entries, but not this one. It's still a big favourite of mine and stays in the top.

7 points - Slovenia: Alenka Gotar - Svet z juga
Opera + dance beats = a perfect mix! :D And also a big plus for the porno video, oops I mean PROMO video LOL

6 points - Bosnia & Herzegovina: Marija Sestic - Rijeka bez imena
A very beautiful and emotional ballad. I really hope they won't use the english version in Helsinki.

5 points - Ukraine: Verka Serduchka - Dancing lasha tumbai
This is so silly. The song, the performance... and the lyrics are the most stupid ones I've heard since the distaster from Lithuania last year. But I LOVE IT! It makes me happy :D :D And I really like drags ;)

4 points - FYR Macedonia: Karolina Goceva - Mojot svet
Very good song and beautiful singer. Will recieve lots of points I think.

3 points - Belarus: Dmitry Koldun - Work your magic
Nice, kind of powerful song and charismatic singer. However, his english pronounciation is not great... "I am able and I'm wheeling???" This song was much higher on my list, but I've grown a little tired of it.

2 points - Cyprus: Evridiki - Comme ci, Comme ça
I like Korgiala's electro-pop kind of music and Evridiki has a good voice. But I'm sorry to say, I'm really tired of this song right now. And the french... pourquoi...?

1 point - Andorra: Anonymous - Salvem el mon
It's nice with a little soft punk rock skate kind of music in ESC :D :D Probably Andorra's best entry so far :P

New videoclip coming up!

The best singer in the world, Mihai Trăistariu, is about to release the videoclip for his new single Dimmi si o no. The video will be shot this Wednesday 21 March. :D Here is his performance at Greece's national selection for ESC 28/2:



(And Mihai, if you read this, my answer is SI) LOL ;)

Promo video from Sarbel

I love the song, I love the dancing, I love him. Greece has the best song this year! Here is the new promo video:

The Ark to Helsinki!

This is rare.. My favourites won! But I guess it wasn't unexpected. Great show yesterday! The long selection is over and I'm sure The Ark will do a perfect job in ESC. A lot of the Eurovision fans out there says the song is boring... Well, they cannot have watched their performance. Hehehe.. When it comes to ESC I'm not like some people that support their country no matter what crap they're sending. If Sweden chooses an awful song and singer (like last year for example), I don't care very much about it. But this year I'm happy to say, our entry is GREAT! Go The Ark goooooo!

My ranking for tonight's final

Click for a bigger view

12p --> The Ark - The worrying kind
The song might not be outstanding, but their performance is the best I've seen so far in this year's selection for ESC. May it be risky for Sweden to not send our schlager-sound? Will the history of 2005 repeat itself? After seeing Ola Salo on stage, I'm willing to take that risk. Go The Ark!! Hoping for a victory tonight!

10p --> Måns Zelmerlöw - Cara mia
This song isn't very original, but in this year's MF none of them are. Måns is great on stage, his dancing and precence took him to the final. The question is, will it take him all the way to Helsinki? He is one of the big favourites, so who knows..?

8p --> Marie Lindberg - Trying to recall
Marie, the formerly un-known teacher from a small "town" somewhere in Sweden, seems to be very popular. Not only among the swedish viewers (who know her story and road to Melodifestivalen) but also among the ESC fans in other parts of Europe. I've read so many positive comments about her, and that feels good. I wonder if she knows.. Hopefully she will show less nervousness tonight compared to the semi in Gothenburg.

7p --> Sarah Dawn Finer - I remember love
This ballad is very nice to listen to. She's got a great voice and precence on stage. Her eyes are amazing. The song may seem a little bit too conventional compared to other ballads in this year's ESC?

6p --> Sanna Nielsen - Vågar du, vågar jag
Sanna has got this super-über-swedish schlager sound and we've heard it a 1000 times before. But that doesn't matter, I like it anyway.

5p --> Sonja Aldén - För att du finns
A very nice song and she sings it very well. But there is something in her voice that I'm not too crazy about. That Shirley Clamp vibrato thing... :S She has to watch out, a little more of that and she will sound like a sheep.

4p --> Anna Book - Samba sambero
Anna seems really sweet and the song is very catchy. I have nothing against G:son and his kind of songs, but this one is a little too much "dansband" (is there even an english word for that??) for me.

3p --> Sebastian Karlsson - When the night comes falling
The only thing that comes falling is my eyelids... It would be better if we just heard the song and didn't have to see him. Although I admit I'm a little curious about what he will wear tonight. Another blouse donated from his grandmother?

2p --> Andreas Johnson - A little bit of love
According to the polls, he is one of the favourites tonight. BUT WHY????

1p --> Tommy Nilsson - Jag tror på människan
How the **** did he manage to pass from the semifinal? His voice was obviously not ok and he looked like he's been on drugs for the past ten years or so. Maybe a lot of people voted for him because they felt sorry for him. Or is it possible to like this song? ;)

I'm sure there will be a great show tonight, looking forward to it. Go The Ark go!!

Shake it up Şekerim!

Here it is! Finally! Turkey's entry in ESC 2007! As usual they're sending a great song. Kenan has a really good voice and the dancemoves are very nice. However, I expected a little more ethno tunes. Sometimes it reminds me a bit too much of Justin Timberlake. Anyway, a great entry and probably a place among the top 10 in Helsinki. ;) And one of my personal favourites. Take a look at his performance:

Mihai Trăistariu comments the Swedish entries

On March 8 the swedish Melodifestival and Eurovision site gylleneskor.se had an interview with Mihai Trăistariu (Romania 2006) to talk about his success with Tornero and his upcoming plans for new releases and events. Mihai (together with Fabrizio Faniello, Malta 2001 and 2006) was also asked to comment the entries in this year's Melodifestival. You can read the interview in Swedish here and the comments about the songs here.

This is the english translation:

Gylleneskor.se interviews Mihai Trăistariu

The Tornero man soon to release new hits

Mihai got his international breakthrough last year after the Eurovision Song Contest in Athens. In his native country Romania, he’s frequently been at the top of the charts and he is also known as a singer who has a vocal range of five octaves. His Eurovision entry Tornero was predicted to win and ended up in 4th place. However that was the start of Mihai’s international career and right now he is Romania’s most successful international singer. ”The Romanian wonder of pop.” Tornero was frequently played on the radio all over Europe and became one of last year’s greatest hits from last year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Shortly, an album will be released in 14 countries and his new single Dimmi si o no has just been released.

Alexander: Hello Mihai! How nice to hear from you again! You had a real hit all over Europe with your Eurovision entry Tornero. Especially here in Sweden where we have heard your song being played a lot on the radio. Can you tell us a little about what you have been up to since your success in the Eurovision Song Contest?

Mihai: I’ve been travelling quite a lot. After the Eurovision Song Contest in Athens I’ve had about 55 concerts outside of Romania. I’ve been invited to 16 different countries. I’ve visited Greece 32 times, Malta four times, Cyprus six times, Sweden, Albania, Macedonia, Italy, Bulgaria, Iceland and so on. I’ve signed contracts with several European record companies and now my songs, albums and videos are being promoted in 14 countries. My dream was to start an international career and I really did during 2006. Tornero made all this possible!

Alexander: You recently visited Iceland during their national final, tell us about it?

Mihai: Iceland was amazing. Even though I prefer countries where it’s warm and even though it was raining, I was happy to be a guest in their final. There I also launched my new single Dimmi si o no. I got to see some geysers and Icelandic food is good. I also liked the fact that their national final was completely without scandals. Everywhere else there is scandals all the time. Everybody was happy and I liked it.

Alexander: Are you thinking of participate in the Eurovision Song Contest again?

Mihai: Yes I want to take part again. I would like to be the first Romanian singer who wins the Eurovision Song Contest for Romania!

Alexander: So, what’s happening next?

Mihai: My new single Dimmi si o no has just been released in Malta, Greece and Iceland. And in Finland it’s already played on the radio and in all the clubs. The single will be released in more than 14 countries and my new album Mihai will be released in May.

Alexander: Our collegue at Gylleneskor.se, Edward af Sillén, invited you to Stockholm Pride last summer, do you remember that?

Mihai: Yes, it was so nice to be invited to Sweden. Edward was so kind and friendly and the show was fantastic. It was my very first time in Sweden and it felt great.

Alexander: Are you planning to come back to Sweden anytime soon?

Mihai: I’m quite sure I’ll come back to Sweden this summer after I’ve released my new single there. I have quite a lot of fans in Sweden and a big fanclub there. The presidents of my fanclub are two very special girls; Catrin Johansson and Åsa Rydin. It’s so much fun to have international fanclubs nowadays.

Alexander: What are you doing when you’re not on tour?

Mihai: Then I’m at home and calling all my friends to come and visit me, because I like to be surrounded by my friends.

Alexander: Recently Romania arranged the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. It seems like the interest for the Eurovision Song Contest has grown quite big in Romania and the quality of your entries has improved during the last few years.

Mihai: After my success last year, everyone has suddenly realised that it’s a good start for an international career. This year there was a huge amount (a record) of entries that were submitted for our national selection. The newspapers in Romania also realised that I made 2,5 million Euros after participating in the contest. This year many singers and composers that earlier ignored the contest participated. Now everyone in Romania watches the Eurovision Song Contest!

Alexander: How much do you know about Swedish music?

Mihai: I like Swedish music. Because you have very good voices and you have several international names. I liked Carola’s entry last year. She is amazing!


Mihai comments the entries in Melodifestivalen 2007

1. Andreas Johnson – A little bit of love
Generally there seems to be a lot of rock in every nations’ selections this year. What happend, is this Lordi’s fault? Obviously it is. Well I don’t think a rock song like this one will win the Eurovision Song Contest. I think it will be a beautiful ballad or a very good dance track. I hope there will be some of those among your songs. I don’t think you should choose a rock song this year.

2. Sonja Aldén – För att du finns
Sweden seems to have very beautiful songs this year. Perhaps too many ballads but I believe in a ballad in the Eurovision Song Contest this year. I like the whole arrangement in this song and Sonja has a very good voice, but isn’t the melody a bit old-fashioned? Although the song is very nice. I don’t think this could win in Helsinki, that much I’m sure. Besides, I get nervous by not understanding what she sings, I would like to understand the meaning of it. In an international final she’s got to sing in english.

3. Anna Book – Samba sambero
What a nice refrain! The rythms is typically Hungarian or for that sake Scandinavian. If you change the language into english or spanish, well or italian, it might get a really good result in Helsinki. It’s an up-tempo song, probably with the Eurovision Song Contest kept in mind and that’s probably a good thing. It’s very catchy and I think it would do very good in Finland. Maybe a little old-fashioned but there’s nothing wrong with that. This is still one of the best songs I think.

4. Sebastian – When the night comes falling
This is a typical pop-rock song. The sound is very...OK...the voice is also...OK. The refrain is totally OK, but this is absolutely not a song that fits for the Eurovision Song Contest. Although Lordi had a very special song as well. So you never know. But I would vote for another song, not this kind.

5. Marie Lindberg – Trying to recall
Very emotional. You just got to listen to her album. I’m sure this song will sell a lot in Sweden. I don’t know who she is but I like it. I notice that you seem to like ballads this year. I think that’s a good idea since I have a feeling there will be a ballad that wins the Eurovision Song Contest this year. It would be interesting if Sweden sent this song to the Eurovision Song Contest this year. But then again you never know, the Eurovision Song Contest is unpredictable, it could win or it could end up last. You never know...


6. Måns Zelmerlöw – Cara mia
Manszel Merlow? A very catchy song. You remember the refrain at once! If there’s a good performance then it’s great. I think this song could do a good job in Helsinki. It’s good to send a song that is easy to remember since most of the people only get to hear the song once. But by the way I think every songs in this year’s Melodifestivalen seem a bit old-fashioned? But that’s in fact a minor problem in the Eurovision Song Contest.

7. Tommy Nilsson – Jag tror på människan
Once again, a beautiful ballad. It reminds me of Ireland’s entry last year. His voice is very powerful and the song is emotional and touchy. A very nice song for Sweden, but perhaps not for the rest of Europe. It wouldn’t reach top 5 in Helsinki.

8. Sanna Nielsen – Vågar du, vågar jag
I like this song. One of the best in the Swedish final I think. It reminds me a bit of Celine Dion and her song I’m alive. It’s not a copy but it’s the same style, which is totally OK since I like it. It’s interesting that it’s emotional even though it’s a dance song, that’s rare. The refrain is easy to listen to, which of course is an advantage.

9. Sarah Dawn Finer – I remember love
Oh, this sounds very american, kind of like Aguilera and Kelly Clarkson. I like this a lot. I would vote for this for sure, however I’m not convinced that this really is a winning song. Perhaps more a radio hit than something suitable for the Eurovision Song Contest. There is something special over the whole thing, maybe it’s the voice that of course is very powerful. But I wonder if I don’t prefer one of the dance songs instead. Cara mia or Samba sambero.

10. The Ark – The worrying kind
Very Brittish... It sounds very fresch. It may be a good show for sure. Influences from the 80-ies and 90-ies, pop-rock band. Very catchy. However I don’t believe in this for the Eurovision Song Contest anymore. Don’t know why. The guy’s voice has so much personality and the song is good, but I don’t think it will win this Satuday.

Conclusions
I know that several of these singers are very big in Sweden and that will affect how you’ll vote this Saturday. I don’t know any of them so my opinions is quite objective. I would go for sending some of the following singers to Helsinki, my favourites: Måns Zelmerlöw, Anna Book or Sanna Nielsen. (But in english.) I’ve listened to the songs several times now and I have to say that the Swedish final seems to have the best songs of all the national finals. Bravo! Probably almost all your songs are going to be great hits in Sweden during 2007.

Waiting for Kenan

This year Turkey (TRT) decided to send Kenan Doğulu to Helsinki. That has been known for quite some time now, along with the song title: Shake it up Şekerim. And after all this waiting, this Friday March 9th we will finally hear it! So it better be good, cause people's expectations are HIGH. I'm sure it will be a great song, Kenan is very talented as a singer/songwriter and this time he worked with Sezen Aksu who is the composer of Tarkan's megahit Şimarik (Kiss kiss). I'm hoping for english/turkish lyrics along with some ethno rythms/tunes.

Previous hits from Kenan are for example Cakkıdı and Baş Harfi Ben. Both great songs, take a look:





Istanbul 2008??

Andra chansen

So this is the scheme for the show Andra chansen this Saturday. And this is the first year it's actually a real show with real performances. The previous years people just got to see re-runs from the semifinals and vote for their favourites. Now they're going to perform again in a show similar to the semis, in Nyköping. It makes me wonder, where will it all end? LOL But as a real fan, of course I'm not complaining, hehe :D

I don't think I'll vote tomorrow night, since I haven't got any favourites. I think all the performances and songs in the 2nd chance were so-so when I first watched them. However, this might change when I get to see them again. To be honest, I don't think any of these stands a chance against The Ark, Sebastian and Andreas Johnson in the final. But of course, beeing in Melodifestivalen's final is a kind of a victory too I guess ;)

Sarbel goes to Helsinki!

ERT's attempt to broadcast the Greek final over the Internet didn't exactly work without problems. In other words, (and according to several comments on esctoday.com) it didnt work at all :S So thank God for youtube LOL. After watching the performances I'm not surprised that Sarbel won. I got really impressed by the way he moved, but I was kinda surprised he couldn't sing better live. If he'll improve the vocals in time for ESC, there might be place 1-5 for Greece once again. Watch his performance here.

Dantis sang better live, but that doesn't help when the song is horrible. :P And those cloned dancers, what was that about? Watch here.

Since Tamta slayed the fantastic Tornerò in her duet with Mihai, I was a little concerned how her voice would sound live. In fact it was better than I expected, but the stageing.... OMG.. Lame fireworks and men dancing with flags borrowed from Carola :S And who adviced the girl to dress like a stripper while performing such a beautiful ballad?? Watch it here.