ABBA - Happy New Year 2010

its almost N Y E as another decade draws to a close -

they are calling it the fastest Decade ever!
At the stroke of midnight in Swedish TV each year they play this special Abba clip
of 'Happy New Year' as sweden's new year theme.
Over the years the songs line ' What lies waiting down the line, At the end of 89..' has out dated

Perhapes it should have given a longer spell, been wrote as
What lies waiting down the line,
At the END OF 2009... Bjorn, what were you thinkin?

inroducting Eric Saade- 'Manboy' will be his song for Melodifestivalen 2010!

this ALMOST was the Christmas No; 1 in Sweden..Lady GaGa. Bad Romance- Luv it.

Over in SVENSKa Land there is not too many surprises in the chart. As the recent idol
winner Erik Gronwall was in fact the highest seller with 'Higher' We are just
ga-ga crazy about the new one from Lady Gaga- And she ended up on step away
from the festive topper with this tune. Check out the vid'

AQUA Merry ChristmaS From ScHALGERTUNeS - Spin Me A Christmas

This is Didrik, who sings Opera and will take part in Norway MGP 2010

Yes, this is Didrik Solli-Tangen...it sort of has the same ring to it as Maria Haukaas

Storeng we think. He has a wicked smile, could he even have the Rybak factor to

represent Norway in 2010. He will compete in semi final 3 in Skien, Norway his song "My heart is yours" ( hmm..I am liking it already!) But wait there is even more Sir Fredik Kempe wrote

the entry with Hanne Sovaag ( she gave us Velvet Inc's 'Tricky' in MGP 2009 )

In the semi final he will be up against -Mira Craig ( she wrote 'Hold on be strong' winner in 2008 ) and boyband A1 with a self penned song 'Don't wanna lose you again'

Just check out his vocal talent on this NRK Tv clip. Playing violin for him is Alexander

the Rykak himself,

YES, Didrik could have what it takes to win MGP in 2010. Just on his hair style alone !!!

Alexander Rybak's his Fairytale lives on as reported in a NEW interview

Mr Rybak has become Eurovision's winner who has not only put Norway back

on the international map. He has brought new life to the song contest, as well as making 2009 his year..it began with a fairtale and before the end of this year he met President Obana

and performed at the Nobel Peace Prize concert.

This week a new interview with Norsk Dagbladet was put out. Alex himself has said this 'Wow! In 2 pages, Line Tiller in this interview manages to catch the essense of my whole life'

you can read some quotes of the interview here- we hope a full english translation sooon?

Meanwhile, while snows falls all over the UK- Alexander has joined forces

with swedish schlager star Lotta Engberg for the christmas classic

'Baby, its cold outside'

plus a Fantastic Visual photo gallery of Alex- in 09

Shirley Clamp's 'Min kärlek' is decared Our MELODIFESTIVAL SONG of THE DECADE

1st SHIRLEY CLAMP Min kärlek
(31%)

= 2nd LENA PHILIPSSON Det gör ont
(27%)

=2nd CAROLA Evighet/ Invincible
(27%)

=4th CHARLOTTE PERELLI 'Hero'
(22%)

=4th MANS ZELMERLOW 'Cara Mia'
(22%)


6th MALENA ERNMAN 'La Viox'
(18%)

7th NANNE GRONVALL Håll Om Mig
(13%)

8th SANNA NEILSON Empty Room
(9%)

Just click- on the songs to see the Clips


ALL BUBBLING UNDER with 4 % are


BWO 'Lay all your Love on Me'
(4%)

CAROLINE AF UGGLAS 'Snälla, Snälla'
(4%)

E M D 'Baby Goodbye'
(4%)

CAROLA & ANDREAS 'One Love'
(0%)

The Mf Charlie's Angels, Lena Shirley & Carola turn out to be Tops in

our Blog Poll to find SchlagerTunes

Melodifestivalen Song of the Decade. Interesting to see how Carola pulled winning

song 'Invicible' back from equal 3rd in the Poll of just the Melodifestivalen

winners' From 19% of the vote she scored 27% in the final poll. Both Lens Ph &

Carola in fact are only 1 vote away from a win. Yet Shirley Clamp who

showed just how a classic schlager-tune should sound. 'Min Karlek (My Love)'

this song finished in 2nd place in 2004, after coming-back from 2nd Chance round.

The tune was also recorded in english by Shirley in 2009- as

'My LoveLife'

Well done Shirl'

Melodifestivalen 2010: Parade of The Stars (Goteborg and Malmo)

Here is a Show 'n Tell Parade of the confirmed Artists for Melodifestivalen 2010
Darin gives an interesting interview & the New look Sibel is Fantastic- We
hope for a more up-beat offering from her with the song 'Stop'

introducing NEO - Sweden's own Mika for Melodifestivalen 10

Neo- is to sing the song 'Human Frontier' in the Malmo Semi Final.
we like this oldie retake of Leo Sayer- and Neo even has the Sayer hair to boot!
FaB

Round Two- Semi Final details are releaved..

The second semi final has more than a fair share of newbie artists. We have looked at Eric

Saade who comes from boy-band 'What's up' and has the advantage of the Kempe Magic touch

for his tune 'Man boy'. Anna Maria Espinosa is from Idol, yawn!

but wait, check out her single 'A Little Moonlight' its rather good, her style is almost Cyndi Lauper-Esque. Highlights, are of the new skool Dansbands in sweden. Fronted by Andreas Wistrand ( from Fame Factory 04 ) they look good but what can they do for the winning web

joker tune 'Come to me' something drastic is needed here to give the tune a chance.

Ola has had a alot of Hits at home & in Europe, most recent is No:1 'Sky's the Limit' this tune would not be outa place in Melodifestivalen. Just without the bag-pipes Ola is in Semi Round 1 and could well be unstoppable this

time around. Who is Calle Moraeus we asked? He is a very famous fiddler who is

known for playing in Benny Andersson's folk Orkestra no less. He has released the odd

solo folk stuff on the Mono Lable. So expect a traditional folk style with 'Wonderful'

With all these new names we will look more at the artists before they make their debut.

stay for this schlager ride..

Semi Final 2 - Sandviken 13th February 2010.

Come To Me - Highlights (Web-joker song)

Hippare Hoppare - Dogge with Second Generation

Innan alla Ljusen brunnit Ut (Before all the lights go out) - Anna Maria Espinosa

Manboy - Eric Saade

Manipulated -Hanna Lindblad (a Musical star from Singin 'in the Rain "svensk vers)

Underbart- Wonderful - Calle Moraeus with Orsa fiddlers

We Can Work It Out - Andreas Johnson

Joker - Unknown, is yet to be announced!

Quess Who is coming back for Melodifestivalen 10 ?

ALCaZAR Joy they are now confirmed they will sing the new song 'Headlines'

in next years Melodifestivalen.. now that's given us one big schlager Smile..more details to come.

Peter Jöback comes back to Melodifestivalen

Now it is official the 3rd joker for 2010 is Peter Jöback.

Frederick Kempe & Anders Hansson are the writers behind the song, which is called "Hollow". It is described by Peter Jöback as a "big ballad". We all know how Peter can perform a ballad

most effectively. As his debut hit 'Guldet Blev til Sand' proved with his breakthough in 1995 . Add to this Kempe's Magic when it comes to

delvering a winning song, he wrote winners 'La Voix' and 'Hero'
-One of Peter's quotes to the press today "When people think they know where I am at, I would always do something else completly different" this is no different.
Linda Martin is a producer for Melidifestivalen 2010 (not the irish singer who sung 'Why Me')

she said..
"Peter is the artist that I have tried to persuade more than anyone else to join Melodifestivalen again.

He is a super professional who always delivers the highest international level and performance."

Linda certainly is not wrong, here is a great christmas clip from

Peter with Norwegian songstress Sissel

Sara Löfgren sings 'Åt Helvete För Sent'

There has been alot of controversy about the recent song that was

disqualified 'Åt Helvete För Sent' Susie from Lili & Susie had a hand in the song-writing credit. As

you can hear its very different from the pop style of the blond 90's Duo. The

singer who sang the hit 'Som Stormen' in Melodifestivalen 2004 and finished 7th

Sara Löfgren would have been perfect to present this beautiful swedish song - hear the

full song just click on her link above. See what you think, a Mf classic may well

have been lost..

Peter Jöback & Fredrik Kempe - the New Sensation in 2010?

Rumours are coming in from Stockholm, of the Stars

to be performing in Melodifestivalen 2010.

Each day a new story

comes out.. we do have some more Jokers from Svt. It looks from

what we have so far, the line-up is in need of a couple more Big

names At least.

One such, has got us very excited is the

possible return of Peter Jöback who was almost

unknown & just 18 years old in Melodifestivalen 1990

when he performed 'En Sensation'

What makes this tale more exciting Peter will

to be performing a

Fredrik Kempe ballad, this certainly would be a

winning combination.

For now let's remember

Peter Joback the last time, back in 1990.

'YES, it's True Peter Jöback is in for 2010'

Round One (ring-ding) Semi Final details are revealed..

So here is the list of confirmed artists who will perform in the first semi final

in February next year. It looks like a mixed bag, of hard rock and classic pop.

This is not the final running order of songs. 'The Saviour' sung by musical star Anders Ekborg is a replacement for another

disqualified entry. It has been made public the entry 'Åt helvete för sent' wrote partly by Lilli & Susie star, was cancelled. As the artist to present this song could not be desided between Rikard Wolff and Sara Lofgren, finally the whole song was thrown out. So 'The Saviour' is another replacement long with 'You're making me hot hot hot' both in this first semi. Its good to have Anders making a debut in Melodifestivalen at least.

Semi Final 1 - Örsköldsvik 6th February 2010.

A Place to Stay - Jenny Silver (formerly from Ohlund)

Did It For Love - Jessica Andersson (from Fame )

Keep on Walking - Salem Al Fakir (the Mystery Joker 2 )

Road Salt - Pain of Salvation (Pain for sure, as they are a Heavy Rock band! )

Single - Frisprakarn

The Savior - Anders Ekborg (he like Peter Joback - played a lead role in Musical Kristina in 90's)

Unstoppable - Ola

You're Making Me Hot Hot Hot - Linda Pritchard

Norway's Melodi Grand Prix all 21 songs releaved

As Norska's Melodi Grand Prix turns 50.

All the 21 songs for MGP were revealed this week,an unusual star-studded MGP-songwriter list .The MGP will celebrate 50 years, and the final will take place on Saturday 6th Febuary at Olso Spektrum. Its an interesting list featuring Frederik Kempe he sprinkles his Melodi-stardust over a Norsk entry for the very first time. Mira Craig is back with a tear-jecker that made her cry when she first heard the song Live! - Mira wrote 'Hold on be strong' in 2008.

Take a look here at the full list, strange to see all the songs are in english except just one tune in norwegian!

1. The touch, music & lyrics: Rolf Løvland

2. Tokyo night, music & lyrics: Aggie Peterson

3. Don't want to lose you again, music & lyrics: A1- Ben Adams, Mark Read, Christian Ingebrigtsen, David Eriksen

4. Rewind love, music & lyrics: Julian Berntzen

5. Life is here today, music & lyrics: Arne Hovda

6. My heart is yours, music & lyrics: Hanne Sørvaag & Fredrik Kempe

7. Don't stop, music & lyrics Mariann Thomassen & Lars Erik Westby

8. I'll take you high, music & lyrics: Mira Craig

9. Be good to me, music & lyrics: Tommy LaVerdi & Peter Ställmark

10. Make my day, music & lyrics: Merethe LaVerdi

11. Jealous couse I love you, music: Laila Samuelsen, Alexander Kronlund og Lucas Hilbert, lyrics: Laila Samuelsen, Alexander Kronlund

12. European girl, music: Matias Tellez, lyrics: Håkon Njøten & Axel Vindenes

13. Primadonna, music: Lene Alexandra Øien og Jarl Aanestad, Lene Alexandra Øien, Jarl Aanestad og Simon Walker

Yes, boobs are back!- in the shape of Lene, she sung 'Sillycone Valley' in MGP 2008

14. Synk eller svøm (Sink or swim), music & lyrics: Gaute Ormåsen, Laila Samuelsen & Kim Bergseth 15. Rocketfuel, music & lyrics: Elisabeth Carew & Thomas Eriksen

16. The best of me is you, music & lyrics: Heine Totland, Hans Petter Aaserud & Arne Hovd

17. Barracs on the hill, music: Fred Endresen, lyrics: Olaf Øwre

18. The Dragontower, music: Arnt Obsidian Grønbech, lyrics: Arnt Obsidian Grønbech, Torbjørn Schei, Vegar Larsen og Robin Isaksen

19. Give it to me, music & lyrics: Alexander Stenerud

20. Yes man, music & lyrics: Simone Larsen, Simen Eriksrud & Bjørn Johan Muri

21. Million Dollar Baby, music & lyrics: Robin Nordahl, Frode Andersen & Gerard James Borg

We will find out the list of artists from NRK as soon as next week..stay tuned

Duncan James and his prayer for Eurovision 2010

- Duncan shows the sign of ' Molitva' ESC 07 -with a hope he will sing for his country

This is 'Duncan James', he is former star from U K Boyband 'Blue'

he has been named as more than likely the singer who will represent UK in Oslo 2010. The BBC have been in talks with Gary Barlow (from 'Take That') as next year's choosen songwriter for the Uk entry. If the news story, is correct. This will be the first time in history the BBC have choosen a UK entry and artist internally without any Selection TV Competition. A process Switzerland use each year to pick their enrty for Eurovision.

That seems a shame as 'Your country needs you' show was very success in 2009, when U K public voted Jade Ewan to sing 'My Time' for UK . Following this Jade came 5 th in Moscow, a fantastic comeback for her country. Another singer rumoured to return

to sing for UK was James Fox, who we felt would have been an excellent internal choice

from the beeb!

Wishing N Hoping N Praying.. are they gonna make it for 2010 - The wait is almost over.

As we head for towards December more Artists will be confirmed for Melodifestivalen 2010- In fact svt will release the names from next Monday 30 th November with the first 15 Artists. Very often the songs and even songwriters have a few artists lined-up for the idea choice.

so many names & Melodifestivalen regulars could be waiting n wishing that phone would ring

as we speak.

One exciting rumour we have heard is a strong contender is-Linda Bengtzing, who is said to be singing one of the english 2010 songs. Linda has always been popular with up beat swedish songs in Melodifestivalen. She grew out of the TV show Fame Factory in 2004, then in 2005 she performed 'Alla flickor' a huge popular song and hit that year. Yet of her 3 songs entered in the contest, 'Jag ljuger så bra' (see clip) must be the most favourite, it finished in 7th place in Globen Final 2006.

Linda Bengtzing always gives 110% in her performances and singing english this time could be a golden opportunity for her..

Meanwhile we have a new joker revealed last week, but don't hold your breath .. he is Salem Al Fakir, with the song a self penned 'Keep on walking' he is rather successful in sweden. Yet we have never heard of him, Salem's father is from Syria, he has played the violin since the age of 4. Hmmm..is anyone thinking same as

me? a Rybak Factor part 2 perhapes?

Come on Svt give us some more exciting jokers please?

Over in Moscow the rumours are we may well see Dima Bilan return to the local selection contest, this would be his third Eurovision entry for mother Russia. He is rather massive and could so easily win a place in Oslo next year. And Dima would be chasing ireland's Johnny Logan double Eurovision win in the 80's

Go Dima.....

Netherlands after 34 years have won a Eurovision Title again!

it was back in Stockholm 1975, that the group Teach-in sung & won Eurovision Song Contest.

with 'Ding-a-Dong' see here

Since then in recent times The Netherlands have struggled to even make the Final, in fact it was back in

Eurovision 2004 when Re-Union sung 'Without You' & gave Holland a 20th place in the final.

Now at long last things are turning around for the dutch, and about time- its only a

Junior Eurovision Winning title but hey, its a massive step in the right direction.

Out of 13 countries last night saw a new victory for Holland.

The song is real fun called 'Click,Clack' Ralf wrote the song - No, he does not play the fiddle, but he

does tap instead- well done Ralf.

And Netherlands see you next in Oslo...

BEST Melodifestivalen Winners of past decade!

That's right the decade is now ticking away. In Melodifestivalen terms it has seen
this TV Annual song contest grow to be a MASSIVE annual spectacular

of what is certainly the
cream of Swed' Talent of the artists & songwriters.

Over a month ago now, we asked -What is your
favourite Winner of Melodifestalen in past 10 years?

Here is the final POLL finding...

Winner- LENA PHILIPSSON 'Det gor ont' - 51 %

2nd - CHARLOTTE PERRELLI 'Hero' 32 %

=3rd CAROLA 'Evighet' 19 %

=3rd MARLENA ERNMAN 'La Voix' 19 %

= 5th Friends- 'Listen to your Heartbeat'

& Afro Dite's 'Never Let you go' got 9 %

Other winners The Ark, Martin Stenmarck,

FAME & Roger Pontare- only gained 2% each

of the Winner poll votes.

So it was a case of real Diva-Battle where Lena Ph won over Carola, Malena & Charlotte.

Still this is only Mf Winners be sure to vote still for The Super 12-

Top favourite Melodifestivalen Song of the decade. In the side bar now.

Charlotte has a second chance with 'Hero' in the Super 12 Poll
'see you there?'

1979 The Dooleys another Abba-esque 70's FLASHBACK!!!

Recently on the Blog... we had a look at Abba 70's rivals Brotherhood of Man- who

followed the swedes to Eurovision fame, plus a string of hits in the Fernando' vain.

Read more here and here

In the seventies, a disco-pop band calling themselves-

The Dooleys!!

In Britian

& Europe the eight piece family group

had a solid string of male-vocal hits ' Think I'm gonna fall in love with you'

'Honey I'm Lost' 'A rose has to die' and 'Love of My Life' The band

found a regular spot on the disco dance halls of the time.

Then suddenly for no reason,

the two girls took vocal-control, with the top 3 hit 'Wanted'

This song looked and

sounded very much like an unused track from Abba's 1979 Voulez Vous LP.

The Dooleys continued with a whole album simular to the big hit, called

'Chosen Few This album

has recently been remastered on cd on Cherry Red lable. This Cd /LP it is well worth

a re-visit.

While The Dooleys never did enter Eurovision Song Contest, this may

have been as they did a cover of Olivia's Song for Europe 74 song

'Hands across the Sea' (when it failed to make it- The year 'Long Live Love'

was choosen for UK!) This was The Dooleys debut single that met very little success.

Here is the 'Wanted' clip-

only thing missing is some blond hair dye!

Agnes chats on Manchester News about her new Brit Success

One artist from Melodifestivalen 2009- has gone on to find even greater success overseas. 'Love Love Love' finished in 8th place. As well as a Top 4 hit in Sweden.

Yet Agnes had a lot more to offer from her third Album release 'Dance Love Pop'

this gave her a massive UK

hit with 'Release Me' released in May - the single have now sold more than

350,000 copies in UK and will be among the year's biggest sellers after peaking at No: 3.

Down under in Australia 'Release Me' made

No: 6 as well as No: 5 over in Germany.

Agnes new single is another dance classic of her ballad ' I need you now' and has a fantastic

Cahill Club Mix New mix & video..

Scandipop did a funtastic interview with Agnes you can read that here.

PLUS here is Agnes on Manchester News U K - proving again she is the brightest

star international from Melodifestivalen We Luv you Agnes, & hope to see you

down-under soon.