Kategori: Melodifestivalerna

One-way ticket to jail

Oh dear. 13 eager music fans found their fun was stopped by a Landskrona man who sold them tickets that were fake, or had already been used, reports Helsingborgs Dagblad. Lund District Court heard that the accused sold the fans tickets to Melodifestivalen, Sonisphere and a Lady Gaga concert – and they only discovered what had happened when they were refused entry.

The man scammed 17,500kr from his schlager and pop victims – and fans of naked women were also hit after the conman set up a website with a trojan virus to access their bank accounts on the pretext of selling the customers pictures of said ladies.

He’s going to jail for three months, so he’ll miss Melodifestivalen. But will be out in time for Eurovision. Justice served, then.

Vote for the gays

If you’re in Sweden, it’s time to get voting for QX magazine’s annual Gaygala. You have to be in Sweden, though, because you need to confirm your selections with a text message.

The democratically selected shortlist (a novelty!) is here.

Particularly pleasing is the category for Årets svenska låt (Swedish song of the year), with Loreen‘s My Heart Is Refusing Me competing against Jenny Silver‘s Something In Your Eyes and Eric Saade‘s Popular. Bringing up the rear are Veronica Maggio‘s Jag kommer (faaaabulous song) and Laleh with Ängeln i rummet. The power of TV, eh?

Surprisingly – or not – this year’s Melodifestivalen hasn’t been nominated for Årets TV-program, with Idol, Så mycket bättre and Downton Abbey occupying the category instead.

My favourite category, and one of the most honest for a long time, is Årets jag tror inte mina ögon – This year’s ‘I can’t believe what I’m seeing’. The nominations are for Alcazar splitting up, the ”straight-invasion” of Stockholm Pride, and the schlagerfiasko that was this year’s Andra chansen at Melodifestivalen. Obviously that particular event should run away with the prize. And never happen again.

Rigtig glædelig jul!

If you read the schlager TV guide recently, then you’ll know that Denmark’s annual Christmas show was on. And it featured A Friend In London from this year’s Eurovision doing a festive version of their song New Tomorrow.

And by festive, it wasn’t just with a few bells shoved on top. Great!

DRs Store Juleshow is unlikely to be available to watch online outside Denmark, unfortunately – but the showing on Sweden’s SVT should be online. It’ll be on on Christmas Eve, 20.00 (7pm UK), so available on SVTPlay shortly afterwards.

Swiss schlagerfiasko

Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that its name – Schlagerfiasko, if you hadn’t noticed – is an attempt to reclaim the word from its negative connotations and embrace all that is wonderful about our beloved genre, even when things don’t always go according to plan (see this year’s entire Andra chansen results show…). However, sometimes, true Schlagerfiasko’s do happen. And when they do, it’s always a huge shame.

Last night’s fiasko in Switzerland was that. Lovely Lys Assia, ignoring the moaners criticising her for being 87 and going on stage to perform (how dare she!), didn’t even get in the top three in the Swiss Eurovision preselection. Added to that, she was actually judged by a panel of three – who, by all accounts, weren’t forthcoming in their praise, and were actually downright insulting.

Sometimes, schlager – and Eurovision – needs to be as much about the story as well as the song, and this was one of those times. What a shame.

(And I’m sure that Europe will adore the band who won with their rip-off of The Killers‘ Somebody Told Me.)

Super.

“You can get rid of me, but I’ll always come back!”

Nanne Grönvall is in London, and she’s invited me to join her for a quick coffee. We’re sitting in a rather grand hotel in Knightsbridge, just around the corner from Harrods, and she’s dressed ready for a dinner engagement later on.

You can’t have coffee before dinner, of course, so it quickly turns into a glass of red wine each.

Inget konstigt alls.

For Schlagerfiasko readers, Nanne needs no introduction, of course. Eight appearances at Melodifestivalen. Eurovision. Sound Of Music. Peter’s Pop Squad. One More Time (especially One More Time). And, erm, the UK’s Song For Europe (we were never worthy of Men).

And now Nanne is back, after a busy summer, with a new album. Called My Rock Favourites, I decide to start by asking Nanne what the concept of the record is.

Because I’m an idiot.

“It’s rock.” she replies, patiently. “And it’s rock in English. This is actually my first English-language album for ages, and I’ve never done one solo before – it’s a collection of my favourite rock songs.

“But it’s not just covers,” adds Nanne. “We’ve made the songs into my own sound. It’s important that it’s still me singing it with my style, and not simply a cover. It has to be Nanne, and Nanne is guitars and synths. My records are everything from rock to pop, and I love mixing up those styles. This album is all rock, with a pop sound. If you know Avundsjuk or Jag sträcker mig mot himlen, you’ll get it. I’ve been working from early in the morning until late at night on this, so it’s really exciting.”

Nanne tackles a number of classics on the album, including The Clash’s Should I Stay Or Should I Go, Sham 69’s Kids Are United, and Joan Jett’s Nag, with support from Mikkey Dee of Motörhead and Clawfinger. We’re a long way from schlager, for sure. But it’s not only rock that Nanne’s been embracing lately.

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