Melodi Grand Prix 2013: Semifinal 3 - The artists

Here are the 7 acts from the last semifinal of the MGP 2013:

1: Gothminister - Utopia

Tekst/melodi: Bjørn Alexander Brem

2: Adelén - Bombo

Tekst/melodi: Ina Wroldsen og Quiz & Larossi

3: Lucky Lips - Sweet and Heavy

Tekst/melodi: Malin Pettersen

4: Gaute Ormåsen - Awake

Tekst: Fredrik Borgen

Melodi: Gaute Ormåsen og Jesper Borgen

5: Anina - The Young

Tekst/melodi: Anine Stang, Mattias Frändä og Johan Åsgärde

6: Winta - Not Afraid

Tekst: Winta og Beyond 51

Melodi: Beyond 51

7: Sirkus Eliassen - I Love You Te Quiero

Tekst: Magnus Eliassen og Erik Eliassen

Melodi: Magnus Eliassen

All i can say is: GO MARGARET!!!

San Marino 2013: Oh oh uh oh oh Valentina Monetta is back

Oh yes Valentina Monetta is going to represent San Marino for the 2nd year with a song made by Ralph Siegel & Mauro Balestri.

Im very happy for her cause she is very talented,  i hope "Crisalide" is 10000 times better than that bad song she sang last year. Good luck Valentina!!

Janet Leon: "I love what I do, from the bottom of my heart"

Its time for another Melodifestivalen interview, now its the turn of an artist from the semifinal 3, some people say she has the winning song of this year, we have to wait 2 weeks too see if thats true but for now here are the answers of JANET LEON:

Name: Janet Ava Leon
Height: 166 cm
Favorite Color: Blue
What’s your strangest talent? I can lick my nostrils.
Do you have any nicknames? Janne, Jay, JJ
Home alone and you're bored. What do you do? Honestly, there are very few times in life that I am bored. If that happens, I just do something that I’ve wanted to but haven’t found the time to! Like cleaning, or cooking. Or something that never happens: Baking.
What are you really good at? Appreciating the little things in life, and seeing things from a positive point of view.
What are you really bad at? Bowling?
Childhood idol: Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson. 
Favorite movie: Blood In Blood Out.
Tell me something no one knows about you. I’m pretty strong. Haha!
What would you do if you were invisible? Hang around men. Would be so interesting to see how it is to be a guy, uncensored.
Tell me a super power you wish you had: Wish I could fly!
What is your guilty pleasure? Buying lots of candy and just laying I bed with a good movie or series.
Name a song that never fails to make you happy: On Top Of The World - TI
Describe yourself with 3 words: Positive, passionate and goofy.
Can you teach me some interesting words in Swedish? Bajskorv! Try that! Means turd. Hehe.
When did you start singing? As long as I can remember.

Hello Janet! The Melodifestivalen is getting closer. How do you feel right now?
I feel great! I am so psyched. Can’t wait until everyone hears my song. 

How would you describe yourself as an artist?
Passionate. I love what I do, from the bottom of my heart. 

The title of your  song is "Heartstrings". What can you tell me about it? what is the song about? what did you think the 1st time you heard it?
I loved it from the very first second. It feels like I wrote it myself. It’s a very dynamic uptempo with a lot of emotions.

Describe your song with 4 words
Dynamic, happy, melancholic and passionate.

What can you tell me about the performance? what can we expect? 
It’s gonna reflect upon the song. A lot of emotions!

Do  you know what you are going to wear for the semifinal? can you give us a hint?
Yes! It’s tight, and it’s blue!

What do you think about the artist from semifinal 3?
It’s a great mix! I’m so excited to hear the other songs.

What do you like about Eurovision?
I think it’s a great musical party! So many different countries and cultures. Amazing.

What do you dislike about Eurovision?
Nothing that I can think of!

Apart from Melodifestivalen, what are your plans for this year?
Releasing my album I’ve been working on the past year. I put my heart in to it, and can’t wait until it’s out for people to hear.

Is there anything you want to say to close the interview?
Hope you like the performance! And thank you!!!


These Chains is written by Janet Leon, Jörgen Elofsson, Lisa Desmond and Jesper Jakobsson.

Thanks to Janet! I cant wait to listen to her song, i wish her good luck on the semifinal.

Here is her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/janetleonofficial

Her official website: http://janetleon.se/

Her instagram: http://instagram.com/janetleonofficial/

Her twitter: https://twitter.com/janetleon

Behrang Miri: "The song is about human rights and equal right for all people"

Photo: Per Kristiansen

The Melodifestivalen is starting this week and here is an interview with one of the artists from Semifinal 4: BEHRANG MIRI:

Name: Behrang Miri
Age: 29
Height: 1,86 m
Favorite Color: Purple and Red
Favourite food: Falafel with halloumi with some ayran to drink, Mexican Tacos (their very popular among all people in Sweden), a Persian dish called “Khoreshte Ghormesabzi” and a Somalian/Ethiopian/Eritrean dish called Injera. Can’t forget pancakes for breakfast with raspberry jam and maple syrup – yummi : ). Actually I like ärtsoppa (peasoup) and tomato soup as well.
Shoe Size: 44/45
Eye color: brown
Where are you right now? In Malmö, Sweden
3 things that makes you happy: My daughter, HipHop and meeting new people
What’s your strangest talent? I actually don’t know. I could turn my arms around in the strangest angles – but I don’t know if that’s a talent. Perhaps some think it is : )
Do you have any nicknames? Berro
Home alone and your bored. What do you do? I love to watch documentaries and to play different quiz games.
What are you really good at? I think I’m quite good in freestyle rapping and I love to study, read and discuss ancient history and historical events.
What are you really bad at? To just chill out – it seems like I’m always up to something.
Childhood idol: When it came to music Wu-Tang Clan, The Roots, Nas and Talib Kweli. I also need to mention Nelson Mandela. When it came to sports I need to mention Mohammed Ali, Romario, Henke Larsson and Hristo Stoichkov.
Tell me something no one knows about you: As a child I was afraid of standing on a stage – that’s something that a lot of people cant imagine today.
What would you do if you were invisible? Probably do everything in my power to become visible again : )
Favorite movie: I got to pick three: Hurricane with Denzel Washington, a french move called “La Haine” and a Swedish documentary about a musician from Detroit called “Searching for Sugar Man”.
Tell me a super power you wish you had: I wish I could travel back in time. Then maybe I could change the awful things and mistakes we have made as human beings. But I could also meet all the great people that made great impact during their time and learn from them.
What's your favorite part of your body? My beautiful nose : )
Tell me one of your insecurities: I am afraid of heights – but I am trying to overcome that.
What is your guilty pleasure? I love milk products like yoghurt, Ice Cream and cake. But that is a guilty pleasure for my stomach cause I’m lactose intolerant. 
Name a song that never fails to make you happy: Pete Rock and CL Smooth –Reminisce
Can you teach me some interesting words in swedish? A lot of conventional Swedish words are very similar to English words so let me give you some words from the Swedish ebonics dictionary:
Shiiii den – that means “Hell noooooo”
Haffa – just grab or take something
Tugga – when you chill out and just relax.
Tell me some of your bad habits: I have a sweet tooth – I love godis (Swedish candy) and baklava.
When did you start singing? Well I’m a rapper and I start rapping when I was about 12-13 years old.
If you were the journalist what would you ask to Behrang Miri? and tell me your answer.
So Behrang, tell me more about your name?
Well actually I’m named after the Iranian author Samad Behrangi who was famous for working for human rights and democracy.

Photo: Per Kristiansen

Hello, the Melodifestivalen 2013 is getting closer, how do you feel right now?
I’m feeling great and excited to spread some food for thought and nice vibrations to the audience.

How would you describe yourself as an artist? 
A conscious artist with an eclectic sounds that like’s to deliver some “food for thought”. I love to create fusions between different musical genres and between different languages and cultures. Music does not see any barriers. When I’m up on the stage is all about interacting with the audience and to both deliver a message and to receive some feedback as well.

You are one of the 32 artist in MF 2013. How did it all begin?
My A&R at EMI Music Sweden asked me if I was interested to deliver and pitch a song for the Melodifestivalen.
At first I hesitated cause I had never imagined my self competing in the Melodifestivalen before. But recent years the competition has expanded and today you could see more artists such as Salem Al-Fakir and Loreen who won Eurovision last year competing in the contest. Due to this the competition today has opened up for a broader span of different musical genres. That’s why I stopped hesitating and jumped on to work on a track to pitch to the festival. I was also tempted to be a part of it all because of the fact that the whole final of the Eurovision contest will be in Malmö, which is the City I represent and live in.
It’s also a great platform to reach out to a certain audience that perhaps never listened to my music before.

He specifically wanted me to deliver the type of music and song that I really like to vibe to. So I started to work on the track together with Anderz Wretow, Firas Razzak and Tacfarinas Yamoun. Tacfarinas is originally from Algeria and Firas from Irak. Anderz is Swede and I’m originally from Iran. So what we did was to mix all the musical traditions and different genres that we grew up with. That’s the story behind the scene and it’s an honor for us to be a part of this journey.

Jalla dansa sawa is the title of your song. What can you tell me about it? What is the song about? 
“Jalla Dansa Sawa” means “Come on lets dance”. It’s a modern rap song. The rhythm of the song is inspired by melodies from the Mediterranean, North African and Middle Eastern countries. The rap is in Swedish and the chorus is in French and Arabic.
The song is about human rights and equal right for all people and to include all people regardless were you come from, were you live, the color of your skin, your gender etc.

Photo: Per Kristiansen

Describe your song with 4 words:
Energetic, interactive, thoughtful, creative
or
This is Sweden today

 What can you tell me about the performance? What can we expect?
 A lot of energy and interaction. We want all people to jump around, enjoy, have fun and feel the vibration.

What do you think about the other artists from semifinal 4?
There are a lot of great groups and artists in the competition. I wish them all the best of luck.

What do you like about Eurovision?
It’s a platform were music which is a universal language connects people from different cultures which is great.

Photo: Per Kristiansen

What do you dislike about Eurovision?
Its not a dislike – rather a suggestion that we could also create a “Worldvision” were Europe could be a part of it together with the other continents. Eurovision could be kind of like the European Championship in football and Worldvision could be kind of like the World cup in football.

Apart from Melodifestivalen, what are your plans for this year?
To release my new album, write a theater script and continue working with all the things that I do.

Photo: Per Kristiansen

Is there anything you want to say to close the interview?
Thank you for the interview. It was an honor to be interviewed by you. I wish you and all the readers the best of luck.

Thanks to Behrang Miri for this amazing interview!! Good luck on the semifinal!

Here is his facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Behrang-Miri/490333510996963
His official website: http://www.behrangmiri.com

Eurovision 2013: Petra Mede!!

Here is our Eurovision 2013 host: PETRA MEDE!!!!!

Im sure she is gonna do a great job as a host and we will have great moments in eurovision!! well done SVT.

Photos: Peter Knutson

Melodi Grand Prix 2013: Semifinal 2

The 2nd semifinal of the MGP 2013 was yesterday and there was a huge surprise: the right songsgot into the final :O here are my comments of all the performances:

1.Martin Blomvik - Det vakje mi tid

I think this song is good but its not a song to perform live. The performance was very boring, nothing happened on stage, i like him but this wasnt the right song for a contest like this one.

2.Annsofi - I’m With You

Rybak wrote a great song, i really really like it but im not sure if Annsofi is the right singer for this song still i think she did a good job on stage, i think for the final she should improve on the 2nd part of the song.

3.Shackles - On Hold

The only thing i can say about this is that i didnt like it at all.

4.Hank - No One

This wasnt for me, i dont like his voice and thats why i dont like the song.

5.Fjellfolk - Ulvetuva

*Standing ovation* This was perfect, the song is so unique, the lyrics are so dark and interesting and the performance was magical, they were amazing. Well done guys!!!

6.Haji - Shine With Me

I like Haji but he was much better last year.

7.Margaret Berger - Feed You My Love

WOW, i dont have words for this, it was POWERFUL! she has a very strong stage presence and her vocals were so perfect, if this doesnt win its because theres something better on semifinal 3 or because the people in Norway doesnt want a top result in Eurovision. This was one of the best performances on MGP history. GO MARGARET!!! 

THE RESULTS

3.Annsofi

2.Fjellfolk

1.Margaret Berger

Photos: Hege Bakken Riise/NRK 

Great results this week!! but theres only one song i can see doing a great job in Eurovision so GO MARGARET!!!

Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2013: Semifinal 2

The 2nd semifinal in Iceland was yesterday and here are my comments:


Stund með þér - Sylvía Erla Scheving

I kinda like the song but her vocalss were weak.

Skuggamynd - Klara Ósk Elíasdóttir

This was one of my favorite songs and i think the performance could have been better but it was ok.

Augnablik - Erna Hrönn

I cant believe this didnt qualify, this was the best of the whole selection but i dont know what happened to the Icelandic public. Erna is such a lovable girl and she did a fantastic performance. Bravo Erna!!

THE FINALISTS

Ég syng! - Unnur Eggertsdóttir

I dont love this song but she did a very entertaining girly performance, i liked it and  the tudududu part is so catchy 

Vinátta - Halli Reynis

This wasnt one of my favorites but i liked the simple and calm performance a lot.

Til þín - Jógvan og Stefanía

This was a great performance, they are such a talented singers and the song is good. Right now they are my biggest favorites for Iceland 2013.

Some pics from Instagram:

Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2013: The final

Last night Denmark made me very happy with their winner and now im going to comment all the performances.

Daze - We Own The Universe

The worst song of this year and i didnt like the performance at all.

Brinck - Human

I like this song but i think his vocals were kinda bad and the whole act wasnt interesting.

Jack Rowan featuring Sam Gray - Invincible

I think this could have been a great performance but it was just a flat one, Sams vocals were perfect but it was not enough to get in the top 3.

Mohamed Ali - Unbreakable

I like him but i dont like the song, it was too "amazing" (Danny 2012). His performance was meh, his vocals were weak in some parts and i didnt like the choreography.

Kate Hall - I'm Not Alone

I like this one not because of the song or performance but because i think she did a good job on stage, her vocals were really good.

Simone - Stay Awake

Simone is a great singer but i think this song wasnt the right one for her, she doesnt have the energy for a dance (kinda cheap) song like this one, her dancing was pretty weak but her vocals were good. 

Louise Dubiel - Rejs dig op

This performance was so good, i really enjoyed it. She has charisma and she did a fabulous performance. I loved it!

Frederikke Vedel - Jeg har hele tiden vidst det 

This was one of my favorite songs, im not sure if i  liked the 2nd part of the choreography but it was a good performance and her vocals were sooo fantastic!!! I was like Wow she is killing it. Well done girl

Albin - Beautiful To Me 

This song is really good and he did a great performance, good job Albin!!

Emmelie de Forest - Only Teardrops

The best song of DMGP 2013!!! I fell in love with it when i heard the 1st 30seconds we got, i knew this was going to be great. Last night Emmelie was herself on stage, a lovely girl singing her heart out and enjoying the moment. She is very talented! her vocals were great and it was a beautiful performance so im very happy for her and i wish her all the best for Eurovision, i'll be suporting her here! GO EMMELIE!!!

Photos: Wouter van Vliet (EBU)