Thursday, February 27, 2014

Israel 2014: The Songs

Mei Finegold was selected internally to represent Israel this year and here are the 3 songs that she is going to sing in Kdam 2014:

Same heart

Nisheret iti

Be proud

Nice songs but i didnt love any of them! The song selection is going to be on March 5! Good luck Mei!

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Bryan Rice: "I Choose U" is a pure pop lovesong

DMGP ALERT! Hi everyone! Time for an interview with another DMGP favorite! He came in 2nd place in 2010 with Breathing and he is back this year to win it all. Here are the answers of BRYAN RICE:

Name: Brian Risberg Clausen
Age: 35
Birthday: 29 May
Name a song that never fails to make you happy: Erasure - A little respect
When did you start singing and writing? My mother says that I have always been singing. That kind of kid who has a song for every moment and every state of mind. Singing is my therapy, meditation, way to express my state of mind etc. So singing is something I have always done, and I have always been encouraged to sing, which is very important! I started writing poems when I lived in Spain in 1997/98. It came very suddenly. 
Can you teach me some interesting words in danish? Depends on what you find interesting. But you can always say ‘Jeg håber Bryan Rice finder Dansk Melodi Grand Prix’… Guess what that means!
Hello Bryan! Welcome back to DMGP! how are you?
Thank you. I’m fine as always. Very focused and concentrated with only two weeks to the big show.

How would you describe yourself as an artist?
Wow, that is a very wide question… I am a pop singer who loves what I do. I love being able to make a difference for people that I don’t even know, and see my music, my words, travel the world by itself. A ‘boy next door’ kind of guy, humble to the fact that I’ve been given a special gift and a wonderful life that I try to live to the fullest.
Before we start talking about 2014, can we talk a bit about your experience in 2010? what do you remember the most from that year? What did you learn from that experience?
What I remember best was my entry in Gigantium. Everyone stood op and cheered. I had goosebumps all over, it was such a great start, and I can’t wait to open DMGP14 as well as song #1. I learned many things, but not least that I have the ability to work as a machine. Very focused. I trained myself a lot until the show, as I am doing now, and I love being able to control myself and my body and voice in this way. Just as a sportsman. Then i learned that I have a big, wonderful audience that wants me the best and always stand behind me.

You are one of the 10 finalists of DMGP 2014, how did it all begin?
Yes, it began with the right song. Then Emmelie got the ESC to Denmark and I started thinking that this might be the year for my second try.

"I Choose U" is the title of your song and its written by Lars Halvor Jensen, Johannes Jørgensen and Shanna Crooks. How was it to work with them?
I know the guys from way back when I started as a demo singer in Copenhagen. I have done a lot of demo recordings and co-writes with them, so it was a great pleasure for me to finally record something serious with such talented guys. Johannes and I also wrote the Sukkerchock single Besat together, and a few more.
What can you tell me about the song? Whats the story behind it?
It’s a pure pop lovesong as I love them. A song about being hit by real love with 300 km per hour, about finding the one and only and saying it to that person. I’ve tried it myself and it feels so good that I needed to sing about it! The track is uptempo and with a lot of challenging vocal features that I’m looking forward to sing for you.

What did you feel the 1st time you heard it?
I had that felling in the stomach that I always have when I know that a song wants me to sing it… ;-)

Describe the song with 4 words:
Uptempo, love, happy, positive
In 2010 you had rain in your performance, what can we expect to see on stage this year?
Something big, iconic and very heavy… I can’t lift it myself! But I can walk on it...

What do you like about Eurovision?
I like the pop music in it. I like that a lot of people meet in the name of the music. Like a European championship in pop.
Tell me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word:
2013: Last year
Bed: Sleep
Fear: Spiders
Pizza: No go
Albin: My friend
Stage: my life
Fangirling: Lovely
Breathing: My song
Passion: My music
Dreams: Never stop dreaming
What are your plans for 2014?
I would like to play a lot of concerts, release my 5th album and continue reaching out to fans all over the world.

Is there anything you want to say to close the interview?
Yes, thank you very much for your support from everywhere. IT means so much to me and is the reason why I sing. Please meet me at Facebook.dk/bryanricemusic and bryanrice.com
Thanks to Bryan for the interview! Love him! Wish him alll the best in DMGP!

Poland 2014: Donatan & Cleo!

Poland is back and they are sending a huge hit to Eurovision! Here is My Slowianie:

38,450,797 views on youtube! Wow! It is a very nice song, i wouldnt compare it with Igranka cause that song was a masterpiece but i kinda like this! Welcome back Poland! Good luck!

Monday, February 24, 2014

MarieMarie: "I love to create soundscapes and musical atmospheres by mixing everything i like"

Hallo! Its time for an interview from Germany! She is a very interesting artist and i really like her songs! Here are the answers of MARIEMARIE:

Name: MarieMarie
Birthday: May
Favorite color: Teal
Where are you right now? in Berlin
3 things that makes you happy: Music, Love, good Food
What’s your strangest talent? I can fall asleep while practicing the harp and keep playing on.
Home alone and you are bored. What do you do? watch a movie, but fortunately i´m never really bored
What is the strangest thing you have in your room? a radiograph of a ribcage hanging on my wall
What are you really good at? sleeping
What are you really bad at? stop sleeping
Childhood idol: can´t remember
Childhood memory: being outside in the nature all of the time
What would you do if you were invisible? be invisible
Favorite movie: Wings of desire by Wim Wenders
Favorite TV series: i don´t watch tv
Tell me a super power you wish you had: be inviolable
What is your guilty pleasure? french fries and red wine
Name a song that never fails to make you happy: Happy by Pharrell Williams
When did you start singing and writing? feels like i always did
Can you teach me some interesting words in German? hm…
Hi MarieMarie, how are you?
A little hoarse today

How would you describe yourself as an artist?
I am a songwriter, a singer and i also play the harp. I love to create soundscapes and musical atmospheres by mixing everything i like. i don´t care if the sound source is acoustic or electronic. 
You are one of the 8 participants of USFD, how did it all begin?
With my application. 

You are going to perform 2 songs in the selection. Lets start talking about "Cotton candy Hurricane" Whats the story behind the song?
It is a light, playful song which makes me feel good whenever I play it. It´s like your favorite sweater, the one that you won´t throw away even if it´s older than old.

The other song is called "Candy jar" what can you tell me about it? what is the song about?
Candy jar is a love song:)

Describe the songs with 4 words:
Tim Burtonesque, fluffy, candy
What can we expect to see on stage for the performance in the final?
Happy musicians having a good time.

What do you think about the other acts in the selection?
Everybody deserves to win!
Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word:
2013: past
Wind: engine
Fear: ghost
Harp: strings
Watermelon: hmmmm
Clones: future
Germany: country
Stage: light
Dream: power
What can you tell us about "DREAM MACHINE"?
Dream Machine is my debut album. out now to be enjoyed while dancing, making love, being melancholic or just singing along.
What are your plans for 2014?
Write tons of new great songs and make music and play lots of shows and fall in love.
MarieMarie is on tour right now so i really want to thank her for her time! Good luck in USFD! Go MarieMarie!

Official website: http://www.mariemariemusic.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariemariemusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarieMarieMusic

Melodifestivalen 2014 - Deltävling 4: Come out and play with ALCAZAR!

Welcome to the Melfest 2014/Semifinal 4 post, enjoy!:
Då kör vi!!!!


1.Blame It On The Disco - Alcazar
DISCO! DISCO! DISCO! I love them and the song is very catchy! They only thing i really dislike is the pre-recorded backing vocals! Im not even sure if Andreas sang in the chorus! Im sure this song would get much better if they sing it 100% live! GO ALCAZAR! 

2.Fight Me If You Dare - I.D.A
Wow! I really liked it! Ida is a very good singer and the whole performance was strong! Good job I.D.A!

3.Hollow - Janet Leon
Im not a fan of Janet but i like the song and even if the performance wasnt good i think there was some kind of vulnerability in her eyes that made me like her more than last year.

4.Raise Your Hands - Ammotrack
Nice performance! They know how to rock the stage!  

5.Hela natten - Josef Johansson
LOVE HIM! Such a lovely performance! He deserved a top 4 result! I just watched the perf again and im so mad! :( One of the best songs of this year! Tack Josef! Love you!

6.Ta mig - Linda Bengtzing
LINDA BENGTZING! BRILLIANT PERFORMANCE! NO MORE WORDS
I LOVE YOU LINDA! 

7.En himmelsk sång - Ellinore Holmer
Sweet song and performance.

8.Natural - Anton Ewald
He looks good and i liked the crotch grab dance move, thats all.

THE RESULTS
8.Hollow - Janet Leon
7.Hela natten - Josef Johansson
6.Fight Me If You Dare - I.D.A 

5.Ta mig - Linda Bengtzing

ANDRA CHANSEN
Raise Your Hands - Ammotrack 
En himmelsk sång - Ellinore Holmer

FINAL
Natural - Anton Ewald
Blame It On The Disco - Alcazar
 
Photos: Olle Kirchmeier/SVT

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Spain 2014: Ruth Lorenzo!

The spanish national final was also last night and here is the winner:

Ruth Lorenzo and her song "Dancing in the rain":

I dont know where to start! I think Ruth as an artist is just WOW i mean just look at the 1st min of her performance! She has "IT"! She is a phenomenal singer with a super strong stage presence! I can see a Eurovision winner in her but i cant see her winning with that weak song! Its very disapponting to send someone so good with such forgettable song :/

My favorite song in the selection was "Más" by Brequette, here is her performance:

The performance wasnt perfect but i still think this entry would have been much better in Eurovision.

None of them (Ruth/Brequette) had the whole package!
Run >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Dancing in the rain
Ruths stage presence >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Brequettes stage presence


Good luck Spain!

Latvia 2014: CAKE TO BAKE!

Wohooooo! Aarzemnieki are the Dziesmas 2014 winners and are going to represent Latvia in Copenhagen!

Im so happy for them! This was my favorite song since the beggining of the selection and i really hope they improve their vocal performance for Eurovision cause i want them to do well in May! This is a very cute song and  i love their friendly vibe on stage! GO AARZIEMNIEKI!

Check out my interview with Jorans here: http://eurovision-addict.blogspot.com/2014/02/how-to-bake-cake-with-aarzemnieki.html

Hungary 2014: András Kállay-Saunders!

The A Dal final was yesterday and here is the winner:
András Kállay-Saunders - Running
Good job Hungary! There were really good artists in the whole selection so they all should be very proud! Im happy with the results! Congratulations Andras! Good luck in Eurovision! 
 

Macedonia 2014: To the sky!

Here is the song that Tijana is going to sing in May:

The first time i heard the song i though it was just ok but now i think that it is a very nice song and with a strong performance she could do well! Good luck Tijana!

Friday, February 21, 2014

Oda & Wulff: "We want you to sing with us!"

Photo: NRK
Time for a new MGP interview! They are one of the participants from the 2nd semifinal! Get ready to sing, sing, sing with them! Here are the answers of ODA & WULFF:

Name: Oda (Kvingedal Larsen) and (Christer) Wulff :)
Age: 24 and 32, guess who is what age
Birthday: 23 and 26 of May, three days apart!
Height: 167 and 190 
Favorite Color: blue and blue (wow, we didn’t know)
Favourite food: chicken teriyaki and reindeer stew
Where are you right now? Oslo!
3 things that makes you happy: Music, people and unexpected adventures
What’s your strangest talent? Oda can bend her arms in a weird position, Christer is really at bad other Norwegian dialects
Do you have any nicknames? Oda is called podi among friends, Christer often goes by Wolfie
What is the strangest thing you have in your room? Oda: My sister!
What are you really good at? Oda is good at energising people (Christer says so)
What are you really bad at? Oda is really bad at humour (Christer says so), and she always tries to open the door in the wrong direction
Childhood idol: Oda - Carola, Christer - Elvis
Childhood memory: Oda - manipulating my sister to gift me her barbie dolls (all of them!), Christer - playing with my sisters barbie dolls
Tell me something no one knows about you: Oda - I sleep with my teddy bear,Christer - that I played with my sisters barbie dolls!
What would you do if you were invisible? Not sure that would be such a good thing, in a large city we are invisible enough:) Unless we become really famous that is...
Favorite movie: Oda - Into the Wild, Christer - Notting Hill
Favorite TV series: Oda - House, Christer - Currently True Detectives
Tell me a super power you wish you had: X-ray vision!
What is your guilty pleasure? Listening to “unhip" songs,  Christer - Taylor Swift
Name a song that never fails to make you happy: Oda - Travis, Why does it always rain on me, Christer - I knew you were Trouble (Taylor Swift)
If you were a product, how would you sell yourself? Get the word going, make people curious and build a hype 
Can you teach me some interesting words in norwegian? Harry = unhip, fyllaangst = the nervousness/anxiety of being hung over (I haven’t hear another language with that exact word, we use it all the time)
If you were the journalist what would you ask to Oda & Wulff? and tell me your answer.
Question you should ask: “Your voices sound like a perfect match, have you noticed”. Answer: “A girlfriend of Oda and a buddy of Christer actually said, immediately after hearing Sing, on separate occasions, that Oda/Christer sounded like the twin female/male version of the other one.”
Hello, how are you?
Excited! A bit tired and restless at the same time, eager to get on stage!

How would you describe yourself as an artist?
True to ourselves, genuine, a touch of melancholy and honest.

How did you meet each other?
Christer was looking for a female vocalist to complete the duet. Needless to say he immediately stopped searching when he found Oda singing at The Voice. A phone call later, the duo “Oda & Wulff” was formed.
I want Oda to describe Wulff and Wulff to describe Oda:
Oda: Wulff is a talented and gifted musician. He is definitively the more calm and laidback part of the duo, and I sometimes struggle to get him on his feet. But no doubt, he’s the perfect duet partner!
Christer: Oda is a bundle of energy, always joking and mimicking my Northern dialect. The latter part can sometimes be a handful:) And needless to say: her voice is truly amazing!
You are one of the 15 participants of MGP 2014, how did it all begin?
Christer submitted Sing and it was chosen among 600 contributions. After some searching he called up Oda and they met up. Oda helped form the song and put her touch on it, and her unique voice pulled it in the right melancholic direction. Besides the song we haven’t really focused on an image or anything, we are just who we are. We play ball and act naturally in any setting. Hopefully we come across as down to earth and honest.
Photo: Kenneth Dahlby
"Sing" is the title of your song and its written by Christer Wulff! What can you tell me about the song? whats the story behind it? what made you write it?
Like many of my songs I simply start playing around with chords and melodies. I wanted a happy tune (often I reside in the more melancholic landscape), up-tempo, organic sound, acoustic feel and so on. I like open tuning on the acoustic and the chord progression kind of came at once. So I had somewhat of a plan, but I didn’t want just another love song. That’s how I came up with the angle of friendship although this is with a girl and a boy. The whole song didn’t take long to write, I pretty much wrapped it up in a day and started working on a demo version.  
Describe the song with 4 words:
Melancholic happiness, friendship and joyful.

Now lets talk about the performance, what can we expect to see on stage?
A band delivering all we got, a party among friends, a pure organic pop delivery of joy. We want you to sing with us!
Do you already know what you are going to wear for the semifinal? any hint?
It hasn’t been decide yet, but we have an idea. Oda in a dress (of course), Christer in a relaxed blazer, vest, chinos and boots. We’re aiming for including warm colours. But we have to see where we land:)

Did you watch Eurovision 2013? any favorite?
We of course voted for Margaret Berger, but kind of felt it was too close to the genre of Euphoria from 2012 in order to win. 
Photo: JØRGEN NORDBY
What do you like about Eurovision?
In Norway it’s a unique chance for unknown songwriters and artists to be seen and heard. It’s a competition where everyone has a chance (although it’s very hard to get accepted). So for us we are simply enjoying it as much we can. We love that so many people get to hear our song and see us perform and can simply hope for the best!

Tell me the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word:
2013: 2014 will be better
Fear: spiders and planes
Cats: Dogs
The voice: Oda
Norway: Proud and trolls
Pizza: Number 36
Nature: Cottage and mountains
Clones: Avatar
Stage: Microphone
Dream: Win

What are your plans for 2014?
Finish Eurovision in Norway the best we can!

Is there anything you want to say to close the interview?
Thank you so much for your interest and attention. If anyone wants to follow our, please join us on www.facebook.com/odawulff or visit www.odawulff.no.
Thanks to Oda & Christer for the awesome interview! I loved it and i also love their song! Vote for them on March 8! Song nr 3! Sing sing sing sing sing!  GO ODA & WULFF!