Our next reviewer has participated 2 times in Söngvakeppnin (the Icelandic NF) and both times she had fantastic songs and that is the reason why I wanted to know her thoughts on some of these songs.
HILDUR, I CAN'T WAIT TO KNOW WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THESE 2020 NF SONGS
KaYra - Alligator
I think the melody is catchy but the lyrics are kind of confusing; I don’t really get them with first listen and I think the production is not really my cup of tea.
Anett x Fredi - Write about me
I like the vocal production, low key production but good feeling in the song. It’s missing a strong chorus I think.
Erika Vikman - Cicciolina
Not my cup of tea at all. I feel like it sounds very old production wise, like a bad re-do of an Abba song.
Barbara Tinoco - Passe-Partout
Interesting instruments used but the song didn’t really get me and I would probably never listen to it.
Didirri - Raw stuff
Absolutely love his voice. I think this song is beautiful, the concept is good, production is simple but effective and goes well with his voice and melody.
Eden Alene - Roots
I really don’t like the production or lyrics. The instrumental is all over the place - maybe that’s supposed to go with the idea of the song but I just really don’t like it and think it sounds like 2 very different songs.
Pinguini Tattici Nucleari - Ringo Starr
Didn’t catch me. The melody is a little bit too busy and then the synth sound in the chorus is not cool in my opinion.
Dotter - Bulletproof
Very catchy and good popsong. Reminds me of Sia. She also has an interesting voice. Wouldn’t really play it at home but still I think it’s one of the best ones.
Rancore - Eden
I was very surprise when he started rapping! This song is of course hard to vibe along with as its’ not in English and I feel like in rap songs it’s harder to vibe with them if you don’t get the lyrics at all. Even if I’d read a translation of the lyrics I don’t really connect with the song.
Levante - Tikibombom
I love her voice. The song is very dramatic and nice. I like the emotion and melody - and the tikibombom reminds me a little bit of Bammbaramm actually!
I'm sure you all remember Laila from her brilliant MGP 2016 entry "Afterglow" but the reason I thought of her for this new thing I'm doing is because she was one of the songwriters of "Jealous cause I love you", one of my favorite 2010 NF songs, so I sent her a DM and she kindly accepted doing this review thing.
LAILA, I CAN'T WAIT TO KNOW WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THESE 2020 NF SONGS!
KaYra - Alligator
This song is a bit on the cliché side for me, and is lacking originality and something real. Fun and colourful video is the upside.
Anett x Fredi - Write about me
I like the emotional character and soulful melodies in this song. It sounds sincere and it’s beautiful.
Erika Vikman - Cicciolina
This one has a catchy melody, gives me Abba feels. I am not really getting drawn into this as it’s in finnish, and I feel like I heard the melodies before. Not bad though.
Barbara Tinoco - Passe-Partout
Beautifully naive song with real old school vibes. Feel like I am in a French romantic comedy movie from the 50’s. Sweet.
Didirri - Raw stuff
I like this one. Nice melodies, downplayed, gives authentic vibes and a sore sense. He has a great voice for acoustic music.
Eden Alene - Roots
This song is such a mash up of vibes, the chorus is my favourite part. Plus for originality.
Pinguini Tattici Nucleari - Ringo Starr
Not catching me so much, it’s a bit silly but I don’t think the joke is funny. Well produced, though.
Dotter - Bulletproof
Generously “borrowing” from both Aviici and Sia. Lacking originality.
Rancore - Eden
Great feeling, thoughtful lyrics, this artist has a message, whether you agree with it or not, it’s a good song.
Levante - Tikibombom
I like this one a lot. Cool voice. This is a song one can listen to without understanding the lyrics, too. Nicely done
I think in a million things when I'm trying to sleep and one night I came up with the idea of getting musicians to comment on my favorite NF songs from this year and that was very appealing to me so the next morning I woke up and I DMed Erik and asked him if he would be up for it and he said yes!
Erik Dalhqvist is one of the songwriters of Dotter's Bulletproof and he is also part of the team that wrote Queen by Samra.
Now it's time for me to say: Erik, I can't wait to know what do you think about these 2020 NF songs!
Elvana Gjata - Me tana
This ethno pop-song is quite mysterious and I really like her voice, but that’s also it. I’ve heard the same song many times before in Eurovision. I’m sure there could be a club remix of this that would gain a lot of attention on the dance floors all across Europe.
Erika Vikman - Cicciolina
I’ve read a lot about this song, but this is the first time hearing it. The song reminds me of a mixture of a bunch of Swedish acts like ABBA, BWO and Little Jinder. If you want to send a traditional Eurovision-song, you should send this. Good or bad? I don’t know.
It is an ok pop-song, but to be honest I think it is a bit dated.
KaYra - Alligator
At a first listen I found myself singing along to the song, which is always a really good sign. The song has a lot of potential to be a hit as it has both good melodies and lyrics topped with nice vocals. I’ve read all the buzz about The Roop, but I think this is a much better song. I’ll add it to my Sunday afternoon-playlist for sure.
Didirri - Raw stuff
If you’re into classic piano ballads from the likes of Elton John, this will be right down your alley for sure. The artist sure can sing and has a very pleasant voice to listen to, but what stands out a little extra here are the lyrics! ”Life has some raw stuff” is very relatable. The production of the song feels 100% on point as well and it leaves a lot of space for his voice. Will this be featured in a big movie anytime soon? It should.
Barbara Tinoco - Passe-Partout
Who resurrected Edith Piaf? I mean that in the best way possible!. I love this 30’s jazz-swing-waltz-what ever it is-song. Even though there’s quite a lot going on (with different time signatures and such) in the song, It’s very easy to like and listen to. Her voice is very smooth and sits in the song like a charm. I’m sure this would’ve done really well in Rotterdam, even though it’s not as radio friendly as most of the competitors are these days.
Looking forward to my next trip to Paris.
Pinguini Tattici Nucleari - Ringo Starr
I like this happy pop/rock banger from the band that must have the best band name in the history of band names!. The song makes you wanna dance and I sing along to every word, even though I have no idea what they are. If I should be a tiny bit on the negative side I could point out that the production could’ve gained from a couple of more turns in the studio as it feels a bit dated, but that’s not a big issue so I’ll stay positive.
Eden Alene - Roots
What stands out here is the chorus (or is it pre-chorus??) that comes before the drop. Really nice melodies combined with an ethno-feel. The song is good overall, but just as said about Me tana: I’ve heard the same song many times before. It’s not at all bad, but it lacks an edge that makes it stand out.
Rancore - Eden
I’ve got a problem with this, and it is that for me rap is all about the lyrics and when I don’t understand any of it, it’ll be hard for me to say anything fair about it. What I can say about is that the track is nice, the piano-hook and the chorus is beautiful. I like that there’s a lot going on within the production and that it’s not just a simple loop that goes over and over again. I’m sure I’d be more enthusiastic if I understood the lyrics.
The 2nd semifinal of Melodifestivalen 2020 is on Saturday and I got an interview with one of the participants. I'm very happy about it cause I couldn't get an interview with her back in 2018 (the year were the Swedish voters broke my heart a bit) and I just knew she would give me great answers, so here they are:
Name: Johanna Maria Jansson
Birthday: 10th of June 1987
Height: 167 cm
Favorite color: I change favorite color a lot but when I grew up my favorite color was blue, now I believe it’s red, purple or black☺️
Favorite food: Fruits!
What’s your strangest talent? - I’m quite hypermobile so I can do flexible tricks😁
What is the strangest thing you have in your room? - A homemade bed which is more like sleeping on a podium or Japanese bed, very hard but good for our backs!
What are you really good at? I’m a handy woman and I’ve got so many ideas in my head circulating all the time, especially when I’m suppose to sleep😅so I create lots of stuff like building stuff for the apartment, I did my own diner table, I make my own acrylic nails, I design my own stage clothes and I do also paint, my whole family on my mothers side are artists.
What are you really bad at? Oh haha, also many things🙈I’m not so good at IT stuff, bad with computers. I’m bad at all the stuff I think is boring and uninteresting😅
Childhood idol: My biggest idols were Hanson, Spice Girls, Robyn, Aqua and No doubt
Childhood memory: I’ve got thousands memories from childhood but one that really were the start point for me as a songwriter and artist was when I sat down with the piano when I was 10 and wrote my first song called “Nobody knows me”. My mum couldn’t almost believe it was my own song cause she thought it sounded like a real pop song that any of the boy bands could have done. So I created a girl band with three of my best friends and we called ourselves “Dizzy woop”. Then we started performing the song in front of the class with me accompanying the piano and the teacher filmed us and send the video to our pen friends in Japan.
Celebrity crush: Leonardo Dicaprio😍 he’s been my crush since I was little watching Titanic
Tell me something no one knows about you: Haha, ok, I love to dance! I’ve been taking dance lessons since I was 9 til 23. I started with jazz ballet and there after all different dance styles.
Who would you cast to play you in a movie about your life? Hmm tricky question, Lady Gaga maybe 😸
What would the title of that movie be? haha omg, ”A little town called Arvika” or ”Nearby the Norwegian border” or “Dizzy Woop” it could be called 😅
Favorite movie: Grease!
Favorite TV series: Party of five
Dish/Snack/Beverage/Candy we should try if we ever visit Sweden: We got a few really tasty vegan restaurants in Stockholm so you should do like a vegan tour around the city, using the “Happy cow” website.
If you were a boy for a day, what would you do? Haha too tricky
Can you recommend us a song (old or new) from an Swedish artist? Mabel with “Don’t call me up”
Can you teach me some interesting words in Swedish? What would you like to say?
Hello Dotter! Welcome back to Mello! Thank you!
How would you describe yourself as an artist? It’s a tricky question but I think I can categorize myself as an alternative pop artist who grew up near the Norwegian border and started to make music when I was ten and have done since then. I’m a little bit shy, I was extremely shy when I grew up but on the stage I can express myself in a complete different way through my music and that makes me feel fulfilled. I’m a bit of a sad witch that creates dramatic melodies in an organic/modern pop sound.
Can we talk a bit about your past Mello experiences (as a songwriter and as a performer) what did you learn from them? (Would like to add that Cry was one of my fav songs from 2017!) Oh thank you so much🙏🏼🙏🏼. To be a songwriter and to be an artist are two complete different things I believe. I need to go into two different characters almost. I love to create music in different genres, some days I just want to be that songwriter and help another artist to find themselves through music but someday I’m that needy artist that really need to express myself
You are one of the participants of Mello 2020. How did it all begin? It began in late May 2019, me and my fiancé and our close friend had a session in our studio, we were drinking wine and were not so serious. But after my fiancé started playing a verse that he had come up with before I really felt for it immediately and started recording a pre chorus. We felt that this could be a really great song and I thought to myself “I wanna perform with this song in Melodifestivalen next year” then we finished the song and that was the only song I sent in for me as an artist.
“Bulletproof” is the title of your song, and it is written by you, Dino Medanhodzic and Erik Dahlqvist, how was it to work with them? What’s the story behind the song? We’ve been working before cause we’re friends and we’re really close so it’s quite fun cause we can be so honest to each other. At one point when we were playing cards we tried to write the lyrics at the same time we all ended up in a fight so then the next day I locked myself into the bedroom and wrote the lyrics based on that fight actually😸
What's the process of creating a performance for Mello like and who are you working with in that area? This performance was created out of an idea that my art director friend Julius a hayes had in mind. He told me about his idea and then I played bulletproof for him and we both felt that these two ideas were really connected. Then we created the whole number out of this with Sasha and Lotta at SVT
What can we expect to see on stage for the performance? Can’t really tell yet😘
I'm a big fan of swedish language music and I want to ask you which swedish artist would you like to see doing Mello? Oh I think all Swedish artists should join mello cause it’s such a great platform, you can’t get that kind of publicity anywhere else
What do you like about Eurovision? It’s fun to watch
What do you dislike about Eurovision? Nothing specific
Tell me the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word:
Industry: furnishing
Delicate: A good vegan cake
Knowledge: very important
Bizzare: pass
Wave: the ocean
What are your plans for 2020? To release new music and hopefully be out touring again! I’m planning to go back to London and finish my album with great producers and songwriters I’ve been working with over there.
Is there anything you want to say to close the interview? Thank you for having me!
I like him, he is not only a great singer, he is also adorable and I think he is so much better than this DMGP-ish song. Im sure he will be one of the acts from this year that will come back in future editions.
2. Stark - Barbi Escobar
This is a nice song but the performance was just flat.
3. Cuba libre - Moncho
Colorful performance! I liked it and I cant get the chorus out of my head! Im glad he made it through AC!
4. Party voice - Jessica Andersson
Finally! We got our first lady finalist! Love Jessica and the song but I wish the performance was better, there were some good moments in it but overall I think it was a bit mediocre. I want her to have more fun and be the schlager diva she is on stage!
5. Min dröm - Kalle Moraeus & Orsa Spelmän
This was one of my fav songs from this semi!
6. Cry - Dotter
I think this is one of the best songs from Mello 18 and it's such a shame that people didnt vote for it, I understand why they didnt, but still she didnt deserve that 6th place.
7. Everyday - Mendez
Hmmm...catchy song but his vocal performance killed it for me.
