A song competition that is addictive.
I was privileged enough to enter a few songs I collaborated with Isabella for Melodifestivalen. I think it was in 2014 and 2015 or was it 2013 and 2014 that we sent our tracks. It was an experience!!! The first year we entered, my role was just to provide lyrics, melody and sang on it. However the following year, I entered a self-produced track along with another tracks produced by Isa. I could never forget the atmosphere in the studio with all rooms occupied by music producers; all preparing for Melodifestivalen. The creative aura was so strong that ...åh..! Magical!
Even though our tracks did not get selected, we were in for the experience and we were pretty satisfied with our productions, and had fun recording and mixing, staying up late, and lots of coffee....and having to "kick" a big van which blocked our driveway when we wanted to grab late night pizza...I seriously need to start taking more photos...!
Melodifestivalen 2021 Finalen
Europe has always fascinates me; from their vast nature, their architecture, their food, culture, traditions and of course, music. Being in Sweden has certainly made me more creative and made me want to improve my own music production so as to be able to be on-par with the great music producers.
What makes a great song? Melody? Arrangement? The artist? The entire composition? The music producers? It is a combination of a lot of elements joined in harmony.
What are MY top 5 picks for Eurovision? Here are my picks in order of WOW-ness:
1. Switzerland: Tout l'Univers by Gjon's Tears
Guess I am melancholy. I love the arrangement of this track. The piano intro plus Gjon's Tears vocal is just so haunting. Superb vocal control! Your hair will stand.
2. Finland: Dark Side by Blind Channel
I first heard this track while I was listening to my Finska playlist on Spotify and I was like "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!" HEADBANGING IN THE BUS. Finland is well-known for their awesome heavy metal, rock bands and, THIS band and song is AWESOME! It is unfortunate that they lost to Italy who also performed a rock song. In my opinion, this is a better track to take the win.
3. Lithuania: Discoteque by The Roop
Lithuania opened the Eurovision Song Contest and it was indeed a good selection by the producers of the show. The whole arrangement of this track brought me back to the 80's. You would wanna get up and dance for sure!
4. Iceland: 10 years by Daði og Gagnamagnið
A synth pop track that will take you back to the 80's. Cleverly cheeky this group did not perform 'LIVE' on stage due to members of the band tested positive for Covid. So this was their rehearsal performance. The arrangement is cheeky and the lead vocals is manly yummy!
5. Azerbaijan: Mata Hari by Efendi
I think this track just made me get up, put on my noisy scarf and belly dance.
Honorable Mention (in random order):
Sweden: Voices by Tusse
France: Voila by Barbara Pravi
Greece: Last Dance by Stefania
Catch the finals here:
Eurovision Song Contest 2021 Final
Do you think Italy's entry deserve the win? Let me know what you think and share with me YOUR top 5 picks.