ESC 2016: Russia vs Ukraine

It's a shame the aftermath of the ESC is so political. It is hard to discuss music when the general tone is harsh and unforgiving.

I am happy that Ukraine won. It is a daring and demanding piece of music and ot your usual happy little pop song. While I would have hoped for something slightly more commercial, I'm happy that experimental and alternative sounds stand a chance in the contest.

Several times when I tried to make this point I was met by the question if I was happy now as LGBT rights in Ukraine are almost as bad as the ones in Russia. I beg your pardon?

This was the year I really tried to keep politics out of this. Russia ditched the hypocritical peace anthems that made me see red in the past so I decided to follow suit and judge them on musical merit.

In my humble opinion the Russian song was good but not excellent while the performance was state of the art, partially very impressive, partially very cold and technical. Add all these things together and I think a third place is a really fair outcome. A result most countries would be really happy with.

Then of course the relationship between Russia and Ukraine is not an easy one. Especially not at the moment. Had a look at the Ukrainian tv news that seemed happier about being Russia than actually winning. And the tone of the many articles declaring Eurovision dead and hopeless, published by Russian "news outlet" RT, is nothing but ridiculous. At least it was nice to see Ukraine scoring highly in the Russian televote and vice versa.

Time to take a deep breath and remind ourselves this is just a song contest?

ESC 2016: Tobson's thoughts after the final

Now wasn't that a shocker, Europe? The final of the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest ended like a real thriller should with suspense up until the very last vote was cast.

The worst thing about the new voting sequence is that it reminds me a bit of the system used in 1971-1973 in the sense that many big numbers fly across the screen in short time. It was far from easy to keep track on where in the ranking countries landed if they were out of the top ten in the televote.

The best thing about the new voting sequence was of course the excitement. Just as you thought Australia had won by a landslide the whole thing was turned upside down and everything changed with the second last set of votes and almost changed again in the last round. Excellent entertainment.

Ukraine ended in second place with both juries and televotes. Some people are upset and mean they didn't deserve the victory because of that. It is like arguing Bucks Fizz did not deserve to win in 1981 as they only got two sets of 12 points. The song that receives the highest amount of points wins. End of.

I did mention Ukraine as a potential winner the other day but was still a bit surprised. Sadly the winner is unlikely to become a commercial hit in a traditional sense, but it is a good thing in a year dominated by theatrics, moving sets and projections that an entry focusing entirely on music and singing won.

I would honestly have been pleased with Australia or Russia winning as well. I was really happy for Bulgaria and France for great placings and for Austria doing so well in the televote.

Sad that my darling from Italy only managed a 16th place in the end. Thought she would receive far more love from the juries. Also Spain and United Kingdom deserved more than these fiascos.

And Germany - last for the second consecutive year. ARD really must take a long hard think how to improve quality control in their national final and find entries that break through to international audiences. How to achieve that is a question for tomorrow, however.

The results:
01) Ukraine / 1944 / Jamala 534 points
02) Australia / Sound of Silence / Dami Im 511
03) Russia / You're The Only One / Sergey Lazarev 491
04) Bulgaria / If Love Was A Crime / Poli Genova 307
05) Sweden / If I Were Sorry / Frans 261

06) France 257, 07) Armenia 249, 08) Poland 229, 09) Lithuania 200, 10) Belgium 181, 11) Netherlands 153, 12) Malta 153, 13) Austria 151, 14) Israel 135, 15) Latvia 132, 16) Italy 124, 17) Azerbaijan 117, 18) Serbia 115, 19) Hungary 108, 20) Georgia 104, 21) Cyprus 96, 22) Spain 77, 23) Croatia 73, 24) United Kingdom 62, 25) Czech republic 41, 26) Germany 11.



Jamala / 1944 (Ukraine 2016)

ESC 2016: And the winner is...

The running order for the grand final got to sink in during the day and tomorrow I will give my final word on how Saturday's show will end. Right now I have no idea. I doubt I will tomorrow either.

But I boiled the whole thing down to six countries that could win tomorrow. Six countries that I'd see as the only realistic contenders for victory. (And one potential super surprise in the making.)

But our winner tomorrow will be one of these:

RUSSIA
Ridiculous to say anything else than Russia being the big hot favourite, the most likely winner tomorrow. And yet my gut feeling tells me Russia is more likely to confirm their position as the new United Kingdom, aka the eternal runner-up. The show is impressive, but not outstanding. Sergey sings well but not perfectly. Critical judges should see through the technical trickery and identify that the song is good but not terrific. However, Russia winning would show once and for all that nobody is doomed on politics alone.

ITALY
I don't give up until I'm defeated. The best song in the running must have a chance of winning, even with a surprisingly bad spot in the running order. On the jury final the people who already liked the song loved Francesca's performance, the people who are not convinced thought it lacked something. Business as usual. If there is any point to having juries at all, they should recognise what a fantastic song this is and reward it heavily.

FRANCE
Not giving up on France either. If Amir turns on that charm he has stashed away somewhere he could collect an impressive number of televotes. It is not juries alone who decide the winner even if Europe will get the idea at first in the final.

UKRAINE
Smashing performance of a difficult but engaging song. It would hardly be the big summer hit of 2016 if it won but at least it would take the focus back to songs, performers and singing skills instead of projections and holograms.

AUSTRALIA
Another stunning vocal and a more hit friendly song. The only letdown is the ridiculous special effect during the second verse that only distracts and doesn't even properly work.

SWEDEN
The last time a country won on home ground was Ireland back in 1994. Wouldn't it be most fitting if Sweden repeated the feat and won their own competition at the same time as going into the lead of countries winning Eurovision?

AUSTRIA (Potential super surprise in the making)
Pink and fluffy and sweet, it dances in on stage not being anything else than what meets the eye. Old-fashioned, likeable, understandable. Normal, if I dare say so, coming after Georgia. It's unlikely but once in a blue moon the sky falls down on our heads.

Watch this space for a more detailed prediction tomorrow. Sleep well, if you can.

ESC 2016: how much high-tech is too much?

We already established that I'm not in Stockholm and that I won't be there at all this year. Fourth consecutive year covering the contest from the sofa. Not too bad, it has its advantages.

I do keep an eye on rehearsals through reports and short clips from Globen and the distance really gives you a more sober idea of what works and what doesn't. On location it is so easy to get swept away by the general enthusiasm surrounding a certain rehearsal and lose a little bit of your judgment. In all fairness I do miss getting swept away. Next year I hope to be.

What stands out to me while keeping up with the first two days of rehearsals is that the inevitable happened. Suddenly this year everyone is using technology to enhance their performances. Screens, projections, 3D effects, you name it.

High-tech is suddenly what drums were ten years ago. Omnipresent and not always needed. When what felt like the seventeenth country pulled some sort of animated hocus pocus out of the bag I felt I had had it with it already.

I loved Moldova's dress thingy in Malmö 2013. I love Måns' sweet routine with his Mini-Me last year. Both were done with warmth and intelligence and in both cases the technology added to the performance instead of taking over. From what little I can tell from available footage, some of this year's performers seem reduced to mere props in their own entries.

I know what you may be thinking at this point. This is not aimed at Russia. They are attempting to take the whole thing to next level, which is interesting. But when more people project stuff on dresses than not, it will diminish also the Russian effect.

I understand everyone's wish to impress and to make more of their three minutes on stage than just plain old-fashioned singing. But at some point all of this extravagance could become too much and make people long for something simple. Just because you enjoy the occasional slice of heavy Schwarzwald cake doesn't mean you want it at every meal.

If the second semi turns out to be as tech-heavy as the first one, my strongest feeling about the final is that something simple, straight-forward and intimate will have strong chances of winning.

Sweden, Finland, Norway and everyone else: weekend update

I should of course have been blogging my happy little heart out after the Finnish national final where my winner - who I frankly didn't dare fully hope for whatever I may have written beforehand - stormed to the top of the scoreboard despite only placing third in the televote.

The semi final is always a struggle for Finland. It never feels safe. It never feels like we can relax until the blue cross on a white background pops out of an envelope and we can all breathe again. Let's be honest about that.

Out of the nine songs in the running of the UMK final, I am convinced Sandhja has the best chances of making it out of the semi. If she's a borderline qualifier, so be it. Saara Aalto's song and performance were just too messy for an ESC stage and Finland has a long history of getting brutally ignored when sending in beautiful ballads à la Mikael Saari.

Maybe it would have been nicer had the televote winner won the whole thing, but then again. If we learned anything at all last year it is that the televoters are not always right.

I'm confident Sandhja will make us all proud - with a bit of coaching - and whenever I feel in doubt I imagine her backing vocalists dancing behind me, bursting into their trademark "Yeah!".

Sweden had it's final semi. Now we heard all their songs and I can not pretend not to be disappointed by the overall standard. The final will be good with very radio friendly songs, most of which are fairly similar. Not sure that it is how to compose the perfect national final.

Everyone seems to have found a new favourite in Frans - the Swedish equivalent of ByeAlex - and I'm charmed too. But more by the guy than by the song. Hopefully it will grow on me.

Tobson's current top 3 in the final:
1) Ace Wilder / Don't Worry
2) Oscar Zia / Human
3) Robin Bengtsson / Constellation Prize

Honestly - I never listened carefully to the songs in the Norwegian final. I saw the press conference and thought I'd look into it and then I never did. The only song I heard - and loved - was Laika by the Hungry Hearts.

Honestly, part 2. I never thought Laika would win. I love it and it is very dear to me. The studio version is pure gold and even the slightly clunky live version is most likeable. But I never for a second thought Norway would actually select this.

What about the winner, then? It is nice. Pleasant. Well sung. Agnete was lovely already back in the day when she won MGP junior and still have her aura in tact. I am not friends with the tempo change in the chorus as yet but maybe that will be fine too with some more listenings?

As for the other national finals I can conclude that the Swedish schlager is not dead, as many feared it to be. It just moved to Moldova. Not sure it is a winner on an international scale but it is nice enough to possibly take Moldova back to the final. The Slovenian entry is another pleasant effort that is easy to like but perhaps harder to remember.

The real exclamation mark is instead the Latvian entry. Suddenly it is emerging as an early favourite to win the whole shebang in Stockholm in May, it is also a second consecutive triumph for the majestic Aminata who got a well-deserved 6th place in Vienna. Now she is back as a most original and impressive songwriter. Latvia is bound to do well again.

Spain organised a final - and I say yay

It's been almost a week since the Spanish final was held so maybe my reaction is a bit slow. But I have finally decided that the broadcast was a success and a good step to take.

I have understood that the national broadcaster RTVE is not exactly at the height of its glory right now. Seldom a ratings winner, seen by many as a mouthpiece for local politicians rather than an objective news provider, not seldom getting suspected of having some sort of agenda.

These are not my theories, these are things I picked up from here and there across the social media and other internet hangouts. But maybe they would need some quality flagship programming that could bring in viewers and help rebuild the brand.

Having a popular national final for Eurovision is not a bad weapon at all. And for a first step in that direction, the Spanish final was not bad at all. I'd just like to point out a few ways of making it even better for years to come.

Make it bigger.
In a record industry like the Spanish it couldn't be hard to find ten or twelve entries that were good enough. This way, you can have a more quick-paced show with a more intense tempo and make better use of the broadcast time.

Make it local.
There is loads of songwriting talent in Spain. You really don't need tired rewrites like "Victorious".

Make it better.
Use more time to rehearse. Help the artists out with choreographers and stylists. Try to make every entry look as good on-screen as is only possible. Performing on a top notch tv show with high ratings is something many singers will want to do.

As for the winner, I say it was the only possibility that made sense. "Say Yay!" is a happy, contemporary and catchy track, balancing on the fine line between being infectious and being terribly annoying. Which is not a bad thing if you want to have a hit single.

What it needs now is a complete makeover. It needs better backing vocalists, it needs better styling, it desperately needs a choreographer with an idea of what looks good on television. All of this without removing the strong personality of Barei.

Do this badly and we will be looking at a Spanish version of Ann Sophie. Do it well and we could be looking at a contender, possibly Spain's best chance of success since Beth.



Barei / Say Yay (Spain 2016 - studio version)

ESC 2015: the results

Just for the heck of it - here are the full results of the 2015 Eurovision final:

01) Sweden 365 points
02) Russia 303
03) Italy 292
04) Belgium 217
05) Australia 196
06) Latvia 186
07) Estonia 106
08) Norway 102
09) Israel 97
10) Serbia 53
11) Georgia 51
12) Azerbaijan 49
13) Montenegro 44
14) Slovenia 39
15) Romania 35
16) Armenia 34
17) Albania 34
18) Lithuania 30
19) Greece 23
20) Hungary 19
21) Spain 15
22) Cyprus 11
23) Poland 10
24) United Kingdom 5
25) France 4
26) Germany 0
27) Austria 0

The division of placings is the one performed by the scoreboard. What the algoritm to divide the songs with nul points is? No idea. Ask the maths geniuses in Vienna. But it is nice of Austria to take the last place on themselves instead of pushing it on Germany...

Victory for Sweden! (It's nice to be right)

I felt it in my bones ever since I heard the first snippet of "Heroes" in early spring - and now it happened. Måns Zelmerlöw wins the Eurovision Song Contest and Sweden grabs its 6th victory.

The voting was the most exciting for many years - even better than the one last year in Copenhagen. Tight and with many twists and turns until Sweden finally headed out ahead of the others.

My prediction from earlier today worked out quite well too. I had predicted Sweden, Italy and Belgium as the top three. Russia ended in second place and pushed the others down on step, but that's all.

Russian Polina Gagarina was really taken by the whole situation which resulted in a very emotional but not totally perfect performance. She deserved her second place, but I guess the EBU heaved a sigh of relief.

The big break of the night is the fourth place of lovely Loïc Nottet from Belgium. What a fantastic talent, what a star. If he lands on the right people who give him the right tools and enough space to grow, he will turn into something sensational.

I am also very happy for the success of Latvia, Estonia and Norway. Most deserved. I had hoped for more love for Slovenia, but you can't have it all.

Austria became the first host country in Eurovision history not to score a single point. I had predicted a possible triple nul-pointer - instead we had a double. Neither Austria nor Germany deserved it but didn't manage to sneak into any country's top ten. Some other countries got more anticipated support from neighbours and friends, while Germany and Austria seem to have none.

The sea of ballads in the last half really took its toll on quite a few contestants. Out of the last thirteen songs, only Italy, Latvia and Russia managed to distinguish themselves, while everyone else failed.

More analysis tomorrow, these were just a few thoughts at once. I'll go to bed very happy and content and think to myself that it's nice to be right.

Portugal: roll out the remix

I probably should criticise Festival da Canção more often, as it suddenly managed to produce the best Portuguese entry in years. Didn't really see that one coming.

Leonor Andrade is a good singer and her song is a pleasant soft rocker with potential. But it would still take some work to transform it from being a likeable album track to a Eurovision contender.

It needs more intensity. More drama and a fuller arrangement. Some dramatic strings, perhaps? Backing singers?

It also needs a bit of a re-write. Not much, but after the promising verse the chorus feels flat, like four identical lines being sung over and over. Which is pretty much what it is. Some tweaking and fixing - could you change one of the lines a bit to add more character - and Portugal would have a very probable finalist onboard.



Leonor Andrade - Há um mar que nos separa (Portugal 2015 studio version)



Leonor Andrade - Há um mar que nos separa (Portugal 2015 live version)

Finland: the day after

It's never a pleasure when your own country's national final ends in a way you find disappointing. Even worse when it ends in double disappointment. Let me try to explain.

In my prediction yesterday, I thought Satin Circus would win and represent Finland in Vienna. A promising prospect; to send a reasonably modern and radio-friendly pop song to the ESC in a year  where the pop songs seem few and far between.

Instead we end up with a song I find a lot weaker. Punk isn't my thing, really, but even for being a punk song it's pretty basic.

My initial disappointment is that Finland will not send the best possible song - according to my taste - when there were good candidates in the running.

The second - and bigger - disappointment is of course the reactions after Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät won. The total and utter outrage triggered in some people because an ESC act breaks the norm is nothing short of frightening. Mud-slinging and name calling. There is no shame in being disabled, you know.

I'm also torn between what is worse: the haters or the fakes. The fakes who want to be so understanding and free-spirited and liberal but who display just as much prejudice as the haters. If you vote for PKN because you're amazed somebody disabled can stand on a stage without falling over, you just reveal how little you think of disabled people in the first place.

As for the rest of the results, I was surprised to see Shava receiving so little love from the televoters despite being the big winner of Yle's online gallup prior to his semi final. It just goes out to show how little gallups like these really represent public opinion.

On the total, the UMK final was a really good show, brilliantly hosted by Rakel Liekki and Roope Salminen, showing off good production values. A quicker pace would be welcome for next year, but you won't find many entertainment shows on Finnish television that are better than this.

And I guess the bottom line is that an entertainment show that provokes this amount of emotions really is public service at its best.



Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät / Aina mun pitää (Finland 2015)

Austria won and we are all winners

My prediction was right - Austria went all the way, scored its second victory and Conchita Wurst is a sensation everywhere.

I wrote earlier today that I refuse to believe Europe is as bigoted and prejudiced as many people seem to think and that no politics could hold Conchita back from victory.

I'm very happy about the Austrian victory and I am very happy about being right.

I'm also very happy about Finland making it all the way to 11th place - that is like a small victory for us.

There were many things that surprised me in the voting and some really good songs that were completely overlooked by the audience, but at least most of the voting looked fair and lacking those fishy, possibly manipulated, points we've seen so many of lately.

I will try analysing the numbers a bit tomorrow, but right now I will content myself with being totally happy and at ease with the winner.

The complete results:

1. Austria 290 points, 2. Netherlands 238, 3. Sweden 218, 4. Armenia 174, 5. Hungary 143, 6. Ukraine 113, 7. Russia 89, 8. Norway 88, 9. Denmark 74, 10. Spain 74, 11. Finland 72, 12. Romania 72, 13. Switzerland 64, 14. Poland 62, 15. Iceland 58, 16. Belarus 43, 17. United Kingdom 40, 18. Germany 39, 19. Montenegro 37, 20. Greece 35, 21. Italy 33, 22. Azerbaijan 33, 23. Malta 32, 24. San Marino 14, 25. Slovenia 9, 26. France 2.

Conchita is already the winner

I know there are a few tiny details left - like the final, the voting, stuff like that - but I already now dare announce the outright winner of the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest.

Whatever happens in Copenhagen tomorrow, regardless of who gets the highest points and who scores badly, Conchita Wurst from Austria is already as much a winner as anyone can be.

The ovations she received from the live audience during her semi final, the fact that Danish tv saved her for last to keep excitement at a maximum, the media attention she has already had and keep getting, the love.

It's not a particularly advanced guess that Ms Wurst will have a very busy year touring Pride events of all sorts, with a chance of building up a faithful audience in the process. The talent is there, the personality, the unique selling point. With the aid of some really nifty songwriters, Conchita could have the potential of imposing herself as Austria's first major pop export since the glory days of Falco.

It is tempting to compare with Dana International who also had a major media following but whose international career never took off. Dana's team moved way too slow and no new material made for the global market was released until a year after her victory when the momentum was over and gone.

In this new day and age of iTunes and YouTube, Conchita could tour and release strong singles to keep her audience amused while collecting enough strong material to make a killer album.

A victory would - frankly - just be the icing on the cake. But what a lovely icing it would be, one that Austria wouldn't forget anytime soon. And neither would the rest of Europe.

Melodifestivalen 2014: the day after

Often being a eurovision fan is pretty easy in the sense that you mainly need one emotion at the time. If your favourite wins, you are happy. If your favourite doesn't win, you are angry. Or disappointed.

It is the day after Melodifestivalen 2014 and I find myself with very conflicting emotions concerning the outcome.

First of all, I am so happy for Sanna Nielsen who finally got her long-awaited and well-deserved victory. Now she might have landed herself a pop hit that could add more layers to her already very successful career.

Without a doubt she will shine also in Copenhagen, even if the abundance of female vocalists armed with various degrees of mid tempo already chosen could make it a bit more difficult for Sanna to stand out just as much as many seem to anticipate.

I could come to change my mind at some point, but "Undo" doesn't feel like a eurovision winner at this point. It is impressive in many ways but perhaps slightly too professional and controlled to win.

And then there is the disappointment that Sweden came so close to taking a chance with Ace Wilder. Sending in something wild and crazy and running an actual risk of displeasing people. It would have been so refreshing to see Sweden - the country of cool at the ESC - do something as unexpected as that.

All Ace would have needed to win was two points. Which makes me wonder how carefully put together those international juries are. They all agreed Ace was top three material with the notable exceptions of Germany and Malta. Isn't that odd?

At the same time it was a good thing that the winner of the televote also won the whole thing in the end. Had Sanna lost a second time because of the juries, there would have been quite some outcry from the public. As you see - conflicting emotions also here.

I also note that the heyday of the cute boy singer seems to be over. One Yohio, one Oscar and one Anton was more than the audience could digest but I was a bit surprised to see Anton being the one to truly crash and burn at the bottom of the results. I really thought his song was better than that.

The show stayed true to style - some entertaining moments but overall pretty lacklustre. If you want to put on the biggest show of the year, a good line-up is not enough and SVT will have to rethink their conception quite a lot for next year.

So, I'm pleased and a tiny bit disappointed at the same time. Just as I was in 1998 when the Swedish juries rejected the modern and avant-garde "Avundsjuk" by Nanne Grönvall in favour of the beautiful-but-ordinary "Kärleken är" by Jill Johnson.



Nanne - Avundsjuk (Sweden NF 1998)

Pollapönk for Iceland

Iceland has selected their entry for Copenhagen and pretty much as I predicted the other day, the Icelandic audience went for humour band Pollapönk and their humorous attempt "Enga fordóma".

This song will surely have their fans and it is not bad musically speaking, but I am getting a bit fed up with these very polite and kind-hearted humour entries at Eurovision. I never thought I would miss LT United, but satire is better when it has some bite and some edge.



Pollapönk - Enga fordóma (Iceland 2014)

Well, Iceland sends in what Iceland finds the best. If they are happy, I am happy. But everytime I hear their winning song, this other old song starts playing at the back of my head.



J. Geils Band - Centerfold

Malta is coming home

I will be honest with you. I haven't seen a Maltese national final for years. I understand that they want to make the biggest showcase possible for local talent, but quantity always seems to overcome quality.

I am convinced the Maltese final would be better if they just selected ten songs but tried their best to find ten really strong ones, instead of filling up the program with too many safe MoR-songs.

So I didn't watch last night when my twitter feed suddenly exploded with (mainly negative) comments about the unexpected winner and what a shame it was that Malta would miss the final in Copenhagen.

Listened to the winner's reprise and thought it sounded a bit messy. Listened again today and was quite positively surprised. I don't know why, but if Australia ever entered Eurovision I wouldn't be surprised if their entry sounded a bit like this.

Organic and lively - perhaps the backing vocals are still a bit messy in parts, but that is fixable - the Maltese entry is likely to stand out from the crowd in Copenhagen. There is personality and hooks and plenty of time to do some serious nip and tuck before the final version should be presented.

I have said it before and it needs to be said again: given the size of Malta, it is impressive how strong and interesting contenders they manage to find in the end. Perhaps Firelight don't have the word winner written on their foreheads but I look forward to seeing how far this will carry come May.

Firelight - Coming Home (Malta 2014)

Belarus 2014: Cheesecake for Everybody

Belarus just held their national final for Copenhagen, and keen Eurovision fans know what that means. Exactly, it means nothing. Nothing what-so-ever.

More often than not, the winning song gets replaced some time after the final anyway. If the winning performer is really unlucky, he or she will soon be history as well. Anyone can be replaced and is likely to be.

But if we play with the idea of Belarus actually sending their national final winner off to the ESC?

If this would happen, my first reaction is positive. "Cheesecake" is a wacko title. Seriously wacko. The lyrics are… creative. But the song in itself is quite catchy. A little bit original. And TEO is likeable.

In the unlikely event of this being present in Copenhagen, it would be my favourite Belarusian entry in a long time. Not that it takes a lot, but still.



TEO - Cheesecake (Belarus 2014 - at least for now)

Abba had a plan

I got the question on Twitter, how come Abba managed to build a successful career after winning eurovision as most others have failed in doing so. There are many factors but in the end it all comes down to having a plan.

Abba had the luck to find themselves in a very creative surrounding. Their manager Stikkan Andersson was a skilled and talented promoter and had good contacts to major labels around the globe and he was also convinced that Abba had what it takes to become an international act.

Björn and Benny were highly talented and productive songwriters and producers, and the vocal sound provided by Agnetha and Frida in combination with the presence of sound engineering genius Michael B Tretow set a new standard in Swedish pop music.

The blessing in disguise was that their first eurovision attempt as a group failed. Ring Ring was a huge favourite in the 1973 Swedish final but only managed a third place when the panel of experts had cast their votes.



Abba - Ring Ring (Sweden 1973 national final)

This failure brought many positive things. First of all, it seems very unlikely that a likeable but simple song like this would have won the 1973 final in Luxembourg since it was composed of experts, like the Swedish jury had been. The song became quite a success even outside Sweden and opened doors in many territories, something that would come in handy later. And Abba got the audience on their side for next year's national final.

The 1974 Swedish final was mainly a formality and resulted in a clear victory for Waterloo. Now Stikkan Andersson was prepared and had secured local record deals and promotion for the song (as well as the subsequent album) and when victory came along in Brighton, all he had to do was push the button and the machinery was already underway.



Abba - Waterloo (Sweden 1974)

Abba was more of a direct hit in some markets while others were harder to break - it wasn't until late 1975 and the success of "S.O.S" that the group had their real breakthrough in the UK for instance.

But this is where most eurovision entrants go wrong, there seems to be no plan on how to handle potential success. Many a winner have declared that they will now try to conquer the world, but that is easier said than done. Eurovision puts you in the spotlight, but only for a very limited time. You need to act fast to capitalise on it.

If you win, there is no time to go back home and record an album. There is no time to make plans of your own, you have to accept what is offered and hope for the best. It it too late to put yourself in control at this point.

Last year's winner Loreen had an excellent opportunity as her winning song hit many international charts but not only was her album released at a very late stage, it took forever for her team to even produce a professional video clip of her winning song.

Then again - not everyone wants to be an international star either. Trying to conquer a bigger market is hard work and very tiresome and not necessarily met with success just because you are doing your best.

Abba are outstanding on so many levels - they had an almost Beatles-esque production flow, knocking out excellent singles and albums for many years, expanding their careers and re-inventing themselves in ways few other acts can follow.

Many winners have used their victory to become heroes on home ground or to break a certain market, and sometimes the victory allows you to do things in your domestic market that you couldn't do before.

And yet - in these days of the internet, where you can technically win the world over through YouTube, iTunes and Spotify, it would be interesting to see who would be the first eurovision winner to turn victory into lasting eurovision success.

The question is if any team present in Malmö has this plan - what do we do on Sunday if we wake up as winners? I hope at least somebody has.



Abba - The Name Of The Game

Sweden is one of the Big Ones

Loreen virtually crushed all competition in the grand final in Baku and scored an almost Rybak-esque victory with "Euphoria". You all know this, of course. I am virtually warming the blog up again after my absence.

The victory, however, means that Sweden is back on the throne after thirteen years of yearning for the grand title. SVT has done their best to win the ESC, but despite having arguably the most ambitious of all national finals Sweden has struggled to make an impression.

At the same time, Swedish songwriters are being more successful than ever producing tracks for singers all over the world, making the national pop export one of the most impressive ones in the world. This was not least represented at this year's ESC where ten countries had Swedish songwriters - all of which made it to the final.

This fifth victory is only logical as it firmly places Sweden as one of the most successful countries in Eurovision. Equal to France and United Kingdom, only Ireland has won more times.

It would make sense now if Sweden decided to put in overdrive and start aiming for the top spot. "Euphoria" was an example of how easily everything can fall into place and come together - with some more songwriting as distinct and daring, it is a very possible prospect that Sweden will grow into being what France and the UK respectively were in the past: a veritable pop factory that collects top placings on a steady basis.

So are you ready, Sweden? I challenge you to have the record number of victories in ten years time. You need two more to equal the score, three more to be sole King of the Hill.

Having a hungry and determined Sweden hunting for victories year after year could do the contest lots of good, especially if the songs also have hit potential and inspire other countries to follow in the same tracks.

A lot of good can come out of this victory, indeed.



Loreen - Euphoria (Sweden 2012)

1977 - a slight delay

Thirty-five years ago saw an event that had never happened before and that has not occured since. The technicians at the host broadcaster BBC went on strike and a little over a week before the final, the entire contest was postponed.

Most countries had already broadcast the previews and started speculations about who might be the winner, and then everyone just had to cancel their tickets and sit back to wait for a new date.

Instead of April 2nd, the eighteen competing countries had to wait another five weeks and on this very day, 7th of May, the delayed contest was held.

Some of the red hot favourites had cooled down considerably and the juries chose to ignore the disco hits from Germany and Belgium, who had already had their heyday in the international charts. Instead a piece of classic French chanson stood the test of an extra five weeks and won through in the end after an intense battle with the home team, while Sweden ended in last place with a tribute to the legendary Beatles.

Not only did Marie Myriam win and land a huge hit single with her song, she also celebrated her 20th birthday on the very day of the final. A double celebration for her, in other words.

France has not won the ESC since and Sweden has not been last in a final since either.



Marie Myriam - L'oiseau et l'enfant (France 1977)

Eurovision needed Celine (and vice versa)

I have a very exact recollection of my first impression of Céline Dion - she came onto our tv-set as the second song in the second part of the 1988 Eurovision previews and had some raw, inexplicable energy that made her stand out from the rest.

She was wearing a horrific outfit, somehow reminiscent of what the sea looks like after an oil tanker disaster, but the way she nailed the camera was very special.

I distinctly remember thinking, a couple of days after my 12th birthday, that this girl is very special.

A few years later, as Célines international career took off, it was a good thing for Eurovision to boost having launched someone like Mademoiselle Dion into the international spotlight. It wasn't entirely true, perhaps, since Céline had been recording in France since the age of 13 and was by no means any inexperienced little performer.

However, at this point in her career, Céline seems to have needed Eurovision just as much as the ESC would later need her. No longer a child, her new mature material failed to enthuse the record buying audience and the French labels seemed to be giving up on her.

Rumours - impossible to verify, but still - have it that Sony music in America were ready to give her a record deal if she made an impression at Eurovision, showing she had public appeal.

The rest is history - a few successful singles later, Céline turned into one of the most successful singers on the planet and could afford to forget about flop singles like the one below.

I still find this one an interesting choice of song, musically way more challenging than most songs she has been recording for her English-languaged repertoire. It seems to me that Céline was always better in French, where her producers were more interested in her interpretation and nuances rather than showing off her vocal capabilities.



Céline Dion - La réligieuse