It’s music drought time right now on Spotify’s Discover Weekly. I don’t know what time of year most artists release new music, but everything being suggested to me is at least 10 years old, if not 30 or more. If I wanted to listen to Diana Ross or Linda Ronstadt, Spotify, don’t you think they’d already be on my playlist? I guess all the new music hit before Christmas.
So, it’s a perfect time of year for Melodifestivalen. If you’ve never heard of it, you haven’t lived in Sweden. It’s a series of competitions during February and into March, where Sweden chooses the song that will represent the country in the Eurovision Song Contest that is held in May. If you haven’t heard of THAT, well, there’s no hope for you.
Melodifestivalen’s format changes every couple of years as the organizers try different tactics to keep interest high. It’s all televised, and this year, there are 30 entries competing in 5 separate shows. There’s a “run-off” vote at the end of the 5th show that includes all the 3rd and 4th placing songs from the 5 shows. The winners and runners-up advanced directly to the final, and that will consist of 12 songs total (2 from each show, plus the top two from the run-off vote).
Some years there are NO good songs, and it’s a musical trainwreck from start to finish. But Sweden has won Eurovision SEVEN times (tied with Ireland for most wins), so they must be doing something right with the way they choose their songs. Sweden won last year with Loreen’s Tattoo so it’s being hosted here this year. Tickets to the Eurovision shows (2 semi-finals and the final) here in Malmö sold out in a couple of hours with more than 400,000 people queueing online and on the phone to get them.
AND I JUST REALIZED that I will be out of the country when Eurovision is happening here! DOH! I will be in the US with Karin. We’ll be flying home, arriving back in Sweden on May 11, which is the night the final will take place! We’ll just have to use our jetlag to keep us up to watch it, haha!
We’ve watched the first 3 shows of Melodifestivalen, and so far, there have been 3 decent songs. 2 that I thought were really good: Effortless by Jacqline and Give My Heart a Break by Cazzi Opeia, were both in the 3rd show. I wanted to add both of those to my Spotfiy playlist but annoyingly they are not to be found (hopefully, yet).
I didn’t really pay attention to either Melodifestivalen or Eurovision until the kids were old enough to be interested, but I love it now. It’s a very fun thing to watch during the month of February, which has little else to offer other than the fact that it’s getting lighter out, slowly. My kids think it’s embarrassing now and only watch it with me out of pity for my pathetic life, if they happen to be home.
Anders watches it with me, but probably secretly for the same reason. 😀
*Louis Armstrong
Mood: happy
Music: Lianne La Havas—What You Don’t Do