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Romanian Songs Online!!

18 of the reported 168 songs submitted to TVR for Romania's selection have been released on the web.

As in 2008 Romania has provided a diverse and varied selection of songs.

Romania is one of the few countries to have appeared in the last seven Eurovision finals and with two Top 5 finishes in that time.

One group has caught my attention 'Cats loves Dogs' a popular pop/electro group who have two songs in the selection. Check out 'One Music' and 'Yes my Lord' on their myspace here.

Another song that I think will prove to be popular is Marko & Bogdan Mihai - Desert rain

I also like the simple pop/rock song Don't Cry by Crazy Win.

Check out the 18 songs here.

Romania selects on January 31st using both jury and televote to select their entry.

Are you ready?! U.K. kicks off its selection this Saturday!

Hi all!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are all set for the New Year.

This weekend sees the Eurovision train going full speed ahead. On Saturday 3rd Eurovision: Your Country Needs You begins at 7pm on BBC1.

Speaking to the British media newspaper, the Daily Mail: Lloyd Webber has said that among the finalists are 'a really talented close harmony group, two wonderful-looking black guys, a couple of really good girl singers and sweet girl twins from Sheffield'.

Each week one act will be eliminated until the final on January 31st.

This Saturday will see all acts tested with a Eurovision-style task! Love it! How to handle the full force of a wind machine? How to look happy when you are at the bottom of the scoreboard? How to avoid the 'Carola Andra Chansen shock disgust face'!

Week 2 sees them dealing with Eurovision gimmicks!

Surely Bucks Fizz will be on hand for skirt ripping routines and Lena Ph will be flown in to give Microphone acrobatic lessons!

Albania selects tonight..It must be Christmas!

Tonight we will have the first song for Eurovision 2009!

Albania are selecting who will succeed Olta Boka and represent them in Moscow.

Follow the show here

Femminem for Croatia 2009!

Schlagerqueen is thrilled to learn that the wonderful Femminem are back in Dora 2009!
The trio represented Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2005 and came 14th in the final with 'Call Me'.
In 2007 they tried to represent Croatia with the jazzy pop number 'Navika'.

Let's hope we see Femminem in Moscow!!

From Globen to Globen? Idol to Melodifestivalen?

Apparently Christer won't be announcing the final wildcard tomorrow which breaks the pattern of recent weeks.

Most Swedish media have reported that EMD are almost certain to take the spot. It made me wonder whether he could offer the final spot to the winner of Idol which takes place in Globen on Friday?

Could Maltese Euroboy Kevin Borg be wildcard number 4?

Internal selection for Ireland?

According to Keith over at allkindsofeverything it looks like RTE have decided to select an artist internally rather than the multi artist selection that was used in 2008!

The rumour is that there will not be an open call for songs as was the case in 2006 and 2007.

'The choice of performer is likely to generate a huge amount of interest in the Irish entry in Moscow, as the name that is currently being rumoured as the choice of RTÉ is a well established singer and songwriter with high recognition around Europe and is certainly not unknown to Eurovision fans'

Very interesting...Is it Johnny Logan??! Could it be the 1997 interval act Boyzone?

Is Phil Coulter involved...Is it Linda?

What do you think of all of this?

Oh I'm loving this rumour....

Some wonderful news for your Monday!

Swedish media has been reporting that Maria Haukaas Storeng will duet wi

th Anna Sahlene at Melodifestivalen 2009!!

The two fabulous divas are rumoured to s

ing 'Killing me Tenderly'.

Both have had considerable success at Eurovision with Anna placing 3rd for Estonia in 2002 with 'Runaway' and more recently Maria placed a very commendable 5th this year for Norway with 'Hold on be Strong'

SVT will reveal all tomorrow!!

Melodifestivalen Queens!

This week's announcement of participants for Melodifestivalen certainly took the sting out of certain Rigo with 'rap with a 60's Carribbean hip hop touch'!

The divas are in!

Velvet is back with 'The Queen'. This is her 3rd Melodifestivalen appearance following on from her wonderful 'Deja Vu' this year. The song is penned by Tony Nilsson who wrote Ola's 'S.O.S.,' 'Natalie, 'Love in Stereo' and and Elin Lanto's 'Discotheque'. It is described as an up tempo song with attitude!!

Agnes will sing 'Love, Love, Love'. I am quite excited about this one. I am loving Agnes's new album and hoping that this disco pop number will make a big impact.

The wonderful Shirley Clamp returns! The performer of schlager classics such as 'Att älska dig', 'Min kärlek' and 'Mr. Memory' will perform "Med hjärtat fyllt av ljus" penned by writing royalty Ingela Pling Forsman, Bobby Ljunggren and Henrik Wikström. Despite rumours this was a ballad Shirley has described it as a powerful mid tempo song. This is good news! I was worried about a ballad invasion this year so I'll settle for mid tempo!

Sofia Berntsson fiawill sing 'Alla'. Sofia sang 'Hypnotized' in Melodifestivalen 2007 and will return with a Greek rock/pop song. For some reason 'Pame' keeps coming into my head when I hear this title!

Lili+Susie!!!! The duo will sing 'Show me Heaven' which was co written by Lord G'Son! It is described as 80's nostalgia, love it!

Amy Diamond is back and will belt out 'It's My Life' the song written by Mr. Bard and Bobby L. I was surprised to see Amy back so soon after 'Thank You'. I had mixed feelings about her 2008. I liked the studio version but I felt her performance was a bit juvenile and wheezy! However, her 2009 entry is described as electro and dance song with attitude!! This sounds like one I will love!! Go Amy!!

Mans's missus Marie Serneholt is the 3rd wildcard and I'm thrilled! I fell in love with her when I hears 'I Need a House' (Which is on Same Difference's album!) and I am looking forward to hearing 'Disconnect Me'!

Only 1 wildcard left!!

Karmen Stavec returns!

The wonderful Karmen Stavec returns as a contestant in EMA 2009! She peformed the fantastic Nanana in Riga in 2003 complete with key change and blonde backing singers. Let's hope her song for 2009 is just as fabulous!

30,000 entries for U.K.!

30,000 applications have been received for 'Your Country Needs You'.

The BBC show responsible for the U.K. entry for Moscow will begin their quest in the New Year with the first elimination show scheduled for January 3rd 2009 culminating on January 31st.

English media had claimed that Rydian runner up in X Factor 2008 had been enouraged to take part by his close friend Andrew Llyod Webber!

No Melodifestivalen for Linda?

I was gutted to learn that Linda Bengtzing will not perform 'Jag Tror På Oss' which has been offerred by Christer to The Scotts the group that are favourites to win Dancebandkampen. I had a feeling it was too good to be true that Linda would return in 2009 but when I heard that she recorded the demo I nearly passed out!

I wonder is there any chance she could still appear in the remaining acts to be announced?

I was surprised to learn that Malena Ernman was announced as 2nd wildcard for Melodifestivalen. Her quirky opera style will definately add a twist to this years contest.


Could she be the Alenka Gotar of 2009? Who could be the final 2 wildcards? Rumours are totally throwing us off this year!

Who could be the final two wildcards? Opera check, Comedy rap done. What could be next?!

I am happy to see Jonathan Fagerlund on the list. I have been a fan of his for a while and I am looking forward to seeing him perform ' Welcome To My Life'. Check out his single 'Dance in the Shadows' here.

Wildcards, Strippers and Disqualifications!!

Christer Bjorkman has told Expressen that the final 3 wildcards places in Melodifestivalen will be between Darin, Marie Serneholt, Lutricia McNeal and Orup!

Lutricia's biggest hit records so far were 'Ain't That Just the Way' in 1997 (UK: #5, Germany: #5, Sweden: #1), which sold 2 million copies worldwide, 'Stranded' (UK: #3, Sweden: #6) and 'Someone Loves You Honey' (UK: #9).

I am surprised Orup is in the mix without Lena Ph! Unless they are throwing us off the scent!
Although Lena had earlier said she would definately not enter Melodifestivalen many rumours have suggested otherwise.

Marie would be a great addition and she could end up competing against her boyfriend Mans! Plus her song 'I Need a House' which I featured on this blog a few months back is being covered by Same Difference on their new album! Same Difference are due to appear on X Factor this Saturday!

Darin(see above) was a runner up in Swedish Idol 2004 has had 3 number 1 albums in Sweden and is due to release his fourth album 'Flashback' on December 3rd!

Markoolio has also promised strippers on stage for his 'ballad with a twist'! Ok then!!

Lasse Stefanz's song 'Den första kyssen' may face disqualification as he has decided not to sing the song but did so on the demo! More room for someone much more fabulous!

Vote for the best Swedish entry ever!

Escsweden.com has been running a poll for the best Swedish entry at Eurovision. As of today the top 5 are:

1. Abba Waterloo 864 votes
2. Carola Invincible 650
3. Carola Fångad Av En Stormvind 333
4. Carola Främling 321
5. One More Time Den Vilda 258

Other notable entries on the list are:

7th Hero
8th It Hurts
11th Take Me to Your Heaven
13th Listen to Your Heatbeat
14th Bra Vibrationer
34th Never Let it Go

and bringing up the rear (careful!)
The 1977 entry Beatles and
1965 Absent Friend with just 4 votes each

VOTE HERE.

Markoolio is wildcard number 1!

Marko Lehtosalo better known as Markoolio has been announced as the first wildcard for Melodifestivalen 2009!

He will perform 'Kärlekssång från Mig' composed and penned by Patrik Henzel, Karl Eurén and himself.

He has released five studio albums, hosted and participated in numerous television and radio programs, and won several prizes and awards such as Male Artist of the Year at the Swedish Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards 2007.

Rumour has it that Christer Bjorkman has wanted Markoolio in the contest for a number of years and in fact Markoolio approached Christer this year in search of a wildcard.

I loved his duet with Linda Bengtzing 'Varsta Schlagern' however his usual style of comedic rap would not be my cup of tea and has not proven very successful at Melodifestivalen or Eurovision.

His song is described as a 'ballad with a twist'!

3 wildcards to go!

What do you think?

8 artists for Melodifestivalen announced!

SVT have announced the names of 8 artists for Melodifestivalen and they were no surprise.




Alcazar will perform 'Stay the Night' a party song with unusual harmonies!




Mans will perform 'Hope and Glory' which has been described as a typical Mans song that everyone will remember after the first listen!! fantastic!





BWO will perform the BALLAD 'You're not alone'! or as SVT describe it a 'dramatic electro gospel ballad'! Very interesting!




Caroline of Ugglas will perform 'Snalla Snalla' which has been described as a typical Caroline track (i.e. a little weird!)






The girl who had a major hit with 'Big Big World' Emilia will perform 'You're my World'




Jennifer Brown has joined forces with Peter Kvint (Writer for Andreas Johnson and co writer of 'One Love') to sing 'Never been here before' This has been described as a soul ballad.





Sarah Dawn Finer will sing a big ballad 'Moving On'





and finally Lasse Lindh will sing 'Jag Slass I Dina Kvarter!
I was unimpressed with Lasse's 2008 entry in Melodifestivalen and was surprised to see him make the final cut this year but SVT have described his song for 2009 as 'A song to dance to' so maybe I'll give him another chance!

(Pics:SVT)

Paul is back!

The fabulous Paul Oscar has 2 songs submitted to Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2009 The Icelandic selection for Eurovision!

As everyone knows Paul represented Iceland in 1997. He performed the song "Minn hinsti dans" ("My Final Dance"), which he co-wrote, backed by four women dressed in latex playing suggestively on a sofa behind him! Oh er!

Although the song only reached 20th place in a field of 25, the controversial presentation attracted wide attention, especially amongst gay audiences, and made him known internationally.

Having met Paul in La Scala at the preview party I must say he has a real star quality about him and was loving the great atmosphere of the night!

He was also involved in writing the English lyrics for 'This is my Life' the eurofan favourite sung by Euroband in Belgrade this year.

Other composers include Trausti Bjarnason he wrote 'Þer við hlið' in 2006 for Regina Osk who was beaten by the slighty demented Silvia Night!.

Örlygur Smári is the composer of the 2000 Icelandic participation 'Tell Me' as well as the 2008 entry. Hallgrímur Óskarsson composed the 2003 entry for Birgitta 'Open your heart'.

A stellar line up for a country that deserves the prize more than anyone (Malta and Portugal close behind!) Whether we will see the return of performers Euroband, Birgitta and Paul himself remains to be seen.

The Icelandic Final takes place on February 14th 2009! How romantic!

Moscow Pride and Eurovision!

Moscow Pride has been scheduled to take place on the same day as the final of Eurovision 2009.

With a large group of gayers descending on the city that weekend it has promted a lot of discussion in relation to safety of these visitors.

Sergei Ananov, the deputy head of the Moscow committee on tourism, said at a press briefing at the World Travel Market 2008 in London:

'Moscow is known for the respect of people of different religious beliefs as well as expressions of their nature.'

However The Mayor of Moscow has called gay rights activists "Satanic" and banned Pride in 2006 and 2007!

The Organizer of Moscow Pride, Nikolai Alekseev, described today’s statement by Mr. Ananov as 'pure hypocrisy'

What do you think?

Who will fly the Irish flag in Moscow?

After 155 votes the readers of Schlagerqueen have voted on who they want to represent Ireland at Eurovision 2009.
And the winner is:







Donal Skehan an avid Eurovision fan performed 'Double Cross my Heart' at Eurosong 2008 but faced a tough battle in the form of a certain Turkey!








In 2nd place are Dundalk family The Corrs:



In joint 3rd place are Leona Daly:















who sang the beautiful 'Not Crazy after All' which will represent Ireland at the OGAE Second Chance Contest.

and Samantha Mumba!










In 4th place were the fabulous Schlagerboys!





Finally, in 5th place is Eurovision legend Linda Martin:













At the bottom of the list with 0 votes were:

Clannad and The Chieftains!! It says it all really!

Velvet to sing 'The Queen'?

According to new rumours Ola won't be performing 'The Queen' written by Tony Nilsson and Henrik Jansson. Instead it will be sung by Velvet!!

Wildcards for Melodifestivalen?

Rumours have been circulating regarding who the 4 possible wildcards for Melodifestivalen could be!

One that looks certain is Sibel who placed 7th in Melodifestivalen 2008 with 'That is where I'll go' which reached number 6 in the Swedish charts.

Peter Joback's name has also been mentioned as a possible wildcard. Joback is regarded by many as being one of Sweden's best male vocalists.
A star of the musicals Peter competed in Melodifestivalen 1990(complete with 90's hair!) performing 'En Sensation' finishing 9th. Check it out here

E.M.D. consisting of Erik Segerstedt, Mattias Andréasson and Danny Saucedo all met while participants of Idol 2007.
Their first album 'A State of Mind' debuted at number 1 in the Swedish charts. Danny was rumoured to be approached by Christer last year but was unable to accept the invitation as he had already signed up to be a contestant on Let's Dance 2008.

Ace of Base the band that have scored 12 UK top 40 hits and 4 time winners of 'Best Selling Scandinavian Artist' at the World Music Awards have been mentioned many times as possible entrants over the years.
Last year Ulf Ekberg of Ace Of Base told Expressen 'We have definately not closed the door, if we only can get it in so it works with our world tour. It a very interesting platform'

Who else could be a contender? Nanne? Caracola? Marie Picasso? Afro Dite? Kikki? LaGaylia Frazier? Darin? Sebastian? Magnus Carlsson? Jan Johnason? Melody Club? Man Meadow? Bionido? Thorleifs?
The mind boggles!

Would you like something to suck on for landing sir?

Just booked my flights for Stockholm for Melodifestivalen weekend!

Flying out on Friday morning and back Monday!

Counting down the days!

Ticket search continues..

Update:

I just got 2 tickets for the Friday rehearsal for Melodifestivalen!

I am going to Globen!!!! Schlager dreams come true!

Will Schlagerqueen get to the final of Melodifestivalen?!

So I sat at the computer early on Friday morning and waited in the queue for Melodifestivalen final tickets...waited and waited and...waited and when I got in they were all gone!

Instead I managed to get Andra Chansen tickets which I am happy with but still unsure what to do.

Ebay doesnt't seem to have any final tickets for sale yet but I am hoping we will find some somewhere! Any ideas?

Fingers crossed!

Tomorrow morning at 8am I will have everything crossed as I try and get tickets for Melodifestivalen 2009!!! Ahhh I'm so excited and nervous at the same time!!!

BBC News report on U.K. Selection process for 2009!

Hadise to represent Turkey?

TRT look close to signing Belgian-Turkish R+B singer Hadise as their representative for 2009.
Hadise rose to fame when she entered the Flemish version of Pop Idol in 2003.

A Turkish Eurovision site ran a poll to see who was their favourite to represent Turkey and Hadise won with a 38% majority.

She has stated in the past that she would not enter after seeing her friends Kate Ryan fail to qualify for the final!

Apparently Andrew Llyod Webber will announce details of the selection process for the U.K. on tonight's Strictly Come Dancing!

It looks almost certain now that he will compose the entry and will announce application details for singers for the competition.

'In my life I've never shied away from the impossible and this looks like the biggest mission impossible of all time, said Lloyd Webber in a statement this morning.

It looks like the show will be fronted by Graham Norton and will involve 6 acts from both the professional and amateur music industry who will compete for the chance to represent the U.K. in Moscow!

This baby is as excited as I am about Melodifestivalen!!

Melodifestivalen Performers 2009??

Over 24 hours since the songs for Melodifestivalen were announced more possible performers have come to light!

'Stay the Night' will definately performed by Alcazar!

'Love, Love, Love' by Agnes?

'Show me Heaven' will be performed by Lille+Susie who will make a comeback on the Melodifestivalen stage!

'Med hjärtat fyllt av ljus' penned by Bobby this could possibly be sung by Shirley Clamp?

'Alla': written by Dimitri Stassos who also wrote 'Hypnotized' for Sofia in 2007

'What If': (Don't worry Andy Abraham hasn't come back to haunt us!) Amir Aly co-wrote 'Just a minute' for Rongedal in 2008. Swedish trio Cookies and Beans are expected to sing this. Check them out here.

'Så vill stjärnorna': Reports reckon this is penned for Molly Sanden and Marcus Ubeda wrote the fabulous 'Never Let it go' for Afro-Dite! Could it be them?!

'Människobarn' : This could be sung by Susanne Alfvengren?

'Never been here before': The man who writes for Andreas and co-wrote 'One Love' for 2008 has joined forces with Jennifer Brown

'Tick Tock' is rumoured to be sung by Nina Soderquist!!!!

'Moving On' and 'Hope and Glory' are definately going to be sung by Sarah Dawn Finer and Mans! Go Mans!

'You're not alone' is possibly the BWO song!

'Snälla snälla': composed and sung by Caroline! What a strange title!

'Jag tror på oss': The exact team from 'Jag ljuger så bra' are back!! Is this for Linda Bengtzing!!!!? Yahoooo!

'1000 miles': This is co-written by Martin Stenmarch's brother so this could be his follow up to 'Las Vegas' in 2005! I still weep for 'Hall on Mig'!

'The Queen': I'm sure Schlagerqueen will like this one! Tony is the creator of 'S.O.S', 'Nathalie' and 'Love in Stereo' so this looks like Ola is back (with or without the bagpipes!)

'Welcome to my life': This could be sung be Jonathan Fagerlund who was in the band 'Streetwise' with Donal Skehan!

With 4 wildcards to be added this looks like an amazing line up for 2009!
It also looks like my fear of the schlager backlash didn't happen!

(Thanks to Aftonbladet and Poster Girl)