March 12, 201213 yr Molly is on iTunes UK ^_^ I bought that like two weeks ago and have barely stopped listening to it since :lol: Yep, I've bought Molly from iTunes too :D
March 12, 201213 yr And earlier on in this thread too! I thought they probably would be, but I didn't look properly as I'm watching Greek NF :)
March 12, 201213 yr Just downloaded Charlotte's album and it's absolutely bloody brilliant! :wub: Well worth £7!
March 12, 201213 yr Just noticed that I have the top rated comment on that Sarah Dawn Finer sketch Youtube vid! :o :wub:
March 12, 201213 yr I couldn't wait any longer so I decided to spotify it. It's a far cry from Hero and Gone Too Long, but I'm suitably in love all the same. 11 The Girl 09 Little Braveheart 07 Just Not Tonight 08 In The Sun 10 Dark To The Light 07 Closing Circles 08 No More Black & Blue 08 Any Love That Is Love
March 12, 201213 yr Dark To The Light is VERY California Gurls/Ke$ha/any song with that overused melody etc, except not as strong as any of them. My three clear standouts are The Girl, Little Braveheart and In The Sun :wub:
March 13, 201213 yr And here I am. Freshly arrived from Stockholm and boy, how I wish I never left! Stockholm is a marvellous city and, since it was my first time there, expectations were high! But I didn't went sighseeing as soon as I got there no, the moment I check-in my hostel I was free to start Mello-business. (Oh, and the less said about the piss-poor Skavsta Airport the better!) Day 1 and it was time to attend Scandipop's "early evening pre-Melodifestivalen party". Well, as you may have read in my previous comments, it wasn't much of a party. It was just really Mimi Oh, Daniel Oliver and Karl Batterbee spinning some of their favourite tracks (Swedish Pop in Karl's setlist, 80s classics - yes, Whitney included - on Mimi's and I have no idea what Daniel played as I was already gone by then!), while Clarion Sign Hotel's guests had a sip and a chat by the bar. All very low key and the promise of the "Mello-pre-party on the top floor bar" of the hotel fell flat after the Receptionist had no clue about such a party only to be told by her colleague that it's "just around the corner". All very small and not at all the Mello-Explosion I was expecting. Still, I had a very fine Carlsberg in one of Stockholm's finest Hotels (with very interesting bartenders if I may), and Mimi Oh even made an appearence between us mere mortals (not that anyone cared really) to have a chat with her (around) 9 friends (or homofans, I do believe they were homofans). But the homofans were not impressed and left sensitively 1 hour after the party started and I, being bored out of my mind with Mimi's choice of Whitney and Madonna classics, followed suit and went to have a rest. Day 2, and it's Saturday. THE Saturday! I won't go into much detail of how I spent my early afternoon (I'll say it was rather enjoyable), but I can tell you this is when I've realised how much Stockholm is soaked in Melodifestivalen. Anywhere you went and you could hear the radio, you'd hear "Euphoria", "Amazing" and "Shout It Loud". The former two almost always played back-to-back and the latter became to my a little hymn to my trip. Anytime I now hear that key intro I get the Stockholm vibe, and it'll forever be that way in my mind. Loreen and Danny were the big favourites, as we all know, but Loreen had a clear margin as everyone seemed to be infatuated by her song and performance. This, however, was still not enough to convince me she'd landslide it. I've also hear by a northern-Swede that The Playtones and Top Cats PROBABLY made it to Globen due to the country-side voters. "You know, dumb people. They like that sort of stuff. [The votes] certainly do not come from Stockholm.", they said. Time to get to THE ERICSSON GLOBE! Ah, the excitement! From the packed tube stations and trains to the Aftonbladet promoters giving away Ranelid masks to the passers-by, it STANK of excitement! The entrance to the arena was all very glam, with the "artists entry" with a modest red carpet and even a press-only entry! This is when I had my first Swedish-only conversation with the ticket lady and it went a little like: Lady - Hej. Me - Hej! Lady - (something in Swedish I did not understand but I assume was "thanks, have fun" to which I replied...) Me - Tack! My own "Vulker gained the power of svensk konversation!" moment! ^_^ Globen is a pretty amazing venue, it feels a tad small though. Having been in the O2 Arena before, the Globe looked a bit smaller in comparison and I had my doubts about a current-day Eurovision Song Contest being held there. Nontheless I felt like taking a picture or two. http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/3166/006xv.jpg http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/6613/005sbl.jpg But taking into account those POOR results I decided to not care about photographs and enjoy the show with my own two eyes. That said, I sat down and took in my hands the free "Officiella Programmagasinet Melodifestivalen 2012 - Komplett Festival-Guide" that someone had previously placed in my and everyone else's seats. It looks like this http://medium.tradera.com/209/138547209_1.jpg and contains lots of information and interviews and articles in Swedish that I can not YET understand, but if any of you fellow Buzzjack readers want it too just drop me a line as I took one extra copy with me so I could give away to one of you. Yes, I will pay for the postage! The warm-up is in place and One Piece Orchestra perform before us their own big band versions of Melodifestivalen hits. Starting of with "Baby Goodbye" and going through all those ones you are thinking about! Then a short interview with the three hosts proceeded, with Gina exiting the stage mimicking Loreen's tip-toe-run moment. Christer Bjorkman came up and said a few words and then it was time for the producer (of which I do not recall the name) to give us some directions on what to do during which performances (such as turn on your mobiles and put them in the air for Ulrik Munther's star-filled performance). One Piece Orchestra came up again to finish it of starting with that recognasible intro of "Can You Feel It" segueing into "In The Club" and finishing in the same way but with "Popular". The sponsors came up, and I couldn't get why the crowds cheered everytime the voice-over mentioned "Coop", "Mio", "Statoil", "Swedband" or "Telia". I get that we should be grateful for these companies to be sponsoring our favourite show in the first trimestre of the year, but I wouldn't cheer for a sponsor like it was an actual artist! And then it starts! Just like that Sarah, Lena and Gina came up on stage to sing "Baku Baku". And Eric Saade! That was a surprise to me as I had no idea he would be performing! And then it just keeps on going. "Shout It Out", THAT Stockholm anthem! It was very curious to see what happens behind what it's broadcasted. Fernando Fuentes, for example, ran next to the stage as soon as he was free from the "Writers" section. "Backvocals maybe?", I thought. I was lucky enough to be sitting between two vaginas. One of which was forced to go there by her (over-enthusiastic) boyfriend (gurrl!) and looked like she was more bored thoughout the whole thing than Lindsay Lohan in a philosophy lecture, and the other which was very excited about her favourites but lacked warmth to her next seat neighbour. Girls are awkward, but that is meaningless and the one on my right hand side set the party mode on and cheered and clapped during David Lindgren's mega opener. Thorsten Flinck, Dead By April, Lisa Miskovsky and Top Cats (to which one of the small kids behind me let out a big "EEW") followed suit and then it happened. THAT moment. It was larger than life itself! As soon as Top Cats finished their performance and Loreen was awaiting her turn to shine on the light-circle in the Green Room the audience started cheering for her louder and louder and louder until Sarah almost couldn't talk. The absolutely overwhelming love the audience was giving Loreen was amazing to witness and even more amazing was her overwhelmed surprise and appreciation. The cameras weren't on her (unfortunately as it would have been one of the greatest TV moments of the show's history) but the way the audience kept cheering for her more and more and the way she reacted to it, it was all so endearing and inspiring. And then she did it. She went on stage and gave that LIFE-DEFINING performance. She blew everything away, not even Danny came close to give out the same vibe. That was when she convinced me she'd walk it. In another funny backstage moment, it was interesting to realise she had the biggest built-on platform for her performance (a sure headache for the stage crew as it was too big to move quickly), and also her "snow" was all blown in the faces of the front-row seaters who looked terrified when the guy blew it all away and in their faces with his powerful leaf blower. Not powerful enough as when Ulrik was performing there was still some "snow" on stage. "Mirakel" was another moment, but not as glorious as before I must say, it seemed like it lacked that novelty factor it had in Semi3. Molly finally convinced me with her powerful ballad and then it was time for Danny. And I thought he'd be cheered as much as Loreen as he's such a huge star, but no. The usual cheer for the usual superstar. He even tried to entice the audience to keep on cheering throwing his arms up and down, but no Danny, it didn't reached Loreen's heights! He gave out another fantastic performance, this time with frankly good vocals, but the song had finished and it was Loreen the showstopper. It came with no surprise, hence, she'd won it with over 200 acumulated points. The rest of it I believe you saw on screen. From Elena Paparizou's cabaret number (which wasn't what I was really expecting) to Gina Dirawi's quick trip to Kiev! Loreen won and reprised her performance and we all clapped along with huge smiles and literal euphoria across our faces. Well, across mine anyway. Time for the after-party! After a short (and canned) trip on the T-bana, there I was at Kolingsborg - Stockholm's answer to G-A-Y @ Heaven. I must admit the club was smaller than I was expecting AND the speakers were APPALING (I couldn't even tell what song was coming up next), but it did its job and gave us 6 full hours of hot Melodifestivalen hits! The Swedish public is quite friendly too (at times, too friendly) and I even made some friends there (who were baffled at how I knew the words to "Håll Om Mig", which led to me being branded as a Eurovision nerd. Granted I am.) Luckily Mimi Oh, Sandra Dahlberg, Youngblood and Love Generation were there to keep all things even more Mello! Mimi sang her MF entry in remix form, Sandra showed off her knickers, Youngblood showed how they could have a better MF entry with "Play My Song" and so did Love Generation who performed the much superior "Good Time" to the delight of all the queers there. The trio sang the most songs, reprising "Just a Little Bit" (the choreography looks so effective done live), "Dance Alone", a mash-up of "Party Rock Anthem"/"Where Them Girls At"/"Only Girl (In The World)"/"Commander" and their new, absolutely UHMAZING, track with which they should have competed this year. http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/471/008oy.jpg http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/1259/012wvc.jpg http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/5041/013jlx.jpg Mimi Oh and Love Generation even came down to the middle of the crowd to have a dance and I was even pushed by one of Love Generation and she even SPOKE TO ME, which I assume was something like "sorry luv!". I thought at first it was some druken bitch only to realise it was one of LG and that she actually directed her speech towards me AAAH! All in all a good night and I only got back to my hostel at around 6am. :o Edited March 13, 201213 yr by MelodiVÜLKivalen
March 13, 201213 yr (cont.) Sunday, Day3, was time for sighseeing and some, as I like to call it, Record-Shop-Tourism. Bought the Melodifestivalen 2012 compilation fresh of the shelves and to my surprise no store had Danny's In The Club. From all the record shops I've been I got the same answer "I'm sorry, it's sold out!". :o WHAT? Bought September's Love CPR at promotion price instead. -_- Later at night I made my way to Patricia, a bar/restaurant/club which is simultaneously a BOAT in the middle of the river. A boat which is also owned by no other than Babsan herself. I was hoping I saw her there singing "Ge Mig En Spanjor" but it must have been her night off. Did I say Sundays is Gay Night? Ah. My good friend Tobbe Ek (of Aftonbladet fame) was there having dinner with his own friends and we had the chance to catch up a bit and apparently the VIP after-party was "crazy" and Danny didn't attend because he was "very disappointed". I'm sure I'll catch up a bit more with Tobbe when he's back in London :teresa: , as I left early for Patricia was not playing any MF tracks and it wasn't as exciting as Kolingsborg was the night before. Still, great venue for a gay night out. Day 4 was today, Monday, and it was time to pack up, do a little and quick stroll around and get on the plane back to LDN. A fantastic time in Stockholm I must say, I did feel gutted to be leaving so soon. It's one of those cities that make you feel like living there. In a matter of hours I could even make my way on the T-bana without resourcing to any maps, it's a city that makes you feel at home. And I'll be back for Melodifestivalen 2013, I'm sure, or even [THIS MUST HAPPEN!] Eurovision Song Contest 2013! ^_^
March 13, 201213 yr Author Now THAT is what I will call a POST OF LIFE my dear Vülkling! *.* (and yes, that Melodiguide looks FABULOUS. Would it be too cheeky to ask for it? :kink:) Kolingsborg (and your unspecified Saturday afternoon activities) sounds HEAVENLY. And of course you know the lyrics to Håll Om Mig - all RIGHT-MINDED people SHOULD! (But det vet både jag och du, so indeed låt oss börja här och nu ~)
March 13, 201213 yr What a fantastic read, glad you had such an amazing time Vulker, Stockholm really is utterly fantastic, as is immersing oneself in the whole Melodifestivalen experience like only a Swede or a Euroloon can :wub:
March 13, 201213 yr Oh wow, that was a fantastic read (and I did read it all :lol:) - really makes me want to go to Stockholm for one of these events some time in the future, glad you seemed to really enjoy it! EDIT: I didn't know Rich had posted before, so excuse like.. an identical post :lol: Edited March 13, 201213 yr by ROBOT
March 13, 201213 yr SO JEALOUS. Ha. IT'S 'ENVIOUS' :angry: I did read everything too, and it was all very interesting! :D
March 13, 201213 yr Now THAT is what I will call a POST OF LIFE my dear Vülkling! *.* (and yes, that Melodiguide looks FABULOUS. Would it be too cheeky to ask for it? :kink:) Kolingsborg (and your unspecified Saturday afternoon activities) sounds HEAVENLY. And of course you know the lyrics to Håll Om Mig - all RIGHT-MINDED people SHOULD! (But det vet både jag och du, so indeed låt oss börja här och nu ~) Ha! It was indeed a weekend OF LIFE so it's only fair it deserved a POST OF LIFE! :lol: and yes, you can HAVE the Melodiguide! I brought it precisely for any one of you who might be interested in it. Send me your address and i will post it DIREKT TIL BRACKNELL tomorrow! ^_^ It was so funny to see the Swedes looking baffled as I sang along to Håll Om Mig and Mimi Oh's entry, but hey! I was there for Melodifestivalen WHAT WOULD THEY EXPECT? :w00t: What a fantastic read, glad you had such an amazing time Vulker, Stockholm really is utterly fantastic, as is immersing oneself in the whole Melodifestivalen experience like only a Swede or a Euroloon can :wub: I really really is tremendously fantastic. I will, obviously, be back next year. Let me just find out if Loreen wins the ESC so I can buy tickets for May or for March instead (or both! HA!). Like I said before, we SHOULD organize a Buzzjack trip to Stockholm during one of the contests! START SAVING BITCHES! Oh wow, that was a fantastic read (and I did read it all :lol:) - really makes me want to go to Stockholm for one of these events some time in the future, glad you seemed to really enjoy it! EDIT: I didn't know Rich had posted before, so excuse like.. an identical post :lol: Thanks for reading! It makes it worth spending 1 hour around that megapost and thinking I lost it halfway through TWICE! Haha! You seriously should go. It really is a fantastic time either by yourself or with a Buzzjack gang! :lol: SO JEALOUS. Ha. -_- You must do it sometime! ^_^ IT'S 'ENVIOUS' :angry: I did read everything too, and it was all very interesting! :D Again, thanks for the read! Just thought about giving you an inside look at the STHLM life during the Mello final! ;)
March 13, 201213 yr I really really is tremendously fantastic. I will, obviously, be back next year. Let me just find out if Loreen wins the ESC so I can buy tickets for May or for March instead (or both! HA!). Like I said before, we SHOULD organize a Buzzjack trip to Stockholm during one of the contests! START SAVING BITCHES! It's nothing like having a bit of confidence :D :heehee: But I would imagine if Sweden wins, EVERYONE would be at home watching the Eurovision, and not just the MF fans. Think about how even more Fantastically CRAZY it could get over there! Especially if Loreens wins the whole thing! It would be parades and stuff everywhere, I think! :D Edited March 13, 201213 yr by Freeze
March 13, 201213 yr It's nothing like having a bit of confidence :D :heehee: But I would imagine if Sweden wins, EVERYONE would be at home watching the Eurovision, and not just the MF fans. Think about how even more Fantastically CRAZY it could get over there! Especially if Loreens wins the whole thing! It would be parades and stuff everywhere, I think! :D Haha! My keyboard is shit. The laptop is also super slow sometimes and apparently I type too fast for it to process! LOL :lol: But yes, Stockholm with the Eurovision must be simply q(*o*)p
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