I stopped voting long enough to hold up my sign as Terese hit the stage, though. As I picked up my sign, a cameraman holding a steady cam walked up to me and stopped. He put the camera directly in my face and I knew what was coming. I saw myself flash on the screen for a moment and promptly looked away. The only thing I could think of was, "Better smile. Seven million eyes are watching you." It's a creepy feeling. Then I thought, "I hope I didn't look like a dork and lose Terese some votes". Ha! My third and last thought was, "I don't ever want to see that clip in High Definition - or YouTube.", which leads me to the point of this post: I'm glad I'm not famous. One second is too much.
I couldn't hack the long-term circus, scrutiny, and pressure. I think I could handle the big buffets, though. It's fun sitting in the stands and being entertained. Being the entertainer? Not so much. Not even for a second! I applaud all the work every artist has put into the show. What we see on TV, those 90 minutes of live TV are just the tip of a huge glacier that goes so deep, it is difficult to measure. It's almost as if Melodifestivalen is a world and place all its own. It exists on its own plane of being. You're either on Melodifestivalen or Earth (or the Moon if you're Buzz Aldrin. He's Swedish-American, by the way). I'll leave it to the professionals to live on that planet. I applaud all the effort and work that goes into the program. It's enough work watching it from the stands. I cannot fathom the effort it takes to participate on stage.
I couldn't hack the long-term circus, scrutiny, and pressure. I think I could handle the big buffets, though. It's fun sitting in the stands and being entertained. Being the entertainer? Not so much. Not even for a second! I applaud all the work every artist has put into the show. What we see on TV, those 90 minutes of live TV are just the tip of a huge glacier that goes so deep, it is difficult to measure. It's almost as if Melodifestivalen is a world and place all its own. It exists on its own plane of being. You're either on Melodifestivalen or Earth (or the Moon if you're Buzz Aldrin. He's Swedish-American, by the way). I'll leave it to the professionals to live on that planet. I applaud all the effort and work that goes into the program. It's enough work watching it from the stands. I cannot fathom the effort it takes to participate on stage.
We'll see Rolf "Piano Fire" Gyllenhammar and Ulrik "Tell the World" Munther in the finals. Behrang "Malmö" Miri, and Robin "You" Stjernberg will get a second chance next Saturday in Karlstad. Terese made it to the initial second round cut, but was unable to advance in the competition. I am thankful and happy I had the pleasure of seeing her and her bandmates, Simon Petren and Tobias Jonasson, perform "Breaking the Silence" live on the big stage. Half of Sweden has now seen what talent they have in Terese. I am certain the exposure from the contest is just the start of a lifetime career on the national stage.
The Green Room bump happened again. Fans crowded around for pictures and shortly thereafter, security cleared the area by escorting everyone out before having a chance to meet the artists. The show producers hold a wrap party of sorts an hour after each live event, and that's likely where the artists ended up after the Green Room interviews. The artists have a tight schedule after the practice runs and the live show. Meeting fans would require they break that schedule. I don't think the show's producers would chance messing up that tight schedule with autograph sessions. It is Sweden's equivalent to the Super Bowl and it goes to reason that security would be just as tight, at least around the stars of the show. Disappointing yet understandable.
For fans of Jenny Berggren reading the blog, I didn't see her in the arena itself either Friday or Saturday night. She was a coach and mentor for Terese during the competition, so she was surely quite busy behind the scenes during the event.
A few "snapshots" from the evening:
Crazy hair fans
Pink fluffy cowyboy hat
Time to pack up and go home! The crew will take three hours to break down the set and load it in the trailers bound for Karlstad
Terese's aunt showing off her sign near the Green Room. It was two sided - for good measure!
Tobias Jonasson, drummer for "Breaking the Silence". He was hanging out near the Green Room. A good guy and an excellent drummer!
I think I spotted JB in the audience right before I saw you ;)
ReplyDeleteDid I miss her completely? LOL! I also didn't hear Danny, the host, tell the crowd Terese previously wrote songs for Jenny Berggren either. I was too busy voting, I guess. :)
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