Love It or Hate It

Just like the competition factor, the opinion factor can help explain Mello's popularity in Sweden. Everyone loves to tell you what they think, whether they love the show or hate it.

One of the hosts, Gina Dirawi, was interviewed in the official program magazine about her thoughts on the contest. When they asked her what she liked about it, she said, "What's nice about Melodifestivalen is that you can hate it as much as you like and you can love it as much as you like. And I like that such a contrast exists." I was schooled in that contrast when I talked to people. There's no real in between. People either love it or hate it.

If you love the show, you'll find yourself in the arena watching it live in person.

People who love the show and follow it had detailed opinions on the artists, their numbers, and who should win first place, such as Pia from Melodifestivalsklubben. People who don't watch, or claim they don't, felt strongly about the contest as well. They focused on the trappings of the show instead. They told me about the politics, the humor, the way the artists were chosen, the type of music involved, and so on. I found no lack of opinion, no matter who I asked. Everyone had a strong sense of what they wanted to say.

Some people had informed opinions. Others did not. One gentleman told me all the artists are fake and don't sing their own songs, nor do they write their own songs, which is patently false. He had no qualms about giving me his highly uninformed, yet highly entertaining, opinion anyway.

If you hate the show, you'll find yourself scanning this QR code. "Don't care about Melodifestivalen? Neither do we! Come and dance with us on Saturday instead!"

The contest is also a good forum for complaints, which is a common part of Swedish culture. Some say Swedes are the biggest complainers in the world, which might very well be true. And Mello is a complaint magnet. A sampling of the many complaints from this year's show: The show is too long. The artists are no good. The co-host can't pronounce English properly. The comedy sketches are offensive. The wrong song won. We shouldn't have an international jury. And so on. It's almost a national sport here, which goes to prove if you don't have any major life issues to complain about, you'll find something. It's just human nature.

This unusual relationship with the program caught my attention. Everyone has a connection to it and therefore a relationship to it at the same time. Whether you watch or not, you will hear about it. You will know who the winner is and you will hear the song played throughout the next year. You cannot escape its presence, no matter who you are. This inability to escape its shadow might have created the ill will some feel against the program. The show is everywhere and to escape it is nearly impossible. It's on TV, in the news, in the stores, on the radio, talked about in the office, at school, on the streets, in the subway. If you love it, you're in luck. If you don't care, you will hear about it anyway. So, why not form an opinion of it? You might as well. And it seems everyone has done just that.

Melker Dahlstrand/imagebank.sweden.se

There's no escaping Melodifestivalen - even underground. Every single person sitting within earshot of me on the subway was talking about the results of the final show an hour after it had ended. An estimated 4.2 million people watched it - almost half the country's population.

As for myself, after following the show for six weeks, I can see how a person could burn out on it since you can't escape it. Regardless, I still love the show and the circus surrounding it. It might be easier for me to handle since I mostly get blank stares from anyone in the States who has never heard of it. I'm not bombarded by all the promotion in the same way, either.

For anyone who hates it, you could move to the US, but I'm sure you'd feel nostalgic after a year or two. You would start missing it, then you would end up in a karaoke bar singing ABBA's Waterloo at the top of your lungs, "Waterloo, I was defeated, you won the war. Waterloo, promise to love you for ever more. Waterloo, couldn't escape if I wanted to. Waterloo, knowing my fate is to be with you," which might secretly prove you love Melodifestivalen after all, no matter what you might say about it.

Ola Ericson/imagebank.sweden.se

Friday's Practice Round

Watching the event live gives you a feeling of excitement and a peek behind the scenes. You miss the close up details from TV, but you gain a unique experience which can't be replicated anywhere else but on the arena floor.

The size of the Friends Arena and the amount of people struck me first. This event is five times bigger than the semi-final in Malmö on every level. The arena itself is Texas sized, and I don't say that lightly. I was not prepared for the sweeping expanse of space. Ulrik Munther's team even made the decision to get a bigger background screen to fit the stage. The scene itself now includes an extra bar on top of the three from previous arenas. I presume these changes were made to help fit the stage to the scale of the arena. Before the show was underway, the stage manager told us to look around and find emergency exits in case anything happened. My closest one was probably a three minute walk.

Advertisers were all over the perimeter of the building again. This time, they practically threw themselves at you to give you free stuff. I'm OK with that. I ended up with free hot chocolate, chips, candy, bags, and a harmonica, of which I can use to annoy people on the subway. If you go to the live event, be prepared to be bombarded with stuff. Don't bring a bag. You'll have plenty to choose from when you get there.

When you're there in person, the sound and live effects go through you, so you feel more of the performance. Feeling the sound, fire, and pyrotechnics can change your perception of a song. During Friday practice rounds, the audience is polled on their favorite performers of the night. Audience members are asked by members of Melodifestivalklubben who they would vote for if they could, since you cannot vote during a practice.  These polls sometimes show popular opinion, but many times they show the best live act. The difference between the Friday night poll and the Saturday night result is due to this live effect.

People around you add to the show as well. The girls next to me had gigantic signs supporting Anton Ewald and Ulrik Munther. They cheered and clapped every time either artists was mentioned and held up their signs during the performances. The family of four behind me were decked out in glittery gold top hats. It's a party atmosphere and it adds to the enjoyment. Kids were everywhere in the arena and every time an artist sauntered up the catwalk, the kids were right there to greet them.

The artist catwalk on TV looks clean and well organized, which it is from the camera's perspective. From an audience view, you can see a lone person (or a few people) surrounded by a sea of onlookers snapping photos, cheering, and standing near their seats. It looks messier in person, but more alive. This also goes for the camera angles. The cameras are omnipresent on the arena floor. They're on cranes, on top of the catwalk, strapped to people, on the roof, and on stage to sweep up every possible angle. Watching the crew work their magic is part of the fun.

The artists look smaller on stage and their humanity is more evident. On TV, you see a polished product. In the arena, you're more likely to see the person waiting to be the artist. They are preparing in those few seconds when the camera isn't on them. They're jumping up and down or standing quietly to calm their nerves before their big entrance. They are themselves before the red light clicks. When it does, they become their artist persona.

I understand why 25,000 people decided to be there for the Friday practice run. It's a laid-back, lighthearted atmosphere offering a unique perspective on the show.

Melodifestivalklubb Visit

I'm currently at Löfbergs Lila Arena just inside the press room door. Playing in the background is Lady Gaga's Paparazzi and other songs from Mello. Across the street, artists are practicing for the Second Chance competition on Saturday.

The press room is located across from the arena.

I recently spoke with Pia and Sara, representatives from Melodifestivalklubben, the fan club whose members follows the contest year 'round. They were kind enough to speak with me before today's practices got underway.  The club, a non-profit, has members from as far away as Kuwait and Australia. "There are even many international fans who learn Swedish just to understand the lyrics to the songs", Pia said. More about our interview a little later...

Sara and Pia, representatives from the Melodifestival club

Without a press pass, it's impossible to get in to either the press room or practices. However, the artists will make an appearance in a downtown shopping center later this afternoon. I'll head over there to see what excitement and chaos they create among the general public.

A view of the arena preparations:

The accreditation building brought in for the contest.

An imposing, slightly industrial building when seen from the ground.

 Santa Maria Tex-Mex "Festivalchips", which will be given out to festival visitors Friday and Saturday.

 The same signs from Malmö brought in for set-up shortly.

A handful of the 18 trucks it takes to haul needed equipment to various cities during the tour.

CouchSurfing - Round Two

Emma and Christian are my new CouchSurfing hosts. They are an energetic, fun loving, and happy couple who live just outside Karlstad. We met each other downtown this afternoon, chatted for about an hour, then went shopping for food. When we got back to their home, Emma and Christian made dinner. And I chopped the onions, since that's the full extent of my culinary skills. They did not hold my lack of skill against me. Our dinner consisted of tasty meat patties made with whiskey cheese, potatoes, mixed veggies, and a wonderful brown sauce. Emma made everything from scratch and it was one of the best home cooked meals I've had in a while.

We sat around the table discussing a variety of topics from books and movies to Swedish society and, of course Melodifestivalen. The young couple are also avid readers, so we enjoyed talking about the books they have read and want to read. Christian is a fan of fantasy books and buys them often. Emma studied interior design, so she has several books on the topic here at home.

The pair are open to hosting visitors from all over the world. They have hosted a few people from France recently and will take in another CouchSurfer tomorrow in addition to me. He is a photographer for Melodifestivalen and will stay with us for a day or two. He has a lot of work to do, so we might not be able to chat for long. Still, it should be an interesting experience hearing about the contest from many different people.

Thursday means a visit with Pia, a representative from the Melodifestivalenklub, a 400 member strong group  who celebrates the contest year round. Pia will give us the scoop on celebrating the six week contest from a club perspective. Emma and I will also attend a CouchSurfer meeting in Karlstad later in the evening, so we'll get to meet more faces who dare to open their homes and lives to people around the world.

Emma has planned a little outing on Friday. We will find some nature reserves and enjoy the brilliant blanket of snow covering the area. We might also be able to try some Nordic Skating. That's where you strap on a pair of blades and skate across the ice as far as your feet will take you, or at least until you run out of usable ice.

Once Friday comes to a close, I'll take a little detour. It's off to Örebro, a city a few hours to the East. There, Jenny Berggren, my favorite artist will perform songs from her solo album, "My Story", at Ritz Nightlcub downtown. I couldn't miss the opportunity to catch the performance since it is so close to Karlstad. Jenny also coached Terese Fredenwall during Mello this year. Maybe she will have some things to tell us about her role in the contest this year? We'll see.

I will be up early tomorrow to get to the arena, a place named after one of Sweden's most beloved coffee brands: Löfbergs Lila Coffee.

Commence the Countdown!

I love traveling - both the process and the destination. You learn from everything and everyone you meet along the way. This time, you and I will be meeting many, many people at several stops. Here's a short rundown, which is always subject to change when traveling!

• Malmö - Our first stop in Sweden. This southern city is hosting the fourth and last semifinal on February 23rd. We will be there early to catch the first practice run on Friday night and then we'll attend the big show on Saturday evening. I'll be cheering on the artists, especially Terese.


• Göteborg - The second largest city in the country and a historical place for many Swedes who left for America in the big immigration. For many, the skyline of Gothenburg was the last glimpse they would ever have of their native land. We will visit a few of the important areas around town. We'll also meet up with some locals to talk music and Melodifestivalen on Tuesday night the 26th.


• Karlstad - The second chance round happens here on March 2. Eight artists will compete for the last two golden tickets to the final. We will meet with members of the Melodifestival club in Sweden, a country-wide contingent of fans who follow the contest year-round. Swedish America also has a presence in this sunny city. Twenty percent of Swedes who immigrated to the States came from this region. The Swedish American Center highlights this fact. We will take a tour of the center.


• Växjö - I've never been to Växjö and Småland, so I look forward to visiting a new area of the country. If you have any must visit/must eat places, let me know! I do know the city has a huge research center for Swedish American genealogy and information. That will be a definite stop in our itinerary!


• Stockholm -The crowning of the 2013 winner happens on March 9. The final week promises to be full of energy and interviews. We will chat with Semmelmannen, a connoisseur and expert on semlor. His well-known and well-visited Tumblr blog documents and grades semla offerings across the country every year. We will also stop and see what Ausben Jordan is up to after his work and winning dance with Loreen in last year's Mello and Eurovision contests. 

• Other plans? - Who knows what might happen on the road? Never plan too much because you could end up in some crazy places with a host of fascinating people. Like a Boy Scout, you should always be ready for anything.

Our winding path all around the southern half of Sweden.

I don't dare go further north during winter. My Texas hands and toes couldn't take it.

It's going to be a busy trip, so gather up your stuff and get packing. We have less than a week.