What is this? October?!

After watching Melodifestivalen, you've certainly noticed the abundance of pink stuff everywhere. What is up with all the pink gear? Balloons, feather boas, ties, lights, glittery hats... The crowd always seems to be bedecked in a sea of pink. Is this October or something?

YouTube screenshot/youtube.com

If you didn't know better, you might think you stumbled upon a Breast Cancer Convention in October with all those pink balloons waving in the air. Or, seeing all the pink hats and boas, you might think the crowd was waiting to be inducted into the Red Hat Society. It's not either one. It's just Mello mode.

Melodifestivalen is about having fun and enjoying the party-like atmosphere. And when you're in Mello mode, you don't care what others think. Such an outlook can be the opposite of a typical Swede at times. And maybe that's why people in the crowd enjoy dressing up in crazy pink garb and waving scribbled handwritten signs. Melodifestivalen gives Swedes tacit consent to break out of the ordinary and do silly things, if only for a few hours - at least until they have to get back to work and school on Monday.

It took two girls to hold up this poster for Anton during the Friday March 8th practice for the final show.

If you're wondering about the origin of the pink color, it all started in the northern city of Umeå. The city started the trend, but the city of Skellefetå brought it to the next level. In 2006, city planners trucked in a huge pine tree, placed in smack in the center of town, and flocked it head to toe in pink. From that point, pink has been the unofficial color of Mello. A city official from Skellefteå had this to say, "We painted a Christmas tree in pink; we chose pink as the schlager colour and tried to dress the city in pink. It looked like crap... but the point wasn't to make it look good, it was meant to create publicity...and it sure did!" (Andersson and Niedomysl, 2008).

Maybe Karlstad took their cue from Skellefteå when they dressed up the ugliest statue in the country in Melodifestivalen garb...

Andersson, Ida & Niedomysl, Thomas. Clamour for Glamour? City competition for hosting the Swedish tryouts to the Eurovision Song Contest. Royal Dutch Geographical Society. Vol. 101, No 2. pp. 111-125. Retrieved from EBSCOhost databases. 09 February, 2013.

That Schlager Thing Again

There's one "schlager" song in the contest today. I hesitate to write the word without quotation marks. It's because most people would not consider it a true schlager song. It's a song called En Riktig Jävla Schlager ("A D*mn Good Schlager")  by Ravillacz, a group made up of older singers who've had success in Sweden. One of the artists even competed in Melodifestivalen years ago.Yes, the song has the tempo and the correct layout of a schlager. It's catchy and hard to forget, even if you don't speak the language. It gets stuck in your head. However, the song's lyrics are making fun of the genre. 

The lyrics are cleverly written, yet it is still making fun of the genre, the fans, and even the song contest itself. Longtime fans of the contest are typically not fans of this one. That and the song has a cuss word in it, which is repeated many times. This hasn't played well with some families watching the show, as it is billed as a family program. The song doesn't have a chance of winning, but it will probably do well in the charts. It's the only entry this year in Swedish.

True schlager is rare in the contest these days, yet it was the dominant genre over many, many years. Some fans hope for a comeback, but it seems the contest will be filled with a modern blend of uptempo, pop, rock, and rap for at least the next several years.

The Best or the Worst? It Depends.

The song contest creates a reaction and immediate opinion, no matter who you ask. You may hear disgust or delight or even apathy. This year's contest has brought record viewing numbers, yet I initially had difficulty finding people who have watched the program - or will admit to it anyway.

The people at Friends Arena were fans, clearly. They wouldn't have paid money otherwise to be there. Two of those fans are Joakim and Mia. They saw the final last year and decided to watch again this year. The contest is something they grew up with and still enjoy watching today. When they're not watching the final at the arena, they are usually home watching it with friends. Mia thinks the concept of the contest, with six weeks of programming, is a uniquely Swedish idea since other countries in Europe don't spend as much time finding their Eurovision entries.

Joakim and Mia think Yohio will win the contest this year.

Across town, fans at Torget celebrating the contest with a club sponsored Melodifestival evening. These fans mingled and danced to a mix of old and new Mello songs. I met a young gentleman dressed in a Brooklyn NYC jacket outside. I didn't catch his name, but we spoke at length about the contest. He felt it has become too commercial and felt that the artists weren't real. He thinks the artists should both perform and write their own songs. (Several of the artists did so this year, although he was not aware of this to begin with). He even told me Sweden does not deserve to be in the contest and felt the international jury was a bit much. "It is just too much all around", he said. 

I also met a woman named Johanna, who had lived in California. She had been hanging out with several gentlemen from London who had come to Sweden to see the contest too. She introduced me to them and I found out they usually come to Sweden every year to watch! Apparently, the contest has many British fans since Scandinavian pop music is booming, thanks to sites like Scandipop.co.uk.

I also met David and Alexander outside the club just as I was leaving. David started by saying, "This must be the worst year the contest has ever had". "Despite the best ratings in history?", I asked. He told me there is nothing wrong with the music itself, but he is a fan of the classic schlager sound and songs from the 80s. Those genres are nearly nonexistent this year. He feels the music is more pop and electro these days, but he still thinks it's good since Sweden gets more votes at Eurovision later. David also said the contest itself isn't Swedish but the concept itself is Swedish since it gives people a good reason to gather around on Saturday nights and go out afterwards. Alexander thinks the pop music in the contest is typically Swedish since the country has had so much success within the music industry, both nationally and abroad.

Late night photo. David and Alexander outside Torget.

The Artists - The Final (So Far)

In the Final: These singers have their final spot all wrapped up. They will be joined by two artists from Semi 4 and two from the Second Chance round. The final 10 will duke it out to represent Sweden in Eurovision 2013.

Yohio - A 17-year-old Swede who is a superstar in Japan with scores of teen groupies following his every move. He sings in a style called Visual Kei in Japan where visuals, costume, and make-up are just as important as the music. In Mello, he has decided to perform a song with a more Western sound. His entry, "Heartbreak Hotel" is reminiscent of 80s rock a la Bon Jovi. His live performance includes heavy use of fire, confetti and pyrotechnics, creating a memorable performance for both the live audience and TV viewers.

David Lindgren - A showman, singer, break dancer and family man who was relatively unknown until last year's program. His breakthrough came last year with his performance of "Shout It Out" in Gothenburg. He opened the contest this year with "Skyline", a dance number similar to last year's entry. David was a favorite to go straight to the final and he stamped his ticket in early February.

Sean Banan - Another artist who debuted in the 2012 program. Sean Banan is your typical class clown, using corny visuals and no-so veiled euphemisms in interviews. This year's entry, "Copacabanana" is full of puns, inside jokes, cultural critiques, and light celebrity roasting. Last year he made it to the second chance round with a song poking fun at himself and Sweden, but was knocked out during a duel. This year, he went directly to GO and has a secured place in the final. His song number is a spectacle complete with fireworks, confetti, and a rigged harness to hold up his angel wings.

Louise Hoffsten - A well-established adult contemporary artist with jazzy undertones. Louise was close to declining her invitation to the contest when she had difficulty deciding on a song title. A few days before the deadline, she walked down the street and saw graffiti scrawled on a wall, "Only the Dead Fish Follow the Stream". She took it as a sign and used it as the title for her song entry in MF 2013. Critics did not expect her to advance to the final, but she is ready to perform her song for the big prize in Stockholm.

Ravaillacz -This band was put together just for the contest. The members are well known singers from different groups and constellations. One member, Tommy Körberg, has won Melodifestivalen and competed in Eurovision twice. This group of guys stunned the country yesterday when they were voted into the final. Their song makes fun of schlager music, which is how Melodifestivalen got its start. They took a risk with the song, as it could have alienated many listeners, considering it both makes fun of the contest and contains a swear word in the title. Their bet paid off and they're straight into the running for Eurovision.

State of Drama - This West Coast rock band came in second in a national radio contest in 2009. Since then, they've been honing their craft throughout the country. They sent in an entry for the 2013 edition and won a ticket to Stockholm after voters sent their song "Falling" directly into the final during the third semi in the northern city of Skellefteå.

*Clips can be found on YouTube, but broadcaster SVT works hard to have those videos taken down in accordance with contest rules which says advancing songs cannot be played on the radio, TV,or internet. This rule is meant to level the playing field for the artists still involved.

Photos:  SVT 

Schlager is not a Beer

After listening to a few clips from the contest already, you might be wondering how to classify the music. Let's call it complicated.

It's pop. It's rock. It's rap. It's reggae. It's schlager. It's dance. It's everything.

Wait, wait. Back that train up. Schlager?!?

When people use everyday language to describe the Mello sound, they sometimes use the word schlager. While schlager sounds like a type of beer, it's actually a word meaning hit or to hit. What that means for music can vary. You could say it's pop music, but that doesn't quite capture it. Listen to a few examples of schlager and see if you can pick out a better phrase for the genre:

Jenny Silver - Something In Your Eyes  - 2011 (SVT)

Charlotte Nilsson - Take Me To Your Heaven - MF/Eurovision winner 1999 (SVT)

Carola - Främling 1983 Mello winner/3rd at Eurovision  (SVT)

Have you discovered the link between these songs? An expanded definition of schlager would be pop songs with a catchy hook and melody centering on subjects like love and relationships. Many schlager songs also contain a key change near the end. You might call it easy listening. I like to define it as bubblegum pop, although some fans might disagree with me since schlager is generally not targeted toward teens. Otherwise, they two genres have a lot in common. Both sticky sweet and irresistible! My kind of music.

While schlager might be the original sound of Melodifestivalen, it's not as common as it once was. Some fans are not pleased with this development, while others prefer the newer mix of sounds from other musical genres. Way back when, schlager had a place in almost every song and a common nickname for the contest was "Schlagerfestivalen". Nowadays, the song field is much more diverse. We'll explore the phenomenon of schlager more as we move along in the competition.