Robin - Frontside Ollie (Wildzide Remix By Here)

This is not a new song at all. Frontside Ollie has been around since early last year in Finland. In its original format, it's a cute little pop/rock track sung by an artist commonly referred to as "Finland's Justin Bieber." The original is fine as far as teen pop goes, but recently I've become a little obsessed with this remixed version that appeared on the reissue of the debut album. The entirety of the original track is in there, but it's surrounded...

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Midnight Boy - Roll With It

"Keep your head up high"I've been looking forward to this project for awhile now. Midnight Boy is the new alias of Sweden's Johan Krafman, who I wrote about on the blog a few years ago. He's got some excellent Tony Nilsson penned tracks, but never released a full album. Now, with Midnight Boy, he's gone full on 80's with an excellent, funky slice of synthpop. This is my kind of thing, through and through. From the polished, crisp production to the...

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Haloo Helsinki! - Huuda

For some reason, I've recently been drawn to Finland when on the lookout for new pop music. When I think of Finnish music, the first thing that pops into my head is dark, symphonic goth metal. That's still their specialty, but there's a burgeoning pop movement happening right now as well. Haloo Helsinki! are a rock/punk band who have been around for a couple of years, but they're really riding high with their fourth album, Maailma on tehty meitä...

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Tyson - Mr. Rain

"All my tears went dry, so I said goodbye"It seems like I've been writing about Tyson forever (and with good reason). It started with Unklejam in 2006, which he was a part of, and continued on during the following years with his slow dribble of excellent singles. I knew that he released a full-length last year, but I figured I'd heard most of the songs (especially the good ones). But then, his newest single (the fabulous Mr. Rain) became an unexpected...

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Manda - Sweetest Heartbreak

"I'm like a devil in disguise"I loved Manda on the first season of Swedish X-factor. I thought she had the perfect pop voice and picked great songs to perform. She was definitely a favorite, but even so, I knew she wouldn't go all that far in the competition. I was right, as she finished sixth, but I would never have expected that she would be the first one from the show to release a debut single. It's a pity this wasn't out in time for Melodifestivalen,...

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Meat Loaf - I Would Do Anything For Love (SuperCHEAP! Remix)

"I would do anything for love, but I won't do that"I am a massive fan of Meat Loaf. I am also a massive fan of dance music and remixes. As a result, I'm always on the lookout for Meat Loaf remixes. I'm aware that this is a... niche "genre" at best, and that would explain why there aren't many out there. But, I'm absolutely in love with the idea of reinventing classic rock for the dancefloor. It's not the easiest thing to find, and I always get excited...

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Pop Blitz 3/19/13

Bruno Mars - When I Was Your ManI've tried to get into the Bruno Mars thing, but honestly, I just find him to be a second rate Prince/Michael Jackson clone. The enormous success of this track baffles me. He's got absolutely no edge. CThe Saturdays - What About UsThis is another pop group I've tried to love without much success. That said, this is one of their best singles. It's hooky throughout and the melody doesn't get lost in the production (which is admittedly trend-conscious). B+Nicole Scherzinger - BoomerangI'm pleased to see that she's sticking...

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Semi Precious Weapons - Aviation High

"I find myself counting the days"To be honest, I always wanted to love Semi Precious Weapons instead of just liking them. They've got a fantastic image, a charismatic front man, and a clear love of classic glam rock/punk. For me, though, something has always been missing. But now the band are back with a complete reinvention of sound, which is enough to pique my interest again. They've gone from brash punk to mellow, new wavey synth pop. It's an...

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Kongos - I'm Only Joking

"I don't believe a thing I said"This song is over a year old, but I'm going to feature it today anyway. I really try to discover what's going on with music around the entire world, but there are some regions (Europe, Korea, Australia) that I naturally gravitate towards more strongly. I am, however, always on the lookout for good, new African music. I love the natural rhythms and textures found in a lot of the music in Africa, but I struggle to find...

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A Standing Ovation For Scandinavia

After a year or so on the sidelines, Scandinavia and Northern Europe is back when it comes to fantastic pop music. Honestly, in the past few months, I've seen more great music come out of the region than in all of last year. It's really an amazing resurgence, and kind of reminds me of when I first got into Scandinavian music a decade ago.I just wanted to give some of these fantastic songs another look today, because each and every one of them is totally special. Not only that, but most are from artists I'd never featured on the blog before, giving...

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Carola - Främling (30 År)

As part of last weekend's fantastic Melodifestivalen, thrice-winner (!) and general Swedish legend Carola was invited back to sing a remixed version of her song Främling ("Stranger"), which won the contest in 1983 (also the year of my birth). The updated version turns the midtempo 80's pop track into a full on electro club anthem. On first listen, I honestly thought it was a bit of a mess, but I couldn't have been more wrong. The melody remains...

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Kite - The Rhythm

"Push me through the people"Kite are back! I have an interesting relationship with this band. Whenever I listen to them, a part of me aches, just wishing that singer Nicklas Stenemo was still with the Mo, performing the kind of pop rock that he did so well. But another part of me can really appreciate this kind of experimental electronic sound as well. To my ears, the duo has never eclipsed their debut single, Ways To Dance, but this new song is...

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Melodifestivalen 2013: Post Final Wrap-Up

Melodifestivalen is over for another year, which always makes me a little sad because I definitely look forward to it more than Eurovision. But, I am happy that we're now at the point that we should be: enjoying the songs for what they are, rather than pitting them against each other.I started this year's MF coverage thoroughly underwhelmed, but something happened as the week's went on that somehow gave us a Final that was quite strong. Although there obviously wasn't anything as good as last year's Euphoria, I'd argue that, song for song, this...

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Melodifestivalen 2013: The Final

Who's ready to watch Yohio win? Just kidding... maybe there will be an upset? I've made it quite clear that I'd love to see Ulrik or Anton take the title, but we'll see...* My god that's a huge arena! The kid hosts are very cute. They remind me of Awa and Isak of this year's XF Swe* Is Kisses Of Fire really one of Abba's popular songs? I never thought so, but they used it for this and it was also featured prominently in the 2004 final. Was it a single in Sweden? Regardless, it's a great track.ULRIK: If only this could win. Either way, I'm still...

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Melodifestivalen 2013: Final Predictions

After tomorrow, Melodifestivalen will be over for another year. Although I complained a lot about the quality of entries during the first few heats, it's actually not such a bad final line-up this year. There's only one song I can't stand, and four or five that I like quite a bit. Unfortunately, my dream finishing order is not likely to be what actually happens tomorrow (though there's always a chance... especially with the international juries in play).Everyone's saying it's Yohio's to lose, and I agree. But wouldn't it be fun if there was an...

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Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light 'Em Up)

"I'm just dreaming of tearing you apart"Oh, how I used to despise Fall Out Boy. The whiny emo-ness of their music was everywhere on American radio for a couple of years. So it's with a hell of a lot of surprise that I write about their comeback single today. The music video for My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light 'Em Up) literally depicts the band's previous albums being burnt in a fire. It's time for a rebirth, and that includes a reinvention...

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Le Kid - We Are Young

"I wanted you to get me high"The treats from Sweden just keep coming. This morning, I woke to discover that Le Kid have made an unexpected (at least to me) comeback! This can only be a good thing. We Are Young kicks off right away with a surging electronic beat. Then, as expected from the title, the song builds into a big "seize the moment" hook. It's got some brilliant production, with layered, shouty vocals and a persistent pop energy. Honestly,...

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Haim - Falling

"If it gets rough, it's time to get rough"I'm a little late when it comes to Haim, but better late than never. I fully expect these girls to break out big time as the year goes on. They've already been recognized by the BBC. Their music is a fantastic mix of 80's and 90's hippie-pop... sort of a combination of Paula Cole, Stevie Nicks, 'Til Tuesday and maybe even a bit of Florence + The Machine. It's like nothing on the radio right now, which makes...

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Ulrik Munther - Tell The World I'm Here

"All the world is waiting just for me"Prepare for some general effusiveness, because I'm obsessed with this song. It's broken past the confines of Melodifestivalen for me and has become one of my favorite tracks of the year in a very short time. My relationship with the track went sorta like this: 1. High expectations - since I've liked Munther's work in the past and it was being touted as a possible MF...

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Melodifestivalen 2013: Andra Chansen

Here we are with the second chance round. If I were a betting man, I'd be looking at Anton, Robin and Behrang as having the best chances today, but we'll soon see! Since we've already heard all the songs this week, I hope there are some other entertaining bits to keep the show fresh.The unofficial Applause-O-Meter: Robin, Behrang, Anton and Martin getting the most love at the outset. Ah, just as expected.WHOA... stream is dying worse than it's ever died...ROBIN: Now that the video's back, Robin's here. I do like this song. It's not my favorite...

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Melodifestivalen 2013: Andra Chansen Preview

Ahead of tomorrow's live-blogging, I wanted to write a little about the Andra Chansen ("second chance") round of this year's MF. It's always the week where I'm more excited to see who goes through than to see the performances (since they're basically all repeats). This year, the duel format is--mostly--out, so things could really be up in the air. My favorite song is already in the final (more on that next week), so I'm not too bothered by who makes it through tomorrow, though of course I do have my preferences.A reminder of the acts competing...

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