Eurovision 2014: Who will #JoinUs in Copenhagen?

Less than 5 months to go before the Eurovision Song Contest takes place in Copenhagen, Denmark. By this point in the year preparations are usually well under way from the national delegations, and indeed the first national final is being held on Saturday. Makes it a bit more exciting to think the first song is nearly here, but there’s still a long way to go.

We haven’t even got the final list of countries yet, and while the application deadline last month threw up a few surprises, there are still changes afoot. The final roster isn’t due until January, but for now it looks like we say a sad farewell to Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria & Cyprus, all for financial reasons. However we are welcoming back Poland and Portugal so it’s not all bad news. Bosnia & Herzegovina was coming back too but today it seems they’ve not secured funding and have pulled out. Also in the balance is Greece, keen to stay in but are currently without an EBU broadcaster. It seems the EBU are also keen to keep as many countries in, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see a few more unexpected appearances in January.

We’ve got theme art too! DR unveiled the “#JoinUs” slogan earlier this year, but now we have a diamond logo. I wasn’t convinced by Malmö’s butterfly idea but that turned out to be fabulous, I can only imagine how versatile the diamond could me in motion, so I’m all for it.

The Men of Malmö 2013 – Part 2

Oh now how can you say I don’t give you what you want? After all the effort I spend writing posts on this blog, all most of you want to do is look at mucky pictures of singers. And why not? I don’t hold it against you, I might go and do that right now. But first, in honour of the first Men of Malmö post, here’s a second portion. I fear I used most of the best ones on the first post, so look at that too! I’ve got loads of the Baku guys too, if you’re good…

There’s also a 2014 remix – The Men of Copenhagen!

Single: Danny Saucedo – “Todo el Mundo” (2013)

Check me, I’ve got my finger on the pulse, I’m only 3 weeks late looking at Danny Saucedo’s latest single. Danny’s had a good year, taking a break from coming second at Melodifestivalen, he co-hosted the show this year.

He was a great host and took some opportunities to sing too, including with a one-night-only reunion of Alcazar, really awesome. That builder’s outfit was pretty hot too…

I’m not completely familiar with Danny’s musical output outside Melodifestivalen, though I really loved his latest “Amazing” album, an awesome cardio playlist! It’s not clear what form his next album will take, judging by this latest single.

Single: Jedward – “Luminous” (2012)

Yeah Yeah I know, Jedward right? In their defence I thought they did great at Eurovision, moreso their 2011 entry “Lipstick” than 2012’s “Waterline”. After a few years of bothering the British Isles with various irritating covers and reality TV appearances, they finally found their niche.

Ireland were happy with their top 10 finish in 2011 and thought “That went better than expected, let’s just try that again”. Jedward were happy too, thinking “That went better than expected, now let’s show Europe we aren’t just a gimmicky act”. Stripped of their usual novelty – and often their clothes, seriously, a press-up won’t kill you – the result was enjoyable but lacked that spark we’d grudgingly grown to appreciate from them.

Their reception in Baku was lukewarm, but they’d seen the potential that Eurovision exposure offers and had carved out a decent little career in Europe, particularly Sweden. But without the hair, the backflips, the novelty, where are they? They aren’t great singers, so the obvious direction to take was dance-pop. If it goes well, they could have a decent thing going as Swedish celebrities, like A1 did in Norway. They’ve already performed at Melodifestivalen, a pretty huge gig for them. Could this happen?

Single: Eric Saade – “Winning Ground” (2013)

Since I’m on a roll, let’s have a look at some more Scandinavian pop. After yesterday’s review of Anton Ewald’s debut EP, one of his Melodifestivalen predecessors is back in town.

Eric Saade, former member of boyband Whats Up (with, among others, Swedish Eurovision 2013 entry Robin Stjernberg), was pursuing a reasonably successful solo career before he ended up in 2010’s Melodifestivalen. He took “Manboy” to third place, while winner Anna Bergendahl saw Sweden miss their first Eurovision final for over 30 years.

Momentum built behind Eric during the next year, and he returned to Melodifestivalen in 2011 with the amazing “Popular”, winning it by a wide margin. His success continued in Dusseldorf, as “Popular” not only qualified but came 3rd in the Eurovision final.