Well actually, the Swedish meatballs I eat come from Rosina in Cheektowaga. But great pop music (think Roxette or Ace Of Base) comes directly from Sweden, especially at this time of year during Melodifestivalen.
It’s an annual music competition to pick out the greatest Swedish song (usually a pop song) to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest, which is kind of like an American Idol for songs.
It’s amazing the US doesn’t try to get involved and make it more of a worldwide song competition. American Idol crushes its competition in the ratings, but something like this competing with American Idol could do some serious damage to those ratings. Any singer can participate (even major stars), but it’s the song that matters in this competition.
All the competing songs are released on a compilation CD and most also as CD singles (a format the US has just about given up on). This year’s CD comes out Friday. I love new pop songs, so this is always a very exciting week for new music.
Move, What’s Your Name, Live Forever, A Little Bit Of Love, and When The Night Comes Falling are my favorites this year. Clips can be heard on iTunes by selecting Sweden on the home page. While the songs can be previewed from anywhere on iTunes, they can only be purchased from there if you're in Sweden. At least it makes hearing the songs possible before I buy them.
Check out Skivhugget or other online retailers for the CD (but go with Skivhugget, they're by far the best). And clips from the Melodifestivalen itself can be seen here.
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