CHART SPOTLIGHT. According to the Swedish news daily Aftonbladet,  Russian ESC entry Alexey Vorobyov accuses Eric Saade of plagiarism. An appearance on a Russian TV show was also cancelled. The 20-year old Swede is currently in Russia to promote “Popular.” The single returns to No.1 on the Swedish singles tally this week, knocking Jennifer Lopez off the top.

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The 23-year old Alexey Vorobyov will compete with  the RedOne production “Get You” in the ESC this May. Russian fans claim that Saade stole both dance steps and the glass cage from Vorobyov’s appearance on the MTV Music Awards 2007.

Eric Saade claims that many artists uses glass on stage and rather admits being influenced by Michael Jackson rather than the Russian ESC singer. The TV show in question was Star Academy, an Idol-esque reality series. The producer felt that it was unpatriotic to feature Vorobyov’s rival on the show and cancelled Saade’s appearance.

Saade’s manager, Tomas Lingman, means that the Russians wanted to create a scandal, saying:

“This has turned to Eric’s advantage as most Russians didn’t even know about him. Cancelling the appearance has certainly made people aware of Eric Saade,” Lingman says.

WelcheMusic notes that only two of the Swedish Melodifestivalen entries remain in the top ten. Swingfly’s “Me and My Drum” sits at No.6.