Sweden Takes Total Eurovision Contest Lead as Måns Zelmerlöw Wins

Måns Zelmerlöw’s grandious victory with ‘Heroes’ this Saturday puts Sweden atop of the leader table, according to the Swedish news daily Aftonbladet. No other country has amassed more points in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest. As ‘Heroes’ scored 365 points from the European viewers and jury groups, the accumulated score is 4,128! More than any other country since the competitions started in 1956. Sweden managed to claim the top spot from the United Kingdom, who was awarded only 5 points Saturday.

READ: THE DARK SIDE BEHIND MÅNS ZELMERLÖW’S HEROES

Måns Zelmerlöw is the third most successful winner ever. Norway’s Alexander Rybak 2009 (387 points) and Loreen 2012 (372 points). Loreen also holds the record as she was awarded no less than 18 12-points votes, Måns Zelmerlöw is No.4 on that chart. This spring, ‘Heroes’ claimed a 149 points margin when it won the Swedish ESC leg Melodifestivalen – a record!

READ: DID MÅNS ZELMERLÖW BORROW FROM DAVID GUETTA?

READ: CONGRATS MÅNS ZELMERLÖW, BUT ITALY ACTUALLY WON

Congrats Måns Zelmerlöw, But Italy Actually Won

Don’t get me wrong, I’m the first to congratulate Måns Zelmerlöw to last night’s victory! ‘Heroes’ managed to beat Russia and no worries – Sweden will host the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. Yet, had it been [solely] up to the 200 million viewers across, Il Volo  would’ve crushed all competition.

According to statistics from EBU and Eurovision Times, Italy secured most televotes for both semifinals and the final. Beaten by Russia, Måns Zelmerlöw would’ve placed third.

“Either way, I’m more than happy. We have won,” says Måns Zelmerlöw to the Swedish news daily Aftonbladet. He should, we’re thrilled to be hosting yet another finale but no arena has been chosen yet.

READ: THE DARK SIDE BEHIND MÅNS ZELMERLÖW’S HEROES

So, how come Sweden managed to win. Well, not only did the jurys favor ‘Heroes.’ Russia only managed bronze medal, while Italy came sixth.

So, how come Il Volo gain so much traction across Europe? The group claims that they combine a classical Italian recipe with a modern touch. “What we’d like to do is to reach out with this kind of music, it’s unusal, only Andrea Bocelli and Pavarotti sung this kind of music. The Italian song has travelled across the world, we want to do it as well. Sure, we’re young and we might sound more modern attracting a younger audience with their iPods,” says singer Gianluca Ginoble.

“We’re lucky as we cater to a younger and older audience. We’re lucky that the younger generation ask their parents for money so that they can buy our records, while their parents also prefer this kind of music,” says his band mate Ignacio Bochetto to Aftonbladet.

 READ: DID MÅNS ZELMERLÖW BORROW FROM DAVID GUETTA?

Five Things You’d Forgotten About Dirty Dancing

I find it hard to believe that you’d forgotten about Dirty Dancing. The 1987 blockbuster movie not only spawned giant hits from Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes, Eric Carmen and even Patrick Swayze.

 

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‘(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life’ Won an Oscar

Selling well over 36,000,000 copies – the former Righteous Brother singer Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes’ Hot 100 No.1 hit racked up several awards. The song won a Grammy for Best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal as well as the Academy Award for Best Song. The track charted twice in the UK. It reached No.6 in 1987 and returned to No.6 in January 1991 following a national TV screening.

Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes – (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life

Songwriter Franke Previte Had Just Been Ditched by His Record Label

The movie’s producer Jimmy Lenner Franke Previte approached songwriter Franke Previte just after he had been dropped by his label MCA. He was asked to submit a song for the movie, not knowing that he was one of more than 100 artists to have been asked. Previte was the lead singer of the band Franke and the Knockouts. Previte not only wrote ‘The Time of My Life’ but also ‘Hungry Eyes.’ Both songs were also recorded by the group, and were included on the re-issue of The Sweetheart Collection (1999) after the band had folded.

Franke and the Knockouts – (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life

 

More Dirty Dancing Was Released a Year Later

The original motion picture soundtrack Dirty Dancing was initially released in 1987. A year later, More Dirty Dancing hit the shelves. It wasn’t faved by the critics as Rolling Stone called it “instrumental idiocies.” The set included tracks from The Four Seasons and The Drifters, however lacked of any new material. The John Morris Orchestra performed two short instrumental version of ‘The Time of My Life,’ and no singles were lifted off the album.

ALSO READ: 30 YEARS SINCE ALPHAVILLE TOPPED SINGLES CHART WITH FOREVER YOUNG THIS WEEK

The 20th Anniversary Edition Included a DVD

In October 2007, a 20th anniversary set was released featuring a promotional DVD with videos and photos. The tracklisting differed from the original and there were additional tracks included. A few of them were taken from aforementioned More Dirty Dancing set.

‘Hungry Eyes’ Was Never Released Commercially in the UK

Despite becoming such a huge success across the world, ‘Hungry Eyes’ with Eric Carmen was denied an official release in the UK. It, however, charted based on import sales and peaked at a disappointing No.82 position. It was a top ten hit in Sweden, Canada, the US and Belgium.

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Eric Carmen – Hungry Eyes

The Dark Story Behind Eurovision’s Måns Zelmerlöw’s Song Heroes

Måns Zelmerlöw Heroes
Måns Zelmerlöw Heroes

Måns Zelmerlöw’s ‘Heroes’ won the Swedish leg of the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday. 3.7 million Swedes watched the final, when Måns beat out all competition. He’s sure of one thing, “I will win Eurovision,” according to an interview with Swedish news daily Expressen.

In addition to a great song, the show was also really spectacular. As you can see in the clip, there’s a cartoon guy appearing on stage. According to arena rules, the light projection show might not be allowed at the Austrian arena.

 

Måns Zelmerlöw – Heroes

He might, however, have to leave [the cartoon guy] at home. “I believe and hope that we can bring it,” he says to the TV breakfast show Gomorron Sverige. Despite the voting chaos, Måns was the superior winner. And he is confident that ‘Heroes’ may go all the way in Vienna.

Bullied As a Child

The cartoon guy portrays the singer as a bullied child at home. It’s obvious that the show means a lot to Måns Zelmerlöw as he has been very opened about the meaning of ‘Heroes,’ and the rough child upbringing.

ALSO READ: DID MÅNS ZELMERLÖW BORROW FROM DAVID GUETTA?

The cartoon guy is called Måns Petter. “It was me, in school when I was bullied buy this guy in my group of friends. From being part of something, I was being left outside. I was ashamed of being alone. And that still lives within me. That’s why I have a need to be seen and scared of being alone. David (Nordström) and Benke (Fredrik Rydman), who are the creative duo behind the show, has done a fantastic job in producing the show and draw the story,” says Måns Zelmerlöw.

This is not the first challenge Måns has faced. He has been accused of borrowing a bit too much of David Guetta’s ‘Lovers on the Sun,’ and even the light show has been accused of plagiarisim.

It has obviously not stopped the song’s popularity. It’s among the favorites at the European betting odds. The songs is currently climbing the Swedish official singles chart.

 

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