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Spain’s Edurne Takes Amanecer to the ESC

Give it up it for Edurne, who will represent Spain in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest with ‘Amanecer.’ According to Eurovision TV (The Official Eurovision Site), rumours said that artists such as Marta Sánchez and Pablo Alborán were considered.

‘Amanecer’ is the Spanish word for “dawn,” and is pure pop. Edurne made her breakthrough as a finalist of the Spanish talent show Operación Triunfo back in 2005. That led to her eponymous debut set in 2006, which was followed by the albums Ilusión (2007) and Première in 2008.

Edurne – Amanecer (Lyric Video)

Edurne has also performed in the stage musical Grease, which rendered Spanish versions of hits such as ‘Hopelessly Devoted to You,’ and ‘You’re the One that I Want.’ In 2010, her fourth set Neva Piel was released. The very same year, Edurne also competed in ¡Más Que Baile! (Strictly Come Dancing). She came second. Edurne’s latest single ‘Painkiller’ is included on the fifth album Climax, which was released in September 2013. The track had her compared with international artists such as Madonna, Rihanna and Lady Gaga.

Edurne Impersonates Christina Aguilera

As a Swede, it’s impressive to research Edurne’s extensive career. She has also impersonated Christina Aguilera, singing ‘Hurt’ in the charity show Tu Cara Me Suena. She earned 60% of the televotes in the final (!).

Née Edurne García Almagro, the singer was born in December 1985 in Madrid. You can find more info about her via her official home page.

In 2013, Edurne joined the cast of the third season of Tu Cara Me Suena (Your Face Sounds Familiar), a Spanish show where celebrities impersonate singers for charity, where she also was proclaimed winner with the 60% of popular votes with her Christina Aguilera impersonation and her song ‘Hurt’ in the show’s finale.

Did Måns Zelmerlöw Borrow from David Guetta?

Måns Zelmerlöw will defend Sweden in Vienna come May. Upon Måns’ performance, comments about the similarities with David Guetta’s hit ‘Lovers on the Sun’ became a discussion in social media. Add that Måns’ voice is quite similar to Sam Martin who is featured on the Guetta track.

Måns Zelmerlöw rose to fame as he was one of the finalists in Sweden’s Idol in 2005. This is the third time he competes in Melodifestivalen. ‘Cara Mia’ (2007) finished third, while ‘Hope and Glory’ came fourth in 2009. In addition, he led the contest in 2010 adding other presenter duties in Sommarkrysset, Allsång på Skansen and Lilla Melodifestivalen.

Måns Zelmerlöw – Heroes

‘Lovers on the Sun’ was issued in June 2014. It is included on his latest studio album “Listen,” and features the US singer/songwriter Sam Martin. He also sings on ‘Dangerous,’ and has added vocals on songs with Sultan + Ned Shepard and Dirty South.

ALSO READ: THE DARK SIDE BEHIND EUROVISION’S MÅNS ZELMERLÖW’S SONG HEROES

My opinion is that Måns Zelmerlöw managed to create a truly contemporary EDM hit, style-wise very close to Avicii, Alesso, Swedish House Mafia and Sebastian Ingrosso. While, I don’t expect Avicii to ever compete in Melodifestivalen this could crossover as a pan-European (even global?) EDM hit!

David Guetta featuring Sam Martin – Lovers on the Sun

UPDATE

Måns Zelmerlöw’s track moved 16-2 in its second week on the official Swedish singles chart, ahead of his victory. 3.2 million viewers saw the Melodifestivalen final this Saturday.

Carola Häggkvist – The Swedish Queen of Eurovision

Most Swedes have an opinion about Carola Häggkvist, but no matter what you think. Few may disagree that she’s the undisputable Swedish queen of the Eurovision Song Contest. She rose to fame in 1983 when she won the Swedish contest with ‘Främling,’ written by Lasse Holm and Monica Forsberg. The album Främling came to sell more than 1 million copies, becoming one of the biggest albums ever in this country. The television broadcast was watched by 6.1 million Swedes – 84% of the population. Surely, she had trended on Twitter had it been around. She finished third in the Eurovision final behind Luxembourg and Israel. In 2013, she performed at the Swedish Melodifestivalen performing the new version of ‘Främling’ to celebrate her 30 years anniversary as an artist.

Carola – Främling – 30 år @Melodifestivalen 2013 Friends Arena [HD]

In 1990, she returned to Melodifestivalen with ‘Mitt i ett äventyr,’ which finished second behind Edin-Ådahl. Her track was included on her album Much More. No rest, Carola didn’t give up and won both the Swedish contest and the whole Eurovision Song Contest in 1991. ‘Fångad av en stormvind’ arrived atop in Rome, Italy. It was a narrow margin as she had the same result as France’s Amina Annabi, but Carola had been awarded most “12 points”-votes.

Eurovision 1991 – Carola – Fångad av en stormvind

Carola Häggvist finally returned to Melodifestivalen in 2006, when she won the national competition with ‘Evighet,’ which was translated into ‘Invincible.’ On stage at the ESC in Athens, this was the third time! She finished fifth.

Carola – Invincible (Sweden) 2006 Final

The Story Behind Mark ’Oh’s Smash Tears Don’t Lie

One of the greatest rave and EDM tracks of the 1990s is no doubt ‘Tears Don’t Lie.’ Recorded by German DJ Mark ’Oh, the track became a HUGE hit in Sweden and Germany where it topped the charts. Née Marko Albrecht, he was born in the German town Dresden in 1970.

Rising to fame as a Eurodance DJ and producer, Mark ’Oh actually started out in the rock band Line Up. Turning Marko to Mark ’Oh, the DJ chose rave over rock.

In 1993, he charted with ‘Randy (Never Stop That Feeling).’ Taken off the debut album Never Stop That Feeling, the set included the aforementioned title track, ‘Love Song’ and ‘Tears Don’t Lie.’

Mark ’Oh – Tears Don’t Lie

Samples Michael Holm’s ‘Tränen lügen nicht’

‘Tears Don’t Lie’ became a massive hit in Germany and Sweden in 1994/1995. The track was inspired by Michael Holm’s ‘Tränen lügen nicht.’ According to WhoSampled, Michael Holm’s sample is found after 1:11 minutes. But hey, wasn’t this track an Italian track from the beginning? Actually, there are plenty of stories behind this prime rave track.

Michael Holm – Tränen lügen nicht

Let’s take it from the beginning. In 1974, ‘Soleado’ was released by Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble. This composition contained no words and was composed by Ciro Dammico with the artist name of “Zacar.” ‘Soleado’ was, in its way, based on the composition ‘Le rose blue’ from 1972.

Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble – Soleado

The Michael Holm song was recorded the very same year as ‘Tränen lügen nicht,’ but it was also available in French by Mireille Mathieu (‘On ne vit pas sans se dire adieu,’ 1975). It was made to fame in an English version by Johnny Mathis in 1976 with the title ‘When a Child Is Born.’

In Sweden, Mark ’Oh’s ‘Tears Don’t Lie’ spent two weeks atop the Swedish singles chart, amassing 15 weeks in total on the chart. A remix version peaked at No.18 just weeks after, concluding the DJ’s run of hits in 1996 as his cover of Visage’s ‘Fade to Grey’ peaked at No.45.