Loreen – Sida 5 – WelcheMusic.com

Tooji’s ‘Stay’ Challenges Loreen

Can ‘Stay’ challenge Loreen’s ‘Euphoria’ in tonight’s final. Congratulations to Tooji on his 25^th birthday today. Née Touraj Keshtkar (Persian: تورج کشتکار), Tooji has a career as singer, model and television host. Born in Iranian Shiraz, Tooji moved to Norway at the tender age of one. His model career took off at 16, and he has also worked as a presenter at MTV Norway hosting shows such as ‘Super Saturday’ and ‘Tooji’s Top 10.’ His first single was released in 2008 – ‘Swan Song’ unfortunately didn’t chart.

Tooji won the Melodi Grand Prix 2012 with ‘Stay,’ a song co-written by Peter Boström who also wrote ‘Euphoria.’ As it happens, ‘Stay’ actually didn’t win its semi final. It was the runner-up after Petter Øien & Bobby Bare and their song ‘Things Change.’ Tooji’s ‘Stay’ peaked at No.2 on the official singles chart, following his victory.

In a recent press conference, Tooji was informed that a South African group of fans have recorded their own version of ‘Stay’ in Afrikaans according to SvD.

According to Svenska Dagbladet, a pact has been initiated by the Danish commentator. He promises 12 points to Norway in order to create a Nordic alliance against Loreen and ‘Euphoria.’ According to him, we will not get any help from our neighboring countries. Instead, Ole Tøpholm believes in Tooji as the real winner. “I believe that Norway has a great chance. It is a pop song with oriental rhythms, a concept that work in the Eurovision Song Contest nowadays,” he told NRK.

Loreen’s ‘Euphoria’ Baku’s Favorite Among Betting Companies

Exclusive research, provided by social media monitoring company Meltwater, reveals that Loreen is the top favorite. The company has analyzed more than 44,000 posts, claiming that more than ten percent favors ‘Euphoria.’ According to Aftonbladet Nöjesbladet, betting companies across Europe put Loreen first. According to research from the online gambling group Unibet, Loreen’s ‘Euphoria’ equals more than 68 percent of the turnover for the ESC betting as compared to the Russian babushka’s 13 percent. Danes favors their own entry – Soluna Samay’s ‘Should’ve Known Better’- which equals 40 percent of the local turnover. Meanwhile, the pan-European portion is no more than 1.87 percent. Jonas Nilsson, PR Manager at Unibet says:

“Even if many put a bet on its own company, Loreen is the pan-European favorite among our customers. Our research predicts a victory tomorrow.” According to DN, competing betting company Svenska Spel, offers 1.7 times the money if you bet on Loreen. Runner-ups are Buranovskije Babusjki, 5 times the stake, followed by Serbia, Italy and Great Britain.

Must Impress Local Jury Groups Tonight

Although the final does not take place until tomorrow night, Loreen must impress the members of the local jury groups tonight, according to Aftonbladet. 42 jury groups cast their votes tonight. “A mediocre rehearsal may cost her the victory,” Torbjörn Ek, Aftonbladet’s ESC reporter in Baku. Haven seen today’s rehearsals he’s confident that the voice is there and she sang all the time. “Wow, it’s…soon. I wanted to make the final and now I’m in the final. I will just eat a nice meal, take it easy and there’s not much more to do than what I’ve always done. In a few hours, I’m on stage again,” Loreen told TT Spektra via Svenska Dagbladet.

ESC in the Rear View Mirror

A year back, we followed Eric Saade’s adventures in Germany and the feud with Russian singer Alexey Vorobyov. As Svenska Dagbladet reports, little more than a Swedish victory tops Saade’s No.3 ranking with ‘Popular.’ Carola’s ‘Invincible’ ended up at fifth place back in 2006, and was followed by four tough years with one missed final and three lower rankings. Svenska Dagbladet’s ESC expert Harry Amster is convinced that it will either be Loreen or the ‘elderly women’ from Russia. He also points out that Greece, Cyprus and Serbia have strong entries.

Loreen Predicts Buranovskiye Babushki Victory

We’re only hours away from Loreen’s performance of ‘Euphoria’ in Baku. The moment we’ve all been waiting for – and most certainly Loreen will qualify for the final. According to an article in today’s Aftonbladet, Loreen believes that Buranovskiye Babushki’s ‘Party for Everybody’ will win on Saturday. Yesterday, I wrote about the fierce competition between the babushkas and Loreen.

“Something happens in the soul when you see them,” Loreen told Lotta Bromé in an interview on P4 Extra, a radio show. Several news papers (incl Aftonbladet) have also highlighted the arrival of Loreen’s mother, who came to support her last night.

DN’s Hanna Fahl highlights Lithuania, Norway, Estonia, Ukraine and and the Netherlands as entries to look out for. DN also reports that Loreen’s support for human rights activists in Azerbaijan has enraged the local government. According to Aftonbladet, the news agency AFP reports that Ali Hasanov should have told the Azeri media that the EBU, the European cooperative organization which organizes Eurovision Song Contest, should prevent the competition participants to meet the “anti-Azeri groups.”

Christer Björkman, the leader of the Swedish delegation in Baku argues that neither the EBU, SVT or Loreen has violated the rules of Eurovision Song Contest.

“It is rather he (Ali Hasanov) who have done it. The rules are crystal clear. One should not make political statements in the context of the competition and it has Loreen not done. She has the enthusiasm and commitment entered into various organizations as a private person and she has every right to do. However, it is not correct to try to restrict people’s freedom of speech,” he said.

I’ve blogged about Loreen ever since her Swedish victory until her arrival in Baku.

Buranovskiye Babushki vs. Loreen?

Last night, Buranovskiye Babushki qualified for Saturday’s ESC final with the quirky novelty hit ‘Party for Everybody.’ Sweden’s Loreen will compete in the second semi-final tomorrow night and critics say that one of them will be crowned as the winner on Saturday.

Buranovskiye Babushki beat Dima Bilan and Julia Volkova’s ‘Back to Her Future’ in the Russian final. The babushkas raison d’être is not to top the charts, but to raise money for a wooden church in their home village. The 73-year old Galina Koneva, a member of the group, thanked the fans who voted via Aftonbladet.

Owning the stage, baking the bread and charming the socks off the rest of Europe could very well prove to be a winning tactic in Baku. Novelty hits are notoriously charming as the six Russian old women combines traditional folk song with disco beat.

Loreen Comments

“They come from a totally different world. But for them, music is something entirely different than for us. They have received enough sponsorship to build the church. They’re genuine, and these times people do seek authenticity. They envoke sympathy and that increases their chances to win this competition,” says Loreen to Aftonbladet Nöjesbladet.

Buranovskiye Babushki Performance

It’s not the first time they’ve tried their luck. In 2010, the Russian ladies came third. Since then, they’ve toured Estonia and France.

“We could hardly hear our own vocals as the cheering crowd was so loud,” band member Galina Koneva said at the press conference.

The ESC Experts’ Verdicts

DN’s ESC journalist Hanna Fahl said that the semi final did not offer any major surprises. Favorites such as Romania made the final, while Turkey’s and San Marino’s Facebook song signed Ralph Siegel didn’t make the cut. As I reported the other day, many songs are signed by Swedes – Greece, Cyprus and Ireland – and everyone made it to the final. The Finnish entry (sung in Swedish), did not make it.

Svenska Dagbladet’s ESC journalist Harry Amster claims that Montenegro’s rap was one of the worst songs performed ever. 12 out of 18 entries were sung by women, quite a feat. Amster also preferred Cyprus and Greece, in addition to the Russian ladies.