The Moniker – WelcheMusic.com

Seven Out of Ten Top Entries from Melodifestivalen

CHART SPOTLIGHT. No less than seven of the top ten entries of this week’s Swedish singles tally comes from Melodifestivalen. Eric Saade is still leading the pack with “Popular,” still trailed by Danny Saucedo’s “In the Club.” Leapfrogging from 10-3, Swingfly’s “Me and My Drum” manages to beat Sara Varga’s (11-4) and The Moniker’s (15-5) entries. This mean that the whole top five consists of sole schlager entries.

WelcheMusic ranks the final results below with current peak positions in brackets.

Eric Saade – Popular (1)
Danny Saucedo –In the Club (2)
The Moniker – Oh My God (5)
Sanna Nielsen – I’m in Love (32)
Swingfly – Me and My Drum (3)
The Playtones – The King (34)
Linda Bengtzing – E det fel på mig (15)
Nicke Borg – Leaving Home (9)
Sara Varga – Spring för livet (4)
Brolle – 7 Days and 7 Nights (48)

Christian Walz – Like Suicide (30)
Linda Pritchard – Alive (31)
Love Generation – Dance Alone (26)

(Peak positions as of today.)

Eric Saade’s “Manboy” re-enters the tally at No.60. Britney Spears’ “Till the World Begins” is the highest new entry at No.23. The Playtones bows at No.34 with “The King.” The parent album Rock’n’roll Is King bows atop the album chart, knocking September’s Love CPR off the throne. Danny Saucedo’s album In the Club bows at No.3. Sanna Nielsen also achieves a top ten album position with I’m In Love.

Loreen’s Sweet Revenge

CHART SPOTLIGHT. Loreen failed to qualify for the Melodifestivalen final tonight, but the ex-Idol contestant got her sweet revenge earlier this week. Her “My Heart Is Refusing Me” crashes into No.9 on the Swedish singles tally.

Only finalists Eric Saade and Danny Saucedo chart higher. This means that Loreen beats finalists such as Linda Bengtzing, The Moniker and Sara Vargas. Loreen also manages to oust competition from Love Generation, whose “Dance Alone” enters at No.26 and Jenny Silvers’ ABB homage “Something in Your Eyes,” which bows at No.59.

Eric Saade Beats Danny Saucedo in Terms of Sales

CHART SPOTLIGHT. The two teenage heart throbs might fend off that they’re going head to head in the Melodifestivalen final, but the sales chart says otherwise. Eric Saade’s “Popular” vaults into No.1 on the singles tally, while Danny Saucedo’s “In the Club” leapfrogs 29-2 in its second week. According to the Swedish news daily Aftonbladet, Saade says that Sara Varga is a fierce competitor in Saturday’s final.

Saade’s entry from last year – “Manboy” – topped the chart for three weeks, spending a total 32 weeks on the chart. Danny Saucedo has topped the singles tally no less than thrice with “Tokyo” (2007), “Play It for the Girls” (2007) and “Radio” (2008). Prior to “In the Club,” his latest hit was the 2009 hit “All on You” which peaked at No.17.

The Swedish singles tally include no less than four entries in the top ten. Loreen failed to qualify to the final, still “My Heart Is Refusing Me” sells enough copies to bow at No.9. The Moniker, whose fight with his former ex-manager was covered in a recent blog post on WelcheMusic bows at No.15

The Moniker At Risk of Getting Sued

CHART REFLECTION. No sooner had The Moniker qualified for the Melodifestivalen final than he got into a fight with his ex-manager Reginald Austin. According to Swedish news daily Expressen, the manager claims that he received no payment for his work.

Daniel Karlsson aka The Moniker was one of two entries to qualify for the coveted final on Saturday with “Oh My God.” The ex-manager claims that he worked hard to revitalize Daniel Karlsson’s career for the purpose of securing the Melodifestivalen participation. Daniel Karlsson got his national breakthrough as an Idol finalist back in 2007, ending up as No.4.

“A year ago, Daniel did nothing, and his career went nowhere. That’s why everyone was so delighted that he qualified for Melodifestivalen,” Reginald Austin says in a comment. Austin claims that he wasn’t paid for his work as The Moniker didn’t return any calls abruptly ending their business relation.

His former record label, Lionheart, adds that The Moniker switched record labels. In the artist’s defence, neither the record label nor the manager had signed any written contracts. Let’s see where this ends. It’s safe to say that Reginald Austin won’t cast his vote on “Oh My God” come Saturday.