Tag: Anna Bergendahl

Tim: Sweden chose its Eurovision entry last Saturday; as tradition dictates, let’s spend the week seeing what they could have had instead, starting with this TRIUMPH (although sadly not an actual triumph).

Tim: WHAT A SONG, and to be honest I’m almost surprised it came as high as it did, because it’s the sort of song that I love, Swedish folk are okay with and juries slate (pretty much like her song last year, in fact).

Tim: But nope, in the end it came fourth with both and third overall, maths is great isn’t it?

Tim: And that, I think, is pretty much exactly where it should have come – the lyrics are powerful, the music is BANGING but it is alas probably not a Eurovision song right now, and we really really don’t want a repeat of ten years ago when she became the only Swede in history not to qualify.

Tim: As for the staging, it was kept to a minimum all round this year – I think there was some reason given, but was almost certainly nonsense – but Anna made good use of what was available, with flashing lights and magically appearing dancers, and who’d say no to that?

Tim: Starts quiet, but builds. And then builds some more, and keeps building, and…oh, you’ll see.

Tim: Do you see?

Tim: Do you now, I’d not noticed that – it is a bit odd looking, isn’t it? I’ll confess I wasn’t entirely sold on this throughout the first verse – decent enough, but possibly closer to album track status. The pre-chorus got me interested, though, and then the chorus came in properly with the amazing orchestral backing.

Tim: Good. Because after all that, it’s standard good pop song progression, really, because this is very much a good pop song. Very good indeed.

Tim: Part of me really wanted this to win so that Anna could go back to Eurovision 9 years later and TRIUMPH, proving all her haters wrong. That didn’t happen, of course, but never mind. They’re still wrong.

Tim: I dismissed this after a minute or so as a competent track but one that would ultimately get buried in Tel Aviv with all the other equally competent pop tracks.

Tim: Well, right. Except, then she walked off the stage and into a nearby forest, and it became slightly less forgettable, and then in the recap clips I realised that by the end, it is actually a right proper banger. It’s too early to say for certain, of course, but it’s ranking highly amongst the “yes I will seek this out and listen to it a lot” entries for me at the moment, because damn if there isn’t a massive amount of energy and joy in that song.

Tim: It’s marvellous. And sure, maybe it wouldn’t be great at Eurovision. But that doesn’t mean it’s not great at all.

Tim: Hello Tom and welcome back!

Tim: You may (or may not, I’d completely forgotten) that Anna came back earlier this year with a slightly country-esque number with occasional synths; it didn’t chart anywhere but why let that spoil anything?

Tim: And THAT THERE is one of those songs where you just know the singer will clap their hands above their head in every single live performance to get the crowd going along as well.

Tim: In fairness, though, it’s a perfectly decent song to clap along to, and one that does indeed raise the vibe of what might otherwise have been a dull gig. And for that, I’ll take it. Particularly that nice background vocal and drumbeat back from the middle eight. That’s very nice, that bit.

Tim: Anna, perhaps still (sadly) best known for being the only Swede not to qualify for the Eurovision final (though God knows Frans would probably have given her a run for that); she’s had remarkably little activity since then, but now she’s here, with a slight change of genre.

Tim: And despite wanting to jump in with “I hear Jerusalem bells a-ringing” every time the chorus comes around, I like that quite a lot. It does sound a bit dated; I’m not sure how much of that is due to those tinkly synths under the chorus, or if it’s just a general something about it, but it does seem to have a slight Annie Lennox in the early 90s vibe about it.

Tim: I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing, but I am struggling to understand it: if you’re going to switch genres, why go for one thirty years old? Not a bad listen, but just a bit mystifying.

Tim: You guess correctly, and because last week you didn’t remember Greta from this year’s Eurovision, I’ll assume you don’t remember Anna, who represented Sweden in 2010 but (for the first time for Sweden), didn’t qualify for the final.

Tim: Two and a half years later, she’s hoping the Swedes will have forgiven her and has a new track out.

Tim: And it’s…well, it’s even less interesting than the Eurovision one was, disappointingly. It would have been nice if it had been a properly exciting “Hey! Look at me here! Go on, I won Idol in 2008 and Melodifestivalen in 2010! Look, remember how amazing I am?” but it seems it’s not to be.

Tim: Erm…yes, that just about stands up as a comparison.

It’s alright, I suppose – it’s a decent ballad, but it never goes anywhere. It’s starts quiet and soulful, and it finishes quiet and soulful. Which is fine if that’s what you’re looking for. It’s pleasant enough, and I do like that chorus melody.

Finally (and somehow I’ve only just noticed this), “I’d rather just go” is hardly an appropriate chorus line for a comeback track, is it?