I'm back!

Christmas was...well,boring to be honest.But it doesn't matter,because there's loads to look forward to- the Russian Winter Festival (obviously),Belarus's Eurofest final doesn't seem too far away,the as yet unknown New Year's Eve plans (go back to Guildford for some of our new and exciting cocktail- Dennis In A Cup,and watch lots of Chelsi videos on the computer,or stay here in Kent with some Asti and...Chelsi videos on the computer- I just don't know).And of course there's the 4 Hills competition- the most exciting part of the ski jumping season (apart from Holmenkollen).It started today,and although we all know Thomas Morgenstern is going to win it,I'm supporting his lovely Austrian teammate,Andreas Kofler,looking rather nice here in an Austrian police uniform...

Of course I'll be supporting Anders Jacobsen too (back after his horrible crash in Trondheim a few weeks ago),but he hasn't really been able to match the great form he had at the beginning of last year...
Anyway,enough of the ski jumping.For now :).I wanted to post a video which I saw quite a long time ago but which also disappeared off of youtube for some reason.Might be a few days premature but whatever,here's Dima Bilan singing a festive New Year's version of Pozdravlayu.He's a lovely chap is Dima,organising a surprise party for his girlfriend (although he looks more surprised than her),complete with a scary dog and industrial strength party poppers.I'd take that dog back if I was you Dima,it shouldn't be making noises like that.

WYM Europop Advent Calendar: Christmas Eve!

So.There's been some pretty awful Christmas songs on this blog in the past 3 weeks,but I thought I'd save the best for last.It's a favourite of ours at Europop Mansions Surrey Branch,because it's just a bit mad.George Michael had his camp moments but this is quite something- it's everyone's favourite all-male former Russian pop duo Smash singing Last Christmas.What are the dodgy silver fluffy coats about I ask?And what has Vlad taken to make him so hyperactive?And why have they nicked Ola's black and white whirly thing from Eurovision?

If I'm not back on here before,have a fabulous Christmas and a Eurotastic new year :)

2007 Countdown Part 4

So of course it was very close between Work Your Magic and this one,but my favourite song of this year is....

1: Måns Zelmerlöw- Cara Mia


Yes it’s Måns again. According to itunes, I’ve played this song 698 times. Well, not quite, but it will be before long probably. When I found out the results of Melodifestivalen, I was in a sulk that Andreas Johnson didn’t win (just like last year really). And then I heard Cara Mia and thought it was even more of an injustice that The Ark won (even though I love them now, as I said before, Ola Salo is an amazing lyricist, and some of his songs have meant a lot to me in recent times shall we say). I still think this would have done better than The Worrying Kind at Eurovision, it reminds me of Mihai’s Tornero (the best song of last year, and not just in Eurovision terms either), only it might even be a bit better than that. Everything about it is fabulous, the intro that makes you think “what the hell is this?”, the frenetic chorus, the big ending…it’s a bit of a Europop masterpiece I think :) So that’s 3 of Måns’s songs in my little countdown. That’s not bad. Maybe I should buy his album now, I’m thinking it would probably be quite a good investment.


There's been many other fabulous Europop tunes this year that I haven't mentioned of course- Venke Knutson's Holiday, practically everything that Sopho Khalvashi did, the Lene Marlin and Lovebugs song Avalon, and of course the super Do You Believe by Litesound...it's been a Eurotastic year,I hope 2008 will be the same :)

WYM Europop Advent Calendar: 23/12

Here's Jill Johnson (Swedish apparantly...) singing I Want You For Christmas.Yeah and I want to live on a desert island with nothing but the Chelsi boys, Dima Koldun, Per Ciljan Skjelbred and non stop ski jumping on the telly for entertainment.But I don't think I'll get that.Not this year :)

Christmas Eve tomorrow.An exciting song coming up...

Do you believe that love can last forever?

Here it is,my official favourite Eurovision related song of 2008 so far :)

2007 Countdown Part 3

4: Måns Zelmerlöw- Brother Oh Brother

Although there’s a few dodgy lines in this song… “I thought she was the one, until I realised that she was gone…” “I thought you knew… well now I do,” I can overlook them :) This is such a tune. And it sounds really good on Keira’s fabulous new ipod hi-fi thing.

3: Chelsi- Krilya/Ya Shagayu Pa Moskve/Careless Whisper/Ya Ne Umru Bez Tvoi Liubvi

OK OK, I know I’ve just listed 4 songs there, but I couldn’t possibly choose between them, they’re all so good. Chelsi have undoubtedly been my greatest musical discovery this year, they’ve taken me and Keira back to the good old days of British pop. Well, obviously they sing in Russian and we don’t always know what they’re singing about, but they’re just like a 90s boyband really (except they wear suits which just makes them even better). Of course it helps that Arseniy Borodin is one of the hottest men on the planet, but their music is nothing short of fabulous. Krilya has the added bonus of a…nice video, Ya Shagayu Pa Moskve is wonderful (not their song, I know, but it’s still a great version, I even got to play it in one of my Russian lessons a few months ago), Careless Whisper is, again, another super cover, even if they do miss out a word in the chorus which sounds a bit strange. Ya Ne Umru Bez Tvoi Liubvi is in fact a cover of a Dima Koldun song so I’ve been told, and although I said before I prefer Dima’s version, I think I’ve changed my mind. I love the intro, I love the guitar solo in the middle, I love the way when it gets quieter towards the end that you think it’s finished, and I love the way Roman shouts Ya Ne Umru Bez Liubvi in the last chorus…yeah, it’s an alright song :)

2: Dima Koldun- Work Your Magic

Say what you like about Filip Kirkorov (and me and Keira often do), he made a bloody good job of this song. Oh how we tried to promote it to everyone we knew in the run up to Eurovision. Well OK, it was about 3 months actually. No one seemed to take any notice though. It’s a travesty Belarus got no points from the UK, says something about the rubbish musical taste of the British public though I suppose… Yes Molitva was a good song, but let’s face it, it was just a generic Balkan ballad really, whereas Work Your Magic was a bit different to your normal Eurovision fare. It’s completely dramatic and over the top, but catchy and brilliant at the same time. And not only has it given me the title of my blog, but also provided us with Loving Potion, a world class cocktail knocked up one evening in the bright yellow holiday camp in Guildford. Oh yes, and the small matter of it being sung by the sexiest Belarussian in the world simply adds to its appeal. Actually no, it’s sung by the sexiest man in the world full stop (Dima was recently unanimously voted the hottest man on the planet. By me and Keira).

It's Ruslan!

Some nice Belarussian (probably) has put the video of Ruslan's fabulous Hasta La Vista on youtube.OK,so the performance isn't that great,but whatever,he's in the final now.I think I read somewhere that Ruslan won Russia's Narodniy Artist competition (the same thing Dima was in before Fabrika),don't know when though.Anyway,watch this,it's soooo good!If not slightly catchy,I woke up with it in my head this morning,worryingly.Hopefully they'll hurry up and put Litesound on next.

WYM Europop Advent Calendar: 22/12

This is Evridiki singing Mia aggalia gia to arGOODaki.Don't know why the GOOD is in capital letters,but that's what it said on youtube.

Oh well

It's not all good though,Glenn won Norwegian Idol tonight.I didn't like either of them in the final but out of the 2,I'd probably rather Bjørn Johan won.Anyway,I'm going to stop posting now,I'm sure you've had enough of me tonight!

Results...

Litesound are in the final,hurrah!And Gunesh and Po Glazam.Why I have no idea...Did I hear something about Ruslan as well?He seemed to have an insane amount of points on that scoreboard thing...

Eurofest Semi Final- My thoughts :)

Eurofest is on...Lena,The Champions and Yulia have all already been on,and well,they were instantly forgettable really.
Remember the guy (German Titov),who I said looked like Dima?Well,he doesn't.Not close up.His and Anya's song is fabulous though,bit of an odd and awkward stage setup involving big red sashes,but generally it was really good.They sang it in Russian tonight,and it worked.As Eurovision duets go,this is certainly one of the better ones.I think they've got quite a good chance of getting to the final.

Ruslan has just been on too,singing Hasta La Vista (one of my other favourites from the preview video),the full version is super,I could well imagine it at Eurovision,and I think it could do quite well actually,particularly if he adds some funky kind of dancers in the background.I really want him to go through.Don't know when we actually find out the results...

I said Oksana's song was boring yesterday.It still is.But I like her dress...

Oh god,Pincode are on now.They've gone a bit Zdob si Zdub and got some old people in national dress on.Song reminds me of a really awful version of Tina Karol's Show Me Your Love.

Viktor's song isn't quite as bad as the preview suggested.Still don't like it at all though.

Having second thoughts about Gunesh actually,it's all a bit screechy and repetitive,and although the performance is good,I can't imagine anyone voting for it at Belgrade next year.Then again,I didn't think they'd vote for Molitva...

Ooh Skandal are on.Weirdest stage setup of the night,they're wearing white (very D'Nash...) and have just been joined by some people with guitars and scary monster masks,and the half naked guy in the tutu is back as well.Oh,and the lead singer has a bit of a mullet which is always a winner.I quite like this actually.Ah,now they're waving Belarussian flags...Magic!

The girl from Po Glazam is wearing a silver dress with lots of European flags on it.That's about the most interesting thing about the song.

Palats are next...wonder when Litesound will be on?They're probably saving the best for last :) Oh god,Palats are scary.This has absolutely no chance!
Dali next...oh his microphone stopped working for a few seconds,that was nice.
Katrin looks fabulous,and she sounds it too.I said this was boring yesterday but I think I've changed my mind,I could see this at Eurovision.Ooh,there's guitars too,wasn't expecting that.Good performance,involving backing dancers dressed like Bonaparti.lv without shirts.

Aagh,Litesound next!Told you they'd save the best for last :) Great performance,and this guy has such a good voice...Oh I love them,they have to win!

So it's all finished now...my votes go to Litesound obviously,Ruslan and mmm,either Katrin or Skandal,I'm not sure.I shall be back with the results as soon as I know them!

2007 Countdown Part 2

Carrying on with my top songs of the year...

7: Måns Zelmerlöw- My Mistake

I only heard this one quite recently, but I absolutely love it. It’s got the right amount of balladness in it (that’s a new word) and it’s another one I love singing along to loudly in the kitchen. And it can’t be just me who thinks it’s a bit Michael Bublé sounding (can it?).

6: Albino Superstars- Popular

I heard this at the VG Lista concert as well (I make it sound like I was actually there, when in reality I was of course sitting in bed watching it and getting annoyed with the live stream cutting out every half a minute). It’s so so catchy, it’s fabulous. And the fact I’m sure they shot the video on the Oslofjord gives it bonus points too. I’ve heard their follow up song My Girls, but didn’t quite like it as much as this one.

5: Kurt Nilsen- Push Push

There are not enough superlatives in the English language to describe Kurt, I love him. He’s been my favourite singer in the world for the last 5 years, so I was very excited (to put it mildly) when I found out he was going to be at the VG Lista concert doing his new song, which was this. It’s funky, it’s cool, it’s a bit different to the stuff on his first 2 albums, and hopefully the next one will be full of things like this (from what I’ve heard, I think it will be). I urge you very much to check out the videos on youtube that he did for VG, where he’s in a studio singing Silence and Come On. They’re sooooo good.

WYM Europop Advent Calendar: 21/12

This is Lenna Kuurmaa from Europe's coolest girlband Vanilla Ninja,singing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.

Eurofest tomorrow

So it's the semi final of Belarus's Eurofest tomorrow.There are 15 songs of which 3 go through to the final (21st January) by means of what looks like quite a complex voting system.From what I've seen of the semi finalists,this is what I think...

Ruslan Alekhno- Hasta La Vista: I like it,it's a nice (dramatic sounding) pop song.Has your typical Eurovision lyrics: "Hasta la vista...baby,I'm gonna miss you...maybe".Reminds me of something,I can't quite think what.Maybe a bit of I Love You Mi Vida?I'm not sure.Anyway,it's good.

Palats- Wheel of Windmill: Didn't have the English version on the video,and what they did have on there was only a few bars.Sounds quite folky and has guitars.Probably wouldn't do very well at ESC I don't think.

Litesound- Do You Believe: Ah,seems like your token song about a lost love or something.One that you could potentially wave your lighter or glowsticks to :) Very good though from what I've heard,the lead singer has a great voice.

Pincode- You Can: "Hey boy you can touch me,hey boy you can kiss me" Yawn.

Anya Sharkunova & German Titov - We are to be the first: From the angle and distance this video is at,the guy looks like Dima.Sounds a bit like him too.Again,it wasn't the English version,but I have a feeling it will probably be better in Russian anyway.Although it's not very Eurovisiony anyway.Too slow.

Gunesh- I Can't Live Without You: She's been in Eurofest before apparantly.The song reminds me a bit of Polina's 'Mama' a few years ago (I think that's the one).It's quite good.In the little interview thingy after,Gunesh said "Ya ochen lyublyu rok" I really love rock.Well that's all very well,but it doesnt tend to do to well at Eurovision.Think I like this one though.And Gunesh is pretty cool.

Lena Voloshina - That's all I feel: Mmm.Boring.

Yulia Guseva - Maybe: Moody and rocky.It's alright,but nothing special.

The Champions- Drive Me Crazy: Nyet.Bolshoi nyet.

Scandal- Everybody: No chance.I could imagine it at Eurovision though,although not for Belarus.It's very catchy I think.In the video there was a half naked man dancing around the stage in a tutu.And why not!

Victor Pshenichny - Baby blue: A man with a guitar who thinks he's it's still the 60s.Doesn't really do it for me.

Po Glazam - Girl of three thousand years: It's shockingly bad.

Oksana Kovalevskaya - Always alone: She has a nice voice,but the song sounds a bit boring to be honest.

Katrin - Follow me: As above

Dali - Silver sky: Completely unEurovision.Apparantly they've been in Eurofest before too.Probably will be next year as well.

So there you go.I won't predict anything because I'm pretty bad at that,but if I was on the jury I would definitely definitely choose Litesound and Gunesh.And probably Ruslan as well,although I don't think that'll actually happen.I don't think any of the songs are as strong as Work Your Magic,but then again,I would think that.But we shall see...If the computer is free and this link actually works,I shall be watching the semi final online tomorrow night.

A fabulous musical year: Revisited

It seems a good time to write about some of the highlights of the year, as generally seems to be the fashion at this time. So for the next few days, Work Your Magic is probably going to be somewhat of a listmania :)
I thought I’d start with a bit of a countdown of my favourite songs of 2007. I’ve put a lot of thought into it, because although I’ve heard so many good songs this year, a lot of them are actually old (well, older than a year anyway). That’s why many of my absolute favourites (like Krugovarot, Vroce and Samaya Liubimaya) are not mentioned. Anyway, I’ve managed to come up with 10, well sort of anyway. You’ll see.

10: Dima Koldun- Ya Dlya Tebya

Dima can do no wrong. I don’t think there’s a song he’s done that I don’t like. He’s done some great stuff since Eurovision, Na Volne is cool, Nikagda is lovely if not a bit on the sad side, Reality of Dreams is also wonderful… however, I think this is my favourite one of the lot, if only because I love the guitar intro, and can’t help singing along to the first few (high and squeaky) bits :)


9: Tone Damli Aaberge- Fever

I’d heard of Tone before the VG Lista concert in Oslo this summer but hadn’t taken much notice. I discovered that I actually really like her voice though, and this is a really good song, bit different to your average pop song I think. I must say, I still haven’t listened to anything else of hers (apart from the couple of performances on Idol Gir Tilbake), but I will do. Eventually.


8: Dima Bilan- Number One Fan

“They call me Dima Bilan, Dima Bilan, D-D-Dima Bilan”. Hardly Ola Salo or Teitur class lyrics, but I’ve got used to them now. When I first heard Number One Fan, my first reaction was something like- “oh Dima, what have you done?” But for some reason I kept listening to it and now it’s ended up one of my favourite songs of the year. Why? I don’t really know. But it is funky and catchy, and although to be honest, I don’t think all his working with Timbaland and English language stuff is going to get him very far (unfortunately. If any Russian’s going to make an impact in Britain or America, it’ll be Sergei Lazarev), I still think it’s good that he’s trying. Can’t wait to see him next month in London either :)

WYM Europop Advent Calendar: 20/12

Again,I don't like this song,but it's better in Swedish.Especially when it has a few guitars in it :) It's The Ark singing O Helga Natt,8 years ago.

WYM Europop Advent Calendar: 19/12

Here's another song from Latvia's Talantu Fabrika.You lucky people :)

MGP Stavanger...

Ooh,it seems NRK (the greatest national broadcaster in the world :) ) has announced the artists for the first Melodi Grand Prix semi final...

1. Podium: Lystgass
2. Tinkerbells: Hold On
3. Nicholas Carlie: Colliding
4. Ann-Mari Anderson: Andagazzi
5. Michelle: Baby don't stop the music
6. Veronica Akselsen: Am I supposed to love again

Can't say I've heard of any of them actually,except Veronica Akselsen,whose 2006 (?) MGP attempt Like A Wind,I quite liked.Maybe the other semis will be a bit more exciting.

WYM Europop Advent Calendar: 18/12

I first heard of Jeanette Biedermann a few years ago when I was in Croatia.I thought she was cool.Here's her Christmas effort,The Infant Light.

Another year,another ballad...

So Albania have decided on their Eurovision song.It's sung by Olta Boka and is called Zemrën lamë peng.She has a nice voice and the music is pretty,but let's face it,the song is pretty bland.Then again I haven't actually enjoyed an Albanian Eurovision song since Anjeza's fabulous Image of You in 2004...Anyway,here's the video,see what you think.

Andorra's song however,now that's much more like it...

WYM Europop Advent Calendar: 17/12

A few days ago I posted the Christmassy song that Åste Sem did,and now it's from one super Idol contestant to quite a few others.This is from Idol Gir Tilbake (yes,I'm still watching bits of it),Gaute Ormåsen is quite clearly the best though :)

WYM Europop Advent Calendar: 16/12

Here's Anna Vissi singing the Greek version of Silent Night (Agia Nixta).It sounds nicer in Greek than in English actually.

So,not long til Christmas now,so not many dodgy Europop Christmas songs left I'm sure you'll be glad to hear.I'm looking forward to the Christmas Eve one though...

Oh dear

Seems it's not just the Norwegians making silly voting decisions on their musical reality TV this week.How exactly did Leon win the X Factor when he's clearly one of the most boring contestants ever?Especially when he was up against Rhydian who was at least 10 million times better.It's like Prohor on Fabrika Zvezd all over again...(although of course I'm very glad Dima won that :) )

WYM Europop Advent Calendar: 15/12

So I wanted to post something Christmassy from Norway's Idol programme,which is the only reason why today's song is one that's already been on the WYM Advent Calendar Thingy before (because I wasn't going to bother with Bjørn Johan and Glenn).This is Åste Sem singing All I Want For Christmas Is You (it’s better than the Spanish version I posted a few days ago : ) ) Åste was of course voted out of Idol last week,leaving me hoping that the Norwegians would see sense and vote Kim Rune to win.But no,he was voted out last night,so the final is now between Bjørn Johan and Glenn.What an exciting final that'll be...

A tale of 2 Dimas

On Wednesday we got a new addition to our family...

This is Dima.He's a bit annoying to say the least.And loud,and very hyperactive.Oh and he smells a bit too,but he's quite sweet.
And this is Dima Bilan.I'm loving this song,it's called Gore Zima (Zima meaning winter and gore...well I'm not sure what that means actually).But it's a really funky song.Not too sure about Mr B's face furniture in the video though,it's not his best look.

WYM Europop Advent Calendar: 14/12

Here's an...interesting song from DJ Bobo.Not sure what it's called.

So much excitement...

OK,so it's not quite the news we were really really looking forward to,but still ridiculously exciting all the same- Dima Bilan's gonna be at the Russian Winter Festival.Woohoo!

WYM Europop Advent Calendar: 13/12

Here's Mihai singing The First Noel,it's very pleasant :)

What?!

Just read that Lene Alexandra might be in Norway's Melodi Grand Prix for Belgrade next year.Please no,that would be awful!Still,on the plus side at least we've got Ola's and Velvet's Melodifestivalen entries to look forward to.And Paolo Meneguzzi for Switzerland.Oh,and that pirate song for Latvia.But still,Lene Alexandra?!

WYM Europop Advent Calendar: 12/12

Today is my last day at Europop Mansions Surrey Branch for a while :( Not sure how often I'll be blogging for the next month or so seeing as our internet connection at home is,erm,antiquated to say the least.But anyway,today's song isn't exactly a Christmas song,but Keira wanted me to include it because it's 'snowy and festive.'Well,that or she just wanted to look at Dima Bilan.It's from the Vremya Reka album,and it's Ya Tebya Pomnyu (I remember you).

WYM Europop Advent Calendar: 11/12

Again because I'll probably be too busy tomorrow/later (...?),here's today's Christmas song.It's from Finland and is by Johanna Kurkela,don't know who she is I'm afraid,as the only Wikipedia information about her is in Finnish.Anyway,this is apparantly simply called Joululaulu (Christmas Song,that's one of the few bits of Finnish that I know),it seems to be a Finnish version of Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire (if that's the actual title of the song,which I don't think it is).

9th March

Make a note of it in your diary/calendar/on the back of an old Tesco receipt- the Russian national final for Eurovision is on 9th March.And RTR are showing it on the internet,woohoo!The deadline for entries is 1st February,which means there's plenty of time for Victor Drobysh to write something for Chelsi :)

WYM Europop Advent Calendar: 10/12

Today we have someone called Kim from the second series of Latvia's Talantu Fabrika singing White Christmas.Great....

Le vent souffle sur les plaines de la Bretagne armoricaine

I must say,as musical genres go,I've never really paid much attention to Celtic hip hop before.Especially when it's Celtic hip hop that's actually rapped in French.Sounds like a bit of a recipe for disaster really.However,I came across Manau (which is also apparantly the Gaelic name for the Isle of Man),about 2 weeks ago.They're 3 guys from Brittany who've been on the Celtic hip hop scene since 1998 apparantly.I haven't had the chance to listen to much of their stuff yet,but I've been listening to the song I'm posting today an insane amount recently.It's called La Tribu de Dana (Dana's Tribe),and is apparantly an ancient poem that's been rejuvenated in the form of rap,with the help of a few traditional Celtic instruments.Sounds a bit strange I know,but it works.It definitely works.Seems a lot of people on youtube are not too excited about the video that goes with it,but I'm liking that too.

Actually,I think I'll talk about another song of theirs.I'm assuming it's a lot more recent than La Tribu de Dana,because it's completely different to it,and the other songs I've heard from the first album.It's called Tout Le Monde.I'm not quite sure why I like it.Maybe it's still the novelty of French rap,maybe it's because it gets stuck in my head,maybe it's because the lead singer/rapper (whatever you call him,I'm not quite sure of his actual name,I must say :/ ) is looking very attractive indeed in the video.Or maybe it's a combination of all three...

WYM Europop Advent Calendar: 9/12

Not quite the Måns Zelmerlöw/Agnes version,but here's some people from the fifth series of Spain's Operación Triunfo singing All I Want For Christmas Is You (one of the very few Christmas songs I can actually stand).Although if I listen to this version too much,that could all change.

Until the sun comes up you can hold my hand

Interesting Fact of the Day: The Faroese name for the Faroe Islands is Føroyar,which means 'Sheep Islands'.Oh the wonders of Wikipedia.The Faroe Islands however,are also home to one of the best singer/songwriters around.I discovered Teitur Lassen about 4 years ago,about the time of his first album,Poetry and Aeroplanes.But as seems to be the case quite often,I sort of forgot about him until quite recently.
Anyway,the first song of his that I ever heard,and I think the song he's most well known for,is called I Was Just Thinking,and it's about long distance relationships.Like most of his music,it's simple,yet very beautiful and just on the right side of melancholy.You can see the video here.
Sleeping With The Lights On is also from Poetry and Aeroplanes,and it's also lovely.And quite catchy too.You can see it here
The second album Stay Under The Stars came along a whole 3 years after Poetry and Aeroplanes,I haven't heard so many of the songs from it,but I came across this one today,it's called Louis Louis,it's a bit more upbeat than the two I've just mentioned,and I could see it being quite popular in Britain actually.There's some other songs from this album on Teitur's MySpace page.

As well as releasing the 2 English language albums in America (and Canada as well I think),Teitur has also done a Faroese one,which was apparantly released this year in the Faroe Islands and Iceland.However,you can indeed buy it on CDWow which I may just have to do some time soon.It's called Káta Hornið (no idea what that means unfortunately),and this is what appears to be the first single from it,called Ongir Pengar (might mean something to do with money if Faroese is anything like Norwegian.Then again,I could be very very wrong).It's pretty different to the other songs I've posted on here,but it's very cool.The video's cool too,looks a bit like a Mew video I think.

WYM Europop Advent Calendar: 8/12

Mmm,so Niki went on X Factor,should blatantly have been the naff duo that are Same Difference,but whatever.As long as Rhydian wins,I'm not too bothered.
Anyway,time for something completely cheesy,but in a good way.It's Magnus and Alcazar singing Happy Happy Year For Us All.

The Momentous 100th Post!

After 7 whole months of sharing my innermost thoughts on fabulous pieces of Europop (mostly,"ooh isn't Dima gorgeous?" And,"Aaaaagh it's a new Chelsi video!"),I've finally reached 100 posts,which seems to be a bit of a blogging milestone.When I first started Work Your Magic back in June it was just something to do really,I didn't think anyone would actually read it,so thank you everyone who does,and who leaves me comments and has a link to me on their page (even esctoday.com has acknowledged me,which I was quite excited about!)
Anyway,better be off to watch the X Factor results now,I shall return later with today's Christmas song,and some other stuff too :)

Norwegians,what were you thinking?!

Åste Sem was voted out of Idol tonight,how rubbish is that?!What's even more rubbish though is that she lost out to Bjørn Johan,who I'm not the biggest fan of.Apparantly there was some sort of 'voting scandal' according to VG,but then again there's always rumours of stuff like that in Idol series everywhere.Anyway,hopefully Kim Rune will win now.

:(

The headline that's all over the online Norwegian newspapers made me very sad when I saw it just now.It seems Anders Jacobsen,who's been my favourite ski jumper since I first saw him at the Four Hills tournament last year,had a rather nasty fall in training in Granåsen near Trondheim today,and is suffering from concussion (as you can well imagine would happen if you fall down a bloody big hill at 100km an hour.)Have to say,I didn't really understand much more of anything I read,but hopefully he'll make a quick recovery.

WYM Europop Advent Calendar: 7/12

Yesterday I finally got Tiziano Ferro's 2003 album 111.I haven't actually listened to it all yet,but what I've heard so far is good.So he's today's representative for my Europop Advent Calendar.It's a version of John Lennon's Happy Christmas,and he's singing it with someone called Elisa.

Exciting news!

Guess who's going to see Jonatan Cerrada in Paris in April?I'm not quite as excited as I should be yet,but once this nasty week of exams and stupid essays is out of the way,I'm sure I will be.My first ever Europop concert....

WYM Europop Advent Calendar: 6/12

I can't sleep and because a-it's just gone midnight,so it is the 6th of December and b-I'll probably be too busy to post tomorrow,I thought I'd do today's Europop advent calendar thingy now.
It's a song that I heard about a month ago,but I must say,I'd forgotten about it until Keira reminded me,it's what appears to be the finalists of Slovenia's Bitka Talentov (which I have mentioned on here before,because Anžej Dežan was in it),singing a song called 12 Mesecev,which (here comes the geeky linguist) looks like the Russian for 12 Months...I could be wrong,but anyway,here it is :)

Un dimanche comme ça

Just a quick post before I'm off to my department's Christmas party.I've been told I have to take some Russian music with me,because we're not allowed anything in English.Fine by me,I love a bit of Chelsi promotion!Anyway,a few months ago when I was really excited about getting La Preuve du Contraire by Jonatan Cerrada (couple of years late,I know),I mentioned that one of my favourite songs on the album was Un Dimanche d'Automne.Well I've been listening to Jonatan quite a bit lately,and found a video (again,an old one) of him doing it live on French telly.It's nice :)

WYM Europop Advent Calendar: 5/12

Buongiorno!Today's song is by the wonderful Paolo Meneguzzi (can't wait to see him in Eurovision next year),and it's called l'Albero di Natale (Christmas Tree).Unfortunately the only video on youtube that actually involves the man himself,is really bad quality,so I've had to put this rather less interesting one up instead :/

Oh go on then

And this is Aleksander singing Like A Prayer (yep,the Madonna song) with Marion Raven.Seems like a bit of an odd song choice for a duet to me,and Marion's voice is a bit too loud for my liking,but whatever,Aleksander is in it,and he's wearing that scarf again.I do like a man in a scarf...

Look!

Some nice person has put the video of the opening of the fantastic Idol Gir Tilbake concert on youtube.They've unfortunately cut off a bit of Kurt singing She's So High,but the rest of it's all there :)

WYM Europop Advent Calendar 4/12

From one Eurovision star to another...This is quite a nice song called Hronia Polla,by Sakis Rouvas.Doesn't sound overly Christmassy actually,but oh well,I quite like it :)

Every move I made was just for me

I'm so bored with the French Communism scene now (ooh that sounds like it could be a name for a naff British indie band!)But sadly no,it's what I have to revise for my Politics exam next week,along with other such fun things as equal rights within the French government,language laws and political regimes since the fall of the monarchy.I so can't wait til the end of next week when we shall be cracking open the Russian vodka to celebrate the end of a ridiculously busy semester.Mmm.Anyway,for now though,let's listen to one of my favourite songs of the minute,My Mistake by Måns Zelmerlöw,whose album I still haven't managed to get round to buying.

WYM Europop Advent Calendar: 3/12

Today's song is one I've never heard before.It's apparantly a traditional Ukrainian Christmas song called Utishmosia,and it's sung by Ruslana.Enjoy!


P.S- Interesting Kjartan Salvesen related fact of the day: Did you know Kjartan's song Viking e Tebage was actually written by him 2 years before he went on Idol,and won a competition to be the theme song of one of Norway's top football teams,Viking Stavanger?No me either...

A million pleasures but no satisfaction

Today I thought it was about time I wrote about one of my favourite bands of the past 6 years or so,and my favourite Latvian band ever- Prata Vetra.Or Brainstorm,whichever you prefer.If you already know them,it's probably because of their...interesting performance on Eurovision 2000.They must have done something right though,seeing as they came 3rd and everything.Actually,My Star is a nice pop song.Probably very typically Eurovision though,I can't imagine it actually being played on the radio anywhere.

As for the rest of Prata Vetra's songs,it's quite hard knowing where to start in terms of what videos to post.They've been around since 1989,which is an insanely long time,and have released a very impressive 15 albums.It seems that most of my favourite ones (Issavienojums,French Cartoon,Heart's Desire,Puse No Sirds,Es Varetu Iet Lidz etc etc)were either not released as singles,or just don't have videos on youtube.So I've chosen 3 of my other favourites that do.

Thunder Without Rain comes from the latest album- Four Shores.I love the intro to this song,and although I don't really know what it's all about,I can't help but sing along to it whenever it comes on.


Tu Izvēlējies Palikt (You Chose To Stay) is from the 1999/2000(?) album Among the Suns and is the Latvian version of Welcome to My Country.It's a very pretty song,although I'm a bit confused about why it was used in a promo video for the Latvian Tourist Board.The lyrics (to the English version anyway) go 'welcome to my country,but here you don't belong...welcome to my country,here you're bound to fall.'So it seemed like a bit of a strange choice...Anyway,this is a live version from a Latvian festival.


Waterfall is from the 2002 album- Online.Which is actually a pretty good album,that's where Maybe is from too (the video of which I've posted here before).Again,this is nice,happy,inoffensive pop.I like it :)

Work Your Magic presents...The Amazing 2007 Europop Advent Calendar Thing!

Ok,it's a day late,but that's because of technical problems yesterday (ie,stupid youtube took down the video I was going to post.Grrrr.)
So yes,it's December,which means the countdown to Christmas (whether you like it or not,and to be honest- I don't) has begun.So in the festive spirit,I've found 24 (well 23 now) of the best Europop Christmas songs around.I use the term 'best' rather loosely here you understand.
To start things off then,here's a singer I don't particuarly like singing a song I absolutely hate.
Amy Diamond- Rocking Around the Christmas Tree

Hold on,I feel like I'm headed for a breakdown

Talking of Kjartan's version of Unwell,it's a Rob Thomas song apparantly (I think I know who he is).Anyway,Kjartan did it on series 2 of Idol too.

There's a lot of talking before the start,and admittedly he doesn't sing much of it,but you get the idea.
Also,while we're on the subject of Idol,this concert tonight(which I shall watch the rest of tomorrow and no doubt comment a lot more on the people in it later),seemed to feature Gaute Ormåsen quite a lot.He came second in the first series,losing out to Kurt,but I'd never actually heard him sing before tonight.This song though,Kjærlighet Er Mer Enn Forelskelse (which I think means something like Love is more than just falling in love...not sure,haven't studied Norwegian for far too long),is very nice indeed.It's from his second album,the imaginatively titled 'G for Gaute.'I like it mostly because it seems pretty rare to find Norwegian pop songs in Norwegian,and so it sounds like it's sung with more feeling than it probably would be in English.Also though,I love his accent,and the video's really sweet.

Just an afterthought- is it just me or does he sound like Jakob Sveistrup?

Not again!

I'm so stupid.After going on last night about the special Idol programme they're showing tonight,I've just discovered (halfway through the programme) that I can in fact watch it online.Grrrrrrrrrrr! Oh well,I don't think Kurt's been on yet,so that's a good thing.

Update:
* He's on now,he's singing Dance With Me,and it's very good :)
* Mmmm....Aleksander's just sung Glorious by Andreas Johnson.I'm in love.Sorry Chelsi,I've moved on!
* Kjartan Salvesen really is fabulous.He's just done a song called Unwell.Never heard it before,but it's really good.