Observations

I'm off to Scotland with Keira for a few days as of Monday.We're staying in a super posh apartment (well,the one in the pictures is anyway) in Edinburgh complete with big telly and DVD player.Seeing as the weather up there isn't exactly tropical at the minute,I feel this could come in rather useful.So I unearthed my Chelsi and General Europop DVDs to take with me.I haven't seen any of the videos on them for over a year now,so thought I'd have a quick look.Seems I still find them as brilliant as ever,and I noticed that...


- Getting the FZ contestants to sing Kruto Ty Popal Na TV and all the variants at the beginning of every show just seems a bit...weird

- Chelsi should be bigger than Take That

- 2.58 onwards: why?



- Dima's ESC performance of Believe is truly awful.Not because of him but because of...everything.I thought maybe I was overreacting last year,but no,it's seriously bad

- No song written at any point in world history,and no song that is yet to be written will ever be as good as this

Nobody knows how long the road to happiness is

A year ago,when I left the UK,I pretty much gave up on Russian music.Dima K's songs were getting a bit boring and samey,Chelsi did the awful Mladhsaya Sestryonka,and I didn't know about BiS' album.More recently,I've sort of turned my back on pop altogether and have only really been listening to Scandinavian indie/classical music- which is pretty difficult to write about a lot of the time,hence the long blog break.But thanks to youtube and my new computer which refuses to ever sign me out of it,this was recommended to me yesterday.



I'm not too sure what Toska Vozrata means,but never mind.I think it's a great pop song,very summery with a singalong chorus.I'm rejoicing so much that they've gone back down the Stan Moey route and didn't stick with the Mladshaya Sestryonka stuff :)

Top 50- 8: Words cannot describe the feeling of a man whose soul is bleeding

Chelsi- Ne Hvataet Eyo Glaz/Every Little Thing She Does

Aww,I used to have that picture on my wall in Guildford last year...I'm not ashamed to admit it :) It's been a disappointing year for Chelsi I think.After the greatness of Ya Ne Umru Bez Tvoi Lyubvi,Krilya,Careless Whisper etc etc from last year,they only produced one good song in 08.Just as well it was a brilliant one then.

It's finally happened...

There's a video to Ya Ne Umru Bez Tvoi Lyubvi at last.Well kind of,it's mostly clips from Ryzhaya,which I really want to see now- it looks so bad that it might be good.There's a bit of a complex love quadrangle going on by the looks of things,complete with an abandoned wedding and the world's most ridiculous accident.Not wanting to be outdone in the drama stakes,the boys have gone for the Moody Chelsi look.Which fits the song of course,but just looks a bit funny in places :)

OMG!!!

Chelsi have a new song out,and well,I don't really like it :/

It's called Mladshaya Sestryonka (Young...something),I think it may be a cover but I might be wrong.Here's a video anyway,complete with photos of Kirkorov and Dmitry Medvedev looking like a holiday camp entertainer.As if Roman's screeching wasn't scary enough...



Think I need a bit of Krilya after that.

Here I am I'm going crazy

Thank you so much to the anonymous person who gave me a link to the English version of Ne Hvataet Eyo Glaz- I knew it existed and I've been looking for it for ages.The clip is only just over a minute but I'm loving what I hear already.English versions are always exciting- I read somewhere quite a while ago that there were meant to be a few English songs on Chelsi's second album.By the way,is that even out yet?Anyway,this is called Every Little Thing She Does and it's written by 2 Swedes (always good)- Franciz and Lepont,and Steve Foster.The lyrics are more typical of a British or American pop song than a Russian one,which is quite nice.And although they might not look like one,Chelsi remind me more than ever of one of the British boybands of my childhood :) I can't wait to hear the full version of this song.
By the way- does anyone know when the new series of Fabrika Zvezd is starting?

At last!

A new Chelsi video!I think I read somewhere that they were giving up on making a video to Ya Ne Umru Bez Tvoi Lyubvi (maybe because that song's going to be on Dima K's album next month and that would be a bit weird?),so they made one for Ne Hvataet Eyo Glaz instead.Aleksei looks like he's really getting into the whole acting thing,Roman's back to his happy self (and so he should be,I think it was him that wrote this song),and although Arseniy's hair is still far too long,he looks HOT.It's not the greatest pop video in the world,but I love it!

Scary Chelsi...

Chelsi used to look so lovely...


This video of their latest performance of the new song Ne Hvataet Eyo Glaz (not Kak Zhe Adinoka as I said the other day) tells a different story.

Roman's hand has turned metallic...


Arseniy's hair will get its own postcode if it gets any bigger...


And Dennis has gone for a bit of a Llewellyn-Bowen look...


Oh dear.Still,fabulous song though :)

I blame myself for it all

Just a quick post to say I'm madly in love with this song,since finding it this afternoon.It's been a long time since anything exciting and Chelsi-related has happened,but now they've put their new song Kak Zhe Adinoka up on the website,I'm very happy.It's a big ballad,and not a typical Russian sounding one either.It reminds me a bit of Måns's My Mistake in places,but that might just be me.Anyway,listen to it here

I won't die without your love

While we're on the subject of boybands,here's the greatest Russian one ever singing Dima Koldun's Ya Ne Umru Bez Tvoiy Lyubvi,which came joint 3rd on my favourite songs of last year list.(Nice to see Arseniy looking as gorgeous as ever :) )

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).

What time is it? It's Chelsi time!

I know I've posted about Samaya Liubimaya about 300 times,but I found a very recent (actual live) performance of it just now and thought I should share.So,just in case you still haven't heard the greatest Russian pop song of the past...2 years(?),here it is.Not the greatest visual quality ever,and there's some naughty Russian people talking over it at some points,but they're still vocally very good.

And unless I'm very much mistaken,there's a new album coming out this weekend,which is quite exciting.Only heard one song from it so far,and I can't say I like it that much,but I'm sure it'll grow on me.We're still sending telepathic messages to Victor Drobysh too,telling him to do the right thing and send the boys over for the Russian Winter Festival.He'd better be listening!

:(

My Russian exam was shocking,I couldn't remember anything,I kept speaking with an Italian accent and said 'rain' about 86 times.Grr.Oh well,listening exam tomorrow,that should be better.Let's watch Chelsi as a form of revision.

Busy

Ugh,so much to do and so little time,as the naff cliché goes.This week I have a French exam,2 Russian ones,2 hours of Polish which is getting harder and harder,EXTRA German grammar lessons and my dissertation plan thing about national identity in Luxembourg to give in.But I'm not complaining.Really :)
Anyway,the Russian music industry is still being very much celebrated in our house.This week,we're particularly loving what appears to be a new song by Dima Koldun (no surprise there).It's called Никогда (Never),and it's really nice.Keira describes it as 'festive,' which I don't think is quite the right word,but either way,my festive season would be made wonderful by the news that Dima's releasing an album soon.Who knows,maybe with all these songs that are appearing on youtube (Никогда, Я для Тебя, На Волне, Reality of Dreams...) an album might be happening in the near future?Probably not though.Maybe he should just come and do the Russian Winter Festival in London in January instead...


In other (Russian) news- I've been trying to get interested in this year's series of Fabrika Zvezd,but it's just not happening.However,I did come across this video the other day-
Mmm,Chelsi...Чужая невеста was never my favourite song of theirs (I think it was the first one they sang together on Fabrika...),but,like so many other Russian songs,it's reminiscent of 90s pop,so I listen to it anyway.And I don't know if my sources are accurate or not,but it seems this Vlad Sokolovskiy guy who's singing with them here,is rather popular.Well,whether he wins Fabrika or not,he won't be as fabulous as Dima :) Anyway,he sings this rather well.And with hair like that,he could easily be a replacement for Roman if he was ever to leave the band :)

Ég vil ekki vera svona,ekki sitja og bíða og vona

Today's gratuitous Chelsi picture is actually just of Arseniy.Because he's the loveliest of them all :)


Anyway,as hard as it may be to believe,I have actually been listening to bands other than Chelsi in the last few days (not many,but some).And I've recently rediscovered Írafár,whose lead singer is none other than the fabulous Birgitta Haukdal who of course represented Iceland at Eurovision in 2003 with one of my favourite ESC songs ever- Open Your Heart.At one point Írafár were one of my favourite bands,but then I just kind of forgot about them somehow...Anyway,my favourite song of theirs is probably the big and dramatic Allt Sem Ég Sé,but instead I shall post the video to Ég Sjálf.Mostly because it's a much happier,poppier song,and the video isn't half as strange as the Allt Sem Ég Sé one.
Not sure exactly what Ég Sjálf is all about,although the chorus translates as something along the lines of "I don't want to be like that,I'm not gonna sit around and wait and hope,I'm just gonna be myself."Something like that anyway,I don't really know,I don't speak Icelandic (unfortunately).But it's generally very happy,uplifting,and I love to sing it very loudly when I'm cleaning the kitchen and no one else is home :)


I feel like I must just add another Chelsi video at this point.I seem to have acquired a taste for foreign language rap lately,what with Curse,the German Prison Break theme tune,and Snook's wonderful Inga Problem (thanks to Europe Crazy for that one!),and now it seems I've moved onto the Russian stuff.
Для Тебя (For You) was (partly) written by Dennis Petrov,who is my second favourite member of Chelsi and one of my favourite people from last year's series of Fabrika Zvezd :) The lyrics are quite sweet I suppose- "Everything is for you,the sun and the moon shine for you" etc etc... See,15 months of Russian lessons must have done me some good :) Not quite sure why everything's so red in this video,or what the stylists were thinking putting them in these naff outfits,but we like it all the same.And Arseniy has a nice solo bit in the middle :) They're not miming,honestly.

More Chelsi goodness

It's all go here at Europop Mansions,what with preparations for my Eurofabulous birthday party next Friday,we've been busy shopping (in the fashion hotspot that is Woking- I am now in posession of THE most fabulous dress ever),and making wonderful decorations for the front room.Oh,and we've been doing a bit of work for our degrees.Just a bit.But of course we've let nothing get in the way of our Chelsi frenzy.I'm claiming that it has educational value for me,and is getting me motivated for my horrendous 5 hours of Russian Grammar lessons and 2 grammar tests this week :)

Anyway,having downloaded practically every video of everything there possibly is in the way of Chelsi,I've decided this is probably my favourite one.

Я шагаю по Москве it seems comes from a film (from the 1960s I think),I like the original film version of this song,but I love Chelsi's version very much :) It's been on my ipod practically on repeat for the last few days,which makes a change from Dima Bilan's Ty Dolzhna or Anžej Dežan's Vroče being on repeat.Combined with a video though,it's even more fabulous,the boys are looking rather damn lovely I must say.We also find it quite amusing towards the end when Arseniy looks visibly annoyed that Roman and Aleksei are singing a line that he obviously thought was his.
Anyway,more Chelsi goodness tomorrow probably.Enjoy!

Bored

Apart from going out at a horrible time of morning to go to a Russian lesson that actually turned out to be cancelled,I've been stuck indoors all day and I'm sooooooo bored now!I've written notes on a boring case study about the history of language in Luxembourg,I've done 3 translations,and that's about it all day.Although me and Keira have had a bit of a Chelsi-fest today,which was good.I came across all sorts of lovely pictures of my favourite Russian boys :)
And I also found this video of what I assume is their latest song- Крылья.It's never been one of my favourite Chelsi songs,but the video's alright.It reminds us a bit of the fabulous British ex-boyband that were a1.....and Arseniy isn't wearing a top for a good proportion of it,which is alllllllways a plus :)

Hurrah!

A new Chelsi song :)

Europop of the Week

I've been slowly trying to wean myself off of Fabrika. I'm coming to the end of the series, and after that there'll be no more cushion fights, or delightful scenes of half naked Dima or Denis swearing in English to try and up his status as Russia's original gangsta. So these things must be rationed.
In the meantime, I've been obsessing over some funky Europop chooooons.

1- Filip Kirkorov & Dima Koldun- Kak Sumashedshi Ya (How Crazy I Am)
A nice little duet by the sexiest man in Belarus and the overlord of Russian pop. God knows who persuaded Dima to wear that jacket, it's awful (although it's Moschino,apparantly). His belt buckle also looks suspiciously like the cross on the Norwegian flag. And his fringe isn't as immaculate as it usually is. All in all then, not a great look. Just wait til you see Filip though. He's gone for the classic (?) suit jacket and red and white tracksuit bottoms look, and an earring that wouldn't look out of place in the Elizabeth Duke section of the Argos book. And the hair...well,here he is in all his bouffanted brillance. (It's a fabulous song by the way)



2- Chelsi- Ya K Tebe Ne Podoydu (I Won't Approach You) (?!)
Roman Arhipov has come straight from the Filip Kirkorov School of Hairstyling. Only he's a lot younger, and blond, so he can get away with it (almost). Arseniy and Aleksei also look like a pair of Pantene models (rather lovely ones though). I love this song, it's nearly as good as Samaya Liubimaya, but not quite. Although it does get bonus points, because I like the intro, and the way they say 'podoydu' :)



3- Dima & Georgiy Koldun- Bit' Mozhet (Maybe)
What's better than a video with Dima Koldun in it? One with Dima AND his rather attractive older brother of course!Not sure if this is new or not, I think it might be,because Dima hasn't got his emo fringe in this video.It's a really nice song,and the video's set in some weird castle where the clocks go backwards and things go on fire. There's also a lot of interesting card tricks going on for some reason. Anyways, the more I watch this, the more I think Dima might be in danger of losing his Sexiest Belarussian title. His brother is rather lovely...

Mmmmm.......

I'll be 21 in a few months, but does this mean I should have stopped liking boybands at least 6 years ago?Noooooooo,especially not when they're Russian boybands involving the lovely Arseniy Borodin and (not quite as lovely but still very nice) Denis Petrov.Chelsi are a product of Fabrika Zvezd 6, and I've liked this song for a while. It's called Samaya Liubimaya which sounds very pretty,I think it means The Most Loved or something.Something rather naff anyway.The video to it is also pretty naff(although it does involve Arseniy walking around rather dreamily in a forest)and I prefer this 'live' version of it.As Keira puts it "they're a bit blue and they're jumping around like madmen" which is pretty accurate. They kind of look a bit radioactive actually. I particularly like the bit at about 2,20 when Arseniy does his little solo bit and looks surprisingly angry for someone singing a soppy love song. Then there's a massive white flash (like there's been another nuclear explosion) as they launch into the last chorus. It's a risky business is Russian pop. Enjoy.