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Sweden: Melodifestivalen producer Karin Gunnarsson aims for another Eurovision victory!

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It has been almost 9 months since last year’s Eurovision victory of Sweden with Loreen getting a double with the song “Tattoo“.

Melodifestivalen producer Karin Gunnarsson spoke to The Euro Trip podcast and expressed her goal to win again, back-to-back, aiming to help Sweden make history this year. Gunnarsson said:

“The ambition is to do it again, nothing less. It has meant so much for the Swedish music industry, songwriters and the people of Sweden that we did win, so the vibe has been very positive.  I thought it would be a hangover and artists would not want to compete, songwriters thinking we wouldn’t win again, and it would be a tougher season, but not at all. It has ignited Sweden to move forward. I’m still looking for our next winner.”

Karin was the one that helped things happen last year. She was the one that received a demo by the group of writers Peter Boström, Cazzi Opeia, Thomas G:son, Jimmy Jansson and Jimmy Joker. They sent a demo to Gunnarsson and the Melodifestivalen team and the rest is history:

“I heard the song and all I could think about was, ‘This is such a Loreen song’. The songwriters and I had a conversation going, and I know Loreen, but not that well. It was someone else who played it to her. If the song existed, then I had a feeling that she would not be able to say no. She’s such a creator, artist and incredible person. For me it was hand in glove, and I hoped she would feel the same. When she heard it she just felt that it was her song.” 

Sweden was the bookies favourite to win last year, but Finland and Käärijä were closely following Loreen, so it was a hard game for two. Karin “bet” on Loreen‘s win, by getting a tattoo a few days before she headed off to Liverpool:

“I have a tattoo. I did this two weeks before Liverpool. I thought to myself, ‘This is going to happen’, but I didn’t want to jinx it. I did it and I didn’t tell anyone. All the time in Liverpool I always wore long sleeves. At breakfast on Sunday I had short sleeves on and I went over to Thomas G:son and I showed him. I had told him if we win, I’d get the crystal ball tattoo.” 

The schedule for the six shows of the Melodifestivalen 2024 tour

  • Heat 1: Saturday 3 February 2024, Malmö Arena, Malmö
  • Heat 2: Saturday 10 February 2024, Scandinavium, Göteborg
  • Heat 3: Saturday 17 February 2024, Vida Arena, Växjö
  • Heat 4: Saturday 24 February 2024, Stiga Sports Arena, Eskilstuna
  • Heat 5: Saturday 2 March 2024, Löfbergs Arena, Karlstad
  • Final: Saturday 9 March 2024, Friends Arena, Stockholm – Solna

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Source: The Euro Trip Podcast, The Euro Trip Podcast
Photo:Stina Stjernkvist / SVT

 

 

Sweden: No Auto-Tune in Melodifestivalen, says producer Karin Gunnarsson!

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The organizers of the Norwegian equivalent to Melodifestivalen, Melodi Grand Prix, have decided to allow Auto-Tune to enhance the singing voices in this year’s competition.

Now SVT is responding to the neighboring country’s decision. Karin Gunnarsson, competition producer of Melodifestivalen spoke to Sveriges Radio Kulturnytt and said that SVT follows the guidelines of Eurovision Song Contest and hence it would be challenging to use Auto-Tune in the Swedish national selection process:

“This means that there would be a version of a song that must be revamped to suit Eurovision. And that’s just a good thing.”

Auto-Tune can be explained as an effect used to correct and manipulate the pitch of a voice. Among, other things, to avoid false notes. It is widely used in both live productions and recordings. And sometimes it is used, says Karin Gunnarsson, as a personal artistic choice:

“Some use it as an artistic and unique selling proposition to make their music or song stand out. But it will be hard to get that expression into Melodifestivalen as it is now. Those artists are not relevant, so to speak. Furthermore, there is no need or pressure from the industry artists that they want Auto-Tune.”

And Mårten Tomassen, who is chairman of the Norwegian Eurovision fan club, spoke to Sveriges Radio and expressed his belief that allowing Auto-Tune would be a step in the wrong direction.

“I don’t like it, one of the dubious aspects of Melodifestivalen is that the artist sings with the voice they are known with. Sometimes it’s an amazing vocal experience, other times not so good.” 

Do you think that Auto-Tune should be introduced at Melodifestivalen or any other Eurovision national selection processes? Let us know in the comments section below!

Source: Sveriges Radio / Kulturnytt / Helena Stinkvist Sörlin & Gustav Ingerhage

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