Monday, December 22, 2008

Dansbandskampen: beware of men in jumpsuits

This Swedish TV series gave a great insight into that country's love of the dansband, something those of us outside Sweden often struggle to understand...nevertheless it was great fun to watch, and a genuinely new idea for the reality-talent format.

Larz-Kristerz and Scotts had progressed, week by week, beating off all contenders on their way to the final. Some other wildcards were selected to try (and inevitably fail) to overthrow the dynamic dansband duo.

Jannez: quite unremarkable IMHO and there wasn't really anything special about them.

CC & Lee: imagine Nina & Kim with big 80s hair. They were like a pair of schlager-robots at Melodifestivalen - and they probably will end up there too. Be very afraid...

Bengt Hennings tried to cash in on post-Idol Kiss mania and go down the Larz-Kristerz route by dansband-ing an old rock song, "I Was Made For Lovin’ You" but it didn't work.

Shake was just like a cabaret band and their "Mercy" didn't really impress me either.

In the end the real battle was between Larz-Kristerz and Scotts.

Scotts had a more modern outlook and Henrik was for me the best singer in the contest. Perhaps in the end, they weren't really dansband enough, although I think their future success is assured. They've already bagged a spot on Melodifestivalen 2009 and I don't think we've heard the last of them.

Larz-Kristerz on the other hand, managed to capture the spirit of old-fashioned dansband perfectly, with naff costumes and big on entertainment value. I liked the way they turned "Purple Rain" into a cheesy old dansband classic. Although their vocals lacked the punch of Scotts-Henrik, the overall package was enough for them to win. Aftonbladet revealed the voting figures for the season: L-K got the most votes every week, so no surprise that they won.

This series has been a ratings winner, and at the end of the show, host Peter Settman announced that there will be another series in 2009. Jumpsuits at the ready!!

Above: Larz-Kristerz win Dansbandskampen. (photo courtesy of Aftonbladet)

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