35. Check You Out – Darin.
Upbeat, modern dance-pop worth repeated listening. Mr Zanyar had a pretty good year – lots of airplay for “Astrologen” and “Jag Och Min Far” and that all-important ESC semi-final interval act appearance. Unless you were at the mercy of BBC3 of course, whose powers-that-be deemed that we would not be allowed to watch his performance. (Yes I’m still feeling very bitter about that BBC3 coverage...!)
34. The Righteous Ones – Ben Ivory.
I loved the diversity of this year's German national final. In this instance it was time to party like it’s 1982. Ben sounded as if he’d just woken up from a long sleep after 31 years and sprung right back into action with an anthem for all of us who are different and proud. This is just great, and is yet another reason to love national finals season, as you get to discover songs and artists whom you'd never otherwise hear about.
I loved the diversity of this year's German national final. In this instance it was time to party like it’s 1982. Ben sounded as if he’d just woken up from a long sleep after 31 years and sprung right back into action with an anthem for all of us who are different and proud. This is just great, and is yet another reason to love national finals season, as you get to discover songs and artists whom you'd never otherwise hear about.
No.33: "Heartstrings" - Janet Leon.
This would be yet another one of those national finals songs which went on to have a lengthy post-contest life. Janet was hotly tipped this year, yet couldn't even make it as far as Andra Chansen. Perhaps it was the underwhelming live performance, because the studio version stands up as a very good pop song with a killer chorus.
No.32: "Under Control" - Calvin Harris & Alesso feat. Hurts.
It saddened me recently when I read that Calvin Harris had disowned his early songs and refuses to play them. Back in those days I thought he was a quirky and interesting artist before he became the ubiquitous press-play superstar megabucks EDM DJ that he is today. You won't be surprised to hear therefore, that I haven't been too thrilled by the direction his music has taken since 2010. Most of it has left me cold ("Sweet Nothing" surprisingly excepted), but finally along came "Under Control" which I liked immediately. Probably the main reason for that is the inclusion of Theo from Hurts on lead vocals. More of that kind of thing and I might start taking an interest in Mr Harris' music once again.
No.31: "Undressed" - Kim Cesarion.
Firstly, I still hate the lyrics. This is also the kind of song I usually hate, yet it sneaked under the radar and into my brain. Several months after its release, I was pretty addicted to it yet couldn't explain the reason why. I still can't. It will be interesting to hear what he comes up with on his debut album, as he has the potential, Prince-style, to be the next big international Swedish breakthrough artist.
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