EUROVISION 2013: Denmark is Victorious

At Malmo yesterday, four of my favorites placed Top 5 with fan favorite Emmelie de Forest of Denmark being named victor.

My girl Margaret Berger of Norway placed fourth, sunny Disney-esque Zlata Ognevych of Ukraine took the bronze, and cutie Farid Mammadov of Azerbaijan took silver (by a pretty narrow margin).

From her first live performance, it became pretty clear that Emmelie was a fan favorite so her win wasn't too much of a surprise. Congrats to Team Denmark!

EUROVISION UPDATE: Scandinavia Poised To Dominate

Yesterday was the second and final semi-final of Eurovision leading up to tomorrow's grand finale and people -- it's deffo a good time to be rooting for Scandipop.

Let me spell it out for you. Not only is this the party being held in Sweden (aka the Holy Altar of ABBA, Robyn and Max Martin) in honor of last year's reigning champ Loreen & "Euphoria", but Norway (as I predicted) and Finland have officially joined Denmark (who made it through in the first semi) and Sweden to compete in a Quar-fecta (Is that word? It is now.) at the finals tomorrow. Andddddd, the "halftime" show following the contestants performances featured two of Sweden's best modern day popstars: Darin performing "So Yours" and "Nobody Knows" and Agnes (Carlsson) performing "One Last Time" and "Release Me". As you can imagine, I was utterly overwhelmed with all the uh-maze-ingggg-uh.

Predictably, Norway's pop princess Margaret Berger slayed all your faves in an all white number, her white blonde hair braided to the side, serving a kind of Game of Thrones realness. I love "I Feed You My Love" more and more every time I hear it.

Another one of my picks, Farid Mammadov of Azerbaijan, also made it through to the final, alongside a frenetic performance from Finland's Krista Siegfried and her debut-era Katy Perry-esque "Marry Me" (which is kind of cracktastic in an incredible way).

Other highlights from finalists include Hungary's ByeAlex and their hipster chic performance of "Kedvesem" ("My Darling") and Romania's Cezar and his Dracula meets 70's disco glitter meets opera performance of "It's My Life". Seriously, you have to see this.

I was a bit bummed however that Bulgaria didn't make it, through -- I was really impressed by Elitsa and Stoyan for their live drumming alone.

Tomorrow's finale will be a real nail biter but personally, I'm pulling for my girl Margaret. Take it home, Norway!

EUROVISION UPDATE: Mel's 4 for 10 at the Mo'

Quick update for those of you aren't cray like me and didn't get to watch the live stream of Eurovision 2013's first semi-final yesterday. Of the two semi's, the first was the must-watch for me, seeing as I had so many favorites competing for the ten "tickets" to the final (to be held this Saturday).

Based on my initial perusal, I put my votes for Austria (Natália Kelly "Shine"), Slovenia (Hannah "Straight Into Love"), Denmark (Emmelie de Forest "Only Teardrops"), Ukraine (Zlata Ognevich "Gravity"),  Montenegro (Who See "Igranka"), Belarus (Alyona Lanskaya "Solayoh"), Ireland (Ryan Dolan "Only Love Survives") and Serbia (Moje 3 "Ljubav Je Svuda" ("Love Is Everywhere").

Some of my faves -- including my overwhelming initial favorite in Slovenia -- really disappointed at the live Semi. While I stand by the song choice, Hannah sounded quite flat and the performance lacked originality and excitement, given the song was so hyper. Moje 3 pulled out some outfits from Katy Perry's Teenage Dream tour closet and even offered up some awkward lesbianism (?) but the judges were not impressed. And my faves in Montenegro (seriously, "Igranka" has been on constant repeat for yours truly) really brought out the big guns, rapping in space suits with singer Nina Žižić looking like a cast member of that Terminator television reboot. It appears this wasn't enough, however -- as all three didn't make the cut.

The countries that ended up getting tickets to the final were my picks in Denmark, Ukraine, Ireland and Belarus, along with Russia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Moldova, Lithuania and Estonia. There was a large amount of rather snoozy ballads (in my personal opinion) and I will forever assert that Montenegro was supremely robbed. Robbed, I say!

Oh well.

My far away favorite performance by my picks was Zlata Ognevich's (Ukraine) live performance of "Gravity." It truly embodied that Broadway-esque fairytale feel that was so overwhelming to me from the very first listen. Zlata was even carried on stage by a very large giant dressed like a Viking. I'm not joking.

Denmark's Emmelie de Forest was an overwhelming fan favorite and admittedly was very captivating. Alyona Lanskaya (Belarus) emerged from a giant disco ball and shook her thing in a blue-silver flapper dress that was so sparkly it almost blinded (is that my dream or what?), taking a cue from Holly Valance of yore.

I never pegged much for Moldova's Aliona Moon and her song "O Mie" ("A Thousand", sung in Romanian), but her live performance really won me over. She appeared very Hunger Games/The Capitol in an ever-growing dress that had fire images projected upon it. Gorgeous.

Fingers crossed for Team Norway in tomorrow's Semi!

LIVE FROM NEW YORK: 98 Degrees at Apple Soho

(left to right:) "Cubby", Drew, Justin, Nick & Jeff

Guys, I'm on a roll this week. This past Wednesday, I stopped down to the Apple Store in Soho to meet with one of my tweenage favorites -- the recently reunited 98 Degrees. 

The group was celebrating the release of their first album in thirteen years, 2.0, via a Q&A session with KTU DJ Paul "Cubby" Bryant (a former Z100 DJ who was among the first to believe in the group during their "Invisible Man" days) and a truncated "greatest hits" live showcase. The event was taped by Apple for their 'Meet The Musicians' series and will soon be available as an audio and video podcast for free on iTunes.

As I've stated before -- this was not my first live experience with Jeff, Nick, Justin & Drew. I saw them headline (yes, headline) a double bill with Britney Spears at the New York State Fair back in 1998. I'm proud to say seeing them in person now, nearly 15 years later (hello!) that all four guys seem just as humble and affable (and handsome -- my goodness!) as they did during their late 90's boy band heyday. 

If anything, they sound even more confident and comfortable now -- hence the choice of 2.0 as their latest album's title. Drew stated the album title came from Justin, who felt like this time around, the group on the whole is tighter and more confident in their sound and internal harmony. The new album is a statement that they are a newer, stronger 98 Degrees.

All four talked about what they did during their hiatus. Drew won 'Dancing With The Stars' and did Broadway, Justin ran for Mayor in his hometown of Cincinnati, Jeff hosted a Chippendales review in Las Vegas and Nick -- most famously, of course -- released two solo albums and married former MTV VJ Vanessa Minnillo (there was no talk of Jessica Simpson). Several jokes were made toward Jeff and Justin in particular but I'll leave those as a surprise for the podcast. Many references were made toward the fellas 98 being the "muscular" boy band of the late 90's, but Jeff jokingly stated he wasn't sure where those muscles went. ;)

Nick stated the group made a conscious decision to not do any songwriting for the 2.0, in the pure interest of having the best material possible in the shortest amount of time. Much of the album was placed in the hands of one of my favorite production teams, Soulshock & Karlin (who, it should be said, are no strangers to the 90's pop scene). Usual Dr. Luke collaborator Claude Kelly wrote two songs for the project (including projected second single "Girls Night Out"), and Bruno Mars co-wrote "Take The Long Way Home." After hearing the entire record, I have to say there are a lot of highlights -- so if "Microphone" threw you for a bit a loop (like it did for me initially), don't write off the rest of 2.0. There are a lot of goodies thrown in!

When Cubby brought up the popularity of their Christmas single "This Gift" at radio even to this day, he asked if another holiday tune was in store for the group. Nick stated that of the four full-length albums 98 Degrees released prior to their hiatus, 1999's This Christmas was the group's overall favorite and that they hope to do some kind of followup in the future.

(left to right:) Nick, Jeff, Drew & Justin

They mentioned their excitement regarding the upcoming Package Tour with New Kids On The Block and Boyz II Men, calling it a dream come true. In fact, how they got their first record deal with Motown Records stemmed from a spontaneous trip backstage at a Boyz II Men concert! When asked if a 98 Degrees only tour was in the cards after The Package Tour, Drew hinted that it is something they are working on hammering out the logistics of (so keep your fingers crossed!).

After the Q&A session, the group reconvened and returned to the stage alongside a single backup musician who supplied either guitar or soft piano as accompaniment. What followed was as intimate a live performance as you can get -- no drumkit or backing vocal, just sweet harmony. They began with their debut single, "Invisible Man", before Drew stated their performance would be a bit of a walk down memory lane going in chronological order of their hits. So inevitably, "Because of You," the lead single from sophomore 98 Degrees and Rising and arguably one of their best remembered hits, followed -- complete with a sing-along from the crowd present.

My personal favorite in "The Hardest Thing" was next, followed by the modern day wedding classic in "I Do (Cherish You)". Fan reaction was huge for "Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)", the lead single from Revelation. Drew joked that finally the group had a single with a little bit of a tempo -- something they were hoping to replicate with 2.0. They closed the show with their current single, "Microphone".

Overall, the experience was a lot of fun and so rewarding to see a group you grew up with still on such fantastic terms with each other, sounding better with time! 2.0 is out now and available for purchase on iTunes.

LIVE FROM NEW YORK: Little Boots Unleashes 'Noctures' in SoHo

Little Boots live in SoHo, NYC
(c) MelismaticBlog.com

My love affair with the tunes performed by Victoria Hesketh, better known by her moniker Little Boots, has spanned back to her Dead Disco days of mid 00's yore. On Monday night, she spun a few of her hits (along with two brand new cuts off her excellent sophomore album, Nocturnes -- out this past Tuesday) at the flagship Diesel store (yes, the clothing company) down in SoHo for in an intimate live performance and I couldn't have been more thrilled to be in attendance (and front row, no less!). 

Ms. Little Boots hit the stage just past 8PM, opening with the first official single off Nocturnes in the dark "Motorway". Armed with a backing band of three vocalists with Apple laptop synth machines, Boots' small figure was bolstered by her keyboard synthesizer, multiple mics and her own secondary wonder synth contraption (and her fab wedge shoes that I covet). She stated her usual performances include a drumkit but it was missing that night due to space constraints. It's pretty refreshing to meet a musician I admire that I can have normal eye contact with -- for those of you who are unaware, I'm rather vertically challenged at 4'11 (but taller in more ways, obvs).

She walked away from her setup with her mic and picked up a tambourine for new cut "Confusion". After thanking everyone for coming, she smiled and said the next song was an "old song" and if you knew it, to sing along. The initial synth of "New In Town" (aka #6 of my Top Songs of 2009) and the fans in the audience reacted accordingly.

80's-tingled "Every Night I Say A Prayer" followed. Next up was the sparkly, straight-from-the-70's-discoteque "Beat Beat," co-written by Pascal Gabriel who's worked recently with Kylie Minogue and Marina & The Diamonds and by far and large my favorite from her entire sophomore set. While much of Nocturnes runs a bit dark, "Beat Beat" has glimmers of her polished, hooky debut album, Hands.

She closed out her set with her current single -- the fantastic "Broken Record" -- and finally with "Shake," the lead number from her 2011 mixtape (Shake Until Your Heart Breaks) and the original "hype" single for what would become Nocturnes.

Overall, Nocturnes the album is fairly stacked with pre-released singles and hype'ems and if "Beat Beat" doesn't become a single, I will cry foul. "All For You", complete with a bouncy synth bassline, also shouldn't be missed. I also really love the energy of "Satellites".

Little Boots put on a great live performance -- it was really incredible to see her brand of electrosynth come to life in person (especially the vocoded bits of "Shake"). I felt like the crowd was a mix of fans like yours truly on one end of the spectrum versus seemingly apathetic hipsters (it was Soho after all -- perhaps it was for the free booze?), but you wouldn't know it from how in the zone she was. Her trademark, warm vocals and laidback delivery juxtaposed really well with the electro backdrop and didn't get lost in the live shuffle like I feared. If you get the chance to see her live, do it.

Nocturnes is available for purchase now, including on US iTunes.

HEAR THIS: Aaron Camper Looks In Justin Timberlake's "Mirrors"

Mirror Mirror, this is blasphemy!...
The broken glass from the Mirror leaves scars...

I'm so beyond glad I stumbled upon Aaron Camper when I did back in March. His soulful set of pipes coupled with his ear for unique twists on popular song are definitely what's setting him apart in the indie scene.

When I first heard Aaron sing, I was most taken by the fact that he was moonlighting at that very moment as a part of Justin Timberlake's Tennessee Kids -- aka his back up band during live performances in promotion of The 20/20 Experience. He was performing every night that week live on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon alongside my schoolgirl crush, and if  that isn't a testimony to why you should be paying attention, I don't know what is. And really -- they are a match made in heaven vocally.

In an homage to his time with Timberlake, Aaron recently unleashed his own version of Justin's current single, "Mirrors", revisioned and reimagined with the title "MIRRORSxMEGAHURTZ". The song is available for free download at Aaron's website, AaronCamperMusic.com.

Basically, if you love "Mirrors" (and how could you not) but are a bit meh regarding the track length, give "MIRRORSxMEGAHURTZ" a spin. While JT's original is clearly an ode to the love of his love, Aaron's takes a different (but still romantic and painfully honest) stance, told from the voice of a man attempting to chase his dream and continue his relationship. And just when you think it can't get better, Aaron softly warbles the lines of Jodeci's "Cry For You". Amazing.