Representing Iran/Jamaica: Arash ft. Shaggy – Donya
Arash seems to be heading somewhat towards international success, since his current single features Shaggy and his next one features Eve and Lumidee. They seem strange choices since I wouldn’t really say Arash was an r’n’b artist, and I can’t see his Europoppy style becoming successful worldwide, but who knows? He could have a summer one-off hit, but there have been similar songs to this successful in the past, at least in the UK, so I’m not sure if he stands much chance of that. Personally I much preferred Temptation and his beautiful self-titled single Arash. The di-di-di-di-donya bit is quite fun, though.
Representing Sweden: Lykke Li – I’m Good, I’m Gone
Not quite as ace, in my opinion, as Little Bit, but not far off, and even more Robyn-ish, which is always a good attribute to have. I’d rather have the real Robyn, or a new album by Margaret Berger or Linda Sundblad, but she’s fine as a temporary substitute. Lykke’s CD, which I bought recently, is again not quite the heights of the three I mentioned, but it’s still very much worth a purchase, especially if you like your pop music a bit more unusual-sounding and less mainstream. The video is interesting and well-made, and watching it gives me the feeling that this could be a UK hit, but I think if so it can’t be more than a medium-sized one. In terms of Swedish breakthrough successes, this is no With Every Heartbeat, but it could be a Young Folks or Heartbeats.