Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe.
This week the semi-finals of Melodifestivalen (Sweden’s Eurovision qualifying contest) came to a close, which means all this year’s entries have been released as singles. Unlike previous years, the Swedes have generously made the songs available worldwide on Spotify. I made a playlist of my favourites, which you can listen to here. As befits the name, Melodifestivalen entries are often quite melodramatic, and My Heart Wants Me Dead by 17-year-old Lisa Ajax is certainly an example of that. The song has made it to the final, which takes place in two weeks, and is currently in the top 10 on Swedish iTunes along with 9 other Melodifestivalen songs. Although Lisa was the Idol 2014 champion, she’s not one of the favourites to win, but the show is a great launchpad for her to become a big star in Sweden. Following the success of Euphoria and Heroes, Melodifestivalen entries now sound very current, compared to the schlager sound that dominated the contest a few years ago. My Heart Wants Me Dead reminds me of Sweden’s latest pop darling Zara Larsson, and I’m excited to hear more from Lisa as she releases new music through her deal with Capitol Records this year.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TIvSUCKSLg]