2023 Eurovision Song Contest Predictions

Another year, another round of predictions for the Eurovision Song Contest.

I changed things up yet again and made everything more simplified. Now you can easily see my thoughts, feelings, and predictions on who will qualify in the semi-finals, who will not, and who will likely win the contest.

To kick off these new changes, instead of usually placing them at the bottom of the article, here are my top ten favorite songs from this year's contest pre-rehearsals, in alphabetical order:

Austria

Belgium

Croatia

Czechia

Denmark

Finland

France

Georgia

Lithuania

Sweden

SEMI-FINAL 1 COUNTRIES THAT WILL QUALIFY TO THE GRAND FINAL

Croatia - Oh boy. My opinion of this has changed so many times. When I first watched Let 3's national final performance, I both rolled my eyes and was very intrigued. The song made my personal top ten thanks to its catchiness and originality but it is still a hard sell for the rest of Europe, especially the casual viewers. The Eurovision fandom think this will easily coast through with the televote but I still have reservations that it will be the next "Eat Your Salad" or worst, the next "Euro Neuro". Not helping matters is the recent decision for the band to end the performance in their undies. I still give it a pass to the grand final but I will not be shocked if it bombs and fails come Tuesday.

Czechia - Still questioning why they switched from their striking and colorful costumes in the music video to a bunch of pink attire (it has to a budget thing) but I think the strength of the tune and what Vesna have performance-wise will allow the fka Czech Republic to snatch up a golden ticket.

Finland - POTENTIAL WINNER. I love "Cha Cha Cha" and I love the national final performance. The song has become my most listened to track of the whole bunch this year. Though it has a high chance to win the contest, I expect it to instead realistically make the top five come Saturday. 

Israel - Man, color me shocked. I thought this would fail to qualify just based on the studio track but those rehearsal footage show that Noa Kirel is not here to muck about. Israel wants to show up "Slow-Mo" real bad and they got both guns locked and loaded.

Malta - This very millennial tune will get toes a tapping but there is the question of whether it will have staying power by the end of the semi-final. I think it will but then turn around and be at the bottom come the grand final.

Moldova - I like Pasha and the song but this may not qualify. Then again, we need some more ethnic bangers in this year's contest and there will be a flute-playing little person on stage.

Norway - Another POTENTIAL WINNER but only if people want a new queen to reign, or rather a new "Queen of Kings". I really wanted Ulrikke to finally have her shot to perform on the Eurovision stage but Alessandra was a quality pick, is a bundle of joy and can really belt it out, especially with the whistle note.

Portugal - Eurovision needs a happy, non-English bop to get the party started and have everybody clapping along. Portugal is right there to easily win over those hearts and minds.

Serbia - I frankly barely tolerate this song, which sucks because I usually love Serbia. Could be a potential 11th place of the night but the handsome looks of the singer and the uniqueness of the song could bring it pass the finish line.

Sweden - Not just a POTENTIAL WINNER but MOST LIKELY TO WIN. I mean come on, it's Loreen. The raw power and bombastic scope of "Tattoo". The epic stage design and the choreography with the "panini-press". Everything is coming up spades for Sweden. They just had to run a piss-poor rendition of Melodifestivalen to get here.

SEMI-FINAL 1 COUNTRIES THAT WILL BE ELIMINATED

Azerbaijan - This one was DOA upon the song's release. Even though the song is not bad if you want something cribbing the 90's sound, and the twins are quite photogenic, the whole thing feels like a total wash and is sure to do poorly with the televote.

Ireland - Come on, Ireland! Get it together, will ya?! This generic as hell entry keeps massively losing steam with each bad decision by the band and the country's delegation. From the ill-thought music video to the lead singer's dreadful gold jumpsuit, they are expected to fail.

Latvia - I like the band and the song, even though I was rooting for Markus Riva during the national final. Unfortunately, I feel like it will not make the top ten at all, largely due to its alternativeness. It could slip in however if the public ultimately rejects either Croatia or Serbia.

The Netherlands - If you listen to the studio track, this is a quality choice and should be an easy pick to qualify. But when you see and hear the two artists singing live, whether at the pre-parties or in the rehearsal footage, you will notice that there's no chemistry between the two and they can't really carry a tune. All that effort, including involving Duncan Laurence, and they blew it.

Switzerland - Another potential stealer but I feel like the public has had enough of sad boy ballads. Not to mention that Switzerland did infamously bad with the televote last year, only getting into the grand final via a high score from the judges.

SEMI-FINAL 2 COUNTRIES THAT WILL QUALIFY TO THE GRAND FINAL

Armenia - I'm giving this country the benefit of the doubt. "Future Lover" is an interesting tune and Armenia is pouring resources into the performance to snatch away people's attention. However, there is a part of me that thinks this is "Walking Out" all over again, sans several infamous pre-party performances.

Australia - Going last in the semi-final will certainly help Australia but I do believe it will be middle of the pack on Saturday.

Austria - This had so much steam coming into the contest and now there's a high chance of it ultimately failing on stage. Instead of getting some backup singers to help out with the highly catchy "Poe"'s and the operatic moments of "Who The Hell Is Edgar?", Teya and Salena seem to want to do everything on their own. They still have a likely chance to make it but everything could fall apart come Thursday.

Belgium - Please, please, please let this not be another Ben Michael David. I'm always a sucker for a queer anthem if it's got the juice and Gustaph seems to have plenty at his disposal. I also just love his attitude and treatment of his backup singers.

Cyprus - Talk about a glow up. Many a Eurovision fan were rolling their eyes and snarking at Cyprus this year, especially with their decision to get an Australian singer. And what did they do? They brought it in the staging department, at least from what we can see in the rehearsal footage. Fire, lights, and a lot of easy epicness, they really want Andrew Lambrou and "Break A Broken Heart" to stick with people.

Denmark - This one is hanging by a thread right now. I really like the tune but many listeners and observers have made their issues about the artist's vocal effects and actual singing voice well known across the web. The rehearsal footage isn't helping matters but I think the bop will get some love with the televote. 

Estonia - I'll be honest, I don't really know exactly why I think this will make the top ten of semi-final 2. Maybe it's because Alika has a great voice and can certainly belt out "Bridges". Or maybe this is just a pleasant enough entry to get some votes, only to get stuck in the middle or place near the bottom of the scoreboard in the grand final.

Georgia - Georgia is going big again but this time with a woman, where they have done better with. "Echo" is one of the songs this year that has sneaked up on a lot of people but I frankly was in awe of it upon first listen. Come on, European voters, please help break Georgia's non-qualifying streak!

Lithuania - I adore this lovely song. Monika Linkyte already has a lot of love with Eurovision fans for her memorable participation in the 2015 contest and this solo attempt is sure to add to it. Not so keen on the orange dress she's expected to wear but she is sure to deliver on Tuesday and, yes, on Saturday.

Poland - So much drama and controversy over a simple pop ditty. The song is very radio friendly, Blanka is beautiful and generates a lot of views, and everything looks great from the rehearsals. An easy pass. Now please, everybody, come down and relax.

SEMI-FINAL 2 COUNTRIES THAT WILL BE ELIMINATED

Albania - This has a chance to qualify thanks to the sheer power and love of family. On the other hand, it doesn't really hold your attention very long.

Greece - Let me add my opinion to the pile: Holy shit, he's only 16 years old and he has that voice?! This could work for the public but only if they get rid of his horrendous outfit. He looks like a teenage boy scout and it harshly takes away all of the energy of the song.

Iceland - Diljá is great in interviews and as a human being but "Power" needs more energy put into it. Alas, it's just an adequate but standard pop number and the performance aspect leads a lot to be desired.

Romania - Obnoxious. Didn't like it when it won the national final, has become worse now on the Eurovision stage thanks to a hideous outfit and god awful CG backgrounds.

San Marino - You lost everybody at "smell you like an animal." No chance at making it through and will likely end up towards the bottom of the entire contest.

Slovenia - As with Latvia, I like the band and the song but I think the public will have their fill on rock this year. But as Maneskin said, rock n' roll never dies and this may sneak its way into the grand final.

COUNTRIES THAT AUTO QUALIFY TO THE GRAND FINAL

France - Some think this has a chance to win but I say top ten at best. La Zarra has "it" and the song is French pop perfection but there are competitors that are more hungry for the crown.

Germany - The juries most likely will be less than kind to Lord of the Lost but I think they will get an okay amount from the televote to prevent Germany from placing dead last again.

Italy - Marco Mengoni will always have a space in my heart for "L'essenziale" but I'm not a huge fan of "Due Vite". Plus, that horrendous silver shirt he plans to wear on stage will deduct so many votes from the public.

Spain - Way too overhyped by the fandom, especially the large Spanish base. I like the audacity and artistic side of the tune but unless the performance is transformative and memorable, it will be forgotten by nearly everybody.

The United Kingdom - Hey look, the UK gave us a qualify followup after their stunning success last year. If everything goes right, the "host country" is sure to get another top ten placement and potentially have another crossover hit.

Ukraine - This was my grower of the pack. Didn't click with me a lot when it won Vidbir but it swaggered its way into my ears since. Sure to get a lot of love with the public but not as historical as last year.

The semi-finals will take place on May 9 and May 11, both starting at 3 PM EST. The grand final will take place on May 13 at the exact same time. Americans can view all three events via Peacock if they have a paid subscription to the service. The events will once again all be hosted by Johnny Weir, who is sure to bring his great enthusiasm and flamboyance to the proceedings. I still miss hearing Graham Norton as a commentator, especially with this one taking place in Liverpool, but Weir has proven to be a great choice for American viewers.

365 Days, 365 Songs - April

It's the last day of April and you know what that means. Time to reveal the next set of songs...

April is quite important to me because it is in fact my birth month. Due to this significance, I thought it was best to crack open a certain book titled "This Is Your Life" and pick out a collection of songs that really reflect my time on Earth and my own personal tastes.

And the 30 songs of April 2023 are:

Art Of Noise feat. Duane Eddy - "Peter Gunn Theme"

Billy Joel - "We Didn't Start The Fire"

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony - "Tha Crossroads"

Busta Rhymes - "Woo Hah!! Got You All In Check"

Camp Lo - "Luchini - This Is It"

Carly Simon - "Itsy Bitsy Spider"

The Commodores - "Nightshift"

Corey Hart - "Never Surrender"

The Disney Afternoon Studio Chorus - "Duck Tales Theme"

Falco - "Rock Me Amadeus"

Force M.D.'s - "Tender Love"

George Michael and Elton John - "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me"

Heart - "These Dreams"

Kriss Kross - "Jump"

La Bouche - Sweet Dreams"

Level 42 - "Something About You"

Limp Bizkit - "My Way"

Limp Bizkit - "Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)"

Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch feat. Loleatta Holloway - "Good Vibrations"

Meat Loaf - "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) [Single Edit]"

Michael Sembello - "Automatic Man"

Mike + The Mechanics - "All I Need Is A Miracle"

Naughty By Nature - "Feel Me Flow"

The Outfield - "Your Love"

Pet Shop Boys - "Westend Girls"

Polaris - "Hey Sandy"

Shanice - "I Love Your Smile"

Stardust - "Music Sounds Better With You"

Tevin Campbell - "I'm Ready"

Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers - "Give A Little Love"

As briefly seen on this site many years ago, I'm a big pro wrestling fan. Though I don't watch it religiously as I seemingly once did, I still follow the "sport"; I view some matches or old televised episodes via YouTube, Twitch or Peacock, I listen to radio shows or podcasts, and I attend the occasional house show or live televised event.

Wrestlemania, the most important annual pro wrestling event for the WWE, took place on April 1st and 2nd this year. To help celebrate, and to help wash out the awfulness of Night 2's main event, I wanted to go through the history of Wrestlemania and get two songs that served as the official theme tune of the event. Sadly, Peter Gabriel's "Big Time" was dq'ed because I absolutely adore Gabriel's album So, I didn't bother to look for Saliva's "Ladies And Gentlemen", and I forgot yet again that Philip Bailey and Phil Collins' "Easy Lover" could have counted. Also, I don't think the mid-90s Wrestlemania theme, aka Linda McMahon's theme song, was available. Instead, I went to the WWE's Most Favorite Band (trademarked since 2003), Limp Bizkit.

I was a Limp Bizkit fan back in the late 90's/early 00's but never fully one largely due to my older brother's "ownership" of the band (bought all the CDs, dressed like Fred Durst, etc). Though I barely listen to them anymore, I still will praise the virtues of their song "My Way". You could make the case of it being the absolute masterpiece of nu metal, for better or worse. But what really makes it immortal was its usage as the theme for Wrestlemania X7, arguably the greatest Wrestlemania of all time, and serving as the culmination of the Stone Cold-The Rock feud and the end of the Attitude Era.

Unfortunately, I was unable to get the second theme song for a Wrestlemania supplied by Limp Bizkit, "Crack Addict", because it still hasn't been digitally released for purchase. This despite it also being the theme song to another phenomenal Wrestlemania, that being Wrestlemania XIX, as well being a far more enjoyable tune that practically everything on their then latest album Results May Vary. So instead, I got "Rollin'", the most famous song of theirs which was performed live at Wrestlemania XIX and served as the theme for The Undertaker for a spell.

For the first full week of April, I wanted to explore the early years of my childhood and pick out the songs that mattered a whole lot when I was a wee lad.

Though my first favorite song was most likely something from a movie, probably "Ghostbusters" or something Disney, the song that always pops up for me is "Itsy Bitsy Spider" by Carly Simon. My mom loved Carly Simon, especially the album Coming Around Again. I vividly remember her owning the cassette version of the album and how she loved to play it in the car, often mainly so I could sing along to "Itsy Bitsy Spider". I also remember how I very slowly started to enjoy the title track of the album, which "Itsy Bitsy Spider" is a slight remix of, more and more as time when on. But my favorite memory is when my family went on vacation one time and we decided to do a picnic by a lake. The clouds were a bit dark and the wind was blowing more fierce and sure enough it began to rain. Guess what I wanted to listen to through the car stereo as we waited out the wet weather?

My parents were relatively okay and fine with me listening to pop music as a little kid but they didn't share the same sentiment when it came to music videos. MTV was "banned" in my household and despite being more in-tune with their own love of adult contemporary, they plum forgot about or didn't have access to VH1. But every once in a while, I would sneak around via channel surfing and watch a full music video. And the one that really stuck with me was Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start The Fire". Still love the song despite what others say but oh boy, what a video to first see when you're young. Billy Joel all in black and mad as hell at those damn Cola Wars, the inclusion of disturbing pictures such as Nguyen Van Lem's execution, and that haunting ending. Very shocking for me at the time but my enjoyment of it and its mind-blowing nature helped prevent me from having any nightmares.

So those were potentially my first favorite song and first music video. What about my first album? That's easy: Time Has Come... The Best of Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers. I got this album solely for "Give A Little Love", a song that I loved in part because it was featured in Men At Work. Yes, the Charlie Sheen-Emilio Estevez film (plus Keith David!). Didn't care for any of the other songs on the album, I just wanted "Give A Little Love".

I had to pay tribute to my adoration for animation as a kid so I went to what many still consider the greatest television block right next to NBC's Must See TV Thursday: The Disney Afternoon. Man, I loved watching that block through my elementary years and my brother and me just had a blast playing The Disney Afternoon Songbook album over and over again. I previously bought my favorite tune from the album, that being the theme to Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers sung by an uncredited The Jets, so I went to the second best Disney Afternoon theme song, "DuckTales". Oh yes, I went there. I also had to buy it because I remember having a great time seeing DuckTales The Movie: Treasure Of The Lost Lamp in theaters.

"Good Vibrations" by Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch was the song that always got away from me as a kid. I really loved the high energy of it all, and that amazing sample/chorus by Loleatta Holloway, but I just never got around to getting it until illegally downloading it as a teen. I always associate the song to Starburst, a rollerskating rink that I went to many times as a kid and how whenever the DJ put the song on, I was immediately energized and ready to burst.

Ah, Kriss Kross and "Jump". That song was such a beast back in the day, especially if you were in elementary school. And yes, I did do the backwards pants thing once but never in public. One of my friends did it for a full day in school and immediately regretted it.

To close out Child Week, I got yet another television theme song that is greatly associated with a famous television block. From the big orange couch of SNICK, I picked up "Hey Sandy" by polaris, the theme to the cult Nickelodeon series The Adventures of Pete & Pete. It took some time for me to really get into alternative music despite living through its heyday but I was so transfixed by this tune from day one of the show, especially with its dreamy guitars and nonsensical lyrics. I wish the TV edit version of "Hey Sandy" was also available for purchase because the full album version has some audio samples at the beginning that I frankly don't like and I always love how the TV edit version lingers on the final "Hey!".

For the second week of April, I chose to really celebrate my birthday by going back in time and looking at what was on the Billboard Hot 100 around that date. And woo boy, what a great collection of pop songs to pick and choose.

I had to first go with Mike + The Mechanics' "All I Need Is A Miracle". I really liked "The Living Years" growing up, even though I didn't actually know who sang it and just referred to it as "Say It Loud, Say It Clear", but this little bop has become my absolute favorite from the pop supergroup.

Level 42's "Something About You" is another one of those 80's songs I fell for after being exposed to it via VH1 Classic, 80's radio stations and 80's CD compilations. But whatever you do, don't buy the album version. It's fine but it has an unnecessary long intro (starting to see a pattern forming this month?).

Not much to add about "These Dreams". It's a stone cold classic. I love Ann Wilson and all but I kinda like how Nancy Wilson was able to get a couple of hits for the group with herself on the lead vocals.

Ah, The Outfield. The band everyone thinks is an one-hit wonder despite them having several hit songs. I'm more of a big fan of some of their other songs, namely "Voices Of Babylon" and "My Paradise", but "Your Love" has lived forever in people's hearts. Practically hard not to enjoy.

I first heard Force M.D.'s "Tender Love" around the same time when Frankie J's "Don't Wanna Try" was a hit, which is really weird because the two sound so much alike. Also, getting this song made me realize that I really have to pull the trigger and finally watch Krush Groove one of these days.

"West End Girls" is one of the absolute best songs from the 80's bar none. A fantastic song to lose yourself into and/or a perfect tune to listen to while driving at night.

While "West End Girls" can be labeled as one of the the best songs from the 80's, "Rock Me Amadeus" can be labeled as one of the best songs to define the 80's. Falco is actually a pretty interesting artist and more than just a one-hit wonder, despite actually having a second hit here in the United States with "Vienna Calling". If you're ever interested, check out his song "Jeanny" and all of the history around it.

After the birthday break, I chose to do another week of revisiting my youth, this time going through my tween years.

If there ever was a movie made about my life, "I Love Your Smile", "I'm Ready", and "Feel Me Flow" would most certainly be playing in the background of scenes. That's because those three really did seem to play in the background all the time, whether in malls, stores, offices or parties. They really encapsulate the fleeting times where I was carefree but slowly starting to grow.

After a couple years of constantly arguing with them, sneaking in some secret viewings and pushing the limit on what I could watch, my parents finally lifted the "ban" on MTV around late 1995-early 1996. Now set free, I ingested as much as I could, well except for 120 Minutes which was too late to watch and I kinda thought it was pretentious. My taste in music rapidly started to change. I got way more into hip-hop and rap, with Busta Rhymes and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony being my true highlights thanks to their amazing music videos for "Woo Hah!! Got You All In Check" and "Tha Crossroads" respectively. I still couldn't buy their albums thanks to that pesky Parental Advisory sticker but I could at least settle for the singles on cassette or CD.

I also started to get more into electronic and dance music, with La Bouche being the biggest star of the latter genre at that moment thanks to "Be My Lover" and "Sweet Dreams". I thought about getting "Be My Lover", since I actually liked it a lot at the time and its music video used to play nonstop, but "Sweet Dreams" was a dark horse song for me at the time and it stuck like glue, eventually becoming one of my favorite 90's songs.

There's no better way to cap my tween period than a song that has "This Is It" in the title. Man, I feel like I'm the only person in the world that loves Camp Lo's "Luchini - This Is It". The beat is so good and the lyrical flow is so fresh.

So yeah, that's kinda where I leave my look back at my childhood. I really do mean it when I said I wanted to cap my tween years with Camp Lo's "Luchini". Not long after I got the "Luchini" single on cassette, my life turned upside down when my parents separated and later got divorce. I was still a kid but I suddenly no longer felt like one. And that was it.

I did think about doing a teen week to round out the month but I pretty much covered what my taste in music was during those years in my January article. Plus, if I had to do only songs released at that time, the song selection might look like something from a NOW That What I Call Music! CD. For example, Kylie Minogue, 311, and N.O.R.E. were in consideration.

Instead, I wanted the last week of April to cover some of my absolute favorites, including some songs that I would definitely put on my personal Top 100 of all time.

One such song on my Top 100 would be "Peter Gunn" by The Art Of Noise feat. Duane Eddy. A great television theme song that is spruced up for the 80's by an eclectic electronic band yet still retains that amazing twang by Eddy's guitar. Further helping its case is its cinematic music video, which blends film noir, comedy and ballet well together and features Rik Mayall as a goofy gumshoe.

"Pete Gunn" was the second single off of The Art Of Noise's In Visible Silence, an album that means quite a lot to me for two reasons. First, it's an album I've been waiting to get for many years now, as it remained unavailable for a long time. When I saw that it was finally available on iTunes this year via a Deluxe Edition, I was shocked and amazed. Alas, I will have to wait till 2024 to purchase the album fully (just a little longer "Legs" and "Paranoimia", I promise) and just settle for my favorite song for now. And secondly, In Visible Silence was originally released in April 1986.

Now for another favorite, this time from... Michael Sembello?! The guy who did "Maniac"?!! What could he possibly make that's so great, you say? Well that would be "Automatic Man"! This song, which technically charted at #34 on the Billboard chart and thus makes him a two-hit wonder, is such a delicious treat for anyone that loves 80's snythpop schlock. I like many was first introduced to it through the YouTuber Todd in the Shadows, who covered Michael Sembello in his video series One Hit Wonderland. And I'm so glad to be made aware of the tune and especially of its gloriously over-the-top music video. It has since become my most played track of all time on iTunes and it seems to follow me wherever I go, whether it is in music video collections or featured on Twitch streams, most notably FORGOTTEN_VCR.

I first came across Corey Hart's "Never Surrender" via a television commercial promoting Cool Rock, a compilation CD featuring a bunch of 80's and 90's songs that you never would call as cool or rock (Wilson Phillips' "Hold On"?). This commercial used to play so many times when I was a kid that I had it memorized and could sing along to the song clips ("Baby, come to me... / Joannnnnnna! / Ladddy in reddddddd..."). Most likely due to this lasting memory of paid advertising, I have surprisingly listened to "Never Surrender" far and away more than Corey Hart's other big hit throughout my life. I find it very fascinating that while the song is uplifting and tries to empower the listener, it's not as bombastic and/or pompous like other 80's power ballads. It keeps a hint of darkness to the proceedings, retaining the song's message of raising your voice during tough times.

Now, I fudged the rules with this next pick. For you see, I bought Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell II album last year via iTunes, thus "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)" should be ineligible. But you see, the single edit version of the song wasn't on the original album way back when, nor on the digital album that I bought. Plus, the single edit version is much shorter and doesn't retain the album version's length at 12 minutes!

I just had to include "I'd Do Anything For Love..." here. A big chunk of myself wouldn't be here if not for that song. My dad absolutely loved Meat Loaf. One of his favorite cassettes was Bat Out Of Hell, which he would listen to while in his den or have on hand when driving his black sports car. Seeing how interested I was with the album, particularly with its audacious title and the incredible album artwork, he would play some of it for me. While I didn't particularly grabbed on to it immediately save for maybe "Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad", something about Meat Loaf and the musical production of Jim Steinman seemingly struck a chord. Fast forward to 1993, where Meat Loaf drops "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)" on to the world. The Earth shook when he did and I utterly adored it. I loved the single. I loved the music video. I loved that my dad got the album, on CD NO LESS! Thanks to my dad's fancy audio equipment, I was able to rip the song to one of my mixtapes, albeit having to settle with the original 12 minute version. And from that song, my tastes in art began to blossom.

I couldn't have Daft Punk be a part of this project but I was able to settle for Stardust, the offshoot project that Thomas Bangalter worked on, and their song "Music Sounds Better With You". I always remember the song as the tune that would often play in the background whenever a MTV VJ would have a brief spot to talk to the viewer or featured in the original television airings of Daria, one of my all time favorite shows. The song is great and all but man do I wish I was able to buy the single version. It's a lot more easier to listen and slightly less repetitive (oh the irony) than the original version.

Another song that suffered the same "too long" fate was The Commodores "Nightshift". I loved the song since first seeing its music video on VH1 Classic but the band's ode to their fallen brothers in music is a bit better 30 seconds shorter.

And to close out the month, I went with "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me", specifically the George Michael and Elton John duet that was white hot in the early 90's. I love this version so much that I honestly can't really enjoy Elton John's original version or any other version for that matter. George Michael just kills it in the first half and then your goosebumps get goosebumps when he introduces Elton John and the crowd explodes. I don't know if I would place the song in my Top 10 but it would be very high on my Top 100.

365 Days, 365 Songs - March

It's the last day of March and you know what that means. Time to reveal the next set of songs...

The Oscars, one of my favorite annual events if not my top favorite, took place this month so what better way to help celebrate it than do a full month of movie songs! This was a fun one to do as soundtracks have always been my favorite "genre" of music. I also did some special mini-themes to be a bit more festive and challenging this month, though this decision would come to bite me in the end as I missed out on several big movie songs I wanted to get.

Oh, and Loreen won Melodifestivalen. Gee, what a shocker! It's not like all of the other songs weren't up to snuff and she was deliberately primed by the show's producers to be the top choice. Now watch and see as she wins this year's Eurovision and become a two-time champion. Seriously though, she has a very, very strong chance of doing just that!

And the 31 songs of March 2023 are:

A.R. Rahman, Suzanne, and Kash n' Krissy - "Naina Miley"

The Bangles - "Hazy Shade Of Winter"

Bobby Brown - "On Our Own"

Bryan Adams - "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?"

Bryan Adams, Sting and Rod Stewart - "All For Love"

Cher and Peter Cetera - "After All"

Corona - "The Rhythm Of The Night"

Diana King - "Shy Guy"

Diego Boneta - "Undercover Love"

Dolby's Cube feat. Cherry Bomb - "Howard The Duck"

Henry Mancini - "Moon River"

Hugh Grant - "Pop! Goes My Heart"

Jon Bon Jovi - "Blaze Of Glory"

MC Hammer - "Addams Groove"

Mental As Anything - "Live It Up"

Nitin Raikwar, Nisha and Simmie - "Excuse Me"

NSYNC and Gloria Estefan - "Music Of My Heart"

Oliver Onions - "Yor's World"

Olivia Newton-John - "Twist Of Fate"

Partners In Kryme - "Turtle Power"

Pia Zadora - "It's Wrong For Me To Love You"

Public Enemy - "Fight The Power (Soundtrack Version)"

Ray Parker Jr. - "Ghostbusters"

Roxette - "It Must Have Been Love"

Starship - "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"

Steven McClintock - "Edge Of A Dream"

The Time - "The Bird"

The Time - "Jungle Love"

Vanilla Ice - "Ninja Rap

Village People - "Can't Stop The Music"

The Wonders - "That Thing You Do!"

Out of all of the movie songs available for purchase, what do you think I kicked off the month with? Who would you call up first? "Ghostbusters"!

I just had to start with "Ghostbusters", a beloved movie anthem that I surprisingly didn't already own. I literally grew up with this song, whether it was from the many rewatches of the movie via a "taped off from HBO" VHS to hearing it all the time whenever The Real Ghostbusters aired on television. Quite shockingly, it has never gotten old with me at any time.

The second reason I had to start off the month with "Ghostbusters" is because I didn't want to go out of order chronologically. For you see, the song I really wanted to start with and a song I have really put off from buying was "On Our Own" by Bobby Brown, aka the theme song of Ghostbusters II.

I watched Ghostbusters II nearly as much as the first one but strangely "On Our Own" never caught on with me as a kid. I always watched the ending credits where the song plays but I just never got hooked on it or remembered it all. It was probably buried within my subconscious, waiting for the time to explode, as it really wasn't until I started dipping my toes as a teen into new jack swing when the song started to stick. Bobby Brown has his issues but the stuff he was putting out in the late 80s always enthralls me, including this song. Also, dig that unique music video with its selective green screening of NYC locations and numerous celebrity cameos.

I don't care what anyone says, I fucking love Purple Rain. When I rented that movie at my local video store (Video World RIP), I literally watched it three times in a row. I was so blown away after the first viewing that I just had to stay up all night and watch it again and again. Once I finally had my fill, I broke the cycle by watching an episode of Gumby, which was airing in the wee morning hours every Saturday on Nickelodeon.

I purchased the Purple Rain soundtrack not long after that glorious weekend only to be gravely dismayed when looking over the tracks: It was just the songs performed by Prince & The Revolution! The Time were completely snubbed! No Morris Day! No "Jungle Love"! No "The Bird"! I was now fully hooked on Prince but I really wanted the two songs that greatly pick up the party side of the movie. I refused to purchase The Time's Ice Cream Castle at the time (heh) which had the songs so I settled by being a bad boy and getting them through Kazaa. I should be at ease now that I have the two songs and am able to create my own Purple Rain playlist but the third major soundtrack snub, Apollonia 6's "Sex Shooter", is still not available for purchase, not even after Prince's death.

There are many songs that just scream the 90's; one of those is Diana King's "Shy Guy". I used to hear that song on the radio all the time and just adored it as a kid, even though I never knew who actually sang it. Then I later find out that it became popular mainly because it was included on the soundtrack to Bad Boys. People really kinda forget just how big Bad Boys was when it first came out. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, the two biggest young black male stars of television, doing a bombastic R-rated buddy cop flick directed by some hot shot music video director named Michael Bay. It literally oozed cool and was a pop culture moment, hence why the series refuses to die.

To help countdown to the Oscars, from August 6th to the 12th (the night of the event), I decided to get seven of my favorite movie songs that were Oscar nominated for Best Original Song. And the first one up was... Bryan Adams' "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?" Are you kidding me? Yeah, the song is a bit of weird and gets made fun of a lot nowadays but as I've said again and again here, I grew up with it and still love it to this day. I haven't seen Don Juan DeMarco save for catching its ending one night on HBO but I'm not exactly currently in the mood to watch a Johnny Depp movie.

 "Blaze Of Glory" pretty much had the exact same journey as "On Our Own". I have more cherished memories of the movie it came from than the actual song. I vividly remember going to a beloved local movie theater, the "last chance" mini-plex that was Cine 10, to go see Young Guns II. I don't recall if I watched all of it there or if I had one of my infamous naps that plagued me as a kid when I went to "special events". All I can remember was I watched up to a sequence involving a nighttime shootout. Anyway, I didn't really fall in love with the song until much later when I was very interested in exploring all of Billboard's #1 hits while also rewatching the movie whenever it aired on HBO.

One of these days, I will finally sit down and watch Tom Hanks' directorial debut That Thing You Do! But until that day happens, I will continue to listen to the title track, which translated very well to the radio in 1996 and has since out-lived the film. You know your movie about a fake one-hit wonder band is a total success when the band's one hit song literally becomes a hit song in the real world.

"After All" was another childhood favorite (seeing a pattern here?). It was one of those songs that played all the time on adult contemporary radio stations or in waiting rooms when I was a kid before eventually fading into the ether. It came back into my life, funnily enough, when I decided to watch an old 1990 episode of Siskel & Ebert about that year's Oscar nominees. I say funnily enough because the song comes from Chances Are, a 1989 movie where a widow's dead husband is reincarnated into a young man... who just happens to be the college boyfriend of her daughter. Yeah, that's pretty icky. Just stick with the song. Also, give a watch of the song's performance at that year's Oscars, where James Ingram and Melissa Manchester take over for Peter Cetera and Cher respectively and do an alright job.

I warned you back in January and now she's here again: Diane Warren is one of most famous American songwriter still working today though her peak popularity and quite frankly creativity have long passed. But the Academy and its voters think otherwise and have treated her very well with 14 (!) nominations for Best Original Song, with the majority of them coming within the last decade. Unfortunately, those latter nominated songs aren't very good and her failure at getting a real Oscar (the 2022 honorary one doesn't count) has given her the new nickname as "The Susan Lucci of The Oscars". Randy Newman certainly knows that feeling.

Despite my constant eye-rolling at seeing her name come every Oscars nowadays, she did make some great movie songs and there were two of them that were Oscar nominated and hold a special place in my heart and mind: "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" and "Music Of My Heart".

You might call me a stupid apologist and wish to burn a scarlet letter on to my chest for spouting heresy but I frankly just plain enjoy Starship. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Jefferson Airplane selling out during the 80's certainly struck a fatal blow for a lot of grown-up flower children but I'm always a huge sucker for synth-rock and arena butt rock.

That all being said, despite them giving us the so-called musical travesty that is "We Built This City", practically everyone nowadays seem to love or at least have a soft spot for "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now". This despite the sheer fact that it came from Mannequin, a critically panned 1987 film that reeks of the 80's yet has gone on to cult classic status. As for myself, the song always either makes me smile or get in the groove.

Oh, and to anyone that just loves to shit all over Starship and how it "ruined" the legacy of Jefferson Airplane, how about you try and listen to the reunited band's 1989 self-titled album and their lead single "Planes" and tell what really is the drizzling shits.

"Music Of My Heart" should not have worked for me. It was the lead soundtrack single for a Meryl Streep drama (directed by Wes Craven!) that no one really cared about at the time or have since. It was pushed heavily on MTV via TRL and especially on VH1 due to the film's encouragement of music programs in public schools. It is largely "Because You Love Me" 2.0. And more importantly, it was sung by NSYNC (I was a secret Backstreet Boys fan at the time). But god damn it all, it stuck like glue to my soul as a teenager. It was a big ole guilty pleasure for me at the time, largely thanks to those damn fine harmonies and that blasted key change. Oh, and because Gloria Estefan sang it on, and she's always great.

And to help celebrate Oscar night, I bought one of the best Oscar songs if not one of the best American songs of all time, "Moon River" from Breakfast At Tiffany's. Mickey Rooney's racist performance aside, Breakfast At Tiffany's is on my all-time list of favorite films and is probably the only true blue romance flick on it. Now as for what version of the song, I went with Henry Mancini and his unknown chorus. Yes, the Audrey Hepburn version is far more popular but whenever I watch the film and it gets to the ending where the Mancini version blares out right when Holly and Paul find Cat in the rainy alley, I nearly always burst into tears of happiness.

Well, I did a week devoted just to Oscar nominated songs so why not go the opposite way and do a week devoted to songs that were nominated for the Razzies? They incredibly suck nowadays but the Razzies were once a big part of my movie lifestyle and helped fuel my curious exploration into the trashbins of cinema. Plus, my 2017 listicle about the worst Razzie noms and winners is one of my most popular non-Christmas articles I have ever done on this site and I'm pretty proud of it. I was only able to find five worthy songs; I had a sixth song and a track from a score picked out but I decided to move them to a more worthy month down the line. I also considered getting "Wild, Wild West" but Will Smith is still currently on my shit list to a certain degree.

I started off by going to the very first big winner of the Razzies, Can't Stop The Music. The infamous musical all about The Village People is certainly one of the absolute worst films I have ever seen but it's also one of my absolute favorite cult films. Seriously, I have seen this movie as about as many times as The Thing, and that's really saying something about myself. Unfortunately for myself and Village People fans, the soundtrack still has not come out on iTunes or streaming services save for the catchy title track, which plays during the movie's unbearably long finale.

Ah, Pia Zadora. The most famous target of the Razzies. I still haven't seen her "magnum opus" The Lonely Lady but I did see and own a DVD copy of her "debut" feature film Butterfly. It's pretty icky with its maybe-or-maybe-not incest plotline and is largely boring but I did enjoy the score by Ennio Morricone and the "love theme" that Zadora sings over the ending credits. She's dreadful as an actress but Pia Zadora certainly could sing.

IN YOR'S WORLD! HE'S THE MAN! God bless you Reb Brown, god bless those crazy Italian musicians that gave us "Yor's World", and god bless that editor that plays the track when Brown hang glides with a dead giant bat or when he does circus swing tricks in Yor, The Hunter From The Future.

When I think of Howard The Duck, I always recall the VHS tape of the movie that my maternal grandparents had in the cabinet underneath their television and the one time I tried to watch it there only to either get bored/horrified by it quickly or to have it stopped by someone after the infamous duck tits scene in the film's opening. I eventually got around to watching it all and yeah it sucks big time but the soundtrack largely produced by Thomas Dolby is a real hoot.

My family had MC Hammer's second album Too Legit To Quit on cassette and I just remember how I would chiefly just play "Addams Groove" a lot. Eventually, with the help of my dad and his big fancy audio equipment, I had it copied on to a mixtape for myself and played it some more. I sadly couldn't get the track off the album on iTunes, apparently because the song was a cassette-only inclusion, but I was thankfully able to get it via Hammer's Greatest Hits.

To keep the "worst movie songs" train going, I then picked up three tracks that could have or should have been nominated for a Razzie. First up was "Twist Of Fate" from the 1983 bomb Two Of A Kind, sung by one of its stars, the late great Olivia Newton-John. Her last hit song, it's a real treat for 80's synth-pop fans or for those looking for more from the Xanadu era of Olivia.

Next up was Vanilla Ice, who was nominated for a song from Cool As Ice but strangely wasn't for "Ninja Rap" from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret Of The Ooze. Like "Addams Groove", this is one of those 90's movie rap songs that plagued the nation but were too earwormy to truly hate.

And last was a song that would have been nominated if the 1988/89 film was actually noteworthy upon its release. It didn't become more well known until the great cast and crew of Mystery Science Theater 3000 dug it up and lampooned it in one of their most famous episodes (and my #1 favorite). That's right, I'm talking about Space Mutiny and its "great" credits song "Edge Of A Dream", which is thoroughly mocked in the episode. I was so surprised at the fact that I could actually buy the song on iTunes. God bless you Steven McClintock, you B-to-Z movie musician you. And again, god bless Reb Brown.

Yeah, yeah, it's the epitome of the big dumb pop sound of the 90's but dammit, I still like "All For Love". Plus I'm always a huge sucker for duets/collaborations of major music stars.

Despite only watching it once, Crocodile Dundee often pops up in my brain from time to time and I don't exactly know why. It was really good but not a movie that I absolutely adored. I think it mainly has to do more with my love for "Live It Up", the pop tune that pops up during a party scene.

Another movie that has a strange residence in my head is Music & Lyrics, a fairly forgettable rom-com for the most part save for its pretty good soundtrack and its amazing opening credits sequence. Seriously, this movie contains one of my absolute favorite openings (move over Touch Of Evil!). If you ever want to show someone why Hugh Grant is an absolute gem, show them this opener, where he sings (for real) and mugs at the camera as Not Andrew Ridgeley in an on-point recreation of 80's new wave music videos.

I still really, really don't like Rock Of Ages. But largely thanks to my semi-love for bad musicals, the damn bomb still hangs around with me. However, I do enjoy "Undercover Love", the supposed-to-be-bad (but is actually kinda good) NKOTB inspired original song that actually rocks more than any of the other tracks.

I thought about doing a Bollywood week but there sadly isn't a lot of songs that I would actually want to buy, not unless I want it to be the entire soundtrack from Bang Bang! So I settled with just two: "Naina Miley" and "Excuse Me". The internet was all a buzz in 2010 when the trailer for Robot (aka Enthiran) went viral. I was luckily enough to see it when a soon-to-be-dead movie theater started showing Bollywood movies. The film itself is a bit of a mess but it has its moments, with the "Naina Miley" number being my favorite. And yes, I went with the Hindi version instead of the original Tamil version aka "Irumbile Oru Idhaiyam" because, well, it's more pleasant to my ears.

As for "Excuse Me", it comes from a very forgettable 2001 movie called Style. Yeah, with a title like that, you are most assured to have no cultural impact with movie audiences. Anyway, I came across the song and its musical number from a Bollywood jukebox DVD that I picked up from a local Indian grocery store in the late 2000's. Not exactly one of the best Bollywood songs ever but I really like the playful lyrics of the tune and it is one of the few Hindi songs that I can sing-a-long to.

I seriously can't believe that I was all ready and willing to buy "Ninja Rap" yet nearly forgot to pick up "Turtle Power". You know, the ending credits song that totally energizes you as a kid when you got done watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on VHS for the umpteenth time?

The Bangles' amazing rock cover of "Hazy Shade of Winter" is definitely one of my absolute favorite songs. Along with the performances of Robert Downey Jr. and James Spader, it's one of better things to come out of the otherwise mediocre Less Than Zero.

Man, it really sucks how no one is able to buy the Pretty Woman soundtrack on digital storefronts. That album went triple platinum yet it remains locked up in EMI's vault. Luckily, there is a way to pick up and enjoy Roxette's "It Must Have Been Love". The utterly fantastic song should never, ever be locked away from the public. Now just give the rest of the soundtrack!

Beau Travail, the so-called 7th best film of all time according to the 2022 Sight and Sound poll. It most certainly is not. I first checked out Claire Denis' loose adaptation of Billy Budd during my film studies in college. It's fine but I roll my eyes at how the film cranks its artsy fartsy and homoerotic dials all the way to 11. However, I will say that this film does in fact have one of my favorite movie endings of all time. I never would have expected for Corona's "The Rhythm Of The Night" to be so integral to a French film.

And to conclude the month, I bought Public Enemy's "Fight The Power", one of my all time favorite songs from one of my all time favorite movies. I'm more well acquainted with the album version of the tune but I really wanted to get the soundtrack version, which features the uncensored third verse where Chuck D and Flavor Flav tore into Elvis and John Wayne. And I can't go out without talking about my most "cherished" memory of "Fight The Power": One day in December 1999, I was decorating the Christmas tree while I had MTV playing in the background. The channel was airing MTV's 100 Greatest Music Videos Ever Made, where "Fight The Power" placed at #75. I was grooving and singing with the tune when a member of my extended family came right up to me. They shouted at me to knock it off because, in their bizarre mind, the song was endorsing the killing of white people. No joke.

2023 Oscars Predictions

As always, these are my predictions to win, not who or what movie I wish would win.

Best Picture: Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Actor: Austin Butler - Elvis

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett - Tár

Best Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan - Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Supporting Actress: Kerry Condon - The Banshees Of Inisherin

Best Director: Steven Spielberg - The Fabelmans

Best Original Screenplay: Martin McDonagh - The Banshees Of Inisherin

Best Adapted Screenplay: Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson, and Ian Stokell - All Quiet On The Western Front

Best Animated Feature Film: Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio

Best International Feature Film: All Quiet On The Western Front

Best Documentary Feature: Fire Of Love

Best Documentary (Short Subject): The Elephant Whisperers

Best Animated Short Film: My Year Of Dicks

Best Live Action Short Film: Le Pupille

Best Original Score: Justin Hurwitz - Babylon

Best Original Song: "Naatu Naatu" - RRR

Best Cinematography: James Friend - All Quiet On The Western Front

Best Film Editing: Paul Rogers - Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Production Design: Catherine Martin, Karen Murphy, and Bev Dunn - Elvis

Best Costume Design: Mark Coulier, Jason Baird, and Aldo Signoretti - Elvis

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Catherine Martin - Elvis

Best Sound: Top Gun: Maverick

Best Visual Effects: Avatar: The Way Of Water

Betting on Everything winning it all in the end but I do see a timeline where All Quiet is announced to the shock and horror of the crowd.

Butler or Fraser. The new hot thing from Elvis that nobody really knows or really trusts as a capable actor versus the likable, bankable former star with a great comeback story until a much better comeback story came around and people actually saw The Whale. What ultimately helped sway me is the sheer fact that biopics do very, very well in Best Actor.

I really want Michelle Yeoh to win. I really, really, really do. But Blanchett is Blanchett and I can easily see us having another Boseman/Hopkins debacle. Plus even I picked someone else over Yeoh when doing my own Best Actress.

Quan still has it in the bag.

Best Supporting Actress has been a toss up in recent weeks. Save for Chau who has no chance of winning. Hsu and Curtis will likely cancel each other out, however the latter has been on an upswing after winning at the SAGs. I would love for Bassett to win but the anti-superhero bias that Academy has, plus the fact that her character/performance is no Ledger Joker, has everyone giving up on her. That's why I think Condon is going to win.

The Academy doesn't really like directing duos. Unless they want to give Everything a big total, I expect Spielberg to be treated to his second Oscar for Best Director.

Everything is pegged to win Best Original Screenplay but I think the Academy would rather treat the award to something less sci-fi/action heavy. I have Banshees winning but I would not be shocked if Triangle of Sadness snatches it instead.

I feel bad for Sarah Polley, even though I like the rest of the world don't really care or want to watch Women Talking. All Quiet is going to eat its lunch when it comes to Best Adapted Screenplay.

I so want Pinocchio to win Best Animated Feature. I regrettably still haven't seen Turning Red despite having an active Disney+ account and a blu-ray of the movie. It might be a great film that I ultimately love but I really don't want Disney/Pixar to keep dominating this category all the time. They have won it here nine out of the last ten years!

No comment needed for Best International Feature.

God damn, the Documentary categories are tough this year. I have to go with my heart and choose Fire Of Love. But the Academy might want to make a political statement this year and give it either to the one featuring the plights of Ukraine (A House Made Of Splinters) or the plight or a Russian opposition leader (Navalny). Of course there's also the "save the birds/Earth" one (All That Breathes) and the "Nan Goldin says fuck the Sacklers" one (All The Beauty and The Bloodshed). But come on, nothing really beats the dangerously beauty of Mother Nature.

As for Doc Short, I went with the animal one. Yeah, Stranger At The Gate has the more interesting American story and big backing behind it but never doubt a doc from Netflix.

Best Animated Short can be really tricky when there isn't a much loved Disney/Pixar entry involved. My Year Of Dicks has stood far out since its nomination and voters most likely would have checked it out simply because of its catchy title. But The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse has big time actors doing voices, was released on Apple+ on Christmas, and has won many awards. Then you have Ice Merchants which also picked up a bunch of awards. I still have to go with Dicks but The Boy is very close at sniping it.

Le Pupille is on Disney+ and it was produced by Alfonso Cuarón. Of course it's winning Best Live Action Short.

Apparently the score in All Quiet had many people talking about it so it could win Best Original Score. But as much as I disliked Babylon, the bombastic score for it is pretty good, not to mention it's one of the few scores that stayed with me from last year.

I enthusiastically wish for "Naatu Naatu" to win Best Song. Rihanna bore me to tears, Lady Gaga had beautiful music but shitty lyrics, I and everybody else don't really remember the Everything song (plus I love David Byrne but he already has an Oscar), and Diane Warren is only here because of all of her friends in the Academy.

I mean come on, Everything has to win Best Editing. All that handling of the timelines, that amazing moment with the multiple overlaying Michelle Yeohs, the big finale, etc.

Elvis is clearly going to get a lot of the tech awards though I'm still standing my ground on Best Cinematography. As much as I wish for a woman to finally win in the category, this time being Mandy Walker, I expect the voters to forgo making history chiefly in order to award yet another pretty looking "war is hell" movie.

I was originally going to have Avatar be shut out of all categories. However, after watching an official Oscars video on the Visual Effects nominees, as well as hearing people's opinions on the sci-fi sequel that I still haven't seen, I had to dash that hope. It will most likely win Best Visual Effects, even though I wish it would go to Top Gun: Maverick.

See you on Monday with my reaction to the awards and the ceremony itself.

365 Days, 365 Songs - February

It's the last day of February and you know what that means. Time to reveal the next set of songs...

February had not one but two special themes attached to it. My initial plan was to just buy all love songs to tie in with Valentine's Day. Not the most original idea out there and yeah, I kinda stupidly decided to do that instead of, oh I don't know, help celebrate Black History Month!! But plans changed when I realized that my favorite national final of the Eurovision season, Sweden's Melodifestivalen, was starting this month. I originally had Melodifestivalen as the special theme for March, chiefly so I can enjoy the alliterativeness of it all, but alas I forgot that the Swedish weekly music competition always happens in February.

Though I greatly enjoyed finally purchasing some of my favorite Melo melodies, there were two big problems that turn things a little bit sour. First, the sheer fact that I'm trying to buy Swedish songs through the American version of iTunes, meaning my choices were a bit limited thanks to those pesky issues involving global music rights. I had to forgo way too many of my truly favorite songs from Melodifestivalen and that truly sucks and goes against the whole purpose of this project.

And secondly, this year's Melodifestivalen wasn't/isn't very good or truly exciting. The first three heats were just a bunch of so-so to mildly pleasant songs and no amount of vibrant colors, dramatic staging, key changes, high notes or expensive LEDs could hide that fact. Then the fourth heat happened where the obvious favorite of the contest (more on them later) blew everybody else away in just three minutes (more like 4:30 minutes thanks to a stage invader which caused a reset). Gee, I wonder who will win in the final come March 11th?

But enough whining about Melo. Let's get started, shall we? And the 28 songs of February 2023 are:

Alcazar - "Blame It On The Disco"

Alcazar - "Stay The Night"

All-4-One - "I Can Love You Like That"

All-4-One - "I Swear"

All-4-One - "So Much In Love"

Anita Baker - "Giving You The Best That I Got"

Anita Baker - "Just Because"

Anita Baker - "Sweet Love"

Atlantic Starr - "Always"

Dan Hill - "Never Thought (I Could Love)"

Dan Hill feat. Vonda Shepard - "Can't We Try"

Danny Saucedo - "Amazing"

David Lindgren - "Shout It Out"

David Lindgren - "We Are Your Tomorrow"

Eric Saade - "Manboy"

JEM - "Love Trigger"

Lisa Ajax - "My Heart Wants Me Dead"

Lisa Miskovsky - "Why Start A Fire"

Loreen - "My Heart Is Refusing Me"

Magnus Carlsson - "Möt Mig I Gamla Stan"

Midnight Boy - "Don't Say No"

Molly Sandén - "Youniverse"

Oleta Adams - "Get Here"

Oscar Zia - "Human"

Oscar Zia - "Yes We Can"

Pernilla Wahlgren - "Picadilly Circus"

Samir & Viktor - "Bada Nakna"

SWV - "Weak"

All-4-One. How appropriate of a name for the 90's boy band. For you see, if you ever want to remember how many hits the group had, just look at their name. Yep, all they ever had were four hit songs, with only one of them going all the way to #1.

Unfortunately, those hits are what stopped the group from ever advancing further in their musical career. Their three biggest hits, which are the ones I bought this month, are actually all covers, namely from The Tymes and John Michael Montgomery. Their only original hit was "Someday", which was the ending theme song to Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Though it went to #30, it broke the streak of successful Disney movie songs in the 90s and proved to be the group's last ever time in the spotlight.

Fun trivia and music retrospective aside, let's get to chatting. I frankly adore "I Swear" and "I Can Love You Like That". Loved them as a kid and still love them today. The two songs often get played on my iPod and are near the top of my shortlist of karaoke songs (#1 on that list being "Baby Got Back"). I decided to also get "So Much In Love" because it did play a bunch in my childhood, though I never could remember that All-4-One sang it because there were a lot of a cappella R&B tunes in the 90s. Also not helping matters is the sheer fact that the original Tymes version of the song is far, far better.

There is one last thing to talk about when it comes to All-4-One. I vividly remember the huge debate that raged for a week in my school when it came to their two biggest hits. Some of my friends liked "I Swear" more than "I Can Love You Like That", invoking the eternal criticism that the latter song is nothing more than a copy of the former. My other friends had reversed feelings, calling out "I Swear" as a lame song for babies and suckers. I also remember how nobody seemed to actually call "I Can Love You Like That" by its real name, instead referring to it as "The Cinderella Song" because of its opening lyrics.

Because Melodifestivalen started on the first Saturday of February, I broke up the love song train to help celebrate the contest for the weekend, only to buy three songs instead of two (look, I really wanted to get "My Heart Wants Me Dead" and "Youniverse" sooner rather than later). But the first Melo song that I bought: Pernilla Wahlgren's "Picadilly Circus". If you ever want a 80s Swedish earworm to infect you, check out this tune and especially watch the original Melo performance (dig that amazing choreography!). Funnily enough, despite the song being the heavy favorite and later becoming a huge hit in Sweden, it lost to the good but not as memorable (save its title) schlager song "Bra Vibrationer".

I first came across "Picadilly Circus" thanks to its inclusion in David Lindgren's famed song montage at the 2017 edition of Melodfestivalen. I became even more enamored with the song around the hype and release of 2019's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. The reason? One of the opening chapters in the campaign is set at the famed London attraction. So whenever I was watching quick looks or streams of the specific mission, I would humorously sing the chorus all the while terrorists are being gunned down.

Now back to the love stream: God damn do I love "Always". Such a great song for lovers and weddings. I wanted to also get Atlantic Starr's "Masterpiece", a particular favorite of mine as a kid, but unfortunately it is not currently available. That is unless you want to buy a truly awful "re-recorded" version that just saps everything great about that song.

Oleta Adams will always be remembered by me for her part in the Tears For Fears' song "Woman In Chains" but everyone will mostly recall her for her one hit, "Get Here". I probably heard it as a kid during the First Gulf War but it never stuck with me until it was much later featured in a VH1 television special about bad love songs. It's a really good song but yeah that "Arab man" line is a big oof.

Yeah, I like Dan Hill but mainly only his hits. I can only stand so much sap at a given time. I could have gone with "Sometimes When We Touch" but I actually wanted songs that I truly liked and don't cause me to instantly roll my eyes while listening to them. "Never Thought (I Could Love)" isn't that far off from "Sometimes..." but it has stayed with me thanks to listening to a lot of adult contemporary radio when I was a wee lad.

Man, more people need to talk about Anita Baker. She was so great and so huge in the late 80s/early 90s. I had to get a trifecta with her, nabbing her two biggest hits and also "Just Because", the latter of which has funnily enough been my most listened to lately.

For Valentine's Day, I had to get a song that is currently in the running as my dream first wedding dance song: SWV's "Weak". So smooth, so heartwarming, so great. But don't tell that to my dad; I told him about it once and played a bit of it for him, only for him to truly poo-poo it. Also hurting its wedding chances is it clashing with my other dream wedding scenario, that of a Eurovision theme where all of the tables are the competing countries and the DJ will only play songs from the contest's history.

Once it hit midnight on February 15th, it was time to get back to the Melo music. The songs I picked out were ones I wanted, or had to settle with thanks again to those pesky music rights, but I didn't realize until it was too late that I went too hard on the pop side of Melo. I forgot to diversify it a little with some rock tunes, most notably Eclipse's "Runaways". Hopefully, there will be time to get them later.

As stated earlier during the "Picadilly Circus" discussion, I first came across David Lindgren when he was the host of Melodifestivalen, namely the 2017 and 2018 editions, with the latter being the first I watched live as it was happening. He did a great job and could sing well, which is no surprise considering he has competed at the contest three times. I tried to get all three but alas "Skyline" wasn't available. Eh, it's honestly the weakest of his hits but I'm glad I got the other two.

If you ever wanted a Swedish version of the Black Eyed Peas for some reason, I give you JEM and their song "Love Trigger". Catchy tune but holy shit what a rip-off.

If you love ABBA and their amazing schlager expertise, but with a more modern pop interpretation, you will enjoy Alcazar. The group has competed many times at Melo but have never won. Their last real chance came in 2014 with "Blame It On The Disco" but they were crushed by Sanna Nielsen's "Undo", which went on to place third at Eurovision.

Look, Loreen is going to win Melofest this year with "Tattoo". You can bet on it. To help celebrate her dominant victory in Heat 4, I chose to get "My Heart Is Refusing Me", her first stab at Melo in 2011 which quite shockingly, looking through retrospective eyes, didn't make it to the final. It instead came third/fourth in Heat 2 and proceeded to lose in the first round of Andra Chansen (Second Chance). The song has now become a fan favorite and is often listed as one of the biggest snubs in the competition's history, right next to another Loreen entry "Statements". I love Loreen, as we might see come May, but I think "Statements" is very overrated. And yes, I would rather listen to the Shawn Mendes rip-off that knocked it out, that is if I can have the chance to properly purchase it!

Danny Saucedo. Poor, poor Danny. He could have been the superhero Sweden needed after the country famously didn't qualify for the Eurovision grand final in 2010. He had it made to win the 2011 Melodifestivalen with "In The Club", only to fall to Eric Saade's "Popular". Saade goes to Eurovision, places third and becomes a huge star. So Danny goes big, really big for the 2012 Melo. He gives us "Amazing", a high energetic pop song complete with an outstanding performance complete with light-up suits and choreography from dancer/budding singer Anton Ewald. The show's producers even think he has it in the bag, giving him a prime spot in the last Heat. But the 2012 competition also had Loreen with THAT SONG. She wins, goes to Eurovision, wins the whole damn thing and proceeds to help change everything for the song contest moving forward. Meanwhile, Danny proceeds to co-host the 2013 edition of Melo instead of trying for a third time and never becomes the European superstar he wanted to be. Thus is The Ballad of Danny Saucedo. (Yes, I'm skipping over his latest attempt in 2021 but that doesn't make for an interesting ballad).

And to close out the month, I had to go with the biggest dude-bros of Sweden, Samir & Viktor. Sadly no "Shuffla", which I absolutely adored when I watched the 2018 edition of Melo, so I went with "Bada Nakna", aka the song about getting naked at the lake.