Swedish~ Stereo~

Loreen's Japanese fans have turned to be real lucky having few wonderful bonus-tracks on singer's debut album "Heal" - along with radio-versions of "Euphoria" also 2 acoustic version - guitar and strings have entered the edition.
You heard the strings-version many times during the summer but guitar-version has turned to be a very nice surprise with a mystic feeling and almost post-apocalyptic sadness, incredibly beautiful track!

Loreen has finally arrived to one of the most Swedish pop loving countries - Poland where artists like Velvet, Danny, September and many others were always very welcome. "Euphoria" has become a big hit in Poland as well and today guests of Must be the music show have got one of the most powerful vocal performances of "Euphoria" ever. Also Loreen has become a guest of David Hellenius' show in Sweden performing new single "Crying Out Your Name" which is available here for Swedes but I'll update the post when it'll be on youtube for the rest of the world.
Oh, and don't forget, Loreen's debut album "Heal" is out on Wednesday!

Though earlier it was announced that Loreen's new single "Crying Out Your Name" will be out on Monday it was already presented on Spotify and you can check it below.
The song as it was revealed before sounds in a style of previous singles (melodically probably closer to "My Heart Is Refusing Me") but while it's growing in verses and you expect tune to go dance in chorus there comes a big live drums section (I guess this is what Loreen meant when she said it's inspiring by garage style). Really worthy follow-up though it's difficult to compete with "Euphoria".
But even bigger Loreen's news of this weekend is that snippets of her debut album "Heal" are unveiled (thanks for the tip to Olivier) and you can listen to them here!
The most precious thing about the album is that it has become quite holistic magic work with Loreen's voice wrapping the whole album in a hypnotic bubble of dark electronic ballads like "Everytime" and "Do We Even Matter" and dance-tracks rolling around Loreen's original way of bringing up dance and drama (not attached to the same formulas but glued really well by Loreen's wonderful voice). I understand solution of label to release "MHIRM" in remixed version, it fits the common direction of the album much better but including "Sober" in remix-version seems weird to me, track in its version loses its personality and steals another hit from the album. I also do hope that "See You Again" will become the next international hit, I believe this lighter side of Loreen also having international radio-friendly production is right what singer's career ouside of Sweden needs.

1. In My Head (Björn Djupström, Lorén Talhaoui, Moh Denebi)
2. My Heart Is Refusing Me (Björn Djupström,Lorén Talhaoui, Moh Denebi)
3. Everytime (Espen Berg, Marianne Sveen, Simen M Eriksrud, Tobias Frelin)
4. Euphoria (Peter Boström, Thomas G:son)
5. Crying Out Your Name (Ana Diaz, Gino Yonan, Jakob Hazell, Moh Denebi, Niklas Jarl, Svante Halldin)
6. Do We Even Matter (Björn Djupström, Lorén Talhaoui, Moh Denebi)
7. Sidewalk (Adam Baptiste, Björn Djupström, Lorén Talhaoui, Tobias Frelin)
8. Sober (Ali Payami, Björn Djupström, Lorén Talhaoui, Moh Denebi)
9. If She's The One (Moh Denebi, Björn Djupström, Lorén Talhaoui)
10. Breaking Robot (Moh Denebi, Ali Payami, Björn Djupström, Lorén Talhaoui)
11. See You Again
12. Heal (Gino Yonan, Moh Denebi, Peter Cartriers)

Germany seems to be the most visited by Loreen this year and lately she has rereshed euphoric feelings of local fans appearing at two more shows (to be exact she already was at Popstars and has become a guest of the final). The song has gone platinum in country so her German fans have definitely deserved it!

The first foreign country to accept Loreen with all the love most of European countries has given to her later was Finland. And Loreen has paid back performing her second international single there tonight.
But the sad thing for her international fans is that according to Warner Finland press-info released earlier today this single is..."My Heart Is Refusing Me" in updated version.
Really wrong step in my opinion, I always loved MHIRM and still do but the song following 2010 dance trends is not looking like a big potential hit in the end of 2012 and why wasn't it promoted whole summer during Loreen's promotional gigs abroad in this case? I think "Sober" would be much better option and hope the album to be out very soon will include some worthy "Euphoria" follow-up to warm-up singer's radio-glory. And anyway I wish a big luck to this new life of "My Heart Is Refusing Me".

We keep following a series of this year's Loreen's performances abroad (and not only). And now the singer has come back to Germany to perform "Euphoria" at the big live event The Dome and obviously crowd was more than pleased with this performance.
The final date of Loreen's album release was constantly moving and currently the album (which is by rumours titled "Healed") is planned to be out on October 24th with a new single to be performed at the concert in Helsinki on September 12th.

This June Loreen has taken part in MTV World Stage concert in Göteborg making epic performance that we could only check by videos made from audience.
Now TV-footage is out and this is absolutely worthy watching. And re-watching. And re-watching again!

Time for collecting some great mashups made lately by DJ Nicky, Fred Haze and Dr Pihl. Don't know if I should introduce original songs as all of them are already hits that you heard million times before. But how wonderfully Max Martin-penned "Wide Awake" fits Roxette's "Wish I Could Fly" probably has amazed me the most.

Loreen keeps visiting different parts of Europe where "Euphoria" has become pretty popular. Though it's really difficult to find where it actually hasn't become a huge summer hit.
So I want to gather some TV-performances that she has made abroad here.
Her visit to Belarus for Slavyanskiy Bazar festival was initially criticized by Swedish human rights defenders as an act of support to Belorussian government. But afterfwards it has turned that Loreen was meeting local defenders (keeping it in secret before return). Festival performance was I guess her the first performance with playback (or the first that I see) so I haven't mentioned it on blog.
On August 7th Loreen will visit Spanish Pride but before she has apperead on a local show making "Euphoria" in TV-studio.
The latest performance was done in German show Popstars where Loreen has become a guest coach for participants and has touched them to tears with acoustic version of "Euphoria". It wasn't the first time Loreen came to Germany so I hope you haven't missed my previous post about it.
Recently Loreen has also visited Malta (though we can't find any TV-performances) and will become a guest of Sopot festival on August 25th (with Eric Saade representing Sweden this year).

UPDATE: Yesterday Loreen has also become a guest of Stockholm Pride and now you can watch a proper TV-performance of her. Also I've added Popstars participants performance above.

I wasn't mentioning some nice Swedish pop mashups quite long because we didn't have something really impressive. But I have a strong wish to write about these new ones.
Putting hand on my heart I can't say that Jacob Giliov's mashup of Loreen's "Euphoria" and Brithey's "Till The World Ends" is technically as good as it could be BUT it has an interesting idea which is the main thing when it comes to a mashup! And with a cool video cut it has become quite entertaining.
Oh! And you should also check another "Euphoria" mashup with Europe's "The Final Countdown" and Katy Perry's "Fireworks" that I was writing about on twitter but here's a good reason to remind you about it. This is also really-really worth listening!

Almost four months after Loreen's euphoric win at Melodifestivalen which has resulted in Sweden's historic win at Eurovision we've got a music video premiered for this song today. It was shot near Stockholm and basically it's focused on Loreen making her euphoric choreography in a tall grass, not so much to talk about but finally music channels have got something. The song has become a hit of European radio stations and hopefully should get more of TV promotion also.

Loreen has become a real fierce of MTV World Stage festival held last week in Göteborg. And like a proper upcoming European star she has made performances of all her songs anything but ordinary, all three released hits "My Heart Is Refusing Me", "Sober" and "Euphoria" were performed in special versions. "Euphoria" has got a big drums intro and was finished as a hard electro-mix. "Sober" has turned to an utterly dramatic pop-rock song and "MHIRM" was presented in live-session dreamy version.
All we have is videos recorded by public so I could only choose videos of the most appropriate quality of what we have. But it's still worth watching or at least listening.
The event is said to be aired on MTV internationally later this year but I can't find official information when.

Loreen makes a heavy promotion in Germany after "Euphoria" has become #1 there.
Firstly Loreen has performed version of the song with acoustic guitar on the radio - I should mention that "MHIRM" and "Sober" have got such versions very fast so now "Euphoria" has it too.
Also Loreen was performing on a sport-show today and unfortunately sound has become a big catastrophe and turning ok only in the very end of the song. That's when Loreen has shown a full power of her voice!

Shame on me I haven't written anything about euphoric 5th Eurovision victory of Sweden yet. Was I overloaded with Euphoria during 2 weeks in Baku Crystall Hall? Absolutely not, this is unbeatable best song of 2012 in my list and my favorite Eurovision winner ever. Buzz around Loreen in press-center was incredible, but I was lucky enough to even make a short interview with Loreen for esckaz.com I worked with (and hope I will next year in Stockholm). Loreen is incredibly warm and down-to-earth person, I've felt like I'm speaking with an old friend just in a few seconds. I was lucky enough to also catch wonderful Euphoria-songwriters Peter Boström and Thomas G:Son, to make interiew with Andrés Esteche who worked as a press and revealed that initially "Cara Mia" was offered to him (and he also tried "Om Natten") (but he didn't like it initially and realized he was wrong afterwards) and also I've met very nice and fridnly Edward af Sillén who was incredibly happy and proud about Lynda Woodruff's quotes across press-center. Hope you haven't missed Edward's greetings card for Andreas Lundstedt's 40-years anniversary from Baku?
Back to Loreen, she has immediately joined commercial success of Alexander Rybak and Lena Meyer-Landrut in charts. The day after the final "Euphoria" she was #1 on iTunes in 22 countries. She has become #1 in basic charts of Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Germany and Norway (already reaching it in Sweden and Finland before), Euphoria has already become Top-3 in Belgium, Estonia, Israel, Netherlands, Scotland and even UK - which is the biggest ESC-success in years. Currently Loreen makes a winning tour across Europe, she has visited UK, Germany (you can watch her wonderful performance there below), Ibiza and going to France. Whole summer she'll be making a series of 30-minutes gigs across Sweden and after releasing the album in September (with plans of new single coming out in August) she'll be doing a full-mode big tour. Sweden loves Loreen and below you can also watch Stockholm meeting its winner!
Personally I want to add thanks to Loreen for giving me those incredible goosebumps and losing my breath when listening to her during rehearsal in acoustics of empty arena, I can hardly compare those feelings with anything else experienced in my life so I'm very thankful to this phenomenal singer for those wonderful minutes of my life. Congratulations Loreen and congratulations Sweden!

Eurovision rehearsals start already this week in Baku and very soon Loreen will leave Sweden to take part in a big Eurovision carousel. Currently she is the biggest favorite by odds and different polls, she has managed to enter tops of many iTunes charts around Europe so Sweden definitely has the biggest winning chance in years.
I'd like to share very beautiful acoustic gig Loreen has made at Mix Megapol Unplugged, she has performed acoustic versions of "Jöga", "She's The One", "My heart Is Refusing Me" and "Euphoria". You've heard the most of these versions previously but they haven't become any less enjoyable.

Loreen who has become #1 in Finland right after her Melodifestivalen victory was invited to perform "Euphoria" at The Voice of Finland today - foreign promo-trip that can be her the only before Eurovision according to Expressen, seems like it's not in priority of label and after watching the show I think it's not fair as it has really won the audience directly. With just a strings orchestra playing in the begining and Loreen leaving all choreography out and concentrating on vocals with a proper lazers work performance has become not any less emotional, goosebumps-giving and breathtaking than it was at Melodifestivalen. The audience and juries have praised the singer with standing ovations.
Yesterday "Euphoria" has become #1 in Lithuanian iTunes chart (after Estonia), keeps quite long in Top-10 in Norway and Finland and spreads on the radio in other countries.

Yesterday Loreen performed at Earth Hour, worldwide event you can't miss wherever you live these days.
Loreen was singing acoustic version of "Euphoria" and "My Heart Is Refusing Me", I already wrote about acoustic version of "Euphoria" but this time it sounded even more touching and power of Loreen's voice just didn't know limits.
Danny and Sarah Dawn Finer were among other performing artists but their videos haven't leaked yet.

"Euphoria" keeps spreading all over, the song has entered Finnish chart at #1 this week which is incredible result for the winner of Scandinavian selection so long before Eurovision.
Earlier this week Loreen has become a guest of "Let's talk HIV" auction where she has performed acoustic version of "Euphoria" backed by Oscar Görres who was responsible for acoustic version of Linda Pritchard's "Alive" last year. Strings have given amazing Apocalyptica feeling with its epic and utterly dramatic sound.
Below you can also check recent live performance in Västerås, one fan-cover (we get LOADS on youtube but I like this one especially much) and Carli mix - which is another official one from EP of mixes released few days ago (hope you haven't miss Alex Moreno's mix).

Lorine Zineb Noka Talhaoui has won Melodifestivalen with the song "Euphoria" written by Thomas G:son and Peter Boström beating all records and becoming #1 favorite of Eurovision-2012.
"Euphoria" has become a winning song collecting the biggest quantity of Melodifestivalen final votes ever. Right after the final when MF compilation was out - both single and compilation version have become #1 and #2 on iTunes, currently Loreen is #1 in Finland, #3 in Norway and currently climbs up in Denmark (#43). Scandinavia definitely feels "Euphoria" and even non-scnadinavic countries fall for it. You can already listen to the song on the radio in Belarus and Russia. Everyone speaks about Sweden winning Eurovision this year and personally I'm gonna be one of the happiest people in the world if it'll happen as this combination of amazing song and completely unreal artist is one the best things happening with Eurovision for a long time. Congratulations, Loreen! Congratulations, Peter and Thomas! Congratulations, Sweden! You've made the right decision.
Today we have a pack of "Euphoria" mixes released digitally and below you can check one of them. It's made by Alex Moreno and it's quite strong radio-friendly Avicii-breathing club-track.