Magnus Carlsson at Melodifestivalen 2015

Sweden : Exclusive Melodifestivalen interview with the one and only Magnus Carlsson who will be in Heat 2 next Saturday in Malmo – February 14th with the song “Möt mig i Gamla Stan”

Welcome back Magnus to Melodifestivalen. How does it feel to be back in the contest? 

Thank you som much! It feels awesome to be back after being away for eight years! Awesome, and at the same time a bit nervous. Who knows what will happen on Saturday… And looking back at recent years – ANYTHING might happen!

How has Melodifestivalen changed since you last competed in it?
I don’t know really – I guess I will find out next week if it feels new and unfamiliar to me or if I feel ”yeah, this is my old playground”. *laugh*
http://youtu.be/YWSiQxxGX4Y

We know you love the contest. This is your 8th appearance at Melodifestivalen. You have performed as part of bands – Barbados and Alcazar and as a solo artist. What would be your favourite entry from Melodifestivalen over the years and why?
Every song has its own memories and feelings surrounding them. “Se mig” (2000) was my first entry and I will never forget the feeling when I and Barbados entered the stag, waiting for the backing track to start. ”Allt Som Jag Ser” (2001) is one of my very favourites. We had Nanne Grönwall as ”click track” on tape as my live leadvocal and the backing track should start simultaneously. Her voice told us: ”Attention, Barbados!” And then she started counting. ” 1. 2… 1. 2. 3. 4.” And off we went.

 
”Världen Utanför” (2002) is a song that is surrounded by stressedout feelings and a lot of media attention. Barbados was at our peak and everything we did and said was picked up by media. Crazy times.
My first competition as part of Alcazar was ”Not A Sinner Nor A Saint” in 2003. I was being transformed from the guy-next-door to a disco-diva-deluxe. Loved it and this number was packed with choreography, vocal harmonies and blinged out with excellent help from famous Swedish designer Lars Wallin and his oh-so-red haute couture outfits.

 
http://youtu.be/XK3Qnpw13c4

 
”Alcastar” (2005) was somehow misunderstood as everybody seemed to focus too much on our Star Wars inspired outfits instead of the song. When we ended up in the finals we therefore changed costumes into white, glamorous and classy outfits. And that image of us four together on stage I think is one of the main reasons why our European tours was surrounded by press, constantly telling us that we looked like “ABBA-reborn-and-updated”.

Two guys and two girls – one blonde and one redhead. Now, that was an honour, let me tell ya!
My first solo track ”Lev Livet!”(2006) was a completely other take on myself as an artist than the Alcazar and Barbados image – more relaxed, grown-up and mature. Ended up in the Swedish finals and followed by one of my best albums yet, written by Anders Glenmark and Niklas Strömstedt.
http://youtu.be/XZkXR3VuNAQ

”Live Forever” (2007) was a huge risk for me as I loved loved loved the track, but at the same time knew how difficult it would be to nail it vocally on live broadcast television. Imagine almost every Swede looking at you through the TV and at the same time pack the performance with choreography… Phew…. Anyway, I ended up in the competition but was able to catch a huge cold right before the show. So disaster struck hard – I was not able to shine my very best and the song ended up outside the finale. I was a little sad for a while, but extremely happy when the ”Live Forever” single was the first one of that year’s Melodifestivalen show reaching gold status.

‘Live Forever’ is one of our favourite Melodifestivalen songs. The song narrowly missed out on making the Final of the contest but it went on to be a huge hit in Sweden. Would you have liked to have brought ‘Live Forever’ to Eurovision?
I would SO have loved to bring it to Eurovision as I think it could have done quite well in the competition with the eighties touch and all. The song was actually a hit in Eastern parts of Europe and even the third most played song in Poland that year. I went there a couple of times to perform the song on TV shows, and the crowd knew the lyrics and even did the choreography from the video in front of me!! I was completely taken off guard and thought to myself ”Um… When will the Candid Camera crew appear, telling me it was all a joke??”

So you return to the contest with the song ‘Meet Me in Old Town’ that was written by Thomas G: son and Lina Eriksson. How did you become involved with both of the composers?
Thomas and I have created my latest singles ”Glorious” and ”Together” (”Oslagbar” and ”Tillsammans” in Swedish) and I really love the soundscape that he and his crew creates for me. Very Swedish i guess, upbeat, happy and catchy. So when he came up with this song I really wasn’t that into entering the competition for another year or two. But I just couldn’t resist. It was just, like… ”Oh hell. I CAN’T turn this one down! Let’s go for it!” And off we went!

Lina is a new working partner for me. I have been at her house before, recording songs with her and her husband Mårten Eriksson. And you just know when you ”click” with people and feel relaxed and at ease in their company. Lina made me feel that way and I am so glad she came up with the lyrics for the new song. Her ways of using the Swedish language is sometimes kinda unusual – using words not common in regular song lyrics. And that makes her work very unique and at the same time very catchy as it sticks in your brain. She is one wonderfully talented gal, for sure!

So what can you tell us about your song Magnus? Is it a ballad or a dance song and what genre would you call it?
The song is upbeat and (as you can see) in Swedish. People wonder if I can compare it to other songs in my back catalogue, but I have to say that this is either ”Barbados-Magnus” or ”Alcazar-Magnus”. This is simply ”me”. When I’ve played the track for my friends, they instantly gets up on the floor, smile and start to dance. And when the song has ended, they wanna hear it again. That’s how I knew that we had nailed it! I hope the TV audience will have the same reaction on Saturday next week!

Did you have any reservations about returning to Melodifestivalen or was it an easy decision to make?
Of course. Nothing is safe, all bets are off and you can’t take anything for granted. But again, when I heard the song I simply HAD to have it. There was no other option for me. Everything fell into place and I just had to realise that this was the year I would make my comeback.

We know from interviewing Sanna Nielsen last year in Copenhagen that eventually getting to Eurovision and representing Sweden was a dream come true for her. What would it mean to you if you made it to Vienna?
Of course it would be an honour to represent Sweden in Eurovision! It’s a huge TV show and even though I have never been at any of the huge finals myself, I can really imagine the magic in the air as people come together just to celebrate being together, enjoying the fab music and having a good time!

Magnus we wish you the very best of luck in Melodifestivalen. We have so many readers in Sweden and across Europe that have been asking us to interview you. What would you like to say to them and the readers of Eurovision Ireland?
Thank you so much, guys! And to all of you out there: I get so happy every time I get to see any of you. And I can easily say that when you sometimes start to recite my songs in front of me – in perfect swedish even though the most of you don’t understand a word of what you’re actually saying! – you really make my day. Thank you for supporting and keep pushing me forward! Big love – always! / Magnus :-)

Well we want to thank Magnus for taking the time to speak to us here at Eurovision Ireland. We will be tuning in again to Melodifestivalen next Saturday from Malmo.

Lycka till Magnus

Author/Editor in Chief Garrett Mulhall

Source : Eurovision Ireland