Having started her career in the Swedish version of pop idol 2004, it took Loreen 7 years before the big breakthrough came. What happened in between and what does she have in common with Leila K.   What was her relation to Melodifestivalen before 2011 and what has this competition meant for her career?  Hear Loreen tell the story of her trip to Baku, memories from Melodifestivalen, art installations on stage, why Danny said no to ‘’Euphoria’’ and why she is back to the contest after already winning it and failing to qualify to the final. Legend: Loreen Song: Euphoria (Sweden 2012) Host: Emil Löfström Contact: emil@schlagervannerna.se Instagram Facebook http//www.eurovisionlegends.se Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2016, a Ukrainian trained opera singer sang a song about the deportation of Crimeans in 1944, which could easily also be interpreted as a thinly veiled comment on the recent Russian annexation of Crimea. It is sometimes hard to remember that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has been going on for almost a decade now, but Jamala did try to warn us already back then and sadly she was proven all too correct when Russia invaded the entire Ukraine in February of 2022. She has currently fled the country, but before the contest in Turin Emil managed to get a rare interview with the Ukrainian hero, hiding in an undisclosed location. She tells us about her victory in Stockholm, her jobs as a juror on various - often controversial - Ukrainian national finals and of course about the ongoing war. Emil and Marcus also add their own comments on the situation. Legend: Jamala Song: 1944 (Ukraine 2016) Host: Emil Löfström Sidekick: Marcus Björkander Contact: emil@schlagervannerna.se Instagram Facebook Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many countries in Eurovision seem to have their own "super-composer", and in the case of the Netherlands this person is Hans van Hemert. He wrote the Dutch entries of 1972, 1974 and 1976, and he has made many more attempts, which we of course get to listen to in this episode. It gets really crowded in the virtual podcast room today, as Hans and Emil are joined by Frenk Reemer, brother of Sandra Reemer, Astrid Colle, daughter of Sandra's duet partner Andres, and a whistling parrot. Hans takes us back to the glorious 70's and tells us about his main inspirations, which are ABBA and kid's songs. We also get to hear about how he made a fool of himself when meeting Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. We get to hear the intimate details about the relations between Mouth & MacNeal, Sandra & Andres and other famous artists that he has worked with. Hans is still active, so what did the song that he submitted in 2022 sound like? We have the demo! Legend: Hans Van Hemert Songs: Als het om de liefde gaat (The Netherlands 1972), I See A Star (The Netherlands 1974), The Party's Over (The Netherlands 1976) Host: Emil Löfström Contact: emil@schlagervannerna.se Instagram Facebook http//www.eurovisionlegends.se Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Udo Jürgens was already a big star when he first competed in Eurovision for his Austria in 1964. He didn't win, but got the biggest hit after the contest, both with his own version and with covers in various languages. He was back again the year after, and this time he almost competed for another country as well. It took some heavy convincing to get him to return for a third time in 1966, which was when he finally won the contest. Emil has a nice chat with Udo's son John Jürgens, who tells us about his father's early years in Austria during the second world war, how he rose to fame as a composer and artist and sang his songs not only in German but also in English, French, Spanish, Italian and Japanese. We'll also learn about his relation to the contest, and John also tells us about both the positives and the negatives about growing up with such a famous father. Legend: Udo Jürgens Expert on the subject: John Jürgens (aka John Munich) Songs: Warum nur, warum? (Austria 1964), Sag ihr, ich lass sie grüßen (Austria 1965), Merci, Cherie (Austria 1966) & Tausend Fenster (Austria 1968, Karel Gott) Host: Emil Löfström Contact: emil@schlagervannerna.se Instagram Facebook http//www.eurovisionlegends.se Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An argument in Los Angeles led to the creation of the perhaps most modern song to have taken part in Eurovision until that time, but the road that led Eva Santamaria there was quite a surprise. Hear what she has to say about the orchestral arrangement of the song, about it becoming a feminist anthem, and about who did what with who in Millstreet (hint: "sexo")! She was one of the favourites to the victory before the show, but who did not want her to win? Eva's memory is almost as good as her ability to laugh, but how come she almost sang the wrong song on stage and what happened with the choreography just days before? Legend: Eva Santamaria Song: Hombres (Spain 1993) Host: Emil Löfström Interpreter: Ruben Balesteiro Contact: emil@schlagervannerna.se Instagram Facebook http//www.eurovisionlegends.se Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The "plump chicken from Trondheim" tried to reach Eurovision already at 14 years old, but had to wait another seven years until she finally succeeded with the unusually structured banger "Visjoner". We get to listen to the way too long and extremely different demo that was accepted to Melodi Grand Prix, and we get to hear Merethe's honest opinions about Rolf Løvland's final arrangement of the song for Eurovision. We will also learn what caused her to laugh out loud during her performance, which has made her something of a meme. Why was this unusually positive 21-year-old treated so badly by the Swedes? Why was she styled like she was a 50 years old character from "Dynasty"? And what was the biggest prize she won in 1992? And despite the bad result in 1992, why did she return already in 1993, something she really regrets today? How did she find her way back to her own music after the debacle and what does she do today? Legend: Merethe Trøan Song: Visjoner (Norway 1992) Host: Emil Löfström Contact: emil@schlagervannerna.se Instagram Facebook http//www.eurovisionlegends.se Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two years ago Emil spoke to Maria Mendiola and Cristina Sevilla from (one of the constellations of) Baccara. Since then they have gone viral, made a comeback on the charts and published new music, but on a much sadder note Maria alas passed away in 2021. Emil and Cristina have a new conversation, revisit some of the topics from the previous interview and Cristina tells us everything about the rather chaotic history of the group Baccara after the split of the two original members Maria Mendiola och Mayte Mateos, since Cristina has the rather unique position of having been the replacement partner of first Mayte and then Maria. What went wrong between them, who was to blame and did they ever bury the hatchet? This interview was recorded especially for the Podcast Radio station, where Eurovision Legends episodes are currently airing. Legend: Baccara Song: Parlez-vous français? (Luxembourg 1978) Host: Emil Löfström Contact: emil@schlagervannerna.se Instagram Facebook http//www.eurovisionlegends.se Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Albanian singer Hersi Matmuja finally won Festivali i Këngës on her fourth attempt the usual revamp of the song started. How much of a say did she have in this process and why didn't she like the final version? Was it only because it didn't bring her out of the semi-final at Eurovision? How did she and the Albanian people handle the disappointing result and how come she didn't even obtain a record contract? And whose bright idea was it for her to go to Denmark to get a huge back tattoo of the Albanian eagle for the postcard? In spite of the outcome she has a successful and exciting career, which has taken her to such interesting places as the conservatory in Rome, Auschwitz and even North Korea. Trust me, this girl has stories to tell! And if all goes to plan, will we see her soon again? Legend: Hersi Matmuja Song: One Night's Anger (Albania 2014) Host: Emil Löfström Contact: emil@schlagervannerna.se Instagram Facebook http//www.eurovisionlegends.se Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

He was the guy who came on from backstage and gave working out in a suit a face, but the musical career of two meter Swedish hunk Robin Bengtsson started earlier than that. An alumn of the Idol franchise, he got his first chance to compete in Melodifestivalen in 2016 and won it already on his second attempt in 2017. But how come he values his first song higher than the one he actually won with? How have coincidences led to all of his participations, which will number at four times with his song for 2022, which we actually get to learn some things about? How come he has always performed other peoples' songs in Melodifestivalen, despite being a songwriter himself? Why did Kyiv feel so familiar to him despite him not being able to find Ukraine on a map, what did he really think about the winner from Portugal and what about the short Ukrainian guy who refused to lend Robin his equipment? Legend: Robin Bengtsson Song: I Can't Go On (Sweden 2017) Host: Emil Löfström Contact: emil@schlagervannerna.se Instagram Facebook http//www.eurovisionlegends.se Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Established in the business with successes like Ace of Base in his catalogue, John Ballard started to get invited to participate, mainly as a lyricist, on various projects for Eurovision by Dimitris Kontopoulos. He grants us full access to all the various shenanigans that takes place to create a Eurovision success in some countries where he sometimes has had to write up to 80 (!) different lyrics for the same song, and he speaks his mind about his colleague and songwriting partner Philipp Kirkorov. What is like to compete for countries such as Russia or Azerbaijan, and what do your colleagues have to say about it? How much is influenced by politics and is a simple Scottish lyricist from Sweden treated as a valued member of the team or only as a talent for hire? How many songs do you present for a superstar like Sergey Lazarev, which songs have made the rounds for several countries and how much has he attempted to compete in either Sweden or the United Kingdom? We will learn this and much more when John Ballard opens up. Legend: John Ballard Songs: Hold Me (Azerbaijan 2013), Shine (Russia, 2014) You're The Only One (Russia 2016), This Is Love (Greece 2017) & My Lucky Day (Moldova 2018) Host: Emil Löfström Contact: emil@schlagervannerna.se Instagram Facebook http//www.eurovisionlegends.se Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

He has finished top ten four times out of five attempts in Eurovision, but never for his home country nor for the country where he has lived for over 40 years. Who is John Ballard? The legendary lyricist behind such songs as "Hold Me" and "You're the Only One"? In this first episode we find out why he moved from his native Scotland to the west coast of Sweden, and how he became a household name there with several participations in Melodifestivalen. We of course get to listen to these songs, as well as a version that John hasn't even heard himself, in addition to several attempts that were not selected to compete. We also talk extensively about, and get to listen to several rare demos from, his long and successful career as a producer and songwriter. He was the guy who discovered one of the biggest bands ever, Ace of Base, and he also is the man behind other groups such as Yaki-da and Bubbles. However, despite all of this success he never again was invited to Melodifestivalen, and he sternly denies any involvement in the Melodifestivalen entry "Nattens änglar" by Jonas Berggren from Ace of Base!? This is the first of two episodes, where we look at John's rise to fame from a pub musician in Scotland to a very successful producer in Sweden and all over the world, and in the second episode we will take a look at his adventures in Eurovision. Legend: John Ballard Songs: Hold Me (Azerbaijan 2013), Shine (Russia, 2014) You're The Only One (Russia 2016), This Is Love (Greece 2017) & My Lucky Day (Moldova 2018) Host: Emil Löfström Contact: emil@schlagervannerna.se Instagram Facebook http//www.eurovisionlegends.se Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We continue the story of Eurovision 1997 that started in the episodes with Icelandic Paul Oscar and Katrina and the Waves with one of Katrina's vodka suppliers – Marjolein Spijkers from the Dutch group Mrs. Einstein. The theatrical group was selected to perform all of the entries in the Dutch selection, but were they all agreed that they should do it and did the right song really win? How come they ditched their expensive outfits just one day before the final and when did they opt for going completely nude? Did their meager five point result affect their careers and are the Granny Spices still going? This and much more – like porn looks and "Vechny strannik" – in an interview that does not want to end when Marjolein flips the tables and starts to interview Emil. Legend: Marjolein Spijkers from Mrs Einstein Song: Niemand heeft nog tijd (The Netherlands) Host: Emil Löfström Contact: emil@schlagervannerna.se Instagram Facebook http//www.eurovisionlegends.se Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Snubbed on a very good chance to win in the cancelled 2020 contest, The Roop fought their way to another victory and finally got to grace the Eurovision stage in 2021. But these were not the first times they have tried out for Eurovision, neither as The Roop nor in other constellations, even though Vaidotas seems a little uncertain on this point!? How do you handle the situation when you have no money? How do you follow up a success like "On Fire"? Have they been subject to ageism? Will we see them in Eurovision again? And most importantly, why so yellow? Robertas Baranauskas, Mantas Banišauskas and Vaidotas Valiukevičius are ready to answer these questions and many more. Legends: The Roop Songs: On Fire (Lithuania 2020) & Discoteque (Lithuania 2021) Host: Emil Löfström Contact: emil@schlagervannerna.se Instagram Facebook http//www.eurovisionlegends.se Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following a streak of missed finals for Poland, hopes were higher when Magdalena Tul and the song "Jestem" became popular with the fans and was generally predicted to proceed to the final when she was to perfom first in the first semi final in 2011. The reality became quite the opposite, though, when she not just failed to reach the final, but it turned out that she had actually finished dead last in the semi final. Did she have technical issues? Should she have chosen a different version of the song? Did she try to take on too many tasks around the performance herself or did she just not have the proper backing from the Polish broadcaster? All these are questions that she has asked herself for ten years and will be answered in this episode when "Lady Tulla" tells us about her greatest regrets from Düsseldorf. We also learn about her other attempts to reach Eurovision and her newest songs, as well as the upcoming relocation. Legend: Magdalena Tul Song: Jestem (Poland 2011) Host: Emil Löfström Contact: emil@schlagervannerna.se Instagram Facebook http//www.eurovisionlegends.se Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Having had a huge hit already at seven years old, Frans Jeppsson Wall surprised the Swedish audience when he, almost forgotten, suddenly appeared in Melodifestivalen ten years later with the first ever song he had written as an "adult". What was it like breaking as a child star, did he even get paid and how does a child handle not winning the awards he has been nominated to? Hear Frans tell the story of his return to the public eye, when he quickly went from an underdog to the big favourite and the final winner and what it was like representing Sweden at home soil while trying to handle school at the same time. What advice did his grandmother give him, who made him speachless with a hug and which other artist did he sneak out of the arena to be naughty with? Finally, what has happened since and what is his life like today when he recently left his safe small home town for life in the big city of Stockholm? Legend: Frans Jeppsson Wall Song: If I were Sorry (Sweden 2016) Host: Emil Löfström Contact: emil@schlagervannerna.se Instagram Facebook http//www.eurovisionlegends.se Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We continue to listen to the fascinating adventures of Alon Amir in the world of Eurovision, starting in a bed together with Anne-Marie David. Our first stop is Moscow in 2009 with two political artists and a political song which he pressured the jury to get selected. He hated the city but the vodka consumption increased by each day, and with this the pranks within the delegation. Then we have the suicide mission to Baku, where Alon was surprised not to return home in a coffin, and the time when he seriously considered burning or shredding the artist's dress. He had adventures with the rather special Hovi Star all over Europe with a song that they had to pretend to like, we get the explanation to the beef with Douwe Bob, the nasty story of why Russian customs destroyed Hovi's passport, and his drunkenly honest opinion about Sergey Lazarev's birthday cake. Alon has countless stories about being on various juries around Europe, such as in which country he had to endure 40 rubbish songs in a row and when he fought hard for a song that wouldn't end up in the contest until three year's later. He also tells us about being approached by other countries with suggestions of foul play. Legend: Alon Amir Titles in Eurovision: Production assistant, Journalist, Assistant to the executive producer, Executive producer, Head of press, Jury member and Manager Host: Emil Löfström Contact: emil@schlagervannerna.se Instagram Facebook http//www.eurovisionlegends.se Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most of us Eurovision fans dream of one day playing some minor part to contribute to or nestle your way into our beloved contest, be it by submitting songs, doing volunteer work at an event or why not starting your own podcast about the topic? Alon Amir from Israel managed to do this for the first time at the tender age of 17 when his job was to light the candles for the 1995 Israeli entry "Amen", candles that they later weren't allowed to bring to Ireland, but they brought Alon anyway. Through a stunning career at Shlomo Zach's record company, he got to do various tasks related to the Israeli Eurovision entries, and was very much involved in the victory of "Diva" in 1998. Luckily for us, Alon has no scruples of telling us almost everything about what has happened during all his Eurovision trips. Why didn't Dana International wear her expensive Jean-Paul Gaultier bird-suit in 1998 and what about the fall in 1999, why does Alon want the EBU to serve food in the green room, how much mafia money can you really make by being a totally inexperienced head of press for Belarus and was it really dangerous to return to the hotel after the semi-final? Maybe not, but something that was seriously dangerous was to be part of the Israeli delegation in Azerbaijan, a muslim country with an open border to Iran and no guarantees for their personal safety, and Alon tells us about this suicide mission as well. Alon bubbles over with so many interesting stories and new pieces of information at such a rate that it is hard to know which to focus on here, and to avoid a complete mental overload we will save half of this marathon interview for next week. Legend: Alon Amir Titles in Eurovision: Production assistant, Journalist, Assistant to the executive producer, Executive producer, Head of press, Jury member and Manager Host: Emil Löfström Contact: emil@schlagervannerna.se Instagram Facebook http//www.eurovisionlegends.se Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People all over the world often have a hard time separating the Scandinavian countries, and honestly, who can blame them when we have people like Lise Haavik, who was born and raised in northern Norway, moved to Denmark to study economics, formed a band and a marriage with Danish artist John Hatting (against her father's better judgement, mind you), tried out for the Danish Eurovision ticket a couple of times and finally won the right to represent Denmark, when the competition was held in Norway of all places, with a song and a performance borrowing heavily from a previous Swedish entry? Set in the world of Danish "happy-schlager", what was the road that led her to this point, what happened to Lise and John's marriage and artistic cooperation, what are Lise's further attempts to reach the Eurovision and why does the classic Danish song "Under stjernerne på himlen" with Tommy Seebach keep recurring during this interview, despite having nothing to do with neither Lise nor John? Or has it? Legend: Lise Haavik (Trax) Song: Du er fuld af løgn (Denmark 1986) Host: Emil Löfström Contact: emil@schlagervannerna.se Instagram Facebook http//www.eurovisionlegends.se Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sandra Reemer was one of the dutch great and competed three times in Eurovision during the 1970's. Alas, she is no longer with us so instead we have invited her brother, Frenk Reemer, who has been close to his sister during all the years and is also working on a book about their family. Let's hear the story about the girl who was forced to leave Indonesia at a very young age and who together with Frenk started singing in local events to gather money for the construction of a church in their new dutch hometown. From her first single at the age of twelve, which was a cover of the Italian Eurovision entry from 1961, she went from success to success. Why did she stopped singing solo, how did she meet her longtime duet partner Andres (Dries Holten), why did they split up and was it on good terms? Apart from the time with Andres, she competed an additional two times in Eurovision; what has she told her brother about this? She later established herself as a gay icon as part of the Dutch Divas together with Marga Bult and Maggie MacNeal, but what happened to her career and her mood? Frenk gives us a generous insight into her career and her feelings about it and we get to listen to some never before heard rare gems. Together with Frenk, who himself might become a Eurovision legend in the near future, this episode is in memoriam of a very special Eurovision Legend who left us way too early. Legend: Sandra Reemer Expert on the subject: Frenk Reemer Songs: Als het om de liefde gaat (The Netherlands 1972), The Party's Over (The Netherlands 1976) & Colorado (The Netherlands 1979) Host: Emil Löfström Contact: emil@schlagervannerna.se Instagram Facebook http//www.eurovisionlegends.se Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the second part of the interview with Petri Laaksonen, in which our hero finally learns that you don't always win every time you take part. After winning on his first two attempts, Petri continued to submit songs to the Finnish pre-selection, so many that he claims that he is the composer with the most songs in the contest throughout history. Now with experience and a network of contacts, he co-operated with artists such as Arja Saijonmaa (who finally sung the wrong song), Ami Aspelund (who perhaps wasn't perfectly suited for the erotic lyrics), Jari Sillanpää (who later got a smash hit with a rejected song about Jean Sibelius), Anneli Saaristo (who won with another song), Anna Eriksson (whose song became a huge fan favourite) and Tommi Soidinmäki, although his interest to sing the songs himself grew and grew. However, it became tougher and tougher to get his songs accepted, not least when the legendary Ossi Runne left the conductor's pulpet to Olli Ahvenlahti, who stopped inviting Petri. (But he did invite himself!) We get to hear all the details; who was a sore loser, which song was inspired by ABBA and which was inspired by Pet Shop Boys and which artist wanted YLE to postpone the contest two weeks in order to better suit her schedule, and we also get to listen to lots of exclusive demos and early drafts, most of which have been painstakingly excavated by Petri himself and have never been heard before. Legend: Petri Laaksonen Songs: Amor Amor (Ami Aspelund, 1988), Oi äiti maa (Anneli Saaristo, 1989), Gabriela (Arja Saijonmaa, 1990), Oot voimani mun (Anna Eriksson, 2000), Kirkas kipinä (Jari Sillanpää, 2009), Seis (Tommi Soidinmäki, 2011) & several other Euroviisut rejects. Host: Emil Löfström Contact: emil@schlagervannerna.se Instagram Facebook http//www.eurovisionlegends.se Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.