As we mentioned last week, we were quite excited by the then upcoming episode of Dansbandskampen which aired at the weekend. As with the previous episode, the remaining dansbands would be performing a brand new composition, as well as one of the usual cover versions. And it was these original new songs that we were looking forward to. Here, again, were the songs and their composers.
Willez
‘Ikväll Är Det Vi’ – (Martin ”E-Type” Eriksson, Christian Belmondo)
Patrik’s Combo
‘Madeleine’ – (Erik Segerstedt, Thomas G:son)
Donnez
‘Nu Vill Jag Dansa’ – (Chris Antblad)
Elisa’s
‘Varenda Veranda’ – (Måns Zelmerlöw, Pontus Wennerberg)
Impressive? Yes!
In the end, there was nothing as amazing as the two songs we have fallen in love with from the previous weekend’s episode (and you can listen to them again here, which we HIGHLY recommend), but there were two songs that we do like quite a lot. Both catchy schlager dansband numbers, but also both quite charming in a weird way, for the fact that they quite clearly, shamelessly, and hilariously, have ripped off two famous older schlager dansband songs. Magnus Carlsson once joked to us that pretty much all schlager music recycles other schlager songs, but the two examples below are ridiculous! But still enjoyable with it.
First up there was Elisa’s with the Månz Zelmerlöw composed ‘Varenda Veranda’. And as you’ll probably notice, the musical riff running throughout is basically the same one used in Abba’s ‘Ring Ring’. Then there was Patrik’s Combo, with the Thomas G:son and Erik EMD composed ‘Madeleine’. And in that, you’ll hear a lot of ‘Eloise’ by Avingarna, which represented Sweden at the 1993 Eurovision Song Contest. This was actually our favourite of the two, it’s such a classic sounding song – even if that is down to the fact that it’s ripped off an actual classic! Although we have to say, the song was totally wasted on Patrik’s Combo. The performance was a shambles, and the few times that the singer’s voice even found the microphone, it sounded awful. Week in, week out, it just seems that Patrik’s Combo are focusing on trying to make people laugh, rather than the actual musical element of the show. And while that might have been funny in episode 1 (which it wasn’t, by the way), it’s just awfully stupid and annoying now. We’d love to hear ‘Madeleine’ performed properly by another act in the future, and recorded too. Likewise with the Elisa’s song.
The songs that were given to Donnez and Willez though, were to our ears, generic dansband tripe. Nothing really interesting in them at all, although we’re sure that a lot of the more old skool dansband fans probably liked them. But they weren’t for us – the schlager obsessed kind!
In the end, Donnez were the band eliminated from the competition, and now only three dansbands remain. Although on Saturday night’s show, viewers will be able to vote one previously eliminated dansband back into the competition, to take part in the final.
