Few pop bands exhibit as much fun as Alcazar, and fewer still exude it like they do. One of the things we love most about Alcazar, aside from their consistently brilliant music, their amazing performances, and their ability to extend their career to eight years – double that of the average pop band, is the fact that they always look like they’re enjoying themselves so much. While some pop acts moan about hectic schedules and demanding record labels, and other pop acts visibly cringe at their lack of credibility, Alcazar never look happier than when they’ve got the opportunity to promote a new release – whether it be performing at a small provincial shopping mall, or flying to London for a one off gig at New Years Eve, and then partying at the same club afterwards. Alcazar just appear to be enjoying the ride that’s been afforded to them.
And so this weekend sees the latest part of their journey – their third appearance as a group at Melodifestivalen. Their first two attempts (in 2003 and 2005) saw them deliver two songs which are now scandipop fan standards; ‘Not A Sinner, Nor A Saint’ and ‘Alcastar’. Both earned a respectable finish at the final, although both had to gain their position in the final through the second chance round of the competition. All three members are fans of their own music, and so naturally they all love Melodifestivalen. Andreas entered the competition as a solo artist in 2007. Lina (who is a new member of Alcazar and has never entered the competition as part of the group before) took part in Melodifestivalen 2002 and 2003; the first time with her sister Hanna, and the second time as a solo artist. And Tess is a self proclaimed choreographer extraordinaire who has choreographed previous years of the show.
The song, ‘Stay The Night’, was composed by the three band members themselves, along with Anders Hansson and Marten Sanden. Anders Hansson is the group’s long time collaborator, and he’s also worked on music by BWO, Lena Philipsson, and Linda Bengtzing. They’ve all described it as ‘’a good fun pop song with some pretty unusual harmonies’’. Well that already sounds like music to our ears! The group have a long awaited third studio album coming out later in the first half of this year, containing the nuggets of pop goodness that they’ve already graced our lives with over the last 12 months; ‘We Keep On Rockin’, ‘Inhibitions’, and ‘Burnin’.
