Alcazar - Headlines

My love for Alcazar can hardly be overstated. For years they have been making the kind of music that people have come to expect and love from Sweden and Melodifestivalen is a stage that suits them like no other. They have finished third at the contest twice and ended up fifth last year just behind Mans Zelmerlow.

They are back at it again with Headlines which is pretty much what you'd expect from them although possibly a bit more modern and a bit less disco (read "a bit") than some of their previous tracks. They appear to have borrowed some of Agnes' infamous strings (a la Release Me) for the intro in what might be an effort to appeal to her massive success over the past year. It suits the song quite well and in my opinion, Alcazar have created another one for the ages here that I'd probably call my top pick for Oslo this May.

Unfortunately, Alcazar were unable to qualify directly for the final as they were able to do in 2009. In the defense, theirs was by far the most difficult of the three semifinals this year and it is also interesting to note that although qualifying directly for the finals in 2009 they only managed to secure 5th place overall last year. In 2003 and 2005, when Alcazar had their highest finish of 3rd on both occasions, they were forced to qualify through the Second Chance finals as will be the case this year. All in all, it could work in their favour. After missing out just barely in the past, the are definitely the most deserving of a chance on the Eurovision stage.

Although not being totally solid on some of the bigger notes, Alcazar put on a great show and the visual of them on stage makes the performance so much more enjoyable than the studio version - but both are available below for your enjoyment!



Alcazar - Headlines