Eurovision 2004 - Number 13 - E-Type - "Paradise"
Perhaps the first Eurovision hopeful to used pyro as an integral part of the song's percussion?
Paradise marks the first time in my blog that there's an entry that's associated with Sweden's second most famous pop export - Cheiron Studios; the late Denniz PoP and Max Martin's formidable hit making machine. E-Type is a man, Bo Erikson, a former speed-metal drummer turned Eurodance hit maker who, through the 1990s, released a series of four albums (all top 5 in Sweden) and many singles (including five Swedish number 1s). Nearly all of his hits feature Nana Hedin on vocals, and at Melfest this year, there she is singing on Paradise. Nana is the singer who sang backing vocals on Brittney Spears Baby One More Time. She's backed Celine Dion, Gary Barlow and Ace of Base and was an integral part of Cheiron's hit-making machine.
Paradise may be the first time there's been any overlap between Cheiron and Melfest. In my hurried researches I haven't found one. Getting E-Type and Nana to Melfest must have been a major deal. What a banger to make a mark with. It starts with a pyro explosion and flings itself headlong into breakneck, explosive, cod-metal, full-throttle fun. With these antics and Nana's vocals it's impossible not to be grinning as you're whisked off on a short ride in a very fast machine. As if to add emphasis the rock-adjacent credentials of this fairground ride of a song, there's a special guest drummer - Mikkey Dee, Motörhead's drummer appearing live at Melfest.
It won the second heat with the highest televote of any of the Melfest heats from this year. Going into the final, it would have been among the favourites, but it faced an additional hurdle. The final had a jury vote and Cheiron were not necessarily the number one favourite Swedish musical enterprise within the Swedish music industry. Paradoxically, and in a very Swedish way, their success and their enjoyment of them had brought about disapproval. Paradise only got 31 regional jury points in the final. Much more surprisingly, it also flopped in the televote, finishing in fifth overall.
Sadly, the Melfest performance marks the last time that E-Type recorded and performed with Nana Hedin. His 2004 album Loud Pipes Save Lives was the last to feature her vocals. Thereafter he worked with Sanne Karlsson. Nana continued singing solo and entered Melodifestivalen 2005 on her own as well as continuing to be possibly the most famous backing singer in Sweden. In 2009 she was diagnosed with tongue cancer, the treatment for which resulted her needing reconstructive jaw surgery. Since then she has been unable to sing.
