Alla (song)
Encyclopedia
"Alla" is a song by Swedish
singer Sofia
and was her entrant in Sweden's Eurovision Song Contest
selection process Melodifestivalen
. The song is sung entirely in Greek and won the international jury vote at the contest, gaining it a spot in the final, where it ended up placing tenth of eleven.
The song was released in Sweden and will also be released in Greece, with the possibility of both English and Swedish versions being produced.
with "Hypnotized" and releasing the CD single "Pote" (Never) in Greece and Sweden, Sofia once again took part in the contest to select Sweden's Eurovision Song Contest
entrant in 2009
. For her second appearance, she chose to sing the song "Alla", sung in Greek. In an interview, Sofia said that she wanted to perform the song in Greek because she likes the language and because it was originally written in Greek and therefore should be performed that way. Writer Dimitris Stassos spoke about the song in an interview with Eurovision news website ESCToday saying:
Sofia performed the song seventh on the night in the third semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2009, held on February 21, 2009. She received 14,782 televotes, placing her seventh of the eight entries. She was not one of the four songs selected for the final or second chance rounds, but it was revealed that she was chosen by the international jury to go against the other jury choices from the other semi-finals, with a chance of being the eleventh song in the contest's final.
On March 7, Sofia once again appeared at Melodifestivalen, though she did not perform. Following the end of the "Second Chance Round", the jury chose her over semi-final two pick Amy Diamond
to go to the final. In an interview after the round, Sofia said that she was glad that she will have the chance to sing the song even better than before and that she was probably chosen because she is an international artist with an international song. At the Melodifestivalen final, held on March 14, 2009, Sofia presented "Alla" ninth out of the eleven participants. When the results were announced, she received twelve points in total, eight from the international jury and four from the regional juries, placing her tenth.
and digital download
on March 1, 2009 along with many of the other songs in the contest; it features the radio mix and a remix of the song by Oscar Holter. In an interview with Eurovision news website ESCToday, Sofia stated that the song will be released in Greece as well, and there are plans to translate it into both Swedish and English, though she stressed that it is only her wish and time will tell.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
singer Sofia
Sofia (Swedish singer)
Sofia Berntson , known professionally as Sofia is a Swedish singer who often sings in Greek...
and was her entrant in Sweden's Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
selection process Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen is an annual music competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television and Sveriges Radio . It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been staged almost every year since 1959...
. The song is sung entirely in Greek and won the international jury vote at the contest, gaining it a spot in the final, where it ended up placing tenth of eleven.
The song was released in Sweden and will also be released in Greece, with the possibility of both English and Swedish versions being produced.
Background and Melodifestivalen
After having taken part in the Swedish Melodifestivalen 2007Melodifestivalen 2007
Melodifestivalen 2007 was the selection for the 47th song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. It was the 46th time that this system of picking a song has been used. Five semifinals took place to select the ten songs for the final, in Jönköping, Gothenburg, Örnsköldsvik, Gävle and a...
with "Hypnotized" and releasing the CD single "Pote" (Never) in Greece and Sweden, Sofia once again took part in the contest to select Sweden's Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
entrant in 2009
Melodifestivalen 2009
Melodifestivalen 2009 was a Swedish song contest held between February and March 2009. It was the selection for the 49th song to represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest, and was the 48th edition of Melodifestivalen...
. For her second appearance, she chose to sing the song "Alla", sung in Greek. In an interview, Sofia said that she wanted to perform the song in Greek because she likes the language and because it was originally written in Greek and therefore should be performed that way. Writer Dimitris Stassos spoke about the song in an interview with Eurovision news website ESCToday saying:
This time, with Alla, we wanted to go all the way with Sofia, in Greek, and since the rules allow us, I΄m Greek, Sofia loves Greece and everything that comes along with it, it was never a difficult decision. Knowing that we had no chance to win, but at least we could be proud of our choice. It was also a great opportunity to promote Sofia and Alla to a big audience.
Sofia performed the song seventh on the night in the third semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2009, held on February 21, 2009. She received 14,782 televotes, placing her seventh of the eight entries. She was not one of the four songs selected for the final or second chance rounds, but it was revealed that she was chosen by the international jury to go against the other jury choices from the other semi-finals, with a chance of being the eleventh song in the contest's final.
On March 7, Sofia once again appeared at Melodifestivalen, though she did not perform. Following the end of the "Second Chance Round", the jury chose her over semi-final two pick Amy Diamond
Amy Diamond
Amy Diamond is a Swedish pop singer, actress and television presenter. She is known for her single "What's in It for Me" and album This Is Me Now which were released when she was 12 years old. The song was a 2005 hit in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland. It was the most-played song in Poland...
to go to the final. In an interview after the round, Sofia said that she was glad that she will have the chance to sing the song even better than before and that she was probably chosen because she is an international artist with an international song. At the Melodifestivalen final, held on March 14, 2009, Sofia presented "Alla" ninth out of the eleven participants. When the results were announced, she received twelve points in total, eight from the international jury and four from the regional juries, placing her tenth.
Release
"Alla" was first heard in the form of a one minute clip on February 20, 2009, the day before Sofia appeared in the third semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2009. The song was released to radios following the fourth semi-final on February 28, 2009, in line with the contest's rules. It then became available as a two track CD singleCD single
A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s...
and digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
on March 1, 2009 along with many of the other songs in the contest; it features the radio mix and a remix of the song by Oscar Holter. In an interview with Eurovision news website ESCToday, Sofia stated that the song will be released in Greece as well, and there are plans to translate it into both Swedish and English, though she stressed that it is only her wish and time will tell.
Style and lyrical content
"Alla" is written by the same team that wrote her previous Melodifestivalen entry "Hypnotized" as well as the single "Pote". Writers Dimitris Stassos, Nina Karolidou, Irini Michas, and Henrik Wikström described it as "a rock inspired ethno pop number, or pop/rock [song] with a cool riff". Sofia sings about how other things will come along and how she lost herself and possessions, explaining that they "became smoke".Track listing
- "Alla" (Radio Mix) – 3:00
- "Alla" (Oscar Holter Remix) – 4:30
Chart performance
The song debuted on the Swedish Singles Chart on the week of March 13, 2009 at number 26, and moved up to number 24 the following week, before falling to number 37, and recovering one spot to 36 in its fourth week.| Chart (2009) | Provider | Peak position |
Weeks on Chart |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swedish Singles Chart | Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
24 | 4 |