"Keep On Walking" = Most played song of the year!

6946 good reasons to celebrate today: At the annual Radiogalan which took place on 29th September, "Keep On Walking" took the prize for the year's most played song on Swedish radio. The song has been played 6946 times this year on the radio...almost as many times as I've played it :))

Stort grattis Salem!!! Congratulations and well done! It's very appropriate that the best song of the year is also the most-played.

The second most played song was "Dancing On My Own" by Robyn and third was Darin's version of "Viva La Vida". It proves that in 2010, Swedish radio stations have the best taste in music!

Information courtesy of http://www.salemalfakir.com/ and http://www.radiogalan.se/

New PH3 album on the way

According to this article at http://blog.whoa.nu/2010/09/18/ph3-slapper-skivan-ph3-loser-ett-fall-i-oktober/, rap duo PH3 (made up of Eye N’I and Profilen) will release their latest album "PH3 löser ett fall" on 20th October.

Most of the songs on the album were co-written with a certain Salem Al Fakir, Nils Wallfält and Jakob Birgersson...who also make up PH3's backing band!

"Morgonpasset" - translation wanted!

Request time :)

Would anyone have a translation of Salem's recent appearance on "Morgonpasset i P3"? I listened to the clips from the show at http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2024&artikel=4013038 but found it very hard to translate :)

I'd really appreciate it if anyone would be able to email me a translation of the clips from the SR website, and I'll also publish the translation on the blog if that's OK with you.

Tack så mycket!

"It's True": new mash-up mix!

Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC0SsqBXF-k for a great new mash-up of the Axwell & Ingrosso vs Salem version of "It's True", mixed with the backing track of the new Kylie Minogue song "Get Outta My Way".

The mix is by Ben Double M for www.belgabootlegs.be and I think the two songs work very well together - the result is a very nice, commercial dance track. Enjoy!

Don't be cruel!

Was anyone at the very last night of Mosebacke? This famous Stockholm venue closed for the last time on Saturday 25th September.

I found this video on YouTube tonight featuring a performance last night by the Off Beat Band - another one of Salem's other musical projects of course - with a cover version of Bobby Brown's old hit "Don't Be Cruel", with Salem on lead vocals. Check it out at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYFjb974P84

Off-topic...

Vi gillar olika.

Obviously. It goes without saying....

Join the campaign at http://www.aftonbladet.se/vigillarolika/

Tour dates!!!

Hello again everyone :) I got back this morning from a wonderful holiday in Turkey, although the weather was very hot! So it's good to cool down now :)

Of course you will already know by now that Salem's autumn/winter tour dates have been announced, as follows: (info courtesy of www.blixten.se)

12.11.10 - Tivoli, Helsingborg
13.11.10 - Mejeriet, Lund
14.11.10 - Tyrol, Stockholm
20.11.10 - Sticky Fingers, Gothenburg (2 shows, 16:00 and 21:00)
25.11.10 - Parkteatret, Oslo
26.11.10 - Hulen, Bergen
09.12.10 - Babel, Malmö
11.12.10 - Klubb Molto, Södertälje

One of the most fascinating things about this tour is the support act - none other than a certain Damien Adore!

It was good fun reading this press release, in which Salem talks about his friend Damien....http://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/view/pressrelease/salem-al-fakir-och-damien-adore-paa-turne-tillsammans-477608

I'm off on holiday!

OK everyone, it's time to say goodbye for a little while. I'm off to Turkey tomorrow for a week's holiday, so the blog will be closed for a week and there will be no more updates until Tuesday 21st September.

If you have any information you want to pass on over the next week, please email me or leave your comments and I'll reply to them on my return. I don't want to miss any important news so please keep me updated if there's anything I need to know :))

In the meantime, the forum will remain open so you can "keep on talking" about Salem there :)

I'm going to finish packing my case now....see you all again next week. Bye for now!

/Laura.

Nassim till final !!!!

Grattis Nassim!!!! Yes, he made it through to the final of "Dansfeber" last night thanks to his unforgettable Beyonce "Single Ladies" routine. He didn't just dance like Beyonce, he became Beyonce!!! I've watched this a few times now and it's still so funny every time. I guarantee that you will love it.

Nassim on tomorrow night's "Dansfeber"

Don't forget to tune into TV4's "Dansfeber" tomorrow night - Salem's brother Nassim will be among the contestants and he'll be dancing to Beyonce's "Single Ladies"! Will he be wearing the Beyonce-catsuit, I wonder ???? :)))

The show airs at 20:00 (Swedish time) and will be available later at TV4 Play: www.tv4.se.

Swedish charts update

"Ignore This" has fallen from no. 36 to no. 47 in this week's Sverige Topplistan album chart :(

Salem's back on Morgonpasset next week!

It's been a while since he's been on the show, but next Wednesday morning Salem will be back on "Morgonpasset i P3" with that crazy crew, Martina, Kodjo and Hanna! More information at http://sverigesradio.se/sida/default.aspx?programid=2024

Of course I'll be away on holiday at that time so if any of you have a translation of the interview, this would be very welcome - please email me!!

It's not a Salem gig tomorrow!

Just to clarify that Salem will only be appearing as a guest with the Club Killers band at Hornstull Strand - it will not be a Salem gig after all.

(Apologies if I gave you the wrong idea in my previous post).

Norway?

Does anyone have any more information if Salem's Oslo gig (the one on 17th September which was cancelled) will be rescheduled to a later date, or if Salem has any plans for any more Norwegian shows?

Rockbjörnen video: Linda Sundblad sings "Keep On Walking"

Due to a problem with the internet I missed the start of last week's Rockbjörnen transmission on Aftonbladet's website, therefore I also missed host Linda Sundblad's medley of all the songs nominated for Årets låt - song of the year.

But thanks to Aftonbladet, you can watch this again at http://www.aftonbladet.se/webbtv/noje/article7734919.ab - it's a medley of "Keep On Walking"/"Unstoppable"/"Manboy"/"Nothing Without You"/"Från Och Med Du" sung in a jazzy-lounge style!

Arbetarbladet's Gävle review: do you agree?

Stefan Westrin in Arbetarbladet enjoyed Salem's performance with the Gävle Symfoniorkester yesterday at the reopening of Stortorget, and awarded it three stars: http://arbetarbladet.se/noje/recensioner/pascen/1.2306009-svarflortad-publik-gick-igang-till-sist

It's a frank and honest review and here's a translation of some of it:

"Apart from some fans near the stage, it was a fairly disengaged audience, but Al Fakir did his best to get the mood and when he launched into Good Song from his debut album it began to swing. With the symphony orchestra, it became an ultra-stylish show of soul funk disco that sounded as good as Earth, Wind & Fire... Astronaut offered dramatic strings and and it sounded better than on disc"

"But the quadruple Grammy winner was still fighting the stiff headwind in the audience, although it was loosened in 4 O'Clock...But the grand finale of course is the song that should have won Melodifestivalen: Keep On Walking is a colossal hit and the audience belonging to the upper age group sweeps their hands in the air and look really happy instead of somewhat bored. I can not help but feel a bit sorry for Al Fakir. This is not the most fun audience he encountered. I have seen him at both small and large venues include music festivals and then there has always been good reaction. Gävle Symphony Orchestra put hard work into arranging Al Fakir's songs for orchestra and it is somewhat sad that the only time it received thunderous applause was after the song contest hit. But both he and the orchestra did a good job. He can avoid a free ungrateful audience, and concentrate on playing for people who really want to see him next time he comes to Gävle."

Do you agree with this review? Was the Gävle audience as unresponsive as the reviewer described? If you were at Gävle, tell us your story about the show, and I'd love to read the setlist too!

Salem on "Keep On Walking"....

A nice little interview with Salem, by Stefan Westrin, which he did before his concert at the re-opening of Gävle Torget yesterday. I found it at http://arbetarbladet.se/noje/musik/1.2304500-salem-invigde-det-nya-stortorget
where Salem talks about "Keep On Walking" and its enduring appeal. He revealed that he wrote the song on 19th July 2009.

"I sat with a guitar, played with chords and it was a loop that came up. I recorded it on the phone to remember it; then a few weeks later we went into the studio to record the album, "Ignore This", when I picked it up again. That time I was sitting at a keyboard, and it was there the whole string part and the text came...I wrote the song very quickly".

"I thought it was a song that many would like, so I chose it as the first single. And when Melodifestivalen asked if I wanted to take part as the joker, I was not surprised by the offer, in fact, for they had asked earlier and had I declined. But this time I felt that I had a song that I would actually like to experiment with. They said, "do exactly what you want", and I could do what I always do, and this time in Melodifestivalen.I had not anticipated that it would go so well in the contest....I saw it as an experiment, and I believe that in all successful experiments, you go in with an open mind and try to clear up any preconceptions".

"I sometimes wonder what it is in the song, which appeals to so many....I think there is a simplicity in it that make it easy to absorb....But my particular favorite on the album is actually a different song: "Split My Personality". I hope to be able to play both the songs when I play on the square today".

When I first heard "Ignore This", "Split My Personality" sounded to me like one of the obvious songs which Salem should play live, so I was very surprised when it wasn't part of his live set during the summer tour. (Maybe that's why it's his favourite song, because he doesn't play it all the time? :)))

Anyway, can anyone tell me if Salem played "Split My Personality" in Gävle, as he promised in the interview? I just wondered what it sounded like in the live setting, especially with the backing of the orchestra.

Hornstull this Friday!

Did I say it was all over?

Here's news about another gig!

Salem will be appearing at Club Killers at Hornstull Strand in Stockholm this Friday, 10th September. More info at http://hornstullstrand.se/?p=4958

And now....time for a break!

So, the summer tour is finally over. Over the past few months Salem has toured all over Sweden, bringing his musical magic to the people. If you've seen Salem and the band play live, then you'll know just how special an experience that is, and that the memories will stay with you for a long long time to come.

Salem, Adam, Jakob, Nisse and all the "crew" - thank you for providing the soundtrack to a fantastic summer, and entertaining the audiences in the north, south, east and west of Sweden - and in Finland and Norway too, of course! I hope you all enjoyed the tour and that it was a special summer for you all.

I also want to thank all the readers of Planet Salem for all the comments and emails over the summer, this blog is going from strength to strength and the readership is growing all the time. As I said a few days ago, there probably won't be much news to report for a while so it'll be a bit quieter here, but in the meantime, remember that there is now a forum on this site if you want to chat about Salem! Keep the emails and comments coming too :)

(Planet Salem will be temporarily closed between 13th and 21st September as I'll be away on holiday, but if there's any news you want to pass on between those dates, please email or leave comments and I'll reply to you on my return)

And finally, Salem.....have a good holiday, enjoy the rest of the year and may your creativity continue to flow....looking forward to hearing what you are going to do next!!!

Hugs,
/Laura.

Gävle flash mob

Here's a fun clip from today's Gävle show, when a flash mob started dancing during Salem's set... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7LUrdHXzgY

Gävle on Sunday afternoon

Don't forget that Salem will be appearing at the opening of Gävle Torget at 15:00 Swedish time, on Sunday afternoon - it should be pretty special as he'll be accompanied by the Gävle Symfoniorkester. More info at http://www.gavlesymfoniorkester.se/gs_konserter.php?TemaId=5&KategoriId=&month=0&freetext=&page=&action=detail&id=667

It's going to be very special, as it's Salem's final live show of the summer, and it's a free concert too! So if you are in or around Gävle then get along there and show your support ...and remember to tell us all about it.

Ladies and gentlemen....we have a forum at last!!

Click 'Forum' at the top of the page and it will take you to.....(big fanfare....)

The Planet Salem Forum!!

I've been trying to set this up for a while and finally it's worked for me. Hope it works for all of you too. Feel free to post at any time...you're all very welcome :)

And don't forget that you can still leave comments on all my posts at Planet Salem - click 'Home' at the top of the page to get back to the blog.

Enjoy!

/Laura.

Uppsala Nya Tidning's review of last night's show

Andreas Jakobsson in Uppsala Nya Tidning gives a three-star review of last night's show at Katalin, at http://www.unt.se/kultur/tillstramat-med-fa-spontana-inslag-1031195.aspx

The reviewer highlights that Salem does not appear to be as spontaneous on stage as he used to be, that "the hare-brained ideas are toned down (from three years ago when the reviewer saw two concerts by Salem)...On stage he is concentrating more on music and less on being wonderfully crazy".

At the end of the article the reviewer notes that "As an artist he has generally become more difficult to grasp. He is not the guy who laughs through an entire interview or walks around with a grin on his face all the time anymore. He is more like a mainstream artist who makes unusual music for ordinary people, and often becomes too comfortable where he sits behind the piano...when he presents a little derailment in the ironic "I'm So Happy" there is a longing to come back to the artist who did something unexpected a little too often".

He may not be as "crazy" as he used to be, but I was just wondering about one thing - is Salem still leaping off his piano stool at the end of "Keep On Walking"? (I've seen some video clips on YouTube of him doing this and I get so worried sometimes that he'll get hurt!!)

The tour is almost over....

This weekend, Salem's long summer tour finally comes to an end. It's been great fun all through the summer, writing about the tour, posting your comments and reading your emails.

And after the tour, Salem will now get that well-earned break - he deserves it and of course I hope he takes a nice long "time out" but being the workaholic that he is, it won't be long till he's back at work, as he's mentioned in a few recent interviews that he'll be writing some new music soon. Which is great news for all of us, but I just hope that he gets a good rest before going back to work!

Of course, things will also get a bit quieter here at Planet Salem after next week as there won't be so much to report, but this blog "keeps on walking" :) so if you have any reviews, pictures etc that you would like me to publish on here, please email them to me. Also if you have any ideas for polls and other fun features, please let me know! :)

Tack!!
/Laura.

Swedish charts update

"Ignore This" has dropped from no.27 to no.36 in this week's Sverige Topplistan album chart.

Rockbjörnen photos / Uppsala Nya Tidning interview

A couple of photos of Salem which were taken before last night's award ceremony :)

(courtesy of www.facebook.com/salemalfakir)

(courtesy of http://www.posh24.se/)

Uppsala Nya Tidning has an interview with Salem prior to his first of two sold-out Uppsala gigs at http://www.unt.se/kultur/fran-underbarn-till-utsalda-hus-1029652.aspx

In this interview, Salem discussed his musical childhood and was asked how good he is on the violin and piano: "I'm actually pretty good. I haven't practiced violin for so long but on the piano, I am pretty good at the genre I play, I'm good at adapting and have a good ear".

On his initial success and awards: "I was very happy, but I do not write music to win prizes. I have been going on for so long and it's been such a long process with me. Success is a way to reach out to more people, so I see it as a way towards what I want to achieve".

When asked if he has sacrificed anything, Salem said: "I've put a tremendous amount of time on the job through the years and forgotten about a bit that there is a life also, on the side. I want to invest a bit more in life now. That is what is most important".

Finally, on Melodifestivalen - "... I had a life before Melodifestivalen and think I'll have one afterwards too. And it is a much longer journey. Little things like that are very funny, but they are not the main thing in life...it was a one-time thing".

A review from Katalin will be published tomorrow at www.unt.se. In the meantime, feast your eyes on this very nice picture which was taken at Katalin tonight by Sven-Olof Ahlgren for UNT.

Örebro tomorrow!

Salem will be playing the Ritz nightclub in Örebro tomorrow night, in between his two Uppsala gigs. If you're going - enjoy the show!

Södertälje - 11th December!

From Facebook tonight (thanks Leila & Madelene!)

Good news! Here's a new live date for your diaries. Salem will be playing in Södertälje on 11th December. More info at http://moltolive.nu/salem-al-fakir/

Rockbjörnen

Did you all see the show? It was three hours long.....a bit too long actually, when you consider that there were only a few awards to be given out.

Of course I'm very disappointed that there were no awards for our main man tonight - all I can say is: Salem, you will always be a winner to me, and that will never change! Anyway I'd like to offer my congratulations to Oskar Linnros on his two awards tonight - well done!

Also it was nice to see Salem being interviewed not once but twice - firstly with Nassim and then on his own.

My thanks to all of you who voted for Salem. Next stop, the Grammisgalan :)

Uppsala tomorrow and Saturday

Finally, Salem's long summer tour is now coming to an end. He'll be at Katalin in Uppsala with the band tomorrow night, and again on Saturday night. More info at http://www.katalin.com/

Please note that both gigs are now sold out. Enjoy the shows (if you were lucky enough to get tickets) and remember to tell us about it here :)

Rockbjörnen tonight!!

Tonight's the night.....good luck Salem!!!!

Republished from this morning's Aftonbladet, here's the full running order of tonight's show which starts at 19:55 Swedish time (18:55 UK time).

19.55 Sändningarna från Rockbjörnen börjar!

20.13 Vinnare av Årets svenska låt presenteras.
Prisutdelare: Programledare Linda Sundblad.
Nominerade: Salem Al Fakir – Keep on walking, Oskar Linnros – Från och med nu, Ola – Unstoppable, Mando Diao – Nothing without you och Eric Saade – Manboy.

20.18 Vinnare av Årets konsert presenteras.
Prisutdelare: Markus Larsson.
Nominerade: Tokio hotel, Lars Winnerbäck, Kent, Lady, Gaga och Mando Diao.

20.22 Vinnare av Årets utländska låt presenteras.
Prisutdelare: Linda Sundblad.
Nominerade: Tokio hotel – World behind my wall, Justin Bieber – Baby, Lady Gaga – Bad romance, Lady Gaga – Telephone och Lady Gaga Alejandro.

20.28 Liveakt nummer 1 – The Ark.

21.08 Vinnare av Årets livegrupp presenteras.
Prisutdelare: Carl Bildt och Maria Wetterstrand.
Nominerade: Mando Diao, Kent, Hoffmaestro & Chraa, The Ark och In Flames.

21.14 Vinnare av Årets kvinnliga Liveartist presenteras.
Prisutdelare: Nour El Rafai.
Nominerade: Amanda Jenssen, Melissa Horn, Agnes, Robyn och Anna Bergendahl.

21.16 Liveakt nummer 2 – hemlig artist.

22.07 Vinnare av Årets festival presenteras.
Pristudelare: Jerry Williams.
Nominerade: Arvika, Metaltown, Sweden Rock, Getaway Rock och Peace & Love.

22.14 Vinnare av Årets genombrott presenteras.
Prisutdelare: Tove Styrke.
Nominerade: Eric Saade, Anna Bergendahl, Justin Bieber, Andreas Grega och Oskar Linnros.

22.16 Liveakt nummer 3 – hemlig artist.

22.49 Vinnare av Årets manliga liveartist presenteras.
Prisutdelare: Josephine Bornebusch.
Nominerade: Ola, Eric Saade, Lars Winnerbäck, Oskar Linnros och Salem Al Fakir.

22.51 Liveakt nummer 4 – hemlig grupp.

Cirka 23.00 Livesändningarna från Rockbjörnen är slut för i år.

Wonder if Salem will be among the "hemlig artists"???
Anyway it looks as if it will be a good show, and may the best artists win!