I know, Melodifestivalen is over. I should move on. But I'm fascinated with the idea that Swedish producers and musicians are behind most of our American pop music, and we don't even know it. Pacific Standard published an article this week that explains why Sweden's unique brand of pop music has taken over American airwaves.
"So how did Sweden, a sparsely populated Nordic country where it's dark for much of the year, become a world capital of pop music?"
In the 1940s, conservative leaders in Sweden established a system of music schools that would be open and affordable to all. Their intent was to encourage young students to study classical music, and to keep out foreign influences of pop and rock n' roll. Over the years, school curriculum evolved to include pop; and today, there are studies in mixing and EDM (electronic dance music). So now, you have an enormous, government-run organization that is educating young Swedes about the exact kind of music it was designed to prohibit.
In the early 2000s, the Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, and Britney Spears were based out of Florida, but all of their songs were coming from Stockholm. And when Katy Perry shattered records in 2010 and 2011 by spending a consecutive 69 weeks in the Billboard Top 10, there was a Swede behind her. But we don't even realize it. And that's why Eurovision is important, that's why I am obsessed with Sweden.
Read the full report here.
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