Tonight, Sweden will have their third semifinal in their road to selecting the entry which will represent them in Copenhagen. We were lucky enough to have had the chance to speak to Ace Wilder ahead of the show!
escXtra: Hey Ace! Thank you for speaking to us today, I imagine you’re getting busy now!
Ace Wilder: A little bit but it’s fun!
X: So how do you feel now just a few days before your Melodifestivalen début?
AW: I’m actually pretty nervous but I’m excited too.
X: Because it’s your first time? You’re this new girl on the block and we’ve already seen Ellen Benediktson go to the Final, so do things like that fill you with confidence?
AW: A little bit but you never know. I’m trying not to think about it.
X: Okay so we will forget about Saturday and move on to three Saturdays time then?!
AW: Yeah!
X: We know a little bit about you but could you tell us a bit more about you and your music and the genre of music you like to make most?
AW: Well, I actually consider myself, without being pompous, to be an authentic pop artist. I love pop music. I love to mix pop music with other genres but that’s just kind of what I do, what I love to do. I love to write pop music!
X: Which is probably why you’re writing with Joy & Linnéa Deb!
AW: That’s right!
X: Why did you decide to participate in Melodifestivalen 2014?
AW: It wasn’t really planned. I wrote with Joy & Linnéa and my record label was like “let’s just try to get it into Melodifestivalen” and I was like “okay!”. So when we got to hear that I made it, we were all a little bit shocked and stunned for a week!
X: Can we expect something in a similar vein to your previously released singles or is it going to be something different?
AW: The thing is, it’s always going to be pop music cause my melodies are very ‘pop’ but there is going to be different influences too. It’s gonna be pop feelings, all the stuff that I do.
X: In a recent interview, you said you believed in the 5:2 method – five days of work and two days of party. Will we see that kind of influence in your Melodifestivalen song and performance?
AW: Well, this is the thing. This song is kinda about being lazy and living life so it might be a lot of partying, not just two days a week! The song is based on a summer I had a while ago.
X: Slightly different then?
AW: Yeah, slightly.
X: Joy and Linnéa won Melodifestivalen last year having written Robin Stjernberg’s “You”. Did that influence your decision to work with them or was that always something in the plans?
AW: Our management contacted each other and I didn’t really know at the time that they were behind that song, so it was just a total surprise when I found out later. I was a little out of it, so I didn’t know.
X: So you’re in a semifinal with some big names, to say the least, including Shirley Clamp, dr. alban and Oscar Zia, do you see them as the biggest competition to reach the final or is that not something that’s crossed your mind?
AW: Of course, of course, they’re awesome. They’re super good and it’s going to be a hard competition. I try not to think about this as a competition, that’s the thing, because you just never know what’s going to happen.
X: Are you using this as a stage, then, to showcase your music to the Swedish audience en masse?
AW: Yeah!
X: What is your formula, as such, to convince Sweden to vote for you? Have you got some on-stage elements, is it just the hook in your pop song?
AW: You know, the thing is, my whole presentation of my song, I just let it show who I am and what I can do and the song is a little bit unexpected so I just hope people are going to enjoy the surprise.
X: Are you a Eurovision fan yourself? You’re American born aren’t you?
AW: American raised!
X: So are you an American raised Eurovision fan?
AW: I’ve just got to know what Eurovision was a few years ago and I think my favourite Eurovision song ever would be “Dover-Calais” by Style back in Melodifestivalen 1986.
X: Do you have a message for your fans and the readers of our website?
AW: I’m excited to show everyone who I am and what I do and I hope that everyone enjoys it.
X: Thank you so much for speaking to us, Ace! Lycka till!
AW: I don’t wanna say thank you as it can be bad luck, so I’ll just give you a thumbs up!
The third semifinal of Melodifestivalen 2014 will be aired tonight at 20:00 CET on SVT1.
