Kamferdrops is due to participate in tonight’s Melodifestivalen semifinal. However, Swedish tabloid Nöjesbladet has just revealed that Kamferdrops’ song, Solen lever kvar hos dig, has been available online for over eight years.
The artist Jonny Fagerman released the song on both MySpace and YouTube with the title Solen lever kvar. He claims to have had the rights to the song since 2009, and has performed it live several times as well as shared it on his Facebook page.
I recorded it as a demo a long time ago because I might’ve released it properly, but I never got rid of it.
For a song to compete in Melodifestivalen, it must not have been performed publicly before. It must not have been made available online or released on disc, nor can it have been publicly disclosed.
Jonny Fagerman’s Solen Lever Kvar
Jonny’s song is no longer available online; it has been removed from both MySpace and YouTube, but it is still possible to see that it has been played several times on MySpace, and that several people had the video favourited on YouTube.
According to Jonny, the songwriters, Herbert Trus and Dan Attlerud, contacted him last year telling him to never play the song again.
They got in touch and told me that I can’t use the song in any way, so I haven’t. They wanted me to not use it because they might use it in Melodifestivalen.
The songwriter’s reaction
When Nöjesbladet showed the clip of Jonny’s Solen lever kvar to the songwriters, the tabloid claims that they became “visibly shaken” and confirm that it is a demo version. Herbert Trus says:
Yes, it is a demo version, from 2006. Kamferdrop’s record label heard several songs and contacted us, so we gave her the song. Jonny Fagerman has no permission to perform the song. Where would he have played it? It is possible that the songs were on Facebook or MySpace, but he must’ve done that illegally, we didn’t give him permission for that.
Dan Attlerud adds:
We don’t understand. We didn’t want this song to be played publicly, and what Jonny has done is not nice. The question is if we should take legal action. I’m not an aggressive person, but it’s not nice at all that this could affect our Melodifestivalen participation.
They deny Jonny’s claim that they contacted him telling him to not play the song any more.
Christer Björkman: “This is a grey area”
In 2016, Anna Book’s Himmel för två was disqualified after it was found that it had participated in Moldova’s selection several years before. Christer Björkman, the Melodifestivalen producer, admits that there is no doubt that the two songs are the same:
I have to look at facts and talk to the authors. I’ll speak with Jonny Fagerman and come up with a solution. It depends on his intentions; did he mean to interfere, or was it all a misunderstanding?
When asked if Kamferdrops may be disqualified, Christer says:
If there is some wrongdoing going on, there may be a disqualification. But I found it hard to see if there is a third party whose fault it is. It’s a grey area.
Kamferdrops: “I didn’t hear from anyone else”
When reached for comment, all that Kamferdrops had to say was:
Nothing is confirmed yet, I don’t know anything yet. I haven’t heard any other song, I helped write this one, it was way later than 2009. I don’t want to talk about this, I’ll talk about it at the press conference later.
What do you think of this news? Should Kamferdrops be disqualified from Melodifestivalen? Do you like Solen lever kvar hos dig?
Let us know in the comments below and on social media @ESCXTRA!
Comments on Kamferdrops’ Melodifestivalen entry has been available online since 2009