Patrik Öhlund and Madelene Hamberg are the songwriters of the song “Here I Am” by Ruta Duduma, which is competing in Dziesma 2013. We are excited to have had time to talk with them about their entry.
ESC UNITED: Hello Patrik and Madelene. Congratulations on making it to the next stage of Dziesma 2013. Tell us a bit about yourselves and how you became songwriters.
PATRIK: I been a singer/performer in 25 years with peaks in “Fame Factory” 2005 (A Swedish TV show music competition, second place) And Swedish Idol 2009 (top 14) The oldest that far =) . I have been writing songs for the most of my musical life. Mostly just for fun and development until i met Madelene 2006. I always had problems in writing good lyrics, it took me to much time. Madelene is a natural lyricist and the words come easily. We´we written about 50 songs together since then, and had some success in Swedish Radio.
MADELENE: I been writing “since i was a little girl with ribbons in my hair” (Quote from “Here I Am”) . When I met Patrik i understood that my talent was real although I’m not a musician. And now a few years later my songs been played on the radio many times, and in 2014 a Swedish artist is gonna release a record with 3 of our songs on it.
ESC UNITED: How would describe your songs?
PATRIK: Often when we write together we compose the music and the lyrics at the same time. And that was also the case with “Here I Am” . The music process was pretty easy, Madelene had her vision and i created the music with that vision in my head. It´s a ballad that we find better for every time you listen to it, it really grows on you.
MADELENE: I had a specific girl in my mind when i wrote the lyrics. The lyrics is about a girls struggle and aim to fulfill her dream.
ESC UNITED: What led you to deciding to submitting these songs to Dziesma 2013?
PATRIK: Our Publisher Keith Almgren the owner of Sweden Songs asked us if we would like to send “Here I Am” to Dziesma.
ESC UNITED: So where were you when you found out they both made it? What was the first thing you did?
PATRIK: I where at home when Keith called me and told me the great news. I called Madelene and we decided to celebrate on a restaurant with some wine and dinner.
MADELENE: I was on the bus on my way home from work when Keith called me. I asked him about 3 or 4 times if it was true. =) . And then Patrik called me.
ESC UNITED: Tell us about who are performing the songs.
PATRIK: It was a teamwork between the record company, Sweden Songs and us. We feel that Ruta Duduma sings the song with such perfect expression and make in someway the story come true. We are really happy that she liked the song!
ESC UNITED: Now that we are a few days away from Dziesma 2013, how are you feeling? How are you and your team preparing for your Semi-Final?
PATRIK: We are feeling really good and looking forward to visit Riga this coming weekend. You cant prepare yourself for something like this, we´re just going with the flow and gonna have a good time in Riga!
ESC UNITED: What do you believe is the key to winning a song contest like Dziesma or Eurovision?
PATRIK: Thats a tough question. =) The key is a really good song and a perfect artist for the song, who is singing the song from the heart and makes the audience feel something. We think Ruta Duduma is singing “Here I Am” in that way and hopefully it will reach the final.
ESC UNITED: Do you have any favorite Eurovision songs?
PATRIK: Loreen “Euphoria” is a really great song! And many more!
MADELENE: Johnny Logan “Hold Me Now”
ESC UNITED: What advice would you give to anyone interested in songwriting?
PATRIK: Well i always try to follow my heart when i work with music. If you dont put your heart in it, it want feel right!
MADELENE: Don’t try to desperately find the hard and finest words, just write down what comes to you!
ESC UNITED: Any closing thoughts you would you like to share with your fans?
PATRIK: We are really looking forward to visit Riga. And we hope that the people of Latvia and the jury will take our song to their hearts, and vote! =) We are very happy and we’ll see you soon!
ESC UNITED: Patrik and Madelene, thank you so much. Safe trip to Riga, and best of luck this weekend!
Catch Patrik and Madelene’s song at Dziesma 2013! “Here I Am” will be performed by Ruta Dudumaon on February 9, 2013.
Roy van der Merwe
February 7, 2013 at 05:23
For some reason the comment went off before I was finished. Sweden had an entry iin RIGA with FAME and GIVE ME YOUR LOVE. Maybe this is a godo sign – sicne they are entering for LATVIA.
Roy van der Merwe
February 7, 2013 at 05:21
I remenber of course FAME too, as FAME was an entry in
Len
February 6, 2013 at 18:47
I have high hopes for Patrik. He has been a favorite as a singer since FAME FACTORY, and when he was on IDOL it was a shame that he picked a poor song and was voted off. He deserves great success, and maybe now he will find it as a songwriter.