Back to Top

Euphoria

by Loreen

This year’s Swedish Eurovision winner even managed to work its way into the UK charts, and its extensive use of parallel melodic motion between the bass and melody is an unusual treat. Most of the motions are in thirds, starting with the small upward and downward excursions heard under “evermore” (0:08) and “open door” (0:15) respectively, and moving to more extended chains of parallel thirds during the chorus on lines such as “forever till the end of time” at 1:34. There are also some nice parallel fifths on the last “on” (for example, 1:58). At heart, this ear-catching device is so simple that I can hardly believe it’s not used more often in chart tunes. Perhaps I should be careful what I wish for, though. Following Loreen’s success, we’ll probably be drowning in parallel thirds by Christmas.