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ALBUMS OF THE YEAR 2013: MARCO MENGONI, RAFAEL DE ALBA, ROBBIE WILLIAMS

End of the year, time to wrap up some lists. I sat down, tried to get sorted out the albums I have loved, listened, admired the most in 2013...

#1. No doubt about the first one: Marco Mengoni's #prontoacorrere. It played on repeat from its release to late summer. The singles L'Essenziale, Pronto a correre and Non passerai are all fabulous but I adore also Non me ne accorgo, La vita non ascolta, La valle dei re, Una parola... in fact I like all the songs on the album! And know most of them by heart by now. My love and adoration for this album is well documented in this blog so let's move on....

#2. The second one, Rafael De Alba's debut album En sueño maybe a late addition, but since I got it in early December I haven't stopped listening it. Also, whoever I have played it, likes it, too! Are you still asking who is he? He's the one who wrote Melissa's Point of no return and Rebecca's Let's try again for the Swiss national selections, and Auryn's El sol brillerá for Destino Eurovision in Spain. But expect no discobeats on this album. It's acoustic, even slow, carried away by Rafael's tender vocals, great melodies and atmospheres to sink into. You may remember his Chelsea boy, a Spanish Eurovision wannabe but I can say for me that's the weakest song on the album. You can listen some of the songs (and order the album) here. Worth mentioning is also a fantastic version of Antti Kleemola's Sun puolella from Euroviisut 2010, De tu lado


#3. I loved Robbie's Swing when you are winning and when I heard about Swings both ways I couldn't wait for it, and it was worth the wait. I have always thought he's perfectly at home in this grooner entertainer habitus, more than a pop star. A fantastic mix of old and new and covers of his own tracks like Swing supreme, what more can you ask for? (A ticket to his two sold out concerts in Helsinki next spring perhaps?) I could listen to this anywhere, anytime. In repeat. Puts me in a good mood instantly. And what an Eurovision artist Robbie Williams would be. BBC, hello?!

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