Eurovision Song Contest 2014: "#JoinUs"

Semifinal allocations happen on Monday! Whet your appetite by watching the Robin Thicke impersonator charged with representing Belarus:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WBxIWsP9oM

Here's Ukraine's entry:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oBCsNoloy4

Ukraine is a disappointment.

Looking forward to seeing what Conchita Wurst comes up with.

Italian song sounds very Italian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mtgyseWeaQ

oops didn't mean to embed

"Cheesecake" is so bad it sullies the memory of ILOVEBELARUS

After the sad non-pre-selection of My Lesbian Girl I'm now 100% behind Doinita Gherman's awesome rock-ethno-disco banger "Energy" to represent Moldova:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS6QnE-lAv0

If you squint, this is basically a K-Pop track.

Have a feeling this will be great live. Moldova almost always punches above it's weight.

Conchita Wurst is actually not that great, guys. Don't expect a whole lot.

For mine, Hungary has the front-runner so far:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b2GYRRbv50

Finland missed an opportunity, not sending this Robyn-esque but also kinda 80s electro-pop number, could have been this year's "I Feed You My Love":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIVcg1U1M0Y

They sent an adequate song with guitars instead.

Latvia may be the worst song in the competition's recent memory.

I kind of like Latvia...and Iceland.

Fully recognise that it's horrible though.

Cheesecake > Cake To Bake.

(The official promo video for "Cheesecake" is if anything even funnier than the live performance)

Poland return with one of the most Eastern European looking videos I've ever seen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr1DSgjhRqE

Cheesecake is the worst, even worse than Spain.

Still surprised that Poland have decided not to throw the contest for once and sent something half-decent.

Need to find a good stream for Melodifestivalen, there's a band called 'Pink Pistols' and I'm really hoping for a Vanilla Ninja 'Cool Vibes' style track.

"Cheesecake" is basically a pre-2010 German entry with Belarusian production values.

xp Pink Pistols is this year's sop to the old-and-gay contingent iirc

The broadcaster of Melodifestivalen is pretty hard on streams and youtubes and such. But you can torrent the heats pretty easily if you want to see Pink Pistols. (Also, slsk). The song's no good either, the above is correct.

Ah ok cheers for the info, bring on Turkvision then.

that finland reject is good (tho not as OTT as 'i feed you my love'). i really like the modulation on the chorus.

also the video's set reminds me of the bar in parks and recreation.

I like the Italy song a lot.

Also PAULA FUCKING SELLING & OVI are contesting the Romanian preselection tomorrow! This is the song, a bit more Guetta than duelling pianos, and there are a few melodic bits that skirt very close to being pinched from something else (I'm thinking of this song called "Changes In My Life" that I have heard in the occasional gay bar), but it'd comfortably sit in the top half of entries so far.

Clear highlight of the Irish selection show:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX-ClGVhgBQ

yurk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX-ClGVhgBQ

Ovi & Paula for Romania. YES!

I've listened to four Norwegian pre-selecation candidates and three of them sounded like Bruno Mars. What gives?

Ovi/Paula don't have much of a song though; I might like it better if they resurrect the transparent fire-breathing double piano.

The French song is growing on me! I think I'm just happy there will be at least one guaranteed unserious song in the final.

This should have won the Romanian selection though:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olxLFrTQcJw

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olxLFrTQcJw

<3 this guy too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjqT_ZZ3yUM

UK entry, cos I know everyone's been refreshing this thread daily:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wFUPCkmlOo

I guess it's more in tune with what the contest sounds like these days...kind of miss the way that Engelbert/Bonnie stuck out from the crowd.

CHILDREN! CHILDREN! FUTURE! FUTURE!

Verses are alright, chorus is a big bloaty bubble of nothing, though the backing singers are neat. It'll do OK.

eek

Spent a few more hours with Norway. The Norwegian preselections are generally of a high quality, and it was actually only two songs sounded like Bruno Mars. Sorry. Any of the 15 songs over the three heats would do respectably in the contest, I think. My favourite, which won't go anywhere, is the magnificent "Needs" by Dina Misund, but it probably only appeals to people who like Marit Larsen and Kacey Musgraves. I would have given it a 7 out of 10 a few days ago but now I'm sure it's a 9.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnJzmepjh1Q

The Carl Espen song will probably win the whole thing though. Big windswept Coldplay ballad with tremulousness (if not effect) turned up to 10. Not my bag but there's a big market for it. I like the Knut Kippersund Nesdal and Charlie songs a lot too, though they are both kind of trash.

woof that uk song is not good. also her mononym is seriously molly? in 2014? yuuuck

Hoping for an Ace Wilder or even Alcazar upset in Sweden on Sunday...

This is a nice song that won't win the German selection:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8Gju-38tco

Yeah it's yet another good "Fade to Grey"-esque synth pop song. Her other song is called "Cotton Candy Hurricane" and I'm like wtf are you Ian Broudie or something. I fear Germany is going to pick The Baseballs. I actually think most of the contemporary artists are competent and would do fine. Not big on the oompah Kate Nash of Elaiza though.

Madeline Juno's songs aren't flattered by the 3 minute running time but she's young and likeable. Oceana is a bit like a less good version of Danish singer Nabiha but the songs are pleasant. One of the Unheilig songs is really good, and if Das Gezeichnete Ich aren't quite up to A-ha standard, they're certainly about as good as Polarkreis 18 were.

Also Ace Wilder and Alcazar are very plausible winners! Helena Paparizou and Sanna Nielsen are dominating the online polls but those things are always way more pro-schlager than the final result, HP's song is shit and on this occasion I will be happy when the excitable homosexuals get disappointed. Ace Wilder is the worthy winner I think.

That said I think Linus Svenning is going to be the winner.

So close :(

God damn it. I blame Anton Ewald for slagging Sanna Nielsen off in the press, saying something like "You can either send Sanna Nielsen, or a pop star". She wins, he comes last! Oof.

Don't think much of the Danish or Slovenian picks either.

Though lol if Russia do choose the Tolmachevy Twins (was up on Wikipedia but seems to have been rolled back).

To be fair, not a single one of the options for those two countries was any good.

This is exactly the kind of Swedish entry that lands at #9 despite bookmakers top 3-ing it we saw every year before Loreen.

To be fair it's not voter repellant like "This is My Life" or "La Voix" were.

Yeah it's just mediocre and old-fashioned. Mid-table will be doing well imo.

Oh Germany, why why why did you go mit die oompah Kate Nash :(

On the bright side, Georgia are sending this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdgGlv4eTf8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uB4JMw4ctc#t=32

Israel's good. Plus the Hebrew verse sounds like she is singing "I touch your dick".

So runck.

How did France come last in this???

Well, I was at a gig where Olympia totally won everything, and it's super nice to come back to find Austria won. Yes, it's the extra-musical narrative that makes it for me, but honestly Conchita needed to win.

Haven't gone through all the split votes but France were consistently out of the bottom six for most of the countries but obviously virtually never in the top ten.

Saw this graphic doing the rounds.

https://31.media.tumblr.com/c6298da4bacdf0e89ed14dd5c0b39697/tumblr_n5f2lkEqvt1sube5lo1_500.jpg

Yeah, they published the full details and the Poland-Malta swing is massive. It's well illustrated by the fact that Poland came first in both the UK and Ireland televoting but got no points from either since they came last in both jury rankings. Anyone voting for Poland was essentially wasting their time.

far more aggravating than any of the imagined political stuff and presumably much more to do with the kind of tossers that get appointed as "industry experts"

The UK panel was headed by TV vocal coach and former Fame Academy judge Carrie Grant and included soprano Laura Wright, music producer Steve Allen, DJ Candice McKenzie and writer/composer Gus Gowland.

Do away with the jury. Pointless

http://www.eurovision.tv/page/results?event=1893&voter=GB

Changing from combining the top 10 from televote and top 10 from jury, so if you come in the top 5 on the televote you're guaranteed at least a point, and moving to juries rating all the songs really ups the potential for a jury to scupper a song in particular it doesn't like. And you can see that the jury for Azerbaijan has essentially done just this. Note that Romania was thought to have been a similar victim of this last year but the EBU didn't post the hard data, and it has this year. Transparency is good! Perhaps the British jury this year just doesn't like Polish people and a whole bunch of other jurists didn't like Romanian people very much, but I wouldn't make such an accusation lightly.

Still really narked about Israel's dreadful showing - second last in the semis only ahead of Georgia! Admittedly in a semi which produced a lot of the contenders, but still, Mei Feingold was awesome.

How can Israel take part in this, since it's not actually in, near or part of Europe?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Broadcasting_Area

Oh, I see - http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Broadcasting_Union - nothing to do with "Europe"

Does this mean all the countries in blue there on thewikipedia page could take part if they wanted to?

Indeed, xp

And the area answers that question too,thx

It's confusing, this Europe thing. And I'm supposed to vote for something European in a couple of weeks.

I remember Morocco taking part.

I think that there was a story a few years back that Lebanon was going to participate, but as they'd planned to not show the Israeli entry they weren't allowed in.

True. Aline Lahoud was supposed to participate with a frankly boring entry in French. (If she'd sent a song like her amazing and hugely gay-friendly dance anthem "It's Over" then it would have genuinely been a huge loss).

People have been speculating wildly that if Israel withdraws next year Lebanon might actually turn up.

Another quirk is that there is nothing in the rules to say that the performer has to be a national of the country they are representing. Celine Dion is Canadian but represented Switzerland and Vicky Leandros is Greek but representd Luxembourg. The official line is that the entry is the song, not the performer.

There's also nothing that says the song has to be written by nationals of the country. Even "great new songwriting talent" Molly Smitten-Downes' song was co-written with a Swede (I don't have any reason to doubt that she wrote most of it herself and it was just tweaked by the collaborator, but still).

To say nothing of Azerbaijan outsourcing their songs, or Ralph Siegel writing entries for every country going, or the very fluid representation of the former Yugoslav republics. Or David Brandes writing both the German _and_ Swiss entries in 2005. It's v. wacky.

In recent years Swedish songwriters have been involved in the writing of entries from several countries. For instance, in 2010 the songs from Denmark, Norway, Ireland and Azerbaijan were written entirely or partly by Swedes, in 2011 the songs from Russia and Azerbaijan, in 2012 the songs from Italy, United Kingdom, Ireland, Malta, Greece, Cyprus, Norway, Azerbaijan and Spain and in 2013 the songs from Georgia, Finland, Norway, Russia, Netherlands and Azerbaijan.

Was going to say that Swedish songwriters are all over this competition - I assume no-one in Azerbaijan and Russia can actually write music or lyrics - but there didn't seem to be as much of them this year (LOL @ UK jumping on the bandwagon when everyone else is getting off).

FWIW, didn't like the winning song, bombastic showtunes are not really my bag. Also don't buy all the blarney about the supposed significance of a drag queen winning Eurovision - everyone knows Eurovision is gay as a window anyway - and when was Dana International again? Norton's implication that everyone east of the Elbe are homophobes was irritating - didn't he see the Romanian entry last year (to name but one)? And how about doing a smidgen of research, Norton, Slovenia happens to be right next to Austria so why shouldn't they give them maximum votes... oh I forgot, they're Slavs.

You'd have thought the camera switching to Verka Serduchka in the audience a couple of times would have been a reminder.

It's not necessarily that it's *significant* that a drag queen won Eurovision, it's that it's a net positive. And particularly if the reports of attempted censorship are true. Even if they're not entirely true, the violent move toward homophobia in Russia has made it important to keep Eurovision not just gay, but visibly and joyfully gay. It's also a positive that Conchita's presentation was not entirely 'traditional' in drag queen terms, as it adds visibility to a fluidity in gender that the mainstream media are slow to pick up on (obviously there will be narratives that are nothing more than "hur hur a bird with a beard what a novelty", but to me, and from what I've seen also to others who inhabit queer/fluid circles, it resonates differently).

Also, what you've said reads a lot like "a trans* person already won once, so never needs to again", which is just... uh. Okay.

Apropos the discussion of songs being written by Swedes: Read a Danish article this week claiming that over the last four years, out of all the songs on the Billboard top ten, 471 had been at least partly written by Swedes... The same number for Danes: 1 (Born This Way)

is Madonna Danish? (sorry, couldn't resist)

Jeppe AKA Senior of Junior Senior was one the writers on that song.

re: above discussion about whether Conchita would get votes: 1. Dana International was long enough ago that the overall make-up of the contest was very different. 2. As a drag act, Conchita's was very different to other drag acts in the past -- Sestre, DQ, Verka Serduchka did not do a song like this with a message that would lend itself to this sort of identification, even if any of them had won. 3. I don't think it was ever in doubt that Conchita would be popular with televoters. My, and others', suspicion was more that the juries in some countries would rank the song down so low that it would nullify that popularity, as the UK jury did with Poland. And some of those juries have some puzzling, out-of-step evaluations to me - Azerbaijan, Montenegro, (slightly) Belarus.

I definitely think that it was an important and significant restatement of the contest's values, as well as a worthy winner, but the narrative that was being pushed in a lot of places that enlightened western Europeans would 'get it' but backwards Eastern Europeans wouldn't wasn't particularly helpful and ignores the long history of gay men, camp icons and people with fluid gender identities contributing to pop in those regions. It arguably also ignores the decline in the number of out gay men / women and people with fluid gender identities in mainstream British pop over the last few decades but that might be another story.

Also, what you've said reads a lot like "a trans* person already won once, so never needs to again", which is just... uh. Okay.

I'll do the decent thing and ignore this comment

Sestre, DQ, Verka Serduchka did not do a song like this with a message that would lend itself to this sort of identification

I don't really listen to lyrics much, so I've got no idea what the song is about

(xxxp) OTM

It's a re-write of "I Will Survive".

he narrative that was being pushed in a lot of places that enlightened western Europeans would 'get it' but backwards Eastern Europeans wouldn't wasn't particularly helpful and ignores the long history of gay men, camp icons and people with fluid gender identities contributing to pop in those regions.

This is quite possibly true, but is kind of undercut by what's been happening in Russia. I can't really speak for the other Eastern European countries, but I guess one should never underestimate the potential for xenophobia to take charge of a narrative.

I'll do the decent thing and ignore this comment

Or you could do the actually decent thing and go "I'm sorry it could come across so offensively, it's not actually what I meant".

You expect me to apologise for your interpretation of what I said? Are you serious?

I mean, that's the end of the internet right there.

edwardo and ShariVari both otm up there on various points. I too was unsure whether more conservative countries (not just in the east) would buy Conchita's persona and message, but Graham Norton really overegged the "Slavs hate gays" narrative. I don't think that Conchita winning will have much impact on the future of the contest (unless it caused e.g. Russia to withdraw, but that wouldn't be just because of Conchita anyway), though the fact that *Austria* won may have more influence by keeping Mitteleuropa on board.

stats fans ruminating on homophobic voting might ponder the correlation between this ILGA map of LGBT rights in europe & the points each country gave to conchita

http://wwwpinknewscouk.c.presscdn.com/images/2014/05/Screen-Shot-2014-05-13-at-17.36.02.png http://24.media.tumblr.com/4aae1cec0dc3b6d4897f29fd90506306/tumblr_n5dvytmaUh1qdkvdgo1_500.png

worth noting that juries in armenia, azerbaijan, belarus, montenegro & poland weren't as keen as conchita as the televoters. still feel that any people involved in eurovision are less likely to be The Enemy than the general population, but w/e

sorry for awful image sizes

xps,

Few pop fans in Russia could be in any doubt that gay men are very well represented in their domestic pop scene. There are definitely issues with how open many feel they can be in talking about it but it's not a major secret. There have been hugely successful openly gay pop stars (like Oskar) and videos (like Ruki Vverh's On Tebya Tseluyet) that have featured prominent gay themes.

My main issue with the idea that Russia is hostile to gay musicians, and with the booing, is that it positions the country as a bigoted monolithic rather than somewhere that is going through a process of liberalisation and conservative backlash. Recognising that there's a culture war going on within Russia, and many of the other countries in the region, and supporting / recognising the people on the right side is more useful than painting a picture of wholesale prejudice. The scum who are beating up gay men in Russia aren't likely to be staying up until 3:30am to watch Eurovision but their victims, and the people who are mobilising against them, probably will be, and it's always worth keeping that in mind.

I thought people were also booing Russia because of Ukraine... or am I wide of the mark there?

You expect me to apologise for your interpretation of what I said? Are you serious?

There's this thing called language, and a thing called using it badly. If you use it so clumsily it looks horribly like you're being *massively* offensive, then yes, maybe you should apologise. If your statement is 'blah blah I don't give a shit about this person winning and besides someone else who I perceive as similar won before so fuck this', it's pretty easy to read as 'we only need one token person of this sort'. I was assuming/hoping that my interpretation was a misreading, which is why I said "it could be read as" that, but considering you're being such a dick I'm guessing it wasn't, and you really are that much of an asshole.

Think what you like then, you don't know me and I don't know you and, after today's nonsense, that suits me fine. Right?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BnhC8lXCUAAixAQ.jpg

There's this thing called language, and a thing called using it badly

Your interpretation of what Tom D said is so cloth-eared that you should beware this kind of blether.

Thank you, I was beginning to think I'd lost my mind and I was in the wrong after all. Anyway fuck all this, I'll show up to contribute to ILX comps because, you know, making music is more enjoyable and fulfilling than bickering with total strangers, but that's it as far as this stupid fucking place goes (and to think I was defending ILM over on ILE last week!)