For the past 6 years or so that I've been in Denmark I have grown more and more enthusiastic about the Eurovision song contest in which contestants from all across the continent and a little further compete for the title of best song. I don't know if it's because of the ostentatious costumes and sets or the spectacle of people with questionable talent performing the most awful, the most cheesy, pop candy, gooey, loud songs ever created!! Or might it be over the top theatrics or the gyrating dancers bouncing from one end of the stage to the other like wasps chasing and retreating, soaring and falling, tumbling and...skating?
It's a contest in which citizens of countries vote via SMS on the acts that are the flashiest, most erratic on stage or the most ...naked. I think that there have been exceptions in the past when performers won based on shear talent for song. But this contest is much, MUCH more than just musical talent. This is a war between the most costumed and made up and the least costumed and made up. These performances are not just intended to be concert worthy. These are grandiose, theatrical performances of freakishly silly (see the first video below) or ethnically folky (like the group from Croatia, 75 Cents has a 75 year old man angrily rapping and scratching an old Victrola while the band of middle aged men wail traditional sounding music to a bunch of half naked dancing young women) .
Take a look here. This is Wolves of the Sea performing Pirates of the Sea:
It's no wonder they received 12 points from Ireland. Long live the Jolly Roger!! Hi Hi HOOOOO!
I guess one of the most fun things for me is staying up as spokespeople from each country announce how many points they award to 3 different countries. 25 countries participated in the final after several other countries were weeded out during 2 previous contests. Each country awards 8 points, 10 points and 12 points to the 3 most voted on countries. After the votes are tallied the country that scores the most points gets the honor of hosting next year's event. Serbia hosted this year. And you can't vote for your own country.
And this year's winner? Russia! And here, performing their winning hit Believe is Dima Biiiiiiiiilaaaaaan (Dima Bilan) ....
The guy passionately skating his Grateful Dead dance in circles, whipping every limb in every direction kinda looks like a combination of Randy Quaid and Owen Wilson. Or Owen Wilson after being stung by a swarm of bees. On crack.
4 comments:
For me, Eurovision is all about the block voting. Denmark giving top points to Sweden, Norway and Iceland? What a surprise! All the Eastern European countries voting for each other? What a surprise! Andorra voting for France, surprise! Etc., etc.
I couldn't agree more Kimberly. It's what the contest is really about, which doesn't make it much of a contest.
Yup, I was just going to post about the country favouritism, but kimanda beat me to it. Once Norway didn't vote for Denmark, how very rude of them.
May
PS. The guy skating is a famous and very popular ice-skater. My mother-in-law loves to watch such stuff. :)
May
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