Last night, the BBC revealed who they will have representing them at the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest and I must admit that the perfomer in question had my jaw drop.
I did not see Engelbert Humperdinck coming, so to speak.
But he has all the advantages the BBC were looking for: a long career, a well established name, an element of surprise and a large following. The list of people lined up to make his song brilliant is also long and impressive.
With a bit of luck, this could be an entry that will truly stand out in Baku, hopefully in a most positive light. It will also bear the added feature of Engelbert being the oldest performer ever on the eurovision stage.
Engelbert Humperdinck - Love Is A Many Splendored Thing
The age issue is, however, always a sensitive one and there has been a real outburst of negativity on the net since the announcement was made.
I think most people reason it would have been more appropriate to offer somebody in the beginning of their careers the chance of exposing themselves europe-wide instead. But let me remind you how un-willing most British acts have been to go to Eurovision. Why would they, all of a sudden, have lined up to do it this time around?
Then again, many just carry a phobia against older people. When you pass a certain age, you expire. You have nothing more to contribute. You should just sit somewhere and gracefully wait for the end.
That brings the 2008 Croatian entry to mind, featuring the oldest ever main performer pre-Engelbert - 75 year-old rapper 75 Cents, and a set of lyrics dealing with this very problem.
"Nowadays I'm told I'm to no use anymore. I'm technological waste, like a monkey on a branch. But I was the first ever Internet, I connected the world with my songs."
Engelbert Humperdinck is perhaps not the first Internet of the world, but he is a legend in music. I'd very much like to hear his song before I declare him chanceless.
Kraljeci ulice & 75 Cents - Romanca (Croatia 2008 preview)
I must remind of the historic fact, that Engelbert Humperdinck was the first artist in Great Britain to prevent The Beatles to get their single on the top of the charts (since their first single Love Me Do). Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever did get only to number two because of the huge hit Release me by Humperdink.
ReplyDeleteIt is not often you can put the Beatles and Eurovision Song Contest in the same context (last time was, I guess in 1977 and the Swedish entry and 1970 when the UK entry was released on Apple label), so I had to seize the rare opportunity!