Eurovision is back in Malmö after twenty-one years. Doesn't sound like a very long period of time, but how the world has changed in these years. Not least for eurofans.
This year, all the songs have been fully available online since they were selected more or less. We could read up on the singers, their preparations and millions and zillions of other things. It was a wee bit different back in 1992, let me tell you.
There were some initial news early on: Malmö was chosen as host city, Harald and Lydia were chosen as presenters. Then - as last year's winner Carola executed the draw for the running order - we had the thrilling news that a record-breaking twenty-three countries would take part. Never before had that many entries taken part in a final.
Around the time of the Swedish final, there was a tiny picture in the press what the stage in Malmö would look like. Then news dried up for a while.
In the beginning of April, Swedish daily Aftonbladet published a list of the participants - in most cases the first news of the kind. I remember being delighted that Stjórnin and Wind would be back in the competition, and for the first time I learned who Mia Martini was and that she had taken part in the past.
On April 30th, SVT broadcast the first of two preview shows: the first chance of seeing and hearing the songs. These shows were so fantastically exciting. I'm not sure younger fans today can relate to this excitement at all - waiting and waiting and waiting for a tv-show this was.
During the ESC week, there was a little more news coverage but nothing like today. Both Swedish tabloids ran one or two articles per day - focusing heavily on Sweden - as well as the odd column about what went on down in Malmö.
Apart from that there were few ways of amusing yourself. I watched the previews over and over, trying to evaluate the songs, and then I found the novelty of the year. Sweden had allowed the national betting company to arrange bets for Eurovision. There were running odds, meaning they changed as soon as anyone placed a larger bet on a particular song, and I frequently checked out Teletext to see if the figures had changed.
I can't help but thinking a eurovision nerd was never much nerdier than that.
On the day of the final, the newspapers rose to the occasion and had several pages of coverage - most importantly reviews of the songs and predictions about the results. Aftonbladet's legendary reviewer Lasse Anrell promised to eat the Colosseum if Italy won and thought Christer Björkman would not place better than 12th.
TV and radio contributed a bit as well. SVT had a five-minute warm up programme on Friday night as well as an incredibly unstructured talkshow right after the final where several people spent thirty minutes saying very little. Yet I stayed glued to the screen. The day after the final, "Radio Europa" on SR P3 summed up the event neatly and then the ESC drifted into media oblivion again.
These days - when the eurovision season never really ends, when there are some sort of news all year around and there are always eurovision people to talk to - 1992 look a little bit like the Eurovision Stone Age.
But at least one thing was better - the three hours that the ESC lasted were more intense and more special than anything. Many things are better now, but I can sometimes miss that intensity.
Linda Martin - Why Me? (Ireland 1992)
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Friday, May 10, 2013
Absent friend: Poland
I really don't know how this happened. Poland was such a revelation, such a powerhouse, such a fantastic new force in Eurovision. They kept sending in good, modern, eccentric and progressive entries that were so good, so good, so good.
They were supposed to come in, crush all resistance, work their way to victory and drag this old contest kicking and screaming into the future. It all looked so promising.
Edyta Górniak - To nie ja! (Poland 1994)
Their sensational debut, when Edyta made a coup and sang her song in English during the jury final and scored a phenomenal second place in the end, really left the feeling that Poland was on to something big. And then they opted for something seriously different.
Justyna - Sama (Poland 1995)
Justyna's etno-pop-yoik did take some getting used to, admittedly, but in the endless ocean of toothless ballads that was ESC 1995 it stood out like a monument of anarchy. Violently, provocatively different and modern. And the judges just didn't get it.
Anna Maria Jopek - Ale jestem (Poland 1997)
The juries would continue not to get the Polish entry. The quirky and folksy dance that was Ale jestem also ended outside the top ten (not by much, but anyway) and maybe now Polish tv was getting a bit exhausted. They were doing their best but kept getting ignored.
In 1998, I was convinced that TVP had finally hit the bull's eye again. The group Sixteen had a very fresh sound and their song was engaging and instant, but at the same time it kept growing on you for every listen.
Sophisticated and hit-friendly. Would this be Poland's return to top five?
On the night of the final in Birmingham, Poland passed under the radar of almost everyone and ended in a shockingly low 17th place. I could not believe my eyes.
Since then, the Polish entries never regained that original sparkle that they used to have. Some of their entries have been good, but never as overflowing and captivating as their early efforts. After having missed out in one semi final too many, TVP withdrew after the 2011 contest.
If they stay away in order to evaluate the situation, re-group and try to find their own self, then this absence is well worth it. I just hope they won't stay away too long.
Sixteen - To takie proste (Poland 1998)
They were supposed to come in, crush all resistance, work their way to victory and drag this old contest kicking and screaming into the future. It all looked so promising.
Edyta Górniak - To nie ja! (Poland 1994)
Their sensational debut, when Edyta made a coup and sang her song in English during the jury final and scored a phenomenal second place in the end, really left the feeling that Poland was on to something big. And then they opted for something seriously different.
Justyna - Sama (Poland 1995)
Justyna's etno-pop-yoik did take some getting used to, admittedly, but in the endless ocean of toothless ballads that was ESC 1995 it stood out like a monument of anarchy. Violently, provocatively different and modern. And the judges just didn't get it.
Anna Maria Jopek - Ale jestem (Poland 1997)
The juries would continue not to get the Polish entry. The quirky and folksy dance that was Ale jestem also ended outside the top ten (not by much, but anyway) and maybe now Polish tv was getting a bit exhausted. They were doing their best but kept getting ignored.
In 1998, I was convinced that TVP had finally hit the bull's eye again. The group Sixteen had a very fresh sound and their song was engaging and instant, but at the same time it kept growing on you for every listen.
Sophisticated and hit-friendly. Would this be Poland's return to top five?
On the night of the final in Birmingham, Poland passed under the radar of almost everyone and ended in a shockingly low 17th place. I could not believe my eyes.
Since then, the Polish entries never regained that original sparkle that they used to have. Some of their entries have been good, but never as overflowing and captivating as their early efforts. After having missed out in one semi final too many, TVP withdrew after the 2011 contest.
If they stay away in order to evaluate the situation, re-group and try to find their own self, then this absence is well worth it. I just hope they won't stay away too long.
Sixteen - To takie proste (Poland 1998)
Fallen favourites: Spain 1985
As the participants rehearse in Malmö and most people - including myself - are busy predicting how the contest will end this year, maybe it's about time reminding ourselves how hard it can be to foresee what will work with the voters and not.
It doesn't matter how many people believe in you in advance - it is the grand total of points you manage to accumulate on the scoreboard that decides your fate, nothing else.
Paloma San Basilio knows this, for instance.
Being a celebrated star - not least after singing the lead role in the Spanish production of "Evita" - she was chosen to sing a grand ballad composed by Juan Carlos Calderon, who had almost won the contest in 1973, scoring a worldwide hit with "Eres tú".
"La fiesta terminó" had everything needed to win: passion, intensity, an strong chorus and an exquisite performer. I think it is safe to say most people assumed the Spanish entry to be the ballad of the evening, cemented in the final top five.
Paloma San Basilio - La fiesta terminó (Spain 1985)
I doubt I will ever understand what went wrong, but the juries heard or saw nothing of greater value in Paloma's performance. Spain had to content themselves with a shared 14th place out of 19 participants. A result that remains a mystery.
I sometimes wonder who these people in the jury were. They voted for pleasant but light-weight entries from United Kingdom, Ireland, France and Switzerland but paid no attention to grand ballads?
If it is any consolation to Paloma and her fans, Spain was not the most badly treated ballad of the night. The press on location in Gothenburg had taken not of the classy performance by Adelaide and considered Portugal to be a bit of a dark horse.
This particular dark horse had to go back home with a total of nine points and a second last place.
A number of songs in Malmö are also going to disappoint before the final is over. We just don't know who they are as yet.
Adelaide - Penso em ti, eu sei (Portugal 1985)
It doesn't matter how many people believe in you in advance - it is the grand total of points you manage to accumulate on the scoreboard that decides your fate, nothing else.
Paloma San Basilio knows this, for instance.
Being a celebrated star - not least after singing the lead role in the Spanish production of "Evita" - she was chosen to sing a grand ballad composed by Juan Carlos Calderon, who had almost won the contest in 1973, scoring a worldwide hit with "Eres tú".
"La fiesta terminó" had everything needed to win: passion, intensity, an strong chorus and an exquisite performer. I think it is safe to say most people assumed the Spanish entry to be the ballad of the evening, cemented in the final top five.
Paloma San Basilio - La fiesta terminó (Spain 1985)
I doubt I will ever understand what went wrong, but the juries heard or saw nothing of greater value in Paloma's performance. Spain had to content themselves with a shared 14th place out of 19 participants. A result that remains a mystery.
I sometimes wonder who these people in the jury were. They voted for pleasant but light-weight entries from United Kingdom, Ireland, France and Switzerland but paid no attention to grand ballads?
If it is any consolation to Paloma and her fans, Spain was not the most badly treated ballad of the night. The press on location in Gothenburg had taken not of the classy performance by Adelaide and considered Portugal to be a bit of a dark horse.
This particular dark horse had to go back home with a total of nine points and a second last place.
A number of songs in Malmö are also going to disappoint before the final is over. We just don't know who they are as yet.
Adelaide - Penso em ti, eu sei (Portugal 1985)
ESC 2013: all my reviews in one place
I have sort of flooded this blog with posts lately and it is fully intentional. When I was younger, sitting at home, waiting for the big eurovision night each year, I would look for and devour any piece of writing concerning this contest.
It could be good or bad, interesting or indifferent - anything was good enough because there was so little. These were in the old days before internet. Try to imagine that world, kids.
I'd hope that this blog could be a bit of relief to anyone longing for anything written about the ESC. So whenever I get an idea, I pour it into a blog post. And it's fun to write, too.
But I did review all the songs for the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest, and now I fear that these reviews have been a bit hidden behind all these new articles. So here you have links to all 39 reviews - feel free to read, to agree, to disagree and to comment.
Semi 1:
Austria, Estonia, Slovenia, Croatia, Denmark, Russia, Ukraine, Netherlands,
Montenegro, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldova, Ireland, Cyprus, Belgium, Serbia
Montenegro, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldova, Ireland, Cyprus, Belgium, Serbia
Semi 2:
Latvia, San Marino, FYR Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Finland, Malta, Bulgaria, Iceland, Greece, Israel, Armenia,
Hungary, Norway, Albania, Georgia, Switzerland, Romania
Hungary, Norway, Albania, Georgia, Switzerland, Romania
Final:
And in some cases, I already changed my mind a little bit. You can also check out my early attempts at predicting ten qualifiers - first ten from the first semi and then ten from the second semi.
All of this for your entertainment. And mine. Soon the battle begins for real.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Semi 2: if I had to pick ten finalists now...
If I really had to pick ten finalists now, I would probably be reduced to tears. Semi two is so much harder to predict - there are more songs I find mediocre but that I fear will beat songs I like dearly.
I'm sure of five or six songs, the rest feel like picking out lottery numbers.
But - as with my semi one top ten - this list is not final. These are the ten songs I would predict if I had to do that now. (I don't have to. This is just a game. Real list will emerge on Thurday 16th.)
FYR MACEDONIA
I still fail to see the greatness in this song, but I think Esma will stay in most people's minds when the phone lines open and sometimes being memorable beats having a proper melody line.
AZERBAIJAN
They never fail, do they? One day their strategy of making toothless and indifferent songs seem shiny and high-tech will backfire on them. Most probably not this year.
FINLAND
Quirky, fast-paced and instant - also Krista will make a lasting impression on the audience. Anything but a place in the final would be a big surprise and a huge disappointment.
MALTA
Far from sure about this one but in a noisy crowd of party people, folklore singing and jaunty bridezillas, Malta's laid back little ditty could come along as a quiet oasis. Many people will appreciate that as well as the happy sound and the catchy chorus. I hope I'm right here.
ICELAND
Just like Malta, Iceland's ballad will stand out among all the people who have put together elaborate dance numbers and show elements. This song is not a personal favourite of mine, but Iceland has a tendency of being strong enough at the right time.
GREECE
Energetic young men dancing in kilts, singing a song about their motherland crumbling into the ocean more or less. Temper paired with a lyrical reality-check that seems to have passed surprisingly many people by so far. Should reach the final without greater difficulty.
HUNGARY
A lovely little song that reportedly has been performed with a lack of charm and camera contact so far. I'm not worried as yet. I think ByeAlex will find his cameras before the semi final and that the hypnotic qualities of the song will win through. It would be a big failure for the contest if this one doesn't make it.
NORWAY
The song I have the least doubts about. Margaret Berger is a professional, when the live broadcast goes out over the world she will be ready and perform her song like the star that she is and Europe will fall flat at her feet.
GEORGIA
A powerhouse of a ballad that will sail safely into the final. Once there, it will probably be punished for stealing too many elements from Azerbaijan's 2011 winner. But at this point it is bound to do well.
SAN MARINO
Put San Marino and Israel in a hat. Add Switzerland in case Europe loves a really old bass player. Add Romania if Europe feels like a countertenor. Add Latvia in case Europe wants a big party. Add Bulgaria in case Europe needs more drums in the final. Shake well. Pull out one country. I want the last qualifier to be San Marino - it would be a wonderful achievement for them to finally make it onto the scoreboard. But I would not bet my own money on that happening just yet.
What ten songs would you pick? My final list will be on this blog in a week from now - the day of the second semi final in Malmö.
I'm sure of five or six songs, the rest feel like picking out lottery numbers.
But - as with my semi one top ten - this list is not final. These are the ten songs I would predict if I had to do that now. (I don't have to. This is just a game. Real list will emerge on Thurday 16th.)
FYR MACEDONIA
I still fail to see the greatness in this song, but I think Esma will stay in most people's minds when the phone lines open and sometimes being memorable beats having a proper melody line.
AZERBAIJAN
They never fail, do they? One day their strategy of making toothless and indifferent songs seem shiny and high-tech will backfire on them. Most probably not this year.
FINLAND
Quirky, fast-paced and instant - also Krista will make a lasting impression on the audience. Anything but a place in the final would be a big surprise and a huge disappointment.
MALTA
Far from sure about this one but in a noisy crowd of party people, folklore singing and jaunty bridezillas, Malta's laid back little ditty could come along as a quiet oasis. Many people will appreciate that as well as the happy sound and the catchy chorus. I hope I'm right here.
ICELAND
Just like Malta, Iceland's ballad will stand out among all the people who have put together elaborate dance numbers and show elements. This song is not a personal favourite of mine, but Iceland has a tendency of being strong enough at the right time.
GREECE
Energetic young men dancing in kilts, singing a song about their motherland crumbling into the ocean more or less. Temper paired with a lyrical reality-check that seems to have passed surprisingly many people by so far. Should reach the final without greater difficulty.
HUNGARY
A lovely little song that reportedly has been performed with a lack of charm and camera contact so far. I'm not worried as yet. I think ByeAlex will find his cameras before the semi final and that the hypnotic qualities of the song will win through. It would be a big failure for the contest if this one doesn't make it.
NORWAY
The song I have the least doubts about. Margaret Berger is a professional, when the live broadcast goes out over the world she will be ready and perform her song like the star that she is and Europe will fall flat at her feet.
GEORGIA
A powerhouse of a ballad that will sail safely into the final. Once there, it will probably be punished for stealing too many elements from Azerbaijan's 2011 winner. But at this point it is bound to do well.
SAN MARINO
Put San Marino and Israel in a hat. Add Switzerland in case Europe loves a really old bass player. Add Romania if Europe feels like a countertenor. Add Latvia in case Europe wants a big party. Add Bulgaria in case Europe needs more drums in the final. Shake well. Pull out one country. I want the last qualifier to be San Marino - it would be a wonderful achievement for them to finally make it onto the scoreboard. But I would not bet my own money on that happening just yet.
What ten songs would you pick? My final list will be on this blog in a week from now - the day of the second semi final in Malmö.
Superstar at work: Alla Pugacheva
When Alla Pugacheva was announced to be the 1997 Russian representative, it felt very exciting and very special in many ways. As a child growing up in Sweden during the 1980's, Alla was about the only singer we ever heard of from the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union was a big and scary neighbour to have, but this singing sensation that was Alla made them seem more tangible, more human somehow.
For a few years, Alla was marketed quite heavily in Sweden (and elsewhere around Europe) and this chance to see her again - and in Eurovision! - was intriguing. So was the preview clip: elegant, classy, slightly theatrical and slightly cold. Artistic. And the song was very different.
Alla Pugacheva - Prima donna! (Russia 1997 preview)
In Dublin, Alla had brought along a stunning backing group and gave a most vibrant performance, filling her song with so much passion, emotion and star quality. The ending alone - where Alla drinks from her microphone - is worth the money.
This performance gives me goosebumps every time and judging from the reaction in the hall I'm not the only one loving this.
Unfortunately, with the exception of the Slovenian jury the voters remained cold and left the Russian primadonna in a pale 15th place.
Alla Pugacheva - Prima donna! (Russia 1997)
Unfair in every possible way, but it doesn't matter much when you have a career like Alla's. She was the Queen of popular music in the Soviet Union - impopular with the governing power who regarded her as vulgar and a carrier of un-Sovietic values but loved by the people.
If you are unfamiliar with her work, check her out on YouTube where many of her classic clips are to be found. How about this one, filmed in the Moscow metro?
Alla Pugacheva - Arlekino
This one is one of her most beloved hits - written by Latvian composer Raimonds Pauls - and a true evergreen also in many territories outside of the Soviet sphere. Arja Saijonmaa recorded a brilliant Swedish version and Katri Helena made a good version in Finnish, for instance.
Alla Pugacheva - Million alih roz
And this is perhaps my personal favourite - taken from the album Alla recorded in Sweden in 1985 with songs by the likes of Lasse Holm, Anders Glenmark and Torgny Söderberg. That album - known as "Watch Out" or simply "Alla Pugacheva in Stockholm" - is a must for everyone who loves Alla or the sound of Swedish pop of the 1980's.
Alla Pugacheva - Lousy Party
The Soviet Union was a big and scary neighbour to have, but this singing sensation that was Alla made them seem more tangible, more human somehow.
For a few years, Alla was marketed quite heavily in Sweden (and elsewhere around Europe) and this chance to see her again - and in Eurovision! - was intriguing. So was the preview clip: elegant, classy, slightly theatrical and slightly cold. Artistic. And the song was very different.
Alla Pugacheva - Prima donna! (Russia 1997 preview)
In Dublin, Alla had brought along a stunning backing group and gave a most vibrant performance, filling her song with so much passion, emotion and star quality. The ending alone - where Alla drinks from her microphone - is worth the money.
This performance gives me goosebumps every time and judging from the reaction in the hall I'm not the only one loving this.
Unfortunately, with the exception of the Slovenian jury the voters remained cold and left the Russian primadonna in a pale 15th place.
Alla Pugacheva - Prima donna! (Russia 1997)
Unfair in every possible way, but it doesn't matter much when you have a career like Alla's. She was the Queen of popular music in the Soviet Union - impopular with the governing power who regarded her as vulgar and a carrier of un-Sovietic values but loved by the people.
If you are unfamiliar with her work, check her out on YouTube where many of her classic clips are to be found. How about this one, filmed in the Moscow metro?
Alla Pugacheva - Arlekino
This one is one of her most beloved hits - written by Latvian composer Raimonds Pauls - and a true evergreen also in many territories outside of the Soviet sphere. Arja Saijonmaa recorded a brilliant Swedish version and Katri Helena made a good version in Finnish, for instance.
Alla Pugacheva - Million alih roz
And this is perhaps my personal favourite - taken from the album Alla recorded in Sweden in 1985 with songs by the likes of Lasse Holm, Anders Glenmark and Torgny Söderberg. That album - known as "Watch Out" or simply "Alla Pugacheva in Stockholm" - is a must for everyone who loves Alla or the sound of Swedish pop of the 1980's.
Alla Pugacheva - Lousy Party
Preview clip: Germany 1994
Since Ralph Siegel is back in the game (was he ever really gone?) I thought I'd have a look back to when Uncle Ralphie still had a bit of a finger on the pulse and came up with things that felt happening.
It was, admittedly, an easy thing to seem youthful and happening in the neverending stream of more or less passionate ballads that filled the line-up of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, but this explosion of colour and happiness seemed pretty real and genuine in the preview show of that year.
MeKaDo - Wir geben 'ne Party (Germany 1994 preview)
This is Siegel by the numbers and the last time that the old formula worked flawlessly. Just like with Dschinghis Khan in 1979, he assembled an attractive and energetic group, out of session singers and lesser known solo singers he had worked with before, to suit the song he wrote. One of the girls, Melanie Bender, was the daughter of one of the Dschinghis Khan members.
The song is full of little hooks and clever ideas and the chorus is a way of getting around the rule stating everybody had to sing in their own language - the phrase "Wir geben 'ne Party" is sung to sound more or less exactly like the english title "We're giving a party".
In Dublin, the whole package felt less fresh than the clip. The girls were still energetic enough, but the styling - as well as the backing singers - gave this an air of "old people trying to produce whatever young people may like". A review in newspaper The European said it sounded like a pop song remixed by a bunch of grandmothers.
MeKaDo - Wir geben 'ne Party (Germany 1994)
The entry managed to achieve a respectable third place in Dublin but was a commercial flop and the group soon disbanded.
There were stories in the press that the first choice of German television would have been to send punk legend Nina Hagen - who declined the offer - to Dublin. I can't help but wonder what kind of commotion she could have created had she gone to the ESC.
MeKaDo's blond member - the lovely Kati Karney - almost made it to Eurovision again eight years later when she suddenly resurfaced in the national final of Bosnia-Herzegovina together with Boris Režak. Their song ended in fourth place.
Boris Režak feat Kati Karney - Ti i ja smo mogli sve (Bosnia-Herzegovina national final 2002)
It was, admittedly, an easy thing to seem youthful and happening in the neverending stream of more or less passionate ballads that filled the line-up of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, but this explosion of colour and happiness seemed pretty real and genuine in the preview show of that year.
MeKaDo - Wir geben 'ne Party (Germany 1994 preview)
This is Siegel by the numbers and the last time that the old formula worked flawlessly. Just like with Dschinghis Khan in 1979, he assembled an attractive and energetic group, out of session singers and lesser known solo singers he had worked with before, to suit the song he wrote. One of the girls, Melanie Bender, was the daughter of one of the Dschinghis Khan members.
The song is full of little hooks and clever ideas and the chorus is a way of getting around the rule stating everybody had to sing in their own language - the phrase "Wir geben 'ne Party" is sung to sound more or less exactly like the english title "We're giving a party".
In Dublin, the whole package felt less fresh than the clip. The girls were still energetic enough, but the styling - as well as the backing singers - gave this an air of "old people trying to produce whatever young people may like". A review in newspaper The European said it sounded like a pop song remixed by a bunch of grandmothers.
MeKaDo - Wir geben 'ne Party (Germany 1994)
The entry managed to achieve a respectable third place in Dublin but was a commercial flop and the group soon disbanded.
There were stories in the press that the first choice of German television would have been to send punk legend Nina Hagen - who declined the offer - to Dublin. I can't help but wonder what kind of commotion she could have created had she gone to the ESC.
MeKaDo's blond member - the lovely Kati Karney - almost made it to Eurovision again eight years later when she suddenly resurfaced in the national final of Bosnia-Herzegovina together with Boris Režak. Their song ended in fourth place.
Boris Režak feat Kati Karney - Ti i ja smo mogli sve (Bosnia-Herzegovina national final 2002)
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