Eurovision Song Contest

[mtbc]

After skipping a year because of the pandemic, the Eurovision Song Contest returned and, at least for me seeing it on television, seemed largely as normal, for whatever normal might mean for such an institution.

The UK managed to do even worse than last time: not only did they come last, it was with no points whatsoever. To put that zero in context, the winner, Italy, accumulated 524 points. I liked the Italian entry, though not appreciably more than I liked San Marino's which fared rather worse. I found the UK entry nothing special, especially the singer; not bad but not worth hearing again. I also didn't mind that the German entry did so poorly, it may have been strange but it was also tiresomely superficial. The Ukrainian song seemed far better and I have no idea what was going on with that. Some, like Belgium's, were even tasteful.

As usual, my preferences correlated rather more with the voting public's than the judges' verdicts. Strikingly, the Lithuanian entry was both my favorite and, it transpired, that of the UK voters, how very mainstream my tastes must be. With that, and finding the overall winner okay, I consider this to be a satisfactory year for it.

Comments

[paserbyp]

What about Russia?

[mtbc]

What sticks in my mind right now is the staging at the start, that was strange and funny. Also, if I'm not remembering incorrectly, I liked that we had a mix of Russian and English for lyrics. We've had a few fun Russian entries over recent years.

[paserbyp]

Do you prefer Ukrainian entry compare with Russian entry?

[mtbc]

This year, yes, by a small margin. Some previous years, it's been the other way around.

[paserbyp]

How about France?

[mtbc]

This year I sure preferred Russia's to France's. The judges loved France's but I often disagree with them. Russia usually turns in a decent song, the French are more all over the place. The French lady may have performed it well but I can't say I want to hear it again.

A few years ago, I think the Austrian song was in French, that was a surprise … ah, yes, the Internet says it was Loin d'ici in 2016.

[paserbyp]

How about Sweden?

[mtbc]

I no longer recall which that was, so I can't have found it all that amazing either way. How about you, which do you prefer (or not)?

[paserbyp]

https://youtu.be/5P1ueI9j6gk

Good question!I preferred ABBA! Sorry, I’m very, very old and remember Elvis and The Beatles and of course BoneyM…

[mtbc]

Heh, ABBA are excellent, but now you've given me a Rasputin earworm, it was fun to watch that guy at the end jumping about and such; my childhood home had The Magic of Boney M. I've been to Graceland a couple of times, the decor's quite something! Annoyingly, despite staying with relatives nearby, I didn't get to explore Liverpool before moving back to the US, there's a convenient tourist bus that one can get on and off at various interesting stops, maybe someday.

[mtbc]

I should add, the Swedish entry seems okay, maybe a little repetitive, thanks for the link.

[mtbc]

Re. Sweden, I should also add, it was nice of Sveriges Television AB to stream the contest worldwide.

[wpadmirer]

I find the whole Eurovision thing amusing. I've never watched a minute of it, but reading about it from UK friends always makes me laugh.

[shadowkat]

Where is it aired on television? I can't find it. [ Never mind - found it - it's free on Peacock if you don't mind ads.] So I'm putting up with ads.

[mtbc]

The main Swedish broadcaster kindly streamed it this time, glad you found a good US source though! Of course, whose stream it is determines whose voiceover commentary one gets.

[shadowkat]

Nikki appears to be the voice-over commentary. I'm not sure I'll stick with it. The songs...weren't that good except for about three of them. But maybe.