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Eurovision's Over: Couldn't the Pirates Have Won?

May 27, 2008 at 8:50 AM | 3 Comments

We're shattered that Eurovision is over for another year, and it's lucky we had an extra long weekend so we could get over the disappointment of geriatric rapper 75 Cents and his crew not winning.

We did predict, though, that good-looking Russian candidate Dima Bilan had a good chance, and now we wish we'd put some money on it: He and his nation raced away with a more than 40 point victory over Ukraine.

We're also a bit disappointed that the Latvian entry slipped under our radar until grand final night, because we would have liked to show them some support. For reasons surely known only to them, they entered a pirate song! And we loved it. Roll on Eurovision 2009. We'll see ya in Moscow.

Related Stories:
· The Eurovision Grand Finale [Jaunted]
· Turkeys (And Singers) to Watch at Eurovision [Jaunted]

Eurovision 2008: Grand Finale on Saturday

May 23, 2008 at 9:15 AM | 0 Comments

The excitement of Eurovision, coming out of Belgrade this year, is coming to climax tomorrow: The semi-finals are all over and we know that quite a few of our favorites have bitten the dust.

We were keen on the invented-language magic of Belgium, but the band Ishtar got knocked out. We've also made no secret of our crush on Ireland's turkey; he didn't make it either.

Depending on who you listen to, the favorites might now be Sweden's Charlotte Perrelli who's singing a song called "Hero," or it might be a 75-year-old Croatian rapper. The French are probably hoping, though, that their electro-pop singer doesn't win because it's a national scandal that he's singing in English.

We're of course behind the geriatric rapper 75 Cents. (Real name!)

Related Stories:
· Favourites Through to Eurovision Final [AFP]
· We Heart Dustin the Turkey [Jaunted]
· Eurovision 2008: Bringing Belgium Together [Jaunted]

[Photo: Eurovision]

Eurovision 2008: Bringing Belgium Together

May 20, 2008 at 11:01 AM | 0 Comments

The semi-finals for oddly captivating song contest Eurovision happen tonight in Belgrade, and Belgian group Ishtar will be doing their track "O Julissi." Written in a made up language, composer Michel Vangheluwe says it was inspired by the happiness of childhood. But we suspect the song might have more than a little something to do with the constant tension between his homeland's French- and Flemish-speaking halves.

On the eve of his group's performance, Vangheluwe told the BBC:

Language nowadays can be a political issue, but it shouldn't. Music is something that brings people together and whatever language you sing in, you get the message and that's the most important thing.

As it happens, "O Julissi" isn't the first contest song featuring invented language. In 2003, another Belgian act, Urban Trad, took second place with "Sanomi." Check out that video after the jump.

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Turkeys (and Singers) to Watch at Eurovision

May 16, 2008 at 9:15 AM | 0 Comments

The weirdness that is the Eurovision Song Contest is almost upon us. On Tuesday, the first semi-final will run, and the second one follows on Thursday, when the list of the 25 finalist countries will be ready.

The big event itself is on Saturday May 24, and if it's not screening on a TV near you, don't panic because you can watch online. And if you're living or vacationing in Europe, you can take part in the voting, too.

Eurovision--the contest that brought us ABBA--is full of controversy this year. You can't vote for your own country, but many believe some neighboring countries vote for each other regardless of the quality of the song, so this year they've split these neighbors over the two semi-finals to help fix this problem.

There's also the question of whether some nations are taking the contest seriously or not. While Russia is sending its serious singing sweetheart Dima Bilan, pictured, Ireland is sending a turkey. For us viewers, it's simply serious fun, so don't forget to tune in and see the Bosnian singer who takes his chicken on stage.

Related Stories:
· Eurovision 2008 [Official Site]
· We Heart Dustin the Turkey [Jaunted]
· Eurovision coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Eurovision]

Eurovision 2008: Belgrade Promises Incredible Surprises

April 28, 2008 at 11:00 AM | 1 Comment

With less than a month to go until the big weekend of the Eurovision Song Contest, we hope you've got your tickets booked to Belgrade for May 24. We've got a real soft spot for Ireland's Dustin the Turkey (who's made it to the semi-finals), but nearly any of the semi-serious, semi-novelty acts could be the champion--depending on how incestuous the votes from neighboring countries turn out to be.

No matter which song wins, Serbia's capital Belgrade will be the big winner, with a heap of people realizing it might be a nice place to visit. They're going all out to impress with a record 70 tons of lighting and sound equipment at Belgrade Arena, and to finish off the evening there'll be an "incredible pyrotechnic surprise." Dustin the Turkey exploding? We'll soon find out!

Related Stories:
· Eurovision Song Contest [Official Site]
· Eurovision 2008: Adoptions, Garbage and Metal [Jaunted]
· We Heart Dustin the Turkey [Jaunted]
· Is Eurovision a Big Neighbors Scam? [Jaunted]

[Photo: Yogurinha Borova]

Eurovision 2008: Adoptions, Garbage and Metal

March 5, 2008 at 9:40 AM | 0 Comments

We wish we could time a trip to Europe each year to the various cities that play host to the quirky Eurovision song contest. The Serbian capital of Belgrade will host the 2008 Eurovision contest in May--the grand finale happens on May 24.

In the lead-up to Eurovision, individual European countries have been holding their own finals over the past couple of weeks, and they've produced some, well, interesting results. With Azerbaijan competing for the first time, their winning representatives Elnur and Samir went somewhat over the top in pledging to help the world if they win in Belgrade--Elnur even promised to adopt a child if he's crowned Eurovision king.

On the opposite side of Europe, former British garbage collector Andy Abraham won the right to represent Britain at Eurovision, and is determined to rescue Britain from its position as Eurovision laughing stock. And Finland is looking to repeat its 2006 victory by sending freaky metal act Teräsbetoni to Belgrade to do the soon-to-be-smash hit Missä Miehet Ratsastaa.

Related Stories:
· Elnur Pledged to Adopt Child [Oiko Times]
· Andy Abraham Vows to Win Eurovision [Mirror]
· Nightmares of European Children [Jaunted]

Eurovision 2008: We Heart Dustin the Turkey

February 14, 2008 at 9:30 AM | 0 Comments

Ah, Eurovision. Such a quirky invention, and the world might not have ABBA if it wasn't for the quirky contest. The 2008 Eurovision scene is starting to heat up, with the semi-final allocations taking place last month. This year's Eurovision will be held in Belgrade with 43 competing nations: San Marino and Azerbaijan are new, but Austria's decided to pull out because they reckon the whole thing's unfair.

And unfair it probably is, but we just love seeing the weird things that countries vote as their best song. In Ireland at the moment, one of the frontrunner candidates is a turkey. Unfortunately not a live turkey that they've taught to sing--that would actually be cool--but this sad looking puppet instead. His name is Dustin and he's from a kid's TV program, and he's our secret tip to be a Eurovision finalist this year. Watch this space.

Related Stories:
· Puppet Gives Two Fingers to Eurovision [news.com.au]
· Eurovision Coverage [Jaunted]

Is Eurovision A Big Neighbors Scam?

May 14, 2007 at 12:00 PM | 0 Comments


Greetings to all who spent last night watching the usual odd servings of how-could-they-ever-think-they'd-win finalists in the Eurovision Song Contest. From Germany's jazzed up Roger Cicero explaining how women rule the world to Ukraine's weirdly-dressed-up song, "Dancing Lasha Tumbai," which curiously was the favorite to win.

When it came down to judging time--Europeans can call or text to vote for anyone except for their own nation--it was even more apparent than normal that the more neighbors you have, the more votes you get. Even when a tiny country gives you a top vote, you get the same number of points as if the whole of Germany or France vote for you. Poor old England got nearly no votes (their entry's quality was questionable too, but that goes for nearly all of them), and former eastern bloc countries with plenty of small neighbors did well. And the winner? A (we personally think) not particularly stunning song from Serbian singer Marija. Media explosions about votes from neighbors has reached higher levels than ever this year, so maybe a new voting system is on the cards for Eurovision 2008 in Belgrade.

[Photo: flickrwegian]

Related Stories:
· Eurovision: Need Good Neighbours [Times UK]
· Eurovision Song-O-Mat Rocks Our World [Jaunted]

Eurovision Song-O-Mat Rocks Our World

May 2, 2007 at 9:15 AM | 0 Comments


With the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest getting to semi-finals and finals in Finland on May 10 and 12, it's time we started watching to see which of the 42 competing nations will take the crown from last year's winners, terrifying Finnish metal band Lordi.

If you want a preview on who might be your own personal favorite, check out the official website's Song-O-Mat. Answer the questions about the kind of song you'd like--for example, you can choose a male or female singer or a group, the language of the song, the geographic location of the artist, whether you want the tempo to be quick, slow, moderate or breath-taking, and what you'd like the topic of the song to be: "about something that matters/just a jingle/about human relations."

We took the quiz and came up with the Belgian entry, "LovePower" from The Krazy Mess Groovers, which so far has come in at #5 on the list of Song-O-Mat results. That does sound a little more likely to win than the Ukrainian "Dancing lasha tumbai" (currently last on the list) or the German number which features a guy singing a tune that translates to "Women Rule the World." Let us know what you come up with.

Related Stories:
· The Nightmares of European Children Have Just Begun [Jaunted]
· We Want Eurovision Tickets! [Jaunted]
· Eurovision Song-O-Mat [Official Site]

We Want Eurovision Tickets!

December 8, 2006 at 9:30 AM | 0 Comments


Ever thought you might need to get in contact with an organization called Lippupalvelu? Believe it or not, this is simply the Ticket Service of Finland, and you definitely need them if you want to head to 2007's Eurovision Song Contest. The events kick off in May.

You couldn't have forgotten last year's winners, Finnish band Lordi (in fact they could still be featuring in your nightmares). Knowing that these kind of surprises await us these days at Eurovision, who wouldn't be rushing to get tickets? Phone sales start December 10, and tickets will be available over the internet from December 12 at a mystery website--either they're just not publicizing it yet or the webmaster at Lippupalvelu hasn't got his act together. Perhaps he's still trying to spell the domain name correctly.

[Photo: cote]

Related Stories:
· Eurovision Tickets On Sale [Visit Finland]
· Coming Soon: Eurovision Action Figures [Jaunted]
· Nightmares of European Children [Jaunted]

Coming Soon: Eurovision Action Figures

August 14, 2006 at 9:15 AM | 0 Comments



Remember Lordi, the scary Finnish band that wore masks, frightened children, and then went on to win the Eurovision Song Contest? The Finns were a little embarrassed of the band before the competition began, but because everyone loves a winner, the country now has full-fledged Lordi mania.

To wit, the town of Rovaniemi has renamed a central square after the band; Tarja Halonen, Finland's president/resident Conan O'Brien impersonator praised the band for doing "Finnish quality work"; and, our favorite, there are plans for Lordi postage stamps and commemorative coins, although we presume they won't be produced by the Franklin mint.

We guess the Finns would rather be famous for their crazy band than for the whole cell-phone innovation thing. Strange, yes, but it's hard to argue with a band that has Satan wings on their costumes.

Related Stories:
·   Finland Embraces Its Monster Band [NYT]
·   Conan in Finland [Jaunted]
·   Eurovision [Jaunted]

The Nightmares of European Children Have Just Begun

May 22, 2006 at 11:10 AM | 0 Comments


With "Hard Rock Hallelujah," a slice of metal theater, Finland's hard rock band Lordi came out far ahead of second-place Russia in this year's Eurovision song contest, becoming one of the most surprising winners in the competition's history. Lordi pulled in front early and increased their lead gradually as the televote from 38 countries came in.

National vote reporting is one of the most enjoyable parts of the Eurovision evening. A representative from each country reports the national televote. The top ten vote-getters in each country receive points. The tenth through third highest vote-getters receive one through eight points, respectively. The second highest vote-getter nets 10 points, while the top vote-getter receives 12.

It is not possible to vote for your own country's act, although, as fan site esctoday.com has pointed out, Skype may be changing this.

The best moment during the vote reporting: Dutch announcer Paul de Leeuw flirting with co-presenter Sakis Rouvas, calling him "chickie," and offering him his phone number.

Finland's first ever Eurovision win may encourage other countries to reject more typical quasi-ethnic and ultra-sugary sorts of entries for acts that represent actual local tastes. Hardcore metal is huge in Finland, and Lordi matches domestic musical interests quite well.

Related Stories:
·   Eurovision Coverage [Jaunted]