Category Archives: Special Comment
Congratulations and Condolences…
I’ve only got a quick moment to write, but I just wanted to cover two quick points…
1) On November 20, the 2010 Junior Eurovision Song Contest was held in Minsk, Belarus. I mentioned the JESC briefly in the past, but for those of you who are unfamiliar with it, it’s a smaller-scale contest for performers under the age of 16 (the minimum age to compete in the full Eurovision). This year, 14 songs were submitted, mostly from Eastern Europe. Despite all indications that Georgia’s Mariam Kakhelishvili would with with her Lady Gaga-inspired “Mari Dari“(which, in my opinion, toes the line between cute and terrifying), the eventual winner was Armenia’s Vladimir Arzumanyan with “Mama”, beating Russia’s “Boy and Girl” by a single point. Here’s the winning performance:
This is Armenia’s first victory in any of the EBU-sanctioned competitions (the ESC, JESC, or Eurovision Dance Contest), and while I was personally rooting for Belgium, Lithuania, or Sweden, I can’t deny that 12-year-old Vladimir really worked it out on stage, and while many might grumble about political votes or diaspora support, I do think that the little guy from Stepanakert earned his victory.
2) On the more solemn side of things, however, I’m saddened to report the passing of Ladislav “Laci” Demeterffy, better known to the ESC world as “75 Cents”. In 2008, he performed alongside Croatian representatives Kraljevi Ulice with their song “Romanca”. The elderly Laci (who picked his pseudonym as a reference to his age at the time) waxed poetic, flirted, and even did a bit of scratching on an old gramophone while on stage, and he holds the record for the oldest Eurovision contestant ever. He passed away peacefully on November 19th in Zagreb at the age of 77. This was one of my favorite performances of that year, due in no small part to Laci’s contribution. May he rest in peace, and may his loved ones be comforted by the fact that he made so many people happy with his most famous performance (seen below).
Until next time!
Post-Script to the Post-Mortem…
Just when you think the competition’s over and done with…when all of the lights have gone down, the last bit of confetti has been swept off the floor, and the last fan has vacated the Telenor Arena…one of the quiet highlights of the Eurovision Song Contest takes place, unnoticed by many casual fans.
Every year since the 2002 ESC in Tallinn, Estonia, the three Marcel Bezençon Awards are presented to singers or songwriters who have made themselves and their nations proud. Named for the man who originated the Eurovision Song Contest, these awards are often awarded to songs were overlooked by televoters or juries. Although they might not have the flash or publicity that the Grand Prix gets, the fact that these awards come directly from the press, the composers, and past Eurovision royalty means just as much, if not more, to those who are lucky enough to receive them.
As I’ve mentioned, there are three awards given. The first is the Press Award, voted on by all of the accredited members of the media who gather to cover the ESC. In recent years, it’s been given to Serbia and Montenegro for “Lane Moje”, Finland for “Hard Rock Hallelujah”, Portugal for “Senhora do Mar”, and last year’s winner, Norway, for “Fairytale”.
The second award, the Artistic Award, was previously decided by a poll of previous Eurovision Winners. However, as time has passed, many past participants either were unavailable or unwilling to vote. Starting from now on, this prize will be decided by a vote from the individual networks’ commentators, many of whom are rabid fans of the ESC, and have listened to the songs many times. Previous winners have included Ukraine’s “Wild Dances” and “Shady Lady”, Greece’s “My Number One”, Serbia’s “Molitva”, and France’s “Et S’il Fallait Le Faire”.
The final award, the Composer Award, is voted on by the individual composers competing in that year’s competition. It’s gone to Bosnia and Herzegovina for “Lejla” and “Bistra Voda”, and Hungary for “Unsubstantial Blues”, among others.
Until now, no single song has ever won more than one of these prestigious awards. This year, one song has taken all three of the Marcel Bezençon Awards, and it didn’t even place in the Top Ten of this year’s Eurovision Final.
Congratulations are in order for Harel Skaat from Israel and his song “Milim (Words)”, a song that nearly made me cry when I watched it being performed live yesterday. Here’s the live performance from the ESC Stage:
Post-Mortem: 2010’s ESC
So, after two Semifinals and a Grand Final (in both senses of the word), we have a winner!
Huge congratulations to Lena, who brought the Eurovision gold back to Germany for the first time since 1982 (nine years before Lena was even born). Not only that, but this will be the first time that they will host the competition as a unified nation, as their previous hosting gigs took place in West Germany alone. “Satellite” won a resounding victory over second-placed Turkey, with 76 points separating the two. Romania’s “Playing with Fire” took a surprise bronze, and there was a complete logjam for 4th through 9th, with only thirteen points separating Denmark, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Armenia, Greece, and Georgia (basically, if a juror had gone to the bathroom at the wrong time, it could have made a difference in the scoring). And, rounding out the Final, the United Kingdom took last place (their second in three years) after Georgia gave a shocking maximum score to Belarus.
Other highlights from this year’s show? Well, Spain, who was performing second with “Algo Pequeñito”, was given a rare opportunity to perform their song for a second time (after the 25th song had been sung) due to a stage invasion by Jimmy Jump. Known previously for running onto the field during European soccer and rugby matches, Jimmy (real name: Jaume Marquet Cot) once tried invade the court during last year’s French Open final and put a traditional Catalan hat on Roger Federer’s head. He was arrested (Jimmy Jump, not Roger Federer), and faces possible jail time.
The results of the Semifinals were also shocking. Despite strong performances, highly favored entries from Slovakia, Sweden, and Croatia didn’t even make it into the Final, while unexpected songs from Russia and Belarus sailed through. Because of this, a total of seven former Soviet-bloc nations made it to the Finals, possibly dissipating votes enough amongst themselves to such an extent that former front-runner Azerbaijan had to settle for 5th place. Considering that Azerbaijan is rumored to have spent over a million Euros in publicity for the song (including advertising on some other Eurovision blogs, which I just find distasteful), I don’t think their result has made Baku very happy.
I had a few friends over yesterday to watch the show (it’s not shown here in the U.S., sadly, but I was able to hook up my computer to the TV and watch the international feed from eurovision.tv…big “thank you” to the EBU for providing it!), and here were our favorites:
1) Georgia (Sofia Nizharadze, “Shine”), 30 points
2) Israel (Harel Ska’at, “Milim”), 25 points
3) Spain (Daniel Diges, “Algo Pequeñito”), 24 points
4) Turkey (maNga, “We Could Be the Same”), 22 points
5) France (Jessy Matador, “Allez! Ola! Olé!”), 18 points
So, while we had fun keeping our own score, the American Televoters (or at least the ones in my living room) weren’t really in line with the European audience. (Maybe an unbiased non-EBU-member jury should be added to next year’s scoring system? That would mix things up a bit!)
So, how were my predictions, in terms of the eventual results? Let me go back into my archive and see what I’ve said…
1) Germany: “Satellite” is a fun, catchy, upbeat, simply adorable number that has obviously made a massive impact on the European market already. Considering that Germany (like France, the UK, Spain, and Norway) already has a pass to the Finals, and that Lena will be performing close to the end of the roster, this might be the one to beat in Oslo.” – Sounds about right!
2) Turkey: “Because of this [international] support, and the high quality of “We Could Be The Same”, I’m almost positive that they’ll sail through to the finals, and will possibly make it to the Top 5″
3) Romania: “Although “Playing with Fire” is in the tough second semifinal, I’d be surprised if they didn’t make it through, assuming that Paula’s high note doesn’t cause her throat to explode or the jury’s ears to bleed.” -Paula hit her notes, and they came in 4th in their semifinal after an explosive performance. I don’t think anyone believed that they would do as well as they did, but I think it was well-deserved.
4) Denmark: “It’s not my personal favorite this year (although I’d definitely put it in my top dozen or so, and it’s growing on me quickly), but the bookies seem to favor it, and ESC fan clubs all over the continent are definitely supporting it, with or without the Scandinavian Voting Bloc advantage. I’d be surprised if it didn’t hit the Top 5 in this year’s Finals!“
5) Azerbaijan (keep in mind that I wrote this entry a while ago, before their official preview video came out…): “Don’t get me wrong, though; Safura looks beautiful, and Azerbaijan’s currently riding a wave of popularity in Eurovision, so she will likely pass through to the finals. Furthermore, Azerbaijan’s sharing their semifinal with ally Turkey, so votes from one will likely go to the other, and vice versa. However, I don’t see this gaining the universal appeal of “Always”, so I think that Baku 2011 might be out of the question.” – “Drip Drop” fell just short of the third-place finish that AySel and Arash held last year.
6) Belgium: “Tom’s voice isn’t perfect, and he isn’t as drop-dead gorgeous as some of the other participants in this year’s competition, but Tom has the sort of sweet, earnest, and genuine “everyman” quality that appeals to me. We’ve all known a Tom Dice or two. He’s the acquaintance you sat next to in High School Trigonometry, or the dude you sometimes see at the coffee shop you always go to, or the quiet guy four cubicles down from your desk at work. You might not know much about him, and you might have walked by him a thousand times without even realizing it, but you still want him to succeed at whatever he’s going for. That’s why I’m pulling for Tom to at least break into the finals.” – I loved this song, and didn’t want to get my hopes up that it would do as well as it did. But it thankfully exceeded my expectations, and not only won the First Semifinal handily, but it ended up as the highest-placed Flemish song since 1959, when there were only eleven nations competing, not 39.
Not all of my predictions came out well, though:
1) Croatia: “My prediction for the ladies from Feminnem? Well, they’ll be performing in the difficult Second Semifinal, but if they pass, then they’ll have the benefit of a beautiful song, performers who are no strangers to the Eurovision Stage, and the fact that they’re a member of the often-advantageous Balkan voting bloc. If they make the finals, and they put together a good staged performance, you can expect a Top Ten, if not a Top Five position.” – The lovely ladies from Feminnem came in 13th place in their semifinal, and didn’t qualify.
2) Sweden: “Anna Bergendahl is only eighteen years old and will be performing “This Is My Life” in her trademark red Chuck Taylors on the Eurovision Stage. It’s the first ballad to represent Sweden in over a decade, and it’s favored to reach the Top 10, if not the Top 5. Anna’s voice is very unique, almost reminiscent of a Shakira-type throatiness at points. As Sweden can truly do no wrong in Eurovision’s eyes (and it’s in the heart of the Scandinavian voting bloc), the song is a lock to sail through to the final.”- Anna’s song came in a heartbreaking 11th place in her semi, only five points behind Ireland and Cyprus. This was the first time since 1976 that we didn’t hear a Swede in the finals.
3) Slovakia: “It’s being performed in the first semifinal, and I would be shocked to not see this qualify. I predict that Slovakia will not only beat its own personal best placement of 18th, but it might crack the Top 5 or 10, if she performs as well on the ESC stage as she did in her National Final a few months ago.” -Kristina came in second-to-last in the First semi after a performance fraught with nerves.
4) Israel: “I can almost guarantee that this will not only qualify for the final, but it may be in the running for the win.” It qualified for the Finals, but “Milim” only made it to 14th place in the end.
5) Russia: “This song’s awkwardness is all intentional. Be that as it may, many ESC viewers are hearing these songs for the first time when they vote…will the joke go over their heads, or will bloc voting carry them through to the Final?” It looks like votes for Mother Russia saved this one, which came in 11th place in the end.
6) Belarus: “I make no guarantees, but I don’t see Belarus breaking back into the Finals with this one. It doesn’t matter much to me if Belarus submits pop, a ballad, rock, or folk…I think I’m most upset by the absence of mullets.” They might not have had mullets, but they made it through to the finals by the skin of their teeth, and came in an eventual second-to-last place. So maybe I got this one half-right?
Anyway, just because the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest is over doesn’t mean that I’m calling it quits. There’s still a lot of ground to cover! To keep me busy until the first announcements are made starting in December, I’ll be writing little essays here and there about the ESC’s history, politics, language…whatever strikes my fancy! I may also mention other great songs that I think deserve our attention, even if they never made it to Eurovision. If you have any suggestions, feel free to send them my way in a comment!
I just took a look at my hit counter, and I see that I’m over 300 readers. I just wanted to thank you all for taking the time to read what I have to say. I only set this blog up as a way to get my geek out on Eurovision, and to know that we’ve got a little community growing…it really warms my heart. I know that some of you know me personally, and others live halfway around the world from my little flat in Minnesota, but I truly appreciate you all. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Cheers until the next time,
Samantha
Thank You!
Wow…looking at my hit counter in the bottom of my page, it looks like I’ve hit 100 readers (or, at least, individual computers…and only two of those are mine, I promise!) I just wanted to say “thank you” for reading my random rants and raves on the ESC. I started writing here just for my own enjoyment (and also to keep from ranting about it to everyone I know), but to know that I’ve got other people enjoying what I’m doing…it means a lot to me. Keep telling your friends, other ESC fans, anyone! If you’re an OGAE Member, tell the rest of your club about my little corner of the Internet…all are welcome!
I’d love to know more about who’s reading ESCInsider, though. Feel free to leave me a comment, tell me what you like, what you don’t, if you think I’m right or wrong about Country X or Song Y, where you’re from, how you found me…I genuinely would love to know!
All the best to you, dear readers…and again, thank you!
-Sam
A Note on "Bloc Voting"
As the Eurovision Song Contest has grown and expanded over the years, going from seven nations participating in 1956 to 42 in the 2009 contest, unofficial “alliances” have been established between nations, often due to shared linguistic, cultural, or geographical histories. For example, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and Finland will often swap votes with each other, as do the nations of the former Soviet Union or Yugoslavia. More recently, current patterns of immigration have begun to influence expected voting patterns, with Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France often sending votes to Turkey or Armenia, or Spain and Portugal voting for Romania or Moldova. Read the rest of this entry
A Quick Holiday Message from InCulto…
Lithuania’s 2010 Entrant has a special message for all of us:
Happy Easter, Passover, Springtime, or whatever other holiday you might be celebrating today!
(And check out InCulto’s official entry, “Eastern European Funk” here! Their full article will be up just as soon as I get to the “L”s…)
All the best,
Sam
The ESC Insider 
Happy Thanksgiving from the ESC Insider!
Nov 27
Posted by Samantha Ross
Well, for our American readers, I’d like to wish you all a Happy Belated Thanksgiving! I hope you’ve all had your fill of your favorites, especially turkey! Chatting back and forth with my friends Tarkan and Roy (a Turk living in Germany and a South African, respectively), I realize that I’ve sort of taken Thanksgiving for granted over the past few years. I mean, I love getting together with my family over the traditional holiday meal, devouring the turkey, stuffing, green beans, cranberry-flavored-everything, and pie, and washing them all down with generous glasses of Riesling and Pinot Noir. To me, it’s become very much a family gathering, but I’ve forgotten over the years how much of an American holiday it truly is. (For our non-US readers, it’s basically the recounting of the story of how some of the first European settlers arrived on the Continent from England, made it through a harsh winter with the help of the local Patuxet tribe, and celebrated their endurance and survival the next year by sharing a feast with the Native Americans. It’s a bit more complicated than that, but that’s sort of a “Thanksgiving 101”.) I’m not proud of everything that my country has done over the last few centuries. Heck, I can barely watch an episode of the news nowadays without suppressing the need to roll my eyes every once in a while. But I am proud of who I am, and where I come from. Thanksgiving, more than any other holiday, in my opinion, honors the idea that the United States is a nation made up mostly of immigrants (and their descendants), blended together over the years.
So, what does this little commentary have to do with Eurovision, anyway?
Well, in honor of Thanksgiving, one of the most American of Holidays, I’d like to dedicate this entry to the U.S.-born performers who have graced the stage across the pond. Some carried the banner of their family’s homeland from generations ago, and others simply found their niche and opportunity when it arose. (And please note: when I say “American”, I mean “from the United States”, rather than from the American continent as a whole. I might honor Canadians in a separate posting!)
The earliest example of an American singing at Eurovision that I could find seems to be from 1979: Jeane Manson, an Ohio-born former Playboy centerfold, represented Luxembourg with “J’ai Déjà Vu Ça Dans Tes Yeux (I’ve Already Seen It In Your Eyes)“, coming in 13th out of 19 entries that year. Jeane was living in France at the time, and had already established a pretty decent singing and acting career in the Francophone world. I believe that this was the first (and, so far, only) time that an American has performed in Eurovision using a language other than English.
The most successful American to grace the ESC stage was Topeka, Kansas-born Katrina Leskanich, the lead singer of Katrina and the Waves. Their 1997 victory with “Love Shine a Light” was the most recent win for the United Kingdom, the country where Katrina had been living since she was 16. Otherwise best known for their global hit “Walking on Sunshine“, Katrina and her band not only clinched the win, but did so with the biggest margin of victory in ESC history, a record that would stand until Lordi’s win for “Hard Rock Hallelujah” in 2006. Here’s the winning performance (with a bit of Dutch commentary; skip to 1:15 for the start of the song.)
In 2006, New York-born, Greek-American singer Annet Artani (birth name: Annette Denise Stamatelatos) represented Cyrpus with the song “Why Angels Cry“, a well-sung, yet completely forgettable ballad that failed to break out of the semi-finals, even though she had the benefit of performing in Athens.
Two years later, Seattle-born Isis Gee (aka Tamara Wimer) took the stage for Poland with “For Life“, another big-voiced ballad. Isis, once a participant in the Miss America pageant system, moved to Warsaw in 2004 after marrying into a Polish family. She soon released a pop album, and entered the Polish ESC preselection, winning by a pretty major landslide. Although she made it out of the semifinal in Belgrade that year, she only won 14 points in the final, tying for last place with Germany and the United Kingdom.
More successful that year was another New York-born Greek-American, Kalomoira Sarantis, and her song “Secret Combination”. She had previously won the Greek edition of Star Academy and was riding a wave of popularity in her adopted homeland, despite the fact that she barely spoke Greek when she arrived in Athens for the first time. She took the Belgrade event by storm, with her Britney Spears-meets-bouzouki mashup coming in a very respectable 3rd place (after winning her semifinal).
2009 brought a double-whammy of American representation: Germany not only brought in Californian singer Oscar Loya to sing “Miss Kiss Kiss Bang”, but they brought in the lovely Dita von Teese (a native of Michigan) to perform during the song itself. Sadly, Oscar and Dita only came in 20th place out of 25 (although Germany more than made up for it the next year…)
So, to all of those Yankees who have crossed the ocean to try their luck at Europe’s biggest music festival, I salute you! Whether you took home the gold or didn’t even crack into the finals, you’ve made us proud!
Posted in Special Comment
Leave a comment