Think of Eurovision and what immediately springs to mind?
Well, if you’re the casual viewer – the sort who pays no attention to the contest except when the final rolls around – chances are you’ll have a very fixed viewpoint of what to expect.
You’re probably anticipating a fun night, involving obscure musical instruments from Scandinavia, perhaps people with dodgy facial hair or weird monster make-up singing incomprehensible folk songs. Maybe even the odd woman in an evening dress being buffeted by a wind machine as she belts out a power ballad.
And of course the evening wouldn’t be complete without a dance banger or two performed by a singer in a sparkly leotard, which is ripped off midway through to reveal another sparkly leotard.
In other words, the exact thing that can be very amusing once you’ve had a few sherries, cracked open the Eurovision bingo cards and tripped over your shiny Abba tribute costume on your way to the bathroom.
Honestly, that’s fine. Those things do happen on the Eurovision stage. And I’m not here to be some awful killjoy, or tell you how you should be spending your song contest viewing party.
For one thing, I’m happy you’re tuning in at all, instead of being that person who comes out with grandiose statements about whoever it is ‘who watches that garbage’ (160million people across the world actually. It’s on Google and you could’ve looked it up if you weren’t sure).
Plus, as a dedicated follower of the contest, I’m well aware of the OTT nature of the whole spectacle.
I, too, have raised eyebrows at some of the odder acts – step forward this year’s Croatian entry, who strip down to underwear and ‘wave huge missiles’ – made everyone wear a silly hat on the night when I’ve hosted my own parties, and wasted many hours last year pondering the true identity of Norway’s Subwoolfer when I could have been doing something constructive with my time.
More recently, my thoughts have turned to how many sequined outfits I can realistically stuff in my suitcase for Liverpool (answer: lots. Not having to fly to the host city has its advantages). Because it’s Eurovision and therefore sequins are mandatory.
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But here’s the difference. I’m also aware of the changing nature of the event in recent years – and the fact that beneath the reputation it’s gained here as a camp cheesefest, lies a show that has become a lot more credible in recent years.
And instead of drawing automatic assumptions about the contest based on those somewhat outdated views, it might be time for a wider audience to acknowledge that.
Let’s have a look at the evidence, shall we? The fact that for every act singing about force-feeding bananas to wolves or running around in a giant hamster wheel, or illuminating the auditorium solely from the power of their light-up jacket, there’s someone who’s done rather well in the real world.
I’m not just talking about Abba and Celine Dion either.
Take the case of Maneskin, who absolutely owned the Eurovision stage at the 2021 contest in Rotterdam, delivering the sort of performance that made you believe you were at one of their shows instead of watching them in the song contest.
It was no surprise when they won, and went on to achieve global fame – earlier this year they scored a top five album in the UK with their latest release Rush!, as well as selling out huge venues around the world, including London’s O2 Arena. They’re playing Glastonbury this summer (something which last year’s winners Kalush Orchestra and Ukraine’s 2021 act Go_A have also done).
They even bagged a Grammy nomination earlier this year. A Grammy for heaven’s sake.
But it doesn’t stop there. Sam Ryder finished second for the UK last year and since then has a number one album and a sell-out tour under his belt. Add to that playing at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee concert, headlining the BBC’s New Year’s Eve concert, a Brit award nomination for best new artist… the list goes on.
He’s done well for himself, basically, let’s leave it there.
And let’s not forget the case of Rosa Linn, the Armenian singer whose song Snap! didn’t do too well in the contest last year, finishing 20th, but has gone on to success around the world after going viral on TikTok – even creeping into the Billboard Charts in the US.
You almost certainly know her song – but you might not even have realised it was a Eurovision entry.
In fact TikTok – which is now the official entertainment partner of the contest – has given a boost to many of the other songs of late, with non-English language entries doing particularly well in 2022.
Mahmood and Blanco’s Italian entry Brividi appeared in hundreds of thousands of videos last year, while Kalush Orchestra’s winning song Stefania proved almost as popular on the app.
Other artists who have done well include 2019 winner Duncan Laurence, who hit the US charts also with his winning song Arcade – reaching number 30 and becoming the first Eurovision song in 25 years to reach the Billboard Hot 100.
Iceland’s Dadi Freyr – aka the winner that never was from 2020′s cancelled contest – also made an impact with his entry Think About Things, which proved so popular Jamie Laing even got to dance to it on Strictly the following year. Another song you may not have realised has Eurovision roots.
France’s La Zarra gives us cool and classy retro disco, and while Austria’s wacky Edgar Allan Poe tribute might fit the ‘oh so Eurovision’ brief it has a serious message at its heart, satirising the woeful underpayment of female songwriters.
Electro-pop also has its moment courtesy of edgy, modern sounding tunes from Ukraine’s Tvorchi and Serbia’s Luke Black, and if it’s full on bops you’re after, look no further than the UK’s Mae Muller with her moment of female empowerment, or Israel’s Noa Kirel with the sort of fast and furious tune which fills dancefloors.
And don’t get me started on the other different musical styles represented. German goth metal courtesy of Lord Of The Lost (who are supporting Iron Maiden this summer), Moldovan ethnopop, fun cabaret vibes from Portugal, stirring Spanish flamenco, moody Muse-esque sounds from Latvia, quirky indie pop provided by Slovenia and Azerbaijan, and Australia’s awesome prog rockers Voyager, who brought the house down at pre-contest parties.
All about as far removed from skirt-ripping – iconic as it was in its day – and costume changes as you can get. And not even a key change in sight. No wonder the UK, fixed as it was in its mission to send a ‘Eurovision’ style song as opposed to merely a song, was struggling to keep up until Sam Ryder came along.
So yes, we’re all aware that Eurovision can be offbeat, often ridiculous, and almost always entertaining. I’m not suggesting it’s something that should be treated with the seriousness of a political debate or a discussion about Nietzsche (although I bet he would have loved a bit of German goth metal).
But I do think it’s time we left those ideas of the whole thing being cheesy, dreadful and dodgy back in the past where they belong.
It should be realised what a launchpad it has become for genuinely talented acts, and acknowledged the decent songs in there, and the hours of work that goes into bringing them to the stage on the big night.
Because you never know when that song you’re raving to your friends about, or playing on a loop on Spotify, or singing along to because you heard it on social media, might turn out to be by one of those acts.
The Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals are on BBC One on Tuesday May 9 and Thursday May 11 at 8pm. The grand final is on BBC One on Saturday May 13 at 8pm.
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