A Finnish “horror-rock” band Lordi won the Eurovision song contest last night. Fantastic!
Lordi’s masks, armour and jets of flame attracted widespread attention before the contest – but many thought they were too outlandish to win.
Too outlandish to win?? Restraint is no way to win the Eurovision song contest. After all, the Ukrainian winner of a few years back won on the back of furs and whips.
For my American readers – the unitiated to Eurovision – let me try to explain. The Eurovision song contest was set up many years ago to promote harmony through song. But I suspect it was really an attempt to showcase French and German pop, which really cannot compete outside (or even in) their home market with British, Irish and American pop. We anglophones are the royalty of rock, the princes of pop.
The contest has changed a lot over the years. Yes, it’s still cheesy pop, scantily clad chanteuses, and inscrutable English lyrics sung with incomprehensible foreign accents. (Most songs are sung in English, except for French entrants who I think are required by law to sing in their native tongue). It’s still a lot of prancing around to bizarrely choreographed routines, but now it’s even more so. Since the fall of Communism, Eastern European countries – the Latvias, Moldovas and even Armenias are swarming the competition. And let me tell you, nobody does cheesy like the Eastern Europeans. Their cheesiness is just so thoroughly earnest. There’s no smug self-awareness, no post-modernist irony, they just go out there and sing and dance their painfully cheesy best. It’s awesome.
The only downside to the new entrants is that all countries participating get a vote. The vote used to be some kind of rigged set up by judges from each of the countries who would swap votes in regional blocks. Now the Eurovision Song Contest promoters have cottoned on to the premium-rate phone in – and citizens from all over Europe can vote in to support their favorite act – though not for their own country’s entrant.
People still vote regionally, often overcoming past conflicts. For example, Croats will vote overwhelmingly for Serbs. Last night Lithuanians voted strongly for the Russian song “Never let you go.” (See video complete with creepy imperialist lyrics and wife-beater t-shirt). So perhaps I underestimate either the Baltic sense of irony or the effect of pop on global harmony.
But with all these countries voting, the part of the show where the votes are tallied – which used to be the best bit has now become tedious and over-long. Although there are only 24 acts in the final, there must be about 40 countries eligible to vote.
And last night, those 40 countries overwhelmingly supported the Finland’s entry, a Eurovision first. Check out their Eurovision entry and the winning song’s official video (complete with cheerleaders.) I must say Lordi look especially incongruous holding their winners’ bouquets and monster masks. Congrats to ’em.
The Vol Abroad 