Eurovision

[Melaszka]

I can't believe what we are sending to Eurovision! There was a joke singer on a talk show here that was singing a stupid song and they presented it to Eurovision just for the laughs... And they won! And that's going to go to Budapest for Spain! Kill me now!

Well, if it's any consolation, I don't think much of the UK entry, either - the guy's got a lovely voice, but the song is, to my mind, too bland to be in with a chance.

It's not just Spain - I think quite a few countries (e.g. Ireland) are not taking it seriously any more and are sending joke entries. I don't know whether it's apathy, brain-dead televoters, or a protest against political voting.

Isn't it in Belgrade, though?

[Poisoned_Apathy]

I can't believe what we are sending to Eurovision! There was a joke singer on a talk show here that was singing a stupid song and they presented it to Eurovision just for the laughs... And they won! And that's going to go to Budapest for Spain! Kill me now!

I can't believe it either!!! It's just terrible!!!

I'm such a fan of La Casa Azul since so many years ago and their song was soooo nice. I was praying for it to win, it would have been the best song we've send to Eurovision in decades!!!! Shame!!!!

[girl about town]

Why? It's not kitsch and it's not clever!!!!!!! Bring back Johnny Logan and his unrivalled sincerity!

[sisterlondon]

Mel, might be Belgrade, I was just too shocked and probably am mixing the cities!

Poisoned, I was hoping for La Casa Azul to win as well. Not my fave song ever, but it was the best that was on the finals. At least it was catchy and a proper song!

[Melaszka]

Any thoughts on last night's event?

My favourite was Israel, but I also liked Ukraine and Armenia a lot.

[sisterlondon]

I just saw a couple of them and have to say that I liked the UK. Funky song, sounded good.

I didn't see Spain... better that way!

[caroline]

Same old, same old comes to mind watching Eurovision last night (yes my life is that boring )

I liked the Ukraine entry and thought the UKs was really good and he performed it flawlessly.

The programme does seem to have lost its folky theme and a lot more entrants are either power ballads or disco (can't think of another word to discribe, sorry) and a couple of really silly ones (brides and washing lines??????).

Some of the voting is sooooo predictable and I don't blame Terry Wogan if he calls it a day after this one.

I for one don't even think what countries performing and just listen to the songs.

I don't know where the show can go from here, it's not the fact that a good song didn't win it's just how much longer we should keep contributing as a country financially to the Eurovision when it's obvious we're not wanted.

Anyone else feel the same or am I just a madwoman taking it all too seriously???

[Adrian]

I'm just pissed that Doctor Who was cancelled this week. Now we got some crappy 'talent'show-like bullshit and incredibly outdated attempt at unifying what will never be unified... But then I don't belong to the group of people it's made for...

[Steerpike]

Same old, same old comes to mind watching Eurovision last night (yes my life is that boring )

I liked the Ukraine entry and thought the UKs was really good and he performed it flawlessly.

The programme does seem to have lost its folky theme and a lot more entrants are either power ballads or disco (can't think of another word to discribe, sorry) and a couple of really silly ones (brides and washing lines??????).

Some of the voting is sooooo predictable and I don't blame Terry Wogan if he calls it a day after this one.

I for one don't even think what countries performing and just listen to the songs.

I don't know where the show can go from here, it's not the fact that a good song didn't win it's just how much longer we should keep contributing as a country financially to the Eurovision when it's obvious we're not wanted.

Anyone else feel the same or am I just a madwoman taking it all too seriously???

I agree Caroline. I usually "enjoy" watching Eurovision, but not last night. I think the way Andy Abrahams was treated was shameful. He put his heart and soul in to his performance. (although, I still think we would have done better the Michelle Gayle song had been our Euro entry).

I wonder if all the Western countries like UK, Germany, Spain and France that practically support the contest will pull out?

[Melaszka]

Caroline and Steerpike, I think my enjoyment was probably enhanced by the fact that I switched off before the voting. Although I know Russia won and we came last, I deliberately didn't sit around to hear who gave votes to who, so just have happy memories of the songs, not anger at the voting.

I'd disagree that Andy was treated "shamefully" - I think he's a fantastic performer, but as I said a few weeks ago, I've always had my doubts about the song. Nothing wrong with it, it's perfectly pleasant but I didn't think there was anything memorable about it (or about his stage show visually) that would make it stick in the audience's mind as they trawled through another 23 songs. I would have put it much, much higher up the order than it came, but I really wouldn't have put it in the top 10. That's just my personal view, though.

Yes, it is unjust that it came behind novelty acts like Spain and Latvia, but a lot of people vote for stage shows that entertain them, not the best songs. Annoying, but that's life.

I hope they do reform the Contest to exclude political voting - perhaps by dividing competing nations into groups that can't vote for anyone else in their group, perhaps by at least a partial return to official judges instead of a televote. I hope the UK doesn't pull out, as I love Eurovision, but I wish the funding arrangements were different. It's unfair that we are effectively allowed to buy our way into the final, even if we 've got an act as bad as Jemini, and it does mean we end up feeling that other nations are being ungrateful if we do badly, so it's not benefitting anyone, except financially.

What does concern me, though, is the outright xenophobia against Eastern Europeans that is appearing on a lot of Eurovision discussion forums (not thsi one, I hasten to add). Whatever the problem is, it is NOT that Slavs as a race are a bunch of shifty little slimeballs who can't be trusted to behave decently.

BTW did anyone else think that the Russian background skater would win first prize in a Boris Johnson lookalike competition?

[Meyrav]

Any thoughts on last night's event?

My favourite was Israel, but I also liked Ukraine and Armenia a lot.

Weehee!! Israel!
LOL
Maybe if the Eurovision wasn't about politics and about 'neighbores countries' thing, The good song could win...

[Melaszka]

Weehee!! Israel!
LOL
Maybe if the Eurovision wasn't about politics and about 'neighbores countries' thing, The good song could win...

Yes, I think you guys were robbed. A lot of Eurovision fan websites are saying Israel should have won (based on calculations that exclude neighbour votes).

I don't think it was people voting for their neighbours per se. Apparently the Russian guy is a big star with a huge fan base across the former Soviet Union. I think the preexistent fan vote swung it (it in the same way that if the UK entered a huge star like Madonna or Robbie Williams, we'd probably win, because their fans would vote for them, even if the song was crap).

[Meyrav]

Weehee!! Israel!
LOL
Maybe if the Eurovision wasn't about politics and about 'neighbores countries' thing, The good song could win...

Yes, I think you guys were robbed. A lot of Eurovision fan websites are saying Israel should have won (based on calculations that exclude neighbour votes).

I don't think it was people voting for their neighbours per se. Apparently the Russian guy is a big star with a huge fan base across the former Soviet Union. I think the preexistent fan vote swung it (it in the same way that if the UK entered a huge star like Madonna or Robbie Williams, we'd probably win, because their fans would vote for them, even if the song was crap).

Oh really? I didn't know the russian singer was a big star...and I thought people thought it was a good song for real-though i thought it was aweful! It's a shame...
They should make a new rule that forbid 'big stars' participating in the eurovision.

[anortherncod]

My dad thinks some voters might have chosen other artists because Andy is black.

I didn't see it, but I'd be inclined to agree with your dad.

I think Leona Lewis was the first non-white person to win a talent competition in recent years, and without meaning any disrespect to her, she is light-skinned enough for a lot of white people to find her acceptable - look at the actors who are or were in soaps (Angela Griffin, Craig Charles, etc). The lighter-skinned you are the more acceptable you are, it seems.

You may all have guessed that with the Halle Berry comparisons I'm actually mixed race myself, and I could go on about this all night, but I'll get off my soapbox and leave my ambition to follow in Martin Luther King's footsteps till tomorrow!

Natasha