Hi guys! I haven't blogged in over a year, but I recently started to miss it a lot, plus I noticed that I'm still getting hundreds of views each week, so I decided to officially come back.
Last night (May 10th) saw the grand final of the biggest party in Europe - the Eurovision Song Contest. The whole show was stunning, and it seemed to me like a mixture of The Hunger Games and Frozen. The musical bar was set very high, and there didn't seem to be an obvious winner - not until the results were out, that is.
The winner this year was Austrian act Conchita Wurst - a drag queen known as "the bearded lady" - with her song "Rise Like a Phoenix." While accepting the award, she said, "This night is dedicated to everyone who believes in a future of peace and freedom." She was soon declared 'Queen of Europe' and was the top trending topic on Twitter.
Conchita's victory has, of course, sparked controversy. Take one look at the YouTube comments under her video and you will see divisions between her supporters and her opponents. Anti-Conchita Facebook pages are being set up right at this moment, with harsh memes and comments about the Austrian drag queen. There was also a lot of controversy surrounding Poland's suggestive performance (see below).
Tolerance and equality was a major theme among acts in this year's contest. I was jazzed by Iceland's song, "No Prejudice." They were sending out such a positive message, with lyrics such as "Let's do away with prejudice, don't discriminate, tolerance is bliss." This seems to have been a jab at Russia's anti-gay policy. Ironically, Russia also seemed to want to spread a positive message of love (on a surface level), with their lyrics "sending out a message up above, telling all the world to show some love." Ironic, given Russia's anti-gay laws. Maybe try some real tolerance for a change, and drop the pretense?
The Eurovision isn't just a singing contest, it's very political. Every year, countries usually give their highest votes to their neighbours, and divisions can be clearly seen in voting results.Tensions between Russia and Ukraine were also obvious this year, with the Russian act getting booed by the audience and Ukraine getting a lot of votes despite their weak performance (but I liked the hamster wheel yo). Even some of the lyrics in the Russian song, "Shine," seem to hint at border incursion, with lyrics such as, "living on the edge, closer to the crime, cross the line, one step at a time ... maybe there's a day you'll be mine." Suspicious much? I mean, I do feel a bit sorry for the two 17-year-old girl who were treated quite harshly by the audience, because they shouldn't be held personally responsible for their country's crimes, but they were representing Russia, and therefore their ideals, while singing a very ironic song (though I did like the performance, and I think the twins are insanely talented. Also, if they want to lend me their hair, I would love that.) Surely they realise, however, that it wasn't personal. Honestly, I was glad Russia got booed and that Conchita won, because it just shows that Europeans are responding negatively to Russia's actions, and they are not passive about it.
My personal opinions on the acts
I kept up a running commentary on Twitter last night, probably annoying half of my followers, but whatever. This wasn't an everyday situation. I might as well just say what I thought about each act here, in order of appearance.
Disclaimer: these are my opinions on the acts and performances, not the countries they are representing.
1. Ukraine - the girl's good looks almost made up for her singing voice, but not quite. This shouldn't have ended up at one of the top spots, but obviously the political situation took charge. A weak song, but nice hamster wheel.
2. Belarus - okay, I listened to this song many times, but I still don't understand it. Is his main aspiration in life to be a...cheesecake? There's just something not right about that. Also, Teo reminds me of Robin Thicke.
3. Azerbaijan - first off, I didn't even know Azerbaijan was in Europe. Second, I forgot this song right after I heard it. I was more focused on the trapeze artist. The audience was just as unimpressed as I was.
4. Iceland - I've said this before, but I was jazzed by this performance. Such a great and positive message, cute suits and they spelled out 'love' with their bodies, like a cheesy picture people put up on Facebook. They were like the Wiggles.You gotta love them.
5. Norway - I loved it. It was a beautiful, powerful ballad, well sung. They didn't make a big production of it either. There's a silent storm inside me. One of my favourites.
6. Romania - to be perfectly honest, this disco music hurt my ears. I liked the idea of an infinite piano, but he was fake playing it.. A big plus for energy.
7. Armenia - at first I thought this was going to be a snooze, and I thought they had copied Sweden's lighting as well, with the circle of spotlights. However, I was positively surprised, because hot damn this song was explosive! It could have been a little better sung, but a well deserved 4th place!
8. Montenegro - kudos for singing in their own language. I loved the ice skating on stage, and the visuals reminded me of Frozen so much! It was such a beautiful fairytale kind of song!
9. Poland - oh dear. Pardon me for being a little bit patriotically biased (being Polish, I have to try to defend them). When I first saw this, I was embarrassed. Too much boobs! And a bit squeaky during the chorus. Really though, it's a good song for the Eurovision. There is an element of folklore, a fair representation of national identity, and it's very empowering. Slavic people, I feel, understand this more than western Europeans. It was full of energy and national pride, and also, shake what your mama gave you! I kind of loved it (shhhh).
10. Greece - Twitter exploded when the Greeks came out, with their handsome boys, trampoline and party attitude. I really want to go on holidays to Greece now!
11. Austria - what is there to say. Conchita (and her beard) stole the show. A strong message, a strong performance and a strong voice! Personally, Conchita's victory restored some of my faith in humanity and made me feel proud of our society. I think we are definitely on the way to rising like a phoenix out of the ashes and becoming more tolerant as a society. Also, did Conchita remind anyone else of Seneca Crane a little bit?
12. Germany - I thought the accordion was fabulously unique, and I expected this to get a higher vote. One word: underrated!
13. Sweden - another of my favourites. I loved "Undo." In fact, I had tears in my eyes after watching this performance. Not just because of the song, but also because I'm so jealous of Sanna's Swedish genes. My Twitter followers seemed to appreciate this.
14. France - I watched this in French class and just laughed. France really didn't take this competition seriously this year. But it was so funny! Je voudrais une moustache.
15. Russia - I feel like I have said enough about this act. I loved their voices and want their hair. Moving on.
16. Italy - I can't even remember Italy's song. I liked the Caesar laurel wreath on her head though, it was so fetch. Good accessorising!
17. Slovenia - the only part I liked was the flute at the start. A very forgettable song.
18. Finland - such a great rock vibe; they definitely deserved a better rating. One of my favourites, and I will definitely download it.
19. Spain - I don't understand why people liked this so much, the song seemed really average to me. Her voice was very good though. The voting sparked controversy, because Portugal didn't give any points to Spain.
20. Switzerland - first of all, the flag was amazing. The whistling made the song 200% better.
21. Hungary - he reminded me so much of Jason Derulo! I like R'n'B in general, so this was cool. Maybe it shouldn't have gotten as high as 5th place though.
22. Malta - interesting instruments, everything else was a bit dull though. Actually, the start kind of reminded me of Kodaline, I may be the only one though.
23. Denmark - Danish Bruno Mars didn't impress me much. It truly was a cliche love song.
24. The Netherlands - probably my favourite. I loved the road trippy vibe, the Nashville bluegrass sound, the cute duo. They were like the Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift of the Netherlands. So soulful, so elegant. I'm sure I'm not the only one who fangirled when he winked at her at the end.
25. San Marino - she was like Giselle from Enchanted! This song belongs in a musical.
26. United Kingdom - I don't understand what all the hype was about. I think the UK were a little overconfident this year. Molly was just a bit weak..
Overall I'm quite happy with the results this year, and I'm already looking forward to Vienna 2015! I will leave you with a picture of this stunning Dutch host guy. Who even is he?
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