Review: Eurovision 2019

I know, I know, a little belated than usual but better late than never and my, wasn't it a rather strange and odd night the Saturday before last as the event took place in Tel Aviv, Israel.

As for our winner, I was actually pleasant surprised that Duncan Laurence's Arcade was the clear victor of the night with an impressive 498 points overall. The bisexual singer's song might not have been as flashy as previous winning entries but it was a rather solid pop song that has improved with further listens. Rounding  off the Top 5 winners were Italy at number 2 and 472 points with Mahmood's Soldi while number 3 was Russia getting 370 points as Sergey Lazarev (who previously entered the contest in 2016) performing Scream. In fourth position was Switzerland getting 364 points with Luca Hänni's She Got Me and in fifth place was Sweden at 334 points with John Lundvik's Too Late For Love. Lundvik also represented the UK's entry by writing Michael Rice's song, Bigger Than Us, which fared poorly by getting last place in the contest with 11 points.

As for the presenters we've gone from an all male pairing from a previous year and an all female pairing from last year to an evenly split male/female pairing for this particular outing of the contest. The presenters in question being Erez Tal, Bar Refaeli, Assi Azar and Lucy Ayoub. I do sometimes wonder if four presenters, even for a lengthy event like this is one presenter too many but in all fairness, I do think they all worked well together, with the contestants and in general with keeping the audience engaged throughout the night. Maybe not as iconic as Mans Zelmerlow and Petra Made but who can be, right?

Speaking of Mans, I do find it rather charming that despite winning the show back in 2015, he still manages to find a way to be involved (and even on his Instagram he joked about showing up next year as well). This time around he was paired with four other former winners - Conchita Wurst, Eleni Foureira, Verka Serduchka and Gali Atari performing some past hits along with a version of Halleujah. Their performance was a lot more entertaining to watch than the two song piece we got with Madonna, which was nothing short of a car crash to watch. Much as I love the contest getting iconic and LGBT friendly artists to perform on the show, Madonna's bits were deserving of the criticism it overall generated on the night.

Mixed performances aside, there was also a political protest aspect to this year as well with many people on social media refusing to watch due to the current situation in Israel, despite the event bagging over 182 million viewers worldwide. I stayed out of the political discussion on social media and to be honest, if you didn't watch it for political reasons that's perfectly fine but trying to guilt trip or shame people who did watch it, I did find rather annoying. This sort of attitude on social media rarely to never actually helps anyone and it felt like some were trying to score brownie points than sensibly raise an important issue. Other than that, not the best year but decent enough though and as a DCEU fan, I was also happy to see Wonder Woman herself, Gal Gadot for about three minutes during the ad/spoof segments of the night.

Duncan Laurence - Arcade: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eztx7Wr8PtE

Next year's Netherlands turn to broadcast the event. See you all in 2020. 

Review: Eurovision 2018

It was that time of year again. Yup, taking things to Lisbon, 63rd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest was in full swing and not entirely devoid of some notable moments either.

And this year's winner turned out to be Israel with a whopping 529 points. Netta's song, Toy and bizarre chicken sounds/movements somehow managed to be the very thing to get the general audience voting in their droves. While it's a far better song than last year's winning misery fest (and boy, did I switch over when that guy started singing two rather dull songs during the intermission), it was still a pretty rubbish song. I'm not gonna lie - Austria's entry, Nobody But You by Cesár Sampson  (coming 3rd with 342 points) or even Sweden's entry, Dance You Off by Benjamin Ingrosso (coming 7th with 274 points) seems like better choices. Rounding off the Top 5, we also had Cyprus's entry - Fuego by Eleni Foureira claim the second spot with 436 points, Germany's entry You Let Me Walk Alone by Michael Schulte getting 340 points and claiming the fourth spot and in at fifth place with Non mi avete fatto niente by Ermal Meta & Fabrizio Moro for Italy with 308 points.

For the first time since 2013, Ireland also managed to make it into the final and I have to admit after having some dire past entries that didn't deserve to make it, it was nice that we had a great song for a change. Ryan O'Shaughnessy, best known for Fair City and Britain's Got Talent knocked it out of the park with the rather sweet ballad, Together. The song generated controversy (along with Albania's singer having tattoos) by featuring a gay couple dancing so China ended up not airing the contest at all. The entry itself did a little better than expected, clocking in 136 points and coming in 16th place. It would've been nice had it done a little better but I actually think this was a good enough result and the song itself definitely did the country proud. I also quite liked Norway's entry - That's How You Write A Song by Alexander Rybak, which got in 15th place with 144 points as well as Czech Republic's Lie To Me by Mikolas Josef which got 6th place with 281 points.

As for the UK, well, there's certainly some controversy with this entry. The song itself - Storm by SuRie was a pretty good effort, nicely sang but the whole thing was marred by some horrible git getting up on stage and sabotaging the performance. The guy was thankfully removed from stage, no one was injured and SuRie herself was given the chance to perform the song again (but chose not to). Position wise, the UK came 24th with 48 points, which was a shame as they did deserve better with this one. Rounding off the bottom two though was Finland's entry Monsters by Saara Aalto getting 46 points, coming in 25th while the 26th was given to Portugal with the song O jardim by Cláudia Pascoal with 39 points.

As for the presenters themselves. Last year we had three guys and this year, it was four women. The women in question were RTP hosts Sílvia Alberto, Filomena Cautela, and Catarina Furtado, together with actress Daniela Ruah, the latter who is a regular in NCIS: LA. I thought they were decent enough, somewhat on par with the guys from the previous year but lacking the spark that Mans and Petra had back in 2016. Some of the sketches were also a bit of a misfire and I do think that maybe four hosts is one too many for this event but other than that, they did a solid job keeping viewers entertained.

Netta - Toy (Winning song): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84LBjXaeKk4
Ryan O'Shaughnessy - Together (Irish Entry): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD1cQ2wZ1dk

So thoughts anyone on this year's contest? Here's to going to Israel for 2019.

Review: Eurovision 2017

And it was that time of year again. Fresh after Doctor Who and dominating social media for at least three and a half hour to the confusion of Americans, the Eurovision was back.

And the winner turned out to be Portugal this time around. The song, Amar Pelos Dois (Loving For The Both of Us), performed by Salvador Sobral was something of a divisive win, going by social media. Clocking in 756 points, the song certainly had it's fans and represented the country's first ever win but at the same time, I found myself more drawn to songs from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria and Cyprus to name a few that might have been somewhat more deserving. Still though, while I found the song a bit overwrought for it's own good, I do think we've had worse winners in the past (and obviously better ones too). The male and female ratio of contestants seemed pretty on point with no real awful entries but there were some weaker ones in the mix too.

Of course with a male winner we also had a rather male dominated presenters with  Oleksandr Skichko, Volodymyr Ostapchuk and Timur Miroshnychenko taking the reins. I have to be honest, while I definitely can see why there was a commentary about having three white male hosts amidst the Celebrate Diversity banner this contest was trying to have, they were okay enough as hosts. I do think maybe two of them would've sufficed to an extent and to be honest, they only really came to life in one moment.

The spoof scene where the trio were being coached on being the best host by 2015 winner and 2016 presenter, Mans Zelmerlow, who managed to be his usual charming and fun self, if not quite as shirtless as he was when presenting with Petra Mode last year. That's three years in a row the guy has had a presence on the Eurovision and to be honest, I wouldn't object if they came up with a contrived reason to include him again next (and Petra too).

As for the rest of the night, we had a streaker who managed to get on stage during last year's winner Jamala perfoming again, which was annoying while the UK pulled in respectable numbers with Lucie Jones scoring 111 points this year. As for Ireland, once again our entry didn't make it into the final (we have got to stop using Louis Walsh, people), Russia bowed out of the contest itself and there was also the fact that our grown up hosts were somewhat upstaged by a little girl from Junior Eurovision. It was an interesting enough night but compared to last year, not quite as spectacular as it should've been though.

The Perfect Host Sketch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMFoRgqS5eE

See you again next year when Portugal host the ceremony.

Review: Eurovision 2016

Well, it was that time of year again and with Ireland not being allowed play again (not bitter, our song was bland as anything - no offence, Nicky Byrne but it really was), the Eurovision dominated Saturday and US viewers got to see the action courtesy of Logo as well. So what went down exactly ....

And the winner is .... Ukraine. Jamela's politically themed song 1944 bagged the last minute victory with an impressive 534 points, thanks the new voting system. Up until that point, it really did look like Australia were going to have this in the bag but in the end Dami Im's Sound Of Silence came in second with 511 points.  I have to admit that the Ukraine wasn't one of my favourites of the night and their win did seem a little sudden but saying that we've had worse winners but also better ones too.

Meanwhile Russia in spite of some controversy did manage to come in third place with 491. Sergey Lazarev certainly had the bonafide popstar appeal about him and You're The Only One was a pretty decent number though the visuals had some similarities to the previous winner. I did feel a little sorry for the guy but while his song was one of the strongest of the bunch, we also had some great numbers from France (Amir's J'ai Cherce, 257 points, 6th place), Malta (Ira Losco's Walk On Water, 153 points, 12th place), Sweden (Frans's If I Were Sorry, 261 points, 5th place) and Bulgaria (Poli Genova's If Love Was A Crime, 307 points, 4th place).

To be fair, there were not really any songs that were truly dire (though Georgia's entry left me a little cold) but a part really was hoping for the Australian victory. They've only taken part in the contest twice and they truly know how to play the game and make some good music as well. However with the US now watching and Justin Timberlake popping up to plat his new song as well, could they also be future contenders as well?

However with some pretty great music and a sense of coming together (the overriding theme this year), the actual highlight was the presenters. I found it a little unusual at first that Mans Zelmerlow was on hosting duties (when he wasn't singing both Heroes and Fire In The Rain) but he turned out to be quite a revelation as a presenter and along with the unflappable Petra Mede, they were quite the dream team in terms of hosts. They naturally played off each other brilliant and the skit about what makes a Eurovision record with Love, Love, Peace, Peace was absolutely hysterical to say the least. Those two really should host it every year and next year's hosts are going to have really up the ante as well. One of the best years we've had for the event.

Love, Love, Peace, Peace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMgW54HBOS0

See you next year for Eurovision 2017.

Review: Eurovision 2015

Saturday was an interesting day. First of all, there was the referendum on gay marriage in Ireland, which proved to be the most wonderful thing ever and then to cap it off, we had the 60th anniversary of the Eurovision. Now, live from Vienna, Austria, a new winner was about to take Conchita's prize and it turned out to be ....

Well, Sweden of course with popstar/television presenter Mans Zelmerlow's slightly Guetta influenced Heroes bagging the top prize with a whopping 365 points. I have to admit it was one of my favourite songs from the night and while the singer himself did generate controversy last year for some unfavourable comments he made about being gay (which as I should point out, he has since apologised for and made amends), it did seem early on that Mans was going to emerge as a clear winner, especially given his country's penchant for pop music and the guy's general crossover appeal. He might have lacked an eccentricity that some of his fellow contestants had in spades but it's pretty easy to see why Mans emerged the winner in the end, even if both Italy and Russia did initially give him a good run for his money.

Speaking of Russia, they managed to generate controversy once again. While their entry - Polina Gagarina had a decent song with A Million Voices and didn't seem to generate boos that her predecessors had done in 2014, Russia did themselves no favours with the apparent editing of Conchita from their broadcasts of the contest. They did however manage to come in second place with 303 points. It's a shame that with Russia continue to display such an abhorrent attitude towards LGBT citizens, something which they are thankfully continuing to get deserved criticism for. Sort yourselves out, Russia.

As for Australia - this was the first time the country were allowed to participate in the contest and while Guy Sebastian's effort - Tonight Again sounded a bit too much like a Bruno Mars B-Side, it was still a pretty solid effort that managed to bag the country a respectable 196 points and fifth position as well. Rounding off the top five were Italy's Il Volo's Grande Amore, pulling in 292 points and coming in third place while Belgium's Loïc Nottet's Rhythm Inside came in fourth position with 217 points. On the flipside, both Germany and Austria's efforts came last, with 0 points each while Britain's somewhat offbeat entry - Electro Velvet's Still In Love With You only pulled in 5 points altogether. Other memorable moments from this year came courtesy of Serbia, Latvia, Georgia and Azerbaijan to name a few. Not to mention that the presenters were a step up from last year as well.

Of course I couldn't end this blog by yet again mentioning Ireland's misfortune with this event. Our bad luck continued this year when our entry - Molly Sterling's Playing With Numbers didn't make it into the final and we were left out in the cold once again. I have to admit that Molly's song wasn't particularly bad but like last year's near effort, it did seem a little forgettable. Maybe we need a better system than The Late Late Show for picking future songs, now that Sweden are gaining momentum on our winning record.

For a night commemorating 60 years of Eurovision, it was a good one with a strong winner as well. Overall, I found it rather enjoyable myself.

Review: Eurovision 2014

Every year I make a promise that I will avoid the Eurovision like the plague and every year, I usually fail in actually living up to that promise. It probably doesn't help that I also choose to go on Twitter during the time as well. Even Ireland not actually qualifying didn't manage to deter me from watching it this year - mostly by myself and then with my father and oldest sister during the voting bits. So live from Copenhagen, Denmark and all that ...

First of all - the winner. By the time even a third or two fifths of the 37 countries that could vote have voted, you'll have already sussed out which country had this in the bag. I did think briefly that Hungary had it with their stirring song Running by András Kállay-Saunders but by the time we had gotten past the halfway point, the clear winner materialised as Conchita Wurst with her song Rise Like The Phoenix, which while a little Bond influenced, turned out to be a solid song and a rather deserving winner as well with 290 points. I like that Conchita won and that audiences both at the actual event and on social media proved that their support was there in spades and even the idiots who did resort to tiny bits of transphobia and homophobia were rightly put in their place by the majority of people showing their support to Conchita. Like most Eurovision songs, we'll have perhaps forgotten it in a week but a great victory should be applauded though.

It's hard to deny that this year's Eurovision certainly seemed to be more politically charged than previous years but I have to admit that while I loathe Vladimir Putin as much as the next person, even I thought the booing that the Russian contestants got was beyond excessive and misplaced to a point. The twin girls - Anastasiya and Maria Tolmachevy had a reasonably okay, if not remarkable song with Shine and I do think that should've been the focus. I also think that despite some good intentions and justified anger towards Russia's current political system, the booing should've been left out.

However something that pleasantly surprised me this year was the slew of pretty good songs we had as well. Along with Conchita's winning number, Switzerland also gave us the rather dapper looking Sebalter and his song, Hunter of Stars, while both Finland and Greece went boyband crazy with the former having Softeengine singing Something Better and the latter with FreakyFortune/Risky Kidd singing/rapping Rise Up, both of which were pretty decent. I also have to admit that Norway's entry - Silent Storm by Carl Espen was quite nice as well. I'm also probably one of the few people who was non fussed by Poland's rather cleavage-y performance of My Slowianie by Donatan and Cleo, though the appeal wasn't lost on the general audience though but at least it fared better than France (who came last position with two points) and their pretty embarrassing Moustache by Twin Twin. I can't help but feel relieved that Ireland wasn't in this year's Eurovision now. Speaking of which ...

Yes, let's talk about Ireland, shall we? I think (and no disrespect to Kasey Smith here) that we didn't deserve to be in this year's contest. RTE have become ridiculously complacent with choosing people each year and perhaps this will finally give them the kick up the arse they did and they'll actually come up with a better process for picking contestants. Hell, we might even get someone next year who might have an actual fighting chance of doing well in 2015 but it'll only happen if RTE finally get the hint and make more of an effort. Otherwise, we'll probably be sitting out more Eurovision contests in the near future. You'd almost forget with our string of dire luck and acts over the recent years that we actually won the bloody contest six times.

Overall though, it was actually a good night and better compared to previous years, though the male presenters did grate a little at times and the contestants looked bemused when the female presenter was giving them their favourite foods. And I could've done without the Twelve song as well but yeah, I actually enjoyed the Eurovision this year.