Blurry Eurovision

I've always watched Eurovision with a combination of admiration and frustration. It's amazing to see so many singing acts in one place and to see different cultures represented (sometimes) and to see the world change. On the other hand, I get practical experience balancing my path of love for humanity vs. my ethnic pride. I've come to the realisation that it's okay to be happy about what I'm made of, to be happy and pleased when people who share my heritage do something good. And I promise I'm not just saying that because maNga placed second in this year's competition. Really.

Bu and Jane enjoy these kinds of things, to see bits of where they come from. They were both cheering for Turkiye this year even though they're a bit German on Meat's side. We were definitely maNga fans this Eurovision. It was great to be silly and tell them "Granny Facts" about the competition: "Why when I was a kiddie, we didn't have any Bosnia-Herzegovina in Eurovision" and "Russia wasn't even allowed to think about participating until after Perestroika". Bu was saddened to see little (ummm, no?) representation by Arab-speaking countries and I originally thought it had more to do with the lack of clothing worn by some participants rather than the requirement to show the programme in its entirety...including Israel. Considering the kids have a little of both sides in them it's something they've learnt to deal with and accept. And we were happy to hear that Qatar's throwing their hat in for next year.

I've never been really in touch with music that's popular in Europe, or Eurovision for that matter...Bucks Fizz??! (yes, I am that old) Celine Dion? But sometimes I connect, as in the case of the amazing Sertab Erener and the second-place finish of one of my favourite singers, Ofra Haza and Chai. But never have I felt so out of touch as when Lena's Satellite won. There was absolutely nothing about the song that resonated with me. I've been told that my precise statement was, "there are no words to express the absolute suckage of this song". With such a field of fantastic songs, it was a bit of a disappointment. Thankfully, I won't have to listen to it on the radio here because, even if it does cross the Atlantic, I don't listen to english-language radio.

If I were in charge of Eurovision, here's how the finals would look*...

1)Peter Nalitch & Friends (Russia): Lost & Forgotten
2)maNga (Turkiye): We Could Be The Same
3) Giorgos Alkaios & Friends (Greece): OPA
4)Daniel Diges (España): Algo Pequeñito
5)Harel Skaat (Israel): Milim


*note: judging criteria is based on what songs would I (1) pay for -and- (2) put on my MP3 for continual listening enjoyment.

Part of the fun in watching Eurovision is watching it on channels broadcasting in languages I have no idea what they're saying. Belarus did an amazing job covering the finals and I loved the travelogue bits in the breaks. The Romanian broadcasters got particularly happy whenever their entry got points. Cute.

I think it would be lovely to see something along the same lines here in the Americas, a meeting of the music minds. I'd lobby for regions or provinces to be represented, to add to the pot. Wonder what the entry from Trinidad/Tobago would sing? Would Cuba boycott? Would we see the superstars in American music brought forth the same was we've seen in Eurovision? Would Juanes represent Colombia, La Ley Chile, Juan Luis Guerra (one of Meat's faves) for la Republica Dominicana, El Potrillo, Mexico or the incredible Ricardo Arjona representing Guatemala? I'm way out of touch with Canadian music since I no longer live anywhere near there so seeing what's going on in their music scene would be refreshing.

I'm already looking forward to next year's Eurovision and wondering what changes the world will have seen by then too.