12 Essential Eurovision Performances To Prepare You For This Year's Competition
By Amber Petty
An array of hopeful singers are warming up for their big break in the biggest singing competition in the world. No, I'm not talking about the
American Idol finale. I'm talking about the only singing competition you have to watch: the
Eurovision Song Contest.
With American singing shows, you get a lot of similar (albeit very talented) voices belting out more trustworthy pop covers. With Eurovision, you get a singer who begins his song
in piano coffin as well as a winner whose song is
legitimately half chicken noises. The music ranges from dance to pop to rock to outlandish blends of folk music and home beats. The Eurovision performers themselves are everything from monster-masked punk bands to soulful drag queens. This year,
Madonna's performing throughout interval while all of the votes are processed. As soon as Madonna is your time-killing act, you know the show is worth watching.
The Eurovision Song Contest began in 1956 as a way to join Europe in literal and figurative harmony right after World War II.
The rules are simple: The song has to be under three minutes, not previously released, and sung live. Forty-one countries will compete in the semi-finals, starting on Tuesday (May 14), however only 26 will make it to the live, three-plus hour Grand Final on Saturday. With a blend of audience voting and selected jury, a Eurovision winner is crowned, and the performer's nation gets the privilege of hosting the contest the following year. Really all you have to know is that a lot of countries participate every year, and there might even be
a guy in a horse head dancing on a ladder.
As we get ready for the competition's grand conclusion in Tel Aviv on May 18, here are a few of the defining Eurovision highlights from its past 63 years.
Cezar: "It's My Life" (Romania)
A singer with heavy eye liner that recalls
It's Habitually Sunny in Philadelphia's
stage-ready Mac, mostly naked male dancers running around the stage, a gigantic cape, plus a falsetto that just keeps going up: Here, you have all of the wonder of Eurovision in an individual song. It's something you'd never hear on American radio, nevertheless it's full of un-ironic spectacle that we should demand from all our live broadcasts. This 2013 efficiency was the moment I fell in love with Eurovision.
Dana: "All Kinds of Everything" (Ireland)
Devoid of large capes and falsetto, this song is just a 18-year-old girl
singing a happy song about "things of the trees." Though it's corny, the song offered a cute moment unity. Because of the decades-long conflict taking place within Northern Ireland at the time, it was controversial to have a Northern Irish singer define the Republic of Ireland in 1970, however the country put the Troubles aside and the happy ballad brought Ireland its first Eurovision win.
Buranovskiye Babushki: "Party for Everybody" (Russia)
Have you ever wanted to be able to see a bunch of traditionally-dressed Russian babushkas dance and sing about partying around an ancient stove? Your weird wish was granted with Russia's “Party for Everybody” in 2012. The unconventional mix of folk music and generic dance beats was a large hit — these grannies got second place!
ABBA: "Waterloo" (Sweden)
the hugest Eurovision success story, ABBA got their begin by
winning the 1974 contest with "Waterloo." The jaunty song about military overcome brought them Sweden's first win, and ABBA became a worldwide sensation.
Céline Dion: "Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi" (Switzerland)
No, Céline Dion isn't from Switzerland, nevertheless that didn’t stop her from
singing the winning song in 1988. Confusingly, Eurovision rules stipulate that a singer does not have to be from the nation they're representing. (In 1997, the U.K. Won with the partially American musical group
Katrina and the Waves.) So why doesn't every nation attempt to purchase off
Beyoncé and guarantee a win? At the very least, Céline could make a return. Who doesn't wish to be able to see the Canadian queen belt out some weird dance song
in her Met Gala look?
Lordi: "Hard Rock Hallelujah" (Finland)
in the event you think Eurovision is all ballads, belting, and Eurodance beats, the competition broke the mold with this 2006 winner. The GWAR-esque musical group impressed the audience with their gravelly-voiced rock, and the lead singer's moving wings and pyrotechnic axe probably sealed the deal.
DJ BoBo: "Vampires Are Alive" (Switzerland)
From its first lyric ("Vampires are alive!"), This song wastes no time. What sounds like a forgotten B-side from
Real McCoy is actually DJ BoBo bringing his questionable pitch and passionate dancing to Eurovision stage. In the event you ever wondered what
Blade would have looked like if it were directed by
Batman & Robin-era Joel Schumacher, this is it.
Salvador Sobral: "Amar Pelos Dois" (Portugal)
Alternatively opposed to awarding one of the crazy, campy numbers, judges gave the 2017 prize to this simple song. With Eurovision, you never know what's going to win votes, however Salvador Sobral proved that a lovely tune is some days all you need.
Silvia Night: "Congratulations" (Iceland)
Every few years, you get a satirical, meta entry, like "
We Are the Winners," where an audience of the most enjoyable guys from the accounting firm got with each other to sing a song about how they should win Eurovision, or "
Ireland Douze Points," where a turkey puppet sang about how Ireland should take the prize. However my preferred in this category is "Congratulations." Sung by the Ali G-esque comedic character Silvia Night (played by
Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir), "Congratulations" features lyrics like "The vote is in, I freaking win" along with a moment where she answers a telephone call from God and says, "What's up, dog? It's me, your preference person in the world!" Sadly, this song never made it past semi-finals, although the actress later went on to voice Elsa in
the Icelandic dub of Frozen. So really, she
was the winner.
Bucks Fizz: "Making Your Mind Up" (United Kingdom)
The 1981 winner is known
more for a costume change than a memorable tune. Halfway by means of song, because the musical group sings, "You wanna visualize some more," the male members tear away the female singers' midi skirts to reveal — slightly shorter skirts! Since then, the tearaway skirt has been said in nearly every article about the competition's legacy and routinely listed as a shocking moment in Eurovision history. It can might not directly be controversial today, however it illustrates the power of a good costume reveal.
Verka Serduchka: "Dancing Lasha Tumbai" (Ukraine)
This 2007 song seems like nothing more than a campy dance hit. However the lyrics "I desire to be able to see Lasha Tumbai" sound a lot like "I hope to mention Russia goodbye," which some Russians took to be
a political message about the country's involvement in the Ukraine. Singer Verka Serduchka denied any attack on Russia and mentioned the song was really about churned butter (the Mongolian translation of "lasha tumbai"). If this song sounds familiar, it could be because it prominently appeared in
Melissa McCarthy's Spy.
Conchita Wurst: "Rise Like a Phoenix" (Austria)
In what might be the ideal Eurovision winner of all time, the bearded drag queen Conchita Wurst sang a song of transformation as digital flaming wings encompassed the stage. With Bond-theme horns and all the drama, this song put all of the pageantry, art, and talent of Eurovision in a pretty three-minute package. What more could you want from a singing competition?
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