OFFICIAL THREAD Eurovision Song Concert 2021 in Rotterdam

I love De Teum opening the show

Currently watching The Hot Rock with Robert Redford on the Criterion Channel. Will watch when over.

Venus, not sung by Bananarama

Anyone else watching with the Graham Norton commentary on the BBC?

Cyprus singer wears next to nothing. Do straight guys find it sexy?

I'm watching BBC1, R4...

[R6] I find his narrative to be the best thing about this show!

I am watching ARD. I am German after all.

That Albanian Beyoncé wannabe was boring asf

I liked El Diablo from Cyprus better in the semis but I have a weaknesss for ethnic instrumentation so Albania is fun.

R9 True

Every year Israel performs I sing Hallelujah! Sad but true.

She is very good. Israel killing it

Israel has potential to be on top 5

If Israel does make the top 5, eyebrows will be raised.

The biggest surprise of the evening is if Belarus doesn’t give Russia 12 pts.

The multiethnic and gender-diverse Russian and Israeli groups are cynical as fuxk but luckily the performances are very colourful

Put this phat diva in Dreamgirls

Black Mamba was my favourite of the second semi

R19 They sound much better here in the finals. The tweaks they made worked well.

The Real Housewives of Kardashian

Look at these old whores

Cyprus's song is such a rip-off of "Bad Romance"

Which is the country that rips of Bad Guy by Billie Eilish?

As a chubby chaser, I’m loving the cute UK performer

WTF was Portugal all about?

Shum Шум

Well this thread is very quiet.

What do we think of the Norwegian with tourettes?

I'm semi-watching via NYTimes live updates. Peacock stream was a complicated crock and my neighborhood pub is packed to the gills with fans; I hope we get the full show On Demand tonight so we can watch from the safety of home here in NYC.

After that performance, I think this is Italy’s to lose but I’m still rooting for Shum.

Glam Rock is alive and well in Germany, I guess

^ I mean in ITALY!

Please let us know when the votes come in.

I can’t believe how quiet we are!! The first show in 2 years! I’m on the red wine and having a fabulous time!

R34 we are doing martinis - tomorrow will hurt, but having fun tonight!

Gin & Tonic here in the Royaume Uni

Norway was one of the oddest Eurovision performances I've ever seen, which is saying something

I like Malta and Iceland

France was nice but I do think Iceland will get it, but it's a very open year.

Ukraine and Iceland are my top 2.

Norway was basic, Sweden was pretty boring, as was the UK entry. Who had the song about sugar? She was feisty!

Moldova I think R41

Germany's song reminded me of Mika

R33 Votes have just begun coming in.

Italy and Finland were both so embarrassing. Poseurs

Love the Polish Zebra

Love to hear that R35 and R36 cin cin!! Who are your favourites??

Why do the juries like Switzerland so much? He should lose points for the weird shirt alone!

Skål R47! My favorites were Ukraine and Iceland (also noted at r40).

Glad Malta is doing well

Switzerland guy won’t get the public votes, though.

Only the UK and Norway have no points yet

Poor UK

Can't believe anyone's voting for Cyprus. Such a blatant GaGa rip-off

R49 I always love Sweden in Eurovision, unfortunately I’m in the UK do not doing so well. And even worse I’ve ran out of red wine!!

R55 I am sorry to see the UK has no points :( Do you have anything stronger you can continue with? Hoping so!

I think San Marino will be do quite well in the phone voting

UK-null points.

Brexit karma.

At least you've got the show, R55. I am drinking red wine in USA with no Eurovision! did see a portion of Janes Newton and liked it.

Yikes! Nothing?

At least the British guy's taken it well

That poor gaybee from Germany.

Going to log out here so I can watch On Demand later and get all the suspense and surprise. Good luck Ukraine, I guess ... and everybody

If that French bitch that kept screaming Voilà, voilà, voilà wins…. ARRRRGH!

Well, I was wrong about San Marino!

Guess not, R57... only 13 points.

Thank you R56 I have some limoncello in the back of the cupboard so maybe not all is lost!

R59 not a dickie bird! James seemed to take it well, unfortunately we’ve not done well in a long time! Cin cin I hope you’re enjoying your red wine!

Nice r66. Seems fitting with Italy’s huge public vote total.

Italy wasn’t in my top five, but I like them better than France and Switzerland. Bravo, Italia!

Ugh, the worst winning song in a long time. The juries fucking suck for sinking the masterpiece that Shum was.

R34 DL went to Prime Time just before Greece until now. That’s the reason.

Italy and France were some of my favorite ones. Next year maybe Rome or San Remo?

Really how did this win? Not a bitter UK person here, I appreciate good music no matter where it’s from, but this?? Maybe COVID really did take away our taste.

I agree R69. The jury’s Switzerland love fucked things up. Though I enjoy Italy’s song - even if it is derivative rock.

R53 BBC should have learnt its lesson by now.

I prefer the Italian entry that was supposed to compete last year when Eurovision got cancelled

I cannot believe that the atrocious perpetration from Italy has won... I'm utterly flummoxed 😲

Norway, Sweden, France and Ukraine had MUCH better songs, and Azerbaijan and San Marino were at least catchy... Even the UK's mediocre song and Spain's impossibly dull ballad were better than this thing. Are people insane? I think that I just got my answer.

R70, I hate it when DL goes to primetime during a major event (and Eurovision qualifies as a big event on a gay board!). They did that a few times during the last World Cup as well.

The guy from the UK was terrible and fug

That whore Muriel really enjoys spoiling the fun and turning the primetime on during big events (she does that with the Oscars too).

In other news, I just set the Moldovan lady's hilariously horrible last note as my new alarm. If that sound doesn't wake me up in the mornings then nothing ever will.

I enjoyed the Italian singer snorting coke while the cameras were on him.

Nil points for us tonight.

We had a shit song and Europe hates us. Well done Italy!

R79 It is too much, cannot listen. Alla Pugacheva’s ex husband or bf was one of the writers for her song according to the commentator.

R62, where are you watching it On Demand?

Here in NYC I watched it live on my Peacock app.

R80 not my type at all, even though I love Italy and Italian men but there was something appealing in him. He might be wild in bed. I’d like to try having a night with him.

I must be turning into a chubby chaser because I thought the drunk British bloke was kinda cute, even if his song was a total boner killer.

The Italian guy snorting.

LOL @ the long-haired Italian bloke standing looking dumbfounded at the announcement, as though he'd just won a Nobel Peace Prize rather than fucking Eurovision

“Certain” people here will not want to hear this but the POC were voted on very poorly by the public. That’s Europe.

That cute Israeli chick put on a great performance, and she wasn’t down voted because of Palestine. Ditto the chubby Maltese girl nor the Swedish pop singer.

Plus, the Netherlands got zero points from the public, R88.

The Netherlands song sucked, though. And the performer was insufferable.

The Netherlands, Azerbaijin, Finland, Italy, San Marino, and Bulgaria were all great.

Portugal was decent but it wasn't a Eurovision song, but I guess they figured they won 5 years ago with another slow song and figured why mess up the format.

The UK is steaming over not getting any points pointing out that Israel is killing people and got votes, as did Russia who everyone hates. But the Netflix film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga called it.

Italy winning: Sex, Drugs and Rock-n-Roll.

4:45 GAY

No-one in the UK is "steaming", R90. Pretty much everyone thought it was an unmemorable song, poorly sung and with bad staging.

I feel sorry for the Brit, especially since I love his brother's voice and music. But the reality is the UK has created the mess largely themselves with their constant anti-European rhetoric. And it seems they're deliberately trying to piss off fellow Europeans with the way they handled Brexit. I recently ordered goods from the UK and had to pay the VAT twice because the UK just doesn't seem to care. I also noticed in one online store they were charging more to ship to Europe than to the US.

The best thing about this win is that we'll be in Rome next year.

R83 do Americans not know that Eurovision is always streamed for free on Youtube? Or is the stream not available to you guys?

Perfect timing.

Isn't the YouTube stream w/o commentators? I prefer listening to Graham Norton and I have no problem finding the BBC stream online. He was on fire last night. Also, I woke up this morning to find the Italian group denying the coke drama..."it was broken glass on the floor." Sure Jan...

If I was the UK I would pull out of Eurovision altogether...how many more times do you need to receive 0 points? It's just embarrassing...I was surprised at the 0 points given to Spain, Denmark, Netherlands and Germany by the public vote - has that ever happened before? It was a cruel night for those artists.

I'm Norwegian and I'm fucking embarrassed. Keiino was the favorite to win the Norwegian finale. Keiino had a strong song that actually could have done quite well in ESC. I would not have been shocked by a top 10 placement, heck even top 5. Instead we chose Tix, the worst of the worst. Now I hear he was last in his semi final of the songs that went through to the final, not surprised. It's a shitty song. Again, we could, and should have picked Keiino. Tix only won the Norwegian finale because he's popular among the kids and tweens and they voted in droves. Most people wanted Keiino to win. Tix is popular among the russ as he's made several russe songs before, so they voted for him. Fucking idiots.

This is the song that should have won the Norwegian finale. It's fucking amazing. I'm still flabbergasted Tix managed to pull out the win. The song fucking sucked. Tix is F. Monument from Keiino is A+.

I can't believe Lithuania ranked so high in the public vote. It was a terrible a song as Germany's offering IMO.

This is why I have lost faith in Norway's ability to choose a good song. Most people here listen to tacky and horrible artists and think they're amazing. Plumbo has won several prizes and I think they're the most tacky artist ever. They make danceband songs, really awful shit. They are popular among the farmers in the countryside. And tacky af people all over the country. I vomit every time I listen to them. I can't believe they are so popular. They are also racists btw. Called another rap artist from Somalia the n-word and they were celebrated by Norwegians. Most Norwegians are conservative and racist. Not me though. I'm a Leftie and vote for Labour.

Now about Tix.. such bad songs. I cringe. Why is he so popular. Most Norwrgians' taste in music is horrible. It explains why Tix won and not Keiino. I haven't watched ESC in years and I won't start now. I just know everything Norway picks is shit so I just boycott the whole thing.

R101 I would have voted for that! Cool song!

The thing is that good music doesn't matter anymore. People vote because the artist is a morbidly obese woman/dying of cancer/a refugee etc. Take your pick. I miss the good old times (roughly 2003-2009) when the winner and the top 5 finalists had great memorable songs. Serduchka? Fairytale? Molitva? Asereje? I'm struggling to remember the winners of the past decade, let alone the runners-up.

R75 I loved that song, but Italy always send good songs because they send the song that wins in San Remo, and that's a very important contest in Italy.

I think Switzerland made a mistake with the staging, the song is fantastic but the staging was weird.

Too many zeros in a year that nobody deserved it.

BBC and RTVE made so much effort to not win that is damaging their singers. RTVE is known for rejecting every staging that the artist want.

UK and Spain should realize that their chances to win are close to zero even sending great songs with great staging so they at least should try

Why England always send old, fat, run-of-the-mill singers to the Eurovision? Who in their right mind is going to vote for these dumpy singers?

The most annoying thing about the Norwegian guy is that he was obviously faking his ticks. When he had his shades on you could see his eyebrows weren't moving (meaning he had no ticks) but during those few seconds where he took them off his face suddenly got all spastic. The only thing more gag-inducing than him faking ticks to gain public sympathy was his fake showmance with the midget Azerbaijani chick.

R107 I assumed his ticks were triggered by bright lights?

Fake showmance? Please. He's a nobody. Spending money on lavish gifts for an equal nobody to extend your 15 minutes of fame? Really? A showmance of two Z listers doesn't make them interesting all of a sudden.

R107 I hate the song but he seems a really nice guy.

He received a lot of hate when he won because Keiino were the favourites (and have a better song) and he dealt with it pretty well. He has tourette that's a fact

R104 Yes, that is what happened here. I'm sure Tix got the sympathy votes and they were what put him over the threshold, enough to win the national final. He has ticks, tourettes, whatever you want to call it. Hence his name.

R107 Yup. That was very weird. I wonder if he faked his ticks. He might have had the illness in the past, but I think he faked it on stage to get synpathy votes.

Sorry but in eurovsion that never works.

I know there are people who think Salvador Sobral won because he was ill but the truth is that even some eurofans don't like the song, Amar pelos dois is a fantastic song

There were blind singers in the past and they got zero sympathy votes.

In fact if Tix received sympathy votes it was for his personality and not for his illness

Why so glum? I just watched and thought it was a year with surprisingly few songs so bad I had to fast forward. The winners were fine, especially the sexy (but probably 5'2") singer. UK always does poorly--it's part of the fun. The German song was painfully bad, like something written for a kids' TV.

Happy to see so many non-English songs doing so well, especially Ukraine.

Curiously receiving zero points worked pretty fine for James Newman, the song is number one on the UK itunes something that it didn't happened in ages for an UK entry

I loved the Ukraine song...that's like ear candy!! The UK song was nothing special...it's like anything played on a Love Island episode. Just like the women in the silver dresses last night sounded like they had the same song. Paint by numbers music...boring!

For any other Australians on here: did Joel Creasey seem a bit out of it to you? Like unhappy, or not his usual self? He's usually bubblier. He looked like someone who's maybe had some bad news and is trying to hold it together, but is struggling to.

For non-Australians, I'm talking about our guy who gave the twelve points (the guy holding the champagne while giving points). He is also one of the hosts for our broadcast.

I preferred this year to the last few. The songs were more upbeat and fun, even if I didn't like them. The previous years were mostly slow boring dirges.

But so... shoulder pads are back, then? So much 80s fashion around again. It's... not my favourite. I was hoping we'd be moving away from that in the upcoming decade.

The votes were really unpredictable. To me, a lot of decent songs got really low points, I couldn't understand it.

I liked the Ukrainian song. The Serbian song was hilariously bad, and it seemed like those women were stuck in the 2000s. In fact, a number of the acts seemed like that. 2000s, but with shoulderpads.

Ukraine were the best!!

I voted for them twice!

GermanGayGuy's favourite!

R58/R85/R94 The U.K. absolutely deserved nothing for that. Absolute shambles. I was so embarrassed, watching through my fingers with the volume turned down.

Fifty years of glorious pop music history, with legendary bands and songs and albums across the timeline—-and that’s apparently the best we’ve got? Fuck off.

Best guess is that the committee figured we’d get nil points and a poor reception whatever we did this year, so why spend the money and effort? Really sad.

There was a calculated apathy to the whole affair, as if they’d just pulled the bloke off his stool at the pub or down Ladbrokes then shoved him on stage. Fair play to the geezer for trying to perform with no ability, that takes guts, but blaady hell was it a misstep. I hear he’s a basically-capable songwriter, but that doesn’t mean anything in a talent contest based on a live performance of a catchy hit. And then there was the lacklustre dancing; the thrown-together set; the utter lack of style and grace and charisma; the fake brass-playing. It looked and sounded like it had been slapped together last-minute.

Was just chatting the results with my sister, and both of us agree that the U.K’s best shot (if we ever get invited back) is still a boy band. That’s our longstanding strength in pop music as a country, and we should keep playing to it. Every other successful country’s entrant does. Our best result in decades was with Blue. Ok, so we didn’t win, but against politics we still got a respectable way up the table with them.

No other country in Europe does a classic boyband like Britain, so let’s go for it again. What’s Liam Payne doing next summer? Or Marvin off of JLS? Or how about we get Cowell to get off his backside and train us a new group of fresh-faced lads?

Failing that, we need a grime artist or act—another niche and asset no other Eurovision nation has, that’s trendy and edgy and growing in popularity from the nucleus of London. This morning Big Narstie told Michael Ball on the radio that he’d be well up for it. No one else can offer anything like that (though that Russian bird this year definitely had the right attitude and flow).

[quote] seemed like those women were stuck in the 2000s. In fact, a number of the acts seemed like that. 2000s, but with shoulderpads.

Hahahahaha R116 I agree totally. Looked like some of those countries had only just discovered Beyoncé, Iggy Azalea, Sia, The Pussycat Dolls, Dido, Kylie, The Killers, Keane, Arcade Fire, Audioslave, Linkin Park. The Spanish entrant was basically the STARS IN THEIR EYES karaoke version of Enrique. The only very contemporary reference I spotted was the woman obviously copying Lizzo (can’t remember which nation she was singing for).

You could hear and see 2000s-early 2010s pop influence all over the shop. Are we just collectively mourning the last decent and enjoyable era of catchy pop?

Italian singer will take a drug test due to speculations. I hope he is clean.

[quote] For any other Australians on here: did Joel Creasey seem a bit out of it to you? Like unhappy, or not his usual self? He's usually bubblier. He looked like someone who's maybe had some bad news and is trying to hold it together, but is struggling to.

I always find he has an undercurrent of dour, sardonic queen under the manic surface, so he was his normal annoying self to me.

R118 Decent British artists won't touch Eurovision, they think it's toxic. Rita Ora almost entered when she was 18 and walked out when she realised she was killing her career before it started!

[quote] Failing that, we need a grime artist or act—another niche and asset no other Eurovision nation has, that’s trendy and edgy and growing in popularity from the nucleus of London.

Eurovision doesn’t really do black.

The UK I would do well with a boy band or rock group. Is there an established group who could perform a by-the-numbers glam rock, nu-metal or post grunge track?

R123 errrr.....I don’t think Placebo have got much on at the moment. Are Bush still together?

Perhaps this is a reach and a controversial take, but my pet theory is that British pop music is so awful lately because American & Korean influence on culture is creeping in to the British music market and poisoning the well (same as with tv/drama, fashion, food, etc.). Sadly I think that’s only going to get worse.

And I don’t say that out of racism or xenophobia, either. It’s important to have cultural exchange and cross-pollination of influence in Art; just not to the point it erodes or extinguishes national identity. You only have to listen to the radio or Spotify Top 50s to see that Britain has fallen off the map in pop music, where once we had it all..

It’s not just Eurovision. We really just aren’t doing well with commercial music generally.

It doesn't have to be anyone new. Does Britain have a fairly big artist who's desperate for a comeback? Say, some Robbie Williams or a Sugababes type of an act with an energetic banger? That could do well.

R120 is it like with the Olympics where the runner-up gets the gold medal instead?

Britain's problem is that they always think they're one gimmick away instead of a total package. Let's hire a has-been didn't work, let's send a camp act didn't work, let's get our best songwriter to write the song didn't work, let's have a public contest didn't work, let's select privately didn't work. Maybe try quality: song, original concept, performer, staging. Took the Netherlands and Italy a few years each to get it right again and now they're winners. And now France and Switzerland.

We burst out laughing when we saw those big ugly trumpets hanging by obvious strings, a fat, less-talented brother of a more famous pop star in a too-tight leather duster singing off key, camp back up dancers out of Solid Gold + Debbie Allen, and then, those sad little pyro ffft's they bought at the last minute for a fucking song called "Embers" that didn't even fire on beat! When Ukraine is staging something that could simultaneously win a Turner Prize and sell out Coachella.

Maybe they should leave. It's clear they don't understand the assignment. They pay into the contest the most and then spend the least on doing it right.

Australian acts fall over each other to get into Eurovision.

The last 2 choices are critically acclaimed indie singers who want to network in Europe. The others 4 were past winners of Idol and The X Factor.

[quote] GermanGayGuy's favourite!

Here's a topic: German Gay Guy is neither

German

nor Gay

nor a Guy!

Discuss amongst yourselves!

Australia should never be allowed in Eurovision. It’s nowhere bear fucking Europe. It’s like a fanboy being allowed to be on the set of Star Trek.

[quote]It’s nowhere bear fucking Europe

I've fucked bears in Munich and Madrid. Both like a good music contest.

England's problem is that it sends cliche pop songs, generic music industry crap that doesn't stand out in any way. We need to send something that stands out.

Eurovision isn't really for established artists, r126.

What do the Americans on this thread think of plans for an Eurovision-style song contest set in the USA?

[quote]Eurovision’s plan to stage an “American Song Contest,” pitting the 50 U.S. states against each other for best — or at least “best”— song. Delayed by COVID-19, the event is now scheduled for the holiday season. That leaves just about half a year for someone, somewhere, to prevent the American Song Contest from taking place.

Haha, R132, you made good on my typo.

But seriously…Australia has no fucking business being in Eurovision.

As for the American Song Contest good luck to Florida’s entry because very few people from the other states would vote for it unless Gloria Estefan was performing it.

Wasn't a fan of the Swiss entry but I love this video of Gjon crashing Hooverphonic's interview and queening out over Geike:

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

R134 I was just thinking yester day "Why don't we do something like that in the Americas. We could have all the countries of North and South America send contestants it could be interesting."

This isn't too bad an idea though. It could be kind of cool to see what each state comes up with. Well not COOL, but fun. Not sure if it'll be a big hit but I guess even Eurovision had to start someplace, so can't hurt to give it a go.

R120 It's very obvious he was not snorting coke if you pay attention to the video

Mamma Mia, look at dem bulges on Greek backup dancers!

R138, I think the idea is to have all 50 states of the USA competing against each other. That I would like to see in the same way that people try to get a look at car crashes.

An American version of Eurovision sounds like a terrible idea. Everyone would just sing the same songs. Despite what Americans think, Europe is not a monolith. Every country has its own identity and own language. And that's what makes Eurovision fun! Sure, Pennsylvania could send in the Amish for some cultural diversity, but the rest would still look like The Voice knock-off.

They tried that with Blue a couple of years ago, R126. It was the only song of theirs I ever liked, but it still only finished in 11th place

The Italian singer -and winner- Damiano David:

R144 he’s got a bit of Scott Weiland about him, no?

R143 Blue were robbed imo. That was a solid Eurovision-style song, performed professionally, by an act everyone liked (and who were pretty hot, by Brit male standards). The song did very well as a single release post-competition. Maybe it wasn’t a winning entry in the eyes of some, but it was certainly Top 5 calibre.

[quote] Maybe they should leave. It's clear they don't understand the assignment. They pay into the contest the most and then spend the least on doing it right

I think we understand it perfectly. Its a camp party that has no overall meaning or effect so we barely bother, and spend the night drunk while watching an increasingly drunk Irish man taking the piss out of the other countries. Then spend the day afterwards complaining about how Europeans hate us, and finally forget the whole thing until next year. If you do Eurovision any other way then you're doing it wrong.

If they ever did start an American song contest it would be nice they used a lottery to narrow it down to 25 states(at the beginning of the process, before any state had selected a song and artist), as all 50 states states competing would be too much. I've never gotten the whole semi-final thing with the Eurovision.

[quote]…we barely bother, and spend the night drunk while watching an increasingly drunk Irish man taking the piss out of the other countries. Then spend the day afterwards complaining about how Europeans hate us, and finally forget the whole thing until next year.

Just like your Euro/WC football prep. Good luck next month!

R143 They were unlucky. Singing in first (and specially second) place it hurts televote.

And frankly, i think Blue has way better songs than that one

Anyway that year was very weird.

Azerbaijan 2011 is probably the most despised winner ever. Pretty weak song but they were the favourites anyway

r149 No in football we actually try, occasionally get further than expected due to luck, build up a false sense of confidence, then fail. The drunkenness is still there though.

Blue sounded horrendous live.

R149 ooooh, hark at you giving it the big I Am. Just try and throw your little chip wrappers and cunt-crumbs of voodoo on Harry and the lads, you absolute tosspot. Your bitterness won’t affect the outcome one way or the other.

Every year we get stick about performing in the Euros, but like it or not we keep coming back, qualifying, and playing some tasty high-quality football win or lose. We keep the dream alive. Arguably, half the people who turn up come to see England play.

Anybody know who that gorgeous man sitting to Barbara Pravi’s right was in the Green Room? Asking for a friend.

BBC EurovisionFlag of United Kingdom @bbceurovision Congratulations Italy! Deserved winners of #Eurovision 2021

The funny thing about the cocaine kerfuffle is that they're supposed to be "rock never dies" hard rockers, and yet are at pains to deny being into drugs. I suppose being on Eurovision already destroys your rock cred, but shouldn't he have said something cheeky like "sex and drugs and rock-n-roll" and sneered? In any case, it's got them (or him) a lot more publicity.

I hope this is entertaining to the Rotterdam Dutch and the Amsterdam Dutch and all the other damn Dutch.

R119, when they came on, my brother immediately went: "Shakira, Shakira" as in "Hips Don't Lie".

Their hair was fucking disgusting, haha!

Why did UK finish last?

R160 because the song sucked and the rest of Europe hates us. Not difficult to understand, surely?

I thought it was a great show - loads of good songs! Quite lacking in the hunks department though.

I'm surprised Switzerland did so well - thought that song was horrendous.

Spain also got zero from the public. Spain! Where Europe goes to holiday, lovely, hot, Spain. Ireland didn't even make it out of the semi finals. Ireland! Lovely Ireland, with all those funny, friendly Irish people.

Politics may sometimes play a part, but it's all about the song and the singer. Ireland's song and performance had a lot of issues, but obviously it just didn't connect with the public. The Spanish song was beyond dull, likewise the UK song. Saturday night was the first time I saw the French song. Wow! She really was terrific. And of course the the public thought so too. Getting the song and the performer right is the key.

I'm glad Italy won, they were good and so many of the other countries' songs sounded the same.

American & Korean influence is SHIT! Say it out loud and throw it in the shitter.

I love UK movies and music and I hope they will not be contaminated by the American and Korean shit.

Blue weren’t great. It was a bland song with no energy, and their singing was subpar on the night. The fact that Brits consider it an example of a good Eurovision entry explains why the UK does so badly at Eurovision.

R163, when I first started watching the song contest a thousand years ago, Ireland was having or had just had a run of successes. I was told it was because Europeans romanticized Ireland, and because they were able to sing in English (back then contestants had to sing in the language of the country they were competing for). Then there seemed to be a backlash of "no more Ireland."

I think the UK song was ok, but Eurovision probably isn't the place for singer-songwriters. A different singer and better production might have caught a few points. (Germany was another one with no public votes - there were four or five as I recall).

I actually liked Spain's song and the guy was very attractive.

Lithuania's was fun and camp.

[quote]Australia should never be allowed in Eurovision. It’s nowhere bear fucking Europe. It’s like a fanboy being allowed to be on the set of Star Trek.

That's exactly it. Our kitsch-obsessed Aussie selves provide the biggest non-European market for Eurovision. Likewise ABBA.

R167 Ireland had a fantastic run of success in the 90s. It won three years in a row! I remember one euro journalist, on Ireland's second or third victory, rolling her eyes "oh God, not Dublin again!" That said the Irish songs and performers were good.

Today, there must be a bunch of kids, like Maneskin, rocking out in the local sports hall or in some garage, The BBC or RTE (Irish national broadcaster) just has to find them. Or some young singer/songwriter singing, recording in their bedroom studio. The talent is out there.

Italy always brings it. They've been getting robbed year after year. They would've won last year if it hadn't been cancelled.

Italy is officially cleared of taking drugs in the green room.

R162 But that's because you have bad taste. Switzerland had an amazing song and an amazing singer

R172 I'm not that sure of that, i loved Fai Rumore, but i suppose it would end just top 10 like Marco Mengoni in 2013.

Since Italy came back in 2011 they are the best country by far

R173 good news

It's very obvious on the video that he is not snorting coke, but it was too good to not make a big deal about it anyway

Were those 1990s victories for Ireland some sort of an inside joke or something, because those songs sucked donkey balls. "The Voice" was the only decent one of the lot but the other three were horrible. I still can't believe fucking "Rock 'n' Roll Kids" beat the lovely Edyta Gorniak in 1994.

R177 I think Rock and roll kids is one of the best winners of eurovision, and Why me was the clear favourite that year.

I never liked The voice but was clearly one of the favourites. The only surprise winner was In your eyes.

And they even were second with Mysterious woman the year Love shine a light won

No, r174. I'm a singer, and Switzerland's song sucked. The singer was no good for the song either, although he may have some ability -- it was impossible to tell with all that screeching.

Sorry.

I can't believe Iceland wasn't in the top three. They were hysterical; perfect for Eurovision.

R179 Being a singer doesn't mean a fucking thing. You obviously have no taste

Maybe "Why Me" was the clear winner back then but it has aged terribly and Martin looked like a drag queen performing it. She should have won with "Terminal 3" years before that. Now THAT was a good song!

To be fair a lot of songs have aged terribly.

Watching some of the early 2000 shows is a terrible experience, some pretty awful songs and some really bad singing

R173 R176

[quote]Italy is officially cleared of taking drugs in the green room.

[quote]It's very obvious on the video that he is not snorting coke, but it was too good to not make a big deal about it anyway

R180 and you obviously have a bad attitude and an inability to recognise that music is subjective - get back under your rock you ignorant little goblin

R184 You are the one who said that he is a bad singer (whichi is obviously not true).

I don't like the way Luis Miguel sings but i would never say he is a bad singer because he is not

Many people are saying that Maneskin frontman, Damiano David, is the new Harry Styles.

[quote]Damiano David is what Harry Styles thinks he looks like

Damiano's gorgeous and very charismatic. I love that Roman nose.

Is that silly boy on Twitter having a meltdown over the Efendi song "Mata Hari" being "cultural appropriation" like he was with her "Cleopatra" song?

[quote]Damiano's gorgeous and very charismatic. I love that Roman nose.

And he wanna be your slave...

I'd been afraid to click on that, fearing that as pretty as the band is, the music would be crap. But I actually quite like the slave song.

R188, an Azerbaijani culturally appropriating Dutch culture? Or culturally appropriating the 1976 Norwegian Eurovision entry, which was also called Mata Hari.?

R186 There are some differences.

Damiano was pole dancing with stilettos in one of his performances on X factor. They were not even famous there and the androginous look was part of their glam rock image.

Styles was introducing step by step his new looks to not alienate his fans.

By the way, Belarus will be out of eurovision for a good while. So time to remember their best performance (even if the guy was not skilled in english)

Styles' looks are not even his looks, r192. He's just a manufactured product appropriating whatever appears to be the artistic, woke thing of the moment.

Re r186's twitter Korean link, it's only really in more traditional non-western societies that Harry Styles is considered radical or innovative.

R195 Styles queerbaits like nobody, but he has charisma and is friendly so he get a pass.

And no, it's not only in non western societies, he received a lot of praise of a a cover picture wearing a dress (which it was just that, he wearing a dress, there was no further intention or really an adaptation to a dress to him, so not really innovative like glam rock of the 70's). Styles is a nice guy and i think he is talented, but he is not David Bowie.

If tomorrow trends are hypermasculine he will try and hypermasculine look

Lithuania's singer is very handsome. The Roop also had a very catchy song.

But last year entry was better.

I think last year they had real chances to win

Can someone explain to me why Harry Styles should be praised for wearing a dress on the cover of Vogue? Did wearing a dress make him enough of a woman to make him the first solo male to appear on a cover of Vogue?

The most boring songs are from countries that sing in English when it's not their native language. The lyrics are deathly dull and bland. Why do Scandinavians, Dutch and Germans hate their own languages?

I agree, R200. Plus does anyone else feel that we can't understand them anyway? Their English isn't good enough most of the time to be clear to us what they are saying, half the time the lyrics make no sense either. And they sing better in their own languages anyway, plus it's just fun hearing multiple languages sung, rather than poor English.

There are some languages that are very musical (italian, french, spanish, english) and others that aren't (unless you sing heavy metal).

That's the reason most countries started to sing in english. The reception on televote is generally better but in the end depends of the quality of the song.

You have Molitva or Amar pelos dois that won without much problem even when they were sung in their language, but of course both songs were way above average in terms of quality

I thought the reason many countries sing in English is because they think they'll have a better chance of winning by singing in a more international language. I think until something like 1998, you had to sing in the language of your country, and then they took that rule away.

I just think it's a shame because I like hearing all the other languages.

On another tack, I think one of my favourite parts of Eurovision has got to be the judges votes, when they are delivered by the country's representative. There are faces that turn up every year, like Barbara Schoeneberger, drunk and slightly wobbling on their feet ("Hallo, EUROPE! This is HAMBURG calling!", and just the general hilariousness that comes from the delay, which means you have these plastic looking women, grinning creepily and not moving for far too long.

The link below is nearly an hour, but I can watch the whole thing, it's a lot of fun listening to Graham Norton mock them.

I've heard many Dutch entries in English over the years. Seriously, the lyrics could've been written by a six-year-old.

R203, did you watch it before they changed the voting? When I started watching in the 90s, each country's representative gave all the votes, thus getting much more time in the spotlight and more chance for cheesiness. It was a slow slog through all the amounts, which were each repeated by the hosts in French (or English, if the rep spoke French): "And our 10 points go to Austria" -- "dix points pour l'Autriche" and so on. It was interminable but part of the silly fun.

Damiano's face during the final voting....

The first gif is a very stereotypically Italian (Roman) attitude that they share with Italian Americans.

R205, I think that was a bit before my time, but I'm sort of aware of it at the same time. Even until recently I think they were counting down at least 8, 10 and 12 points. There's a lot of cheesy fun for sure, though the last time I really laughed until I cried was with the Polish girls churning butter.

As for the ridiculous English lyrics, I'll just leave everyone with:

[italic]Do you wanna be more than just a friend?

Do you wanna play cyber sex again?

If you wanna come to my house

Then click me with your mouse![/italic]

R208 That performance was soft porn (one of the best results for Poland for sure).

I suppose it was before the ultraconservative govenment they have now

I miss Silvia Night.

"I'm not the ugly fucking old bitch from Sweden!"

"Somebody has been telling lies about me...and I think it is YOU!"

We're Slavic girls, we know how to use our charm and beauty...

NOW SHAKE WHAT YA MOMMA GAVE YA!

Hahahaha, god that was funny! 😂

Damiano David pole dance, "Kiss This":

Vanity Fair Pride Month cover.- us, Damiano, Victoria, Thomas and Ethan . Four guys who made their own flag with the courage to be themselves and to be different.

If there's someone who needs an OnlyFans it's this hot bitch Damiano.

The really hot bitch in Sweden:

Damiano's got face and charisma; the drummer's the hot one. His body is perfect, he's hung, and added bonus: no ugly tattoos.

Wow r215, those Swedish girls were really going crazy.

[quote]Damiano's got face and charisma; the drummer's the hot one. His body is perfect, he's hung, and added bonus: no ugly tattoos.

I don't mind Damiano's tats - it all lends to his sex appeal. But yes, the drummer Ethan is top tier.

Ukraine's SHUM - Midsommar style

Ethan's so quiet not because he has yet to master English but because his dick is so big he doesn't have to say a thing.

A really beautiful face , tons of charisma and ambiguity....

What Harry Styles thinks he is.

Kiss this.

Doing this in Polish TV is brave.

And the gay kiss at the end is hot:

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