#👑:Semi-Charmed Life

[party-in-the-pit]

Black Heart Inertia

G3, Knabstrupper [U] / Black Snowflake

GP:2432 [3.3k skills]

1,200 wins, 180kEQ+ [Dressage]

60 coverings [Sire]

[borisbubbles]

Eurovision 2024: #13

13. LATVIA Dons - "Hollow" 16th place

Decade Ranking: 43/153 [above Duje, below Tick-Tock]

ALL HAIL KING EGG 👑🥚

Stanning Dons like was not a development I expected, but here I am. He's precious, he's flawless, he's a walking green flag and should be protected at all costs.

How can you not like him now? Dons is THE biggest shock qualifier of all time. "But Boris, what about-" nope, I won't hear your flimsy suggestions - Robertoad, Sergej Cetkovic, Raiven, Valentina, Eugent- None of them were as jaw-dropping to me as Dons was. I immediately got up and grabbed a (non-alcoholic) drink when it happened. I needed one. My brain could not process it without hydration. Bro qualified from LAST PLACE IN THE ODDS, representing Latvia, the ONLY country in all of Eurovision that failed to reach the top 10 in a semi televote every year since 2016. WITH ONLY ESTONIA AS ALLIES.

Like, yeah hindsight makes it clear why made it in, but come on now. If you thought Latvia were making it before the Thursday show, I would dismiss you as a naive wishful thinker. Regardless, it was very earned. "Hollow" was a diet Hozier song, and that's basically the equivalent to gold dust in Eurovision. It was a SONG, and a good one at that. We collectively assumed Belgium would snag his votes away. Pity most failed to consider that Belgium did not have a song.

However, the painpoint always seemed to be Dons's perceived lack of charm and appeal, and that was not a small concern. Despite being a very capable vocalist, Dons lost to Aarzemnieki in 2014 and to AISHA in 2010. He always has the air of a funerary director to him, and his current bald look (which vibed as part Who / part Syltherin) didn't help matters, nor did a plethora of REALLY DEPRESSING LINES ABOUT DEATH and DYING EARLY.

His looks said ET phone Hozier his facts said ET go home.

And even as "Hollow" played during the semi I still thought he was 100% out, as Dons performed it with the lifeless of one reluctantly going through the motions. You might as well be a nondescript businessman with a briefcase commuting to their underpaid 9-to-5 job. This man's a sitting duck and he knows it, and no amount of BesaBreastplates™ is going to protect him.

But then, excelsior! Dons miraculously made it (by being announced FIRST) on the strength of voice and song and biceps and right in that moment, something changed.

Immediately after qualifying Dons transformed from someone with the same joie de vivre as a palliative care patient into an absolute demigod and icon?

IT STARTED at the press conf when he said "Latvia has the shape of a butterfly, and butterflies symbolize freedom and all countries deserve to be free 🦋🍉" and was the ONLY person from that press conf to shade Israel without any repercussions or harrassment later. (SOCIAL GAME KING ♥)

But then he followed it up with that live performance in the finale and... OMG.😍

That live is why we're this high on the list.

That live... was ALIVE.

For the first time in his life, homeboy SERVED ON A STAGE.

Like yeah sure, Dons being unable to contain his rapture absolutely did NOT fit the song at all, but who the fuck cares. Qualifying rejuvenated him by at least ten years on the inside. Once you realize the emotions stem from the pure joy of finally having made the final, after months of dismissal and mockery, and weeks of being told that he's outclassed by Mustii of all people (imagine that.). it's only human that he cannot contain himself anymore. One HAS to let go, serve, spill, and so he did and it was glory.

"I move with my face and... emotion comes out? and I'm LIKEABLE?!"

I won't pretend this was some AMAZING revelation, but like... who cares? It's rare you witness someone discover the gift Emotions live on stage, which is beyond any price. The positive transformation Dons underwent in a mere two days as the contest collapsed around him is one of the most beautiful and wholesome takeaways from this dark, depressing edition.

Also, finally, Eurovision is not in a good spot right now, and Hollow's lyrics are perfect allegorical representation to the situation going on. The EBU's decision to sell themselves out as something so hollow is killing the contest slowly, and currently show no sign of improvement. (They're professional bureaucrats scared to give up their well-paid jobs. figures.) Which almost makes me bump Hollow up a bit higher given how much resonance the message has with me right now. But at the end of the day, one must remain hopeful. Dons’s journey was a comeback, a triumph from a horrible situation like you rarely see at a competition such as this. It was a sign that the song matters, and that one should never give up. If Latvia can experience such a miraculous turnaround in the face of adversity, I think we must harbour a hope that Eurovision can as well.

THE RANKING