#Eurovison Song Contest 2019

[apricotstop]

Got back into hatari’s music recently

[eurotowne]

netherlands send a happy entry challenge

[channeledhistory]

Es war einer der Aufreger des Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv. Während der Punktevergabe hielten Bandmitglieder von Islands Gruppe Hatari im Green Room aus Protest gegen Gastgeber Israel Palästina-Banner in die Kamera. Für einige Sekunden waren sie zu sehen, ehe es mit der Punktevergabe weiterging. Nun hat die ausrichtende Europäische Rundfunkunion (EBU) Islands Rundfunkanstalt RÚV dafür mit einer Geldstrafe belegt. Wie RÚV mitteilte, soll es sich dabei um 5.000 Euro handeln.

[...]

RÚV hat gegen diese Strafe Einwände bei der EBU angemeldet. In einem Schreiben heißt es, es sei falsch die Rundfunkanstalt für diesen Regelverstoß zu bestrafen, obwohl sie alle möglichen Maßnahmen ergriffen hätte, die Regeln einzuhalten. Man könne Künstler allerdings nie vollständig davon abhalten, etwas zu sagen oder zu tun, auch wenn dies gegen die Regeln verstoße. RÚV sei noch immer sehr stolz auf den diesjährigen ESC-Beitrag, der "beeindruckend" gewesen sei und "viel Aufmerksamkeit" erregt habe. Man werde die Strafe auch nicht an Hatari weiterleiten. "Wir übernehmen diese Verantwortung und stehen zu unseren Künstlern. Das wird keine Folgen haben", sagte Programmdirektor Skarphéðinn Guðmundsson der Zeitung "Morgunblaðið".

[...]

Schon vor ihrem Sieg beim isländischen Vorentscheid hatten Hatari angekündigt, einen ESC-Auftritt für Proteste zu nutzen. Unter anderem forderten sie Israels Ministerpräsidenten Benjamin Netanjahu zu einem isländischen Ringkampf auf. Vor dem ESC reisten sie nach Palästina, um mit dem palästinensischen Singer-Songwriter Bashar Murad den Song "Klefi / Samed" aufzunehmen. Er wurde fünf Tage nach dem ESC veröffentlicht. Hatari kamen mit "Hatrið mun sigra" beim ESC auf Platz 10.

[mirai-desu]

Eurovision and Eurodance

There's been a lot questions lately about the Eurovision Song Contest thanks to a certain popular Eurodance meme (which btw, the chorus to that song is very similar to a Eurovision song:

"Flying the Flag" by Scooch (United Kingdom 2007 - 22nd Place)

Also simply know as Eurovison or ESC, it's a televised music competition held by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) members that began in 1956 to bring Europe together after WWII.

I want to stress that any genre of music can be a Eurovision song. As long has it has some lyrics. Not every entry is trying to be a meme and there's several songs you might know that you didn't know were Eurovision songs, ranging from "Volare" to Duncan Laurence's "Arcade' (which you might know as "loving you is a losing game" from TikTok). And also "Waterloo" by ABBA!

Eurodance at Eurovision

Up until 1999, Eurovision had a live orchestra, and most of the music was performed live. Arguably the first Eurodance song at ESC, "Ooo Aah… Just a Little Bit" had to a have computers on stage to have the "instruments" present:

"Ooh Aah… Just A Little Bit" by Gina G (United Kingdom 1996 - 8th place)

Thus, ESC was still mostly focused on pop that translated well with live instruments in the late '90s. And into the 2000s when backing tracks were required, the upbeat genre that ESC was more into was what I'd classify as "ethno bangers." Not that there isn't some crossover into what's traditionally referred to as "Eurodance" and many dance subgenres, but it was not quite the same thing, at least in my opinion. Your personal criteria may vary - I want to stress I'm not the authority on the minutiae of musical genres (and here's a post on Eurobeat vs. Eurodance btw).

Today, ESC still requires live lead vocals (and backing vocals had to live up until 2021), and being that the songs are performed live on TV, you'll hear some shakier vocals on my following examples… (although for anything from 2016 onward I didn't use the ESC performances due to geoblocking). Not to say that dance breaks haven't been popular in the last few years, and that choreography hasn't been heavy, especially with ethno bangers, but just that Eurodance hasn't always lended itself to having polished and flawless executions.

And of course, there are plenty of songs that I feel do fit the Eurodance category, including some performed by big names, such as:

"Follow My Heart" by Ich Troje feat. Real McCoy (Poland 2006 - Did not qualify for the final)

"Look Away" by Darude feat. Sebastian Rejman (Finland 2019 - DNQ)

"Vampires Are Alive" by DJ Bobo (Switzerland 2007 - DNQ)

"Glorious" by Cascada (Germany 2013 - 21st)

"Ne Ver Ne Boysia Ne Prosi" by t.A.T.u. (Russia 2003 - 3rd)

"Don't Play That Song Again" by Nicki French (United Kingdom 2000 - 16th)

A lot of ESC songs fall under the genre of schlager, as well as songs I'd classify as just EDM, and some with dubstep, especially as time has gone on. Many of the following songs to me are more a mix of genres than purely "Eurodance", but I think people seeking out similar songs will enjoy these:

"No Goodbyes" by Linda Wagenmakers (Netherlands 2000 - 13th)

"Sameyach" by PingPong (Israel 2000 - 22nd)

"No Dream Impossible" by Lindsay Dracass (United Kingdom 2001 - 15th)

"1 Life" by Xandee (Belgium 2004 - 22nd)

"Let Me Try" by Luminita Anghel & Sistem (Romania 2005 - 3rd)

"Tornerò" by Mihai Traistariu (Romania 2006 - 4th)

"This Is My Life" by Euroband (Iceland 2008 - 14th)

"Wolves of the Sea" by Pirates of the Sea (Latvia 2008 - 11th)

"DJ, Take Me Away" by Deep Zone & Balthazar (Bulgaria 2008 - DNQ)

"Lose Control" by Waldo's People (Finland 2009 - 25th)

"Run Away" by Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira (Moldova 2010 - 22nd; "Epic Sax Guy")

"Je Ne Sais Quoi" by Hera Björk (Iceland 2010 - 19th)

"Love Unlimited" by Sofi Marinova (Bulgaria 2012 - DNQ)

"It's My Life" by Cezar (Romania 2013 - 13th)

"Miracle" by Paula Seling & Ovi (Romania 2014 - 12th)

"Spirit in the Sky" by KEiiNO (Norway 2019 - 6th; Televote Winner; here's most of their performance in the grand final here if you are geoblocked)

"Halo" by LUM!X feat. Pia Maria (Austria 2022 - DNQ; co-written Gabry Ponte of Eiffel 65)

And two bonus videos:

Aqua's interval at Eurovision 2001

"I Love You" by Teflon Brothers x Pandora (Finnish Selection UMK - 2021)

And you might know two time champion Loreen, whose song this year is more pop to me than EDM or Eurodance, but it feels weird not to mention "Euphoria" (although I feel it's more straight up EDM, but again, mileage may vary):

"Euphoria" by Loreen (Sweden 2012 - Winner)

"Tattoo" by Loreen (Sweden 2023 - Winner)

While Eurovision does not equal Eurodance, there's still some fun jams, and again, many songs I included here that I feel straddle genres.

[chartingyou]

Arcade...

I figure I should start with the song that started it all for me.

Well, not exactly. Back in 2019, I was looking for a job as I wasn't in school at the time, and when no job came, I found myself with a plethora of free time, ad nothing to do. Somehow, I ended up finding the eurovision side of youtube-- the people who make lists of their favorite songs from national selections and also the reactors. See, I sort of knew about eurovison at that point. I had loosely followed 2018's contest and knew a few of the top songs from that year, but I still had a pretty limited understanding of the contest. Anyways, I was entranced by some of these reactions channels. They were funny and fun, and made me want to learn more about this contest.

I got pretty into the national selection process as I continued to try and find a job. I watched France's selection Destination Eurovision and found myself invested in competitions like Supernova or Melodi Grand Prix. I watched many of the compilation videos for the various national selections, choosing the song that I liked best out of what was available. And then of course there were the many eurovision fans on youtube who would release a new ranking video every time a new song dropped. It was a lot, but with so much free time, I found myself consuming a lot of it. The fandom made the process of new eurovision songs fun and exciting as the contest drew closer.

When Arcade dropped, it's like we all knew. This is a winning song. Since I've gotten into eurovision, I'm not sure I've had another moment like this, where we all for the most part kind of knew, or even agreed, on which song should win. Sometimes it isn't really surprisng who wins, but with Arcade, something about this song seemed special. It just felt heartfelt, genuine-- it capture that kind of sad feeling you have when a relationship doesn't work out. I find it kind of hard to articulate since I've heard Arcade so many times since it was released but at the time the song just felt really fresh and emotional. Duncan was also very likable which helped.

I don't really have to explain the rest of the story, but by the time May rolled around, Arcade was still heavily favored to win, and with rather pared back staging, the song was really able to shine and pulled off a victory. It is interesting to me that while Arcade didn't win the Jury or the Televote, nobody has ever really questioned it's victory. It's just a really likeable song and moves a lot of people. When it blew up a few years later, it was kind of strange to me. I had already known this song for a while so it was weird for everyone else (well, mostly americans) to be discovering it.

Arcade is still a pretty special song to me, especially since it was part of the period of my life when I fell in love with eurovision. I feel like in the ups and downs and the last few years, I've kind of clung to Arcade. Knowing that the song that you're rooting for can indeed win the contest and do well can just be so reaffirming. I'm glad I got to watch this show in 2019 and got to be part of the journey for this year because it was truly amazing 🌠

[tremendoustenderness]

Australia is my last three brain cells when I am desperately trying to concentrate.

[columba1234]

All of mine Norwegian ESC Favorites (of all time) 🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴

[capljica]

Switzerlands ballad is the only one that deserved to be here tonight

[erenblogs1]

I was so excited to see the Eurovision Song Contest winner of 2019 Duncan Laurence live. This Dutchman appeared out of nowhere and suddenly he won the contest with his heart-melting piano ballad Arcade. With his adorable and cute appearance, he managed to make a lot of fans. And now he’s touring across Europe with only two released songs. I really didn’t know what to expect from his show. But I didn’t want to miss the chance to see him live for the first time in Switzerland. I was sure he wouldn’t only play two songs but the rest was a mystery. Thanks to abc Production Switzerland I got to see him performing live at Mascotte Club, Zürich on the 15th of November. It was a cold Friday night, the doors opened at 7 p.m. and 10 minutes before I was queueing with other fans. Due to the fact that it was rather a small venue I didn’t expect many people so early. As soon as they let us in, I could feel the relaxed energy. Fans treated themselves to a drink at the bar, while chatting with their companies. This time I wasn’t only surrounded by teenage fans, there were a lot of adults and elder people. For this concert I went on my own and I really needed a bit of me-time on this day. Unfortunately, Duncan wasn’t selling any merch. I was standing right in front of the stage and I was so nervous and excited being so close.

Support Act: Seb Lorez

At 7.30 p.m. the Swiss-Columbian Singer and Songwriter Seb Lorez went on stage. If I’m honest I never heard his name before but I’m always open to discover new artists. Seb created a chill calming atmosphere with his music. He played the acoustic and the electric guitar alternating, he also used a looper and created his own beats. Seb’s vocals sounded enchanting and harmonious. He promoted his EP Slide Away, which was released this summer and also played some unreleased songs. A cover of a famous song would have helped him to interact with the crowd. Seb was nervous and seemed a bit shy while talking to us. But since he was also lovely and friendly, I’m sure he gained some new fans. I’ll definitely keep an eye on his next releases.

Duncan Laurence’s Performance

During the stage reconstruction, a crew member put on the setlist sheets next to the instruments. Since I was standing in the front row, I could read the song titles and got excited to hear so many unreleased songs. At 8.20 p.m. his band members took their places on the stage and started playing a very long intro. They really built-up tension but it almost got annoying. The lighting was dimmed, so they created a dark spiritual atmosphere. Then suddenly, Duncan went on stage and he felt the music in his entire body while moving to the beat slowly. He was like in another dimension. The opening track was the powerful track Kings. With the next ballad Stranger he kept the dark ambiance and impressed us with deep lyrics and heavenly vocals. The audience was hypnotized and paralyzed since we were hearing these songs for the first time. Duncan went all black for his costume: wearing skintight black jeans, a black shirt underneath a black jacket.

In his first speech, he told us how amazed he was by Zurich, especially by the view of the lake. He admitted that he loves traveling and singing, so touring is the best combination for him. Then he asked us how we are. While we were cheering, he said: “Me too”. Afterward, he introduced the next song Dry Your Eyes with the words:

“Sometimes in life, things go the way they go and sometimes things just don’t go right. And that’s what it is, right? Just remember when things don’t go right there always be better times. As much as it doesn’t seem right, the more you will appreciate the better times. That’s what the next song is about”.

Dry Your Eyes is a touching and motivating ballad. Then we enjoyed acoustic vibes when he performed My Memory Hates Me only with his female guitarist. I really liked this song and can’t wait for the release. In another speech, he told us about his journey as a songwriter how Will Maas supported him to believe in himself and to write about whatever he wants to without thinking about if others would like it or not. Ice age meant to be one of these songs. For this upbeat track, we left the dark ballads and could dance and clap along. Dear Nothing brought back the dark spooky vibes alongside some red lighting.

Afterward, it was finally time for Love Don’t Hate It, his new single. And yes, we knew the lyrics and could sing along proudly to this love anthem. “Let’s not complicate it if it’s love, don’t hate it”. Then he introduced the ESC winning track Arcade, most of the people came only knowing this one song. It was magical and powerful just as expected. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get enough of this ballad. I wish he had performed this song twice during his set. Maybe an acoustic piano version as an opener and again with the band as a closer. They didn’t leave the stage for an encore and just continued the show with one last lovely song, he was accompanied again by his guitarist.

After performing for an hour they left the stage. Duncan was cute and adorable during the night but he still kept a distance to the audience. Even though I was half a meter away from him there was like an invisible wall between us or let’s say I felt invisible. I literally had no eye contact with him during this one hour. But he wasn’t better with other fans. Duncan didn’t really notice us, which made me upset. Maybe he was just nervous or wanted to seem professional, or maybe this is the way an artist interacts after winning the ESC. However, I admit that he is one of the most talented male singers of our time: his vocal range, falsettos, and angel-like vocals were pure talent. I’m sure he will release his debut album next year; you’ll definitely enjoy listening to it. Check out my Instagram for some videos of the concert.

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  Duncan Laurence: Concert Review now online! I was so excited to see the Eurovision Song Contest winner of 2019 Duncan Laurence live. This Dutchman appeared out of nowhere and suddenly he won the contest with his heart-melting piano ballad…

[pitchdarkparadise-777]

[nonsocialnerdd]

Non Eurovision fans on Tumblr: thinking they will be free from Esc posting this year since it’s cancelled.

The whole Esc fan base:

[klamstelpa]

My favourite Eurovision songs

I should be writing my politics essay right now but instead I fell into a Eurovision rabbit hole. In no specific order:

1. Melovin - Under the Ladder (Ukraine 2018)

Song goes very hard and has a very vampiric look and I love vampires.

2. Rasmussen - Higher Ground (Denmark 2018)

I just have a love for the Nordic countries and it’s just badass in general 

3. Hatari - Hatrið mun sigra (Iceland 2019)

I think it’s very obvious I was going to have this on the list. I love the look, I love the genre of music, I love the beat and I love the message.

4. Verka Serduchka - Dancing Lasha Tumbai (Ukraine 2007)

It's just so wacky. The shiny costumes, the song and Verka herself. Perfect.

5. Little Big - Uno (Russia 2020)

One word: Funky

6. Loreen - Euphoria (Sweden 2012)

I just find this one magical and it gives me chills, reminds me of when I was younger too.

7. Alexander Rybak - Fairytale (Norway 2009)

I feel like I heard this before I started watching Eurovison which is odd because here in the UK we don’t really play Eurovision songs on the radio and I would’ve been 5 when it would have been on the radio (if it was). All time Eurovision classic.

8. Daði & Gagnamagnið - Think About Things (Iceland 2020)

Very sweet. I think the story behind the song is very cute too. It also goes incredibly hard.

9. KEiiNO - Spirit in the Sky (Norway 2019)

Magical. Lead me to learn about the Sámi people because of Fred Buljo. Love it in every way.

10. Conchita Wurst - Rise Like a Phoenix (Austria 2014)

Gives me chills and makes me cry. First time I watched Eurovision and this was the first song I watched. Gives me hope.

[courbedemesyeux]

noah fence but I just want them back

[en-decouvrant-le-monde]

Does anyone remember the "i'm sorry, zero points" in 2019 or am i the only one

[babybathoee]

Iceland in Eurovision be like

[happyflappymoscowbirbpleyyn]

TikTok removed the audio for copyright reasons but I saved the video before that could happen. My mom’s radio station has been playing Arcade from 2019 Eurovision