#umk also gets better and better every year

[under-the-ladder]

I'm so ready for Finland or Serbia to win the next year

[negobeauriva]

The Windows95manifesto: In defense of Finland's performance for 2024

Happy first rehearsal week everyone!

The first wave of rehearsals is done, and with it, we have gotten a wave of comments about the performances. Some filled with praise and approval, but some others completely hateful and rude. And today I'm going to talk to you about this second kind of comments about one of this year's controversial entry: Finland's "No Rules!" by Windows95man (Teemu Keisteri) ft. Henri Piispanen.

Many people have said that this entry is a joke, or that it doesn't deserve to be in Eurovision because it's distasteful. But here I am, in defense of uniqueness and weirdness, not only because this entry is in my top 5 this year, but also because it's important to understand what "art" is about. Here's to all the "weird" Eurovision entries that have been called unworthy of stepping on stage because they've been misunderstood.

A special shoutout to @/tottakaibi on Twitter/X because she gave me one of the pointers for this article in particular! And she's constantly in the lookout for Teemu and Henri's projects.

Without further ado, step in and enjoy the read.

No Rules! is, undoubtedly, the most distruptive entry this year - the nudity, fast-paced music and unique mise-en-scene, all make for an entry that many have deemed nonpalatable or not artistic. But behind every art display, there is a story, and I'm here to tell you a little bit more about it.

To start, the staging of No Rules! refers to the Kalevala, a book of finnish folk poetry from the 19th century that contains the myth of creation: Earth was born from an egg, with the shells forming both sky and land. Goddess Ilmatar, mother of nature and creation, soon realized that whatever she touched would grow and her every move was an act of creation itself. And so, she gave birth to Väinämönen, the first man to ever walk upon Earth.

Teemu arising from an egg is a clear reference to the Kalevala myth of creation, and he's even referred to it in some way in a video recently posted by UMK, in which he tells the tale of how Windows95man was born and Henri, in the figure of an eagle, becomes his friend so he can walk on the rule-burdened Earth without caring much for the impositions. It's both a mythical reference and a song of liberation: to not care about what others think and what others say to live freely and happily. To disregard societal "rules" in order to pursue happiness (this, of course, in the sense that you shouldn't care about "neat" or "appropriate", and not about the lack of order).

This song has also been called an anthem of liberation for LGBTQ+ members: No Rules! refers to the absence of gender norms ("Quiet, as I speak / I am the king, I am the queen" // "Is there something wrong with the way I look? / Is there something wrong with who I am?") and to live your life expressing yourself in the way you deem the best fit for you. As an agender person who's constantly told what to wear, what to say and how to act, this song is very meaningful and close to me. It makes me feel a bit better about my identity.

Now, to the point that interests you the most - how can No Rules! be considered an artistic performance, with the disruptive elements that make many shriek in disgust?

Let's begin with this - art is subjective and it's meant to make you feel something, whether good or bad. Art is meant to move something inside you, to make you question things. Have not many artists in the past made paintings about poor people's lives to protest poor living conditions or to showcase how hard it was to get on by? To many, art forms like paintings and sculptures that we now consider artistic were once considered scandalous or distasteful. This is the exact point of this performance.

In a recent documentary called "No Shame", Teemu referred to this - the point of his art is to appeal to disgust, to weirdness and to what makes you question what's tasteful or not. Shock factor also plays an important part in modern art performances. It's about going into the raw parts of your psyche and make you uncomfortable.

Teemu has been a visual artist since 2008, under the name Ukkeli. Vibrant colors, strange outfits and drawings, uncovered butts as part of his art installations and the message "No Rules" as one of his oldest mottos (not surprising, considering that in an interview he said he grew up with hippie parents that were very permissive) are the main features of his work. It's reminiscent of early 2000's adult animation shows, who also had a big shock factor and were frowned upon back then.

In this appeal to weirdness resides the charm of Windows95man's performance - in making you feel uncomfortable and weird, you're proving the exact point of the song. You will be bitter about how Finland could've "sent something better", but that won't change the fact that Teemu and Henri were chosen by his people because they understood the art beyond the shocking display. They understood what living with no rules means, to embrace weirdness, to embrace unique, and not care about what others say. If it makes you feel happy, who says that you're not allowed to like or pursue it?

Let's take a look back - Go_A's Shum, who was also catalogued as weird due to Kateryna's bewitching voice and vocalizations, made it to 5th place with no problem in 2021. Zdob si Zdub & Advahov Brothers' Trenulețul 2022 got to number 7 in 2022, after being called disruptive noise, and Konstrakta's In Corpore Sano made it to 5th place even when it was called creepy by some. Mama ŠČ! by Let3 made it to an impressive 12th place last year, and 3rd place in Dora this year with their strange Baba Roga.

If every country sent the same cookie-cutter type of "safe" song to Eurovision, the contest would be very repetitive and monotone. Let's face it, the public loves unique, loves something that will blow your hats off for three minutes and wondering what happened. They love songs that go off the "normal" standard because it takes you for a trip and makes you jump off your seat. It's no wonder that, in contrast with No Rules! getting so much hate, along with Doomsday Blue (another of the misunderstood entries, reduced only to its wrongly called "satanistic" character), 5Miinust and Puulup seem to be favorites this year, along with Joost Klein, who is rumored to win. People either love or hate weird and unique. Sadly, Finland got the worst end of the stick, and I think that's very unfair.

There's also the double standard, many think that it's inappropriate for Teemu to show up in nude-colored underwear, but they had no problem with female contestants in revealing outfits in previous years. Here's the thing - it's either okay for everyone to wear revealing outfits, or it's not. The argument that 2022's Chanel is given a pass to wearing revealing clothes because "she's a sexy girl speaking about being sexy" is invalid. Beauty, much like art, is subjective. And I do think that Teemu is very beautiful. He is allowed to wear what he wants (of course, according to EBU's standards, and they seem to have approved of the performance as is) and you don't get to say what's tasteful or not based off an aesthetic standard settled in sexism.

To finish this off, let me sum up the most important points of my mini-essay: No Rules! is an artistic performance because it's disruptive, it has elements that refer to Finnish myths and it's a liberation anthem that is meant to reach all those who feel like being themselves is wrong, to make them forget about this world's standards for three minutes and remember that the only person they need to please is themselves. As such, this song accomplishes its goal perfectly and beautifully. To call Teemu and Henri's performance a joke is to bypass every element of its artistry and to insult the artist standing on stage. Finland chose them, and so we must respect their decision and refrain from sending hateful comments.

I do think that we need to keep high hopes for this performance. I know that the two of them will go beyond everything we know and expect and will blow us all away when the Semifinal 1 comes in May 7th. After all, Henri's vocal skills have improved greatly since UMK, and Teemu's charisma can only grow by the second. These two have everything to go far and to show everyone that sometimes, all you need is to not listen to your surroundings and act as your heart commands.

Sometimes, the only rule is no rules.

[nanoa1foryou]

Translation - Yle interview, Käärijä, 30.9.2023

Translations for this interview by Yle

Käärijä opens up about his rough Erovision year - feeling like a circus monkey and the bolero has almost been thrown to the fireplace

The eurovision star shares how his thoughts haven't been able to keep up with all of this runaround.

Käärijä has thrown the green bolero off his shoulders for a moment. In a music studio in Helsinki Jere Pöyhönen from Vantaa is now sitting, wondering what the Eurovision year has brought with it.

It is a good moment for a mid-season account.

After the Eurovision madness Käärijä performed 51 shows in Finland, which is a staggering amount. An equal amount is lined up for the fall, when on top of the homeland shows there is a European tour ahead.

Käärijä has tried to take a holiday in between, but it hasn't fully worked.

Even now he has come in straight from a tv-show set. At the same time he should be working on new music.

The artist knows, that you have to strike while the iron is hot.

Worried people ask Käärijä constantly how he's doing. He doesn't know that himself either.

– At the moment it feels like I would need more time off. I'm honest and not denying that. The shows keep going and I'm slightly scared. Touring has never scared before, but now maybe the fact, that how will I make it through it all.

The Eurovision result frustrates him even still

Käärijä watched the Eurovision Final video just a few days ago.

He still cannot understand, what happened in the arena in liverpool, when the whole hall was chanting Cha Cha Cha.

The Final performance was one of the easiest and most relaxed for Käärijä, because months of work was coming to an end. He also remembers the moment, when he almost ran into a wire that got stuck.

Käärijä placed closely second and took the loss with a heavy heart. It bothers him still.

– Of course it's frustrating at times. But people comfort me a lot and try to find reasons, why it was better I didn't win. At the end of the day life wins and it's not more serious than that.

The artist celebrates, that he got the most votes from the audience. It has bred him a lot of shows.

He will not be going to Eurovision for a second time. The runaround starting from UMK was so hectic, that the human mind can't keep up with it.

–Kind of like if you opened up a christmas present and you get your favourite toy and even still the childish enjoyment is minor. Every day so much happens, that I didn't have time to process it and it was already the next day. Just remember that we went and fast,

Käärijä's golden cage

The phenomenon that started from Käärijä has been exceptional.

Though the fame flatters the artist, he has felt it in his skin.

In his opinion some people don't know how to behave, when for example they take pictures of him with no respect to his privacy.

– Even though I like giving autographs and taking pictures, too much is too much.

At times Käärijä has felt like a circus monkey.

– I get this feeling, like you're a monkey in a travelling circus. You don't get to have feelings and opinions or others decide how things are and I have no say in this.

At the darkest moments the thought has crept into Käärijä's mind, that he should just quit.

– yes there are those moments, that now the bolero is going into the fireplace and the song gets deleted, if that were possible. but at no point has there been anger towards my own product. Maybe at times towards the artist Käärijä comes this feeling, like could you just go hide for a moment and lay down, so that I'd get some peace too, Käärijä laughs.

Despite it all Käärijä's inner animal always comes to life when at a show Cha Cha Cha comes on.

Käärijä says, that the Eurovision year has changed him as a person.

– I can appreciate things very differently. When the success and fame came, I've realized, that happiness is somewhere else in the end.

–I'd like to build a small cabin on some beach somewhere and go there after tour to calm down.

What next, Käärijä?

A few weeks ago Käärijä released his first song since Eurovision.

It's crazy It's party is notably related to Cha Cha Cha and it features Estonian artist Tommy Cash.

Cha Cha Cha has by now amassed over a 100 million streams on Spotify. That is a goal no other Finnish language song has ever reached.

Käärijä admits, that there was a lot of preassure to making new music after the huge hit.

– I'd be lying if I said there wasn't. But I was surprised by how relaxed my mind was when I finally started making new music. Perhaps the biggest preassure was left behind on the Eurovision stage.

Many Finns have hoped that the international attention would bring Käärijä a longer career internationally.

Some have however already deemed him a one hit wonder, when the new song hasn't gotten a lot of plays outside of Finland. Although even it has already over a million plays on Spotify.

– I myself have been a police about other artists like no no no, you shouldn't have done it like that. But with music you have to start from that you're happy with it yourself and if fans are coming in then that's a plus.

Though Käärijä is going on an European tour, he still considers Finland to be his most important market zone. If success comes from elsewhere then that's just a welcome addition.

Despite it all Käärijä is now a part of the eurovision canon and a real Eurovision legend.

He doesn't yet know how to fit the Eurovision legend's cape on his shoulders, because he sees himself as still too young. Käärijä knows though, that him and Cha Cha Cha will be living a life of their own from this point forwards.

But would Käärijä go to perform in Malmö, Sweden next spring on the Eurovision stage after the stinging loss last spring? After all, Eurovision usually gathers performances from the successes of previous years.

– Maybe earlier I had fears that I would become a Eurovision artist. But the world has changed and now we have Blind Channel and other successful artists from other countries. If the invite comes, then I'll gladly go along and experience it a little differently.

[lovvecherrymotion]

everyone has been posting about their 2023 and how much jere and joker out have impacted their lives and i guess it's my turn now

this is pretty long and all over the place but... i have a lot to say, i guess

i'm a big eurovision fan but not to the point of watching all the national finals or preparties or anything. i'm pretty invested in it during may but prior to this year i haven't really gotten invested in any artists (at least not to this extent)

anyway, this year, for some reason, i ended up watching cha cha cha the day after the umk final and i was in love. i didn't even need to listen to any other songs - i knew right away käärijä was my 2023 winner. i decided to check other songs that were already out and... guess what other song i liked right away? yeah, carpe diem

and then the universe decided it'd be lovely if bojan and jere met and it fundamentally changed the trajectory of my year. their friendship made me so happy at a time of my life i was struggling so much in terms of mental health - and with their friendship, their music, their interviews, and the rest of the kä crew and joker out

i started lurking around tumblr again. i didn't feel comfortable enough to participate in fandom, but i did love seeing all the content and all the discussions everyone was having. i hadn't felt this excited joining a new fandom in... years, literally. and despite all the shitty moments i've had in 2023, both jere and joker out have helped me a lot and i've felt so happy thanks to them

when i got the ticket for the tavastia show, i spoke to non fandom friends, expecting them to tell me it was a silly idea to fly to the other side of europe just to see joker out (and potentially experience the next bojere reunion), but they all said the same - we haven't seen you this happy about anything in a long time. you should go. and it was one of the best concert experiences of my life

then i also booked an entire trip to dublin to see jere AND I GOT TO MEET HIM? and now i'm getting my first tattoo ever? and, sure, i also got covid for the first time in my life, but it was yet another AMAZING concert experience and one i'll never forget, both thanks to jere and everyone else i met in line. dublin will forever be in my heart. it's one of those experiences that seemed straight out of a fanfic and i can't believe it all happened to me

and finally, it was time to see joker out in madrid, which was a little bit of a birthday gift to myself. i was awake for 30 hours straight and i don't even know how i survived, but it was PHENOMENAL. i truly loved every second of it

after dublin, i made the decision to start being a bit more active around here and got to meet some more lovely people and... while i still feel a bit weird, because i'm not exactly the best at interacting with others and i often feel like i'm the kid who transferred schools mid school year and is still trying to figure out exactly how to fit in, i do love how wonderful this community is. our silly joint fandom has brought me so much joy and i can't wait to see how it'll be in 2024

i'm not exactly ending this year feeling great, in terms of mental health, and i've been feeling quite down about certain things both jere and joker out had helped me feel a bit better about - body image and my own writing being the two main ones - but i seriously believe the positive impact they've had on me will influence how i deal with this during 2024 and i do hope to get to a better place

i wish you all the very best and thank you for being a part of my wonderful fandom experience and making my days a little brighter 💖 and i guess this is a good moment to say that my messages/inbox are always open and i'm always more than happy to make new fandom friends! also, if any of you are going to milan, just let me know (and, yes, i'm still deciding on some more joker out dates for next year because i can't resist spending money on them, it seems 💀)

[eurovision-del]

Finland have definitely become one to watch in recent years, so going into Eurovision season they were one of the countries I was most excited for! With UMK happening this weekend, here's my ranking of the competing songs:

Mikael Gabriel & Nublu – Vox populi

Sini Sabotage – Kuori mua

Jesse Markin – Glow

Cyan Kicks – Dancing With Demons

Sexmane – Mania

Sara Siipola – Paskana

Windows95man – No Rules!

Despite being just seven songs, this was a super hard selection to rank – honestly you could ask me tomorrow and I’d probably switch them around again. This is a very even competition in my eyes - every song is good in its own way and I enjoy them all, but there's no standout. I was in a weird position after my first listen through all these songs when they were released where I felt really positive about this selection, but then struggled to recall any individual song. A couple of weeks to get familiar with them all has definitely helped.

Right now, I think my favourite is Vox populi. It’s a super fun track, their style of Eurodance with the slightly rockier guitars and drums creates this fantastic energy – it’s great pump up music. It’s also pretty cool that it’s bilingual, with a rap verse each in Finnish and Estonian. In fact, we’ve got a fair amount of rap and hip-hop here which I love to see, since I feel they're genres that go underrepresented in Eurovision and national finals in general. Even better, they’re all very distinct from each other. Kuori mua is another rap track, but it couldn’t be any different, with the attitude it exudes and its super slick beat. I love the sharpness of it all, and how it mixes in the piano in the second half to create a more positive sound, lifting some of the tension but keeping all the energy.

The overall production level in all these songs is great – this whole selection is high quality and just sounds good to my ears. The one slight exception is No Rules, which I feel goes a bit too heavy on the fake eagle screeches, although it very much fits the overall tone of the song. This one slight annoyance, and the fact that I preferred Vox populi when it comes to Eurodance, was what made it end up at the bottom of my list, but I honestly feel bad about it – it’s still a very fun song and does what it’s doing  well. I didn’t want to rank any of these songs last!

Because the songs are so even, I couldn't even suggest what deserves to win this Saturday. It's going to all depend on performance for me. Finland are never going to do better than last year's Eurovision result, but UMK has honestly become one of the best national finals over the past few years, and I hope this is enough to keep up the qualification streak they're on.

[theflyingfeeling]

I was so excited about UMK this year but now that all the songs are out I'm so disappointed and I need to process this somehow, so...below the cut is my (cynic) review of the songs this year, I wrote this for me but you may look ✨

Keira: No Business on the Dancefloor

I hadn't heard of her before, so I had no idea what to expect. She sings well, but there's nothing too special in the song. Songs similar to this advance to the ESC final every year, but I don't think this one's interesting enough to do that. (Also, I'm scared to even ask but can someone explain the line "swing it like Harry Potter" to me? I haven't read the books nor seen the movies, what did he ever swing? His broom? His peepee? lol)

Benjamin: Hoida mut

I don't know, man... There are songs that imply sexual content without being explicitly sexual that do it better than this one. The lyrics sound immature, in parts (maybe less so in the English translation), and I'm not a fan of how some of the words are stressed/emphasized. Not a huge fan of Benjamin's singing voice either, and he is definitely the weakest singer in the whole bunch.

Robin Packalen: Girls Like You

Robin was the very reason why I was so excited about UMK this year and, consequently, the reason why I'm so disappointed in this year's competition overall. I had such grand expectations for him, perhaps unreasonably so; I just really wanted him to have a great song and be sent to ESC and do well there 😔 However, having listened to the song on Spotify (i.e. without the mv), I have to say that the song isn't terrible. It's actually quite catchy and uptempo, and in my opinion the vibe in the music video doesn't quite match the vibe of the song. So IF they manage to compile a live show that brings out the good qualities of the song (because there are some!) and IF/when Robin's voice brings the song into life in the live version (because it certainly doesn't do so in the studio version), I think we MIGHT be able to ignore the weaknesses of the song (such as the tacky lyrics; then again, there have been and will be songs with even worse lyrics in the ESC every year, this one wouldn't even be the worst eh?)

Lxandra: Something to Lose

Not memorable at all (I couldn't even recall the name of this song without checking it). Really not my kind of music, not a fan of that kind of singing technique at all. If you're gonna do a ballad in the ESC, it needs to be bigger and stronger than this one.

Käärijä: Cha Cha Cha

Without having seen the live show for this, I must admit I'm also one of those people who are ready to send this to Liverpool. That is not to say I love the song, although it is the only one that evokes any kind of (positive) feelings in me. I don't know, maybe I feel pretentious jamming along to this song because I don't go to bars safe for Samy Elbanna acoustic gigs and BC tumblr meetings and I've never been drunk in my life? 😂 Still, it was the first song that I nodded my head along to and that brought a smile to my face (for some reason the line "toinen silmä jo karsastaa" / "one eye keeps turning crossed too far" always cracks me up). I'm just a little annoyed because people (mostly at the Finnish eurovision discussion board I've been reading) keep praising this song to the extent that I think it's a little over the top, saying stuff like "this is the best UMK song ever!!" and "this is the new Lordi!!" but like...it's not?! Or is it me who's in the wrong here? 😟 I don't know, maybe I should just lower my expectations and accept that I'm not gonna get another "Dark Side" out of UMK any time soon...

KUUMAA: Ylivoimainen

Another song that is praised a lot and I'm not quite sure why. Again, it's not a bad song, but something in it just feels...off. I think it's partly because I'm not a huge fan of Johannes' vocals/singing voice, but also because of the lyrics. I understand it's about the ecstasy one feels when falling in love, (and I want you to know that I'm saying the following even though I know y'all think I'm crazy) but instead of romantic, the lyrics seem sort of...obsessive? Every single line in the song is so desperate to the point that it makes me feel a little anxious. Yes, I also understand that song lyrics and poetry tend to exaggerate things and that none of this is to be taken literally, but even so, it doesn't evoke the feelings in me that it's probably intented to. If someone told me that "there's nothing left for me but you" I wouldn't feel enamored, I'd feel...sad? Because what if a day comes that we break up and you don't have me anymore, then what? You'll jump down the balcony? I don't want to be the only thing that's left for you, come on, there's gotta be something else in your life too, I can't handle this pressure! And with the sort of melancholic, yet upbeat melody of the song it feels kinda distressing and I almost feel like I can't breath when I listen to it. Then again, I've never been in love myself, so what the fuck do I know? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Portion Boys: Samaa taivasta katsotaan

Well 😂😂😂😂😂 In Finland we have this thing called junttidisco, and this is it. I have good reason to believe their other songs are like this too (I've only ever heard two of them), so what the hell were you expecting? 🤣 This is the only song that made me really laugh out loud (with Käärijä it was more like a sensible chuckle), but not necessarily in a good way. The lyrics in the verses are so cringe, although I did love the bit in the chorus about Kimi Räikkönen 😂 The worst part is that I'm not sure whether this is intented as a parody or if they're actually serious about this. I want to believe it's done tongue in cheek, in which case I appreciate them not taking themselves too seriously.

~

To conclude, I don't really give a fuck who will advance to Liverpool, but I guess if we absolutely must send one, then let it be Käärijä, assuming his live show will be fit for ESC. And despite having a horribly boring, mainstream, flavourless song, I still want to put Robin as my 2nd favourite, because I want to believe the live version of the song will be much better than the studio version 🙏

[nanoa1foryou]

Full translation under the cut:

Johannes Brotherus' family is full of success stories - Here's how he feels about fame

Kuumaa has amassed a great fandom and superfame over the last eight years. The band is settled with their fame and they all support each other.

You don't have to be more than a few minutes in the company of the Kuumaa-band, before the band's dynamic becomes clear. The band's front character Johannes Brotherus answers questions for the whole band, drummer Jonttu Luhtavaara accompanies when necessary and bassist Aarni Soivio observes the situation quietly. Tagging along is keyboardist Okko Saastamoinen, who from time to time joins the conversation or at least laughs along.

We're sitting in the band's training room, in the place, where it all started from in the year 2016.

— Returning here to our training room reminds me of the times, when we were here many days a week from morning to night getting welded together and waiting for a show offer, Brotherus reminisces thoughtfully.

Over the eight years a lot has happened. The originally five member band is represented today in promotional images as a trio, although at shows there is also the keyboardist Saastamoinen.

Behind them are three albums, the UMK-final, countless tours and the song Ylivoimainen that made history. The next big triumph is the seven concert Maasta kuuhun -arena tour, that starts at the beginning of November from Turku.

Though successes have come more often and radiohits have been piling up, the band doesn't take selling out arenas for granted.

— Here we have to think if we're ready and can we actually sell that mane seats. Apparently we can and that is quite wondrous. I don't think it's self evident, that any artist or band could do an arena tour, so we're really proud of ourselves, Brotherus says.

Brotherus tells with long turns of phrase about the current state of the band.

— I'd dare to say, that right now we're doing better than ever, which is a bit wondrous. We've spent the last two years nonstop at the studio and on tour. We're quite an actively achieving group and apparently it's good for us that we spend a lot of time together, Brotherus starts.

— We've learned to be really open in each others' company. We've developed our own language of emotion and humour, which at this stage feels like a massive resource. We've also understood, that we have to actively think about how we stay energetic and sincere to each other, and of course also as best friends. I think, that we're doing incredibly well, he continues.

When asking the other band members for comments, the answers aren't so grandiose.

— Agreed, Luhtavaara answers.

— Agreed, Soivio says, looking to his bandmates.

Jealousy?

Earlier in Kuumaa there were also guitarist Aapo Närhi and keyboardist Antti Heiskala. Kuumaa's superfame has however only come after Närhi and Heiskala left.

The band doesn't believe, that the previous members would be jealous of their current success.

— We have everything alright with them and with quite strong mutual understanding we at the time decided to go on as a trio. I don't believe that we have any more need to comment on it, Brotherus says.

According to Kuumaa one of the cornerstones of a functional band is communication and conversation. Nearly every session starts with "washing the dishes", so conversation about how the bandmembers are feeling and what is happening in life right now. The band members aren't ashamed to admit that they talk about their feelings. Every member of the band wants to take care of themselves as an individual, so that working together would go as smoothly as possible.

Over the years the band has formed certain customs and sections, that each of them are responsible for. Brotherus is mostly in charge of song lyrics, while Soivio is in charge of several visual aspects of the band. Luhtavaara's responsibility are the setlists of the tours and making the arrangements.

— There hasn't come up a single thing yet, that we haven't managed to agree on, Brotherus says.

The band completely agrees on also what exactly is Brotherus' role as Kuumaa's front character.

— We've found this to be a completely functional practice. The original reason why I chose the drums as my instrument was that as a kid I was too tired to stand for an hour. We're still kind of going along those lines, Luhtavaara chuckles.

— Johannes doesn't tire of standing, so he can stand up there at the front, Luhtavaara continues joking.

Judging by Luhtavaara's comments, the whole band is settled with the situation.

— I've never interviewed bands about this topic, but we've never had to fight about attention or the spotlight. We are in this band all a sum of our parts, Brotherus describes.

— If I'm always framed in the center in pictures or I'm always talking the most and that starts annoying the others, they'd certainly say it, he continues.

The weight of a last name

Brotherus has gotten to enjoy publicity before the other band members. The 26 year old Brotherus started his career as an actor when he was under school age.

Johannes bears a last name, that belongs to a family of artists. His mother is dancer, director and choreographer Hanna Brotherus and his three siblings, Rober, Amos and Elsa are all familiar from stages, big screens and the music world.

The last name doesn't however create pressure for Johannes.

— Though sometimes I get asked, why do Brotherus' connect to so many things, I can't think of the last nae as a burden. I haven't used my energy to thinking about it, Brotherus says.

— I'm really lucky, that I've gotten to grow up in an environment, where others are creative and artistically oriented people. I've as a three year old gotten people to play with from really close by and I got to take tap dancing if I wanted. I can however in no way relate to the thought, that I should carry the flag of the family here or succeed in its name, he continues.

Brotherus is grateful, that he hasn't had to grow up around jealousy.

— I actually hasn't felt or received jealousy. I'm happy, if the people around me do what they enjoy, and that has also been reciprocated.

Kuumaa-band's members have gotten to grow together towards greater success and the familiarity of the whole nation. Luhtavaara and Soivio tell that they are settled with the publicity, as does Brotherus.

— It has been clear from the start, that if we go through a particular wall, then the publicity really will be present in our daily lives. I'm the type of person, who can develope stress for themself, so I try not to give too much weight to things, that I can't do anything about, Brotherus says.

— The greatest advantage is, that we're as a group in this situation. We can always remind each other, that all of us are a basic Kalevi, even if someone did stare in the streets, Brotherus concludes.

A Kuumaa interview with some new pics!

[lahti111]

Reasons you should vote Blind Channel in UMK part I

With about one week to go until the UMK final, I am gonna tell you all why we all should be voting for Dark Side by Blind Channel. Yes, this will be a daily thing :) I am not going to state the obvious like how I want Dark Side to win, because it is my favourite song in the selection. No, I am going to state the simple fact that it is most likely the song that would fair the best in Eurovision. 

As much as I love Ilta’s song, I feel like it is not going to stand out enough, or even if it does juries would most probably prefer Barbara (Voilà is a masterpiece) and very likely also Gjonn’s song (if it is anything like his 2020 song). Then there is I love you which is a fun song, but it goes into the same “fun” category as Discoteque,  Daði Freyr ‘s song and even Little Big’s (in case they get selected again). All the three have an advantage of being well known from previous year when they all were big favourites to finish top 5 in the contest. I could see I love you become a loved song among the televoters, but it seems like a song the juries would despise. Rap rarely does well, repetitive party songs (the chorus) often don’t get high points from the professional juries either.  The other four acts, Oskr and Aksel might have jury success potential, Danny is chanceless in every possible way (I do appreciate him being part of UMK) and Laura could get that 20ish points from Estonia because homerism and neighbour voting. Other that that I don’t think so. 

Dark Side will stand out, because there is going to be very few if any rock songs. Tornike’s song might be rock(ish), but even if it going to be same style as Take me as I am, that would still be very different from Blind Channel’s style.  Finland’s success in Eurovision has always been abysmal and best results especially in the 21st century have been with rock songs. Rock is the one genre Finland has been good at, one genre we know by our hearts. Let’s take a quick look at all the results from 2000 to 2019

2000: Nina Åström - A Little Bit - 18th place 2002: Laura - Addicted to you - 20th place 2004: Jari Sillanpää - Takes 2 to Tango 14th in semi-final 2005: Geir Rönning - Why - 18th in semi-final 2006: Lordi - Hard Rock Hallelujah- 1st place 2007: Hanna Pakarinen - Leave me alone - 17th place 2008: Teräsbetoni - Missä Miehet ratsastaa - 22nd place 2009: Waldo’s people - Lose Control - 25th place  2010: Kuunkuiskaajat - Työlki Ellää - 11th in semi-final 2011: Paradise Oskar - Da Da Dam - 21st place 2012: Pernilla - När Jag Blundar - 12th is semi-final 2013: Krista Siegfrieds - Marry Me - 24th place 2014: Softengine - Something Better - 11th place 2015: Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät - Aina Mun Pitää - 16th in semi-final 2016: Sandhja - Sing It Away - 15th in semi-final 2017: Norma John - Blackbird - 12th in semi-final 2018: Saara Aalto - Monsters - 25th place 2019: Darude feat. Sebastian Rejman - Look Away - 17th in semi-final

So top 3 results have come with rock while only NQ rock song is PKN, who was 10th in televote (so would have qualified pre-jury era). Dark side is way more approachable, so good result in televote is given. Juries are a bit of mystery, but AWS and Hatari made it to the finals even if juries weren’t the kindest to them. Jury hatred in finals doesn’t mean you can’t get good overall results (Poland 2016 anyone). Also, we need Dark Side for “the diversity”. As much as I love Eurovision, it has never - especially not after the return of the juries - been the most diverse contest when it comes to music genres. You can see a couple songs every year that is not classified as “typical Eurovision music”. Nothing annoys me as much as the mentality *this is a good song but it is not for Eurovision*. This “plastic music revolution” is reason why very few countries sing with their own native language or dare to send anything that is not considered “radio friendly”. I miss the weird songs in the mid 00s, that may not have been good in terms of “music”, but they were something different and funny. Something memorable.

But something more important than the possible success in Eurovision is the career after it. Both Ilta and Teflon Brothers are well known in Finland and even after the contest their focus with music would be in the Finnish music market. For Blind Channel it is a whole different thing. Their dream is not only tour in Finland or Europe, but the entire word. Let’s make them famous in Europe now, then they will be one step closer to make it across the pond too. Blind Channel is an amazing band and they deserve way more attention than they get now.   

[delphinia13]

Ok I’ve had some time to calm down and think about the results, so here’s my thoughts on each of the qualifiers and non-qualifiers

Qualifiers:

Greece: This is a song I can appreciate but it’s not for me. She’s got a unique voice with a great range but I don’t like the lyrics or the aesthetic. Still, it’s a deserved qualifier and I’m glad it went through

Belarus: The first of the ones I don’t really understand... I guess the staging was good and the dancers were great but I still find it repetitive and annoying. Zena’s great though, it’s the song that’s the issue, not her.

Serbia: I had predicted this to qualify and it is in my personal top 10 of the semi so I’m happy, though I think there were more deserving songs

Cyprus: Another song I knew was going through that I’m not a fan of, but I’m not a fan of this type of pop song in general. I cannot see this doing as well as Fuego did last year, however

Estonia: The other song I can’t understand. I liked the song in Eesti Laul, it was actually my third favourite there, but Victor struggles to sing it properly and compared to the other songs in this semi it’s really nothing special. I’ll be upset if the juries pushed this through because I feel they should award vocals and songs with meaning and good lyrics (who rhymes ‘this’ with ‘this’?), but I guess I’ll understand if an audience overwhelmed with the diversity in this semi put something safe through.

Czechia: Like last year I didn’t like this song at first but I am so glad it got through, good to see Czechia continuing their momentum from last year, it’s a good fun song, though the lyrics are still questionable

Australia: What we lost in the national final will always cloud my judgement of this song but that shouldn’t affect what it deserves at Eurovision. I find the song ok but the staging absolutely elevated it (literally) and I’m glad it’s through

Iceland: My absolute favourites of the entire contest, I was so scared they’d be too much for Europe but I’m elated they’re through! The hosts really had to stress me out by announcing this so late though!

San Marino: Serhat qualifying almost made up for the disappointment of losing some of my faves in this semi. The song isn’t great, and neither are his vocals if I’m completely honest but the song is so unashamedly happy I can’t help but love it, and I always root for San Marino, at least a little

Slovenia: It took me a while to love this song as much as I’ve seen other people love it. Like Australia, I’m sure that’s partly due to the national final. My favourite song out of all the national final songs was in that selection and Sebi only ranked 6th there, but I’ve come to love it and I’m really glad they made it. They don’t deserve the disrespect I’ve seen them getting, the BBC commentators could also try not calling them creepy maybe

Non-Qualifiers:

Belgium: I like this song, and I’ve had it as a borderline qualifier because I thought the juries might flock to it in the midst of all the weirdness in this semi, but as soon as I heard him live tonight I knew he was out. Hopefully this will push Belgium to shake up the formula

Finland: Another song I like a bit, but am glad it’s out to leave space for better songs. Also could serve as a wakeup call to bring back the old UMK

Georgia: I really like this song but I knew it wasn’t getting through, I’ve seen a lot of negativity from the fan reactions and I figured the juries would mirror that. Georgia really are cementing themselves as one of my favourite countries at Eurovision though

Hungary: Now it gets painful. This is my fourth favourite song overall this year. I think Origo was better, but as far as songs about fathers go it’s better than Germany last year (which I really loved also). I was actually sure it was gonna qualify, so this was the big shock for me. I’m gonna miss Hungary in the finals... Though I can’t help but feel there’s some karma here after the juries in A Dal killed every other good song they had, and they had some brilliant songs that I feel could have even challenged for the win if they’d been sent

Montenegro: One thing was certain tonight, and that was Montenegro not qualifying. I don’t hate this song, but that’s about it.

Poland: I thought this song would be too different to qualify, so I’m not surprised with this. It’s one of those songs that I’m really glad is in the contest though, and I’m gonna listen to it again

Portugal: And my second favourite song this year fell... This song is absolutely brilliant and it’s such a shame it didn’t go through. I know there were some concerns that the staging and outfits would be too weird but I was still hoping... Though I was prepared for this to happen, it’s still disappointing. 

In conclusion, it’s not as bad as I first thought. Of the qualifiers, there’s five songs I really wanted to qualify, another two I felt deserved it, one I knew would no matter what, and two that I’m personally not happy with. There’s two songs I’m disappointed didn’t make it, but I always have one or two of my top five knocked out in the semis (Blackbird and Stones the most recent and painful) so hopefully Norway get through tomorrow? The results can’t please everyone and I feel overall it’s a pretty fair set of qualifiers. And honestly, Iceland and San Marino both made it so what more could I ask for?

[eurosong]

2018 vs 2019: Semi-final 1

Hey there, folks! Every year after the national final season is over, one of the first things I write about Eurovision is a comparison of the new year’s songs with those of the previous year. Often it gets folk unfollowing the blog even though it’s almost entirely posts about ESC statistics and only a relatively small amount on rating the songs here. These are just my thoughts and no offence intended to anyone who thinks otherwise. Without further ado, click below to take a look at my thoughts on semi-final one!

◯ Australia – 2019 – Last year, Oz sent “We got love” (or “We got l’œuf” as I renamed it), which was a dizzying collection of clichés, got a mediocre placement and might well have been the impetus for them finally biting the bullet and getting the punters involved in the thitherto long mooted national final. This decision might not benefit their chances of keeping up their qualification record in the long run – but it means, for once, that Australia can move outside a narrow box musically and send things that would never be picked by internal selectors. “Zero gravity” was a less astute choice than “2000 & Whatever” would have been, I feel – it sounds to be like something that people think is so Eurovision who haven’t seen it in some time. Nonetheless, homegirl has pipes, the tune is quite catchy and it’s a hell of a lot more interesting than last year’s song.

◯ Belarus – 2018 – whilst I’ll be talking about 2018 vs 2019, I have to take a quick detour almost right away to 2017. It was the first time that Belarus managed to sustain my interest and get into my personal top 10 since their début, and they did so by going authentic and finally showing some love for their national language on the ESC stage. One year later, and I certainly wasn’t enthused by a carpetbagging victory of a non-local singing a rather ordinary song in English or some approximation thereof.

And yet, “Forever” and its earnest performer grew on me, especially the strange dissonance between the hopeful lyrics and the very melancholy music. After a similar number of repeated listens, “Like it” has not sparked even the briefest flame. Musically, this starts off with an inoffensive if very 2005 Spanish guitar riff, arrives at a decent-ish bridge and then throws itself off it head first into an absolutely dreadful thumping, repetitive chorus which is reprised way too much in the rest of the song. Lyrically, they put about as much effort into the words as they did into the “screensaver with default font” they were using as a background as Zena performed. She repeats “yes, you’re gunna like it” 40 times in the space of 3 minutes – one every 4.5 seconds. Maybe she’s trying to psychologically condition us, but no, Zena, I ent gunna like it at all. In a delicious bit of irony, it’s also at time of writing the least “liked” ESC ’19 song on Youtube. Strong preference to 2018.

◯ Belgium – 2019 – It can be difficult for a country to come back after a peak moment for them with something equally good that also manages to win over the fans and juries. We’ve seen it in Latvia after “Love injected”, in Estonia after “Goodbye to yesterday” and I think we’re seeing it once again with Belgium after “City lights”. Neither this year’s song nor last’s comes anywhere near the anthemic, emotional power of Blanche’s song. Both are nice enough, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Eliot struggled much as Sennek did last year. I give it a slight preference, but both songs are really let down, I feel, by choruses that don’t pay off the drama built in the verses.

◯ Cyprus – Neither – I try to limit myself to as few “neither” choices as possible in these games because the fun is in having to choose, sometimes, between two difficult options. Nonetheless, I abhorred “Fuego” in every conceivable way and this aptly-named “replay” offers little different to those who weren’t fans of it. If I had to pick, I’d go with 2018, because at least it doesn’t have the sadness of attempting to catch lightning twice in the same jar attached to it.

◯ Czechia – 2019 – Two years, two rather uncomfortable entries from the Czechs in a row. Last year, we had a predatory “Blurred lines” light, while this year, whilst less lyrically degrading, still has weird lines about eavesdropping on people having sex through the walls(?)… but it’s enough to secure a slight preference.

◯ Estonia – 2018 – It seems like such a long time has passed since the days when I consistently found Eesti Beesti, since those days when Eesti Laul seemed experimental and had a decent number of songs in their native language. I’m no fan of popera, but at least Elina was a local talent. It’s bewildering when a country with so many great artists can’t find someone with any real association with it to sing for them. Though both are ultimately derivative, I prefer La forza to what is essentially an aviici b-side.

◯ Finland– 2018 – I have a pet peeve for national finals where you are presented with a single choice of artist. Unless said artist is very versatile (say, Frances Ruffelle, who took on dark pop, ballads and gospel-tinged anthems in her solo national final back in 1994), you are restricted to a narrow set of genres. If you don’t like that artist or their style, then you’re shit out of luck. That’s been the case for the last few years with Saara Aalto and now Darude. I didn’t really like ány of either’s songs and miss the days of a diverse choice in UMK. I pick Saara because her throwback was slightly more tolerable.

◯ Georgia– 2018 – Fair play to Georgia, who always dance to the beat of their very own peculiar drummer. You’d think that the shift to the X Factor format to pick their representative, combined with the cold reception for their “ethno-jazz” last year, would have led to them playing it safe to try to avoid three DNQs in a row. Instead they’ve gone for something downbeat, angry and almost oppressive in its ambiance, i.e. something even less accessible to the general viewer than last year. This feels like the rock song equivalent to a war crimes tribunal. I preferred last year’s effort, which was rather more uplifting, and which I felt was unfairly underrated for a genuinely well-composed piece of music steeped in tradition.

◯ Greece – 2019 – A number of people around me were raving for Oneiro mou last year. I wasn’t one of them and suspected it would fail to qualify from the get-go. Instead of “Greece returning to form”, it felt like them attempting to do so but ending up with a nationalistic pastiche instead. This year, they’ve taken their usual mould and smashed it with a hammer, going in a very different direction with a delightfully husky-voiced singer and a musically anthemic piece that manages to compensate, for me, the song’s lyrical shortcomings. I enjoy it a fair bit more.

◯ Hungary – 2018 – This is one of the hardest ones of this semi final to choose, as “Viszlát nyar” and “Az én apam” are chalk and cheese, but both highly qualitative and with meaningful lyrics. Joci’s other ESC song, Origo, beat Viszlát nyar for me, but his 2019 effort doesn’t have quite the same visceral punch to it, so I think I’m going to have to give the edge to AWS this time around.

◯ Iceland – 2019 – Another country giving us night and day, but this time, I like neither of the two choices. Last year certainly put the “cheese” in the old “chalk and cheese” saying, an unbelievably overwrought and soppy Christmas charity-esque tune that somehow ended up at ESC. This year, it’s something rather acerbic, dingy, grating and ultimately gimmicky. In these times, “hate will prevail” is the last message we need. I will take it over Ari any day though, as that was just squirmworthy.

◯ Montenegro  – 2018 – It seemed that, last year, Montenegro was back to doing what it has always done best – a haunting, beautiful Balkan ballad after a few bizarre years of experiments gone wrong. Unfortunately, Inje got slept on despite its quality and couldn’t bring about an end to CG’s DNQ streak. There were many candidates in this year’s Montevizija that could have gone one better and done just that – but instead, bewilderingly, we got this unspeakable jumble which sounds like it was a rejected b-side for a mediocre mid-90s boy band, but with the addition of Random Casio Noises® in the background. Comparing Inje to it is likening fine wine to a bottle of Panda Cola that has been left with the cap off in the sun for 2 weeks.

◯ Poland – 2019 – Last year, Poland sent a middle-aged man in a hat doing a cringey snake dance whilst a young, inexplicably Swedish guy sort of sang and the whole thing sounded like the soundtrack for a Coke advert gone wrong. This year, they’ve got some women swaying like maniacs in a forest where they probably buried their patriarch. Not much of a step up in theory, but a big step up nonetheless…

◯ Portugal– 2019 – Portugal is a country that could have peaked with their first win, or fallen into a niche in a sad attempt (*cough* Cyprus *cough*) to recapture that glory. Instead, they are challenging all the tropes and have a national final with some serious diversity. I loved “O jardim” and it deserved way better, but this year’s song, “Telemóveis”, exceeds even that. It’s a haunting but catchy as hell rumination on mortality, technology and saudade with a musical backdrop whose influences transcend continents. If it’s not in the running to win the whole thing, I will be disappointed.

◯ San Marino – 2018 – I cannot get my head around the enthusiasm for “Say na na na”, which seems to have been contracted not only by postmodern pisstakers but by many folk who genuinely like it. It makes me cringe 10x more than Jenny B’s not quite sick rap skills last year, and that’s saying something. Plus, they had robots.

◯ Serbia – 2019 – They seemed like really nice people, but I found last year’s Serbian entry itself to be a bit of a minestrone into which a dozen elements of other songs were chucked in, and thus was lacking a bit in coherence. “Kruna”, on the other hand, is perfectly-formed, poignant, beautifully orchestrated and one of the best Balkan ballads in the past few years.

◯ Slovenia – 2018 – Fair play to Slovenia for picking themselves up and dusting themselves off after a few rough years. Hvala ne was backed by almost no one to qualify but I had faith in it early on and Lea benefited from being able to make a real connection with the crowds. Sebi is a very different beast entirely. Whilst Hvala ne had a defiance and a frenetic energy, Sebi is contemplative and melancholy. Both have great lyrics, too. I am going with Slovenia at the minute as it’s stood the test of time, but really the better of the two songs is really a question of mood.

And the automatic qualifiers of this semi-final:

◯ France – 2018 – It’s a battle between two songs written by the same writers, and since I loved their 2018 work, their follow-up should have a chance of making this a closely-run thing. Shóúld. Instead, they went from writing an understated song about humanity to writing an overbearingly pompous and self-important song about ego. This is the worst French song to me since 1988.

◯ Israel – 2018 – I wonder if Israel’s broadcasters remember how their predecessor, the IBU, won on home soil in 1979. I have the feeling they might well do, and as a result ensured it wouldn’t happen again with this song. There are elements of the song I really like, but it’s let down for me by a snivelly, exaggerated voice and a rather self-indulgent chorus. I was no great fan of “Toy”, but can listen to it with more pleasure than this.

◯ Spain – 2018 – I remember when “Tu canción" came out and I was completely in love with it. The unfortunate thing about songs sung by starry-eyed young loves is that their relationships often end up star-crossed. Now, Almaia is no more, and the song has a hugely bitter aftertaste. Nonetheless, I prefer it to La venda, which is a rather empty song lyrically but which I still found the best of a bad lot in the Spanish national final.

Coming up in the next instalment, my thoughts on SF2’s songs and how they shape up to those from last year!

[gaymusicchart]

GAY MUSIC CHART – 2018 week 07

 Welcome to the Gay Music Chart, the LGBTQA related music videos TOP 50 actuality and most request.

Vote for your favourite LGBTQA related music videos by leaving a comment for this post on :

YOUTUBE (in the comment section of the video of the week) : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz7yfp-xq-b08tD6mAWwclA

BLOGGER : http://gaymusicchart.blogspot.fr

FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/GayMusicChart/

TWITTER : https://twitter.com/GayMusicChart with #GayMusicChart  

TUMBLR : http://gaymusicchart.tumblr.com  

 Here is the recap for this week :

 OUT : Namuel - Joven de Corazón (LW: 18 / WO: 13 / PEAK: 10)

OUT : Michele Bravi - Diamanti (LW: 24 / WO: 20 / PEAK: 04)

OUT : Jão - Imaturo (LW: 29 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 29)

OUT : ဆိုေတး So Tay - အသစ္ေတြ႔ခဲ့ရင္ A Thit Twayt Khae Yin (LW: 32 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 32)

OUT : Eu sou Filho do Arco-Íris (LW: 34 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 34)

OUT : HEIDRIK - Monster (LW: 35 / WO: 11 / PEAK: 05)

OUT : Pabllo Vittar feat. Diplo - Então Vai (LW: 37 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 37)

OUT : Fischerspooner - TopBrazil (LW: 42 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 24)

OUT : Sam Vance-Law - Gayby (LW: 43 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 43)

OUT : Michele Bravi - Tanto Per Cominciare (LW: 44 / WO: 13 / PEAK: 14)

OUT : Tim Arnold - Que Désire l'Amour (LW: 45 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 45)

OUT : Jinkx Monsoon - Cartoons and Vodka (LW: 47 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 29)

OUT : Boy Radio - Champagne Wishes (LW: 48 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 48)

OUT : Rui Andrade - Confia Em Mim (LW: 49 / WO: 6 / PEAK: 25)

OUT : Brendan Velasquez - Dress 2 Impress (LW: 50 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 48)

  01 (+ 1) : Trevor Moran - Sinner (LW: 02 / WO: 10 / PEAK: 01 (x1))

USA - 2017

 02 (- 1) : Troye Sivan - My My My! (LW: 01 / WO: 5 / PEAK: 01 (x3))

Australia - 2018

The first track of his upcoming album has topped at #3 at the Worldwide iTunes Song Chart. It's the eighth single of the Australian singer in a row to be #1 in our chart.

 03 (+ 8) : Kylie Minogue - Dancing (LW: 11 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 03)

Australia - 2018 / from the upcoming album "Golden"

 04 (- 1) : Francisco Victoria - Marinos (LW: 03 / WO: 7 / PEAK: 03)

Chile - 2017

This is the first single of the Chilean singer, produced by Alex Anwandter. A revelation.

 05 (+ 1) : Sufjan Stevens - Mystery of Love ("Call Me By Your Name" OST) (LW: 06 / WO: 14 / PEAK: 01 (x1))

USA - 2017 / from the album ("Call Me By Your Name" OST)

The song is nominated for the Oscar of Best Original Song at the Academy Awards 2018.

 06 (- 1) : La Prohibida - Baloncesto (LW: 05 / WO: 29 / PEAK: 03)

Spain / from the album "100K años de luz"

The drag queen joined Madrid’s Three Kings float, but traditionalists didn't like it.

 07 (+ 39) : Patrick Wolf - The Days (fan video) (LW: 46 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 07)

UK - 2017 / from the album "God’s Own Country OST"

The multi-awarded movie is nominated in 2 categories at the BAFTA Awards 2017, including Best Outstanding British Film.

 08 (=) : Virgin Suicide - Evil Eyes (LW: 08 / WO: 10 / PEAK: 08)

Denmark - 2017

This Danish music video is like a short movie, telling the struggles of a closeted gay teen taken by his father to a fathers-sons's camp.

 09 (+ 11) : Matt Palmer - Solo Act (LW: 20 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 09)

USA - 2018 / from the EP "Get Lost"

 10 (+ 5) : Allie X feat. VÉRITÉ - Casanova (LW: 15 / WO: 7 / PEAK: 10)

Canada - 2017 / from the album "CollXtion II"

 11 (- 7) : Calum Scott - You Are The Reason (LW: 04 / WO: 12 / PEAK: 04)

UK - 2017

 12 (- 5) : PJ Brennan - Tease (LW: 07 / WO: 14 / PEAK: 01 (x2))

USA - 2016

PJ Brennan is well known for his role as Doug Carter in the British television soap opera Hollyoaks.

 13 (+ 14) : Troye Sivan - The Good Side (Live on SNL) (LW: 27 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 13)

Australia - 2018

 14 (- 1) : Eli Lieb - Next To You (LW: 13 / WO: 9 / PEAK: 02)

USA - 2017

 15 (- 1) : SAKIMA - Daddy (LW: 14 / WO: 9 / PEAK: 14)

UK - 2017

 16 (- 7) : Tokio Hotel - Boy Don't Cry (LW: 09 / WO: 15 / PEAK: 04)

Germany - 2017 / from the album "Dream Machine"

The lead singer Bill Kaulitz becomes a beautiful drag queen in the new music video of the German band.

 17 (NEW) : Openside - I Feel Nothing (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 17)

New Zealand - 2017  

Lead singer Possum Plows, who is gender non-binary, raises the transgender flag in this music video.

 18 (+ 10) : Hayley Kiyoko - Curious (LW: 28 / WO: 5 / PEAK: 11)

USA - 2018 / from the album "Expectations"

In her new song, Hayley is wondering why the girl she's dating is dating also another guy in the same time. "Expectations" will be released on March 30, 2018.

 19 (+ 20) : Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy (Arnaud Rebotini Remix) (LW: 39 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 19)

UK / France - 2017 / from the album "120 battements par minute OST"

This classic gay anthem from Bronski Beat is a remix for the OST of the French movie "120 battements par minute", which depicts a group of HIV/AIDS activists in the early 1990s. The movie won the Grand Prix at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, and is nomited 13 times at the Cesars 2018, including for Best Movie and Best original Soundtrack for Arnaud Rebotini.

 20 (NEW) : Saara Aalto - Monsters (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 20)

Finland - 2018

Saara Alto will represent Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. This is the first song of three which will be presented to the public for voting at the UMK 2018.

 21 (+ 17) : Abisha Uhl - Better (LW: 38 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 21)

USA - 2018

The music video recreates famous scenes of movies.

 22 (NEW) : Зианджа / Ziandzha  - Smashed into you (Live @ Blind Audition – The Voice of Ukraine – season 8) (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 22)

Ukraine - 2018

The video of the transgender singer made the buzz in Ukraine.

 23 (- 1) : Alfie Arcuri - If They Only Knew (LW: 22 / WO: 32 / PEAK: 01 (x7))

Australia - 2017

This is the new music video of the winner of The Voice Australia 2016. What must do a gay man when he's in love with his best male friend, who's dating his best female friend?

 24 (+ 16) : The Greatest Showman - This Is Me [Official Lyric Video] (LW: 40 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 19)

USA - 2018 / from the album "The Greatest Showman OST"

The song, composed by out songwriter Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, won the 2017 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and has been nominated for the Academy Award 2017 for Best Original Song.

 25 (NEW) : Sannie - Boys on Girls (live @ Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2018) (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 25)

Denmark - 2018

 26 (- 5) : Lucas Lucco e Pabllo Vittar - Paraíso (LW: 21 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 21)

Brazil - 2018

 27 (+ 14) : Lady Gaga - Joanne (Where Do You Think You’re Goin’?) (Piano Version) (LW: 41 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 27)

USA - 2018

 28 (- 18) : Bagarre - Danser seul (ne suffit pas) (LW: 10 / WO: 5 / PEAK: 10)

France - 2018 / from the album "Club 12345"

Several drag queens are featuring in the music video of this French Touch house music.

 29 (- 4) : Smashby - Ringleader (LW: 25 / WO: 8 / PEAK: 13)

UK - 2017

 30 (- 11) : Leon Else - What I Won't Do (Lyric Video) (LW: 19 / WO: 35 / PEAK: 02)

UK - 2017

The British singer has came out on Facebook last May.

 31 (=) : Huntington - Love Is Love (LW: 31 / WO: 20 / PEAK: 02)

Australia / Germany - 2017

Three years after "Secret", this is their new original song. It was released specially for the Australian debate about marriage equality. Every cent made from this song went go to the Yes campaign. Now that the debate is over, finaly, LGBT can now get marry : congratulations Australia !

 32 (RE-ENTRY) : Charlotte Gainsbourg - Deadly Valentine (LW: - / WO: 3 / PEAK: 21)

France - 2017 / from the album "Rest"

Charlotte Gainsbourg & Dev Hynes are lifelong lovers for this music video from the French actress and singer, who won the Victoire de la Musique 2018 for Female Singer of the year.

 33 (- 7) : Ferras - Coming Back Around (LW: 26 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 26)

USA - 2018

 34 (- 17) : Conchita Wurst & Ina Regen - Heast as Net (Hubert Von Goisern Cover) (LW: 17 / WO: 10 / PEAK: 09)

Austria - 2017

The power of yodeling, but in a classy way.

 35 (+ 1) : Echo V - Let You Go (LW: 36 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 35)

USA - 2017

Echo V is a new boy band from Los Angeles. All the members are gay. This is their first single.

 36 (- 20) : Matt Fishel - LGBTQ (A New Generation) (LW: 16 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 16)

UK - 2018 / from the album "M/F"

This song is an tribute for the older LGBTQIA generation who had fight for their rights against homophobia and discriminations, which allowed the emergence of a freer and open-minded generation.

 37 (NEW) : Strange Names - UFO (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 37)

USA - 2018 / from the album "Data"

 38 (NEW) : Matt Palmer - Inevitably (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 38)

USA - 2018 / from the EP "Get Lost"

 39 (NEW) : Hoshi - Ta Marinière (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 39)

France - 2017

This sweater makes you fall in love with people around you, men or women.

 40 (NEW) : Lo Stato Sociale - Una Vita In Vacanza (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 40)

Italy - 2018

This song was competiting in the Sanremo 2018 music festival.

 41 (- 18) : Sam Tsui - Trust (LW: 23 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 23)

USA - 2018 / from the album "Trust"

 42 (- 12) : Rainbow Riots feat. Kowa Tigs and D Black - Set Me Free (LW: 30 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 30)

Sweden / Uganda - 2018 / from the album "Rainbow Riots"

This is the third single of this album project composed and produced by Petter Wallenberg, featuring queer voices from some of the world’s most dangerous countries for LGBTQ people. All proceeds go towards fighting inequalities towards LGBTQ people in Uganda.

 43 (RE-ENTRY) : Parson James - Only You (LW: - / WO: 2 / PEAK: 43)

USA - 2018

 44 (RE-ENTRY) : Hayley Kiyoko - Feelings (LW: - / WO: 15 / PEAK: 04)

USA - 2017

The singer flirts with another woman while she’s dancing in her new music video.

 45 (NEW) : Wilder Daze - Better Off (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 45)

USA - 2018

 46 (RE-ENTRY) : Conchita - This is Me (Influencer's Cover) (LW: - / WO: 3 / PEAK: 35)

Austria - 2017

 47 (- 35) : Holland(홀랜드) - Neverland (네버랜드) (LW: 12 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 12)

South Korea - 2018

This is the first South Korean music video showing a gay couple kissing in a romantic way.

 48 (NEW) : Eden Iris - The Problem (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 48)

USA - 2018

 49 (- 16) : Cub Sport - Good Guys Go (LW: 33 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 26)

Australia - 2018 / from the album "Bats"

 50 (NEW) : Phonoamorous - Bye Bye (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 50)

Germany - 2018

  ALSO NEW THIS WEEK

 Hercules & Love Affair - My Curse And Cure

USA - 2018 / from the album "Omnion"

 The Hungry Hearts - Vagina Anthem

Norway - 2018

A feminist song in the #MeToo movement.

 CoCoSoRi (코코소리) - MiAmor

South Korea - 2018

The two singers kiss each other at the end of the music video, but it's because they dream about the same guy.

 Sajsi MC - Kod Tvoje Devojke

Serbia - 2018

 Raphael - I Get What I Want (d4rk w3b v3r$10n)

USA - 2018

 See you next week and don’t forget to vote for your best LGBTQA music videos ! Here are the rules :

1 ) You can vote for many videos as you want under the videos on YouTube in the comment section. It could be recent or past music videos, which must provide at least one among the following conditions:

- the music video has LGBTQA related content, in the lyrics or the music video

- the artist is LGBTQA, an LGBTQA icon or eventually ally

- LGBTQA medias talked about it.

2 ) You can’t vote more than 3 songs of a same artist per week.

3 ) In case of an artist who receive votes mostly by a fan base, we will count only one song, in a limited time of 10 weeks of presence in the top.

4 ) You can vote with only one account.

5 ) If you make 5 votes or less, your first vote will represent 5 points, your second vote 4 points, etc… until your last vote and following 1 point. If you make 6 to 10 votes, your first vote will represent 10 points, your second vote 9 points, etc… If you make more than 10 votes, your first vote will represent 20 points, your second vote 19 points, etc…

6 ) People who make 1 to 5 votes form the amateur ranking, those who make 6 to 10 votes form the fan ranking, those who make more than 10 votes form the expert ranking. We form the jury ranking. And we count now the ranking of minutes of views of our weekly playlist of the previous week. The Gay Music Chart is the addition of the five charts. In case of equality, the number of votes and the dates of votes will count.

7 ) The votes will close on Thursday, 8 PM, European time.

[eurosong]

Undo my ESC - 2019, SF1

Hello there, folks, and welcome to the first part of Undo my ESC, where I take a look at the field this year and, for each country, make a feasible change – as small as, for example, minor tinkerings with the staging, or as big as a different song completely winning a national final. It’s all light-hearted and just my opinion, of course. Allons-y... Cyprus: We start off completely in the deep end. I loathe “Fuego”, and this repackaged Fue2.0 is no better and is indeed perhaps worse to me given that I hate desperate attempts to catch lightning in the same jar. I also find Tamta a very unsympathetic character. I don’t know what I’d do to improve this, other than replace the internal selection with a national final with some songs actually in Greek and with local character. Montenegro: Things do not improve... but at least the solution is easier! Montenegro had a decent national final in which literally any other song would have been a better choice. I particularly liked “Nevinost”, and so did the unfortunately out-voted expert jury, so would be tempted to give D mol’s ticket to Tel Aviv to its artist, Ivana Popović, instead. I do find D mol to be sweet kids though, so the other part of me would be sad to rob them of their time in the limelight and would instead have taken the 90s throwback and bizarre random background sound elements out of their song, replaced the score with one that emphasised the traditional musical elements, and kept the lyrics in Montenegrin.

Finland: Three strikes and I am almost out. I really struggle with the new UMK format – I understand the logic behind it, just as I did when it was a thing in the UK in the early 90s, but I think it only really works if an artist has a wide-ranging repertoire. If not, then you end up with 3 samey songs that only appeal to people who like the music styles that artist makes. I’m not an EDM fan and I would have taken the relative flop of Saara Aalto last year as indication to return to a multi-artist UMK. Plenty of artists from previous years who could be worth a spot in one such.

Poland: I was disappointed by the disappearance of Poland’s national final, but I can’t say I was too surprised after a few underperforming years. I have to commend the Polish broadcasters for going for something popular within their own country, without being overly preöccupied as to how it would play outwith their borders. Pali się is one of those entries that I don’t like much but which I respect. My changes would be to remove the pointless English intro and outro, which, if one were not paying attention, one might not notice actually being in English. I’d also try to make the song a little less linear, as the song feels mostly confined to one pace.

Slovenia: Finally, we come to a country where I can change next to nothing. Many people I know were disappointed that “Kaos” was not elected as the Slovenes’ song. Whilst I found it an earworm, I really didn’t like her haughty, “I’m only in EMA to promote my new disc” attitude – and I really preferred the delectable, contemplative and intimate “Sebi.” It’s pure elegance in simplicity, and I wouldn’t need to change a thing.

Czechia: I appreciate the Czechs’ creätive way of bypassing the expenses of a traditional national final – whilst still giving fans a choice – by holding their selection online. Really cute this year was the way they tried to equalise differences in funding by making the candidates’ official video be a low-budget affair filmed in their flats. I liked quite a few songs of their selection, with the eventual winner, “Friend of a friend”, middle of my rankings. I would, of course, opt for my #1 of the NF to win instead, the delightful slice of “Bohemiana del Rey” style that was “True Colours.”

Hungary: Hungary’s A Dal has the cachet to attract a number of returning artists, so it was not surprising that, eventually, it would be won by someone who’d triumphed before – and I’m delighted it was Joci Papái, one of the biggest revelations of the Hungarian NFs for me. Yet, as is often the case with folk coming back to take a second bite of the cherry, the sophomore effort comes short of the first – “Az én apám” is lovely, touching, but lacks the bite and edge that “Origo” had. I might have JP come second and hopefully return for a second victory in 2020/1 with something a bit stronger, and send in his place the soaring but melancholic “Madár, repülj”.

Belarus: Life is too short to do some things, and whilst I try to listen to pretty much every national final song, one of the things life is too short for is intensively following the Belarusian national finals with their hundred-odd auditions. I saw a few, though, and they were a rum lot. Musically, Aura’s touching “Čaravala” was probably the best of those I heard – but was also strangely won over by the unpretentious, fun ode to tubers that was “Potato, aka Buľba” and depending on my mood, I might give it the nod either.

Serbia: Beovizija had a great lineüp yet again, and there were a number of songs I would have been happy to have gotten the win, including the eventual winner, but also those of Saška Janks, Extra Nena and Ivana Vladović. The latter’s beautiful “Moja bol”, with strings to die for, was my favourite on the night, but in retrospect, I’m not sure I’d replace the equally stunning “Kruna.” I’d be tempted to send it in its acoustic version though, where Nevena’s lovely voice stands out even better.

Belgium: Ô, Belgium. I adored “City Lights”, and so my expectations were really high. This is nice enough, but a bit beige, and doesn’t quite deliver, especially the way the enjoyably tense verses lead to an anticlimactically limp chorus. I’d change that with something that actually feels like a pay off to the verses and the Walloons would have a better shot of shining again.

Georgia: I have to say that, once again, I find myself being one of the few people I know who has some love for Georgia. Whilst it wasn’t truly my cup of tea, I appreciated and enjoyed Iriao’s song last year on some level, and the same is true of Oto’s – he has a powerful voice and it’s a strong, if rather unsettling song. I think, though, that I prefer the darkly ethereal Sevdisperi zgva, which sounds like what I imagine would result if Björk were tasked to write a Bond tune.

Australia: After a few years of rumours, Oz finally jumped on the national final train, and, credit where it is due, it was one of the most intriguing national finals of the year. It was as if SBS had decided to atone for its aggressively MOR pop picks of previous years by actually showcasing some musical diversity. Unlike a lot of folk, I don’t dislike “Zero gravity” – it has a meaningful lyrical background and some quirky charm. But there’s no question about whether I would replace it and with what. I still get chills every time I listen to “2000 and Whatever” – the sheer, irrepressible burst of positive energy and the power of its “kulila miranyi” still give me goosebumps. Damn straight one of the best song of the entire year.

Iceland: Given the amount of hype Hatari have received – and how fans flooded videos of its competitors with comments about how they shouldn’t “fuck up” by picking them instead – I may be one of the very few who would change the result there. Yet, I almost definitely would, even though I typically like lesser-heard genres at Eurovision and like the heavier, industrial musical style. And yet, I find this quite trying. It seems like a very knowing, art school student pastiche and I’m not here for their “above the contest” feel or the BDSM gimmickry. I’d be tempted to replace this with the low-key but lovely “Hvað ef ég get ekki elskað”, or to at least pare back the OTT disdainful irony.

Estonia: It feels almost like another era when I was a firm exponent of the idea of Eesti being Beesti. Three years of immense disappointments will quench that type of fire. Whilst leaving behind the stunning Spirit Animal in 2017 and opting for a generic poperatic vocal exercise in 2018 were excruciating, this might be the biggest let down yet – a land of so many talented musicians having to rely on an Avicii pastiche sang with no small difficulty by a reedy-voiced Swede. I found Eesti Laul very slim pickings this year, and found the other two frontrunners to be rather bland too – even the delightful Sandra Nurmsalu came with a tune that, whilst pleasant, sounded less nomadic epic and more toilet tissue commercial backing track. I would have gone for Kadiah’s delicate “Believe” as my pick instead.

Portugal: FdC was once again one of the best national finals, and the one for whose result I was perhaps most anxious. There were a few songs I really liked, like “Pugna”, “Mais brilhante...” and “Inércia”, but when the dust settled, there was only one song I wanted to see winning – “Telemóveis,” of course, which I was delighted to see prevail. I have some real worries about the bizarre staging distracting from the message and emotional power of the song, though. There’s so much going on, and it might be enough to push people from being entranced to being weirded out. I’d get rid of the spoons, sort out the clothes and try to make things impressive without being so extra.

Greece: I actually really like Greece this year, even if I’m still pissed off at what they did to “Don’t forget the sun” in their dubiously axed national final last year. Her voice is beautiful, the music is uplifting and anthemic, the æsthetic is curious and a bit culty, but at least memorable. The one thing I don’t like? The lyrics, which sound like a bunch of motivational Instagram quote clichés loosely knitted together. Sing something actually meaningful, preferably in Greek.

San Marino: Lord, I’m not going to start because if I do, I shan’t stop. All I’ll say is that San Marino’s “troll nation” status is wearing thin for me. Unbelievably, hundreds of talented people came out in numbers last year willing to represent them, and yet they went with a song written supposedly in 5 minutes but probably in half that. I’d have invited Sara de Blue back instead to make up for the bizarre fiasco that was last year’s 1in360. And the automatic qualifiers:

France: If France’s national delegation aren’t rethinking their voting system after this year, then they ought to be. It’s the opposite of Sweden, where the juries really have the power and the televote is scattered – all you need is a frenzied following to overturn a low jury placement. I liked a great number of Destination Eurovision’s selection this year. I would have taken pretty much ány single one of them over the snivelling, bombastic, self-aggrandising drivel that is Roi. With regards to what to send in its place, I’m torn between the powerful “Là haut”; the adorably, quintessentially French “Allez leur dire”; or the energetic, indefatigable earworm that was “On cherche encore”.

Israel: Boy howdy, Israel sure want to do their level best to avoid fluking a 1979 and winning on home ground, eh? I heard there were many big names who sent songs in, though I’m unsure if any of them would have helped to make the stormy Kobi seem more sympathetic. I think I would have opted to let Ketreyah perform for the hosts instead.

Spain: After a great national final last year, I was really disappointed with the subpar quality of the so-called eurotemazos which were anything but. Miki’s song was the best of a bad lot and at least he didn’t have the hideously negative attitude some of the other people, who seemed surprised and aghast that the winner of a contest related to Eurovision could end up performing there. I’d try to give Miki a song that matched his energy with at least a bit more lyrical depth.

Join me in some days when I evaluate what I would change with SF2!

[eurosong]

Undo my ESC - Semi-final 1

Hey there, folks – with this year having so many ESC national finals with results that I personally found lamentable, I thought I’d do a little write-up, Undo my ESC, where I take this year’s entrants and make a feasible change, anything as small as tinkering with a few minor touches or as big as another person winning the national final completely.  Obviously, just my opinion and a light-hearted review, but I hope the people that always unfollow this page because they disagree with something I say on the few occasions I go into personal opinions stop reading here. Let’s take a look, first, at Semi-Final 1. Azerbaijan: she’s a jazz and soul singer. Get her singing a song in one of these styles that is comfortable to her! If the Azeris really think they wouldn’t have a chance with these genres, then they haven’t been paying attention to the last few winners of the contest. Even if she didn’t emulate them, she’d surely get to the final with their qualification rate, and would have more of a chance of standing out than with this generic “bop” (my most hated overused word of this season.) Iceland: Iceland this year may have sent the song with the most excruciatingly hackneyed lyrics in several years. Take a Hallmark card poem, drown it in treacle and you have an idea of how syrupy and twee the song is, almost as if they were some pretty bad satirists trying to write an over-the-top “humankind is one” pastiche song. I didn’t really pay much heed to Söngvakkepnin this year – finding their offerings a tame lot compared to recent years, like the excellent showdown between Svala and Daði Freyr last year – so I don’t have a horse to back, but since Í stormi was winning the contest televote before the superfinal, in this alternate timeline, I will have it win instead. Albania: This song is as close to perfection almost as you can get to me. Some people don’t like the revamped version, but – after what feels like an entire era of bad revamping – I like it and think it makes the song melodically tighter. I guess my change would be that Eugent would get the visa needed to attend the pre-parties, as he really needs all the exposure he can get to get out of this semi-final of death. Belgium: A really nice effort from Belgium, with Flanders stepping it up a gear to match the Walloons’ quality over the past years. Not sure how to change it, except to perhaps incorporate some Dutch in there? The separation of broadcasters made sense when Wallonia was sending songs in French and Flanders in Vlaams, not so much now when they’re both sending English songs. It’d be nice to hear the first bit of Dutch from Belgium since 1996 in, for example, one of the reprises of the choruses. Czechia: The Czechs surprised a lot of onlookers by joining the wave away from internal selections and towards national finals, but there was only ever going to be one winner here, Mikolas Jozef, whose song soared above an otherwise weak crowd melodically – but not lyrically! Even his new “family friendly” version for the ESC feels sleazy, misogynistic, and raises a bunch of questions that I definitely wouldn’t want to have to explain to my students. My change would be that he take the opportunity of writing a new set of lyrics to write something to go much better with the admittedly catchy score. Lithuania: This is gorgeous on every level and is soaring up my personal chart. Ieva’s vocals, powerful in their delicacy, are really moving and add to the poignancy of the lyrics. I originally found the English version sorely lacking compared to Kai myliu, but they have a certain understated simplicity and naïveté that I find lovely. She’s letting the words speak for themselves and I love that. My one change? Make it bilingual and add some Lithuanian to the mix, something she did in the final but is unclear whether she’ll replicate on the big stage.

Israël: Netta was rightfully the breakout star of the Israëli preselection, and having seen interviews of her, she seems genuinely lovely. I wouldn’t change her as the representative picked, but I wóúld go for a different song. Listening to or watching “Toy”, for me, feels like sensory overstimulation, like entering a room with a blur of a thousand noises and flashing lights. It feels too try-hard for me, like they want to be the memetic entry of the year, which some people will vote for just because of the chicken memes rather than the musical value of the piece. I also think that trying to posture it as a #!MeToo anthem is the biggest reach since Brisa Fenoy’s acclamation of Lo Malo. Belarus: As much as I’ve come to ironically appreciate the song and Alekseev’s bizarre accentuation, Farevvahh doesn’t hold a candle to Chmarki for me, which would have been a second unusual and unique pick for Belarus. Estonia: Eesti Laul was a bit of a dud for me this year, unlike the previous year where I loved Spirit Animal and Slingshot liked almost every song in the final -except for the eventual winner (my luck in a nutshell, there.) My pick would have been the sweeping and otherworldly Külm, which would have brought about an overdue return to the exceedingly musical Estonian language at Eurovision. If we have to keep Elina, give her a song (rather than a vocal exhibition) in Estonian, a language whose vocalic richness is perfectly suited for operatics. Bulgaria: The thing letting this darkly atmospheric piece down the most is the female vocalist, Žana Bergendorff, who doesn’t add much to the five-piece combo and has done very little except for gawp distractingly at the crowd in live performances. Bulgaria’s broadcasters teased much bigger names… I would have had them follow through on them. Macedonia: I’ve really grown to like this song from Macedonia, though on first listen – and those first impressions are crucial for folk who haven’t been listening to the songs for months in advance – it seemed a bit messy rather than the musical odyssey I currently consider it to be. It’s a risk, but I’d leave the composition as it is – except for inserting some of the supposed Macedonian we might have got. Croatia: Go back in time and tell Franka not to make a version of Sam Brown’s “Stop” with trap beats? Austria: Another composition that I can barely find fault with and really like. I love the light and shade of this – the dark and despairing verses offset by the build of the bridge and the upbeat, gospel-twinged verses. Only a special voice could pull that off, but Cesár’s husky and soulful timbre is perfect for both. The only part of the song where my attention flags is between the 2nd and 3rd choruses, where I think a fully-fledged third verse would be more interesting. Greece:  Actually have a national final. Don’t eliminate all but one song in the shadiest way possible. And have the winner be Don’t forget the sun/ Μην ξεχνασ τον ηλιο, which I feel brought a truly Greek atmosphere and combined English and Greek effortlessly, avoiding the clunkiness that bilingual songs often have. Finland: I would rather have had a proper UMK with more than one candidate, rather than what we got, 3 songs from Saara Aalto, which doesn’t represent that much choice. If that were impossible – as it seemed YLE was dead set on that path – then I’d probably have gone with Domino instead. Monsters is, musically, a more interesting piece and doesn’t have the atrocious rhyming of “falling, oh” with “domino” (troolee jeenyus riming), but her performance of Domino was considerably less shaky, and I find the chorus a bit gratingly shrill. Armenia: I love that Armenia are sending a song in their beautiful native language, and Qami is a grower with mystical and poetic lyrics. But I can’t lie – I much preferred If you don’t walk me home and would have it win Depi Evratesil instead. Switzerland: I’m going to be honest: in the last few years, I haven’t expected much out of Switzerland except for “non-qualifier” fodder, having brought us only 3 songs I like (Cool vibes, Unbreakable and especially the verbosely charming Hunter of Stars. Come back, Sebalter!) … since their last victory in 1988! I don’t mind Stones, even if I think it’s pop that’s rolled around in the mud a bit to present itself as grungey. However, there was something truly beautiful and stirring in the selection, Chiara Dubey’s “Secrets and Lies”, which seemed elegantly pared back despite also having something of an orchestral flourish. And her voice, as smooth as velvet, crowning the composition. Unfortunately, it had no chance… but I would make it my personal winner of the Swiss selection. Ireland: Ireland’s song this year is not daring or likely to make a splash, but quite lovely, with beautiful harmonies. I find the representative this year to be very unctuous and shifty though, especially his fake news about his video – whence I imagine most of the hype comes from, representing his song about a boy and girl breaking up with a romantic interpretive dance between two fellas falling in love, naturally – that he propagated against Russia.  Cyprus: Just no on every level to the current package, one of my absolute least favourites this year. I’d have a national selection with some Greek language songs. Whilst I begrudge how ERT handled their “national final” fiasco, at least they made a few steps in the right direction. This is the equivalent of flying half way around the world in the wrong direction. And the direct finalists voting in this semi-final:  Portugal: Whilst I have grown to find Isaura’s meditative song about the loss of her gran quite an extraordinary and emotive listen, I found this year’s Festival da canção of great quality and diversity and would have preferred Beatriz’ Eu te amo, Diogo Piçarra’s Canção do fim, or even better, Janeiro’s “(sem título)” as the host nation’s entry. Spain: This is one of my huge favourites this year, so I can pick little fault with it at all, though I think I prefer their pre-revamp version, which was a little more subtle in its lack of additional adornments. United Kingdom: The only thing I was happy about when it came to the result of You Decide, (which should be renamed You decide 50%, a jury decides the rest and we never tell you who réálly was decisive!) was that this prevented the more hideous hymn of unwarranted self-aggrandisement that was “Legends” from getting the ticket. But the eventual winning song, and especially the revamp, which sounds like the producers got bored and let their six year old kid go wild on a Casio, is such a wet weekend for me, especially when it was up against a soaring voice and poignant set of lyrics in Jaz Ellington’s “You”. 

So, that’s my summary of what I consider to be by far the stronger semi-final of this year’s Eurovision, and where only a few of my changes needed to be drastic. Join me soon to go through SF2, as I navigate a nearly wall-to-wall litany of horrors and share how I would like to try to right them!

[gaymusicchart]

GAY MUSIC CHART – 2018 week 08

 Welcome to the Gay Music Chart, the LGBTQA related music videos TOP 50 actuality and most request.

Vote for your favourite LGBTQA related music videos by leaving a comment for this post on :

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 Here is the recap for this week :

 OUT : Зианджа / Ziandzha - Smashed into you (Live @ Blind Audition – The Voice of Ukraine – season 8) (LW: 22 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 22)

OUT : Sannie - Boys on Girls (live @ Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2018) (LW: 25 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 25)

OUT : Lucas Lucco e Pabllo Vittar - Paraíso (LW: 26 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 21)

OUT : Lady Gaga - Joanne (Where Do You Think You’re Goin’?) (Piano Version) (LW: 27 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 27)

OUT : Smashby - Ringleader (LW: 29 / WO: 8 / PEAK: 13)

OUT : Charlotte Gainsbourg - Deadly Valentine (LW: 32 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 21)

OUT : Conchita Wurst & Ina Regen - Heast as Net (Hubert Von Goisern Cover) (LW: 34 / WO: 10 / PEAK: 09)

OUT : Echo V - Let You Go (LW: 35 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 35)

OUT : Matt Fishel - LGBTQ (A New Generation) (LW: 36 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 16)

OUT : Strange Names - UFO (LW: 37 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 37)

OUT : Hoshi - Ta Marinière (LW: 39 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 39)

OUT : Lo Stato Sociale - Una Vita In Vacanza (LW: 40 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 40)

OUT : Hayley Kiyoko - Feelings (LW: 44 / WO: 15 / PEAK: 04)

OUT : Wilder Daze - Better Off (LW: 45 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 45)

OUT : Eden Iris - The Problem (LW: 48 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 48)

OUT : Cub Sport - Good Guys Go (LW: 49 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 26)

  01 (+ 2) : Kylie Minogue - Dancing (LW: 03 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 01 (x1))

Australia - 2018 / from the album "Golden"

 02 (- 1) : Trevor Moran - Sinner (LW: 01 / WO: 11 / PEAK: 01 (x1))

USA - 2017

 03 (+ 7) : Allie X feat. VÉRITÉ - Casanova (LW: 10 / WO: 8 / PEAK: 03)

Canada - 2017 / from the album "CollXtion II"

 04 (- 2) : Troye Sivan - My My My! (LW: 02 / WO: 6 / PEAK: 01 (x3))

Australia - 2018

The first track of his upcoming album has topped at #3 at the Worldwide iTunes Song Chart. It's the eighth single of the Australian singer in a row to be #1 in our chart.

 05 (+ 6) : Calum Scott - You Are The Reason (LW: 11 / WO: 13 / PEAK: 04)

UK - 2017

 06 (+ 8) : Eli Lieb - Next To You (LW: 14 / WO: 10 / PEAK: 02)

USA - 2017

 07 (=) : Patrick Wolf - The Days (fan video) (LW: 07 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 07)

UK - 2017 / from the album "God’s Own Country OST"

The multi-awarded movie is nominated in 2 categories at the BAFTA Awards 2017, including Best Outstanding British Film.

 08 (=) : Virgin Suicide - Evil Eyes (LW: 08 / WO: 11 / PEAK: 08)

Denmark - 2017

This Danish music video is like a short movie, telling the struggles of a closeted gay teen taken by his father to a fathers-sons's camp.

 09 (- 3) : La Prohibida - Baloncesto (LW: 06 / WO: 30 / PEAK: 03)

Spain / from the album "100K años de luz"

The drag queen joined Madrid’s Three Kings float, but traditionalists didn't like it.

 10 (- 1) : Matt Palmer - Solo Act (LW: 09 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 09)

USA - 2018 / from the EP "Get Lost"

 11 (+ 1) : PJ Brennan - Tease (LW: 12 / WO: 15 / PEAK: 01 (x2))

USA - 2016

PJ Brennan is well known for his role as Doug Carter in the British television soap opera Hollyoaks.

 12 (+ 5) : Openside - I Feel Nothing (LW: 17 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 12)

New Zealand - 2017  

Lead singer Possum Plows, who is gender non-binary, raises the transgender flag in this music video.

 13 (+ 5) : Hayley Kiyoko - Curious (LW: 18 / WO: 6 / PEAK: 11)

USA - 2018 / from the album "Expectations"

In her new song, Hayley is wondering why the girl she's dating is dating also another guy in the same time. "Expectations" will be released on March 30, 2018.

 14 (- 9) : Sufjan Stevens - Mystery of Love ("Call Me By Your Name" OST) (LW: 05 / WO: 15 / PEAK: 01 (x1))

USA - 2017 / from the album ("Call Me By Your Name" OST)

The song is nominated for the Oscar of Best Original Song at the Academy Awards 2018.

 15 (+ 4) : Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy (Arnaud Rebotini Remix) (LW: 19 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 15)

UK / France - 2017 / from the album "120 battements par minute OST"

This classic gay anthem from Bronski Beat is a remix for the OST of the French movie "120 battements par minute", which depicts a group of HIV/AIDS activists in the early 1990s. The movie won the Grand Prix at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, and is nomited 13 times at the Cesars 2018, including for Best Movie and Best original Soundtrack for Arnaud Rebotini.

 16 (NEW) : Brockhampton - Boogie (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 20)

USA - 2017 / from the album "Saturation III"

 17 (- 13) : Francisco Victoria - Marinos (LW: 04 / WO: 8 / PEAK: 03)

Chile - 2017

This is the first single of the Chilean singer, produced by Alex Anwandter. A revelation.

 18 (NEW) : Heidrik - Nothing in Return (Live in Kaliningrad) (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 18)

Faroe Islands / Denmark - 2018

 19 (- 4) : SAKIMA - Daddy (LW: 15 / WO: 10 / PEAK: 14)

UK - 2017

 20 (NEW) : Uncle Meg & S.O.U.P. - Chopper Jet (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 20)

USA - 2018

 21 (+ 26) : Holland(홀랜드) - Neverland (네버랜드) (LW: 47 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 12)

South Korea - 2018

This is the first South Korean music video showing a gay couple kissing in a romantic way.

 22 (+ 16) : Matt Palmer - Inevitably (LW: 38 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 22)

USA - 2018 / from the EP "Get Lost"

 23 (RE-ENTRY) : Oscar and the Wolf - Runaway (live @ MIA's 2017) (LW: - / WO: 8 / PEAK: 19)

Belgium - 2017 / from the album "Infinity"

The band was nominated 6 times and won 3 three MIA awards at the Flemish Music Industry Awards 2017.

 24 (NEW) : Chester Lockhart feat. Detox, Manila Luzon & Todrick Hall - Tried & True (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 24)

USA - 2018

A song for the International Condom Day.

 25 (- 2) : Alfie Arcuri - If They Only Knew (LW: 23 / WO: 33 / PEAK: 01 (x7))

Australia - 2017

This is the new music video of the winner of The Voice Australia 2016. What must do a gay man when he's in love with his best male friend, who's dating his best female friend?

 26 (- 10) : Tokio Hotel - Boy Don't Cry (LW: 16 / WO: 16 / PEAK: 04)

Germany - 2017 / from the album "Dream Machine"

The lead singer Bill Kaulitz becomes a beautiful drag queen in the new music video of the German band.

 27 (- 7) : Saara Aalto - Monsters (LW: 20 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 20)

Finland - 2018

Saara Alto will represent Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. This is the first song of three which will be presented to the public for voting at the UMK 2018.

 28 (NEW) : Frank Ocean - Moon River (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 28)

USA - 2018

 29 (- 16) : Troye Sivan - The Good Side (Live on SNL) (LW: 13 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 13)

Australia - 2018

 30 (- 6) : The Greatest Showman - This Is Me [Official Lyric Video] (LW: 24 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 19)

USA - 2018 / from the album "The Greatest Showman OST"

The song, composed by out songwriter Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, won the 2017 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and has been nominated for the Academy Award 2017 for Best Original Song.

 31 (RE-ENTRY) : Michele Bravi - Diamanti (LW: - / WO: 21 / PEAK: 04)

Italy - 2017 / from the album “Anime di carta”

 32 (- 11) : Abisha Uhl - Better (LW: 21 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 21)

USA - 2018

The music video recreates famous scenes of movies.

 33 (NEW) : Carmen Maria Vega - J'ai tout aimé de toi (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 33)

France - 2018 / from the album "Santa Maria"

 34 (- 3) : Huntington - Love Is Love (LW: 31 / WO: 22 / PEAK: 02)

Australia / Germany - 2017

Three years after "Secret", this is their new original song. It was released specially for the Australian debate about marriage equality. Every cent made from this song went go to the Yes campaign. Now that the debate is over, finaly, LGBT can now get marry : congratulations Australia !

 35 (NEW) : Alex Palmieri - Time Resetted (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 35)

Italy - 2018 / from the album "Reset"

 36 (- 3) : Ferras - Coming Back Around (LW: 33 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 26)

USA - 2018

 37 (NEW) : Kim Petras - Heart To Break (Official Audio) (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 37)

Germany - 2018

 38 (- 8) : Leon Else - What I Won't Do (Lyric Video) (LW: 30 / WO: 36 / PEAK: 02)

UK - 2017

The British singer has came out on Facebook last May.

 39 (NEW) : Young M.A - I Get The Bag Freestlye (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 39)

USA - 2018

The track is #1 in the Top 40 LGBT Urban Chart.

 40 (+ 1) : Sam Tsui - Trust (LW: 41 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 23)

USA - 2018 / from the album "Trust"

 41 (NEW) : Matt Palmer - The Boy Who Hates Everything (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 41)

USA - 2018 / from the EP "Get Lost"

 42 (+ 4) : Conchita - This is Me (Influencer's Cover) (LW: 46 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 35)

Austria - 2017

 43 (=) : Parson James - Only You (LW: 43 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 43)

USA - 2018

 44 (- 16) : Bagarre - Danser seul (ne suffit pas) (LW: 28 / WO: 6 / PEAK: 10)

France - 2018 / from the album "Club 12345"

Several drag queens are featuring in the music video of this French Touch house music.

 45 (NEW) : Judas Aint - Father Figure (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 45)

The Netherlands - 2018

This cover of George Michael is realized for LGBT on Valentine's Day.

 46 (NEW) : Fischerspooner  feat. Johnny Magee - Butterscotch Goddam (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 46)

USA - 2018 / from the album "Sir"

 47 (- 5) : Rainbow Riots feat. Kowa Tigs and D Black - Set Me Free (LW: 42 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 30)

Sweden / Uganda - 2018 / from the album "Rainbow Riots"

This is the third single of this album project composed and produced by Petter Wallenberg, featuring queer voices from some of the world’s most dangerous countries for LGBTQ people. All proceeds go towards fighting inequalities towards LGBTQ people in Uganda.

 48 (NEW) : Saara Aalto - Domino (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 48)

Finland - 2018

Saara Alto will represent Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. This is the second song of three which will be presented to the public for voting at the UMK 2018.

 49 (+ 1) : Phonoamorous - Bye Bye (LW: 50 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 49)

Germany - 2018

 50 (NEW) : Alice et Moi - C'est toi qu'elle préfère (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 50)

France - 2017 / from the EP "Filme Moi"

  ALSO NEW THIS WEEK

 Armin van Buuren feat. Conrad Sewell - Sex, Love & Water

The Netherlands / Australia - 2018

There are several straight, lesbian and gay couples, and a drag queen in this music video.

 AB Soto - Think of U

USA - 2018 / from the album "Visibility, Pt.1"

 Rachael Sage - Frost

USA - 2018 / from the album "Public Record"

 JOEY - Valentine's Day

Australia - 2018

 Detox- #SueList

USA - 2018 / from the EP "Comin’ At’Cha!!"

 Madblush - Bati Kuku

Brazil - 2018

 The Drums - Meet Me In Mexico

USA - 2018

The band releases this single to benefit Mexican earthquake relief efforts.

 SOPHIE - Faceshopping (Official Audio)

USA / 2018

 Brockhampton - Boogie (Live in Times Square - TRL Weekdays)

USA - 2017 / from the album "Saturation III"

An epic live.

 Rayvon Owen - Gold (Live on the TODAY Show)

USA - 2018

 Ryan Amador - Come Back Around (Live)

USA - 2018

 Todrick Hall - Medicine (Kelly Clarkson's Cover)

USA - 2018

 Hayley Kiyoko - Curious (BOY VERSION with Donald Romain)

USA - 2018

 See you next week and don’t forget to vote for your best LGBTQA music videos ! Here are the rules :

1 ) You can vote for many videos as you want under the videos on YouTube in the comment section. It could be recent or past music videos, which must provide at least one among the following conditions:

- the music video has LGBTQA related content, in the lyrics or the music video

- the artist is LGBTQA, an LGBTQA icon or eventually ally

- LGBTQA medias talked about it.

2 ) You can’t vote more than 3 songs of a same artist per week.

3 ) In case of an artist who receive votes mostly by a fan base, we will count only one song, in a limited time of 10 weeks of presence in the top.

4 ) You can vote with only one account.

5 ) If you make 5 votes or less, your first vote will represent 5 points, your second vote 4 points, etc… until your last vote and following 1 point. If you make 6 to 10 votes, your first vote will represent 10 points, your second vote 9 points, etc… If you make more than 10 votes, your first vote will represent 20 points, your second vote 19 points, etc…

6 ) People who make 1 to 5 votes form the amateur ranking, those who make 6 to 10 votes form the fan ranking, those who make more than 10 votes form the expert ranking. We form the jury ranking. And we count now the ranking of minutes of views of our weekly playlist of the previous week. The Gay Music Chart is the addition of the five charts. In case of equality, the number of votes and the dates of votes will count.

7 ) The votes will close on Thursday, 8 PM, European time.