We watched the Eurovision song contest last night. An American colleague of mine who recently moved to Europe explained it to friends back in the US as a cross between Miss Universe, American Idol and the Olympics. Pretty accurate actually!
We were quite disappointed to see how many countries chose to sing in English. Eurovision is about showcasing your country and your culture, and it is really neat to hear how so many languages sound quite good when sung. But these were exceptions last night. Finland's metal act was great, Spain's quirky 'Baila Chiqui Chiqui' was among my favourites.
Even more disappointing frankly was to see larger countries sing in English, like France, Germany, Greece, Ukraine, Russia (the winner). The Greek singer (she was quite good) actually lives in New York! As my wife Beth pointed out, these acts are looking beyond the Eurovision and aiming to reach a broader commercial audience. And I'll concede that the best way to make money in the music business is not to sing in German or Russian or French.
So be it... It was a good time nonetheless, with the inevitable weird acts (Latvia's pirates, Azerbaijan's Devil and Angels) and downright freaky (what was up with the Swedish singer? Obvious case of plastic surgery gone awefully wrong, she should sue!).
On to next year in Moscow, for the first time in Eurovision's 56 year history.
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