Eurovision Song Contest 2021

This evening, I watched the Eurovision. Never miss it - of course, I didn't blog about tv before the lockdown, and this is the first Eurovision since then.. so this is my first time talking about it!

Yes, there's a lot of silliness, a lot of nonsense. And it's a bummer that Ireland didn't make it out of the semifinal - as usual. But that's not to take from the sheer fascination of seeing what the 26 countries come up with. And there's always at least one song worth listening to - not that that's necessarily the winner! Most of the acts are about the staging, and true to form this year, there were wacky costumes, armies of dancers, amazing computer effects, and some OTT dramatics. Not to mention the behaviour of performers as they waited for results!

Observation 1: wow, one of the presenters was a lot taller than the others! Anyway, the four of them did a decent job. As for the acts, I'd seen almost all already, having watched both semifinals. But it was good to be reminded - and for the six who automatically qualify (the five main contributors to the budget, plus the host country), I hadn't seen the whole act. Indeed, I started out voting for one country in its semifinal, then changed my mind for the final and voted for one of the automatic qualifiers! Most unusual for me - I usually don't rate them at all. I tend to find the submissions mediocre from countries that, not having to compete to get into the final, take the whole thing less seriously than the others.

In general, that was true of this year, too. Except for two: France and the Netherlands. France, I didn't think much of when I just heard a snippet - but hearing the whole thing, I had to agree that the singer does a good impression of Édith Piaf.. and it's actually a really sweet song! Best offering they've had in years, if you ask me. And the Netherlands' entry impressed me as a very strong number.

Others that stood out for me:

• Cyprus, with a song that is definitely reminiscent of Bad Romance by Lady Gaga - but no, I don't think it's so similar as to be a copy. Anyway, catchy, with a great dance sequence.
• Belgium, with a lovely, moody piece - despite the Irish commentator remarking how depressed they all looked! A nice contrast to all the dance numbers, and well-written - this will outlast most of the others!
• Russia - I loved how she made her entrance, looking kind of like a Russian doll on wheels. And I loved the chorus! Delighted, later, to hear on the news that she's actually one of two performers in the show who are refugees - she's originally from Tajikistan. (The other is the Swedish performer.)
• Greece - always a popular, catchy number, this year's entry has spectacular visuals!
• Germany: not mad about the song - although it is cute - but the presentation is so bad it's good.
• Lithuania, with canary-yellow outfits, and a retro disco track, called - Disco!
• Azerbaijan: again, not mad about the song, but loving the vibe of the Asian-sounding instruments. (Like Russia, they're mostly in Asia - but a little bit of Azerbaijan is considered to be in Europe.)
• Italy. As the presenter warned, just before - Pavarotti it isn't. And he's right, as we get a non-stereotypical rock performance!

Well, with all the performances over, we had over an hour left in the programme - which shouldn't surprise anyone who's familiar with Eurovision voting. See, not only do all the countries' juries get to vote (that's all 39 countries who entered), but they each vote for their top 10 countries. And the fun really kicked off when they let the audience vote as well.. you can call, text, or use the app. I tried voting by app this time, for once - it has the advantage of not needing to remember the act's number, because you just click the button corresponding to the one you want. Turns out it just sends a text, with the number, as required - and a note saying you voted on the app! (Texting, one way or another, is cheaper than calling..)

Well, the bloodsport that is the counting of Eurovision votes finally began. The juries went first - and a pattern soon emerged, with France and Switzerland slugging it out for top place. Can't say I thought much of the Swiss entry myself - I found it a bit nondescript. But then, I don't go for falsetto singing. It was really tense - and fascinating to watch the faces of the performers in the Green Room: the French and Swiss alternately elated and deflated as the lead switched from one to the other, and the perpetual pout on the faces of the Maltese, who were supposed to be favourites, and ended up as also-rans!

But you always have to remember, as all this is going on, that the audience vote is yet to come: and those of us who've seen it before know how dramatically it can change the result. The audience for each country vote in the same way as the jury - for 10 countries, with votes from 1-8, then 10 & 12. The difference is, while we get the jury votes one-by-one (giving each country's presenter a chance to show off their outfit), the audience votes are added together for each country that's been voted for. So, a country whose entry was popular can suddenly, from the audience vote, jump by as many as 468 (if each of the 39 countries awards them 12). And the audience can differ from the juries.. leading to a massive difference from how it first appears. It can look as though the audience vote has more weight, but that's an illusion. How the results are presented also has an effect, as they're given as the total score awarded to each country, starting at the bottom.. but that doesn't necessarily mean that the score gets higher as you go up the board!

And so it proved in tonight's nail-biting climax, as Switzerland suddenly had as much cause as France to look dejected, and Italy made a massive leap - from near the bottom of the table, right to the top! And there they stayed. So, look forward to the Eurovision in Rome next year, perhaps.. which goes to show, I suppose, that European audiences really like rock.

Unfortunately, if a country doesn't rank in the top 10 of any country's audience, they won't get any votes at all. And I'm sorry to say that this year, that happened to the UK. Nul points, as they say. Ah well - I guess they just didn't make any kind of impression. I have to say, they didn't make an impression on me, either.. Well, they can console themselves that they technically beat the 13 countries who didn't make it to the final.. even though that qualification was automatic..

And so, that's that for another year. Tomorrow.. same lack of things I can do online with Meetup - I'll plough on with the St. Patrick's Festival website, if I'm lacking in entertainment.. have that documentary on Jenny Wyse Power to finish.

At (ahem) 1am on Friday :-) I'm treating myself to another virtual tour with Broadway Up Close - this one is the Bar Crawl, and I just couldn't resist, the last one was so good. Hey, nobody calls early meetings on Friday anyway! Thumbs Up Theatre Toronto is organising - and getting a discount, which is nice! As is the fact that I can simply pay by card this time, dealing with the company direct. 

And at midnight on Friday, I'll be watching Newsies, a new musical based on the true story of a newspaper strike, with the same group. Available for free, which is nicer!