Late this week, my roommates (Georgie, from England and Max, from Germany) started talking about Eurovision. I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about but was excited to join in the related festivities, since this seemed as though it would be an entirely European experience.
Georgie invited some friends around, and we had a lovely dinner party with about 10 people total. There were people from Holland, Germany, England, Switzerland, Spain and even another American! Thank goodness we have a massive dining room table! Then Eurovision began.
Eurovision is a music contest among (primarily) European countries, although countries like Israel and Azerbaijan and Russia were also in the mix. Each country gets one group, and the top 25 groups compete for the prize. There is some American-Idol style voting, in which you text for the country you like best. And you can't vote for the country where you are (based on your cell phone area code). The popular vote is also combined with votes from a panel of judges, and then each of 41 countries awards points to their top 10 picks, in a very complicated and elaborate system.
Apparently Eurovision is not exactly known for its high quality musical stylings, and I have to admit that it was pretty bizarre. From a Swedish Justin-Bieber wanna-be to a French opera singer with the worst hair ever to an Icelandic blues band, the acts really ran the gamut. The clear winner in my mind was a group that basically seemed like gnomes on crack with tinkerbell on a unicycle from a country I couldn't locate on a map (Moldova).
I mean, wow.
Another favorite were the two Irish twins that looked like Lady Gaga crossed with something from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Again, wow. I think American Idol would be some much more interesting if it were more like this...
There was also a song in there from Romania about how dimples could change the world, a 70's group from Serbia, and a Georgian heavy metal group, just to name a few.
The music wasn't the only thing of interest, actually. After all of the performances and the voting, each of the 41 countries had one representative present their votes individually. It definitely seemed a little like a popularity contest, with Eastern European countries voting for their neighbors, etc. It was also interesting that countries like San Marino had just as much of a vote as Germany. I feel like I was actually able to get a better sense for European politics and relationships and countries in the process. Overall, it was quite the educational experience. With a healthy bit of bizarre thrown in for good measure.
Georgie invited some friends around, and we had a lovely dinner party with about 10 people total. There were people from Holland, Germany, England, Switzerland, Spain and even another American! Thank goodness we have a massive dining room table! Then Eurovision began.
Eurovision is a music contest among (primarily) European countries, although countries like Israel and Azerbaijan and Russia were also in the mix. Each country gets one group, and the top 25 groups compete for the prize. There is some American-Idol style voting, in which you text for the country you like best. And you can't vote for the country where you are (based on your cell phone area code). The popular vote is also combined with votes from a panel of judges, and then each of 41 countries awards points to their top 10 picks, in a very complicated and elaborate system.
Apparently Eurovision is not exactly known for its high quality musical stylings, and I have to admit that it was pretty bizarre. From a Swedish Justin-Bieber wanna-be to a French opera singer with the worst hair ever to an Icelandic blues band, the acts really ran the gamut. The clear winner in my mind was a group that basically seemed like gnomes on crack with tinkerbell on a unicycle from a country I couldn't locate on a map (Moldova).
I mean, wow.
Another favorite were the two Irish twins that looked like Lady Gaga crossed with something from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Again, wow. I think American Idol would be some much more interesting if it were more like this...
There was also a song in there from Romania about how dimples could change the world, a 70's group from Serbia, and a Georgian heavy metal group, just to name a few.
The music wasn't the only thing of interest, actually. After all of the performances and the voting, each of the 41 countries had one representative present their votes individually. It definitely seemed a little like a popularity contest, with Eastern European countries voting for their neighbors, etc. It was also interesting that countries like San Marino had just as much of a vote as Germany. I feel like I was actually able to get a better sense for European politics and relationships and countries in the process. Overall, it was quite the educational experience. With a healthy bit of bizarre thrown in for good measure.
