Eurovision Home Concerts – Episode 4

/ Sekhmet Morgan

Eurovision 2020 – No competition this year! So a lot of projects were put on the table, from different broadcasters. BBC, Stefan Raab or SVT have planned some sort of recognition for this year’s entries. Meanwhile, “home concerts” are posted on the contest’s official youtube page.

Don’t forget: Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light will air in place of the Grand Final on Saturday 16 May at 21:00 (CET). Meanwhile, the ET team decided it would be important to host our own contest in memory of the “What if” contest. You can read more about it here.

What do you think of these different projects? Which one do you want to follow the most?

487 thoughts on “Eurovision Home Concerts – Episode 4”

          • I couldn’t deduce that but since the show airs on various minor channels I think they might – which frankly sounds like a nightmare; I actually find it difficult to focus on the final’s nights 24+x songs usually and they generally have weeded out the worst through the semis.

            • Just for you, Dimi even though I usually focus my energy on translating into ancient Aramaic for the multinational corporations I’m running: The press release leaves room for interpretation, saying the hosts will “present all 41 participants with their music videos.” As there’s also a mention of audiences getting to know participants “through short clips like in ESC” this would suggest to me the video plus postcard-style clips. But they’re legally giving themselves a lot of wiggleroom. Undoubtedly Corporate Communications has worked on this wording for days – but no matter what; I am positively surprised.

            • Thank you! I think there will be one “semi” show and the top-10 will proceed in the final.

            • Indeed! I assume then that final will be top 10 from semi plus the German entry on ESC night (which I assume is not directly competing as German televoters can’t call in for it).

  3. Moooving on to 2012, the production of the contest was simply amazeballs! Although the presentations of all the entries was basically a tourism commercial for Azerbaijan, I mean at least do it sneaky like Germany in 2011. However I loved the interval acts and the theme and the esthetic. The stage was too big for some entries, but worked more or less. Now the hosts were the most sterile yet, so stiff. And the guy was soooo scary to look at in his never ending smile.
    The songs were way better then in 2011 on average and this is the first contest I did a legit ranking from top to bottom, so I can start comparing now of what I thought back then and much has changed and much haven’t:

    1. Sweden —
    2. Azerbaijan —
    3. Albania 4+
    4. Spain 1+
    5. Italy 4+
    6. Serbia 5+
    7. Macedonia 1-
    8. Iceland 6+
    9. Bulgaria 11+
    10. Moldova 2+
    11. Estonia 7-
    12. Cyprus 4-
    13. United Kingdom 6+
    14. Finland 11-
    15. Bosnia & Herzegovina 5-
    16. Latvia 7+
    17. Greece —
    18. Denmark 5-
    19. France 2+
    20. Israel 4+
    21. Russia 5-
    22. Hungary 4-
    23. Norway 2+
    24. Ukraine 9-
    25. Turkey 3-
    26. Austria 1+
    27. Germany 4+
    28. Romania 8+
    29. Ireland 5+
    30. Lithuania 2+
    31. Slovakia 7+
    32. Croatia 3-
    33. Switzerland 6-
    34. Malta 1-
    35. Belgium 4+
    36. Portugal 1-
    37. Netherlands 7-
    38. Slovenia 10-
    39. San Marino 1+
    40. Belarus 3-
    41. Georgia 1+
    42. Montenegro 1-

    I really thought I had grown tired of our entry back in 2012, but damn it is still a banger and so different from anything we have ever seen before that point on the stage. Azerbaijan, just her deep voice like a total eargasm! Suus is such a unique, beautiful and emotional entry. The first time I was completely smacked in the face with her performance and song. Estonia is easily my favorite song this year, but imo it he came too early so to speak and slightly butchered the build up.

    Finland lost most, because the song feels so stressful live, she barely breathes trying to fit all of those words in the chorus, but I still like it. The Bulgarian entry gained the most, cause she is an amazing singer with an amazing charisma on stage and full of joy. I Miss those kinda entries. Unfortunately they don’t do good in the competition anymore, so we don’t see them that often anymore.

    Stars of the voting: Ankes message, Lynda Woodruff and Ofer as usual speaking the native tounge of the host country and Lordi loooool

      • Yep the bit with the dancers and symphonic instruments and the ethnic vibe of it all, maybe the known singer was a bit cheesy for me, but overall I liked it

    • Albania for me, in my all time top 20. Followed by Serbia, Estonia, Israel, Italy, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Finland, Germany, Lithuania and Sweden/Iceland to close top 10. I used to like Turkey but not anymore. Great year, I could have had more in my top 10.

      However, San Marino, Georgia, Montenegro could all have been dead last in many years except that Russian cynism (the grandmas never really got their running water in the village, which is why they entered to begin with) deserved dead last! it almost won too! It used to be my last ever in Eurovision, but Russia itself had an even worst case of cynism in 2018…

      • I don*t want to deal with reader so let me just express my “like” this way for your highlighting of the cynicism some counties show….

      • Albania for really grew for me. I remember that I didn’t get it at the time, but it grew on me more and more the older I got and I was just gobsmacked when I listened to it this time around, simply an amazing piece of art. What do you mean with ”Russian Cynism”? Is it like a fake genuin act?

            • Yes, I feel kinda stupid, but I tried googling it, but I still didn’t quite connect the dots, for example I get that the grandmas for example didn’t write the song for them, but like is Cynicism some kind of fake attitude outwards like for example ”we care for disabled persons” but we dont really or what?

    • I like it, but 67 is one of my favorite years (I like all songs except one, Belgium): one of my all time top 20 (Sweden) and 4 more masterpieces (Portugal, Yugoslavia, France, Spain). I also love Monaco even though Minouche didn’t hit a single note, but who cares considering what the song is about. Both Luxembourg and Uk are classics and I appreciate them for what they are too. Italy, Ireland, Germany, NL and Norway are next in my rankings!

  7. Alla Leid 2nd preview show results:

    1.Ukraine: Go_A – 40 pts

    2.Azerbaijan: Samira Efendi – 37 pts

    3 Malta: Destiny Cjukunyere – 32 pts

    4.Norway: Ulrikke – 26 pts

    5.Israel: Eden Alene – 24 pts

    6.Romania: Roxen – 22 pts

    7.Belgium: Hooverphonic – 19 pts

    8.Netherlands: Jeangu Macrooy – 18 pts

    9.Croatia: Damir Kedzo – 15 pts

    10.Cyprus: Sandro – 13 pts

  9. Sorry for being off-topic, but I need to get this out of my system: I have just watched that ludicrous Beth Rigby character on Sky News. She was reporting on Mr. Johnson’s return to Downing Street, and she was grinning throughout as if she had popped a significant amount of illegal drugs. Hooray, the messiah has returned. Everything will be fine now … That isn’t journalism. It’s bad comedy. :(

  10. And this is what I’ve been reduced to (this is for first years in uni, a mandatory class on how to properly analyze a text inside a historical context: they had to read Baudelaire’s “Spleen de Paris” and hand back a first draft on how to interpret the structure of the book):

    Do not judge me too harshly please ahah (I’m very nervous early on but I get better as it goes on and I’m more relaxed and natural by the end). Also better, this shorter one on Conrad for second years:

        • The camera always adds 2-3 kilos in TV/video so don’t fret about it (especially considering the source this comment comes from). You’re doing fine, morgan!

            • We all did I think but I find it rude and completely unnecessary to point that out.

            • Morgan I hope you know my comment had no ill will or any intention to mock you (I said the same about myself after all in a light-hearted manner).

              Because I am too tired amidst all this hell to have the usual suspects using their usual tricks. Not even a pandemic can change certain behaviours and obsessions.

            • Don’t worry! It is true that I have my own issues with my weight and body! But I think Penguin was being friendly too, especially since he said “(look who’s talking)” in parentheses, so that it implies “don’t worry I know what it’s like”!

            • I totally feel you, I have gained about 13 kilos in the last 15 months which was a huge change for me body-wise and hard to cope with. I found myself having to go on a diet for the first time in my life !

          • The next time you refer in any way to me especially in a conversation that does not concern you, you will receive the answer you deserve because I have been very patient with your case. For the very last time, I will let it pass lightly.

      • I show early on different translations: I myself studied the original English text (and did so as a highschooler in the US!) but I’m reading one of the translations (I specify which in the article) since it’s a Comparative literature class, where we gather texts from different places and languages (here it’s about ‘narrating travels’; I did not chose that topic it changes every other year so that we don’t get to repeat ourselves)

        • Thanks for explaining. I have always thought that comparative literature courses were tricky when I still did them because a translation isn’t the original. That’s the reason I tried to learn as many languages as possible when I was at uni. :)

          • I am absolutely awful in many languages which is extremely puzzling since I have many diplomas in English (including one we have in France that states I am fluent in it) and in latin (a necessary condition to teach literature in uni in France), but then suck at Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German or Dutch when I had to work on those, I have friends who are fluent in those who translate for me. I also avoid comparative courses as much as I can, since I’m mostly a specialist in 17th and 18th century French and English lit. But then, what’s not to love in American lit and in the joy of teaching it! Anyway I’m the youngest at my uni with tenure, meaning I mostly have the last pick among us and usually don’t really care as I mostly love teaching everything. At least it’s not like when I was just a TA and had to teach stuff like “how to write a summary of a book” for students in publishing ahah! And I get to have the hold on classes, to give them the direction I want, whereas students still in PhD have to obey me mwahahah

            • “latin (a necessary condition to teach literature in uni in France)”
              It’s the same in Germany. :)
              I took courses in Spanish, Italian and Portuguese at uni. I can read Spanish and Italian without much effort, but speaking is a totally different matter because I only speak those languages when I am on holiday. At least I try to watch Spanish and Italian news at least once every week. I did not get that far with Portuguese. :(
              When I taught at university, I could always offer a class I designed myself. (As far as I know, curriculums in Germany are more flexible than the French ones.)The topics I enjoyed teaching most were the modern novel (Woolf, Faulkner, Forster, Joyce, Lawrence etc.), US American Drama and Poetry and Death (starting with Homer and ending with AIDS, breast cancer, terrorism …). The last one was always a two terms class.

    • Sexy lumberjack ;)
      Heart of Darkness is a good pick – especially in times like these when an out of control virus raises awareness of the burdens of globalization like social and economic disparities, dependency on imports and seasonal workers, etc.. Conrad’s unsparing portrayal of the effects of colonialism still hasn’t lost its importance. Too bad I never got the hang of Romance languages, but you’re very pleasant to listen to, Morgan!

      • Worth noting from a video game geek perspective (and my closest contact with the novel which I havent’ read tbh) that the game “Spec Ops: The Line” (a great game from a plot perspective) is a modern adaptation of “Heart of Darkness”.

          • Yes the story is basically “Apocalypse Now” maybe with a few more twists :)
            Even the main character is called John Konrad, a nod to the author.

            • The art of video games! I love such facts.
              I read a review and it says “Spec Ops: The Line” was developed by a German studio. Story-driven games are the best (but I’m also into visuals): “Heavy Rain”, the two “Okami” games and I remember one of the “Professor Layton” games had such a heartbreaking twist that it almost had me sobbing.

            • It is an art indeed :) And yes it was, Gameplay-wise it is nothing groundbreaking but the plot deals with substantial morality issues concerning war cruelty – and has multiple endings, some of them shocking indeed. I have not played “Heavy Rain”, I’d love to though, I played its predecessor Farenheit, which was quite good. The best narrative though has been in LA Noire from Rockstar. A magnificent story.

            • “Heavy Rain” is worth every penny. There’s so much attention to detail and the characters are well-rounded. I got pretty much the worst outcome possible as my ending on the first run though.
              Never played L.A. Noire. The title sounds like it has drawn inspiration from L.A. Confidential?

            • It is set in a similar era (pre-1950s) actually but the story imo is much more complex and layered. It is considered very similar to “Heavy Rain” actually and although “Heavy Rain” from what I have seen focuses on one series of murders with a twist on who did it at the end, in LA Noire the serial killer story is there but it is only part of the plot as the detective you control gets promotions and changes departments within the LAPD. It focuses on high end industrial fraud, drugs etc in the later parts of the story. It literally had me in tears by the end, but it took some reading of even more stuff afterwards to get the full picture of what was happening by the end.

      • Thank you for your kind words! It’s a very relevant book: it was for Vietnam war and it is for our times. You know it’s a great book when it transcends its creation time and finds new meaning and lawyers through each period

        • Sounds like a good club. I have been a member of a poetry writing society for many years but haven’t been active for a couple of years now. Perhaps the world has become a tad too disturbing for me to address it via poetry …

          • There are many ways. This song, f.e., is based on a political speech from 1989 by the then prime minister Poul Schlüter, addressing the so-called Tamil case (in which the ministry of justice was systematically slow in allowing family reunifications for Tamil refugees, and illegally so). I cited the speech in the song without changing a single word. As it turned out, a lot of things HAD been swept under the carpet, and it eventually led to the fall of Poul Schlüter, and to the impeachment of the then minister of justice, Erik Ninn-Hansen (the first impeachment since 1910).

            I see the song as a comment on the contemporary right wing government and its way of treating political issues where they were indeed bending the rules.

            • I had the impression that the song had a political dimension because, after all, sweeping things under the carpet makes up for 80 % of what most politicians are doing. But of course I didn’t understand the details. Thanks for adding context.

  21. Regarding that video, Dimitris posted the other day… Is it a different barber/masseur every time? :)
    And I get why the one who gets massaged has to be half-naked… But the barber too? :P :D

  24. I never thought that I’d live to see the day I get a home-made haircut. It happened today. At least it doesn’t look as bad as I thought it would. My dad seems to have a hidden talent …

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.