The Eurovision Song Contest was won last night by Serbia. The Serbian singer, Maria, described the victory as a triumph of songcraft over showmanship.
I thought it was a bland, average ballad of a kind I’ve heard a thousand times. The political block voting was more obvious than ever, particularly among the Balkan countries. The contest is a joke, not only because of the generally low quality of music, but because politics has completely taken over.
Why do I watch it? For the entertainment value (occasionally something is so bad that it becomes good), for the “showmanship”, for the idiot presenters, for Terry Wogan’s sarcastic commentary.
And yesterday evening, the French entry, performed by the Fatals Picards,
who finished second bottom (equal with the UK), should have run away with it, despite Terry describing it as “chronic”, and complaining that they weren’t taking it seriously at all(!). Their energy, clever lyrics (I think...), and hilarious camp theatrics made it by far the best of the night. And not a bad little tune either.
I’ve just noticed that Ms. Baroque preferred the Ukranian entry, and I can see its appeal too. However, I’d guess the French would be less irritating after the tenth play, so I’m going to stick with them.
