Eurovision...

[donnaimmaculata]

You guys who watched it: Did you really think Germany was all that good?!? Because we're* in shock - we didn't think it was anything special, really. A nice girl singing a nice song.

*Me and the people I'm watching it with. I can't speak for the rest of the country on account of not having watched anything Eurovision-related until tonight.

Comments

[ellensmithee.livejournal.com]

I just keep saying, "Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God."

Her voice and accent are really strange. It's a catchy tune, but there were a lot of catchy tunes this year.

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

Stefan Raab must have invested a lot of money to put the song on heavy rotations all over Europe.

I bet Dieter Bohlen is seriously pissed off now.

[ellensmithee.livejournal.com]

I had that exact same thought about Dieter Bohlen! I have a lot more respect for Stefan Raab now. I totally didn't think he could do it.

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

He sent that guy - Max something - to Eurovision a few years back, IIRC. Or did Whatshisface Siegel beat him in the semi-finals? Anyway, Max was a better singer than Lena. So I didn't doubt that Stefan Raab has good music-producer instincts; I just didn't think Lena is a strikingly good singer.

[shocolate.livejournal.com]

A nice girl, singing a nice song is amazingly rare - Turkish rapping robots? Greek hairy chests and fireworks??

The bland shit we came bottom with??

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

I am mildly amused by the fact that Stock/Aitken/Waterman came last. They should have revived Rick Astley for Eurovision! Everyone who's ever been to the Internet is familiar with him, they'd vote for him.

I'm also a bit sad for the lack of creepy-clown love. And the Russian dumka was properly old-school, that was nice.

[bethbethbeth.livejournal.com]

I guess it depends on whether you think Eurovision songs are generally all that special or not. From my perspective, even though I find the show hugely entertaining, it's mostly in a kitschy way. Germany's song was good without depending on the "ha ha ha" factor. :)

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

See, I must have assumed that people liked - and voted for - the "ha ha" factor.

I'm rather bemused, because I'm so not interested in Eurovision. Tonight was the first time in 10 years that I saw the programme, and I haven't been following any casting or pre-selection shows, didn't see the semifinals and haven't heard Germany's song before tonight. So my reaction was more like, "Really? People love that?" (Personally, I liked the Spanish clowns and the Russian dumka. But what do I know.)

[bethbethbeth.livejournal.com]

I'm usually all about the ha ha too (you should look at the Lithuanian entry - it's on the Eurovision website - which is a perfectly wicked tongue-in-cheek parody of what it means to be a Eurovision entry *g*), but I suspect a lot of voters are omg serious!

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

Ahaha! I love the Lithuanians! But I think the video does a lot to carry the song, I might not have liked them as much had I seen them on stage.

[bethbethbeth.livejournal.com]

they made up for the lack of cool-videoness by dropping their trousers and finishing the song in spangled short shorts. :)

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

That's what Europe is all about!

[dementedsiren.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I wasn't blown away. Granted, my (admittedly non-typical American) opinion is you vote the best combination of OMGWTFoverthetopness and Actual Talent, all the while realizing that the songs themselves are pretty light (<3 minutes + funny translations, if applicable).

Then again, my taste is probably questionable considering I was rooting for Turkey and Greece, and didn't at all dislike Russia (what was up with all the booing?)

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

Hee! To my German ears, Turkey and Greece sounded like the kind of music you'd expect to hear in Palma de Mallorca or in a coma-drinking-type environment.

I liked Russia a lot. It's the type of song my (Ukrainian-born) grandfather might have sung, in its more traditional form (dumka/a>)

[dementedsiren.livejournal.com]

sounded like the kind of music you'd expect to hear in Palma de Mallorca or in a coma-drinking-type environment.

That probably says something about my mental setting then (yeah, going through life in coma-drinking-mindset sounds about right *g*).

I loved the Russian song, and the bit with the mini-conversation "What are you looking at", "A picture", fulfilled the Eurovision LOL factor.

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

I missed that bit with the mini conversation! I should look it up on youtube.

I don't know about the Netherlands, but coma drinking has become immensely popular among young people in the recent years. As in, they meet up specifically to down half a bottle of vodka each, until they pass out. (Of course, young people have always been drinking, but the new thing is that passing out is the explicit aim, not a side effect. Or so the concerned authorities claim.)

[dementedsiren.livejournal.com]

Hm, I can't really say if that's how it is here, not knowing many "young" Dutch folk. That said, the primary outcome of drinking here seems to be the singing of "classic" songs while leaning against the person next to you and pumping your hand in the air.

In fact, there's quite a bit of drunk singing here. Huh.

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

I don't know any young Germans, either, but the coma drinking issue was all over the media last year as the Major Issue of the Year (together with pornography on the Internet).

the singing of "classic" songs while leaning against the person next to you and pumping your hand in the air

Hee!