Eurovision’s mature makeover
SING FOR YOUR COUNTRY: Decades-old contest says goodbye to gaudy, hello to sensible
LISBON, Portugal — The dancing gorilla is gone, the extravagant stage effects have been put away and the kitsch is conspicuously absent.
The Eurovision Song Contest, now 63 years old, has learned to dress sensibly. The annual Euro-pop fest has long been the glittery home of outlandish costumes, high-voltage stage effects and easily forgettable tunes. But Portugal — hosting this year’s event because its entry, Salvador Sobral, won with a restrained solo ballad last year in Ukraine — is putting on a show that is sober and sensible, with few frills.
This year’s event costs around $30.5 million to produce, but officials say it’s the most inexpensive show since 2008.
Here is a look at some of the performers generating buzz ahead of the live grand final Saturday, where 26 countries will be represented:
Israel
Netta Barzilai is a sassy woman with a twinkle in her eye. An early favourite with her song Toy, which has already racked up more than 20 million views on Eurovision’s YouTube channel, she has an endearing, tongue-in-cheek approach. She makes funny noises, including a clucking sound like a chicken and barely decipherable words, and uses a looping machine and synthesizer. Her topical song is about women’s empowerment. The lyrics: “I’m not your toy, You stupid boy, I’ll take you down.” Israel last won 20 years ago.
Estonia
Elina Nechayeva’s pop opera La Forza is at the other end of the musical spectrum from Barzilai. Sung in Italian, it is an elegant, classical performance, with what are perhaps the event’s best stage effects: Nechayeva stands on a concealed pedestal with her expansive dress draped across the stage and a light show projected onto it. Estonia has won Eurovision once, in 2001.
Cyprus
Eleni Foureira is hot in Lisbon. Her high-wattage song Fuego (Fire) has everybody talking. She wears a redand-yellow catsuit and high heels, and her long, red hair flows back as she dances across the stage with her troupe. It is the kind of thing J.Lo or Shakira would do. The act is a powerful, in-your-face celebration of women. Foureira says she wants to express “the fire that women have ... being sexy, being powerful, being fearless.” Her performance is tipped to bring Cyprus its first triumph.
France
Eurovision is supposed to be harmless fun, but a harder political edge normally crops up. France is addressing the hot-button political issue of migrants who cross the Mediterranean in search of a better life in Europe, amid widespread anti-immigrant sentiment on the continent. The song Mercy, about a migrant baby born on a rescue ship, is a catchy tune in French performed by Madame Monsieur, a duo of Emilie Satt and Jean-Karl Lucas. France has won the competition five times.
Czech Republic
Mikolas Josef hurt his back during rehearsals in Lisbon and almost gave up and went home. Fortunately, he says, the physical limitations have made him focus more on his singing and less on his dance moves. Josef is witty on stage and has an easy rapport with the audience, making him a big hit in the semifinals with his song Lie to Me. His country has never won.
Finland
Saara Aalto is not only one of Finland’s biggest stars, she is also wellknown in the U.K. where she came runner-up in The X Factor two years ago. In Lisbon, she is performing the song Monsters, taken from her debut album. Aalto knows how to make a pop song work. She also catches the eye as she starts out her performance stuck to a large rotating wheel, as if someone’s going to throw knives at her. Finland is looking for its second triumph.
Norway
Alexander Rybak is back. He hit pay dirt with his song Fairytale, which won the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest for Norway. The song topped the charts across Europe. The lyrics of his new foot-tapping number That’s How You Write a Song claim to explain how to win the contest. Its chorus: “Shubidubi-dab-dab, Shubidubi-dab-dab.” Norway has won three times. It has also finished last 11 times.
Sweden
Benjamin Ingrosso’s Dance You Off does just that, with a kind of George Michael swing that’s sure to get you on your feet. Sweden has won six times, and it can boast the best-known song with ABBA’s 1974 winner, Waterloo.
Germany
German hopeful Michael Schulte has brought a deeply poignant song that pulls at the heartstrings and gets people swaying. You Let Me Walk Alone speaks about his feelings after his father died when Schulte was 14.