Eurovision gets tasteful makeover
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.
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 and tasteful staging.
The annual Euro-pop fest isn’t being organized on a shoestring, exactly, with the cost at around $30.5 million, but officials say it’s the most inexpensive show since 2008. Here is a look a ts ome of the performers generating buzz ahe ado f the live grand final on Saturday night ,w here 26 countries will be represented:
ISRAEL
Netta Barzilai is 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. 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’s high-wattage song Fuego (Fire) has everybody talking. She wears a red-andyellow catsuit and high heels, and her long, red hair flows back as she dances. The act is a powerful celebration of women. Her performance is tipped to bring Cyprus its first triumph.
FRANCE
France is addressing the hotbutton political issue of migrants who cross the Mediterranean. The song Mercy, about a migrant baby born on a rescue ship, is a 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 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 the contest.
FINLAND
Saara Aalto is not only one of Finland’s biggest stars, she is also well-known in the United Kingdom where she came runner-up in the U.K. version of The X Factor two years ago. In Lisbon, she is performing the song Monsters, taken from her debut album. Aalto 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.
N O RWAY
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. His new foot-tapping number is That’s How You Write a Song. Norway has won three times. It has also finished last 11 times.
SWEDEN
It’s boogie time for Sweden. Benjamin Ingrosso’s Dance You Off just does that, with a kind of George Michael-style swing that’s sure to get you on your feet and usually goes down well at Eurovision. Sweden has won six times.
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.