It’s a myth that people vote politically. What happens is that people vote for neighbouring countries for reasons of familiarity and cultural overlap. And there are lots of small countries in eastern Europe, hence a lot of voting for each other. But it happens across the board. Ireland and the UK have, in fact, regularly given high marks to each other’s songs going years back (Ireland was one of the few countries to give the UK any points this year). Greece and Turkey have actually voted for each other many times. The real problem, inasmuch as it is a problem considering that the whole thing is just a bit of fun, is that countries get the same voting weight regardless of population size.
And I seriously doubt that the Beatles would have won every year, had they been so badly advised as to enter. The ESC has never been about the best song. It’s a useless way of picking a best song even if the songs were any good, which they aren’t.
Hello - me again.
Remember way up on this thread I said don’t spoil the winner for me.
Nevermind - MSNBC did it to me when I clicked to see the news. So, already heard Germany won.
(Sucks, as it would have been a real kick to see it happen without knowing it!)
Can’t wait to see the DVD my friend in Germany is sending - I was in Germany when Nicole sang “Ein Bisschen Frieden” and won. The Germans were in shock. Needless to say, that was the only song you heard in bars for weeks on end afterward.
Yeah, it’s pretty much all Satellite all the time here right now. I thought Lena was adorable after she sung the song after winning – when she switched from English to German she thanked everyone again, kept saying how crazy it all was, thanked her band and back-up singers, then said “I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do right now, so I’ll keep chatting for a while.” Then the show ended, saving the poor girl!
Didn’t watch Eurovision (shame they don’t air it on PBS) but I did listen to the winning song and I found it slightly fun but Lena does have a weird accent. It’ll be interesting if she takes up her predecessor as Germany’s representative (Lale Andersen) trademark song “Lili Marleen”.