1.Love will set you free. Is this a winnable song? Wrong choice of singer?
- BBC journalist Mark Beaumont says Engelbert is cheesy inherently.( scroll down to middle of page). Is it so? Please elaboarate.
Non-Brits also welcome to comment.
It’s a nice song, but I don’t think it’s a Eurovision song, but then again Lordi managed to win a few years back!
the Irish entry is a more typical Eurovision song.
The quality of the song or the singer is absolutely, completely,irrelevant.
What you have to remember is that the UK entry is very much tongue in cheek. We don’t expect to win it, the politics don’t allow it so we are having a bit of fun with it.
We don’t take it seriously, we’ll get some fun from seeing Englebert up there and then can return the real business of Eurovision which is mocking four Lithuanian monks dressed as penguins singing “biff-a-boff-a-bingo (love me big)”
How does politics interfere?
I like it. It may be a bit schmalzy, but there’s nothing wrong with that. At least it isn’t overproduced and samey-sounding (if that makes sense). The UK certainly won’t be embarrassed by it, and I could see it pulling ahead of most of the pack.
Jedward is singing at the Eurovision again! Huzzah!
I’m not sure what I think about Germany’s entry this year: http://www.eurovision.tv/page/history/year/participant-profile/?song=26753 It’s been growing on me, but it didn’t rock my world at first hearing. Eh, it’s not like Europe is going to be fighting to vote for Germany, anyway. Yeah, everyone else gets the neighbor effect, but I guess we’re just not popular or anything. We didn’t want to win again, anyway. pout
Too many enemies, not enough friends. As a country we simply aren’t very popular and regardless of the quality of the song, we aren’t going to get the countries voting for us.
We don’t actually care though so it isn’t a problem, it is a pantomime to us not a serious music competition.
Brilliant! I didn’t know they were entering again.
I should point out that it isn’t just the UK that takes a humorous approach to Eurovison. The Irish, as can be seen here, know a good joke when they see it.
Don’t be surprised if the UK and Ireland score each other quite highly. Of course if Ireland truly want to sweep the board all they need to do is get The Divine Comedy to enter “My Lovely Horse”, that…my friends, is a guaranteed win.
Hmm…
U.K won in 1997 and was placed 2nd in 1998. What has changed in 15 years to create so many enemies?
life’s too short.
Iraq for a start
Iraq, as has been said, Afghanistan, The Labour party moves to align us more with the USA. The fallout from the Balkans war, the continued fallout from the USSR break-up and increased political distance between us and the idea of a European Union.
But apart from that…
And an increased level of bloc voting as the enmities of the Cold War and Yugoslavia conflict fade over time. The Baltics, the Balkans, Scandinavia, Germany/Turkey, Greece/Cyprus, Romania/Moldova - even the former USSR states tend to stick together. The only support the UK can usually reliably count on is Malta and a few crumbs from Ireland.
The UK is not the only country to consider the contest to be ridiculous - Germany, France and Spain have sent a few goofy entries and Ukraine excel in over-the-top silliness (this being the best Eurovision entry ever). I still think the UK should bite the bullet and follow that example by getting Jonti Picking to write a Eurovision song. For example, I would love to see this performed live.
That… and the fact that the eastern block all vote for each other, leaving the western europeans fighting it out for last place.
At least Malta and Ireland still vote for us.
Would love to hear from dopers.
Finland 2006
Norway 2009
Germany 2010
If they are leaving Western Europeans fighting it out for last place then they’re doing a really, really bad job of it.
You think *you’ve *got problems?
Hey, you’ve won it before!
Edit: Three times! Mind you, most folk will only remember Dana International, the quintessential Eurovision contestant.
You’re the ones we came second to in 1998.
Man, the dude’s called Engelbert Humperdinck
Reginald Dwight’s got nothing on that. Anyone who wasn’t embracing their inner cheese would have gone for the deed poll long ago.
His original name was Arnold Dorsey, although he was apparently nicknamed “Jerry”. He actually changed his name to “Engelbert Humperdinck” after considering a few other options.