Of course it’s terrible, it’s Eurovision!
I promise…hand on heart…very few people in the UK take it seriously, if any.
It is a four-hour comedy show and is probably best summed up by reading through “The Guardian” live blog. it captures our approach perfectly.
I’m talking about the responses in this thread from UK dopers, which typify the sorts of things that, from what I’ve seen, British people tend to say after every Eurovision contest.
It would appear that you are the one who doesn’t know the fable of the “sour grapes” if you can’t detect any of it here. Trying, failing, and then claiming you didn’t want it anyway is the definition of “sour grapes”.
I played this for the Princess, and she says it sounds like it should be a Pokemon theme song. Just throw in the word “Pokemon” in between the choruses, and it works.
I got to see some of this year’s entries earlier this week. I loved the Russian grandmas, and am still wondering whose idea it was to put Jedward in this competition. That was ridiculous. Then again, that may have been the point.
Yeah, whatever. This chick was amazing. She didn’t win or even do well but I wouldn’t say her performance was not worthwhile just because of that.
Come to think of it, Moldova has managed to put up some seriously wtf entries for the past few years while still managing to be entertaining. If it’s a joke for you guys, shouldn’t it be, you know, funny?
Of course there’s a kitsch and a cheese factor. What I am saying is that you guys are not even succeeding at that (except for the delightfully terrible and earnest Mr Dubovie I linked earlier). You’re just boring.
mister nyx - no, I don’t detect any of that. I do detect that you don’t know anything about how British people feel about Eurovision, and are apparently not prepared to take their (our) word for it. Please do keep telling me what I think, while I just have another glass of this rather tasty Suffolk wine.
Most likely political- we’re all boycotting Ukraine-Poland Football as well.
And apparently, this year at least our grapes were prescient, eh mister nyx? It doesn’t appear that any of the identifiably British comments before your own ‘sour grapes’ remark were posted after Eurovision aired this year. Claiming you’re not going to take it seriously and don’t care if you lose before the event, doesn’t fit the definition of sour grapes as far as I can see.
Only because they’re true.
Thanks for the notes, Cliff. But that’s not the point.
In general the viewing public treat it like an episode of MST3K, with snarky commentary from both the UK host (Graham Norton, although I would love to hear Harry Hill’s take on it) and the viewers (Facebook was buzzing during the competition in my neck of the aether). It’s a comedy fest masquerading as a music competition.
Yes, a lot of people would like the UK to win, including the people doing the snarking. Nobody is saying “we didn’t want it anyway” (apart from the point about not being able to afford it). But winning is a secondary issue - it’s the comedy that matters. And sure, the media hypes it up ridiculously. But invariably the entries that go (and who picks these anyway?) are truly awful and bear no resemblance to the sort of songs that win Eurovision, and so they never do win and we don’t really expect them to. That’s not sour grapes; that’s just reality.
Ireland are clearly playing the “we don’t want it” card (again), and rumour has it that Spain and Greece were as well. Jedward are car-crash performers - you stare at them just to see the carnage inflicted - but no one pretends that they’ll win and Ireland would have conniptions if they ever did.
And Myrnalene, I voted for Moldova. I loved that song - the lyrics were insane, the performers were over-the-top goofy and the music infectiously catchy. That the Winkleman-alike won was rather sad IMO; it takes all the fun out of Eurovision to have normal performers and songs there.
Jesus, you really don’t know many british people, if you think many of them care in the slightest.
The winners (of any nationality, never mind british) don’t usually chart in the Uk. I find it incredulous that someone in the worlds thinks that this country is crying big bitter sobs into its hanky, before dismissing it online…
Can I just refer everyone back to post #3. This was all said waaaaaaaaaaay in advance.
Not sour grapes. We don’t expect to win, we aren’t likely to win, we don’t bother sending anyone likely to win, no-one with any expectation of a future career is likely to put themselves forward.
We…do…not…care. As long as we can laugh at the crazy continentals we are happy for a short while.
I asked my other half why they didn’t send someone like Adele and he said “Are you mad? No one with any sort of career would do Eurovision. It’s career suicide! Besides, it would take away the fun if we actually tried.”
He tells me his favourite part always used to be watching Terry Wogan hosting it and appearing to become increasingly drunk as the evening wore on. Comedy gold.
I am quoting this for truth! The best bit was Wogan locked in a box with a dozen bottles of Baileys. The things that were said!
Our commentators kept ripping on each other for being drunk. It was good, but not Wogan sublime.
Hang on there. 
We (the UK) certainly don’t try to win Eurovision.
We hold a contest to select the song where **unknown songwriters **put forward their own compositions. There’s a public vote (for the ‘least worst’ song 
and you then get someone who is not a current successful recording artist to sing it. :smack:
There is no way a singer of quality e.g. the amazing Adele 
would write and sing a UK entry to this amiable pantomime event.
And even if Adele did our entry we would still finish 10th tops.
The voting blocks are static and a UK win is impossible.
Best moment for me was the crazy accent the Swedish (or was she Danish) girl had who phoned in their scores. Did she learn her English in Dartford or something?!
I think she was actually English.
Is this exercise in snark available to us Yanks? Or is it something you Brits are keeping for yourselves, like decent curry and Karen Gillan?
I don’t think it is broadcast on US tv but US “fans” watch live streams of it.
Not true - Jade Ewen finished in fifth place in 2009. And even that wasn’t a particularly noteworthy song (I still think we should have sent Peter Kay as Geraldine McQueen instead to sing “Winner’s Song”).
Bloc voting will skew the results significantly but it’s not insurmountable; people will vote for a good song regardless of the country it’s from. But first you need a good song (and a good performer to sing it).
Now you’re talking! 
BTW - “The Winner’s Song” was written by Gary Barlow and genuinely entered the UK charts at #2. True!