I really want to believe that Eurovision experience is becoming a liberating eye opener for Armenia representative Aram MP3.
I do hope he learned (or learning) the lesson of diversity, and I am glad to see that after publicly reconciling with Conchita, issuing “I reject homophobia” statement [for background story:1, 2, 3], we get more pictures of Aram MP3 reflecting and communicating message of diversity and no prejudice.
Pollapönk (see picture above with Aram MP3) will represent Iceland at the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen, Denmark, performing “No Prejudice".
Cograts to Germany. Lena was not among my top favourites, and I still think Germany was overrated, but I can see her appeal. She was incredibly charming and different, you know, Björk-like different. In fact, I quite fancy going to Berlin for Eurovision 2011. No doubt, would be fun. Fingers crossed, nothing will change my plans.
I thought Denmark was OK but overrated too. I liked Romania. Funny, entertaining, very Eurovision-y. Could not stop smiling during their performance.
Overall, I thought entries who participated in semi-s performed worse during the final, except Belgium, Turkey, Moldova and Romania.
During the show, which I was watching with a big crowd in London’s Soho, we did not notice anything unusual during Spain’s performance. And then were surprised to see a repeat of their performance towards the end. Only at home, watching the recording of Eurovision, I noticed that stage intrusion by someone from the audience (Jimmy Jump). It took a short while till he was taken away by the security. (video below) That was the reason why they allowed Spain to repeat their performance. Fair enough.
I am impressed how the Spanish singer and team on stage ignored the intruder, and continued singing and dancing, as if nothing happened. Well done. I liked Spain. It was sweet, and took me back to childhood memories.
Armenia, Azerbajan and Georgia: What I said in my previous post, still stands. Plus... Safura looked tired and lacking energy. Graham Norton, British TV presenter, called Eva “the sexiest babe” and suggested a Miss Caucasus title :)
Actually, Graham Norton mentioned a right word re Georgia entry: “they slightly overproduced it”. And I think this was true for all three South Caucasus countries.
But hey, that’s the glory of Eurovision, isn’t it? :) Otherwise, what will we bitch about. I have to confess, this whole ‘analysing’ thing re Eurovision is very entertaining for me.
As per Twitter reports, at some point “Armenia” (or “Armenian”/”Armenien” - what was with that spelling?) and “Apricot Stone” were trending.
Btw, I won a bet with a friend of mine. I bet that Armenia won’t give 12 points to Russia. Also, on Twitter, when asked who I think Armenia might give its 12 points for, I replied: "very difficult to predict this year. Might be Georgia, Ukraine... not sure" (yes, it was Georgia)
I liked Norwegian male presenter Erik Solbakken. He was a star. Funny and charming. He was particularly impressive and hilarious when after the show - announcing that 15 mins voting time interval - started changing clothes live while doing all sorts of tricks.
I loved very much that Euro flashmob dance part. Was great seeing and feeling Europeans throughout the continent - beyond the EU formal borders - united in fun. See, it is possible. Yes, we can!! :)))
One more thing - do not trust or take too serious bookmakers or Google predictions, or readers’/fan poll results. Treat it as part of the entertainment, and take it easy. They are easily manipulated. If you want to get a general idea on trend and changing preferences, follow Eurovision related websites, blogs and forums (e.g. esctoday, oikotimes, escdaily, escnation forum).
Below is the official Eurovision final Top Ten (surprised Iceland did not make it; would prefer to see here Moldova too, loved their show and that sax player was very funny):
Germany
Turkey
Romania
Denmark
Azerbaijan
Belgium
Armenia
Greece
Georgia
Ukraine
I was live tweeting my immediate impressions along with watching the 1st semifinal of Eurovision 2010. Below I’ll try to sum up some of the main points.
Here we are. Never thought I would make this confession during Eurovision. Yes, yes, yes, I did fall in love with the Belgian singer Tom Dice. While he may not be your typical Eurovision entry, it was a class act all the way: song, performance, singer. He did not need complicated weird shows on stage or supporting dancers or back vocals. It was a one-man performance, and I loved it.
Here are @bbceurovision preferences:"Personally speaking, I really like #Ireland, #Romania, #Iceland, #Finland & #Armenia! :)" #Eurovision
Then there was an immediate commentary by BBC re Russia performance: "3 minutes of misery - Lost and Forgotten" :)
Before Russia, Moldova did quite a bit of cheering up. I remember their performance with a smile on my face. It was light and entertaining.
Albania delivered a typical Eurovision performance, no more, no less, and it was not bad at all.
Then there was a turn for another typical Eurovision + typical Greece all-male performance. All men were hot, except for singer. He did sing OK, though. It was Hoppa, or Oppa :)))
I even managed spotting someone who would we normally call “qyartu” in Armenian. Watch out for that guy in black glasses during Macedonia’s entry.
When Iceland took the stage, all tweets were about associations with volcanic eruption and whether Europe “will forgive Iceland”:
@bbceurovision: And finally tonight, another one of the favourites, Hera Bjork from Iceland. Will Europe forgive the volcano?
Icelandic representative was pretty good, and as they passed through to the final, I may safely assume that Europe did indeed forgive for the volcanic ash chaos, well, at least for the occasion.
Before the results of voting were announces, I indicated my faves from the 1st semi: Belgium, Greece, Albania, Iceland, Moldova. I could not decide re Serbia (too distracted by his haircut).
I was pleased that all my faves are through to the final.
Oh, and did I already mention this?! Belgium singer + Greece dancers = hot Eurovision.
And now, to make sure you’ll keep up the sexy mood till Thursday’s 2nd semi, watch this brief preview of Kylie Minogue’s All The Lovers video. Can’t wait to see the full version. Looks sexy ;)
My favourites were France, Sweden, Moldova and Estonia. I am pretty OK with Norway's win, which was predictable.
To be honest, for me Iceland's entry was unremarkable and a bit boring. I think the most overrated entries this year were Iceland and Azerbaijan.
Interestingly, an acquaintance of mine, a UK music industry expert, who was always extremely critical re Armenia Eurovision entries in past, SMS-ed me saying she was impressed with Inga & Anush...
Anyway, ending in top ten was not that bad considering the choice of music, although potentially, with such a talent, they could have done so much better... *** Jonathan Ross loves Armenia entry
Either you hate it or love it. There was no middle ground in online discussions re Inga and Anush look and make up. I am among those who think they deserve compliment re their look. Yes, I do think they looked different and sexy.
Here is an opinion expressed on Twitter which I loved:
If all the women in Armenia are a sexy as the one on #eurovision then I am emigrating there tomorrow. ;o) http://twitter.com/chief1981/status/1820616585 *** Inga and Anush toned down their make up
According to this tweet which refers to Armenian conservatism, after criticism in Armenia of their extensive make up following the 1st semi-final, Inga and Anush toned it down a bit.
There was a different kind of ‘contest’ going on between Armenia and Azerbaijan during the Eurovision song contest. A propaganda and pretty childish ‘war’ which was apparent only to those 2 countries and may have some consequences. For details:
BBCreports that “Iceland has announced a new government that will be headed by the modern world's first openly gay leader.”
“The 66-year-old's appointment as interim leader - until elections in May - is seen by many as a milestone for the gay and lesbian movement, correspondents say.”
Here is the most important point I’d like to pay your attention to.
According to Ingo Sigfusson of Iceland's public broadcaster, RUV, Ms Sigurdardottir's emergence as the world's first openly gay leader has barely rated a mention among his countrymen and women.
"It's by no means a big deal. It's been reported, but it's not something the public is focusing on," he told the BBC.
BBC also reports that “she has even been nicknamed "Saint Johanna" in praise of her work for the rights of the handicapped, elderly and disadvantaged.”
"She began her political career as a union organizer with the national airline, now known as Icelandair, where she had worked more than 30 years ago as a flight attendant. She has two sons with her former husband, a banker, and six grandchildren. Ms. Sigurdardottir established a civil partnership in 2002 with Jonina Leosdottir, 54, an author, playwright and journalist. She, too, is a divorced mother.
Although Ms. Sigurdardottir’s rise has drawn widespread attention on Web sites for gay men and lesbians outside Iceland, her relationship is considered unremarkable at home. In 1940, while still a dependency of Denmark, Iceland decriminalized gay sex. It approved civil partnerships for gay and lesbian couples in 1996, one of the first countries to do so.
“Iceland is a small society, and the public knows what Sigurdardottir stands for as a politician, and that’s the only thing that is important,” said Frosti Jonsson, a spokesman for Iceland’s National Association of Queers. “Nowadays, not only does Iceland have one of the most progressive legal environments for gay people, there have also been changes in public attitudes towards gay people. It simply isn’t an issue anymore.”
The Advocatereminds of only one other instance of openly gay politician serving a prime-minister position (not appointed, but “acting prime minister”): Norway finance minister Per-Kristian Foss, who is gay, was that country’s acting prime minister for a brief period in 2002 while both the prime minister and foreign minister were traveling abroad.
“The real violence… the violence that I realised was unforgivable is the violence that we do to ourselves, when we are too afraid to be who we really are.” #Sense8
Մարտիրոս Սարյան: "Իմ կարծիքով, մեզ՝ որպես արևելյան ժողովրդի, չափազանց կպատշաճեր բազմագույն դրոշը, որն ի հայտ է բերում ինքը` չքնաղ և հավերժ գեղեցիկ ծիածանը:"(source)
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