POP HOPEFULS BID FOR GLITZ AND GLORY IN LARGER-THAN-LIFE EUROVISION SONG CONTEST
Jill Lawless

AP Worldstream
May 19, 2006

There was good news at the Eurovision Song Contest for a Bosnian
songbird, a Turkish diva, an Irish crooner _ and a lurid heavy-metal
band that declared: “It’s the Arockalypse.”

Ten competitors advanced to Saturday’s final of the venerable
international pop competition, including Turkey’s Sibel Tuzun,
Irish singer Brian Kennedy and Bosnian band Hari Mata Hari, led by
“Nightingale of Sarajevo” Hajrudin Varesanovic.

A surprise finalist in the contest decided by viewers’ phone and
text votes was outlandish Finnish rock band Lordi, whose “Hard Rock
Hallelujah” brought a dash of the demonic to the good-natured contest.

The group’s selection as Finland’s official entry sparked debate
in their homeland, with some questioning whether the mock-Satanic
rockers were the best possible ambassadors for the country.

Finland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ireland, Sweden, Russia, Lithuania,
Ukraine, Turkey, Armenia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia garnered the most votes and advanced from Thursday’s
semifinal. Thirteen other countries were eliminated.

The 10 join Greece, Switzerland, Moldova, Israel, Latvia, Norway,
Spain, Malta, Germany, Denmark, Romania, Britain, France and Croatia
in Saturday’s final showdown.

Viewers tuning in to Thursday’s semifinal were treated to an
over-the-top extravaganza from the opening number _ a medley of past
Eurovision hits performed by figures from Greek mythology.

For half a century Europeans have embraced the glitzy, kitschy
Eurovision contest, a place where nations battle for pop supremacy and
musical tastes collide. And there was good news also for Americans _
the event is soon to be replicated on U.S. television.

“I think this is a beautiful way for countries to come together and
be part of sharing their own artists,” Swedish contestant Carola said
Thursday. “Like the Olympics, but in music.”

The annual contest, which sees nations vying for victory with live
performances ranked by the viewing public, has been running since 1956,
a forerunner of “American idol”-style music contests.

It introduced the world to ABBA, who won in 1974 with “Waterloo,” and
to Canadian crooner Celine Dion, who triumphed for Switzerland in 1988.

It remains a huge event, eliciting a potent mixture of passion and
derision from Europeans. Posters and billboards bearing the Eurovision
2006 slogan _ “Feel the Rhythm” _ are everywhere in Athens, which
is hosting the event because Greece won last year’s contest in Kiev,
Ukraine.

Organizers estimate more than 100 million TV viewers will watch
Saturday’s final from Athens’ Olympic Indoor Arena, an event covered
by 2,000 accredited journalists. Others around the world will follow
the show live on the official Eurovision Web site.

Relatively few Americans will be among them, but the United States is
due to get its own version of the poptastic contest. NBC announced
earlier this year that it would air an American show based on the
format, with acts from different U.S. states competing for viewers’
approval.

Part of Eurovision’s appeal is its equality. Tiny Andorra and giant
Russia are equal on the event’s stage _ each has three minutes to
win over viewers’ hearts.

Traditionally, they pull out all the stops, and this year is no
exception. British rapper Daz Sampson is backed by a group of dancers
dressed as schoolgirls as he advises, hiphop-style: “If you give the
kids time, they won’t do the crime.” Russian singer Dima Bilan is
backed _ for reasons that are not immediately obvious _ by white-clad
ballerinas, one of whom emerges from a piano.

It may be light entertainment, but politics are rarely far from
Eurovision. This year, Serbia-Montenegro withdrew from the contest
after a squabble over whether a Serbian or a Montenegrin act should
represent the former Yugoslav state.

Britons routinely complain that the complex voting system, in which
countries award each other points on a scale of one to 12, leads to
decisions based on national alliances rather than musical merit.

Research appears to confirm this _ a British computer expert has
identified a “Balkan bloc” and a “Viking empire” of like-minded
nations.

Organizers insist the contest is fair.

“This is a 100-percent democratic contest,” Svante Stockselius,
executive supervisor of the contest, said Wednesday.

The explanation for Britain’s poor showing in recent years may be
more complex. Like the European Union, Eurovision is changing, its
center of gravity shifting eastward. Ireland has won seven times,
more than any other country, but has not triumphed since 1996.

Britain is a five-time champion, but has not won the contest since
1997.

Winners these days are often from central and eastern Europe, where
Europop rules the musical roost. Ukraine won in 2004, Turkey the year
before that and Latvia in 2002.

This year, the bookies favor Cyprus-born Greek entrant Anna Vissi,
with British bookmaker Ladbrokes rating her the 3-1 favorite.

Some Greeks may be hoping the country does not retain the title,
and with it the right to stage the show next year. Ireland famously
struggled to pay the costs of hosting the mammoth contest after it
won three years in a row in the 1990s.