EuroVisionary
May 17 2009
Eurovision Song Contest 2009: The Day the Music Triumphed
Posted 17 May, 2009 – 10:23 by Steve Paxton
In a contest which nobody could call close, Norway won the 54th
Eurovision Song Contest in the Olympiyskiy Arena in Moscow. He scored
a record 387 points, leaving him a long way in front of Iceland and
Azerbaijan in second and third places respectively.
The contest was opened by performers from Cirque du Soleil and the
stage was lit up by fire. This was followed by a reminder of last
year’s winner, Believe, which Dima Bilan performed on the stage. The
hosts were different from the semifinals. Ivan Urgant and Alsou, who
represented Russia in the 2000 contest, were given the task of guiding
viewers through the evening. After the introductions, Ivan and Alsou
left the stage to the 25 singers and songs.
Lithuania – Sasha Son ` Love ` Opening the contest, Sasha kept it
simple. The backing track seemed more in the background than in the
semifinal. Sasha again slipped out of English for the last chorus. A
good start to the contest.
Noa and Mira Awad – There Must Be Another Way – Another excellent
vocal performance from Noa and Mira. Drawn in the dreaded second
position, they were up against it, but stranger things have happened.
France – Patricia Kaas – Et S’il Fallait Le Faire – The biggest star
in the contest, Patricia was dressed all in black. As could be
expected, her performance was professional, if slightly spoilt by the
little dance at the end.
Sweden – Malena Ernman – La Voix – Malena is an opera singer who
doesn’t take herself too seriously. This relaxed attitude to her
profession allowed her to enjoy her three minutes, which added
positively to her performance. There wasn’t a nervous bone in her
body.
Croatia – Igor Cukrov feat. Andrea – Lijepa Tena – As in the
semifinal, Igor was on early again to sing this beautiful Balkan
ballad. Andrea started in a black cloak, which almost inevitably was
removed to reveal a white dress.
Portugal – Flor-De-Lis – Todas As Ruas Do Amor – Portugal have
benefited over the last couple of years from an increased appreciation
of traditional music. All the band did their bit to make an enjoyable
three minutes.
Iceland ` Yohanna – Is It True? – Big ballad time! The Icelandics made
effective use of the large video wall. Yohanna gave a very strong
performance. United Kingdom viewers were probably breathing a sigh of
relief that she had not been drawn in 22nd position.
Greece – Sakis Rouvas – This Is Our Night – Despite too much
choreography and stunts, Sakis’ vocal was constantly good and it would
be surprising if he wasn’t in the top ten at least. Viewers would love
him, but what would the professionals on the juries think?
Armenia – Inga & Anush – Jan Jan – Perhaps one of the surprise
finalists, Inga and Anush provided an insight into Armenian culture
with the style of song and outfits.
Russia – Anastasia Prikhodko ` Mamo – For the title defence, Russia
offered the most ethnically Russian song since 1997. The video wall
showed a film of Anastasia singing along with the real Anastasia on
stage, but gradually aging as the song progressed. Naturally, it was
popular in the arena, but stood an excellent chance of scoring well.
Azerbaijan – AySel & Arash ` Always – Arash was added to the act after
AySel won the national final. They combined very well and looked
almost certain to finish higher than on their debut last year.
Bosnia ` Regina – Bistra Voda – This was a case of style over
substance. It was presented very well, even if Regina continue to deny
links to communism, but the song doesn’t really develop.
Moldova – Nelly Ciobanu – Hora Din Moldova – Possibly the most
surprising finalist of all of them. It was certainly lively, but was
it too introspective to appeal?
Malta ` Chiara – What If We – One of the `big’ stars in Eurovision
circles, Chiara’s third entry is possibly the weakest. A good
performance was guaranteed for her typical ballad.
Estonia – Urban Symphony ` Rändajad – Appearing in the final
for the first time since the semifinals were introduced in 2004,
Estonia’s luck had finally changed for the better. This was a classy,
well performed song, which was almost certainly going to be
appreciated by the juries.
Denmark ` Brinck – Believe Again – This song was entered in the Danish
final after not making it on to the Boyzone album. They even found a
singer who sounds like Ronan Keating. It was a good, mid-tempo song
that would have done well in the charts if released by Boyzone.
Germany – Alex Swings, Oscar Sings – Miss Kiss Kiss Bang – The second
of the Big 4. With Dita Von Teese on stage with them, this was one for
the red blooded males everywhere. The song itself, a swing number, was
different enough to stand out, but would it score well?
Turkey ` Hadise – Düm Tek Tek – It was no surprise when this
qualified. Turkey has done very well over the last few years, after
years of propping up the scoreboard. This song looked like continuing
the recent trend.
Albania – Kejsi Tola – Carry Me in Your Dreams – Why, oh why is the
green man there? Kejsi delivered a consistent performance for one so
young. The Albanians have clearly made use of the six months they have
had to prepare since she won the Albanian national contest. The song
was much more powerful than it had been then.
Norway – Alexander Rybak ` Fairytale – The fans and bookies
favourites, Alexander was just as confident as in the semifinal. The
song did stand out thanks to the fiddle playing. It had the mixture of
instant appeal to the public and musical integrity to suit the
professional jurors.
Ukraine – Svetlana Loboda – Be My Valentine – Svetlana apparently
mortgaged her flat to pay for the set. It was certainly an eventful
presentation and Ukraine usually does well. Maybe the presentation was
needed to hide weaknesses in the song.
Romania ` Elena – The Balkan Girls – Another surprise
finalist. Elena’s vocal sounded slightly weak. The song would sound
better in nightclubs than live.
United Kingdom – Jade Ewen – It’s My Time – Thanks to the involvement
of musical supremo, Andrew Lloyd Webber, this was one of the most
eagerly anticipated songs of the night. Jade delivered a flawless
performance, even if her one of her violinists accidently tried to
knock her over. This was the singer and song that British fans have
waited years to see.
Finland – Waldo’s People – Lose Control – A change of pace as one of
Finland’s top dance acts took to the stage. Complete with fire
twirlers, this came over well.
Spain ` Soraya – La Noche Es Para Mi – Having survived a meeting of
the EBU Reference Group about the first semifinal not being shown in
Spain, Spain’s chances have been foolishly overlooked by some. A
pretty singer, a memorable song and last to perform. The ingredients
for success were there.
The phone lines were opened by two cosmonauts on the international
space station. For the benefit of viewers, there was a reprise of the
songs. After the voting lines were closed, the main part of the
interval act begun. After a few bars of Riverdance, blocks of water
were suspended from the ceiling. In these blocks were
dancers/swimmers. The biggest block was lowered towards the floor and
ended up suspended just inches above the audience. Possibly the
weirdest interval act ever!
The voting procedure had been changed this year to reflect concerns
over political and neighbourly voting, and in an attempt to address
the success of acts that rely on the performance rather than the
song. Instead of awarding points solely on the results of the voting
public, juries made up of music industry professionals made up 50% of
the score from each country.
To keep everyone up to date with the voting, there was a progress
chart along the bottom of the screen showing how many countries had
voted. It was soon clear that Norway were on the way to a third
victory. The only questions were who would finish second and third,
and would Norway score the highest points ever. The answer to the
second question was a resounding `yes’. Alexander achieved a massive
387 points, almost 100 points more than Lordi scored in 2006. Dima
Bilan presented him with the prize while the stage was frantically
swept to clear it of all the ticker tape. In keeping with tradition,
Alexander performed Fairytale again as the contest drew to a close.
And so another Eurovision year comes to an end. There will be
arguments and joy, amazement and discussion. Some will agree with the
result, others will be left scratching their heads. Whichever category
you fall into, one thing is certain, we will all tune in to the
contest next year to do it all again.