Tag Archives: disco music

Cookie Fonster’s Verdicts on Eurovision 2022 (Semifinals): Two Completely Undeserved Last Places

Posted on by
15

Intro Post

< 2021 Final | 2022 Semifinals | 2022 Final >

Introduction

The third most recent Eurovision Song Contest as of this writing was Italy’s chance to redeem themselves after their infamously bad hosting of 1991, but spoiler alert: their hosting efforts are mediocre at best. During the host city selection, RAI already ran into tons of troubles. Seventeen cities expressed interest in bidding, eleven cities bidded to host, five were shortlisted, and it was not until October 8, 2021 that Turin was chosen as the host city. That is far too late if you ask me. The host city was supposed to be revealed by the end of August, but I’m willing to bet RAI procrastinated on making the final choice.

This year had 40 countries participating, a number that I really hope Eurovision reaches again. Armenia and Montenegro returned after skipping 2021, and all the 2021 participant countries were going to return at first… until February 24, 2022, when Russia began their invasion of Ukraine. The EBU was originally going to keep Russia in the contest, but after multiple broadcasters threatened to leave the contest, Russia was banned the next day. On February 26, Channel One and VGTRK—the two Russian broadcasters who took turns picking their Eurovision entry—both left the EBU. Russia has been banned from Eurovision, and many other international competitions, ever since.

This contest had a few returns to normalcy we didn’t see in Eurovision 2021: the arena had full capacity and standing seats were available again. No contestants had to stay home, but all countries did record live on tape performances as backup; they also did that in 2021, which is what Australia had to use then. Unlike Eurovision 2021, the audience had to wear face masks at all times, but that wasn’t enforced too heavily. This makes me wonder what Eurovision 2021 would’ve looked like if Italy had hosted. Would a live audience have been possible there? I doubt it, considering Italy was one of the countries hit hardest by COVID.

I’ve already heard all the entries of 2022 (since about a year ago I believe), so it’ll feel a bit strange to review these without hearing anything unfamiliar. I’ve never seen the contest in full before, and as usual, I’ll watch the semifinals with German commentary.

Continue reading →

Cookie Fonster’s Opinions About Eurovision 1981: I Hope You Like Disco

Posted on by
Reply

Intro Post

< 1980 Review | 1981 Review | 1982 Review >

Introduction

Hosted in Dublin, Ireland, Eurovision 1981 had quite a different lineup of countries from last time. First off, the Mediterranean island of Cyprus (aka Greece’s Girlfriend) joined for the first time. No one talks much about Cyprus’s early entries, but their best result (and most iconic entry) is a second place in 2018. Although the island is divided between Greeks and Turks, Cyprus’s entries have only ever come from the Greek half.

Israel returned after skipping last year, and Yugoslavia returned after skipping the last four years. On the other hand, Morocco left never to return again, and Italy skipped the contest for the first time. It wasn’t for political reasons or lack of money—Eurovision just wasn’t very popular in Italy. It was the first of Italy’s several absences in the 1980’s and 1990’s, culminating in a hiatus from 1998 to 2011.

This contest had one of the narrowest victories yet: with their famous band Bucks Fizz, the UK beat Germany by four points. This was the closest Germany had come to tasting victory, but they would take home the prize next time. With the narrow race between the UK and Germany and the many returning contestants, including the winner from 20 years prior, it seems this will be a very interesting year! Because of the winner, I watched the contest with Terry Wogan’s British commentary.

The postcards in this contest were notable because they didn’t just feature the singers of each song: also the composers and writers, exploring Dublin together.

Continue reading →

Cookie Fonster Demystifies Eurovision 1979: Dschinghis Khan and Some Other Stuff

Posted on by
1

Intro Post

< 1978 Review | 1979 Review | 1980 Review >

Introduction

Eurovision 1979 was the first of four contests hosted outside Europe: three in Israel and one in Azerbaijan. The one contest hosted in Turkey was in its European portion. Both 1979 and 1999 were hosted in the Jerusalem International Convention Center, meaning they’re tied for the southernmost Eurovision contest; 2019 was a little further north, in Tel Aviv. It was also the easternmost host city until 2012, when Azerbaijan hosted. The introduction sequence gave me a feel for the enormous history of Jerusalem. It’s a holy city for three major religions, it’s been fought over by many nations and empires, and it’s the subject of a dispute today.

All countries returned from last year, except for Turkey—their Arab neighbors pressured them to skip it, even though they had a song ready. It was Monaco’s last time participating until 2004. Israel won the contest twice in a row, becoming the third country to do so after Spain and Luxembourg. However, the most famous entry is Germany’s “Dschinghis Khan”, a cult classic to this day.

This contest was hosted by two presenters, again one male and one female. The female presenter was a member of the trio that sang for Israel in 1976. As a change of pace, I watched this contest with French commentary. Before the songs began, the commentator suggested the viewer to get a pencil and paper and rate every song like the juries do. As it so happens, I am doing something similar on a strange, newfangled device called a “laptop”.

Continue reading →