So So Gay
Eric Saade, Swedish representative for 2011
Another working week comes to and end and here I am again with a morsel of Eurovision fodder! So here’s your latest round-up of the week’s news in the run-up to the Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf on 14 May.
Line-up complete and running order announced
All 43 participating entries have now been unveiled. This year’s contest marks the first edition ever where not a single song will be performed in French. The draw for the running order for the semi-finals and the grand final has also been made. The United Kingdom, as one of the ‘Big 5′ nations does not have to qualify from a semi-final and has been drawn to perform 14th in the final.
Promo video for ‘I Can’ released
Speaking of the United Kingdom, the BBC last week released a promotional video for ‘I Can’ by Blue, the British entry in this year’s contest. It’s a simple but effective affair featuring Duncan, Anthony, Lee and Simon standing on a London rooftop and generally having a lot of fun. Take a look!
Azerbaijan goes from strength to strength
Since making its Eurovision debut, Azerbaijan has proven itself as a real contender for the ultimate prize. Having succeeded in qualifying from each semi-final since 2008 and having finished in the Top Ten an all three occasions, the Azerbaijanis are hoping to go one better this year and bring the contest to the ‘Land of Fire’. This year, Ell and Nikki will represent the Caucasian nation with ‘Running Scared’. It’s an insanely catchy number delivered by two extremely endearing singers and we here at EUROvisual are prepared to go out on a limb and predict yet another high score for this relative newcomer. Here is ‘Running Scared’.
Eric Saade for Sweden!
Much to the delight of many a gay man, last weekend Eric Saade was crowned winner of Melodifestivalen 2011 and will therefore fly the flag for Sweden in Germany. His song ‘Popular’ won both the jury and public vote and is a high-energy dance number which is sure to get bottoms wiggling in May. And even if the song doesn’t grab your attention, Eric himself certainly will! Have a peek!
This week’s piece of Euro-nostalgia…
…comes to us from 2006. Iceland were represented that year by Sylvia Night, a singer and comedienne with a huge following in her native land. Night had caused a veritable whirlwind in Athens in rehearsal week, suggesting that the Greeks were not capable of organising the contest. She was therefore comprehensively booed during her semi-final performance of ‘Congratulations’ and failed to progress to the final. All that despite a reference to a ‘golden shower’ and backing dancers in hotpants and horns. The shame.
Don’t miss next week’s chunk of all things Eurovision!
