Eurovision , what are you ?

It’s that time of year again , the time where the majority of Europeans sit in front of their TV and watch the Eurovision song contest . For those who dont know , the Eurovision song contest is , well , a song contest much like ‘Pop idol’ where a singer/group/band represent their country and compete for the the ‘coveted’ title of Eurovison song contest winner . There are semi-finals of which the countries ‘fight’ for a spot in the final which is aired all over the world (mainly targeting Europe) and on the night of the final , once all contestants have sung , the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest is selected by a positional voting system which sees each participating country award two sets of 12, 10, 8–1 points to their 10 favorite songs: one set from their professional jury and the other from tele-voting.

Eurovison was something I had never heard of until I moved to Cyprus . I did watch it the first year or so and then I totally gave up watching . When ever Eurovision comes around every year, I have mixed feelings about the show . The reason why I have mixed feelings about the show is because I don’t know exactly how to feel towards it . On one hand I take it in all its ridiculousness, in that random countries not even in Europe are allowed to vote and/or compete . The artists and/or producers & song writers representing certain countries , are not even from the country they’re supposed to be representing . The performers and their performances are extravagant , grand and in some cases so over the top and ridiculous. This ridiculousness was made apparent to the rest of the world in the hilarious Netflix film , Eurovison Song contest : The Story of Fire Saga , check out the trailer below .

And then on the other hand I look at it as a ‘proper’ song contest . That each countries representing artist/s have put allot of work into their song . Allot must go into the song writing , producing , choreography and so much more , in that I think these artists are really taking this contest seriously and want to win and perhaps have the hope in getting recognized for their talent and getting a record deal/contract and kick start their music career . And this is where I get confused . Because allot of viewers take this show quite seriously. So , if I had to take the side of viewing this as a serious song contest , then all I can say is that this show is an utter joke . For example , Cyprus’ entry into this years competition is sung by a singer from Greece , the song writers are from Greece and the record label from which it is produced is from Greece . So then why is song representing Cyprus ? Israel is also in the competition , but last I checked they’re not in Europe.

This is where I have a dilemma , what exactly is Eurovision trying to achieve ? Is it an ‘all out’ entertainment show ? Is this a serious competition ? And with regards to the artists involved are they not taking this show seriously ? Do they really want to win ? Are they truly the representatives of the country they’re singing for ? Eurovision blurs the lines between entertainment and serious song contest so big that in my opinion it just comes out a mess of a show that no one should watch or care about . And also to mention the political stand point when it comes to voting . As depending on some countries political views , their viewers will vote a certain way (regardless of the quality of song) for certain countries. I’ve also heard that this show also helps with the economy of winning country as they become hosts for the following year when winning but I don’t really buy that to be honest .

As I am an artist I might lean towards the ‘serious’ more competitive side of this contest and that I might find this whole show a complete debacle and a waste of anyone’s time. Votes are irrelevant of talent or song quality . Just about anyone can sing for any country which makes me think that any country with a big enough bank can hire a ‘big’ artist to perform or write a song for their country , then again I haven’t seen any such artist join in the show (probably due to its ridiculousness and in that they would tarnish their name in doing so) . I have been in Cyprus for 13 years now and I haven’t seen any artist’s career grow from this show or get recognition, this coming from a show that brings in millions of viewers each year .

Eurovision lacks , excuse the pun , vision . The organizers don’t even know what direction their show is . It has an identity crises , is it a song contest or an entertainment show ? No one can answer this question , probably not even the organizers. In my opinion I would say to you all not even waste your time watching this show but instead watch the Netflix film, its better and at the very least knows what it is .