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May 16, 2022 10:10 pm  #61


Re: Eurovision 2022 Turin

I was looking a bit at the points breakdown on Wikipedia today, actually. It's interesting to see how the jury votes and televotes differ, and also how many 12 points Ukraine got. I think I read in one article that it's a record number of points received by any Eurovision performer, which is pretty cool. I agree, I don't think the response to Ukraine would have been the same if the song wasn't as good or interesting as it is.
I don't know if Ireland was the wrong mood. It has a bit of an Olivia Rodrigo kind of mood, especially the spoken part, and she's been very successful in the past year. Don't know how much her audience overlaps with the Eurovision audience, though. But it also reminded me a bit of the message of Malta's song last year (which was a good song) and there's one part of the choreography that reminded me of Azerbaijan, the part where the girls are standing in line, bent over resting on each other's back. Probably not intentional or necessarily a bad thing, though, in my opinion.

That's funny about your son not enjoying the slow songs. To some extent I get it, as I like a lot of the more high-energy ones, the fun ones, with some exceptions. But usually I can still appreciate them, and this year one of the slower ones, Poland, was one that I really liked. Somehow that reminded me of how I found slow songs boring when I was a little kid, but then as I grew up I started to appreciate slow songs more. But your son's an adult, so that doesn't have anything to do with his thoughts!

I saw a video of the press room during Moldova's performance on Tumblr earlier today, but it was shaky because it was filmed by someone actually in the line. I like that video at Heathrow. Cool that he's wearing a pink bucket hat like the rapper from Kalush Orchestra.

Here's a fun little video backstage with Sam Ryder that YouTube recommended to me a few minutes ago, in which he found himself in a bit of a predicament. If this had gone the wrong way, it would have been quite the moment!


 

Last edited by Yitzock (May 16, 2022 10:10 pm)



Clueing for looks.
 

May 19, 2022 9:05 am  #62


Re: Eurovision 2022 Turin

That bit of choreography makes me think of the Ru Paul's Drag Race UK Eurovision group! 

Moldova did really well, considering they weren't really considered a contender. 

I thought Poland might do better.  I do think the singer is fantastic but the song has never really got to me.  I just saw a video of Mika apologising to Ochman for announcing Holland instead of Poland.  He did make a couple of other mistakes too.  I mentioned that I didn't really like the bits with the presenters, but I suppose it's hard if they're scripted, and they are performers rather than presenters.  I did really love Mika's medley and have gone back and watched it again a couple of times.  I was a fan of his back when he had that strig of hits, but had lost track of what he was up to.  I liked his voice and his music, but hadn't realised that his live performances were so outstanding! 

I have actually really enjoyed this year starting earlier and also watching the semi-finals.  I might even go earlier next year and follow some of the selections.  After all, it's free entertainment!  The downside, I suppose, is that you don't get to see it as a "normal" viewer on the night.  You might already be bored with songs which have instant appeal, or found that songs have grown on you.  Or be completely surprised!  But it won't be the same experience. 
 

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May 19, 2022 5:17 pm  #63


Re: Eurovision 2022 Turin

I just looked up that Drag Race performance. Haha! I guess that move, or similar version of it, is popular at the moment. 

I also thought Poland would do better, too. But maybe because a lot of people were disappointed by how many slow songs qualified (though there's a lot of intensity to the song) that they didn't want to vote for him. I thought his vocals were very impressive.
As much as Chanel seems to have a nice personality and is a decent dancer, I was surprised just how many votes she got. I get that it was kind of fun, but musically I didn't like it as much as a lot of the other songs. It doesn't really stay in my head like some others.
I was also surprised how well Italy did. During their final performance, I thought some of their harmonizing sounded a bit icky, like one of them was hitting an off note. Not the most interesting song to me, either. But maybe that's just me.

I thought the mistakes in the production of the final were kind of frustrating at times. The "Holland" thing was unfortunate, but I'm glad he apologized. There were a few moments when the wrong camera angle was shown during the show. The most annoying for me was when they showed the German delegation after the recap of Ukraine's performance, and then Germany's recap came right after and they just showed the German delegation again. I suppose the fact that Ukraine won means that didn't make a difference, and we got to see them all when they won and then performed again, but I still didn't think it was very nice. 

I keep meaning to go back and watch Mika's performance. I skipped it at the time I watched the final because it was already the day after and I wanted to get to the results.

I haven't decided yet how closely I'll follow it before the final next year. I think the length of the show hit me more this year than last year, maybe because there were more songs I liked last year, or because last year was my first time so there was more novelty to it. I have considered just watching the performance videos after the fact, based on the score and any favourites I have in the leadup, if I'm following it. Since I'm subscribed to the official YouTube channel, I'll probably still end up listening to many of the songs before the competition, like I did this year. It's hard not to look when you know it's there. I'm also curious how they will do the postcards and everything next year, with Ukraine hosting. Hopefully things will be better in Ukraine by then, but the latest developments are not making me very hopeful. Eurovision isn't supposed to be political, but if they made a point of showing what various places in Ukraine looked like before and after the war, maybe that would have a strong impact for the audience. But they would probably want to keep things celebratory, and only show places that still look nice the way they did historically, or places that have been rebuilt. So I think I'll want to at least see part of the show to see how they handle things.

I don't think I'd have time or patience for the national finals, but I might keep an eye on MGP just to see if Subwoolfer performs the same song or a new one (I don't know if they have any plans to record any other songs other than the Eurovision one or if we'll even know they're identities by next year). The winner usually performs either their Eurovision song or a new song of theirs, and this year's group is pretty unusual and was created for Eurovision.

Last edited by Yitzock (May 19, 2022 5:19 pm)



Clueing for looks.
 

May 19, 2022 6:16 pm  #64


Re: Eurovision 2022 Turin

Oh, you have to watch Mika if you didn't see it!  I think having the chance to compare him to the contestants, and having seen some of the problems they had singing live, made me really appreciate how good he is.  Very energetic, while still keeping up great vocals.  I found the last song very moving. 

To my surprise Slo-Mo has been stuck in my head, but it might be because I'd heard it so many times!  Chanel is very talented and professional, but I think also the song was just good fun. 
I agree about Italy.  It was a bit off on the night.  It was quite a good song, but ended up going down my list.  And frustratingly, Fai Rumore blew me away in the semi-final and I kept wishing it was that song! 

I don't know what will happen with Ukraine.  I do like your idea with the postcards.  I just don't see them having the money and time to rebuild before next year.  Maybe they will have to have it somewhere else and just bring people over from the Ukraine.  It's a horrible thought, but I suppose there's a chance the war will still be going on then.  I presume the Kalush Orchestra will be going back now to fight if needed, after getting special dispensation to do Eurovision.  I hope they are still OK next year.
 

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May 20, 2022 8:26 pm  #65


Re: Eurovision 2022 Turin

I agree, I find it unlikely that they will be able to shoulder the cost without the help of another country. I've seen some discussion of the possibility of Poland helping them by co-hosting, or perhaps it will be some other nearby country.

Yes, they have returned to Ukraine now. I saw a video of them singing for a small crowd that had gathered to welcome them back. I hope they will be able to stay safe, though of course even though I know it is probably impossible, I hope everyone still in Ukraine can stay safe and stay alive.



Clueing for looks.
 

May 21, 2022 5:12 pm  #66


Re: Eurovision 2022 Turin

Have you seen all the scandal about the irregular voting?  I am a bit lost with what's going on but it seems some countries juries collaborated during the semi-finals to vote each other up.  So when it was found out, their votes were discounted in the final and given as an aggregate of the other votes (I think - don't quote me!).  I wonder if that was why there was no video from several countries.  Anyway, it looks like Romania is going to pull out over this.
I think it was always suspected that some countries would vote for their "friends" (e.g. Cyprus and Greece), but it seems this was more of a plot!
 

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May 21, 2022 5:57 pm  #67


Re: Eurovision 2022 Turin

I had just assumed it was technical difficulties that they couldn't have all the juries present their own. Hmm...
I just did a quick Google search, since I hadn't already seen anything about this, and here's what I found. I apologize if this just repeats what you already know. Before this, the only voting "scandal" of any kind I had seen was a headline expressing surprise that Poland's jury hadn't given any points to Ukraine despite all the help they had been given Ukrainians since Russia's invasion. But this is different, but makes me wonder if it's related...

https://eurovisionworld.com/esc/here-is-the-proof-of-the-eurovision-voting-scandal-six-juries-cheated-and-voted-for-each-other

It says Azerbaijan, Georgia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, and San Marino were detected as having irregular voting patterns for the second semi-final and when they compared it with the other juries' votes, they could tell that those 6 countries seemed to have agreed to vote for each other. I find this interesting, considering only some of them made it to the final. The article above includes the voting data that's been released.
They explain also that the juries' votes were replaced with an aggregated result, which the article explains that this is calculated based on the jury result of a pre-selected group of countries. Apparently they are drawn from the same pot that the semi-final allocation draw is taken from.

I wonder if this is going to mean that there will be more reconsideration about whether to keep the juries as they are or not. 

https://wiwibloggs.com/2022/05/19/eurovision-2022-six-national-juries-swapped-votes-during-semi-final-2-according-to-ebu-statement/272535/
This article from Wiwibloggs includes the full statement released by the EBU, as well as the tables also in the other article. It also says the EBU has given the countries involved the opportunity to investigate what happened with each of their juries. I like that this article explains a bit more about how irregular voting patterns are detected.

I wonder if the way things turned out will go to show for future years that cheating in this way isn't guaranteed to get you very far. Of the countries who seem to have colluded, only Azerbaijan and Poland made it to the final.

Last edited by Yitzock (May 21, 2022 5:58 pm)



Clueing for looks.
 

May 21, 2022 6:21 pm  #68


Re: Eurovision 2022 Turin

Thank you, I will read those links!  I'm not sure what the situation is with Romania leaving: surely if they were caught cheating it couldn't be ignored?  I'm not sure if it was handled the best way, but I'm not really sure how you handle those things!  You can't just ask the countries to vote again, but not for each other.

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May 22, 2022 3:16 pm  #69


Re: Eurovision 2022 Turin

https://wiwibloggs.com/2022/05/20/romania-tvr-threatens-eurovision-withdrawal-and-legal-action-against-ebu-amid-jury-voting-scandal/272558/

It says here they are threatening to leave, with Romania's broadcaster saying they believe the algorithm for detecting irregular voting patterns is not transparent and there is a double standard. The article points out that Belgium, Sweden, and Australia voted for each other, but this wasn't flagged as irregular, perhaps because all those countries did well even if you exclude those votes.

I'm not sure what to think. I don't think certain countries should be unfairly targeted, and on the one hand it is a bit suspicious that all of those countries voted for each other. But unless we can somehow determine for sure that it was collusion, how do we know it wasn't just a coincidence, that that's just what those juries liked?



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May 22, 2022 8:58 pm  #70


Re: Eurovision 2022 Turin

It's kind of odd that it hasn't come up before.  I'm not sure about Belgium, Sweden and Australia. It looked like Belgium didn't give 12 points to either? Sweden and Australia were likely to do well anyway.   And out of the other group, half of them didn't even make it through the semi-finals.

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May 25, 2022 3:23 pm  #71


Re: Eurovision 2022 Turin

You're right, Belgium didn't give them 12 points. As for the group subject to the investigation, on the one hand I get that if they were trying to cheat by agreeing to vote for each other, this should be pointed out, but since many of them didn't make it to the final anyway, was there really any harm caused? Would they have given more points to another artist who didn't make it? I don't know if it would have been enough to make a big difference either way, considering how things turned out.



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May 25, 2022 6:35 pm  #72


Re: Eurovision 2022 Turin

No, I don't think it would have made much difference in the end.
I just came across this lovely cover of Hold Me Closer.  I prefer Cornelia's version with her raw voice, but this stripped back duet is gorgeous:




I'm thinking of having a look at the second chance contestants in this article https://wiwibloggs.com/2022/05/24/poll-who-should-win-the-ogae-second-chance-contest-2022/272580/ , just for fun.  I really loved Monument last year (although Tix was great too, and one of my favourites).    This video gives some snippets:



 

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May 29, 2022 3:18 pm  #73


Re: Eurovision 2022 Turin

Pretty duet! Thank you for sharing!

I hadn't heard of the second chance competition until this year. The clips in that video don't tell you very much, but it's still kind of interesting to hear the different styles. The rock song from Slovenia sounded good. The Croatian singer kind of sounds like Shawn Mendes. I think "Turn This Around" and Northkid's songs are the only two I have heard in full before. I think I will check out the French and German songs. North Macedonia also looks like it might be fun! The Serbian singer's costume reminds me a lot of Efendi last year.



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May 29, 2022 6:23 pm  #74


Re: Eurovision 2022 Turin

I just watched the video for Rigoberta Bandini - Ay Mama.  Like Stefania, it seems to be in praise of mothers, but very literally focusing on childbirth and breasts!  I wasn't sure how serious it was!
I really like the Finnish one, Ram Pam Pam by Bess.  I haven't listened to them all properly though!
 

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June 6, 2022 4:30 pm  #75


Re: Eurovision 2022 Turin

Did you see Sam Ryer's performance at the Platinum Jubilee concert? I watched the concert on Saturday, but it was broadcast from an American TV network and they edited out some of the performances, including his. But luckily BBC uploaded the video of Sam's performance, since it was the only one I was looking forward to that I didn't get to see on TV.




I thought the sound quality and reverb made it seem like his voice was disembodied from his body at the beginning. Kind of interesting to see the song performed with a bunch of dancers, since in Eurovision you don't have that.

Last edited by Yitzock (June 6, 2022 4:30 pm)



Clueing for looks.
 

June 6, 2022 5:36 pm  #76


Re: Eurovision 2022 Turin

Yes, I saw it!  I was half watching the Jubilee concert but watched properly when he came on.  It's a lovely song with a nice message too, and he's a really confident, enthusiastic, smiley and likeable performer.  With great hair!  Although he's young, he has a sort of retro look (and the song is a bit timeless, I think) so I think it fitted in well among some of the older performers.  Rod Stewart's voice wasn't great and a bad choice of song, Elton John was pre-recorded, and Diana Ross appeared to be lip synching at one point.  They are all older and I know it's not all about the voice, but about history, stage presence, etc., but I did think maybe it might have been better with Sam doing a cover of an Elton John song so at least there was a performer on stage.  Such a shame that the American network edited it out! 

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June 7, 2022 3:06 pm  #77


Re: Eurovision 2022 Turin

I think if NBC aired the concert, they would have left him in because they aired Eurovision on their streaming platform. But it was ABC, and they edited the concert down to fit into an hour-long time slot, including commercial breaks. I'm glad his segment weas one BBC put up on YouTube, because I enjoyed it and was looking forward to it.
I enjoyed Elton John. I hadn't thought of it, but hearing Sam cover one of his songs would have been cool. The metaphor of the lonely astronaut is something they've both used in their songs (as have David Bowie and Brian May. I think his song fits nicely in that British music tradition). My mom said she read an article that some radio station (maybe Radio 2? I can't remember) held an audience vote to select which song Rod Stewart would perform, and Sweet Caroline was the winner. I didn't think he sounded that great, but the audience seemed to be enjoying it (William and George were singing along and waving their flags). My dad can't stand Rod Stewart, so he was complaining lol. At first I thought Diana Ross really was singing, but there was one moment where I was wondering if she was lip-synching, when she seemed to stop singing but the vocal track kept going.

Last edited by Yitzock (June 7, 2022 3:07 pm)



Clueing for looks.
 

June 7, 2022 5:37 pm  #78


Re: Eurovision 2022 Turin

Yes, I thought that about Diana Ross.  If she wasn't lip synching then she did well, but it did look at one point as if she had stopped and her voice kept going!  Agree that audience seemed to like Rod.  He is a very seasoned performer I suppose, and not his fault about the choice of song.  I do think his voice wasn't very strong.  I could see him singing a different type of song that would suit his voice better - I'm thinking of how Johnny Cash, for instance, made great use of his altered aging voice.  I was trying to think what would have been a better song - I suppose 20 or 30 years ago, could have sung Sailing, which was a big hit of his and has the same sing-a-long crowd-pleasing vibe as Sweet Caroline, but I think most of the audience wouldn't know it! 

Good point about the lonely astronaut theme!  MIght have been nice to have a Bowie cover in there too.   Sam Ryder singing Under Pressure with Queen would have been fun! 

Duran Duran were pretty good, I thought. 

Anyway, it's quite nice that the UK had such a good Eurovision entry and high placement in Jubilee year!  Last year's entry wouldn't have had the same vibe!
 

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June 10, 2022 2:31 pm  #79


Re: Eurovision 2022 Turin

No, last year's would have been a different vibe. Considering he came in last place, I don't know if he would have been included in the Jubilee concert.



Clueing for looks.
 

June 10, 2022 5:57 pm  #80


Re: Eurovision 2022 Turin

Thinking of it the song would have been quite appropriate as it was a happy, celebratory song, if a little bit bland!  But everybody seems to like Sam Ryder and he seems to project a natural happiness and enthusiasm. 

I read that poor Rod Stewart had covid before the performance!  So that probably explains why his voice was so weak. 

I haven't been able to get Mika's "Yo Yo" out of my head since the performance at Eurovision!  The official video for it is out today, and I love the dance and costumes.



 

Last edited by Liberty (June 10, 2022 5:57 pm)

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