I Just Think Belgium Was Robbed In Eurovision 2015

by Jaya Saxena · April 5, 2016

Who even won Eurovision 2015? Sweden? Okay, I guess that was fine, but it just sounded like the sort of song that one of the background bands would cover in Pitch Perfect. And Serbia was pretty great. But I’m just saying Belgium’s song is the only one that’s been stuck in my head for almost a year now.

It’s just so delightfully angular and European! It’s like a musical version of Sprockets. I want to buy furniture designed by that band.

Jaya Saxena is a Staff Writer at The Toast.

191 Comments

    2. neuromanticism +15

      “Manboy” was a huge hit in the toddler community/preschool population. Kindergarten teachers were driven insane.

    4. nanbarlow +5

      Eric Saade’s finest Eurovision moment was surely “Hashtag beautiful girl“. It was so awkward and bizarre and I still think of it every time I’m tempted to describe something as beautiful.

    6. sausagedog +1

      I’m wayy late on this but I just watched the Manboy video and first of all, my eyebrows are somewhere in my hairline and my face is legitimately like 😀

      Second of all I cannot believe the fake rain at the end.

      I’m sending this video to everyone I know

  3. Kuluvi +26

    I have three eternal ‘modern’ Eurovision loves: 1) My once-ironic now-serious adoration of the Ukraine 2009 entry “Be My Valentine! (Anti-Crisis Girl)” by Svetlana Loboda 2) My completely ironic love of the Greece 2009 entry “This Is Our Night” by Sakis Rouvas, complete with the treadmill stapler 3) My obsession with the Cyprus 2012 entry “La La Love” by Ivi Adamou

    Those three are the *~*true spirit*~* of Eurovision to me! Camp, sparklers, ripped topless men, and songs that are total earworms. Then again, my serious all-time fav Eurovision entry ever was Lordi’s “Hard Rock Hallelujah” because bless Lordi, they make my metal heart beat.

    1. Kuluvi +18

      THEN AGAIN WHO CAN EVER FORGET THE HILARITY OF SAN MARINO 2012’S “THE SOCIAL NETWORK SONG”?!?!?!?!?!? I love Eurovision so much

    3. tragicallyludicrous +10

      My favorite semi-unsung recent Eurovision song is Hungary’s 2011 entry “What About My Dreams,” which is one of the best Euro-diva songs out there.

      1. hammocknap +2

        Agree – an excellent one to sing along with enthusiastically when it’s just you in your car.

    4. Thujaplicata +14

      My favorite part of Lordi winning was seeing them with flowers and wearing little Finland hats afterwards while still in their monster costumes.

    5. flyingcabbage

      Whenever I go on about how Eurovision isn’t as fun as it used to be I always cite the man yelling OPA! while dancing atop a giant stapler. I’m delighted there’s someone else out there who also remembers that 🙂

  4. backupandround +20

    YES JAYA. Belgium was my fave last year by far, along with Australia. Everything else was just so dull, not in true Eurovision spirit at all. Plus Loïc is a cutie pie.

    1. tragicallyludicrous +12

      This year’s shaping up to be at least better in song quality, although nothing stands out as particularly bonkers (unless Belarus does do the naked-with-wolves thing).

      1. backupandround +7

        …How have I not heard about this before now???

        (Naked-with-wolves is exactly the kind of ridiculousness I expect from Eurovision. Keeping my fingers crossed.)

    1. j_bird +17

      I HAVE NEVER WATCHED EUROVISION BUT I WANT TO HEAR YOUR OPINIONS SO WHEN I YOUTUBE ALL THE ABOVE-MENTIONED SONGS I WILL HAVE A PROPER GROUNDING IN SOPHISTICATED EUROVISION ANALYSIS

    2. avidbiologist +20

      I LOVE EUROVISION WITH ALL MY AMERICAN HEART

      I have hosted a watching party the past 2 years and it is basically my favorite holiday of the year. Last year we made bingo sheets which SADLY a lot of people didn’t get because the contestants were low on the camp!

      I have many favorite parts of Eurovision; 1a. The songs. 1b. the song intros 2. The host country’s bit (sometimes awful, sometimes odd, sometimes hilarious, always an interesting subject of conversation), 3. THE VOTING IS FASCINATING. Everything from the awkward pauses in between the introduction of the country and the country’s “HELLO!” to how many points they delegate to their neighbors. Ugh. I love it all.

      1. annikkinstarkiller +13

        Yes! Another Eurovision bingo player! When my friends hosted we used to pregame and get totally smashed trying to remember the categories we’d used the previous year. Now that I’m initiating newbies, I do all the cards in advance.

        When watching in the States, whose commentary do you get? A huge part of the UK watching experience is Graham Norton ‘s commentary. He has a late night talk show and was the basis for Stanley Tucci’s portrayal of Caesar Flickerman in the Hunger Games films. So you can imagine he never misses an opportunity for a subtle or not-so-subtle bitchy comment. I think other Europeans have a similar experience with their own commentators.

        1. Teka Lynn +3

          I’ve never seen it broadcast in the US, it’s not licenced at all tha I know of. I watch it online with the eurovision.tv livestream. I detest listening to someone else’s commentary when watching televised events (even Graham’s! I’m so sorry!) and the live feed allows me space to make my own snarky comments to my heart’s content without anyone else talking over the show.

        2. avidbiologist +4

          What are some of the things you use for bingo? I’m trying to remember what we did (everyone made their own and we shouted out suggestions). I think some of ours were: “ridiculous dance prop” “color changing clothing” “why can’t we all just be friends song”

          I don’t think we get commentary? So I watch live on the Eurovision website because 1. I don’t have cable but 2. even if I did I don’t think any US channel shows Eurovision. I love Graham Norton though and I have re-watched Eurovisions on youtube with his commentary and ugh I know we are missing out.

          1. bookwormV +10

            This is less fun than bingo, but a university friend introduced me to her family’s Eurovision tradition (I do not come from a Eurovision-viewing household, but I am getting into it now) – the names of all of the participating countries are written down and put into a bowl/hat, and everyone who wants to play puts down a certain sum of money (I think it was £2 when we did it) and picks out some countries. Everyone has the same number of countries (so some just get left over if the number of countries doesn’t divide by the number of people). You then add up all of “your” countries’ points, and whoever comes out with the most wins the money. It’s great, as it gets you all invested in the countries – you get to cheer for yours when they perform and sit on the edge of your seat in agony as they fail to get points in the voting.

          2. avidbiologist +3

            oooo i like this. I did make everyone pick a country last year so that people felt invested, but I think a lot of people forgot theirs by the end.

          3. annikkinstarkiller +8

            We usually split the various possibilities into categories (like ‘costume,’ ‘staging, ‘ etc.) and try to distribute them so everyone gets a unique card. They run the gamut from ‘pyrotechnics’ to ‘wings (angel or butterfly)’, ‘invisible backup singers,’ ‘random dancing to distract from boring song,’ ‘grievous misuse of the English language,’ and ‘3+ key changes’. There are also subjective ones like ‘visible terror in singer’s eyes,’ ‘would bang for free,’ etc. For one of those to count, you have to state your case to the rest of the party during one of the crappy green room segments. First person with a full card gets the special shot, and our apologies.

            Graham’s commentary is the only thing that gets me through all those endless countries announcing their points. He understands the struggle.

        3. shellygrrl +3

          Yeah, it’s not broadcast in the US, so we have to livestream it. And there’s no commentary.

        4. walrathem +2

          You let Graham do the commentary?! I never knew till now that this truly is the work he was born to do.

    3. doublehoagie +2

      Yes! Love it. We make score sheets and require everyone who comes to our house to write commentary and scores. I’m pregnant right now, due on May 6th, and clearly have my priorities out of order because I’m legitimately concerned that I’ll have to miss Eurovision because I’ll be in labor.

  9. Thujaplicata +18

    Can we just post our favorite Eurovision entries? This is mine It’s so amazingly bonkers and wonderful. My friend refers to it as the Romanian sparkle vampire song.

      1. hammocknap +10

        I saw Moldova and immediately thought, “Was that the year they had the hats?” Of course it was, excellent choice.

      2. HoorayForSocks +1

        YAAAASSS “So Lucky”!! My personal Eurovision avatar is the unicycle girl from that one!

      2. tragicallyludicrous +3

        I had a Ukrainian co-worker back when I lived in Seattle who was a huuuuge Dima Bilan fan. The fact that I knew who he was made her like me. (I did not bring up how hilarious I found that entire performance. TINY ICE RINK.)

      1. Thujaplicata +3

        Seriously. I know how to do html links and somehow I still mess it up more than once. Thanks for having my back.

        1. tragicallyludicrous +1

          These ones always go weird, I always have to go back and edit what it does.

    5. Siana720 +8

      Your link didn’t work so I googled “romanian sparkle vampire song” and, awesomely, I found it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgHWFiavqjA

      Probably? Unless something that amazing existed twice.

      In college my friends and I were obsessed with a Eurovision song but I can’t remember what it was and it’s driving me crazy! It was a crazy techno song and everyone was wearing metallic jackets and crazy hats…weirdly that may not be specific enough for anyone to help me…

      2. Thujaplicata +5

        I love that “romanian sparkle vampire song” brought it up. What a time to be alive!

    6. avidbiologist +10

      UM YES

      Russia 2012 (aka adorable old Russian grandmas): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKNRGc71hjc

      A lot of my faves are from Eurovision 2013 which was just super memorable for me.
      Malta (the adorable doctor): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK4TvZeL6c0
      Greece’s free alcohol song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocFhFNxu5Jg
      Azerbaijan’s MAN IN A BOX: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN3d_V7KVLE
      and of course Romania’s sparkly vampire song someone already linked: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV3xp5ZXSYA

      3. hapsatou +12

        Greece’s free alcohol song checked so many eurovision boxes- use of traditional musicians/instruments, modernized traditional costumes, nonsense english, pantomime dancing. I love it!

        1. nanbarlow +5

          Only Love Survives is one of my favourite last-placed Eurovision songs. I also adored Twin Twin’s Moustache, and Tooji’s Stay. I’m not sure whose taste is broken, mine or the entire rest of Europe.

          1. avidbiologist +1

            I loved Moustache too! so now I’ll have check out Stay.

            I mean since when is Eurovision a celebration of taste anyway.

          2. tragicallyludicrous +1

            I liked Moustache a lot but the performance wasn’t great on the night, and also it sounded too much like Papaoutai. A shame!

          3. nanbarlow +1

            Sadly, yeah, I agree that their performance on the night wasn’t great.

            They came and played a show in London a few months afterwards, though, and I went and bounced around and it was great.

            I basically want Eurovision all year long.

    7. hapsatou +10

      I mean how else would you refer to that magnificence? Falsetto magician in a modern dance experimental theater piece?

      1. Thujaplicata +3

        I mean, that is also a good description reference, but it’s not quite so catchy!

        1. hapsatou +3

          Definitely not and also I knew exactly which song you meant with that sparkle vampire song description!

    9. alicia +3

      That link isn’t working, but i know exactly what you mean. I went to a viewing party in San Francisco and we held our own vote, Romania won easily that year.

      1. Kuluvi +7

        Sebastian Tellier on Eurovision was simultaneously one of the most esoteric & mocking performances EVER. I regularly count on France to provide me with acts that go overboard to show precisely how few fucks they have to give.

        1. tragicallyludicrous +9

          What I like about France is that their entries are always so French – it’s basically whatever’s going on in Francophone pop around then. You end up with Sebastian Tellier and Jessy Matador and opera. Their entry is getting good buzz this year but it’s disappointingly generic, no matter how cute Amir is. Austria’s entry is more France-Eurovision than France’s is.

  10. LdyGray +11

    Shout out also to Irelande Douze Pointe, starring Dustin the Turkey, from 2008. It’s eight years later and that song is still stuck in my head! Ireland is insane in truly wonderful ways.

  11. megalesias +7

    yessss, I’m having a Eurovision watch party this year, and I am Very Excited about it.

    Belgium was very good last year, I also enjoyed the Italian boy band

  12. scott +28

    Eurovision! good god, I am overly opinionated on the subject of Eurovision. I’m just saying, do *not* talk to me about Eurovision unless you want to hear all about how much I loathe Sweden’s overproduced mass appeal songs. That’s not even Eurovision! You’re trying too hard to win a contest that should be about sparkly clothes and TURKISH MANBOAT. But I still love Eurovision too much despite hating Sweden and every ballad (they’re always boring please stop sending pianos)

    Belgium’s entry last year was really something special too. Easily one of my favorites along with Slovenia (SLOVENIA I LOVE YOU) and everyone’s favorite European country, Australia.

    1. alicia +8

      Less boring than Norway though! That entry was the epitome of white people problems (i.e., no problems except the ones you create for yourself).

      1. scott +2

        I didn’t remember this song, at all, so I listened to it and now I know why I didn’t remember it. That just about put me to sleep!

    2. neuromanticism +14

      URGH I KNOW. The Swedish national contest is bonkers, as it should be, because that is the Eurovision way. But the blandest most radio-friendly song always wins, because SOME people got obsessed with the idea of winning Eurovision and actually created a mini ~international jury~ (with the one instruction to vote for the song they think most likely to win Eurovision) that now gets 50% of the votes in the national contest. Why. It’s as gross as it is boring.

      1. scott +9

        Frankly, I’m still chuffed about Euphoria winning the contest all the way back in 2012. Going on four years and I’m still not over the winners not being the adorable elderly Russian women or the Turkish manboat or Pasha Parfeny’s ridiculous Balkan brass dance hour. There were so many excellent songs (like the INCOMPARABLE Nina Zilli from Italy, good lord) and absurd spectacles in that contest but one of the most boring mass appeal songs ended up taking it.

        God, I’m complaining about a Eurovision contest from four years ago. I need to go lie down before I start howling about something even further back.

        1. tragicallyludicrous +18

          No way, I will always stick up for Euphoria. That is just perfect dance-pop and it still absolutely destroys the club in Amsterdam, 5 years on. Nothing else comes close. And it was stunningly executed on the night.

          1. contrarianbear +11

            Eurovision songs being played in clubs is everything I miss about europe.

          2. tragicallyludicrous +6

            Honestly, it’s really just Euphoria unless it’s like, a week or two after the contest. Euphoria transcended.

          3. viviennestreet +6

            Several months ago, I heard Germany’s 2010 entry being played at a Bed, Bath, and Beyond in the US. It was surreal.

        2. neuromanticism +7

          What?? Euphoria is GREAT. There’s nothing bland about it, it’s an iconic piece of Euro dance music. Instant Eurovision classic. 2012 was just a good year!

    1. tragicallyludicrous +3

      This year’s Dutch song is also very country! I’m curious as to how it will do, Douwe Bob himself is cute as hell but it’s not quite as attention-grabbing as the Common Linnets.

      1. hapsatou +2

        I like it! You’re right though that it’s not as attention grabbing. To me it doesn’t have the same emotional tenor that the Common Linnets song did.

        1. tragicallyludicrous +2

          I’m hoping he pulls it out performance-wise, because the song is actually pretty charming. He did win a reality show so he does know how to work a camera…

  15. neuromanticism +51

    Yeah that bland “Hero” crap wasn’t great but THIS YEAR we’re sending a glorious teenage dirtbag. He is seventeen years old, blank-faced and nonchalant as hell, and literally sings a song called “I’m Not Sorry”.

    Edit: his reaction to winning the national contest (a huge, HUGE deal – youngest winner in thirty years) was to stare confusedly and say (my translation) “hella thanks”. They asked if he had anything to say to the camera, and he said basically “… uuh… They told me I couldn’t swear, so, uh, thanks, I guess”

  16. angrypedestrian +17

    My college LGBT group held a student drag show every year (which I was deeply involved in the production of), and we had a deep love of Eurovision, so there were multiple recreations of iconic performances. I was a backup dancer for a rendition of Ukraine’s 2007 entry-Verka Serduchka’s “Dancing Lasha Tumbai” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfjHJneVonE

    I also was in a performance of Dschinghis Khan’s “Moskau,” which involved borrowing a friend’s grandma’s track suits. She had many. In many colors.

    1. Siana720 +2

      OMG You found the one I was thinking of!!! Thank you for bringing this back into my life!

    4. Thujaplicata +4

      That sounds amazing! I love both of those songs so so much. I in fact even bought an entire Dschinghis Khan album so that I could have “Moskau” available for listening whenever I wanted.

      Also, please tell me that your costumes also involved a totally awesome cape.

      1. angrypedestrian +2

        Not that epic, sadly, but there was a cape! I portrayed that particular gentleman, and my hat was a red santa-esque number that also had fake white yarn braids on it? I don’t even know where it came from.

  17. TimTamGirl +15

    Serbia, 2010: Milan Stankovic. Apparently he trained as a doctor, and then got into a war with the Serbian Suge Knight and had to go into hiding. But before that, this happened: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBwWB3kKd6o

    Turkey, 2012, Can Bonomo: The sails guys! THEY TURN INTO A BOAT! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qa7_y21oOY

    Aaaaand JEDWARD!, Ireland 2012: Ireland sadly didn’t follow through on their threat to keep sending Jedward until they won. My (51-year-old straight male emergency-and-trauma doctor) boss asks me to play this not infrequently. I love my job: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1cuimKLNpU

    The finals for the last two years have sucked – SO dull. My plan for this year’s party is to skip the real finals; instead, I’ll ‘cheat’ and find out which countries didn’t make the final and play those plus the winner. I’ll take bets on who the winner was, and the guests(s) with the correct choice will get… something appropriately hideous.

    A fun side project for the party is that I ask the guests to bring their Secret Shame food. This is emphatically NOT meant in the food-shame-y sense; think instead the food equivalent of the worst song you love and would rather die than be caught belting out at a stop light. Contributions have included pizza rolls, Pillsbury biscuits, ‘fancy’ pigs-in-a-blanket (…as if), and a Tater Tot burrito that haunts my best dreams. This year I think mine will be my favourite snack of my college years, extra-sharp cheddar cheese on salt-and-vinegar Pringles. Suggestions welcome!

    1. Es_Petal +13

      Jedward were totally the spirit of Eurovision, it was a bit of a travesty they didn’t win.

    3. Anna +5

      Anything with cheez whiz and marshmallow fluff. Hopefully not together.

      Fluffernutter tea sandwiches would make a lovely hors d’oeuvre. With the crusts cut off, of course.

    4. night_squirrel +3

      I own the mp3 of Serbia 2010, one of two songs I bought that year. Fond memories!

    5. RosemarysFav +5

      Chicken in a Biskit crackers topped with Easy Cheese. (Links to show products because I’ve learned that unless you’re from the deep south, you won’t know these by name.)
      http://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Biskit-Original-Cra…
      http://www.amazon.com/Kraft-Easy-Cheese-Cheddar-P…

      1. TimTamGirl +7

        Oh… my. This evokes the insane dip my sister-in-law made for her son’s graduation. Step 1: Line the bottom of a 9×13-inch glass baking pan with crushed Doritos.

    6. alicia +6

      Queso, by which I mean Velveeta mixed with Rotel and microwaved.

      Though my personal favorite hot dip is one rotisserie chicken, shredded and mixed with a bottle of Frank’s Red Hot sauce, topped with roughly equal parts cream cheese, ranch dressing and cheap blue cheese, which in turn is topped with shredded jack or cheddar and baked until bubbly.

      1. TimTamGirl +2

        A) Ah yes, Buffalo chicken dip makes an appearance at every gathering the in-laws host. They usually make it with tinned chicken and in a slow-cooker, though, should you be looking for a way to streamline your process any.

        B) In the recipe I mentioned above (the one with the crushed Doritos), step 2 was to prepare ‘queso’ as you just directed. Step 3 involved browning some ground beef with taco seasoning, and Step 4 was beef into pan covered in queso. Step 5 was to bake the whole thing, and finally, Step 6, eat until crying hot, bloated tears.

    7. Xolandra +2

      So, I am super late to this, but I was in Turkey the summer after Can Bonomo stormed Eurovision, and we got to see him perform at a mall. It was one of the bestest, weirdest experiences of my life, in part because of the experience (mall concert in Istanbul? Yes, please!) and in part because Can Bonomo’s music turned out to be way better and way more up my alley than that boat song would ever have led me to believe.

      Re: food shame – Spinach dip. It’s literally frozen spinach plus mayo and sour cream and a package of Knorr’s vegetable soup mix dumped into the inner part of a hollowed out pumpernickel loaf and it is so good.

  18. shellygrrl +15

    I am so hoping for someone to bring the crack this year. Last year, the closest we got, IMO, were the Serbian Sparkle Goddess and Georgian Goth Mistress, but it was nowhere near Sparkly Operatic (Gay?) Romanian Vampire levels, or Russian Grandmother levels.

    2012 was the first Eurovision I watched, at least in part. Last year was the first time I watched the entire final.

      2. walrathem +5

        There’s a part of me that really loves the post-Goth stuff in Eurovision. Best exemplified in the Sparkly Operatic Vampire performance. This sounds like it could fit right in.

  22. CNM +8

    CEZAR! It’s My Life! A perfect combination of falsetto opera and vampiric styling.

  23. WallisWallyOlly +5

    I don’t get Eurovision. I don’t understand why people like it unironically. I don’t get why countries who participate care about it. I don’t understand anything about it. But I’m clearly missing something because my fellow toasties love it so much. Help! What am I missing?

    2. neuromanticism +21

      There’s no secret. It’s fun to listen to weird happy songs and watch weird happy performances. Lots of colours, lots of craziness, everyone bringing out their quirky sense of humour (no, Eurovision isn’t considered tasteful in Europe either). It’s a big international inside joke for people who enjoy camp. Like if the Olympics were about music, but didn’t take itself seriously in the slightest. You still want to bring the best joke though, so effort matters. Really, you can bring any big emotion you want – if you can make people buy into a sappy ballad, that’s fine too, because almost everyone likes being a little melodramatic sometimes.

      Do you like karaoke? It’s kind of similar. There’s no pressure to be truly “good”, people cheer you on either way, and every now and then someone manages to make the hair on your arms stand up (even if you do think to yourself “this is just karaoke/Eurovision, this is so dumb, why am I having emotions”).

    3. TimTamGirl +7

      It is definitely Not For Everyone, though. It works for me because I love overwrought goofball displays and I think it’s hilarious and delightful (except when it’s being all earnest and ballad-heavy like the finals have been the last 2-3 years, which is just dull). But I totally understand why it wouldn’t work for other people.

    5. avidbiologist +11

      I agree with some people saying it isn’t for everyone, but here is my way of describing it to the Americans I have attempted to convert:

      It’s like if American Idol kicked up the camp factor by 100, except that it’s COUNTRIES competing and not just contestants. Oh and instead of three noisy judges every country votes and the points awarded provide fascinating insight into the goodwill or lack thereof between various countries.

      1. neuromanticism +7

        There’s a crucial difference between American Idol and Eurovision, though: in American Idol, people try to be cool. They want to come off as in control, dignified, superior. Eurovision doesn’t work like that. You can see the traces of this thinking in that New Yorker piece linked above: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/06/28/only…

        This guy clearly expects something like American Idol. He wants people to try to be the best at music, and he also values “cool” music above, say, fun music. Eurovision doesn’t, though, and he doesn’t get that, he just thinks they’re BAD at being cool.

        1. avidbiologist +3

          I think some Eurovision entries try for cool but overall I agree, and it’s definitely WAY more fun when they don’t try to be cool.

  24. Christine +20

    I was at Eurovision last year because I live in Vienna!! It was amazing. I should say, tickets were hard to get so we went to the matinee dress rehearsal shows for each of the semi finals and the finals (which had their own strangeness and hilarity, like word for word rehearsals of the interviews with crew standing in for contestants), then watched the ‘real’ shows on tv that night. So I saw six Eurovision shows in one week, 10/10 would recommend. Other things I recommend: turning down the volume and listening to SBS Australia’s commentary instead, standing in the Eurovision mosh pit (sparkle pit?) cheering at the bingo-worthy moments while Spanish men taking it all way too seriously give you the side eye.

    1. tragicallyludicrous +5

      I did a rehearsal show when it was in Düsseldorf! (I live in the Netherlands). It was great.

    2. nanbarlow +3

      I went to Copenhagen to see a semi-final in 2014 and I’m going to Stockholm to see another one this year and I am SO EXCITED I CAN HARDLY STAND IT.

  25. ricecooker +14

    I am from and live in South East Asia and one of my dreams is to go attend an Eurovision some day because no one locally (or at least amongst family, friends or workmates) love it and and YES Belgium was robbed.

    Also I always try to stream from BBC because Graham Norton’s commentary as he gets progressively drunker towards the end of the night is the besttt~

    1. contrarianbear +11

      <3 Graham Norton.

      “And these are the…well let’s just call them dancers.”

  26. viviennestreet +6

    Hey USians! How do you watch Eurovision? I always assumed that watching it anywhere but youtube was out of my reach.

    1. TimTamGirl +8

      The Eurovision.tv website live-streams and archives the final and the two semi-finals, plus a mind-boggling array of supplementary video. You may or may not need to download the Octoshape player for the semis and the final… I’m pretty sure that as of last year it wasn’t required anymore but not positive

      1. rbrazellcom +4

        Last year the official Eurovision website used YouTube to live-stream all three rounds of the Contest. So, no plugin needed, and it’s available via the web, the Roku channel, etc.

    2. megalesias +1

      the past few years they’ve streamed it live on the eurovision site, I’m pretty sure! You don’t get any commentary, though

      1. TimTamGirl +2

        Yeah, that’s the down side. In 2010 I was able to get Australia’s SBS stream, with the commentary from Julia Zemiro and Sam Pang. Unfortunately they learned about geo-blocking not long after, and it was unavailable the next year. If anyone knows how I could get that, I’d owe you one.

    3. tragicallyludicrous +2

      eurovision.tv streams it! Or at least they did 5 years ago when I lived in the US, but I can’t see why they’d change that.

    4. shellygrrl +1

      In 2012-14 I watched it on Eurovision’s website. They livestreamed on Youtube last year, though, so we should be all set. 🙂

    1. tragicallyludicrous +5

      I LOVE the disco track version. It’s exactly what you think “Eurovision-brand Leonard Cohen” would sound like.

    2. hapsatou +3

      oooh this is classic Eurovision fare, this could have been entered in any contest in the past 40 years and fit in.

      1. deleted6984769 +1

        The original video is so weird and steampunk with that smarmy man, I couldn’t help but love it. but I didn’t love the disco version, and then I researched him and found that he made a gross song called “Chocolate Flavour”

  28. Q_Continuum +8

    …I just didn’t really like Belgium’s song last year. The lyrics were…odd. Like it was written by John Calvin. Or Oliver Cromwell. Greece’s mindless 2013 entry though? Get over here we’ll listen to that ridiculous production together right now.

    1. tragicallyludicrous +5

      Like all good Belgian Eurovision entries, it was from the Walloons, and their command of English seems to be…varied.

  30. atlasblue85 +5

    I was just watching this performance again like last week because ITS GREAT AND IT SHOULD HAVE DONE SO MUCH BETTER it was my second favorite behind Norway because TELL ME THAT GIRL IS NOT A MAGICAL NORDIC FAIRY JUST TRY IT

    I’m not even gonna get into my favorites that didn’t make it out of the semi-finals there were a LOT and I’m still bitter. JUST KIDDING I TOTALLY AM Switzerland in 2013 was totally robbed of a spot in the finals and I’ll never stop yelling about it.

    1. Es_Petal +6

      The thing is, I edit articles about political and economic forecasting in the former Soviet Union, so I will actually be covering this at work in a real way if they do anything to irritate Putin.

    3. Xolandra +3

      OMG, remember what happened to the Russina entry last year? Hilarisad. I felt so badly for that woman, but also so was so amazed at the chutzpah of the crowd for booing Russia for talking out both sides of its mouth!

  32. tragicallyludicrous +4

    Who’s got favorites for this year? It’s shaping up to be pretty strong, actually – I’m fond of Bulgaria (https://youtu.be/yKsNfccUTuk, solid pop), Spain (https://youtu.be/k0I37W3RN_U, by far the best of the Uptown Funk/Sax takeoffs), Austria (https://youtu.be/3pvhx0z3ZFI ye-ye but also schlager?), Bosnia & Herzegovnia (https://youtu.be/MFmLfeMzgrc?list=PLmWYEDTNOGUJ3b3KirNMam2ZQaP_NGw8t, really just for the bizarre rap break), Denmark (https://youtu.be/abiss5VZn14?list=PLmWYEDTNOGUIGB3Aw9WtLmsgIrBMbh6Y_ reunited boy-band realness), and Iceland (https://youtu.be/7xQxQRdZasQ?list=PLmWYEDTNOGUJ3b3KirNMam2ZQaP_NGw8t a more dynamic version of Denmark’s winner).

    1. hapsatou +1

      I also like Bulgaria, Spain’s and Iceland’s entries. I’m not against Austria’s entry just confused as to why it is in French?

      Also these

      France’s entry – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boYQovCybYQ and
      Belgium’s upbeat song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP3USrYpr5w
      Australia has put out a decent ballad- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EG_Jtw4OyU
      I also think Greece’s song is just ok but may end up with some truly bonkers and entertaining staging https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqrdpcY3skI&i…

    3. deleted6984769 +2

      1. Ukraine (apart from being an awesome provocation to Russia, I thought it was beautiful)
      2. Greece (definitely going on my jogging playlist)
      3. Spain (woke up with this in my head)
      4. Cyprus (so cheesy and great)
      5. Georgia (would have been so into this in high school)

  34. Honey-tbqh +6

    I have lurked for a while but now I simply MUST comment because I care deeply and passionately about Eurovision.

    1. Agreed. also, imma let you finish etc, but Latvia’s fka twigs-esque “Love Injected” is one of the best Eurovision songs of all time (she wrote it all herself too)
    2. She also wrote this years one for Lativa who is my Fave again this year, also like Ukraine, Belgium again – another singer/dancer!… Not much else so far?? A lot have this generic pop/electro/house style which seems to be on the back of Sweden (and Lativa shhh) last year. Speaking of:
    3. Sweden was massively overrated last year and just a poor ripoff of David Guetta’s “Lovers On the Sun”.

  35. Liz

    Popbitch does an amazing Eurovision roundup every year. 2015 is here: http://popbitch.com/home/2015/05/19/the-popbitch-…

    Also, their weekly Thursday newsletter (which is ALL TEXT – no stupid images) is amazing and I highly recommend that you subscribe right now (http://popbitch.com/home/) so you’ll get tomorrow’s.

    We watch Eurovision on BBC iPlayer, using TunnelBear (which I highly recommend in general – everything is better on the BBC, especially the Olympics). Mel Giedroyc is a presenter and it is wonderful.

  36. SparkleFairyUnicorn +3

    Don’t even get me started on Eurovision, I have so much love for Eurovison. It’s sparkly and camp and ridiculous and yet simultaneously taken way too seriously by everyone except the UK who insist on submitting utter rubbish. It was funny and ironic for a while but now it’s just shameful. Thanks Graham Norton.

    Loic was robbed. He’s handsome and talented and he sodding well wrote and choreographed the entire thing single handedly.

    Heroes was fine. It was fine. Who wants a Eurovison winner with a song that was just fine!? No one. Rhythmn Inside has a well earned place on my ‘most played’ playlist because it’s so damned great and cycles repeatedly in my brain.
    The three votes I sent him will never be a waste.

  39. plargy

    Though it wasn’t a catchy song, I loved that Armenia’s performance was an actual witch circle singing about the Armenian genocide.

  41. clew +1

    Because of my particular nerdery, I hear that as a really good schottische which is infuriatingly almost too slow to schottische to.