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I Made My Cousins Watch Eurovision

An experiment on how people outside the Eurovision fandom react to songs.

By Tristan RamosPublished 7 years ago 4 min read
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Since last year, I have been an avid fan of the Eurovision Song Contest. Despite people's first impression of it being a cross between American Idol and America's Next Top Model, I enjoy it for the entire spectacle that it is.

I am a 17 year old from the Philippines, around 8,700 kilometers away from Kyiv, Ukraine, where this year's contest was held. Pre-contest favorite, Italy's Francesco Gabbani who sang with a dancing gorilla, didn't even reach the top 5, although he was very close. As a fan, it is hard to believe that it happened, especially with the hype surrounding it. To see why, I let my two cousins watch Eurovision and get their reactions.

I have tried to lure them into the bubble several times before. I showed some of my favorite entries to my 15 year old cousin and she particularly enjoyed Aliona Moon's dress from 2013. "I really want that dress," she said. I tried to schedule one of our sleepovers this year to coincide with one of the semifinals, but to no avail. Now, I have the chance to see what they think of this entire spectacle that I wait a year for.

Eurovision is really a cross between ANTM and American Idol, as seen by Moldova's entry in 2013.

I decided to let my cousins watch the top 5 of this year's contest, as well as Italy (the pre-contest favorite). I allowed them to voice their opinions and in the end guess who finished in the top 5.

Belgium:

Belgium was represented by Blanche, who sang "City Lights," a modern track that highlighted her lower register. Some criticized her for her emotionless face during her performance, and my cousins clearly agreed with them. One of them said that she didn't seem like she was enjoying herself, and the other gave her a 6.

Belgium 2017: despite her emotions in this picture, most people criticized her the lack of facial expressions.

Moldova:

Moldova had an outstanding competition this year, with Sunstroke Project finishing in 3rd, the country's best ever result. People might know one of them as the Epic Sax Guy, who went viral after competing in the contest in 2010. The song is both modern and fun, which is about a man persuading his future mother-in-law to allow him to marry her daughter. My cousins liked the concept, jokingly saying that they would play it to their mothers once they bring a boy home.

Moldova 2017- Epic Sax Guy is back! And he is better than ever.

Bulgaria:

This year was also great for Bulgaria, since they returned last year, they finished in the top 5 for two straight years, with Kristian Kostov placing 2nd place in both the jury and the televote. His song is very modern as well as, with tones of Troye Sivan and other artists like him. His performance was sophisticated, and very well thought out. My cousins really liked his song, in addition to his looks (I had to tell them his name; I don't know if they have stalked him yet though).

Bulgaria 2017- Modern ballad with a young performer.

Portugal:

Represented by Salvador Sobral, Portugal finally won after 53 years of participation. His song "Amar Pelos Dois" (Loving for Both of Us) topped both the jury and the televote, scoring a record- breaking 758 points. The song was slow, with a dreamy vibe to it. He performed on a little aisle amidst a crowd holding up their flashlights, adding an intimate touch to the performance. My cousins appreciated the Disney feel that the song exuded. Despite that, they didn't really seem to like his performance, who pointed out that it was too slow for their taste. One of them even gave it a 5.5. Ouch.

Portugal- They finally won! But my cousins didn't really like him.

Sweden:

Sweden has been a powerhouse for the last few years, placing in the top five 6 times in this decade, and even winning twice. They were represented by Robin Bengtsson, and his song "I Can't Go On" is well produced and very polished. The performance featured five guys dancing and interacting with their own treadmills. My cousins seemed to really like this, giving it a 9/10.

Sweden- Their performance featured 5 men dancing while walking on a treadmill, which was apparently enough for the top five.

Italy:

After showing them the top 5, I decided to show them Italy, the pre-contest favorite. Francesco Gabbani's song "Occidentali's Karma" talks about the West's evolution from the ape to the Chanel shopper, and it's performance features a naked ape dancing, an ode to one of the many clever lyrics in the song. It was a clear favorite within the audience in the arena as you hear them singing along the artists, and my cousins seemed to share that sentiment. When I asked them what they thought about it, they said that it was nice, and they liked the dancing gorilla.

Italy- I wasn't kidding with the dancing gorilla.

After this exercise, I could clearly see why people didn't respond to the favorite as well as fans hoped for. Although it was an upbeat song with a memorable performance, people outside the Eurovision bubble might have other favorites, and that could have been enough to put Italy out of the top five. Nevertheless, the exercise taught me that we should expand our perspective, especially in a subjective topic like music. Maybe, those Eurovision haters might find a favorite next year. Who knows?

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About the Creator

Tristan Ramos

I am a 17 year old student from the Philippines. Hope you like my content!

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