Hey, So I'm Obsessed With Eurovision Now. COME OBSESS WITH ME

On Saturday my friend Robyn made some digital wizardy happen so that a group of us could all watch Eurovision live together, and my friends, I AM A CHANGED WOMAN.

Where.

Where has this competition been all my life??

The hours FLEW by, and it was much fun to be in a group that was cheering or snarking or laughing with each new act. If you're not familiar, Eurovision is an international singing competition, but those words can't do it justice. The stage productions aren't just eye candy, they're eye cocaine. The outfits, the dancing, the laser light show with pyro and giant props, all on the most STUNNING stage... wow. Just wow.

Like many of you I first learned about Eurovision through the Will Ferrell movie on Netflix last year. The movie is a roller coaster of soaring heights and cringing depths - the depths being any time Will Ferrell is on screen - but I highly recommend it for the good parts. Dan Stevens' character alone makes it worth your time (John & I are both a little in love with Alexander Lemtov), but then there are some absolutely jaw-dropping musical numbers, including John's favorite that he plays at least once a week, Husavik.

Anyhoo, if you've seen the movie then you might have thought they were exaggerating with the musical numbers - making them sillier or grander or more over the top. We certainly thought so. But Y'ALL. They're not exaggerating. And I am so happy about this.

Even though Eurovision doesn't air here in the U.S., happily you can find most of the acts on Youtube, so BRACE YOURSELF. I'm about to blast you with a bunch of my favorites from this year's lineup. And fun fact: most of the contestants sing in English, so no subtitles needed!

Let's start with a good example of Eurovision as a whole, just so you know what you're in for. ::evil grin:: Take it away, Lithuania!

(The Roop, Discoteque)

If you're not grinning by the end of the first minute then your heart has no sense of whimsy.

Now let's hop over to The Netherlands, because I can't believe this one didn't get more love. So powerful it makes me want to stand up and cheer and cry at the same time, oof. I love a good anthem. Anyway, like several of these the live performance is blocked in the U.S., but here's the official music video, which - oh wow - is actually even better:

(Jeangru Macrooy, Birth of a New Age)

(P.S. In the live version they translated the chorus: "Yu no man broko mi" = "You can't break me.")

That's fueling my obsession, btw: every act has both a live performance AND an official music video, so of course I have to go watch all my favorites again and see which version I like better.

Speaking of favorites, Graham Norton (who was emceeing the broadcast we watched) was hilariously snarky about this next one, saying the song was good but you had to close your eyes to enjoy it. I think Graham may be right, but it's hard to look away from this performance, haha. PLUS, this is John's favorite of the whole competition. It's a solid 80s style pop song, definitely one of my favorites, too. (Again, the song. Ha!)

(Tix, Fallen Angel)

Time for another funny one - which Graham Norton clearly hated (ironically), calling it a "children's show performance." Our group was howling through the whole thing, though; just keep your eye... on the dancing finger:



The full length live version is blocked in the U.S. (boo) so this is just a short clip. If you're outside the U.S., though, click that link for the whole thing.

Next a surprisingly addictive hard rock number from Finland - another one that makes you want to jump up and yell, or at least dance around:

(Blind Channel, Dark Side)

Now another stirring pop anthem, this time from Sweden. This one makes me want to CRANK the volume 'til my ears hurt, although the stage production is a little underwhelming:

(Tusse, Voices)

And finally, the performance that won the hearts of everyone in our little watch party, Iceland!!


(Dadi, 10 Years)

Much to my heartbreak this is NOT the Finale performance we watched - again Eurovision has blocked that one in the U.S., whyyyyyy -  but I did find this behind-the-scenes video of a rehearsal, so you can see what we saw:



(Starts around :35)

Plus I love getting to see the production this way, with the camera operators running around and everyone's positioning on stage. I just find it fascinating.

Anyhoo, I was declaring my love for this group within the first 15 seconds, and when the three keytars all hooked together into a circle I was full-on fangirl screeching. Bahahaha!

Since then I've also watched the official music video version, and I think I found my next dream cosplay. See if you can guess, then tell me how awesome and/or cringey it would be if I showed up to Dragon Con in it. (It would also be hekkin' hot, but that's what battery fans are for, right?)

Needless to say, for the last few days I've been randomly walking up to John and singing, "Everything about youuuuu... I LIKE" with an aggressive thumbs up. Instant happy feels, highly recommend.

I'm going to end there, but hopefully I've inspired you to watch ALL the Eurovision songs. I think the only one I actually disliked was "Growing Up Is Getting Old" from Bulgaria, because WOW was it depressing, but the rest are all worth watching! Preferably with friends, so you can cheer and brainstorm cosplay options together.

If you're already on the Eurovision bandwagon, tell me your favorites in the comments - or better yet, link them! I've seen a few of the most popular acts from previous years, but I have LOTS to catch up on, and I want to see it all.

*******


P.S. This Friday is movie night on the Epbot Discord, want to watch The Road To El Dorado with us? It'll be fun! Or there's also a matinee showing Sunday afternoon, if you're busy Friday. Hit that link for details.

P.P.S. It's almost the end of the month, have you entered the Squeegineer Give-Away yet? People who donate via Paypal are entered automatically, but everyone else can enter for free by e-mail, just get those in by midnight on the 31st!