Moldova’s Eurovision 2022 entry reflects a sea change in the country’s politics and a geopolitical shift away from Russia and towards Europe. Continue reading Chișinău-Bucharest: Moldova On The Train from East to West
To what extent is the Eurovision Song Contest, which the EBU desires to be taken seriously, permitted to poke fun at its own premise? Continue reading That joke isn’t funny anymore….or is it?
When it comes to national selections, the EBU prefers to keep its hands clean. But there are consequences. Continue reading How To Deal With Rigged National Finals
The EBU has reopened talks with the Turkish national broadcaster TRT, signaling Turkey’s potential return to the Eurovision Song Contest. But what would coming back mean for Turkey and the contest as a whole? Continue reading For Real – A Possible Turkish Return
I am not out to paint a dystopian nightmare future where the MGP entries will consist of 26 variations of ‘En Godt Stekt Pizza’ if MGP is to become a playpen exclusively for male former russ music hacks. But the russ music’s expanding overlap with MGP makes me uneasy. Continue reading The Great Russ Music Swindle
From the pan-European optimism of “Insieme: 1992” to the angsty, anti-authority attitude of “Zitti e buoni,” much has changed in Europe, and Eurovision, between Italy’s last two wins. Continue reading Insieme 1992: Eurovision After the End of History
Music may be subjective, but when there are scores and places involved, that means there are numbers, and numbers don’t lie, right? So let’s see if the numbers reveal who really is “the best” at Eurovision. Continue reading Finding the “Best” Eurovision Country, with Data!
“Well obviously, somebody has to end up last, but here in Norway, we celebrate them!” Continue reading There Are Days I Just Can’t Make It: A Look at Norway’s Last Place Finishes
But “The Funeral Song” is the song that has resonated with me the most this year because it is a song that came out precisely when I needed it. Continue reading But I’ll Keep My Feelings Under Ground
The current Barbara Dex award is too identified with its history as a “worst dressed” award, no matter how organisers have tried to respond with the “most notable” narrative. Here are some thoughts on how a fashion award might be delivered in future years. Continue reading Tailoring a solution to the Barbara Dex Award
Barbara Dex wore a dress that was self-designed, for which her song, her presence, her memory, has been replaced in the collective fandom memory as a punchline to a joke she was not allowed to heckle. Continue reading Dex appeal
The questions of “What is Russia?” and “Who is Russian?” have been debated for decades, if not centuries, inside and outside of the country. Here’s how Manizha’s “Russian Woman” tries to answer them. Continue reading How Manizha Brought the Real Russia to This Year’s Eurovision
The tale of the artistic career of Andreas “Tix” Haukeland is indeed a study in storytelling: how one guy got his start by appealing to the lowest common denominator and how he shifted the public narrative from one of controversy to one of victimhood. Continue reading How Do You Solve a Problem Like Tix?
After years of false starts followed by an unprecedented wave of momentum, the EBU has seemingly established a substantial foothold on the American market. Continue reading American Song Contest: An Impeccable Opportunity?
“This is perhaps a strange conundrum that many a Eurovision fan will have come across at various times in their life, but certainly on a few occasions, when I’ve been getting to know new people, I mention that our beloved Eurovision Song Contest is a passion of mine and one person will pipe up with ‘Why?'” Continue reading A Justification of Interest
ESC in Context 
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