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!

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?

…every Eurovision is unique in its own way. Ever-changing political dynamics and global music trends all leave their mark on the contest and give every edition a little special something. Continue reading Eurovision 2021: What to Watch for in Rotterdam

We may roll our eyes at their conservative tastes, yet Eurovision’s juries doubtlessly saved the Contest from being devoured from the inside. Continue reading Jury Duties