#kyiv 2017

[deadcatwithaflamethrower]

[eurofan78]

The Exposure of Ukraine’s Jewels of the Family

Just as we thought we had seen enough during the grand final, an intruder draped in an Australian flag stunned everyone by showing off his buttocks. A serial prankster from Ukraine, he managed to bypass the arena’s security guards and climbed up to the stage where last year’s Eurovision Song Contest winner Джамала was performing her latest single “I Believe in U”. He then proceeded to pull down his trousers and exposed his cheeky ass to the audience present at the International Exhibition Center arena. The prankster stole the show as he interrupted Джамала’s half-time performance, while the votes were being tallied. It was initially thought the man behind this X-rated performance worthy of “douze points” was an Australian, but it was later confirmed that it was a Ukrainian journalist and self-described prankster. He is a media personality notorious for ambushing celebrities on red carpets at international events. His pale white ass was promptly removed from the Eurovision Song Contest stage by security. Oddly enough, the competition’s three hosts Олександр Скічко, Володимир Остапчук and Тімур Мірошниченко made no mention of the incident and went on to continue with the voting process. However, it did not go unnoticed on social media where viewers praised it as the best part of the grand final. With Isaiah Firebrace’s song “Don’t Come Easy” coming in 9th place, and the Portuguese Salvador Sobral taking the Eurovision Song Contest crown, it is possible that Australia will be better remembered this year for the presence of its national flag on the back of a man showing off his ass.

[eurofan78]

A non-English language winning song in 10 years

Oftentimes the Eurovision Song Contest feels dominated by songs performed in the Shakespearean language, English. This year, however, there was something of a renaissance for songs in other languages. Following Джамала’s ESC win in 2016 with her bilingual song “1944”, seven songs ended up in last year’s grand final with lyrics other than English. How did these songs do? Let’s take a look! A NOTE: I am including bilingual songs that include some English in this list, as well as those sung entirely in a non-English language. Spain’s entry “Do It For Your Lover” originally had all-English lyrics, but, before the national final, Manel Navarro changed the verses to Spanish. However, this meant that most ESC listeners couldn’t understand the heartfelt lyrics of the verses and just heard the basic, repetitive chorus that urged the audience to “clap your hands and do it for your lover”. It wasn’t successful for Spain. The bilingual version of “Do It For Your Lover” placed last in the grand final with only five points, all from Televoters in neighbouring Portugal. Belarus has been competing in the song festival since 2004, but 2017 marked the first time they’d entered a song in Belarusian. “Story of My Life” smashed through any potential language barriers and had audiences bopping along at the International Exhibition Centre in Kyiv. Naviband managed to do what Belarus’ previous two English-language entries could not; the song qualified for the grand final, where it placed 17th with a decent 83 points. Croatia was the only Balkan country to make it to the grand final at last year’s competition, but “My Friend” did not have any lyrics in Croatian. Instead, the flamboyant performer Jacques Houdek used a combination of English and Italian in order to represent a pop singer and an opera singer in a duet performing a song about friendship. And it worked – the two Jacques brought Croatia its best result since 2006, 13th place in the grand final with 128 points. When Alma and “Requiem” were first confirmed as France’s entry for Kyiv, the song was entirely sung in French. After a revamp, the ESC version was revealed with an English chorus. Eurofans were initially apprehensive about the new lyrics, but at the grand final Alma delivered the bilingual song with elegance and mystique. It placed 12th with 135 points, which gave France its third-best result in the past decade. Since the launch of national selection A Dal in 2012, Hungary has never been afraid of selecting songs with melodious Hungarian lyrics. Joci Pápai took to the ESC stage and delivered the powerful “Origo”, a song of societal prejudices, God and music which combined traditional Romani style with modern rap. Televoters were especially taken with the performance. “Origo” gave Hungary its third-best ever result, eighth place with 200 points. While “Occidentali’s Karma” had a few words and phrases from other languages, it was by and large an Italian song. The lyrics might have had more meaning to the Festival della Canzone Italiana di Sanremo audience, but Francesco Gabbani’s energetic performance (helped out by his ape friend) made the performance popular with Eurofans. While “Occidentali’s Karma did not win, as many had expected it to, this Italian entry still placed well. It finished sixth, with 334 points. Portugal first competed in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1964, and since then they have always entered the competition with a song sung in Portuguese. Sometimes there has been another language in the mix, but Portugal has never caved in and gone with an entry sung 100% in English. And for all those decades they’ve been the odd country out, often sending forgettable songs in a language few others in Europe can understand. Where is Brazil when you need it, Portugal? Everything went right for Portugal in 2017 – the lyrics, the music, the singer. “Amar pelos dois” was yet another song proudly sung in Portuguese. On this occasion, the song had a strong and sentimental melody. Along with Salvador’s quirky jazz vocal style, the lyrics cut right through the language barrier and touched the hearts of listeners all over Europe and beyond. After 53 years, Portugal had its first win, with a massive 758 points.

[kyitana]

[kyitana]

[kyitana]

[42magnets]

Мы с большим удовольствием снова делаем магнитики участникам Nova Poshta KyivHalf Marathon! 

[ancientoftimes]