I now realise that I didn't explain the format of the actual contest very well and that that's caused some confusion. All performances of the final round are live in one single evening. The live show is 4 hours long, there are no ad breaks, and everything needs to work like clockwork. You get your maximum 3 minutes and then you need to clear the stage as fast as you can for the next act. You only get one take. Duet partner off-key? Not hitting that high note? Getting the hiccups halfway through the song? Tough beans. 180 million people just watched you fluff your performance and let your country down. It is brutal. (And yes, the hiccups actually happened.) The only reason why the organisers would permit anyone to repeat their performance is due to external factors such as a stage invader - that has happened occasionally and it always sucks for the artists. Oh, and if you can't deal with the audience inevitably clapping along off-beat because of the way the sound travels through the large arena you should have opted for a less catchy song. I've looked at the timings of this year's Grand Finale and can tell you that getting through all 25 acts (one less than usual because this year the host country happened to be one of the "Big Five", i.e. already had a guaranteed place in the finale) took exactly 2 hours. So that's just under 5 minutes per act. During the changeover on stage the TV audience watches for about 40 seconds to a minute what's known as "postcards", that is footage of the upcoming act at some of the host country's landmarks or typical settings. This also gives the commentators an opportunity to tell their audience briefly who the next act is and what their song is about. Sometimes there's also a bit more banter from the hosts and little exchanges with the artists in the green room (i.e. those who have already performed) to give the crew time to move more complex stage sets, but everything has to happen extremely quickly. The constant change in the visuals and the mood set by the varied performances is what makes the show such an interesting spectacle these days (in the past the pace was a bit more gentle). Sorry I wasn't more clear on those points - it's so easy to forget that someone who's never seen it would need more explanation or otherwise just have to make assumptions!
Completely agree with all of that .. it’s all “lost” if you are looking at a load of chorus snippets of the winning songs … that’s NOTHING about what the Eurovision is .. it’s drama , 3 minutes to win you over , lead up to the contest , national finals , drama (were we going to get the full compliment of t.A.T.u?? Phew we did lol) … the close proximity of so very different cultures and hundreds and hundreds of years of history … it’s surely slightly lost on an American eye .. so you are left with “oh they sung that well , they sung that in an unusual way ? I’d have sung it like this” … it’s nothing to do with the Eurovision …
Well, they do get several opportunities to practice their performance on the stage before the formal show. Outside of the actual "just practice the performance" are 2 shows. 1) is the formal Dress Reharsal, that is a full performance in front of public. Yes, you can get tickets to watch it. 2) Performance to the juries, that is done 1 day (or maybe hours) before the actual show. I don't know if they do the full show then, but at least the performers have to do the songs. The juries have to send their votes before the actual televised show, so that there are no surprises. That the juries call into the show and speak on TV and take time is completely unnecessary. It's a tradition that just drags out the show.
@@magdalenabozyk1798 Of course, everyone gets plenty of opportunity for practice before the big night and the jury performances are separate, but ultimately it's the Grand Final performance that is the decisive factor for the outcome and the one that gets recorded for posterity. Sure, the process of announcing the jury votes could be streamlined, but I feel that we would lose an important element of the show (as well as the time-honoured tradition of booing Greece and Cyprus for awarding each other 12 points) that has to do with the transparency of the process (cf. this year's pretend "technical difficulties" to mask the fact that there were jury voting irregularities). Another major aspect of the jury votes segment is representation; it is important that every country, even the ones whose songs didn't make it to the final, is seen to contribute to the result, because otherwise there's a risk that viewers in those countries start losing interest. Being able to see familiar representatives of each country in front of famous landmarks announcing the votes also strengthens the bonds between the participating countries, which is, after all, the point of the whole exercise. Not only is the build-up exciting to watch, it also makes the otherwise fairly obscure jury vote tangible to the viewer. I don't know whether you've been following the recent American Song Contest, but it seems to me that it demonstrated comprehensively how not putting faces to the jury vote hurts the viewing experience. So I think that it is more than tradition that motivates the ESC organisers to hold on to this segment.
Måneskin, the 2021 winners broke through globally after this. After they won the contest, people started sharing an old cover they did, aka Beggin, and it went viral on tiktok. They'll be on tour in the US in a few months.
I really appreciate that you actually had a lot to say about almost every song and didn't just let the video play all the way through while simply saying "oh yeah this is nice, oh i don't like this one". Would really enjoy seeing you react to Schlager Lucas' country recaps or maybe a full edition of Eurovision!
@@kjESCil Idk, I just sorted new and saw the newest comment. Then I spend the whole day looking at your amazing, high quality TH-cam content. Do you by chance have a twitter or something I can follow?
I'm amused that you said so much about Riva's outfit but didn't even mention Celine Dion's blazer & tutu combo. That's a choice that says "love me for my music".
Wow. Probably the best reaction to this compilation I have seen. You listened, really listened, to each song and had many interesting and sometimes surprising observations and reactions. If you want to check out the compilation of Eurovision second places then I would love to see it. 😃👍
Very kind of you to say, thanks and I'm glad you enjoyed it! I'll definitely be checking out several of the full performances and eventually some of the runners up.
I fully agree! Great observations exactly to the point - and funny too. First time I heard a real analysis of the music! I definitely will be waiting for your reactions to some of the songs you thought were interesting!
To expand on your comment about the performance shadowing the song, I think that for the televoters (that is, the general public), performance can sometimes be more important than the song. That's what makes Eurovision, Eurovision. For example this year, Spain had a dance break, Romania were dancing, Moldova's fun colours matched the vibe of the song, the UK and the Czech Republic had gorgeous staging, and Ukraine's outfits were sick. I think that you have to look at the song as a whole, the singing, the actual song, as well as the staging, as that can make or break a song, but I definitely think it's a major part of the wow factor, and something that definitely needs to be taken into account :)
Welcome to the insane world of Eurovision appreciation among Americans! Another cool thing LucasSchalger's channel has is each country over time, via approximately 30 second clips. You can see how each country evolves, what the trends are, how they perform among other nations, etc.
Oh, that's a fantastic idea for a montage. I really want to check out some of the full performances but I'll definitely have to check that out at some point too!
some notes and extra context as i go through this: 4:19 Schlager actually refers to a genre of music particularly popular in Sweden; their winner from 1991 and a lot of their 00s entries were some variation of it. Very high impact production, a lot of key changes, lyrics about love, that sort of thing. (I think the definition of the genre is actually a lot broader but that's what comes to mind first for me) 5:37 Fun fact about this year: the winner wasn't the most successful song from it. In fact, it was the third place from Italy, Volare, that not only became one of the best-loved songs in Italy but also charted in the US. 10:02 You note that this is back to contemporary pop but this song was actually considered quite a forward step in the type of pop sent to the contest, and quite a bold winner at the time. The singer, France Gall, was an icon in the French-speaking world and her death a few years ago prompted nationwide mourning. 12:20 Another famous non-winner this year was Cliff Richard from the UK. An absolutely massive star at the top of his game and still known here today, Cliff was considered a shoe-in for the win until Spain came out of nowhere. 12:48 The 4-way tie is one of the messiest events in the contest's history. They had no tie-break procedure in place so just declared them all winners. The blowback was so huge that half the competing countries withdrew from the 1970 contest in protest 18:17 Your smug face here is made even more entertaining knowing how much of a shift was about to come with ABBA. And yeah, the working the camera stuff is a great example of how important performance was to the contest, even back then. You don't have to just have a great song, you gotta sell it too! 19:13 Yeah one of the big clichés of old Eurovision is nonsense lyrics. When you're appealing to a wide audience that doesn't all speak the same language it's a quick way to make a song catchy and memorable. Still sounds goofy af tho. 20:31 Israel winning twice in a row meant they had to host again, which they declined. This was the last time the previous winner didn't host until next year's contest, which won't take place in Ukraine due to the ongoing war. It's also the only year where the previous winner didn't take part at all, as the contest was held on the day of an important holiday for the country. Israel's absence allowed for the debut of Morocco, who came last and never returned. 24:08 One of the songs in contention to represent France this year was very also very harp-heavy, and had a whole on-stage disco. La Nuit Pauline is the song, worth checking out imo. 28:38 She was 14 at the time! Will forever be the youngest winner as you now have to be 16 to take part. 29:08 This wasn't even his last win! He snuck back in as a songwriter for the first of Ireland's many 90s wins. 29:52 For those wondering, yes she's still Canadian. I don't know who it was from the Swiss TV channel who invited her to their selection show but I hope they got a nice bonus for it. 30:40 This was one of Yugoslavia's last entries before the country broke up, with the contest withdrawing after the 1992 contest and three of its component countries debuting in 93. 35:12 This song actually tied with France, though thankfully they were more prepared than in 1969. Had the same results taken place now, this song would not have won, as the tiebreak rules have since changed. omfgdogs(dot)com is a good argument for sweden's victory here. 38:43 There were lyrics, but only at the very start and end of the song. I really recommend watching the full performance of this, it's incredibly enchanting. 40:10 No mention of this being Ireland's 4th win in 5 years? Anyway I *think* the lyrics of this make reference to a lot of the troubles and bloodshed Ireland had recently faced at the time, particularly in the north of the island which is still under British rule, mixed in with Irish folklore. 41:07 It's a stage name, I believe her actual name is Sharon. Anyway, 1998 was the first contest voted for primarily using phone lines rather than a jury for each country. It's also the first and only time a trans woman has won the contest (though of course, a drag performer would later take the title as well) 42:47 If you think that's too much don't look up Georgia's 2016 performance. 44:16 1999 was a big year for rule changes: it was when the Orchestra was completely dropped, and the point at which language rules were dropped, encouraging English to dominate the contest. (and the English-speaking countries to stop dominating it) 45:24 Estonia here were the first former-Soviet country to win. The 90s and 00s were a big time of expansion for the contest and you can see this from the countries that win from this point onwards. 48:03 "Throw everything on the wall and see what sticks" often just manifested as uptempo pop mixed with traditional folk elements lol, at least with the winners. But yeah, you are still right, with the change in rules & voting, plus an influx of new countries joining, there was a lot of experimentation in this era. 48:56 There's a guy off to the side doing the backing in addition to the mic'd dancer. Pre-recorded backing wasn't added until post-pandemic to reduce the number of people travelling to the contest 52:06 This song is *dripping* in queer imagery. The song itself is about forbidden love, and the singer later came out as lesbian. I'm assuming the staging relates to this hidden meaning too, it makes more sense in the full performance. 57:09 Don't worry, no one in the fandom likes the song either 1:02:51 oh I adore this song and performance. So much clever imagery and the instrumentation is so complex and interesting. The song itself is about the singer's grandma, who was one of many Crimean Tatars deported by Russia in 1944. It's an even more powerful listen now given recent events. 1:03:52 This song has a record number of points at 758. Before then, Portugal's best result was 6th place in the 90s. 1:08:46 What do you mean you haven't seen the American Song Contest? It had dozens of viewers!! Great stuff! Was fun watching your mind work out some of the musical stuff while listening for the first time.
Thank you so much for that comment! Great description of Serbia's 2007 win. I must admit, if I could only save a single Eurovision winner (or even a single Eurovision performance) and all others would cease to exist, I know in my heart of hearts that I would choose Marija Šerifović and "Molitva". Not sure what that says about me. Re: France Gall, as a child I used to listen to the songs she recorded in German, and later of course to her French repertoire. I still remember where I was when I heard the news of her death. When she won in 1965 she sang the song even better in the reprise, full of joy about her triumph against the odds. But later on when it became clear how badly the adults in her life had let her down she never sang that song again. One of my favourites remains her tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, "Ella, elle l'a" th-cam.com/video/lgHGU8gqz9U/w-d-xo.html
I think ”countries” at some places got autocorrected to ”contest”…😜 I believe Schlager is the german word for ”hit”; I don’t know german, but I think it means almost exactly the same, and was used in many countries with germanic langauges, such as my native Sweden, from before music from the english speaking world definitely started dominating also all over Europe. So a schlager has sounded differently through the years, but I would argue that the style us Swedes mostly associate with schlager is that of the 80s, although it kept being the norm at least a bit into the naughties (at least in Sweden). The swedish winning songs of ’84, ’91 and ’99 are all typical examples of the ”schlager sound” (as well as almost all the other non-winners). Finally we realised we had to move along with the times- and since little Sweden with 10 million people has the third largest music industry in the world, with many worldwide hits written for artists like Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Maroon 5, The Weeknd (and the list goes on) written and produced by swedish songwriters- we now again most oftenly compete in the top also in ESC.
I laughed when you said, "It's nice to see the excess of the 70s start to taper off...", before you realised that every year of this contest thereafter would ramp up the excess/insanity stakes to unprecedented levels. I'm a Brit so I'm not meant to like Eurovision, but even the UK is still obsessed with its unapologetic joyousness. Makes me fucking proud to be European.
Fun fact: Johnny Logan actually won Eurovision 3 times. He also wrote Linda Martin‘s song. He‘s sometimes referred to as „Mr. Eurovision“ because he’s won the contest more times than anyone else. Edit: also on the note of judging, the jury are exposed to the songs plenty. They all have to be submitted at least 3 months before the contest, the jury have access to the rehearsals and there is also a separate final where the jury make their votes before the live final that is broadcast across Europe.
@@yoshudriver6831 There are prizes for songwriters in Eurovision too you know! The producers of the winning song gets little mini-versions of the Eurovision trophy as well so yes, he has "won" the competition thrice, albeit in varying roles. :P
@@yoshudriver6831 He won three times, that's a fact. He wrote the song, it's the Eurovision song contest.. if you write the winning song, you've won the contest just as much as the singer did, and in fact, probably have more of a claim to it than the winner does because they didn't write the winning song! don't be stupid, stupid.
One of the best reactions on Eurovision I've seen. You really know music and what goes in to it and also it was nice hearing your comments on what you found interesting and what artistic choices you didn't agree with. Still can't get over how distracted you were by her bright top, earrings and big hair :D You are fun and insightful, please do more Eurovision.
I clicked on this video randomly because I'm a huge huge fan of Eurovision. I've seen a handful of first-time reactions to Eurovision and while some of them are fun and entertaining, some others are pretty boring because there's a lack of actual commentary but I enjoyed every minute of this video. It was really entertaining. I didn't expect a commentary with such good knowledge of music. And I loved that you really paid attention to everything. I would love to see more videos about Eurovision in the future!
Sorry, one last comment and then I swear I'll shut the fuck up: Ukraine's 2016 entry "1944" - feel free to look up the lyrics. Utterly heartbreaking, even more so today. And then, yeah...this year. Would Ukraine have won this year without "sympathy votes"? I don't know. But here we are again, the ESC is a political stage and that's a good thing. Also, the song was fucking fire. Thank you, again, for a brilliant video!
The clip of Lordi with the flag hat was the winner's repeat i.e. after the results were announced and Mr. Lordi may have been a bit extra hoarse after celebrations. The song is actually quite melodic.
It's one of the performances I look forward to checking out in full. As a fun anecdote, my sister watched this reaction video and excitedly texted me this morning to tell me that she saw Lordi live in concert in New York a few years back.
Serbia 2007, the title translated to "prayer" and the singer is another LGBTQIA person. Loved the song back then and still do now. Quite the powerful ballad, especially considering the time and the country
I actually enjoy your honest opinion and not sugarcoating everything. Please react to more Eurovision! It’s very interesting for us Europeans to see, how it’s perceived somewhere else. Also, since you clearly have some music knowledge.
Eurovision is much more than lyrics and vocals. “History, culture, language, rhythm, equality, differences, patriotism, stageshow, performance, humor, togetherness, trends, surprise, spirit etc” …. And much more than a competition (maybe thats why the US is not in lol 🤣) Shout out to all participating countries ✌️ Cheers 🇩🇰
Lulu, in 1969, was a big star in the UK. Her song To Sir, With Love, comes from the Sidney Poitier movie of the same name. Johnny Logan won twice as a singer and once as a songwriter. Dana International is trans. She took the stage name although her chosen name is Sharon Cohen. Having her represent Israel was highly controversial among conservative Israelis. 2022 went into a rap that didn't appear here.
Lulu actually topped the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1967 with To Sir, With Love and is one of the few Eurovision winners to have had an American No1 hit (Abba only managed it once with Dancing Queen, Celine Dion has had four). No Eurovision winning song has ever reached no 1 in America (1974's winner Waterloo by Abba made it to no.6); but two non-winning entries did - an instrumental version of L'Amour est bleu, Luxembourg 1967 4th place and Nel Blu di Pinto di Blu Italy 1958, and was later reprised by Dean Martin as Volare
My only comment for you as a 15+ fan is that you have to keep in mind that this was a radio only contest for the first few years and it begun as a European try to unite Europe after the war by having countries compete in a song competition. After 10-20 years it begun having the TV production which worked with a live orchestra and of course mixing was difficult for people back then as it was only a radio program. But as year passed music changed because of ABBA and you can see the language of the songs that win are more in English which changed a lot of things. Voting, countries participation, music in general. Everything started becoming bigger and more people started watching the song contest. Now it is the begged music competition and the longest-running competition in the world with more than 300M people watching and 50+ countries broadcasting it live. The production now has become the best with new cameras, LED screens that move and stages that evolve with 3D LEDS.
No, the esc has always been on television, one of its original purposes was to stress test the EBU. However, most of the broadcast of the ESC 1956 has been lost, so thats where the missconception might come from.
Bttm and Tirex, you're both right in a way. Yes it has always been a TV show and often lead to advances ( both Spain and Ireland's hosting in 1969 and 1971 were when colour broadcasting was introduced throughout the networks in those countries, Television Espanola actually borrowed colour cameras from the BBC). But in the early days very few people had TV sets, so the biggest audiences were certainly for the live radio broadcasts. And some countries still broadcast it live on radio today - Italy, Ireland, Lithuania, Netherlands, Sweden... In fact BBC Radio 2's coverage has been presented by the same commentator, Ken Bruce; for 34 years
I'm blown away by your musical insight. I'll be honest, if you listen to the winners, you'll want to know why they won...and then you'll listen to whole shows....and then you're in the same place as the rest of us! Listen/Watch a whole show to get a sense of the range of entries and the nonsense that is the voting.
I'm sure somebody else said something about it, but I LOVE your voice. And I loved the reaction and (song) analysis as well. It's always fun to watch people react to Eurovision for the first time.
So about the 1965 winning entry at 10:00...the song was "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" written by Serge Gainsbourg and sung here by 17 year old France Gall. I'd recommend you read a bit into it. It seems like an innocent pop song, but Gainsbourg was known for writing seamingly innocent lyrics that actually had a lot of dark and sometime sexual subtexts - his song "Les Sucettes" ("Lollipops", or more literally "Suckers"), also sung by Gall, was even worse (you can imagine what "suckers" might be referring to). Gall herself later cliamed that she was unaware of the double-entendres and hidden meanings, and accused Gaisbourg of exploiting her age and naïveté by getting her to sing these songs. In fact, this specific song here is actually about her being a doll controlled by Gainsbourg, though she didn't realise this meaning at the time.
For 1995, the vocals are in the very beggining and end of the song. The rules forbid purely instrumental pieces, but speaking a single word in your song allows it to make the cut, so the song is only about 30 words long with a 2.5min instrumental in the middle
This 1995 winning song by Norway only has 24 words in it, sung in two halfs, at the beginning and at the end of the song, by the woman standing in the shadow in the clip There are many interesting instruments used besides violin, so I really recommend to watch it in full length, it's the best song in Eurovision ever in my opinion Fun fact about it is that it was used in Shrek couple years after, in the scene where Fiona is singing with birds
Since the results are decided by both a jury and voters, sometimes a song wins because it’s fun, the singer was charming, the performance was cool, etc. rather than musically impressive or interesting. And I have no issues with that. Eurovision is much more of an entertainment competition than a song competition. If you wanna entertain people through a cool dance number, charisma, crazy staging, a meme song or a really good one, totally up to you. Usually the winners are people who manage at least two of those with an at least decently good song.
Thank you for making a reaction video that's more than just staring at a screen and saying uh-huh 50 times. Really appreciate the effort put into this. Would love to see you react to the runners-up too (there's a compilation of that by the same channel that made this one) or maybe all songs from a specific year
I’m an American fan of Eurovision. I got introduced to it in 2015 and have been watching it live since 2016. TH-cam recommended this video to me since it knows I like seeing my fellow Americans reacting to Eurovision and hoping they like it. I’ll admit seeing the length of the video I immediately thought: “Why is it over an hour long?” But now that I’ve finished watching it I completely understand why. You were very thorough in your reactions to the clips. It was so much fun to watch! SchlagerLucas’ channel has several others that cover like 2nd place, 3rd place, last place, every (insert specific nation’s name)’s entry in Eurovision, etc that are filled with clips just like this. You mentioned wanting to see/hear the full performances. The TH-cam channel Eurovision Gold has a lot of the songs from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and early 2010s. Not just the winners, but other entries, too. It’s great to watch. When the contest was cancelled in 2020, the official Eurovision TH-cam channel uploaded full length videos of previous years’ Grand Finals. It was fun seeing how the show evolved over time and when watching other performances and hearing other songs from the same year’s contest I’ll admit that sometimes it made sense who the winner was. Since 2016, Eurovision has been broadcast in the US. From 2016-2018 NBCUniversal had the rights so they broadcast the Grand Final on their LOGO TV cable channel. In 2019 Netflix got the rights to stream it in the US for 2019 and 2020. They streamed both semifinals and the grand final in 2019 and of course the 2020 contest was cancelled but we got the Eurovision movie on Netflix. NBCUniversal reacquired the broadcasting rights and so 2021 and 2022 have been streamed on NBC’s Peacock streaming service. So if you want to watch the full shows, they’re available there. If you just want to watch videos of the live performances those are available on the official Eurovision TH-cam channel, but as per the agreement with NBC Americans are geoblocked from watching them so you’ll need a VPN to watch them. The Nocturne song has lyrics. It has 24 words to be exact. I actually know the song as it was popular in the New Age music genre. Several cassette albums I have featuring compilations of that kind of music included it. Same with Euphoria winner in 2012. I knew that song because it got played at gay bars a lot. So we Americans have occasionally been listening to songs that were either Eurovision songs or were at least written by a Eurovision song writer. Johnny Logan had actually won 3 times: as singer and songwriter in 1980, singer and songwriter in 1987, and as songwriter in 1992. Eurovision Song Contest is only for members of the European Broadcasting Union. It’s geographic area is defined by longitude and latitude lines and thus you get Israel participating. Morocco participated in 1980, again because the country has boundaries within the EBU’s geographic boundary so they’re full members of the EBU. Associate members can be invited as a guest to participate. In 2015, Australia was invited due to their broadcaster having broadcast it live there since the 1960s. In 2016 Australia was invited again, this time on an extended invitation that ends in 2024. There’s a Junior Eurovision each year, too, which is for kids. Kazakhstan, as an associate EBU member, has been invited to participate in that. Instead of the US being invited to participate in Eurovision things, the EBU instead has produced with NBC the American Song Contest. 2022 was the first year. It’s all 50 states, 5 territories, and DC competing over 8 weeks: 5 qualifying rounds, 2 semifinals, and 1 Grand Final that’s done just like the Eurovision Grand Final. The ASC had a variety of music genres from its participants, including Kpop! You can still watch it in full on Peacock. It’s hosted by Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson. Next year a Canadian Song Contest will premiere as well. The EBU is producing that where all ten provinces and the three territories will compete in a similar style qualifying rounds, semifinals, and Grand Final. And the EBU announced they were producing a Latin American version that’ll premiere in 2024. So the EBU keeps expanding the concept. There’s also Eurovision Young Musicians, which is young folks who play various musical instruments competing on behalf of their nations. There’s Eurovision Choir, and lots of other Eurovision contests. Unlike Eurovision Song Contest and Junior Eurovision Song Contest which are done annually, the others occur at different intervals like every two to four years. Also, fun fact: the term Eurovision is derived from the name of the tv broadcast company where the first contest occurred in Switzerland. Great video! Loved watching it! Thanks for making and sharing it! I subscribed because I saw you have a wide array of videos on your channel of other things I also enjoy! I’m looking forward to checking out more of your videos. Thanks again for a great Eurovision reaction! Hope you get to check out the full versions of all the songs you wanted to hear more of! Ooooh: you’ve actually heard the 2017 winning song. If you go back and rewatch the Eurovision movie on Netflix you’ll see him performing the song on the piano as the main characters arrive in the city the contest happens in. The characters do go and check out the performance. So you’ve heard the song! You’ve also seen some of the winners before, too. During the Song-a-long part it’s full of previous Eurovision artists who participated in the contest, including several winners! The actual 2019 Eurovision stage and arena were even used for several scenes in the movie! So you’ve actually seem the actual 2019 Eurovision stage, too! So yeah, go back and rewatch it. You’ll maybe notice a lot more references to Eurovision than you did upon first watching! And if you’re now an American Eurovision fan, too: Welcome to the club!!! Happy to have you join the Eurovision community!!!!
Thank you for the absolute treasure trove of info and factoids. I genuinely appreciate you taking the time to write all that! Glad you and so many others are enjoying my video, particularly one as long as this one. Also, I may have misspoke or been unclear but while I was aware of the existence of the Eurovision movie, I've not seen it. But, if I do, I'll definitely keep an eye out for those details!
i love that you enjoyed france gall in 1965!! it’s one of my absolute favourite winners and it’s very under appreciated by reactors. it’s actually considered to be the first real ‘pop’ song to win eurovision. and you’re so right about her voice being so forward, i’d never thought of that before!
That was fun watching you having fun watching Eurovision! But thanks to your background as a musician, that I assume, your comments were also very interesting and well-founded. Good job! And quite a few of your assumptions were correct, as that a good show can distract from a weak song, etc. Btw: the US had their first American Song Contest (ASC) this spring, but I didn’t follow it. I guess you have to find your own way to make it work.
The song from Luxembourg 1972 was sung by Vicky Leandros, she is greek and sings in French, German, Italian and of course Greek. People above 40 all know her, she was quite famous.
France Gall, winner in 1965, actually has a very tragic life story. She's just 18 at this time, and was cruelly exploited by her producer, whom eventually became infamous in the States for his sexual comments and songs about Whitney Houston.
And then she went to Germany and was a big Schlager Star for a few years :-) before she went back to France and made one of the best European pop albums in 1987
Another one here who enjoyed this! It was good to see you making an effort to understand the contest even though it's your first time and being objective with the commentary. That deep dive on 1989's outfit could have been it's own video. 😂
It might actually be a full video at some point! I can't commit to that but I spoke to my sister about it and she's down for it if we can find the time and get our schedules to line up.
Glad to see so many of you enjoying my blind reaction to Eurovision. It's wonderful to see such a lovely fan community! For everyone's convenience, I've added timestamps to the video so you can jump around to your favorite performances and see how I reacted without having to sit through the entire 70-minute video! I haven't done a ton of musical analysis videos but if you'd like to see a few more along these lines: -Andrew "Accidentally" Reacts To Cardi B's WAP th-cam.com/video/YXD55Z5mzFU/w-d-xo.html -Best Songs Of Season One - JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS th-cam.com/video/k7DmNBDZ6HE/w-d-xo.html -Best Songs Of Season One - JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS th-cam.com/video/d8DE0fPD8_Q/w-d-xo.html -Best Songs Of Season One - JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS th-cam.com/video/rsKY2NcF_3k/w-d-xo.html
May I humbly request you do the last places of Eurovision through the ages. I’m not spesiffically thinking of 1978s Mil etter mil which ended up as one of the most iconic 0 points or anything, and which established Jan. Teigen as a house hold name an later national treasure who died recently in 2020 or anything. I was just thinking it would be fun in general.
Just wondering, who did the backing vocals for UK 2007 at the final part? Cause I swear I look at all their mouths and non of them match that small belting part
If I remember it correctly, they in fact did have to be somewhere on stage until the 2000s sometime. That's why there are people standing on weird places far from the rest of the performers ("Susan").
First ever watching one of your videos. I have been a eurovision fan since my first contest in 1973. I have seen others react to this but to hear someone with a music background analize the songs like this was a great take on it. The guy that put this together also does a compilation of 2nd places. Celine Dion btw sneaked her win on the very last vote as the UK had lead the voting for most of the way and Celine pipped it by one point. The UK has won 5 time but holds the record for 2nd places at 16
There was a winner with only 23 words in the entire 3 minuts of the song. Johnny Logan won for a 3rd time in the 90's but that time he only wrote the song. The only country that doesn't belong to the eurovision brodcast system that participantes is Australia, as an invited country. If you like harmonies so much check out the portuguese 2022 entry MARO - Saudade Saudade
Norway had the melody with 23 words. Fun fact he also composed the first song Norway won with. He also made the much more known song, You raise me up and it was first played official in his mothers funeral. His name is Rolf Løvland.
I watched this video 2 years ago when it came out and just got recommend one of your other videos so I decided to watch it again because its so fun. Great content, thank you so much!
Another contextual thing to add to the mix is that Eurovision mapped social cultural and political milestones through the decades - for example Franco insisted that Spainish television broadcast the competition in colour in Madrid in 1969 when they didnt have colour cameras - he wanted to showcase spain as a modern country so the cameras were hired in! Dana international was a play on Dana who won the competition for Ireland in 1970 which is now thought to have helped Ireland bring itself to the international community and a precursor to the celtic tiger years. Portugals entry in 1974 was used as a signal for the Coup d'Etat ! The Belgium entry caused consternation in 1986 when sandra kim won the contest - people reasiled she was only 13 years old and were horrified - the rules of the context were changed after that with a lower age limit introduced. In 1977 amid wide spread industrial strife in the UK the London hosting was about the be broadcast live when the BBC television crew walked out - and the live show was cancelled at the last minute - it was re staged a month later! interestingly the UK was called rock bottom reflecting the economic downer the coutry was going through!! Germanys win in 1982 (with the harp) was the first time and probably only time ever the winning song was reprised in 4 different languages! In 1993 the bosnian group were shot at while they departed the airport in Sarajevo - their song was antiwar reflecting the conflict in their country at the time! The list of those milestones is endless!
One thing I would love to see now is that Andrew reacts to the Yugoslavian entry (Riva - Rock me 1989) he wouldn't even listen to the song, he would be fixated on her clothes the most. 😂
"I don't know why that song won?!" 1) different times, so always count in context 2) ESC's got its own rules. That's what makes it so much fun. Sometimes, the bookies favourites do win and sometimes...everyone just goes batshit (the latter ones ate usually the better years😁)
49:51 Someone has probably already mentioned this, but Helena Paparizo's non-dancing backup singer can be seen here to the right. He did "a Susan"... During this time all the singers had to be visible on stage, but the ones who wasn't a part of the dance routine they often tried to "hide them" somewhere in a corner of the stage. Later on backup singer could be behind some walls or props, but everyone needed to sing live. I think it's just in 2021 and 2022 they've been allowed to use pre-receorded backup vocals. Lead needs to be live though.
Really enjoyed your reactions, but also interesting to note the viewer figures for this. The Eurovision community is very loyal - seemingly with American newbies - so this could really grow your channel. Eurovision 2023 is upon us but you should understand that Eurovision is not just one song contest. Many of the participating countries hold their own internal selections to send their song to the contest. As ESC fans, we witness maybe 30 different song contests around Europe before selecting our final winner. The journey starts in December, with the final contest held in the following May
I got into Eurovision just over a year ago, and the video you are commenting over was the first one I watched. On his channel, he has compiled videos similar to this, but for every song from a specific country!
The contest used to start like an european contest but also the middle east is allowed to join, some did for one or two times, Australia got invited . I see them as the adopted sibling of european countries :D
Also: France Gall ("she sings too forward") major international hit with "Ella elle l'a" and Udo Jürgens ("Mercie Cherie", Austria) one of the most successful German artists to this day. He really churned them out after that^^ Might be worth your time checking a few of them out on their own. Some never had any success before or after the ESC, some went on to have (international) careers or had them already (Logan, Dion, ABBA etc), some became memes (epic sax guy), some were good for a summer (Lena, Rybak)
France Gall was a big star in Germany after she left France after her success in Eurovision. And her album from 1987 was a hugh success all over Europe, not only the single Ella but also a few more like Babacar.
I really enjoyed your reaction. Better than all the others. Because you really listened to the songs. Dug into them. Greetings from a Dane who has watched Eurovision song contest many many many times 😅
Wow! You've already breezed past viewership numbers for the American Song Contest! (Sorry.) After the premiere I have now been able to watch the video more leisurely and I can tell you that the whole time I've been grinning from ear to ear. Thank you, thank you so much! I love it! (And thank you, Schlager Lucas, for your hard work in putting these compilations together!) For now my work here is done, one American at a time. And yes, I also had the idea of getting the Video Game Fashion Police on the case, because Eurovision is a hotbed of crime against fashion!
If you're interested in Eurovision fashion disasters - check out the winners of the Barbara Dex award which was an outline fan title given for the worst attired performers from 1997-2021 in a honour of the Belgian lady who came last in 1993 who made her own dress because she and the Belgians didn't have a lot of money - and it didn't look that great.
Sorry for my MANY ramblings btw😅🙈 Your reaction is definitely the most interesting I've seen when it comes to "Americans watching Eurovision" and I really hope you've had fun! Sorry again I'm just really passionate about it (like you totally couldn't tell😂) Thank you so much for this and please do yourself the favour of checking out the "best of the worst" songs😁
No need to apologize. I'm thrilled to have stumbled across another fan community that revolves around sharing in the joy of something (as opposed to hating on something else). I'm completely new to Eurovision and am excited to check out many of the full performances when time permits (I just started a new job so it's been a busy week for me) and I very much appreciate the details and background info that you and other commenters have taken the time to share with me. As a performing artist myself, I find such minutia fascinating and the extra context and understanding enhances my appreciation and enjoyment of what I've seen thus far.
A few thoughts I had: - Yep, the majority of the music in Eurovision has been radio-friendly pop, because that's what a lot of people like to hear. There's often cultural influences though. - Bucks Fizz didn't pull the guys' pants off. But quite a few people who covered the song have. - La det swinge is the "catchiest thing since bird flu" according to Graham Norton. - Johnny Logan also wrote Why Me in 1992. It's up to you if you want to consider that his third win. - Marija Serifovic's backup singers had broken hearts on their hands. - That was a wrong note from Bilan. You were right to judge it. - Running Scared was pretty bad live, but you should look up the acoustic version. It's MUCH better. - Staging is VERY make-or-break in Eurovision and I'm glad you touched on it. There were a few songs - including Heroes - that I only gave more thought to because of the visuals. - Interesting comparison between Maneskin and Lordi. They're definitely different subgenres though. - The US isn't in the European Broadcasting Union, so there's no way we can participate. The only non-EBU country in the contest is Australia, and they only got in because of how big the following is there. - If you were in a participating country, you wouldn't have to depend on a single performance of each song before voting if you didn't want to. All songs have to be released in their final version by 6 weeks before the contest, so you can listen to them all you want. But of course, the perormances are super important for making an impression as well, and (again) onstage visuals can make or break a song in a huge way.
Seriously though Nocturne from 1995 is possibly the most beautiful Eurovision song of all time. I recommend checking it out. I’d does have lyrics, but just around 20 words I believe. Yes the UK was pissed.
please react to the full songs of the last 12 years. They are all interesting. Older ones are also interesting but i think the last 12 ones where quite spectaculair in their own way.. I like your crochetted plaid btw :)
So glad I'm not the only one who thought Turkey "missed" some of the notes. I was 11 at the time and wasn't a big fan but everyone else fucking loved it and berated me😆 As for the rule of how many people you're allowed: things change and continue to change They've had one or two years when no fancy effects were allowed AT ALL as to not give richer countries an advantage - then they realised it made the whole thing a bit boring and they scraped the rule again Voting rules have changed As for "it seems they're trying to throw everything at it and see what sticks" - still a common occurrence with many Eastern countries and Spain, Greece, Cyprus etc. Aka. Get a hot, young, half-naked lady and give her a run-of the mill latin-ish pop song and a faultless routine. Boring af but usually goes down well.
I always wondered - I guess though the British duo who came last always blamed sound problems - that they couldn't hear themselves. Runners up Belgium sounded good though.
One of the most interesting Eurovision reactions I've seen! :) I disagree with many of the winning songs (like you said, 'non-challenging' songs were preferred) as there were many more 'interesting' songs that didn't get the recognition they deserved. Also, 1998-2008 was the worst time as voting was 100% televote without juries. Since 2009 the quality of songs has overall improved, imo.
Totally! I'm so jealous!! Fun fact: Finland has the highest number of heavy metal bands per capita. Another fun fact: Finland has been named the happiest country in the world for the fifth year in a row. Coincidence? I think not. (inb4 torilla tavataan)
@@lu_shulmu I'm from the UK, but have never been happier when watching Eurovision as the time when Finland won. Might be part of the reason years later I started learning Finnish to pass the time during lockdown 🤣. Can't say I ever listened to any other Lordi tracks, though. Completely into the whole Apulanta back-catalogue, now.
2007 - Serbia, the backing singers were representing the fact of the genocide during the war in Yugoslavia in 1990, the prayer that all parts of the community are coming back together to live as one, I remember the interview they did on British TV at the time
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the kind words! I have a similar reaction video for the Runners-Up and will be releasing a third Eurovision reaction video in another week or so. Best to you!
I really enjoyed this reaction, and not just because I really like your voice. In compilations like this one you can see how performance became more and more important part of the contest. And how technological advances played a part in it. They can definitely elevate some of the songs. Some years are more boring than others. Some have many great performances. But most of the times the jury votes and public votes differ quite a bit. Since as was mentioned bellow the songs are released beforehand, people who care would already come to the show with favorites. On the other hand, live performances and studio version are sometimes very different. Some of these songs bring back memories. Some of them I didn't even know where Eurovision participants, let alone winners. As for 2008, it was not just a guy on skates, it was 2 times Olympic Gold medalist, 2 times world champion and 7 times European champion Evgeni Plushenko. And a renowned violinist and composer Edvin Marton. Russia really went all out to secure that win.
Yugoslavia was the only Warsaw Pact/ Eastern Block country ever to participate while they were a communist country. Poland wanted to participate in the 80s and the Soviets applied for entrance to competition during Gorbachev's time as General Secretary.
you could also go on holiday to yugoslavia in 70s 80s as i went but you could not go to other soviet countries back then until the berlin wall east germany came down in 1991.west germans could not visit east germany and people were shot for trying to escape.
Great reactions! Thank you! Wrong and right about some Eurovision stuff.....but always great to watch someone unaware of what it is, comment on the Eurovision! Thanks again😊
FIY because it keeps coming up (even from people within Europe): "Euro" in that case doesn't strictly mean countries in the European Union OR even on the European continent, it means countries in the European broadcasting Union. Then there's the whole "it's not about the music, it's just about politics" (this is mostly moaning from (right-wing) losers. Yes, there is and always has been an element of politics involved, but a great, original song WILL trump that (see this years UK entry for example) Also, that's not necessary a bad thing, since many entries have an important political message. Portugals first ever win is closely linked to the Portuguese revolution - the ESC has long been a safe haven and a celebration for LBTQIA+ rights. Israel sent in the first Trans singer as early as the 90s, and drag queen Conchita Wurst won in 2014, even getting very high marks from notoriously homophobic Russia. - the winning songs are quite fun, but if you wanna have a REALLY fun time, go searching for the "best/worst Eurovision songs of all time" Opera slash techno singing gay vampire? Check! Epic sax guy? Check! Grandmas baking bread on stage? Check! People in a gorilla costume? Check! Basically, it's a glorious varieté and we all get drunk and enjoy/Diss the shit out of it :D
The quality of the songs varied over the years. It went down mid of the 80ties and again in the 90ties. Introduceing lots of eastern european countries produced a lot of chaos (and fun) through the next dekade. They stoped letting the publik vote alone and introduced juries again. Since then it is 50% public and 50% jury. It think that improved the quality.
I’m new to your channel and didn’t know what to expect, but boy, didn’t you surprise me. I’m a singer and musician and a kind of Eurovision-fan, and I’ve just been smiling my way through your video: this accurate, wholesome, deep but still entertaining analysis of all these songs - just wow. High quality content, that’s for sure. Thank you! I think I’m gonna check out your channel. 😊 Btw, one point about the Eurovision that could be good to know. Even though it’s supposed to be kind of non-political, the truth is that so many of these songs reflect things going on politically in the world, in Europe, in the different countries. Also who actually is the winner each year can usually be explained by politics to some extent. Won’t go further into that right now, but I have a feeling you could tell this yourself by watching through those songs. Anyway, thanks again for this high-end analysis!
Thanks for the kind words and I'm glad you enjoyed my video. I've currently only one other Eurovision video but I've also reacted to Cardi B's WAP and the music of each season of Jem and the Holograms if the music content is to your taste. I hope some of my other output is as well. Best to you.
@@andreweisen thank you, I’ll have a look. 😊 And: are you an artist/singer yourself..? What kind of music do you do in that case..? Sorry for asking, just kind of heard you saying something like this, in between the lines in some video. And your bass barytone singing voice of course shines through, as well.
@@davidkasquare I'm a performing artist from way back. I was in theater and all the chorus groups in grade school, high school, and college. I have a deeper voice that's not great for melody but works well for harmony so through out my adult life I've sung with a variety of doo-wop groups and barbershop choruses and quartets. Sadly, I haven't been able to do theater since college as it's too time consuming and since the pandemic, well, standing around and expelling air in groups of people isn't exactly the safest thing I can be doing so the last decade or so I've scratched my performance itch with making TH-cam videos. As I've furthered my career (which has been necessary do to constantly increasing cost of living), I've had to dial back my scripted work but I still find time to do a variety of reactions, podcasts, game streams and off-the-cuff analysis videos. So that's the performance side; from the creative side, I have over a decade of professional writing experience (though not music) and while I can't write a melody to save my life I do have some experience arranging music.
@@andreweisen that’s nice, you just seem to have a nice “touch” and understanding when it comes to music, and a great voice, too, it sounds really pleasant and beautiful whenever you use it for a few notes here and there - and your comments on the singing in the clips also tells me you have a lot of experience in singing yourself. Would actually be awesome to hear you sing 😊
@@davidkasquare Sadly, there's not a lot of my quartet stuff online but I occasionally will do a quick multitrack for fun (even though I'm kinda junk at it) as I did for my recent Valentine's video. th-cam.com/video/ZOpuZU2QyLo/w-d-xo.html
![[TH] 2024 PMGC League | Survival Stage วันที่ 1 | PUBG MOBILE Global Championship](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/FVFT-PFwU80/mqdefault.jpg)
My favourite thing on youtube is watching people react to eurovision for the first time
Hope you enjoyed mine!
Also, thanks for the other comments providing additional context and info about the mechanics of the contest.
You are me lol
Omg
Same
Couldn’t agree more!!
mood, especially to Lordi
This wasn’t just a reaction, it was a full analysis and I loved every second of it!
Glad to hear it!
Yes! I would love to see a few more of these for Eurovision performances.
I now realise that I didn't explain the format of the actual contest very well and that that's caused some confusion. All performances of the final round are live in one single evening. The live show is 4 hours long, there are no ad breaks, and everything needs to work like clockwork. You get your maximum 3 minutes and then you need to clear the stage as fast as you can for the next act. You only get one take. Duet partner off-key? Not hitting that high note? Getting the hiccups halfway through the song? Tough beans. 180 million people just watched you fluff your performance and let your country down. It is brutal. (And yes, the hiccups actually happened.) The only reason why the organisers would permit anyone to repeat their performance is due to external factors such as a stage invader - that has happened occasionally and it always sucks for the artists.
Oh, and if you can't deal with the audience inevitably clapping along off-beat because of the way the sound travels through the large arena you should have opted for a less catchy song.
I've looked at the timings of this year's Grand Finale and can tell you that getting through all 25 acts (one less than usual because this year the host country happened to be one of the "Big Five", i.e. already had a guaranteed place in the finale) took exactly 2 hours. So that's just under 5 minutes per act. During the changeover on stage the TV audience watches for about 40 seconds to a minute what's known as "postcards", that is footage of the upcoming act at some of the host country's landmarks or typical settings. This also gives the commentators an opportunity to tell their audience briefly who the next act is and what their song is about. Sometimes there's also a bit more banter from the hosts and little exchanges with the artists in the green room (i.e. those who have already performed) to give the crew time to move more complex stage sets, but everything has to happen extremely quickly. The constant change in the visuals and the mood set by the varied performances is what makes the show such an interesting spectacle these days (in the past the pace was a bit more gentle).
Sorry I wasn't more clear on those points - it's so easy to forget that someone who's never seen it would need more explanation or otherwise just have to make assumptions!
Some broadcasters have commercial breaks though. Those usually happen when the hosts start talking.
@@kennet7837 Yes, I was simplifying, I know that this is the case for some broadcasters
Completely agree with all of that .. it’s all “lost” if you are looking at a load of chorus snippets of the winning songs … that’s NOTHING about what the Eurovision is .. it’s drama , 3 minutes to win you over , lead up to the contest , national finals , drama (were we going to get the full compliment of t.A.T.u?? Phew we did lol) … the close proximity of so very different cultures and hundreds and hundreds of years of history … it’s surely slightly lost on an American eye .. so you are left with “oh they sung that well , they sung that in an unusual way ? I’d have sung it like this” … it’s nothing to do with the Eurovision …
Well, they do get several opportunities to practice their performance on the stage before the formal show. Outside of the actual "just practice the performance" are 2 shows.
1) is the formal Dress Reharsal, that is a full performance in front of public. Yes, you can get tickets to watch it.
2) Performance to the juries, that is done 1 day (or maybe hours) before the actual show. I don't know if they do the full show then, but at least the performers have to do the songs.
The juries have to send their votes before the actual televised show, so that there are no surprises. That the juries call into the show and speak on TV and take time is completely unnecessary. It's a tradition that just drags out the show.
@@magdalenabozyk1798 Of course, everyone gets plenty of opportunity for practice before the big night and the jury performances are separate, but ultimately it's the Grand Final performance that is the decisive factor for the outcome and the one that gets recorded for posterity.
Sure, the process of announcing the jury votes could be streamlined, but I feel that we would lose an important element of the show (as well as the time-honoured tradition of booing Greece and Cyprus for awarding each other 12 points) that has to do with the transparency of the process (cf. this year's pretend "technical difficulties" to mask the fact that there were jury voting irregularities). Another major aspect of the jury votes segment is representation; it is important that every country, even the ones whose songs didn't make it to the final, is seen to contribute to the result, because otherwise there's a risk that viewers in those countries start losing interest. Being able to see familiar representatives of each country in front of famous landmarks announcing the votes also strengthens the bonds between the participating countries, which is, after all, the point of the whole exercise. Not only is the build-up exciting to watch, it also makes the otherwise fairly obscure jury vote tangible to the viewer. I don't know whether you've been following the recent American Song Contest, but it seems to me that it demonstrated comprehensively how not putting faces to the jury vote hurts the viewing experience. So I think that it is more than tradition that motivates the ESC organisers to hold on to this segment.
Måneskin, the 2021 winners broke through globally after this. After they won the contest, people started sharing an old cover they did, aka Beggin, and it went viral on tiktok. They'll be on tour in the US in a few months.
I want to go so bad they coming to a local city of mine in November
That happens in Eurovision a lot. It doesn’t have to be winners but a lot of popular songs are from Eurovision.
I really appreciate that you actually had a lot to say about almost every song and didn't just let the video play all the way through while simply saying "oh yeah this is nice, oh i don't like this one". Would really enjoy seeing you react to Schlager Lucas' country recaps or maybe a full edition of Eurovision!
I second that!
@@theduuuude3967 Who are you and why are you replying to my comment?
@@kjESCil Idk, I just sorted new and saw the newest comment. Then I spend the whole day looking at your amazing, high quality TH-cam content. Do you by chance have a twitter or something I can follow?
I'm amused that you said so much about Riva's outfit but didn't even mention Celine Dion's blazer & tutu combo. That's a choice that says "love me for my music".
Wow. Probably the best reaction to this compilation I have seen. You listened, really listened, to each song and had many interesting and sometimes surprising observations and reactions. If you want to check out the compilation of Eurovision second places then I would love to see it. 😃👍
Very kind of you to say, thanks and I'm glad you enjoyed it! I'll definitely be checking out several of the full performances and eventually some of the runners up.
I fully agree! Great observations exactly to the point - and funny too. First time I heard a real analysis of the music! I definitely will be waiting for your reactions to some of the songs you thought were interesting!
To expand on your comment about the performance shadowing the song, I think that for the televoters (that is, the general public), performance can sometimes be more important than the song. That's what makes Eurovision, Eurovision. For example this year, Spain had a dance break, Romania were dancing, Moldova's fun colours matched the vibe of the song, the UK and the Czech Republic had gorgeous staging, and Ukraine's outfits were sick.
I think that you have to look at the song as a whole, the singing, the actual song, as well as the staging, as that can make or break a song, but I definitely think it's a major part of the wow factor, and something that definitely needs to be taken into account :)
I appreciate that you noticed a lot of small details that are usually overlooked by first-time reactors 😄👏🏻 Very interesting
Welcome to the insane world of Eurovision appreciation among Americans! Another cool thing LucasSchalger's channel has is each country over time, via approximately 30 second clips. You can see how each country evolves, what the trends are, how they perform among other nations, etc.
Oh, that's a fantastic idea for a montage. I really want to check out some of the full performances but I'll definitely have to check that out at some point too!
@@andreweisen Eurovision has it's own YT-channel, there are also some oldies there 😉
some notes and extra context as i go through this:
4:19 Schlager actually refers to a genre of music particularly popular in Sweden; their winner from 1991 and a lot of their 00s entries were some variation of it. Very high impact production, a lot of key changes, lyrics about love, that sort of thing. (I think the definition of the genre is actually a lot broader but that's what comes to mind first for me)
5:37 Fun fact about this year: the winner wasn't the most successful song from it. In fact, it was the third place from Italy, Volare, that not only became one of the best-loved songs in Italy but also charted in the US.
10:02 You note that this is back to contemporary pop but this song was actually considered quite a forward step in the type of pop sent to the contest, and quite a bold winner at the time. The singer, France Gall, was an icon in the French-speaking world and her death a few years ago prompted nationwide mourning.
12:20 Another famous non-winner this year was Cliff Richard from the UK. An absolutely massive star at the top of his game and still known here today, Cliff was considered a shoe-in for the win until Spain came out of nowhere.
12:48 The 4-way tie is one of the messiest events in the contest's history. They had no tie-break procedure in place so just declared them all winners. The blowback was so huge that half the competing countries withdrew from the 1970 contest in protest
18:17 Your smug face here is made even more entertaining knowing how much of a shift was about to come with ABBA. And yeah, the working the camera stuff is a great example of how important performance was to the contest, even back then. You don't have to just have a great song, you gotta sell it too!
19:13 Yeah one of the big clichés of old Eurovision is nonsense lyrics. When you're appealing to a wide audience that doesn't all speak the same language it's a quick way to make a song catchy and memorable. Still sounds goofy af tho.
20:31 Israel winning twice in a row meant they had to host again, which they declined. This was the last time the previous winner didn't host until next year's contest, which won't take place in Ukraine due to the ongoing war. It's also the only year where the previous winner didn't take part at all, as the contest was held on the day of an important holiday for the country. Israel's absence allowed for the debut of Morocco, who came last and never returned.
24:08 One of the songs in contention to represent France this year was very also very harp-heavy, and had a whole on-stage disco. La Nuit Pauline is the song, worth checking out imo.
28:38 She was 14 at the time! Will forever be the youngest winner as you now have to be 16 to take part.
29:08 This wasn't even his last win! He snuck back in as a songwriter for the first of Ireland's many 90s wins.
29:52 For those wondering, yes she's still Canadian. I don't know who it was from the Swiss TV channel who invited her to their selection show but I hope they got a nice bonus for it.
30:40 This was one of Yugoslavia's last entries before the country broke up, with the contest withdrawing after the 1992 contest and three of its component countries debuting in 93.
35:12 This song actually tied with France, though thankfully they were more prepared than in 1969. Had the same results taken place now, this song would not have won, as the tiebreak rules have since changed. omfgdogs(dot)com is a good argument for sweden's victory here.
38:43 There were lyrics, but only at the very start and end of the song. I really recommend watching the full performance of this, it's incredibly enchanting.
40:10 No mention of this being Ireland's 4th win in 5 years? Anyway I *think* the lyrics of this make reference to a lot of the troubles and bloodshed Ireland had recently faced at the time, particularly in the north of the island which is still under British rule, mixed in with Irish folklore.
41:07 It's a stage name, I believe her actual name is Sharon.
Anyway, 1998 was the first contest voted for primarily using phone lines rather than a jury for each country. It's also the first and only time a trans woman has won the contest (though of course, a drag performer would later take the title as well)
42:47 If you think that's too much don't look up Georgia's 2016 performance.
44:16 1999 was a big year for rule changes: it was when the Orchestra was completely dropped, and the point at which language rules were dropped, encouraging English to dominate the contest. (and the English-speaking countries to stop dominating it)
45:24 Estonia here were the first former-Soviet country to win. The 90s and 00s were a big time of expansion for the contest and you can see this from the countries that win from this point onwards.
48:03 "Throw everything on the wall and see what sticks" often just manifested as uptempo pop mixed with traditional folk elements lol, at least with the winners. But yeah, you are still right, with the change in rules & voting, plus an influx of new countries joining, there was a lot of experimentation in this era.
48:56 There's a guy off to the side doing the backing in addition to the mic'd dancer. Pre-recorded backing wasn't added until post-pandemic to reduce the number of people travelling to the contest
52:06 This song is *dripping* in queer imagery. The song itself is about forbidden love, and the singer later came out as lesbian. I'm assuming the staging relates to this hidden meaning too, it makes more sense in the full performance.
57:09 Don't worry, no one in the fandom likes the song either
1:02:51 oh I adore this song and performance. So much clever imagery and the instrumentation is so complex and interesting. The song itself is about the singer's grandma, who was one of many Crimean Tatars deported by Russia in 1944. It's an even more powerful listen now given recent events.
1:03:52 This song has a record number of points at 758. Before then, Portugal's best result was 6th place in the 90s.
1:08:46 What do you mean you haven't seen the American Song Contest? It had dozens of viewers!!
Great stuff! Was fun watching your mind work out some of the musical stuff while listening for the first time.
Thanks for taking the time to write all that, particularly with timestamps; very interesting and informative commentary!
Israel also didn't host or participate in 1980 because the date of the contest was the same as Yom HaZikaron, Israel's Remembrance Day.
Thank you so much for that comment! Great description of Serbia's 2007 win. I must admit, if I could only save a single Eurovision winner (or even a single Eurovision performance) and all others would cease to exist, I know in my heart of hearts that I would choose Marija Šerifović and "Molitva". Not sure what that says about me.
Re: France Gall, as a child I used to listen to the songs she recorded in German, and later of course to her French repertoire. I still remember where I was when I heard the news of her death. When she won in 1965 she sang the song even better in the reprise, full of joy about her triumph against the odds. But later on when it became clear how badly the adults in her life had let her down she never sang that song again.
One of my favourites remains her tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, "Ella, elle l'a" th-cam.com/video/lgHGU8gqz9U/w-d-xo.html
I think ”countries” at some places got autocorrected to ”contest”…😜
I believe Schlager is the german word for ”hit”; I don’t know german, but I think it means almost exactly the same, and was used in many countries with germanic langauges, such as my native Sweden, from before music from the english speaking world definitely started dominating also all over Europe. So a schlager has sounded differently through the years, but I would argue that the style us Swedes mostly associate with schlager is that of the 80s, although it kept being the norm at least a bit into the naughties (at least in Sweden). The swedish winning songs of ’84, ’91 and ’99 are all typical examples of the ”schlager sound” (as well as almost all the other non-winners). Finally we realised we had to move along with the times- and since little Sweden with 10 million people has the third largest music industry in the world, with many worldwide hits written for artists like Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Maroon 5, The Weeknd (and the list goes on) written and produced by swedish songwriters- we now again most oftenly compete in the top also in ESC.
I do agree though .. was fun watching your take on it …
I laughed when you said, "It's nice to see the excess of the 70s start to taper off...", before you realised that every year of this contest thereafter would ramp up the excess/insanity stakes to unprecedented levels. I'm a Brit so I'm not meant to like Eurovision, but even the UK is still obsessed with its unapologetic joyousness. Makes me fucking proud to be European.
Fun fact: Johnny Logan actually won Eurovision 3 times. He also wrote Linda Martin‘s song.
He‘s sometimes referred to as „Mr. Eurovision“ because he’s won the contest more times than anyone else.
Edit: also on the note of judging, the jury are exposed to the songs plenty. They all have to be submitted at least 3 months before the contest, the jury have access to the rehearsals and there is also a separate final where the jury make their votes before the live final that is broadcast across Europe.
He won twice. He did not win the third time. He likes to say himself he win three times, but he did not.
@@yoshudriver6831 There are prizes for songwriters in Eurovision too you know! The producers of the winning song gets little mini-versions of the Eurovision trophy as well so yes, he has "won" the competition thrice, albeit in varying roles. :P
@@Alicechan3 He has won twice. You either win the song contest or you don't.
@@yoshudriver6831 He won three times, that's a fact. He wrote the song, it's the Eurovision song contest.. if you write the winning song, you've won the contest just as much as the singer did, and in fact, probably have more of a claim to it than the winner does because they didn't write the winning song! don't be stupid, stupid.
@@yoshudriver6831 He won twice as a singer and once as songwriter, thus three times. The songwriter gets the same trophy as the singer.
I was born in Yugoslavia, ohhh when I think back every little girl had bangs like Emilija (singer of the group Riva). It was a fashion boom😁
One of the best reactions on Eurovision I've seen. You really know music and what goes in to it and also it was nice hearing your comments on what you found interesting and what artistic choices you didn't agree with. Still can't get over how distracted you were by her bright top, earrings and big hair :D You are fun and insightful, please do more Eurovision.
The Story of background Susan is the most impressive catch in whole video. Love it.
I clicked on this video randomly because I'm a huge huge fan of Eurovision. I've seen a handful of first-time reactions to Eurovision and while some of them are fun and entertaining, some others are pretty boring because there's a lack of actual commentary but I enjoyed every minute of this video. It was really entertaining. I didn't expect a commentary with such good knowledge of music. And I loved that you really paid attention to everything. I would love to see more videos about Eurovision in the future!
Sorry, one last comment and then I swear I'll shut the fuck up:
Ukraine's 2016 entry "1944" - feel free to look up the lyrics.
Utterly heartbreaking, even more so today.
And then, yeah...this year.
Would Ukraine have won this year without "sympathy votes"?
I don't know.
But here we are again, the ESC is a political stage and that's a good thing.
Also, the song was fucking fire.
Thank you, again, for a brilliant video!
The clip of Lordi with the flag hat was the winner's repeat i.e. after the results were announced and Mr. Lordi may have been a bit extra hoarse after celebrations. The song is actually quite melodic.
It's one of the performances I look forward to checking out in full. As a fun anecdote, my sister watched this reaction video and excitedly texted me this morning to tell me that she saw Lordi live in concert in New York a few years back.
Old comment but this is not true, it’s the actual performance.
Serbia 2007, the title translated to "prayer" and the singer is another LGBTQIA person. Loved the song back then and still do now.
Quite the powerful ballad, especially considering the time and the country
I actually enjoy your honest opinion and not sugarcoating everything.
Please react to more Eurovision! It’s very interesting for us Europeans to see, how it’s perceived somewhere else. Also, since you clearly have some music knowledge.
Eurovision is much more than lyrics and vocals.
“History, culture, language, rhythm, equality, differences, patriotism, stageshow, performance, humor, togetherness, trends, surprise, spirit etc” …. And much more than a competition (maybe thats why the US is not in lol 🤣)
Shout out to all participating countries ✌️
Cheers 🇩🇰
Lulu, in 1969, was a big star in the UK. Her song To Sir, With Love, comes from the Sidney Poitier movie of the same name.
Johnny Logan won twice as a singer and once as a songwriter.
Dana International is trans. She took the stage name although her chosen name is Sharon Cohen. Having her represent Israel was highly controversial among conservative Israelis.
2022 went into a rap that didn't appear here.
Lulu actually topped the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1967 with To Sir, With Love and is one of the few Eurovision winners to have had an American No1 hit (Abba only managed it once with Dancing Queen, Celine Dion has had four). No Eurovision winning song has ever reached no 1 in America (1974's winner Waterloo by Abba made it to no.6); but two non-winning entries did - an instrumental version of L'Amour est bleu, Luxembourg 1967 4th place and Nel Blu di Pinto di Blu Italy 1958, and was later reprised by Dean Martin as Volare
@@williamdfr1715 nel blu dipinto di blu won also the very first grammy for song of the year and record of the year
the coolest thing about this video is that for some reason i feel like on a zoom call? its pretty a pretty onesided one but its really fun to watch :)
My only comment for you as a 15+ fan is that you have to keep in mind that this was a radio only contest for the first few years and it begun as a European try to unite Europe after the war by having countries compete in a song competition. After 10-20 years it begun having the TV production which worked with a live orchestra and of course mixing was difficult for people back then as it was only a radio program. But as year passed music changed because of ABBA and you can see the language of the songs that win are more in English which changed a lot of things. Voting, countries participation, music in general. Everything started becoming bigger and more people started watching the song contest. Now it is the begged music competition and the longest-running competition in the world with more than 300M people watching and 50+ countries broadcasting it live. The production now has become the best with new cameras, LED screens that move and stages that evolve with 3D LEDS.
No, the esc has always been on television, one of its original purposes was to stress test the EBU. However, most of the broadcast of the ESC 1956 has been lost, so thats where the missconception might come from.
Bttm and Tirex, you're both right in a way. Yes it has always been a TV show and often lead to advances ( both Spain and Ireland's hosting in 1969 and 1971 were when colour broadcasting was introduced throughout the networks in those countries, Television Espanola actually borrowed colour cameras from the BBC). But in the early days very few people had TV sets, so the biggest audiences were certainly for the live radio broadcasts. And some countries still broadcast it live on radio today - Italy, Ireland, Lithuania, Netherlands, Sweden... In fact BBC Radio 2's coverage has been presented by the same commentator, Ken Bruce; for 34 years
I'm born 1958 and I know most of these songs because of music radio that played songs from all years, mixed with other genres.
I'm blown away by your musical insight. I'll be honest, if you listen to the winners, you'll want to know why they won...and then you'll listen to whole shows....and then you're in the same place as the rest of us!
Listen/Watch a whole show to get a sense of the range of entries and the nonsense that is the voting.
I love watching people react to Eurovision! You should react to some full performances!
I'm sure somebody else said something about it, but I LOVE your voice. And I loved the reaction and (song) analysis as well. It's always fun to watch people react to Eurovision for the first time.
So about the 1965 winning entry at 10:00...the song was "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" written by Serge Gainsbourg and sung here by 17 year old France Gall. I'd recommend you read a bit into it. It seems like an innocent pop song, but Gainsbourg was known for writing seamingly innocent lyrics that actually had a lot of dark and sometime sexual subtexts - his song "Les Sucettes" ("Lollipops", or more literally "Suckers"), also sung by Gall, was even worse (you can imagine what "suckers" might be referring to). Gall herself later cliamed that she was unaware of the double-entendres and hidden meanings, and accused Gaisbourg of exploiting her age and naïveté by getting her to sing these songs. In fact, this specific song here is actually about her being a doll controlled by Gainsbourg, though she didn't realise this meaning at the time.
For 1995, the vocals are in the very beggining and end of the song. The rules forbid purely instrumental pieces, but speaking a single word in your song allows it to make the cut, so the song is only about 30 words long with a 2.5min instrumental in the middle
lordi is a song and performance you need to listen to in its entirety to truly appreciate it. everyone loved that one
1972-1974 had three of the most iconic winners IN A ROW. What a time to be live it must have been
This 1995 winning song by Norway only has 24 words in it, sung in two halfs, at the beginning and at the end of the song, by the woman standing in the shadow in the clip
There are many interesting instruments used besides violin, so I really recommend to watch it in full length, it's the best song in Eurovision ever in my opinion
Fun fact about it is that it was used in Shrek couple years after, in the scene where Fiona is singing with birds
Since the results are decided by both a jury and voters, sometimes a song wins because it’s fun, the singer was charming, the performance was cool, etc. rather than musically impressive or interesting. And I have no issues with that. Eurovision is much more of an entertainment competition than a song competition.
If you wanna entertain people through a cool dance number, charisma, crazy staging, a meme song or a really good one, totally up to you. Usually the winners are people who manage at least two of those with an at least decently good song.
Thank you for making a reaction video that's more than just staring at a screen and saying uh-huh 50 times. Really appreciate the effort put into this. Would love to see you react to the runners-up too (there's a compilation of that by the same channel that made this one) or maybe all songs from a specific year
I’m an American fan of Eurovision. I got introduced to it in 2015 and have been watching it live since 2016. TH-cam recommended this video to me since it knows I like seeing my fellow Americans reacting to Eurovision and hoping they like it. I’ll admit seeing the length of the video I immediately thought: “Why is it over an hour long?” But now that I’ve finished watching it I completely understand why. You were very thorough in your reactions to the clips. It was so much fun to watch! SchlagerLucas’ channel has several others that cover like 2nd place, 3rd place, last place, every (insert specific nation’s name)’s entry in Eurovision, etc that are filled with clips just like this.
You mentioned wanting to see/hear the full performances. The TH-cam channel Eurovision Gold has a lot of the songs from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and early 2010s. Not just the winners, but other entries, too. It’s great to watch. When the contest was cancelled in 2020, the official Eurovision TH-cam channel uploaded full length videos of previous years’ Grand Finals. It was fun seeing how the show evolved over time and when watching other performances and hearing other songs from the same year’s contest I’ll admit that sometimes it made sense who the winner was.
Since 2016, Eurovision has been broadcast in the US. From 2016-2018 NBCUniversal had the rights so they broadcast the Grand Final on their LOGO TV cable channel. In 2019 Netflix got the rights to stream it in the US for 2019 and 2020. They streamed both semifinals and the grand final in 2019 and of course the 2020 contest was cancelled but we got the Eurovision movie on Netflix. NBCUniversal reacquired the broadcasting rights and so 2021 and 2022 have been streamed on NBC’s Peacock streaming service. So if you want to watch the full shows, they’re available there. If you just want to watch videos of the live performances those are available on the official Eurovision TH-cam channel, but as per the agreement with NBC Americans are geoblocked from watching them so you’ll need a VPN to watch them.
The Nocturne song has lyrics. It has 24 words to be exact. I actually know the song as it was popular in the New Age music genre. Several cassette albums I have featuring compilations of that kind of music included it. Same with Euphoria winner in 2012. I knew that song because it got played at gay bars a lot. So we Americans have occasionally been listening to songs that were either Eurovision songs or were at least written by a Eurovision song writer. Johnny Logan had actually won 3 times: as singer and songwriter in 1980, singer and songwriter in 1987, and as songwriter in 1992.
Eurovision Song Contest is only for members of the European Broadcasting Union. It’s geographic area is defined by longitude and latitude lines and thus you get Israel participating. Morocco participated in 1980, again because the country has boundaries within the EBU’s geographic boundary so they’re full members of the EBU. Associate members can be invited as a guest to participate. In 2015, Australia was invited due to their broadcaster having broadcast it live there since the 1960s. In 2016 Australia was invited again, this time on an extended invitation that ends in 2024. There’s a Junior Eurovision each year, too, which is for kids. Kazakhstan, as an associate EBU member, has been invited to participate in that. Instead of the US being invited to participate in Eurovision things, the EBU instead has produced with NBC the American Song Contest. 2022 was the first year. It’s all 50 states, 5 territories, and DC competing over 8 weeks: 5 qualifying rounds, 2 semifinals, and 1 Grand Final that’s done just like the Eurovision Grand Final. The ASC had a variety of music genres from its participants, including Kpop! You can still watch it in full on Peacock. It’s hosted by Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson. Next year a Canadian Song Contest will premiere as well. The EBU is producing that where all ten provinces and the three territories will compete in a similar style qualifying rounds, semifinals, and Grand Final. And the EBU announced they were producing a Latin American version that’ll premiere in 2024. So the EBU keeps expanding the concept. There’s also Eurovision Young Musicians, which is young folks who play various musical instruments competing on behalf of their nations. There’s Eurovision Choir, and lots of other Eurovision contests. Unlike Eurovision Song Contest and Junior Eurovision Song Contest which are done annually, the others occur at different intervals like every two to four years. Also, fun fact: the term Eurovision is derived from the name of the tv broadcast company where the first contest occurred in Switzerland.
Great video! Loved watching it! Thanks for making and sharing it! I subscribed because I saw you have a wide array of videos on your channel of other things I also enjoy! I’m looking forward to checking out more of your videos. Thanks again for a great Eurovision reaction! Hope you get to check out the full versions of all the songs you wanted to hear more of!
Ooooh: you’ve actually heard the 2017 winning song. If you go back and rewatch the Eurovision movie on Netflix you’ll see him performing the song on the piano as the main characters arrive in the city the contest happens in. The characters do go and check out the performance. So you’ve heard the song! You’ve also seen some of the winners before, too. During the Song-a-long part it’s full of previous Eurovision artists who participated in the contest, including several winners! The actual 2019 Eurovision stage and arena were even used for several scenes in the movie! So you’ve actually seem the actual 2019 Eurovision stage, too! So yeah, go back and rewatch it. You’ll maybe notice a lot more references to Eurovision than you did upon first watching!
And if you’re now an American Eurovision fan, too: Welcome to the club!!! Happy to have you join the Eurovision community!!!!
Thank you for the absolute treasure trove of info and factoids. I genuinely appreciate you taking the time to write all that! Glad you and so many others are enjoying my video, particularly one as long as this one.
Also, I may have misspoke or been unclear but while I was aware of the existence of the Eurovision movie, I've not seen it. But, if I do, I'll definitely keep an eye out for those details!
i love that you enjoyed france gall in 1965!! it’s one of my absolute favourite winners and it’s very under appreciated by reactors. it’s actually considered to be the first real ‘pop’ song to win eurovision. and you’re so right about her voice being so forward, i’d never thought of that before!
Best Eurovision reaction I've ever seen. You are so on point! And you made me laugh so hard.
That was fun watching you having fun watching Eurovision! But thanks to your background as a musician, that I assume, your comments were also very interesting and well-founded. Good job! And quite a few of your assumptions were correct, as that a good show can distract from a weak song, etc. Btw: the US had their first American Song Contest (ASC) this spring, but I didn’t follow it. I guess you have to find your own way to make it work.
Thanks for the kind words; glad you enjoyed my video! A few commenters have mentioned the ASC but I'll admit, that had never crossed my radar either.
Nocturne, the song by Secret Garden from 1995 does have vocals. They're haunting and beautiful. You should listen to the full song
FUN FACT: that trio of boys from Sweden with their weird song about shoes are actually MORMON, of all things!
The song from Luxembourg 1972 was sung by Vicky Leandros, she is greek and sings in French, German, Italian and of course Greek. People above 40 all know her, she was quite famous.
France Gall, winner in 1965, actually has a very tragic life story. She's just 18 at this time, and was cruelly exploited by her producer, whom eventually became infamous in the States for his sexual comments and songs about Whitney Houston.
Her famous boyfriend, the singer Claude Francois, broke up with her the night she won because he was so jealous
And then she went to Germany and was a big Schlager Star for a few years :-) before she went back to France and made one of the best European pop albums in 1987
yeah. she is a star tho
Another one here who enjoyed this! It was good to see you making an effort to understand the contest even though it's your first time and being objective with the commentary. That deep dive on 1989's outfit could have been it's own video. 😂
It might actually be a full video at some point! I can't commit to that but I spoke to my sister about it and she's down for it if we can find the time and get our schedules to line up.
I love watching people discover EUROVISION 🤣 they get shook to the core
xa xa YES!GREECE.
Glad to see so many of you enjoying my blind reaction to Eurovision. It's wonderful to see such a lovely fan community! For everyone's convenience, I've added timestamps to the video so you can jump around to your favorite performances and see how I reacted without having to sit through the entire 70-minute video!
I haven't done a ton of musical analysis videos but if you'd like to see a few more along these lines:
-Andrew "Accidentally" Reacts To Cardi B's WAP th-cam.com/video/YXD55Z5mzFU/w-d-xo.html
-Best Songs Of Season One - JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS th-cam.com/video/k7DmNBDZ6HE/w-d-xo.html
-Best Songs Of Season One - JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS th-cam.com/video/d8DE0fPD8_Q/w-d-xo.html
-Best Songs Of Season One - JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS th-cam.com/video/rsKY2NcF_3k/w-d-xo.html
In later years they split the judging between a panel of judges in each country and then a public voting system.
Runners up please
Fashion has changed during the years? So has music...
May I humbly request you do the last places of Eurovision through the ages. I’m not spesiffically thinking of 1978s Mil etter mil which ended up as one of the most iconic 0 points or anything, and which established Jan. Teigen as a house hold name an later national treasure who died recently in 2020 or anything. I was just thinking it would be fun in general.
Poor Susan
Btw the backup singers don’t actually have to be on stage. They can be backstage but they still count as part of the 6 person rule
Just wondering, who did the backing vocals for UK 2007 at the final part? Cause I swear I look at all their mouths and non of them match that small belting part
If I remember it correctly, they in fact did have to be somewhere on stage until the 2000s sometime. That's why there are people standing on weird places far from the rest of the performers ("Susan").
@@Asa...S ok yea I’m not old enough to know when the rule came in lol
First ever watching one of your videos. I have been a eurovision fan since my first contest in 1973. I have seen others react to this but to hear someone with a music background analize the songs like this was a great take on it. The guy that put this together also does a compilation of 2nd places. Celine Dion btw sneaked her win on the very last vote as the UK had lead the voting for most of the way and Celine pipped it by one point. The UK has won 5 time but holds the record for 2nd places at 16
There was a winner with only 23 words in the entire 3 minuts of the song.
Johnny Logan won for a 3rd time in the 90's but that time he only wrote the song.
The only country that doesn't belong to the eurovision brodcast system that participantes is Australia, as an invited country.
If you like harmonies so much check out the portuguese 2022 entry MARO - Saudade Saudade
Norway had the melody with 23 words. Fun fact he also composed the first song Norway won with. He also made the much more known song, You raise me up and it was first played official in his mothers funeral. His name is Rolf Løvland.
I watched this video 2 years ago when it came out and just got recommend one of your other videos so I decided to watch it again because its so fun. Great content, thank you so much!
That was VERY entertaining!!!
Lovely video. Randomly found it in my break. I loved watching it
Glad to hear it!
Another contextual thing to add to the mix is that Eurovision mapped social cultural and political milestones through the decades - for example Franco insisted that Spainish television broadcast the competition in colour in Madrid in 1969 when they didnt have colour cameras - he wanted to showcase spain as a modern country so the cameras were hired in! Dana international was a play on Dana who won the competition for Ireland in 1970 which is now thought to have helped Ireland bring itself to the international community and a precursor to the celtic tiger years. Portugals entry in 1974 was used as a signal for the Coup d'Etat ! The Belgium entry caused consternation in 1986 when sandra kim won the contest - people reasiled she was only 13 years old and were horrified - the rules of the context were changed after that with a lower age limit introduced. In 1977 amid wide spread industrial strife in the UK the London hosting was about the be broadcast live when the BBC television crew walked out - and the live show was cancelled at the last minute - it was re staged a month later! interestingly the UK was called rock bottom reflecting the economic downer the coutry was going through!! Germanys win in 1982 (with the harp) was the first time and probably only time ever the winning song was reprised in 4 different languages! In 1993 the bosnian group were shot at while they departed the airport in Sarajevo - their song was antiwar reflecting the conflict in their country at the time! The list of those milestones is endless!
One thing I would love to see now is that Andrew reacts to the Yugoslavian entry (Riva - Rock me 1989) he wouldn't even listen to the song, he would be fixated on her clothes the most. 😂
That's one I'd like to do a full listen too. And yeah, it would probably take me a few attempts to get past the outfits!
@@andreweisencan't wait to see what that full listen too the song will be.
Damn! I've learnt so much about so many details I've never been aware of. Thank you Andrew
"I don't know why that song won?!"
1) different times, so always count in context
2) ESC's got its own rules. That's what makes it so much fun.
Sometimes, the bookies favourites do win and sometimes...everyone just goes batshit (the latter ones ate usually the better years😁)
49:51 Someone has probably already mentioned this, but Helena Paparizo's non-dancing backup singer can be seen here to the right. He did "a Susan"... During this time all the singers had to be visible on stage, but the ones who wasn't a part of the dance routine they often tried to "hide them" somewhere in a corner of the stage. Later on backup singer could be behind some walls or props, but everyone needed to sing live. I think it's just in 2021 and 2022 they've been allowed to use pre-receorded backup vocals. Lead needs to be live though.
His sneeze during that last part was a huge and amazing wtf moment.
Really enjoyed your reactions, but also interesting to note the viewer figures for this. The Eurovision community is very loyal - seemingly with American newbies - so this could really grow your channel.
Eurovision 2023 is upon us but you should understand that Eurovision is not just one song contest. Many of the participating countries hold their own internal selections to send their song to the contest. As ESC fans, we witness maybe 30 different song contests around Europe before selecting our final winner.
The journey starts in December, with the final contest held in the following May
I got into Eurovision just over a year ago, and the video you are commenting over was the first one I watched. On his channel, he has compiled videos similar to this, but for every song from a specific country!
The contest used to start like an european contest but also the middle east is allowed to join, some did for one or two times, Australia got invited . I see them as the adopted sibling of european countries :D
Also: France Gall ("she sings too forward") major international hit with "Ella elle l'a" and Udo Jürgens ("Mercie Cherie", Austria) one of the most successful German artists to this day. He really churned them out after that^^
Might be worth your time checking a few of them out on their own.
Some never had any success before or after the ESC, some went on to have (international) careers or had them already (Logan, Dion, ABBA etc), some became memes (epic sax guy), some were good for a summer (Lena, Rybak)
The video for Fairytale still gets a lot of views - his comeback in 2018 not so much.
France Gall was a big star in Germany after she left France after her success in Eurovision. And her album from 1987 was a hugh success all over Europe, not only the single Ella but also a few more like Babacar.
@@stirbjoernwesterhever6223 I know, I'm German ;) just didn't want to give even more details than already have😅
I really enjoyed your reaction. Better than all the others. Because you really listened to the songs. Dug into them.
Greetings from a Dane who has watched Eurovision song contest many many many times 😅
I love that you’re providing actually substantive commentary 😍
Wow! You've already breezed past viewership numbers for the American Song Contest! (Sorry.)
After the premiere I have now been able to watch the video more leisurely and I can tell you that the whole time I've been grinning from ear to ear. Thank you, thank you so much! I love it! (And thank you, Schlager Lucas, for your hard work in putting these compilations together!)
For now my work here is done, one American at a time.
And yes, I also had the idea of getting the Video Game Fashion Police on the case, because Eurovision is a hotbed of crime against fashion!
If you're interested in Eurovision fashion disasters - check out the winners of the Barbara Dex award which was an outline fan title given for the worst attired performers from 1997-2021 in a honour of the Belgian lady who came last in 1993 who made her own dress because she and the Belgians didn't have a lot of money - and it didn't look that great.
Sorry for my MANY ramblings btw😅🙈
Your reaction is definitely the most interesting I've seen when it comes to "Americans watching Eurovision" and I really hope you've had fun!
Sorry again I'm just really passionate about it (like you totally couldn't tell😂)
Thank you so much for this and please do yourself the favour of checking out the "best of the worst" songs😁
No need to apologize. I'm thrilled to have stumbled across another fan community that revolves around sharing in the joy of something (as opposed to hating on something else).
I'm completely new to Eurovision and am excited to check out many of the full performances when time permits (I just started a new job so it's been a busy week for me) and I very much appreciate the details and background info that you and other commenters have taken the time to share with me. As a performing artist myself, I find such minutia fascinating and the extra context and understanding enhances my appreciation and enjoyment of what I've seen thus far.
@@andreweisen glad to hear it - you're doing an excellent job and I wish you all the success on both those ventures😊
Btw the outfit you pointed out for Spain in 1969, is famous for weighing around 22kg, as it's made of clay tubes
Wow, she moves exceptionally well for an outfit that heavy!
Awesome reaction. This was so much more than the usual.
Thanks for saying so; glad you enjoyed it!
1:01:15 judges are actually told to base their rank on composition, vocals and performance at the same time
This certainly was the most interesting reaction video on Eurovision! Thank you so much for this video.
Wow, that's some high praise; thanks much!
A few thoughts I had:
- Yep, the majority of the music in Eurovision has been radio-friendly pop, because that's what a lot of people like to hear. There's often cultural influences though.
- Bucks Fizz didn't pull the guys' pants off. But quite a few people who covered the song have.
- La det swinge is the "catchiest thing since bird flu" according to Graham Norton.
- Johnny Logan also wrote Why Me in 1992. It's up to you if you want to consider that his third win.
- Marija Serifovic's backup singers had broken hearts on their hands.
- That was a wrong note from Bilan. You were right to judge it.
- Running Scared was pretty bad live, but you should look up the acoustic version. It's MUCH better.
- Staging is VERY make-or-break in Eurovision and I'm glad you touched on it. There were a few songs - including Heroes - that I only gave more thought to because of the visuals.
- Interesting comparison between Maneskin and Lordi. They're definitely different subgenres though.
- The US isn't in the European Broadcasting Union, so there's no way we can participate. The only non-EBU country in the contest is Australia, and they only got in because of how big the following is there.
- If you were in a participating country, you wouldn't have to depend on a single performance of each song before voting if you didn't want to. All songs have to be released in their final version by 6 weeks before the contest, so you can listen to them all you want. But of course, the perormances are super important for making an impression as well, and (again) onstage visuals can make or break a song in a huge way.
We have to remember that the lordi one was meant to be hard rock/metal, so ofcourse he sings like that
32:13 Her name isn't Riva, Riva is the band (means "seafront"). Her name is actually Emilija Kokić :)
Seriously though Nocturne from 1995 is possibly the most beautiful Eurovision song of all time. I recommend checking it out. I’d does have lyrics, but just around 20 words I believe. Yes the UK was pissed.
Thanks for the awesome reaction and interesting and funny remarks on their voices and performances!
Juges have oportunity to hear 3 times live rehersals before give points.
Got yourself new subscriber. Rly rly great work with this video!
please react to the full songs of the last 12 years. They are all interesting. Older ones are also interesting but i think the last 12 ones where quite spectaculair in their own way.. I like your crochetted plaid btw :)
This reaction video deserves more thumbs up!!!!! 👍
So glad I'm not the only one who thought Turkey "missed" some of the notes.
I was 11 at the time and wasn't a big fan but everyone else fucking loved it and berated me😆
As for the rule of how many people you're allowed: things change and continue to change
They've had one or two years when no fancy effects were allowed AT ALL as to not give richer countries an advantage - then they realised it made the whole thing a bit boring and they scraped the rule again
Voting rules have changed
As for "it seems they're trying to throw everything at it and see what sticks" - still a common occurrence with many Eastern countries and Spain, Greece, Cyprus etc.
Aka. Get a hot, young, half-naked lady and give her a run-of the mill latin-ish pop song and a faultless routine.
Boring af but usually goes down well.
I always wondered - I guess though the British duo who came last always blamed sound problems - that they couldn't hear themselves. Runners up Belgium sounded good though.
@@EmoBearRights yeah
One of the most interesting Eurovision reactions I've seen! :) I disagree with many of the winning songs (like you said, 'non-challenging' songs were preferred) as there were many more 'interesting' songs that didn't get the recognition they deserved. Also, 1998-2008 was the worst time as voting was 100% televote without juries. Since 2009 the quality of songs has overall improved, imo.
All vocals are live, though they decided to start allowing pre-recorded backup vocals after covid.
I've actually seen Lordi in concert. This was early aughts in NY. Gotta love monsters singing heavy metal 🤘
Totally! I'm so jealous!!
Fun fact: Finland has the highest number of heavy metal bands per capita.
Another fun fact: Finland has been named the happiest country in the world for the fifth year in a row.
Coincidence? I think not.
(inb4 torilla tavataan)
@@lu_shulmu I'm from the UK, but have never been happier when watching Eurovision as the time when Finland won. Might be part of the reason years later I started learning Finnish to pass the time during lockdown 🤣. Can't say I ever listened to any other Lordi tracks, though. Completely into the whole Apulanta back-catalogue, now.
Truly a great response - thank you
2007 - Serbia, the backing singers were representing the fact of the genocide during the war in Yugoslavia in 1990, the prayer that all parts of the community are coming back together to live as one, I remember the interview they did on British TV at the time
You analyzed Dana's Diva like no one I have ever seen and I LIVED FOR IT. Thank you for doing this, the Eurovision fandom welcomes you with open arms
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the kind words! I have a similar reaction video for the Runners-Up and will be releasing a third Eurovision reaction video in another week or so. Best to you!
There were at least five better songs than Diva
I really enjoyed this reaction, and not just because I really like your voice.
In compilations like this one you can see how performance became more and more important part of the contest. And how technological advances played a part in it. They can definitely elevate some of the songs.
Some years are more boring than others. Some have many great performances. But most of the times the jury votes and public votes differ quite a bit. Since as was mentioned bellow the songs are released beforehand, people who care would already come to the show with favorites. On the other hand, live performances and studio version are sometimes very different.
Some of these songs bring back memories. Some of them I didn't even know where Eurovision participants, let alone winners.
As for 2008, it was not just a guy on skates, it was 2 times Olympic Gold medalist, 2 times world champion and 7 times European champion Evgeni Plushenko. And a renowned violinist and composer Edvin Marton. Russia really went all out to secure that win.
It would be awesome if you watch swedens 2015 entire performance. As you liked that short clip, I think your gonna love the full performance.
There's a bunch of full performances I plan on watching and that's definitely one of them!
Nicole from Germany 1982 became very popular after winning the songcontest. She sang this song in obviously German but also in Dutch and English.
Yugoslavia was the only Warsaw Pact/ Eastern Block country ever to participate while they were a communist country. Poland wanted to participate in the 80s and the Soviets applied for entrance to competition during Gorbachev's time as General Secretary.
you could also go on holiday to yugoslavia in 70s 80s as i went but you could not go to other soviet countries back then until the berlin wall east germany came down in 1991.west germans could not visit east germany and people were shot for trying to escape.
Great reactions! Thank you! Wrong and right about some Eurovision stuff.....but always great to watch someone unaware of what it is, comment on the Eurovision! Thanks again😊
Congratulations on your musical knowledge, and your keen observing eye.
Thanks for the kind words and bits of trivia!
FIY because it keeps coming up (even from people within Europe): "Euro" in that case doesn't strictly mean countries in the European Union OR even on the European continent, it means countries in the European broadcasting Union.
Then there's the whole "it's not about the music, it's just about politics" (this is mostly moaning from (right-wing) losers.
Yes, there is and always has been an element of politics involved, but a great, original song WILL trump that (see this years UK entry for example)
Also, that's not necessary a bad thing, since many entries have an important political message.
Portugals first ever win is closely linked to the Portuguese revolution
- the ESC has long been a safe haven and a celebration for LBTQIA+ rights.
Israel sent in the first Trans singer as early as the 90s, and drag queen Conchita Wurst won in 2014, even getting very high marks from notoriously homophobic Russia.
- the winning songs are quite fun, but if you wanna have a REALLY fun time, go searching for the "best/worst Eurovision songs of all time"
Opera slash techno singing gay vampire? Check!
Epic sax guy? Check! Grandmas baking bread on stage? Check!
People in a gorilla costume? Check!
Basically, it's a glorious varieté and we all get drunk and enjoy/Diss the shit out of it :D
The quality of the songs varied over the years. It went down mid of the 80ties and again in the 90ties. Introduceing lots of eastern european countries produced a lot of chaos (and fun) through the next dekade. They stoped letting the publik vote alone and introduced juries again. Since then it is 50% public and 50% jury. It think that improved the quality.
You should make videos reacting to entire performances. Would be great! Greetings from Spain :)
Ukraine's Jamala "1944" song is about the death of her grandmother during the german invasion, it is her heart that is singing so to speak.
You should react to Mika’s Eurovision performance this year, he was hosting and oh my god, he was amazing
2000 was re-released as a EDM hit across US and europe
The best reaction to this I've ever seen. You analysed everything really well!
I’m new to your channel and didn’t know what to expect, but boy, didn’t you surprise me. I’m a singer and musician and a kind of Eurovision-fan, and I’ve just been smiling my way through your video: this accurate, wholesome, deep but still entertaining analysis of all these songs - just wow. High quality content, that’s for sure. Thank you! I think I’m gonna check out your channel. 😊
Btw, one point about the Eurovision that could be good to know. Even though it’s supposed to be kind of non-political, the truth is that so many of these songs reflect things going on politically in the world, in Europe, in the different countries. Also who actually is the winner each year can usually be explained by politics to some extent. Won’t go further into that right now, but I have a feeling you could tell this yourself by watching through those songs.
Anyway, thanks again for this high-end analysis!
Thanks for the kind words and I'm glad you enjoyed my video. I've currently only one other Eurovision video but I've also reacted to Cardi B's WAP and the music of each season of Jem and the Holograms if the music content is to your taste. I hope some of my other output is as well. Best to you.
@@andreweisen thank you, I’ll have a look. 😊 And: are you an artist/singer yourself..? What kind of music do you do in that case..? Sorry for asking, just kind of heard you saying something like this, in between the lines in some video. And your bass barytone singing voice of course shines through, as well.
@@davidkasquare I'm a performing artist from way back. I was in theater and all the chorus groups in grade school, high school, and college. I have a deeper voice that's not great for melody but works well for harmony so through out my adult life I've sung with a variety of doo-wop groups and barbershop choruses and quartets. Sadly, I haven't been able to do theater since college as it's too time consuming and since the pandemic, well, standing around and expelling air in groups of people isn't exactly the safest thing I can be doing so the last decade or so I've scratched my performance itch with making TH-cam videos. As I've furthered my career (which has been necessary do to constantly increasing cost of living), I've had to dial back my scripted work but I still find time to do a variety of reactions, podcasts, game streams and off-the-cuff analysis videos. So that's the performance side; from the creative side, I have over a decade of professional writing experience (though not music) and while I can't write a melody to save my life I do have some experience arranging music.
@@andreweisen that’s nice, you just seem to have a nice “touch” and understanding when it comes to music, and a great voice, too, it sounds really pleasant and beautiful whenever you use it for a few notes here and there - and your comments on the singing in the clips also tells me you have a lot of experience in singing yourself. Would actually be awesome to hear you sing 😊
@@davidkasquare Sadly, there's not a lot of my quartet stuff online but I occasionally will do a quick multitrack for fun (even though I'm kinda junk at it) as I did for my recent Valentine's video. th-cam.com/video/ZOpuZU2QyLo/w-d-xo.html