Californian Reacts | Guide to EUROVISION for an American

[@JoachimKlingner]

The reason Australia was invited: They have a huuuuuuge fanbase there.

[@MizSazz]

Its almost midnight in my part of australia and im going to sleep to be up in 5 hrs to watch

[@Cha-Charli]

@@MizSazz you are an exemplary aussie esc fan! ♥ (and your cat is adorable!)

[@Evasion381]

@@MizSazz as Australian's call Eurovision 'breakfast television' lmao

[@ricardoblayer9537]

Eurovision is a competion for the "European Television Association" (not the precise name, sorry) that's why Australia can participate. Morroco - for example - can and has participated has well, and I believe a couple of other non-European countries are eligible

[@Cha-Charli]

@@ricardoblayer9537 The EBU (European Broadcasting Union), they have members outside of Europe As long as the respective countrys local TV-broadcaster has a paid membership they have eligibility to participate

[@LexusLFA554]

There are a few reasons why Eurovision is so popular: - They sometimes produce some bangers that get lots of airplay - They have started careers of Singers and Bands, like Bucks Fizz, ABBA and Celine Dion. - Even the "joke" songs are sometimes very catchy

[@californianreacts]

Completely agree! ABBA, Celine Dion, and countless others over decades have really done well and hear their songs often. The more fun/joke songs do get stuck in my head and good songs regardless. Overall a very fun, entertaining, well rounded competition. Love it!

[@Muckylittleme]

Why Eurovision "was" so popular. It is a joke to most people these days.

[@olsa76]

- The competition started when there was one or at most two TV channels, so there wasn't much to watch. It became a tradition for many to watch it, so now many still sit and suffer through it even though they hate it....because it's tradition and because of fomo

[@LexusLFA554]

@@Muckylittleme Sadly you are probably right.

[@Muckylittleme]

@@olsa76 Yeah I'm sure that is true though personally I threw my TV out years ago. It also used to have much more of a flavour of national culture about it, these days it is just a homogenous multicultural pancake.

[@vanesag.9863]

Hi, a Spaniard here. Eurovision is a happy, campy, kitsch and fun event that we tend to watch with family and/or friends, usually making a party while watching it. I don't think for a moment people (countries) go to Eurovision to lose or troll it. We have diferents tastes and sometimes we vote countries with similar tastes. Spain tends to give a lot of points to Romania because here we have a lot of people from there and the Romanian expats tend to vote the sounds they like: their national heritage. It's a song contest (has to be an original song) but it's too a show with pyrotechnics, light and dancers. And it's the "show" part the one that present us with all the Eurovision vibes. Eurovision is an Euro party with the serious one that wants to win, the comedian one that wants everybody laughing, the diva one, the folk one that want to let see the rest it's heritage... Spain never wins (it's true we tend to send songs that are not liked in other countries) and one time we send an ironic entry to laugh at the contest, something like "we will never win but we are going to be the last ones at our way". We send a comedian without any kind of musical background to sing. We got at the middle of the classification. You saw him at the "mishaps" category during the video. The Russian man that got his jacket caught was a mishap but the dancer that sliped at the Spanish entry was choreographed to be that way. I think nobody send trolls because everybody wants to win. Sometimes a country decides to send an ironic song or be funny or won at it's national competition an internal joke kind of song that nobody understands. "Uno" is a campy russian song and got everybody dancing. It doesn't have the best lyrics "uno... un, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis" (they are singing the numbers in Spanish) but it's a happy song that didn't had pretensions and was liked at Europe. Finland won Eurovision with that group with monsters costumes. They have a tradition and taste for heavy and hard rock music and send to the contest a song that represented their tastes and Europe decided they liked hard rock and got them the first position. Ukraine (the ones with the metallic suits) had a good position because we liked it and got all Europe dancing. They were trying to win. The suits were a little bit kitsch but we loved it. It was part of the show and they gave a good show. I personally didn't like the comments "the american explaining Eurovision video" you watched about the drags. It was a little bit derrogatory. Eurovision was created to get along with each other and embracing our diferences in tastes, heritage and cultures within Europe. Some countries are very advanced with LGTBI rights and others no so much inside Europe. Conchita Wurst (the drag he was refering to) won Eurovision with a very beautiful song. It was a boost to people from countries inside Europe that don't have the best of time with their sexual and/or afective preferences. I don't want USA entering Eurovision because you are too intense and you will have an incorrect mindset. We see it like a party with friends that got wild and some neighbor is going to call the police if we get a little bit more loud. It was created to get along and to be noisy. We want to win but if we don't win we will not have a problem. I think you will want to win because you are very competitive and it's not the spirit of this contest and this specific mindset is going to make you the party crasher. Australia was invited because they have a big fan base and understood the concept of the contest. I think it was going to be a one time invitation but it's participation was sooooo smoth that we decided that Australia is Europe too. Australians got the concept and we rewarded them.

[@TheJodolivia]

Spotless review.

[@californianreacts]

Thanks for breaking it down and giving more details on the competition!

[@vanesag.9863]

@@californianreacts 😄 Thanks. You have to watch "love, love, peace, peace". It was a song the Swedish did at break time when they got to organize the competition. It summarizes the Eurovision vibes. The song was sung by the Swedish winner of the year before and the hostess of the show. They sung "how to make the perfect song to win the contest". It was the most ironic and self criticism song in the world. And it's ICONIC. They had the audience in stitches. All the song is an internal joke about Eurovision. We apreciate the irony because we don't take ourselves too seriously. We are partying, it's a contest but above all it's a week to be loud. Some of the songs that win are meant to be a criticism, others are dancing hits, you can make a ballad and be the winner... It's a form of expression and every year it's diferent. Sometimes the songwriters toe with some of the rules and they have to be very creative to convey the message they want to send across Europe. Sometimes we reward this creative form of expression with a song a priori not catchy.

[@bearrichards2667]

Hi VG, nice explanation and as an Englishman can I say Spain was robbed in 2016. Barei with Say Yay was clearly head and shoulders above everything else.

[@snakesnoteyes]

The US has already cried hard enough about their terrible US men’s football team to curse us with VAR, they’d absolutely try to rules lawyer the hell out of Eurovision.

[@sharonbunn2363]

The US would take it far too seriously and spoil it for the rest of us. It would become all about money and not the laugh. I love Eurovision it is so much fun and sometimes kick-starts careers. I particularly like the crazier acts, Australia fit in really well cos Aussies are nuts their entry with the lass swinging around on a bendy plinth thing was superb! There are a lot of ancient rivalries in Europe and Eurovision seems to act as a balm and bring us all together. I'm only sad that the acts I like rarely win!

[@moondaughter1004]

Good thing that the US has their own version. Btw there's no money to win in Eurovision

[@sharonbunn2363]

@@moondaughter1004 Seriously? What about the money brought in by the fans traveling to venues? What about the money earned by successful artists and the boost to their careers? What about the money made through advertising? Eurovision is a business like any other and we all know how the US likes to run businesses.

[@moondaughter1004]

@@sharonbunn2363 they're gonna have to spend all that money hosting the next competition next year. I mean sure exposure wise it definitely boost things but Eurovision isn't something a country competes in to earn a ton of money

[@melodramatic7904]

The American Song Contest was cancelled after one season.

[@najrenchelf2751]

Yeah, I think the US would turn into the opposite participant of Moldova, which is simply there to spread good vibes and have fun! I think countries like Moldova, that simply are there to spread good vibes, are vital to the energy and well being of Eurovision! :)

[@melindamuller4466]

From what I remember, the russian grandmas went to Eurovision to get support to repair their town church, which had a big impact on their points.

[@alftuvik3820]

I don't remember anything about that, people just thought it was a cute and funny entry with a catchy song.

[@californianreacts]

That's a great backstory/cause if so! Bonus points for them.

[@Silveirias]

The "Russian" grandmas were actually Udmurts (I think, definitely one of the Uralic peoples), one of Russia's many, many ethnic minorities.

[@multiapokalipsa]

And it's a questionable tactic, as the winner doesn't revieve any money. Maybe they could of gotten money from donations?

[@melindamuller4466]

@@multiapokalipsa Yeah, I don't think they expected to win money, but just to get to tell people of their cause and get donations that way.

[@hulda4ever]

As a person from Iceland who watched Eurovision religiously I vote for the best songs and not for a curtain country!

[@Divig]

Same here, however, we do have somewhat different taste in music in different parts of Europe. I think this explains some of the "friend voting".

[@californianreacts]

I also heard voting has opened up to the world to vote? Or perhaps it's always been so? I've been keeping up with parts but will have to watch it in full on YT, didn't know it was streamed on here. Thanks!

[@Allupertti]

@@californianreacts This year is the first year anyone from any country is allowed to vote. The votes from all non-participating countries count as one country's worth of points.

[@tovekauppi1616]

@@Divigalso, the jurys are just as bad if not more when it comes to voting for your neighbours.

[@Fanney47]

Same (on both)

[@Pilutta100]

We watch because it's both horrible and genius and the biggest spectacle ever. I honestly don't think Eurovision could be a world wide thing, for example America are extreamly welcome to watch but not compete. That would be so incredibly awkward. But I loove watching you guys reacting to it. Big hugs from Sweden.

[@Kalakeiko]

I think the songs this year are pretty good tbh, at least in my opinion

[@ayoCC]

I'd let texas join, or some other state of america that is not california. If california joins it just becomes all about the money and not about the event that brings everyone together.

[@najrenchelf2751]

Out of all the states, I think Louisiana would be most likely to get my invite. :)

[@clarissat867]

Frankly I do think it could be a bit " horrible" a few years ago, but i think it's very less like that these last few years

[@phueal]

I watch for the "troll" or "novelty" entries, but to be honest a lot of those have been getting really, really good. Even the really over-the-top silly songs have been absolute bangers lately, and have done very well on the scoreboard as a result (see Norway 2022 "Give That Wolf A Banana"; Lithuania 2021 "Discoteque"; Iceland 2020 "Think About Things"; Russia 2020 "Uno"; Israel 2018 "Toy"; etc.). I'm not sure there are any troll entries anymore, just good songs which take themselves seriously, good songs which don't take themselves seriously and, let's be honest, bad songs which take themselves seriously.

[@californianreacts]

Agreed, phueal! Those "troll" songs are now so catchy and get stuck in my head. Just fun all around. I've heard Uno but will now be looking up these others you mentioned! Excited!

[@Kalakeiko]

I think the songs this year are especially good in my opinion!

[@Kalakeiko]

​@@californianreacts Would you be interested in reacting to this years entries? The songs are pretty good in my opinion

[@gyeonglee3691]

Last year, MBC bought ESC and started American Song Contest last year. All 50 states present one singer and follows the same jury voting system from ESC. Michel Bolton was 6th place. Final winner was Ohio sung by Alexa- influenced by K-pop.

[@phueal]

@@gyeonglee3691 I watched it. I thought the quality wasn’t as high as ESC, but there were a couple of stand-out acts including Alexa. I was sad it didn’t get bigger ratings.

[@mikaph3051]

Neighboring countries often have shared languages and culture. I think that is more the reason why they might vote for each other than political conspiracy. It's often people from western european countries misdoubting the eastern european vote, while they do the same thing themselves. There is a bit of a communism paranoia/superiority bias going on. Which is rooted in the Eurovision fabric. I personally watch Eurovision every year with friends while having a house party. It's such a celebration. I love the buildup in the weeks prior to the main finals. Listening to all the songs, talking with friends about the yays and nays, watching the rehearsals, thinking about outfits for the final party, etc. We also make score forms and bingo for the final event. Sometimes we will have a barbecue to begin the evening, and we might do karaoke afterwards. You get the jist. Also, no I would not like the US to join. Perhaps we could have a different party with the US, but I don't think your culture would match the sense of humor here. It's much more a celebration, and about supporting each other, and not so much about winning. In my opinion US culture might be more goal oriented. It's great to see you showing interest though. The reason why we all speak english is because the UK has colonized the US in the 1600's, took its resources and then became really rich and pretty much "influenced" everyone else into speaking english.

[@cecilialeitet2794]

Then there is also the fact that many people move to their nabouring countries. You can't vote for your own country, but if you are a finn or norwegian living in Sweden, you have a swedish telephone number and can then vote for your home country. A lot of the neighbour votes also stems from this. Many countries have large populations from other countries living in them. One of the more famous diaspras in Europe are the polish, and polish entries usually do very well in the televote base on this reason alone. Fun fact: this is the reason San Marino can not hold a televote. They share the phone lines and numbers with Italy and therefor it is impossible to tell where the votes come from. They alway have jury only.

[@diane_5789]

I agree! This is a fair assessment.

[@basquat76]

Well as a Dane it is a little embarrassing we're always giving 12 points to Sweden. But didn't 6 east Euro countries get caught cheating last year? So our suspicion towards east europe is founded. They should be suspended for a few years.

[@ClaireWhiteheadIrl]

@@cecilialeitet2794 Similarly, a lot of Irish in the UK.

[@johannalarsson1901]

​​​@@cecilialeitet2794 well Finland usually don't get many votes from Sweden. Sweden on the other hand always seem to get high scores from Malta ( because of diaspora ) and the Scandinavian countries (that share language family) and the Swedish speaking population in Finland probably vote for Sweden too.

[@MizSazz]

Greece and Cyprus give each over 12 points pretty regularly one year one of them didn’t make it to the finals it was like OMG whos going to get the points now

[@evangeliar.7600]

But we still failed many times even with those votes

[@lmn6023]

And this year Greece is out again!

[@wazowski6602]

Yeah, last year Cyprus was out so Greece gave its 12 points to Azerbaijan🗿

[@jameswg13]

Like this year

[@charasavva267]

A lot of Countries are exchanging votes like Norway, Sweden and Finland or Italy and San Marino and let's not forget all the Eastern Countries of Europe exchanging votes every single year but still the problem is Cyprus and Greece! Well that's what I call hypocrisy! All Europe is doing the exact same thing but only two Countries are the problem!

[@MaryJane_ME]

I’m from Germany and I grew up watching Eurovision. I started watching it back in 2007 when I was like 6 y.o. I’m still watching it every single year😂 I can’t wait to watch it this Saturday 🙌🏻

[@mamorot7110]

i am from italy ,2007? you lost stefan grab vor deutschland ,so funny

[@dawidmorsi5480]

when 2008 started, i was 1 month and couple of days old lol

[@mamorot7110]

@@dawidmorsi5480 my first eurovision 1978

[@nikkitrabucho2534]

All of this “troll” stuff he is suggesting is nonsense. Countries pay a lot of money to compete. If they don’t want to host or win they wouldn’t pay and join in the fun. Finlands win was with a popular band, that wasn’t a gimmick. Greeces ‘Alcohol is free’ song was at the hight of their financial crisis. There may be campy or protest entries, and lots of them, but that’s always been the case and a big part of the Eurovision fabric. The silliness is taken very serious. 🎉

[@onomatopoetisk]

Well said!

[@whatever9554]

Yeah it's about wanting to stand out and be memorable. But because everyone is doing it it's become like a flock of peacocks trying to outdo each other. This is btw not critisism, I love it.

[@Kishuy]

Troll entries do exist, and some countries do not want the burden of hosting, but the examples he choose literally make the worse possible example. Half of them, specially the greece and portuguese One, were protest songs following the 2008 Crisis.

[@cecilialeitet2794]

American viewers could never handle Eurovision. There are rainbow flags, same-sex kissing, flamboyance and just all around and air of acceptance. Considering the US seem to think drag queens and nudity are the most dangerous thing a child can behold, this would never become the family event in the US that it is in Europe.

[@tovekauppi1616]

Haha true!

[@evie7601]

well it certainly presents itself as accepting dunno if its the reality though

[@glory4645]

Drag queen show in front of children should not be normalised anywhere in world and I'm not American.

[@evie7601]

@@glory4645 oh no one would accuse you of not being american don’t worry - because that’s a stupid opinion to have. very on theme for america.

[@cecilialeitet2794]

@@glory4645 My point didn’t need to be proven. Thank you for proving it anyway. ❤️

[@Cha-Charli]

* SONG contest, not singing contest * The ex. swedish manager for swedens national final(Christer Björkman) created the first (and probably only) American song contest 2022 where states were competing (Oklahomas kpop-artist AleXa won). And EBU (the company behind ESC) has tried several times to start a version in Asia. I think some fans would love to see different versions for every part of the world, and perhaps have the finalists compete in a "World vision" or something, but I doubt it will ever happen. But me, as well as my friends who also love ESC don't think the US should be part of the actual Eurovision song contest because of these arguments; - most americans don't seem to 'get' eurovision - the music culture is so different from Europe - the fear of big name artists from the US taking over the whole thing * Also, the "fear" of winning because you'd have to host ESC has almost never existed, it just sounds ridicolous. When a country has been unable to host because of various reasons- other countries have stepped in, and also it is an honor both to win and to host ESC.

[@evangeliar.7600]

For Azerbaijan winning eurovision was really positive!

[@zosig23]

San marino, Iceland and Moldova for example cannot physically fucking host, they will literally perish if they try

[@multifandomnerd1328]

plus, countries that dont have the financial option to partake or host any given year, simply just sit out that year,,,

[@Przeme]

One additional thing, EBU is more like a union of public broadcasters than company. And because of that I can't imagine that PBS, let alone NPR, could carry out this on behalf of the USA.

[@KyrilPG]

​@@PrzemeThere was a similar problem for Luxemburg recently. They are coming back next year (2024) : it will be RTL that will broadcast the Eurovision beam and organize the national selection on a "delegation of public service" as there's currently no real public broadcasting company / network in Luxemburg.

[@PossibleBat]

If the campiness, the horrible songs, the awkward entries, disappear, Eurovision will never be the same 😢 the bad parts are equally as important as the good parts, they make the contest better, they make the contest that we want

[@Hosigie]

As a European, I like Eurovision for the silly and fun performances. Every couple of years we'll get an actual good song, but mostly it's a great show to spend an evening with friends watching and laughing about.

[@bunjitsu7046]

I've watched every Eurovision since 2000 with the same group of friends, its a tradition, we get in lots of drinks and snacks, make a night of it, laugh at the trolls and dance to the good ones - We all pick a favourite before the voting starts and route for them to win. Its camp silly fun and you never know if a song will be a banger, be terrible or just bizarre. People who think its tacky just aren't in the right mind frame for good stupid fun. Eurovision is joy!

[@gwens2463]

This! I also get together with a group of friends. We rate every entry on the vibe of their song, the performance, outfits, and voice for a total of 40 points. Then we choose our personal top 3 and a top 3 prediction of who will actually win. I'm not into watching sports but it feels like a world cup every year, with less crying and vandalism. 😂 It's soo much fun.

[@Evasion381]

I watched the american song contest last year and my god did the usa butcher it, it was made into a 10 week show that felt like american idol with interviews of contestants telling me about all the struggles they been through

[@cttwii]

10 week show?!! 😂

[@Evasion381]

@@cttwii yep 6 songs are week and 3 voted for to go through to the semi's then final. you didn't even find out who made it till the beginning of next week either and don't get me started on the constant T mobile plugs

[@justlily3971]

Also most of them didn't have live vocals. Like, what is the point then? We can just watch a music video at this point

[@mayaamis]

omg that cringe makes me so irritated why do americans do that in every single show?!!??! even in the most fun shows they have to include ridiculous soap opera moments with sad violin kicking in and someone talking about their struggles... like just shut up and go on with the show and stop the fake pitty party!!

[@thespankmyfrank]

Yeah, it was kind of a disappointing show... but it's also sad that they didn't give it another chance, cause the show had potential. I watched the Swedish documentary about the production (because the producers were Swedish, mainly Christer Björkman who did Melfest for like 20 years) and they seemed to really fight the American part of the production to make it more authentic. If they'd just stepped away from their polished American TV format maybe it would have done better. I'm sad they didn't give it one or two more seasons to just see if it gained traction and could develop further.

[@louna5269]

i think a big reason for neighbouring countries voting for each other isn’t even necessarily politics but culture. A similar language and pop culture makes a big difference in what appeals to people too. Imo this gets overlooked a lot.

[@Fritha71]

Hello from Finland! Our media and I guess the public is up in arms about the fact that we didn't win last night but came second behind Sweden. Believe me, a win does mean a lot for many countries and we were definitely looking forward to winning it this year - the general public all over Europe gave us by far the most votes, but the juries from different countries picked Sweden. Any other year ( apart from 2006 which is when we won it for the first and only time with that monster band called Lordi ) we would be thrilled to be second, lol. Getting second place is also a first for us. But congrats to our neighbouring country, Loreen definitely has an amazing voice!

[@hannahspringer7713]

Yeah i think every country would be proud to win, I dont think these hopefully we wont win entries really exist. For example here in austria they played our song on the redio alot to hype it up. We were so proud that we got into the final hahahaha But my favourit this year was definetly finland it was so catchy and fun!

[@lena-ex7bv]

I'm not even from Finland but I'm still furious Finland didn't win. I don't think I ever remember the public in the arena protesting that much during the winner announcement, how did they even hear Loreen perform with all the arena screaming cha cha cha? lol But it was obvious that they rigged the whole thing making every single country jury vote for Sweden so that they can host it next year since it's the 50 anniversary from Abba's victory. The fact that it was all *so* rigged and the jury gave Sweden such a ridiculous advantage in jury points and somehow Finland still managed to get SO close to winning thanks to the public votes is really something you should be proud of. And I understand you're bitter about not actually winning but all of Europe is always gonna remember that Finland was the real, the people winner this year!

[@Cerulean_Frost]

As a Swede I'm kinda split on the results: On one hand I'm happy we finally tied Ireland for most wins, they have hogged the lead way too long for themselves. On the other, while Tattoo isn't a bad song I had a handful of songs in the final that I liked better, Finland above all others. Besides IMO Euphoria was better so Tattoo just feels like a downgrade. But essentially, I'm happy we won but I don't think we deserved it.

[@carpediem4091]

I think most of Europe is on Finland's side this year.

[@teijul1106]

@@Cerulean_Frost No you shouldn't have been in this year´s competition. Terrible how you have no rules or moral. Your song was a copy paste song.. Plagiarized song from Ukraine V´plenu . Terrible corruption inside the jury!!!!

[@AlienDenzil85]

I watch Eurovision because it's incredibly entertaining. The exceptionally talented performers are worth watching because they're so good. The campy jokey/troll/whatever acts are always fun to watch too. There's a little bit of something for everyone there. I'm from Liverpool and so I'm a bit disappointed that I wasn't able to get tickets for Saturday's final. I'll be in the "Eurovision Village" not far from the arena on Saturday. My plan is going to be soak up the atmosphere while having a couple of beers with my brother and sister. Should be fun!

[@belosevickris3379]

It's not that neighboring countries vote for each other just because of politics. Most of the time languages and artists are the same in certain areas and naturally, people will vote for what they know and already love. Music that is popular in Nordic countries might or might not be the most popular elsewhere, but both people and juries from that region will be inclined to rate higher songs of their neighbors who are similar in mentality and language, than some songs from, I don't know, Turkey or Albania. Also, Cyprus and Greece share language and artists, they are almost the same country so they vote for one another.. always.

[@kennikitty]

What I personally like about the ESC is the weirdness. Almost anything goes. We see lot's of different styles and very colorful people and it usually feels like one big family. Even though they're all contestants, it has a very friendly feeling. Everyone is welcome in the big and shiny eurovision family. Music wise it's so unique. Sometimes in a bad way and sometimes in a good way. I never knew I needed "Shum" by Go_A in my life, fo example. There was a period when we had a lot of "bad" songs, but in more recent years the quality of the music has impoved a lot. It has become watchable whithout being a total guilty pleasure. Sure, it's still weird and unique and that's a good thing. When they tried to host an American Song Contest last year, I was like... nope, that ain't gonna come close. You just can't replicate something that has evolved over more than 60 years and is constantly influenced by about 40 different cultures. What makes the ESC so vibrant are the contestants and the fans.

[@OlafurJonBjornsson]

In Iceland this is starts with the local competition, where we select our our song, it's when its darkest and the snow is heavy. This brightens our moods, and by the time the main competition takes place in May we have usually convinced ourselves that we have the best song, and that the competition is just a formality. This lasts until the points start to get announced, but it's ok since now we ave sunlight most of the 24 hours anyway.

[@mpld8057]

tbh you guys did send Dadi Freyr, so of course you had the best, he deserved to win so much (and stole the show again in 2023)

[@KarrieDreammind5]

Best explanation! Love it! :D

[@AZJuno]

Well, you had a p-p-power over me this year 😊 Loved Diljá's energy this year. And of course Daði Freyr ❤

[@scipioafricanus5871]

I'm glad if they just play "JAJA DINGDONG"

[@phueal]

English is the most common language because it is most widely understood, and so it is easier for more viewers across all countries to enjoy the lyrics as well as the song as a whole. And in fact one of the reasons Ireland has won so many times (sorry Ireland) is because in the 90s countries were forced to sing in their own language, and so Ireland was able to sing in English while other countries weren't. They changed that rule and Ireland stopped winning. That said there have been lots of really excellent songs in recent years, including winning entries, which have sung in their own language.

[@madabbafan]

Not just in the 90s the native language rule was in place, with the exception of 4 years in the early to mid 70s, since the contest began.

[@phueal]

@@madabbafan you’re right, and obviously we can’t know, but I think a big reason for the change in winning pattern in the 90s (i.e. Ireland winning all the time) was the admittance of all the Eastern European countries. Before that the contest was just Western Europe and a very few others, and so there were fewer base languages (e.g. French was spoken natively by about 6 participating countries) and also better comprehension of those languages (e.g. French was widely spoken in Germany). So I think language was less important back then. But once you start admitting all the Eastern bloc countries English becomes the only widely spoken language in most countries.

[@B-A-L]

Ireland stopped winning because it couldn't afford to keep hosting it.

[@cttwii]

Eurovision is amazing. I love the unity it brings as well. Historically yes there have been some hilarious entries but at the moment year on year its getting stronger and stronger. This year is one of the strongest yet.

[@yvkon]

let me just share some random thoughts here: Why do we watch Eurovision? Because it's a camp, crazy, fun party; a way to discover new and upcoming artists; a way to learn about each others culture. And for me an added bonus can be the snarky remarks by commentators or friends you watch with, gotta love a bit of sarcasm/satire. At least that's why I watch it, can't speak for everyone you know. They did try an American song contest last year, with Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson presenting. Not much of a success I gather as I haven't seen a return of it this year. I don't think the US should participate in Eurovision, but if they want to there would need to be a heck of a national final to allow artist to enter. So an American songcontest first and the winner can go on to the Eurovision songcontest. We do have American artists performing at the competition. Either as an interval act (Justin Timberlake, Madonna) or actively participating. Latest examples of the latter are for instance Flo Rida collabing with Senhit in 2021 for San Marino and Ochman in 2022 for Poland. Australia participating was to be a one time thing for the 60th anniversary in 2015, as in Australia there is a huge fanbase for the contest. And we all loved having them that first time, they have been returning every year since, spicing up the competition with great entries. I think Peacock does stream the live shows in the US.

[@evawettergren7492]

I have grown up with Eurovision so it is a lot of nostalgia involved. It is just hours of background entertainment for me, watching with one eye while doing something else at the same time. But it is definitely fun when weird and surprising performances come up. And sometimes a really good song that I will actually listen to again.

[@evangeliar.7600]

Same. My earliest mamories are all from eurovision. It's for many people a part of their lifes!

[@postmalonestoes1080]

The best part of eurovision is the cheesy camp songs, you might occasionally find a good song too.

[@MewDenise]

As a swede I would say both people and jury vote for who they liked and not our neighbours. The times the jury did give max points to Norway, they were great songs. I think it doesn't help that our musical taste is the same since we are Scandinavian. I remember us giving max points to Greece anf later found out the producer was swedish so... no wonder we liked it. But yes... there are certain countries that have given each other max points every year

[@Prafik614]

Yes, north, east and south Europe has very different culture and music and people from those areas just like that kind of music more. Except this year, when Sweden and Finland are kidnapping the whole competition 🤩💚💃🏻🥳 Good luck Sweden from Finland, let the games begin 🥂🍾

[@martinafredriksson9392]

Swede here, too. I think you are absolutely right. We tend to have similar taste in music as our geografical neighbors. That's why we vote the way we do.

[@bambi42]

As a Finn, yeah we have NOTICED that you guys really don't give points to your neighbours! :D

[@PossibleBat]

Well, at least you are unbiased, you just like that type of tune the most 😂

[@JekyViews]

@@bambi42 - sure we do. We give them to Norway. ;) No, but jokes aside, if Käärijä doesn’t get our 12 points this year, I’ll be very surprised. It has everything you could ever want, and we DO love Finland - except when you involve hockey.

[@danielamunzone5098]

Sanremo, in Italy, hosts the oldest song contest in the world; it was inspiration for the Eurovision song contest back in the 50s

[@danielamunzone5098]

@steffvanval oh yes, it was!

[@areswalker5647]

@steffvanval from Wikipedia: Inspired principally by the Italian Sanremo Music Festival, held annually since 1951, the concept of a televised European song contest, initially proposed by Italian broadcaster RAI, was formulated by an EBU committee led by Swiss broadcaster and executive Marcel Bezençon.

[@thespankmyfrank]

​@@steffvanvalIt's true. Sanremo festival was the inspiration for ESC.

[@stellakeil96]

esc is about a mixture of catchy troll songs, really interesting modernized folklore and incredibly boring radio pop songs. But sometimes you find a gem there and thats what makes it cool

[@susanashcroft2674]

The contest is being held down the road from me in Liverpool on behalf of Ukraine who were last years winners. I don't visit the city very often but had to drive there last week and it seems they are embracing the event combining the pride and culture of the city and Ukrainian culture by holding lots of events prior to and building up to the main event on Saturday. As for the US entering Eurovision, perhaps not. Although did the US not have their own sort of singing contest last year with different states entering?

[@californianreacts]

That's great to hear! The proximity to yourself in Liverpool and bringing in the Ukrainian culture, that will be great. I agree, the US should not be allowed into Eurovision. I'm not sure if there's a singing contest between states, but that would be fun if there were! I'll look this up, now I'm curious.

[@Muckylittleme]

Who could have predicted Ukraine would win last year even before the song was heard? Well everyone who knows anything about Eurovision now being an EU propaganda event.

[@becauseimbatman1391]

​@@californianreacts There was an American Song Contest held in the US that was an American version of Eurovision. It was last year, and had Snoop Dogg as a host. Oklahoma won. It wasn't very popular and was discontinued this year

[@susanashcroft2674]

@@becauseimbatman1391 Thanks for confirming this. I think Eurovision is unique to Europe (and a few other countries added in) and holding their own contest probably didn't work for the US as they had hoped.

[@GullibleTarget]

The Fire Saga movie is the PERFECT explanation for Eurovision to an American! Will Ferrell really understands Eurovision and European mentality. The US should not enter. Barbs' summarizes American mentality. They would take part for the sole reason of winning and call 'politics' when they don't receive points. Australia joined because they have been watching eurovison for decades. Imagine millions of Australians getting up before dawn to watch a European event. They understand Eurovision and Eurovision is very happy to have them.

[@katrintopkin]

I watch it because it IS so huge. All of Europe is involved. It's fun and offers a chance for smaller countries musicains to get noticed which they otherwise would never get.

[@Addy1987]

That video you just watched is based on rumors and hearsay tbh. It has some details aswell but countries don't try to loose, Ireland admitted to it once after hosting the competition 3 times in a row. Smaller countries that don't have venues and logistics can opt to not host and then some of the other countries will offer to host instead. This year it's held in Liverpool as it wouldn't have been safe to host it in Ukraine during war time. When we send joke songs it's usually because there's humor for it in our countries. in 2006 Iceland (my birth country) sent Sylvia Night a completely acted tv character, the actor Ágústa Eva played the diva part a bit too well and is the only act to ever have been booed as it started it's performance. An inside joke that to this day, most of Europe still doesn't understand was supposed to be a satire (yes icelandic humor is weird). I watch Eurovision because I love music and it's a tradition for me, growing up we used to sit down and watch eurovision together and discuss the acts, laugh at the silly and cheer for our favorites. I usually pay attention to the national selections and watch the semi finals (first semifinal is tonight 4 hours and 30 mins from now) here's a link to how to watch eurovision.tv/story/watch-eurovision-2023

[@Niki91-HR]

Politics for sure is a part of ESC but not as much as people make it seem. Often it is about cultural closeness between some countries and why some countries give each other more point because they also can relate to each other. I think the past years even that changed a bit. The only thing I find annoying is that the contest got to mainstream also with English....having more people singing in their native language is so much more fun. Which this year we have a few, including my country (finally). About the troll entries....well I wouldnt necessarily call them troll but more "joke" entry in a positive way. Often these songs are very catchy and they bring a lots of fun and light to the show. I actually dont really remember that anyone doesnt want to win....you can withdraw if you dont want to compete. My country wasnt in ESC for several years for example. Italy if I remember correctly was gone for some time too...but after they came back , they had a banger after banger till they finally won with Maneskin. Deservedly so.

[@jonasv.c.8924]

It's a bit unfortunate that the video forgot to mention that ABBA had their international breakthrough after they won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974. Back in those days everyone took the contest very seriously and sent some really good singers/bands (ABBA, Céline Dion, Olivia Newton-John, Cliff Richard, Julio Iglesias). These days it's mostly a big festival of bad musical taste and kitchy costumes that's only bearable to watch if you're with a group of friends and have lots of alcohol.

[@onomatopoetisk]

What? I totally disagree with you - my view is opposite! I think in recent years, more entries have gotten way better.

[@gaybondboy]

Alcohol alcohol ajcohol is free ! 😄

[@Avi-rn6ei]

My tip for making the show more enjoyable:Eurovision the drink contest. Everyone draws paper notes from a bowl with the competing countries on it. Everyone places bets on who will receive the 12 points during the night and gives shots to other players. Depending on how many bets the person has to finish all placed shots before that countries performance ends. Now if you are still standing there is round 2. During the point reveal you have to drink whenever your country receives 12 points. It can get fun very quickly and is played in our group every year.

[@whydoistillexist5033]

4:50 the viewers almost always vote for their actual favorite. The countries that vote first vote almost only for politics or if something is SO good that they HAVE to give them a lot of points

[@Flugkaninchen]

The German song with the Las Vegas Cowboy style actually made it to the Top Ten. It was written and performed by the same man who wrote the winning song for Lena in 2010.

[@fhpmmusic]

No, that's wrong. Raab didn't write Satellite!

[@Flugkaninchen]

@@fhpmmusic Oh, okay. He was so involved in Lena's win that I somehow remembered it wrong. Thanks for clarifying. Fact is: whenever Raab was involved, things weren't going that bad for Getmanoat the ESC.

[@fhpmmusic]

@@Flugkaninchen I agree, he has a good sense for these kind of things!

[@timglennon6814]

The Eurovision Song Contest final is on this Saturday 13th May. 8pm U.K. time 3pm USA. You might be able to find a link to watch it. I know American reaction channel, Embrace The Suck 21, (Daniel and Spencer) are doing a watch along.

[@jca111]

The official KZbin page is streaming it kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5rRdIZ8r52DnLc I don't know if it will be region blocked at tho.

[@whydoistillexist5033]

I watch the Eurovision final with all of my close friends every year. So much fun. It’s cringy sometimes and sometimes REALLY good. And that’s why it’s so fun to watch

[@MichaEl-rh1kv]

8:35 Lordi won the 2006 contest with this Heavy Metal song: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXLLaoGIfLObi7c 8:45 The winning (and bearded) drag queen was Conchita Wurst from Austria with this song: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZLSnYl7f6qdjJY 9:55 There were already many approaches to ruin it from within Europe, so that would not be the real problem. What saved it however were the fun performances and the drag queens in the last 25 years - I don't know how many US citizens could live with that.

[@stuartcollins82]

It's the one time of the year europeans aren't annoyed by each other. We all know it's just fun. Like the Brits can put their arms around the French and say "yeah, our song sucks too". I mean, not this year though, the French song is epic.

[@ZoieNhoa]

No, no, no, I watch it every year, and vote, and have never thought of the funny ones as trolls! 😮 I see them as so crazy that It’s good. It often wins. So, don’t go there if you wanna loose. We don’t laugh at them, but with them. 😂 It’s hilarious and clever!

[@craftyclaira]

Hi Britain here. We have huge Eurovision parties at friends houses or in pubs each year- drinks, costumes, food and dancing. Because its such a long evening(2023 was 4 hours!) it becomes such a fun fest and we have score sheets to predict winners from the 26 finalists. Its great fun! We love the absolute diversity and zanyness if the staging, costumes and performances - Eorope on acid it would seem always inbthebest possible taste.

[@Kramtomat]

I watch Eurovision ‘cause I love the whole package! As a Swede I’m also very competitive in ESC since we have been in the second place after Ireland for 8 years. Since we won this year we just need one more win to be in the top. 🇸🇪🤩✌🏼

[@frankwitte1022]

I watch it every year. When I was a kid every family member would give 1-8, 10 and 12 points to the acts and we would determine a family winner.😆 Now I still watch it every year and me and my daughters we comment on each and every act and all have our favourites.😊It has been family fun for as long as I can remember. With all its crazy fun and campiness, it is also an annual reminder to all Europeans that, after the horrors of WW1 and WW2, in the future we'ld rather sing at each other than shoot at each other.

[@mats9775]

3:26 Not entirely true. The big 5 are the major financial contributors to organise the contest. Yes, countries like Germany and the UK have scored low in recent years, but Italy consistently send top performances, and even won Eurovision in 2021.

[@sarkastin2783]

A swede here. 😊 I watch mostly for the music, even if I never vote. 😅 And I love to see all the stage shows as well. ✨ The swedish commentators on tv are almost always amazing as well. Their jokes are just *chefs kiss 🤣 plus, eurovision is a party at our house with voting on every song and much more. It a very nice evening 💜

[@californianreacts]

Sounds like a fun time! House party and Eurovision watching the entertaining performances and hearing a massive mix of songs. Love it!

[@ronnopotter]

Eurovision is happening this week, today the first semifinal was held in Liverpool, UK. The second one is next Thursday and the grand final is on Saturday. If you want to watch it live you should probably need a VPN because as far as I know the contest streaming is blocked for the US. I watch it since 2002 and is my favorite event of the year. The Eurovision season starts with the national selection of each country. Some of them like Sweden and Norway host huge events where many contestants try to represent their country. Some other chose internally. Fun fact, the story of fire saga was filmed during the Eurovision in Israel, the stage you saw in the movie was the real Eurovision stage and the public as well.

[@milliethomsen4990]

usually its actually the jury voting which is more political than the public voting as the public will just vote for their favourites and the juries will give their points out to certain countries.

[@Yorozou]

I got introduced to eurovision by my friends in 2019 and we've been watching it together ever since. It's just entertaining, there are some good songs, some funny songs and some not memorable ones but It's just a big celebration that we get together to watch while eating popcorn.

[@rosedoddema4660]

It is just a fun show to watch and trash talk with family about the performances 😂😂

[@JGARCIA2012FULL]

Hi, here from the Dominican Republic. This is one of the best song contests in the world. I watched my first full show in 2007 (highly recommend the 2009 one), lots of great songs, some very popular because some countries send commercially released songs like Waterloo of ABBA, it is not something 100% sure, but they have very high odds of going all the way to win. The presenters and the production itself are part of the show, so it is often worth seeing them complete. If you don't want to spend 3-4 hours watching the complete show, you can see the presentations from each country individually. I recommend watching the classification competitions because some pretty good ones have been discarded due to a lack of votes. The funniest thing is that many times you don't have the slightest idea who can win in the end. There may be favorites, but that's no guarantee. Good songs haven't even made it to the first five places, and some extremely ridiculous ones have even won. Another of the positive points of the contest is that it can be the beginning of a whole career for the singers and songwriters and even influence very positively the perception of your country in Europe, I speak to you, Azerbaijan!

[@VanH77]

Lovely reaction, cute & polite..thank you. 😉 I think it's a bit of all, people watch it because they did it growing up for decades, they love/hate it and when they get older just throw a watching party or have something to talk at work. They celebrate the fantastic songs as well as the cheesy ones, it's just never boring. For a smile and more insight watch ' The ultimate guide to Eurovision '(2022 Update) or/and ' Love, Love, Peace, Peace ' from Mans & Petra ♡ Greets from germany~

[@helena19741]

I've watched since I was a little girl. We would watch with the entire family. We would make lists, and gave scores and predictions. Now that I'm older I always watch with the same group of friends, and we even visited a few shows. What's not to love!

[@BillCameronWC]

I think I’ve watched it a majority of years since about 1962/3 (we had our first TV at home in 1962 I think) and the UK, where I’m from, has competed every year except the first competition in 1956. Also I lived outside Europe in mostly pre-satelliteTV days for around 25 years so never saw it then unless I happened to be in the UK or Europe on vacation or business when it was televised. Apart from that I’ve watched it every year, it’s kind of addictive, sometimes the entries are so bad they’re good, sometimes they spawn decades-long international stardom, the best example is ABBA from Sweden. Any country which is a member of the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) can compete, members are mostly in Europe (obviously), plus in North Africa and the Near East, in addition associate members in other parts of the world. Australia is a special case, basically because it is apparently fanatical about Eurovision so was allowed to compete as a one-off in 2015 (marking the 30th year it had been broadcast in Australia), but has competed every year since so far. I watched both semifinals this year on Tuesday/Thursday & I’ll certainly be watching the final tomorrow/Saturday as usual 😎.

[@dandelan]

Originally artists were required to sing in their official language (if there were more than one, you could choose). Eventually Eurovision let that restriction go. There is a somewhat higher chance to win if you sing in English (and don't forget, also score an international hit), but not always. For instance, ABBA from Sweden won with "Waterloo" in English and it was actually the start of their worldwide fame, but my country, Belgium, once came in second with a song in a non existing language. It proves Eurovision's point that music and songs are truly a universal language. Also, the voting is as much part of the show as the actual songs (and almost lasts as long too). Sometimes it's classy, sometimes it's camp, sometimes it's pure madness, but mostly it's just a lot of fun!

[@konijnie97]

I -and my friends- watch because it's campy and chaotic, there's so many genres, AND it's fun to trash talk and hype while sipping cocktails and wine all night :)

[@oridavidmusai7184]

You should watch this year final on Saturday

[@mikaeljohansson7848]

Fun thing when you talk about the movie is that Rachel McAdams is lipsyncing . It is a swedish singel called Molly Sanden that sings

[@DulcisAbsentia]

A fun fact that very few know : Eurovision was created by an EU broadcasting Union by taking inspiration from Sanremo Festival (Italy’s annual biggest music event since 1951) in its creation.

[@wondertim0]

06:48 "Typically you can tell if the song is troll if it is about partying, dancing or "having fun", usually played to poppy techno EDM track (=perhaps the genre he is looking for is Eurodance), ususally accompanied by over the top flashy costumes and props or bad dancing" Finland's Cha Cha Cha this year: ✅ About Partying (=drinking) ✅ About Dancing ✅ Poppy EDM Techno (50%) ✅ Over the top costume ✅ Bad dancing (by the storyteller) ✅ Budget props (EUR-pallets) Trolling went horribly wrong since they are in the finals and like top-10 candidates

[@ilmarziano]

I'm an italian and growing up I've never watched Eurovision, I recently discovered it was because Italy didn't compete for 10 years! It wasn't even advertized on tv, it was like it never existed, so I too discovered Eurovision was a real thing thanks to the Will Ferrell movie back in quarantine XD

[@jim634]

I'll go further than some of the other commentators. Beyond the main reasons that most people in Europe and beyond love it - the fun of it, the spectacle, the gonzoness of it all - it's actually one of the few truly great achievements of humanity. Yeah, really. Europe was still reeling from the after-effects of two world wars. Not even counting those two wars, most of Europe had been at each others throats for centuries. So on top of NATO and the UN being formed to help prevent that going forward, the idea that civvies and corporations and governments all came together to get behind one of the two things we all have in common, it's wonderful. It was either going to be a singing competition or a cooking competition, and they picked the more fun route. It's been going for decades and decades now and is a high point of the year, even when it's not such a great year for the competition overall. Despite all the tactical voting, all the behind the scenes shenanigans, it was a noble enterprise and at it's core still remains so. All it exists for at the base of it is fun, and joy, and coming together to have a laugh with people who might once have been enemies. It's a magnificent thing, one of the few things our species can be truly proud of.

[@ilincabogza]

Well, yes, people usually sing in english so they have better odds at winning. But in recent years this has started to change and more and more countries sing in their native languages now, wich i think it's amazing. Both in 2021(italy) and 2022(ukraine) the winners sung in their own languages

[@TheMarrification]

It's a lot of fun, and it's nostalgic from my childhood. That's why I watch it.

[@jennyrintakoski4914]

Excuse me! The SHADE of putting The Herreys' picture right when he said "they delibaretly suck". That song is amazing. I watch the Eurovision because it's just fun. It's a great night. And honestly, if it weren't for Eurovision I wouldn't know aaaany other countries in Europe. Now I have a semi good knowledge of a lot of other countries, and their culture. And I think thats beautiful :)

[@Vaelios3292]

I watch Eurovision for the camp, for the folklore and for the good and the bad performance. Winning is not really important, politics did play an important part (but it's not everything). Most countries participate in english because it's widely understandable, but some countries have their own rules for their national selections and can't sing in english, like France or Spain. Sometimes you have odds one, like Austria singing in French. But the odd balls are the main reason why it's entertaining. It would be very boring to have only balades every years. But not all the campy songs are trolls. We often get great ones that are real bops. It's more about "not being too serious" than being a real troll.

[@literaturtee]

I'm German and I've been watching Eurovision every year since 1997. It's the best event in the year and there's usually a big party somewhere to celebrate this entertaining contest! I love how all the European countries compete with each other with music and not war. It's about peace, about love and about having fun! We're all one big family and Eurovision shows this! I just love it!

[@californianreacts]

That's great! I'm trying to catch up, very entertaining that's for sure! Now I'm hearing the German entry for this year as I type this.

[@Yaxoi]

* Italy usually does not send someone who sucks. Spain and France try hard but usually it does not work. BG and Germany are just memes at this point for always being on the last few places (as we saw last night)

[@HilaryMortimer]

A good insight into Eurovision is the episode of the Irish 1990s comedy Father Ted, Song for Europe.

[@varlmorgaine3700]

I watch it mostly because its intresting to see music from other european countries and they have always some good band or singer that im happy to know now.

[@HaraldSeiwert]

the voting for your neighbours or friends part is true.

[@blanska]

I think the "I don't wanna win" troll performances evolved into wacky fun performances that are just so entertaining that they became good again and nowadays some of those tend to be very popular and one of the main reasons why I'm watching. I'm always looking forward to what weird but fun stuff theya can come up with :D Verka Serduchka is the best example, her song has become an everlasting meme and anthem of Eurovision in my humble opinion :D want more of that, thank you

[@martinbull-gundersen8878]

Yes, it's very true that neighbouring countries often give each other high points. Probably not just because we "like" them, but also since we have a quite common culture, we like the same (bad?) music 🙂 And US should absolutely not be part of this. They wouldn't understand it.

[@andycandyandy]

It feels like an event, because it only happens once a year. So it feels special and it’s more than just a tv show, it’s been on for so long now, it joins generations together and so it’s part of the European identity

[@juliaclaire42]

Eurovision in fact is an organization of mostly European broadcasters. Eurovision produces TV shows for the use of every member. There is a lot besides the song contest: sports and other entertainments. The cooperation also includes some countries at the Mediterranean Sea (f ex Cypress and Israel). It's much more as music.

[@californianreacts]

Thank you for this extra bit of information on Eurovision as a business!

[@mikecameron2151]

It was shown in the US and Justin Timberlake was the half time show act and a lot of Americans complained that they couldn't vote for the American act

[@619LAzaros]

When every Eurovision song gets prepared to air in the finals, its gets introduced by having a backstory. So even "Jocker" songs have a message or a meaning to it. Most of the competition is for fun but sometimes things have a point too!

[@AZJuno]

Love Eurovision 'cause for me it's a party, good natured competition and just fun event that I follow with my favourite streamer. There are always a lot of memes, fun or heartwarming songs, different cultures and styles. Sometimes I even follow national selection in different countries to prolong this mood and to be the first one (kind of) to know competitors.

[@M1CH43L1992]

I watch Eurovision to see my Homecountry get Last place again. Greetings from Germany

[@monika.niekyte]

I watch Eurovision my whole life as I can remember, it's kinda important thing in my country, Lithuania never won this contest before. But our best preformance was 2006 wirh a song "We are the winners" of Eurovision, you should react to that song! Thanks, love your video!

[@lassam333]

I'm a fan of the Eurovision Song Contest since 1977. It started as a peace project in post World War II Europe as a contest for composers and lyricists. I love the diversity of artists and cultures involved. The main reason why some nations vote for each other is mainly cultural. An artist from Greece is known on Cyprus as well as the other way around. This is similar in the northic countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Iceland) as well in the countries of former Yugoslavia or Soviet Union. As mentioned there were also some very prominent winners like ABBA or Celine Dion. Actually also a US American won the contest: Katrina Leksanich (born in Topeka, Kansas) won for the United Kingdom in 1997 with Love shine a light. Her band is also known as Katrina and The Waves and had their most famous hit "Walking on sunshine". Also Flo Rida took part in 2021 for San Marino.

[@sunwoosberrymyberry]

A Norwegian here! I've grown up with Eurovision, so it's amazing to see it gaining even more attention from the rest of the world :D there seems to be a lot of people who aren't aware of the fact that America has a version of Eurovision, America's Song Contest, where each state competed. My impression of it wasn't as good as I had hoped, it seemed more serious than Eurovision usually takes it :3 (the winner is absolutely amazing tho, seriously, check it out

[@rexation8952]

American Song Contest failed for several reasons (I watched it lived and voted): -Also premiering withing the same week on American TV at the time was....the newest season of American Idol. They made it really hard for themselves by going up against that well-known and established American singing competition TV show -The songs weren't released early to possibly get any play either on radio stations or by Spotify. They weren't known in full until the actual contest itself aired each song. This is as opposed to Eurovision SC, where some songs you can listen to as earlier as 5 months ahead of the actual show. The music industry in America is dominated by major artists that dominate the airwaves, and they didn't want these songs taking up their radio/Spotify playtime. It just doesn't work like that for this kind of competition. -Winners in US TV singing competitions are given an actual prize (more than a trohpy), like a record deal or actual money...the American song contest prize was weak in comparison, just the trophy and the title of best original song. Americans don't do well without an more well-defined incentive. -Americans don't love the idea of a "Jury vote". Even though the largest percentage of the vote came from the online vote, this was still an issue for the American audience. -I don't think that Americans got over the idea that this is not a singing competition, that it is for the best song -There arent huge amount of regional differences between most of Americans with regards to general music style, language , and culture

[@fibrown444]

The Latvian song (Wolves of the Sea) was covered by Scottish metal band Alestorm, which is not bad at all.

[@LadyNikitaShark]

I love all of it. Specially the goofy parts. In 2011 my country (Portugal) actually sent a comedy act (Homens da luta) and we had a blast with it. They were trooling but there act and somg was actually based in traditions from our country.

[@silver5499]

It is true that neighboring countries often vote for each other, but my belief is that it’s because they have more musical ties together, So they are more likely to like each other’s music. Europe is big and many types of different musical cultures resides in it.

[@ArianesDrawingPH]

I have no idea about this contest when I watched something song rips from SilvaGunner (yep, I heard that contest for the very first time in the contest) until I found out on Wikipedia. Maybe last August or September? Now, this month, there's so many video recommendations on my KZbin account regarding to this song contest. Last week, I'm watched the original vid of Epic Sax Guy Meme.

[@nisa202]

There is nothing more fun than sitting on the couch with your family, loudly commenting on every act, joking around and dancing along with the silly songs

[@Xia-hu]

I watch it because it is fun and it's even better to watch it with friends and then try to bet the winner.

[@avsambart]

I watch it cos its just good fun. The score section is such a good drinking game too.

[@jameswg13]

Hard rock Hallelujah and the band lordi ( who won for finland in the video ) is a classic epic

[@Orionte9]

4:42 -There are usually 5 big factors that help to understand who will vote in who. 1st is the style of the music country's like Portugal an Italy tend to like more to soft emotional songs , east europe more tecno dance the North more to rock and heavy metal. 2nd The strange factor some countrys tend to give points to more comic over the top performances. 3th Politics some country like others more or have some kind of rivalry and that shows 4th Cultural tides, some languages betewn country are sometimes close enough to understand. For example Portuguese and Spanish Swedish and Danish, the baltics etc. 5th Emigration some country have a lot of immigrants so they vote for there homeland

[@Coilla85]

I watch it cause i find it a lot of fun. Rating the songs myself with friends. The craziness of some songs is always hilarious. Love it! It used to be way more political based scoring the songs. Some countries still do. Even last year about 6 countries or so teamed up and made a deal to vote on each other. The Dutch 12 points always went to Belgium and also the other way around. That doesn't happen anymore.

[@NotJustYourAverageGirl]

You sould know the screaming puppet is called Dustin,he's a turkey, and he's been on Tv for decades mostly as a kids tv show co host during the 90s/00s, and has a very thick Dublin accent

[@msmichellewinchester]

I think if US competed, they'd probably take themselves too seriously and would also probably have to censor the whole show because conservatives would cry about how inappropriate it is.

[@pao1462]

The reason why Australia is in Eurovision is because the competition is hosted by the EBU and Australia is part of it. They also have a huge fan base so they have a contract to participate until 2023

[@dizzyduck44]

As a Brit there are three categories of songs that we love. The first are the genuinely great songs, Arcade, Euphoria, Rise Life a Phoenix have gone on to be world wide hits and would have probably been without winning. Second the slightly mental crazy acts that become icons that don’t have to win. Every year there is at least one who we invite back year after year to perform because we love them. Finally it’s the truly awful “am I seeing this not dreaming it” songs. And we vote for them because we appreciate the guts to put that out there shamelessly. Sadly that means about 35 songs every are filler but we LIVE for the ones we will still be singing in 10 years time. Also an American has won Eurovision at least once. Katrina and the Waves won in 1997 for the UK