American reacts to EUROVISION for the first time

[@amyloriley]

Daily reminder for Eurovision that it's a song contest, not a singing contest. It's not the Voice, it's not about who has the best singing voice. It's the whole package: vocals, instruments, dance, the whole stage.

[@barbarusbloodshed6347]

Which is exactly why it is shocking to see which songs usually make it to the top. This year was one of the biggest WTF moments. There were a handful of decent songs in the competition and as I recall just one of them made it into the top ten, the rest was uninspired pop garbage.

[@e.s.7272]

Many forget that the ESC is a music competition for composers, whose content is performed by singers.

[@LaPingvino]

@@barbarusbloodshed6347 whatever you think about it though, Eurovision has the best track record of songs being generally popular afterwards, even if people don't know they come from Eurovision.

[@eliasgamper3313]

No it’s only about the performance, no one is really playing an instrument on stage.

[@Sarfixell]

​@@eliasgamper3313well that's a lie

[@HonorioNieva]

That man actually has no idea what Eurovision contest is and means to European citizens. It is not true that the whole music sent to the contest is crap. Every year we can listen some very good songs. The whole show is a visual spectacle and a great entertaintment. The voting final part of the show is thrilling. Every year the show is becoming better and is number one in tv ratings.

[@ssantelha]

I'm so happy Sweden's hosting next year, the best 2 shows so far have been the ones hosted by Petra. She should host every year regardless of where it's happening.

[@Zerodess]

there are good songs sure but I think the majority of the songs is extremly bad, so bad it's getting good again ... even if it's just for laughs

[@minatonamikaze6400]

Man as a french guy, people who represent france aren't even famous, like nobody listen to them when we have true artists that could have a chance. But idk who chose who is going to represent us because it's always bad - mid And the voting part is just voting for your friends and not the actual best most of the time. And why is isreal in this ? It's not europe

[@pubsapass1214]

Of course it's ALL CRAP !! Seriously !! Every year i'm more and more ashmed of wich artist we send there, and more and more ashamed of who wins the contest. This bullshit shouldn't exist !

[@jamesu1540]

​@@Panssel from the UK but i agree. Talent was once a requirement, now its mainly a freakshow with just a few good(ish) songs

[@franzferdinand5810]

No offence, but i think most Europeans don't want the USA to participate. I know it can sound a bit petty, but for a lot of people this is one of the few forms of media that doesnt come from the US and a lot of people want to keep it that way. Like most of the music we hear on the radio is american, most movies we watch are american, hell even most popular tv shows are american. This is one of the few truly european media outlets.

[@Jay_Kay666]

I think if usa understands they are not gonna win with Beyonce shaking her booty. If they send an obscure redneck band from Alabama then I'm all in.

[@Misterjingle]

Even if a large part of the cultural media is American, it depends on the country. In France, Italy or Spain, the American media have much less of a monopoly. In France on the radio, 50% of the songs are French, many French films and series are watched by French people, etc. If I wanted to, I could easily live without ever listening to American media and only consuming French cultural media. Which I don't do because I like watching movies from all walks of life from all countries, but I'm just saying it's not impossible or even rare

[@livedandletdie]

I mean we'd not mind if the entire US went up in Flames tomorrow and everyone died, it would truly be good for Europe if War Sponsor Number 1 disappeared from the world. However sure, without War Sponsor Number 1, Russia would have way more influence over Europe, and if you ask me that's a good thing, perhaps some good old common sense would awaken in the hearts of Europeans again.

[@franzferdinand5810]

@@Misterjingle yup very true. Its something I always like so much about countries like Germany, France, Italy and even Poland. Yall have to dub every movie and tv show in your own language. And when it comes to Eurovision, most of the time yall sing in your own language. Bit here in the Netherlands you really cant escape american culture.

[@Misterjingle]

@@franzferdinand5810 I didn't know that about the Netherlands. At least thanks to that, you guys are better than us in English and foreign languages let's be positive lol

[@ljubopobric5385]

you American people will never understand, for you it is always important to win.. this is joy and fun.. lots of nation together singing and enjoy themself..

[@lesjolissouvenirs7751]

I totally agree. We laugh a lot.

[@HonorioNieva]

It's maybe odd but we europeans have been fighting each other by centuries and this freak contest is doing so much to create a great brotherhood among us. It allows us to laugh at ourselves and at the same time get to know and love ourselves a little more. I think these little things matter. In any case, it is just entertainment.

[@phrogr]

but he literally said "i don't care, we could lose" when talking about whether us should join

[@Ris-T.]

I never understood how this became the definitive introductory video on Eurovision when it contains so much misinformation and outdated information…

[@kleinshui9082]

It's a young US American "explaining" Eurovision. Of course it's super faulty. It always is... People could read about all infos on the ESC webpage or Wikipedia but choose a populare video. It being popular doesn't mean it's well researched, and this one is not :D

[@DanReddy]

It's so annoying when he says the Big 5 purposely send in bad entries to make up for automatically qualifying - it is just simply not true on any level, always annoys me when it gets to that bit

[@PlugInKali]

@@DanReddy He is obviously being tongue in cheek, calm your tits. IEven if Ryan didn't pick it up, he was obviously joking through most of the video. If the guy in the video said that is because a European told him that, because we used to joke a lot about that (although in recend years the big 5 have been doing a lot better). Same with the part about troll contestants not wanting to win. It was a JOKE.

[@Jothaka]

@@DanReddy tbh I think he's being quite sarcastic saying that and you have to admit there were quite a lot of facepalm contestants from these countries in the past ;)

[@EmVee.]

For real, if I had the skills I would have made a actual informative Eurovisiom explanation video

[@AllramYT]

I have always felt that Eurovison was more a "lets get together and have fun" then a competition :)

[@winterlinde5395]

7:00 Because we found the music really fun and did it for fun. The event is for fun. And that’s another reason for not letting the US participate. Far too competitive.

[@Nelalalu]

Yes! When Ryan said the us could participate for fun and not win I realized how unamerican he is. Like if the US doesn’t win they would cry about it for years and they would take it too far, too extra. They are entertainers but we just wanna have some fun, cringe and goosebumps (and also the aspect as in soccer where you can support your own country - which would be even badder for Americans cause of their patriotism)

[@Kotik-zp5tx]

Exactly, there are so many competitors who don’t win for the best song, but are still our favourite because they made us laugh.

[@Gajol1000]

Yes, Ryan, Eurovision IS epic although that video contains some errors and misunderstandings. Firstly, the Eurovision Song Contest is organized by the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) and its members, ie the public service TV companies in Europe. Each member broadcaster selects a song to represent it in the name of its country. Some broadcasters just pick a singer and a song internally while other countries like the Scandinavian ones hold huge national selection shows. The show is broadcast live (usually in mid May) through the EBUs Eurovision network. All member broadcasters in 40-50 countries tune in and the final show usually attracts some 200m viewers. From the beginning there was only one final show but now, with many countries in it, there are two semi finals and a final. 10 countries qualify from each semi and join the so called big 5 and the host country (usually last year’s winner) in the final. The Big 5 are always in the final since their broadcasters contribute to a large part of the financing of the show. In the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s the show was mostly held in theatres, concert halls and convention centres but in the 90s the venues got a bit bigger and nowadays its held in large arenas with cheering fans. Back in the days the audience consisted of men and women in tuxedo and evening gown. After each country’s song has been presented live on stage there is the voting. The system has changed over the years. Many Euroeans instantly recognize phrases such as ”Germany four points/Allemagne quatre points”. For many years, the points from the juries were read on phone from the countries’ capitals and then repeated in English and French. Everyone knows the classic ”and finally….France, twelve points (douze points in French). Today, we indeed have mix of juries and televote and the presentation is a bit different. The national juries first give their points and after that the public’s points are given in lump sumps to each song, based on the national televoting results and then added to a pan-european score. Every country wants to win. It’s about national pride and there is also a big buzz about the winner. The winner is invited to a crazy number of TV shows across Europe and sometimes the songs become big hits. Two weeks ago, the 2023 edition was won by Sweden and the song ”Tattoo” has been high in european charts. The Contest is an incredible Tv show with very elaborate stage, lightning, pyro etc. The budget per year is about 20m euro. The host broadcaster pays most of it, along with the host city but the EBU and the other members/participants also pay. In some years it has cost way more, for example 2009 in Moscow and 2012 in Baku where they even built a new indoor arena to host it. In the first decades, usually 17-18 countries took part but then it grew to about 22. Those were the western european ones. After the fall of the iron curtain eastern Europe and newly created countries wanted to be in it. Russia was in it but was kicked out due to their war. Its a financial burden for the winning broadcaster to host but the event also generates money for the host city. The 2024 show will be in Sweden and Swedish cities are bidding to host. It will probably be in Stockholm or Malmö and the cities will invest millions. They see the revenues from thousands of tourists and the enormous media coverage. Millions and millions of European will tune in and see pictures from Sweden. Eurovision is simply a way to showcase your country. Australia is in is since 2015 since they have been broadcasting it since the 70s. The Australian broadcaster SBS is also a member station of the EBU. You have to watch it! Eurovision is great! Sometimes goofy and quirky or even cringe but great! It’s fun.

[@carinew.7479]

Thanks to Gajol1000 - that really sums it all up!! But to get the point across: ABBA was one of Sweden's winners, and their world fame started with the "Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson Européenne" (as it used to be called).

[@kat_be]

Couldn't have explained it better myself. Also although every country wants to win the main objective is the spectacle and have fun. The video does absolutely no justice to it. But I guess you have to see it for yourself to fully understand the vibe.

[@phoenixfeathers4128]

This video does include a lot of misconceptions. Countries don’t purposefully send sucky acts as far as I know, neither does everyone only watch for the trolls. The songs aren’t produced solely for ESC. One thing many viewers think is that the ESC has a MASSIVE jury problem. I agree

[@sk70091]

I really hope that EBU does something about the jury problem, it's getting to a point where I'm not sure I even want to keep watching as long as the juries and their biases are present.

[@AnnekeOosterink]

I mean, the songs MUST be for ESC.

[@robinviden9148]

I remember from back before the juries were reintroduced. Then the public was screaming for the juries to be reinstated. 😂 Now there’s a “jury problem” every time the public vote disagrees with the jury vote. 😂😂

[@sk70091]

@@robinviden9148 I suppose that depends of the people you interact with. I don't remember anyone ever asking for the juries back. And there is ALWAYS a jury problem, no matter what the results are, because their mere existence is a problem. The people who pay to vote should get to decide their winner. The majority should get to decide.

[@sjusovare]

The jury is a problem only for people who considere that it's not a song contest but a show contest... I'm sorry but the juries actually vote on technical aspects from a musical standpoint, such as the actual composition, harmonic progression and so on and so forth... Look at the public vote and you end up 100% of the time with songs which are simply NOT LISTENABLE if there is no visual with it (as in it's the show/acting which works, not the song) you perhaps listen to them once for the fun (and still) but not twice and really few would put it on their daily playlist. You do not hear those popular vote songs on the radios once the contest week is over, for that exact reason... And yes, people were complaining when it was only televotes, "blablabla, people from the eastern bloc always voting forthe eastern countries" "blablabla french speaking countries always voting for eachothers" "blablabla nordic countries always voting for their neighbors"... and even last year, when the televotes actually managed to make Ukraine win (because of political events) despite the juries mitigated votes, people managed to say that it was not deserved (and the winner song did not make it through most of european radios, the songs the juries gave points to did on the other hand)... So yeah going with televote would make SOME people happy, MOST people would yell because it's not their own favourite who won, and you would end up with a rapidly declining interest for the contest and in 5 years top there would be no contest at all, lets try it, at least it would give me a tax cut on public TV funding (one can always dream) You really want to point out a problem, lets point one, it's that with the televoting system, the individual votes from small countries have more weight than votes from big countries, the vote of an estonian person counts 60 times more than the vote of a french person for example (the cost of voting remains the same for both though), basically, the least population your country has, the more influence your personal vote has... you want a fair competition, you count all the votes individually, not by countries, but then you would lose the one thing for which many people watch the eurovision : "look at who gve points to who", at least the finale evenings would be shorter though, and another tax cut. In the end, you don't like the fact that paying for voting doesn't give you 100% of the say, then nothing forces you to vote, simply don't! You can also considere that perhaps most of people who don't vote (despite the fact that they do watch the show) do so because they actually like the juries' choices. And perhaps, perhaps, people who yell that there is a jury problem are not representative of the majority of viewers, but are extremely vocal everywhere, which would explain that slightly odd fact that despite all the yelling on every social medias every year,. the audience keeps growing the next year anyway

[@HerSandiness]

Yes, the song has to be newly written. It's a SONG contest. Not a singing contest. The trophy goes to the Artist and the Composer.

[@flosluna2895]

Käärijä: it’s crazy, it’s party. And this is what Eurovision is about ;) It’s not X-factor, you don’t go there to tell your sob story and win a contract. It’s an annual event for everyone, you can participate with a pop song, rock song, troll song, anything. Just don’t be boring.

[@aglaiacassata8675]

Watching Eurovision with a group of friends is great fun: buffet, beer, laughing about the trolls... The contest takes several hours, so there is enough time to talk and party.

[@cayreet5992]

It's actually not true that people want to lose. It's true that you can host the next one as the winner, but if you can't (as Ukraine, last year's winner, this year, given what's going on) or don't want to, another country will step up. In addition, you also do get some money for hosting and you can, indeed, make quite a bit of money from the tourists who want to be in the actual audience. It might also be less of an advantage not to have to go through the rounds before the finals - the other songs have much more exposure than the ones from the big five. By the finals, a lot of those who might do the audience vote already have picked a favourite and won't vote for any of those new songs coming in. Weird contestants have become more common since the countries began to usually pick their contestant with an audience vote. A lot of younger people vote in that one and a lot of them want to see something funny rather than something else. Until that time, most of the songs were pretty serious and full of pathos. It's slowing down now with people having had the chance to really send weird contestants in, but we still do get songs which are not serious or just plain 'feel good' pop. The songs are specifically made for Eurovision, although they can be published and sold afterwards. They can't be public before the first round in the country they're from (or at least they shouldn't be).

[@olgahein4384]

No, the songs don't have to be solely made for Eurovision, as long as it does not predate September 1st of the year before the competition (e.g. for the ESC this year, a song that was created after September 1st 2022 is fine). As for 'being published' beforehand: Basically yes, but no. Germanys Lord Of The Lost had their song 'Blood & Glitter' released in December on the album with the same name. And of course they made the music video as a submission to the german national finals, but they also played the song live (i think that was after they won the national finals though, but not sure). Especially when it comes to the internet, it's always a case-to-case decision though.

[@nicoladc89]

Italy wanted to lose for a lot of years, the Italian broadcaster trade votes to lose on purpose. France did the same more than once. Hosting ESC is a debt.

[@Nelalalu]

Wasn’t there also the rule that you could only sing in your native language? I remember my mother told me that (and she only remembered because Germany won in that time with kind of a famous hit that I personally thought was a jingle „ein bisschen liebe, ein bisschen Sonnenschein“ Little bits of love, little bits of sunshine) and in my era we only had one winner Lena Meyer-Landrut which is still one of the most famous German singers. Anyways she told me the rule got set down because some languages simply can’t be sung. They don’t sound good when being sung or rhymed or anything so they got rid of that rule. But honestly I think last year was just THE obvious sign of how much politics goes in the voting like common Ukraine was good, but was it that good? I mean „snap“ was the biggest hit afterwards!

[@MichaEl-rh1kv]

2:25 Small amendment: Eurovision is a subsidiary of the European Broadcasting Union, which encompasses currently 69 public broadcasting corporations from 56 countries (plus some associated members). The EBU was founded as successor of the International Broadcasting Union which existed 1925-1950; in 1993 the EBU merged with the OIRT, which encompassed the East European broadcasting corporations. So it is only located in Switzerland like many other international organizations, not a Swiss invention. It started organizing international broadcasting events back in the mid 1950s. Such broadcasts start generally with that jingle: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZSrhGaZfbmJla8 (showing the logos of the participating national broadcast companies). 2:35 Four hours is actually a bit outdated now. Since so many countries now participate, that's only for the finals. There are also national auditions and the two semifinals before. 4:02 That was the contribution by Ukraine in 2007, interpreted by Verka Seduchka (aka the comedian and TV presenter Andry Danylko) who won 2nd place. 5:33 That was in 2000, the performance by Stefan Raab, a very popular late night host and music producer in Germany during the 1990s and early 2000s. The lyrics "Wadde hadde dudde da?" are a reminiscence to the "little rabbit" jokes from the 1970s and 1980s: kzbin.info/www/bejne/opXHoHuHfr-EqtE. He also produced the German 1998 contribution: kzbin.info/www/bejne/foG9iWp7j655epI (Guildo does like you and sings for you); the 2004 contribution: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oGfNhIiYlLepjq8 and the 2010 winner: kzbin.info/www/bejne/baGvaqmapbippLs 6:20 Some countries have a tendency to do so; they nearly always give a couple of "nearly related" countries the most points (except there is a really outstanding performance by some other competitor). Others are less "reliable". And with the phone voting there was also some "Eurovision tourism": Fans coordinating their holidays with Eurovision, so they could call from abroad (worked best in times as there were lots of payphone boxes to find all around). And yes, Russia has participated for about 24 years, but has been expelled in 2022. 7:05 No, Germany does not by purpose send people that suck - but since they have not to go through the semifinals, those who suck get in the finals. And the German public broadcast corporations have often problems to organize the auditions in a way that work and are popular at the same time. Not all singers are interested to participate; for a long time it had become mostly a "Schlagerfestival" (the word "Schlager" translates to "hit", but means mostly a typical European mix of chanson and a more "sugary" kind of pop song, which were very popular in Europe in the 1970s and 1980s and are still very popular in eastern Europe). It was reanimated around 2000 by fun performances (like that by Stefan Raab). At the same time it evolved since the 1980s partly also into something like a queer party. 8:45 That is not really true. They would like to host it, and if they fear something, it is not the financial risk, but the loss of face if the show they organized sucks... 11:55 The song has to be a new one, first published not before 1 September of the year before the contest, and it has to be an original composition, not a cover version. 12:10 The Heavy Metal group Lordi won the 2006 contest with this song: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXLLaoGIfLObi7c 12:19 The winning (and bearded) drag queen was Conchita Wurst from Austria with this song: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZLSnYl7f6qdjJY - and, oh man, she can sing! 12:56 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 if many US citizens could cope with that.

[@danihesslinger7968]

Rise like a Phoenix!😃 Yes!!! And I am not Austrian😃, but the only time I ever voted in the song contest.

[@imeandmyself525]

Or with Dana International, the israeli winner in 1998

[@okneromark]

Thanks for a comment!

[@sofialagerkvist5567]

Israel and Australia are members of the EBU. That is why they can compete in Eurovision Song Contest.

[@Nelalalu]

You saw Ryan’s face when the draq queens were mentioned😂 also the half naked woman. Many things Americans couldn’t cope over besides not winning and -what they have to deal with now- being excluded. I think it’s just so funny that Europe is hosting such a big event every year for 60 years now and Australia is in it but not America😂 oh and Russia anticipates!😂😂

[@AK-dl8bc]

I believe you may have watched the least favorable video explaining Eurovision, at least from my point of view. It saddens me to hear all the sarcastic and negative remarks. Watching Eurovision is a tradition in many European households, as it fosters connection and bridges the divide between countries and people. Eurovision celebrates love and unity, represents numerous minorities, and offers so much more.

[@toruvalejo6152]

U mean... U really watch it..?! Why???!

[@xXBlackIce7Xx]

As a european i feel like the video perfectly summarized the whole thing, its basically a clown fiesta. doesnt mean its not a tradition or that it doesnt bring people together. but in all honesty the whole thing is a shitfest.

[@Maria-pk7mr]

I agree, and it also oversimplified much. The song "alcohol is free" was for example a response to the misery caused in Greece by the economic crisis

[@oehlbormturn]

​@@toruvalejo6152 of course, its great

[@Squagliafrittata]

I agree. That video is too superficial 😢

[@todjo929]

My daughter really wanted to watch it this year so we got up and watched. It's insane. So much fun. If you're interested in a few of the songs from this year, look up Tattoo (winner), Cha Cha Cha (fan favourite) and Mama SC (the weird cousin). Also, watch the movie Fire Saga with Will Farrell. It's about an Icelandic band who want to participate in Eurovision - it's a really good movie.

[@peterhoz]

"What is Eurovision?" The best week of the year! G'day from Australia!

[@florianehornez2082]

Eurovision is really a big event. I know a few people who don’t care about it but personally I like it ! It’s fun seeing what the countries have to offer, musically and performance speaking. And also it’s great to discover new artist ! This year, I became so obsessed with Finland’s entry then I has to check out the discography of the singer.

[@Football101s]

Just some extra information, this is not a singing competition, but a song contest, you're voting for the best song, not the best singer, now obviously people and especially the juries take voice into consideration when voting, but it's not at all the only factor. The advantage the big 5 countries get for qualifying to the final is not as big as it sounds, the show currently consists of 2 semi-finals and the grand final, the semis have around 15-18 countries participating, 10 of which make it to the final (from each semi), and the final consists of those 20 + the big 5 + last years winner (current host), a total of 26 countries. So more than half of the countries make it to the final, so the advantage is not that big, also I'm not sure if that's the reason they send in "bad" entries, I've never heard of it before seeing this video and I've been watching Eurovision for over 10 years, but maybe there's some truth to it. This video also fails to showcase a lot of the actually great parts of the contest, mostly focusing on the troll acts (and there aren't really that many of them, especially in recent years) instead of the good performances. I really recommend you to dive deeper into Eurovision, it's really fun

[@Football101s]

And another thing, I don't think that many of the countries actually don't want to win, so they don't have to host it. I can say that is definitely not the case for my home country, we haven't won yet, but we don't lose on purpose lmao

[@zo7034]

Yeah, it seems the video host doesnt grasp that the songs arent supposed to be chart topping songs. The whole joy of eurovision is that the songs are kinda wacky and arent made to be commercially popular, although in recent years with streaming, many eurovision songs are becoming mainstream.

[@Football101s]

@@zo7034 Nah, I think he understands that. Honestly, I think he understands the competition better than he explained it, he just seemed to hang on certain points more than he should have, whilst ignoring other aspects.

[@fylkzadeya2505]

Couldn’t agree more! 👍🏻

[@UlliStein]

Exactly! That's why isn't not only the singers and the musicians fault when it goes wrong. Greetings from the losers country😀

[@rogamu7531]

I lost my mind when he said "Perfect!" in such a happy tone to "more and more countries are sending songs in English." You really have no idea what Eurovision is about, which is how every American I've seen is like. And they wonder why nobody wants them in there...

[@wightwitch]

Eurovision is the very definition of "it's not about winning or losing, it's the taking part that counts"❤ Also, Eurovision is SUPER camp and it is celebrating for being so. I think a lot of Americans might not be happy to join in

[@nonsensicalnonsense1035]

Wrong, watching ESC is about finding out whether Germany gets a single point or not

[@shlomomarkman6374]

Depends where. There are enough countries where it's serious business. In Russia before they were ousted, their singer was forced to do a jumiliating interview on national TV after a non-qualifier. In Israel, the objectively bad 2000 entry was disowned by the broadcaster because of waving Syrian flags and generally nad performance. Also, hiring Kirel this year was probably very expensive and was done to ensure high ranking.

[@singingcat02]

@@nonsensicalnonsense1035 😂

[@edow8261]

I just remind you that Epic sax guy comes from eurovision :D

[@JenMaxon]

@@nonsensicalnonsense1035 Well, they're still doing better than the UK

[@dernano5195]

The best thing about Eurovision is that it is a very big thing but it's not taken too seriously. It's just fun

[@ESCLuciaSlovakia]

Getting 0 points doesn't actually mean that nobody voted for the song. The points are based on position in the voting results, not on the number of votes. Every participating country votes in the final and I am sure that every song gets votes, because every song has its fans. After the voting, every country ends up with a list of all 25 (or 26) competing songs ranked, based on the number of votes from their viewers. But only the top 10 most voted songs in every country's voting results get points. They get 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point based on their ranking (1st = 12 pts, 2nd = 10 pts etc). The rest of the songs, i.e. the songs that ranked 11-15 (or 16) don't get any points. So, if a country gets 0 points, it only means that it wasn't one of the 10 most voted songs in any country. It could have been the 11th most voted song in every country and it would still get 0 points, while some other song could have placed lower in some countries except a few 10th places and it would get points and rank higher than the other song. It is pretty unfair imo and misinterpreted all the time. (BTW, the ESC in my username stands for Eurovision Song Contest, because that's what I usually upload.)

[@JenMaxon]

The purpose is not to win - he said right at the beginning, it's to help international relations in Europe (and, yes, ok, elsewhere now). I admit, your expression when watching the singing/dancing Russian grannies was priceless. You should totally watch some of the actual performances. You will not get it. But I don't think you will be disappointed.

[@MayYourGodGoWithYou]

The dancing grannies were different though

[@anabelle..]

The American version of Eurovision, "American Song Contest" was broadcasted last year but turned out to be a big flop. The number of viewers were very low and it got cancelled after just one season. I think the Eurovision culture is so very special and odd in a way, that if you're not very openminded or a fan of crazy performances with unclear messages, this show is not for you. It's a fantastic yet strange show :)

[@silverstitch28]

That's a shame because its the closest usa can get to eurovision in format. I watched from Australia and thought it was a great idea.

[@MrHomunkulus]

America fails to understand WHY Eurovision works so well even nowadays after so many Decades.They may copy the concept of the Show but it will never have the same succes because let's be honest here. America ( The US) isn't nowhere near as Diverse and Culturally unique as they give themselves credit for. I didn't watch the thing but i can imgaine it was more or less 50+ Songs in English bc it's the most spoekn language in the World and in the US and maybe 1 or 2 in Spanish bc "yaaay diversity". Sounds very boring to me. I just read up on the Rules and how the Voting system was set up and i can't help but laugh and cringe at it 💀Makes me want to cringe-watch it tbh but not because it seems any good.

[@gaypanda]

I tried to watch it, had to do so via the Swedish Broadcaster SVT, but I missed the final show as it occurred during the week of actual Eurovision and fell out of my radar. The issue I had with the format was rather than doing what Eurovision does in that it has a larger number of semi-finalist in one show (doing 10 instead of 5) and only allowing those 10 states vote amongst themselves to choose a top 5 (Install the ‘can’t vote for your own state’ rule, and must have a cellphone carrier registered for the state you are calling from to prevent cross state border calling) That would mean there would be 25 songs from the semi-finals to the grand final. You could then do the typical Eurovision voting of 12points for the best, 10points for 2nd and so on. Also, to give the states more ownership of their song, the local state broadcaster / affiliate should host a local song contest to see who’ll represent their state. Because it felt that some singers were selected more of their state citizenship and asked to represent as opposed to the state choosing their champion. But I wouldn’t have put Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson together as hosts - I didn’t feel a lot of chemistry between them beyond what was supposedly on their script.

[@MrHomunkulus]

@@gaypanda The funniest part of the Ruleset to me is that the Jury has 1 single 100% vote that nobody that votes at home can do anything against. The also have waay too many Semi-Finals and too many shows in general. The whole Rule and Voting thing seems really off-putting to me when i try to imagine actually following the thing as i would with ESC. "Once the show progresses to the Semi-Final rounds, the Artists will perform "slightly elevated" versions of their tracks each episode. But to make competition even more intense, an 11th Artist will be revealed to perform their "redemption" song and have a shot at the Grand Final." Like...what the hell. That is so messy and so overly dramatic. Very American i must admit :D No wonder it flopped like crazy. Many Americans are already accustomed to Eurovision and would rather watch that even if it means staying up late etc. I have a few friends in the US that watch the ESC every year religiously like many Australians did and maybe we will give them a slot as joke or something and they end up staying in the Contest for more than 1 Year---like Australia. I highly doubt that they would enjoy the EBU Rules for a national selection though 😆

[@lene984]

We also had world idol, one season (2003/2004). Most people think we never got a season 2 since Kelly Clarkson lost to (Norwegian) Kurt Nilsen.

[@Jade_Deja]

Two things that need to be said/corrected 1. It's a SONG competition, not singing competition - Eurosong was the name back in the day 2. Eurovision was actually modeled after the italian San Remo, cause it's VERY popular in Europe. Italians don't send crap to compensate like he said, but they send the winner of San Remo which is usually really good 😊

[@鬱鬱-e2w]

Not really, Furore by Paola e Chiara was much better than Sanremo winner

[@perrym9401]

Eurovision is Huge. People either love or hate it. It doesn’t take itself too seriously. There is some bizarre stuff but also some amazing stuff. ABBA launched themselves to the world from winning the completion. It’s almost a religious event for millions of people. Here in the UK we usually have our voiceover guy giving some amusing comments along the way. The UK quite often comes bottom as we’re not always that popular with Europe (as well as some of the songs being a bit dodgy) but we don’t care, we mostly find it funny. It has to be seen to be believed. Maybe catch one of the last two which was interesting because of the war in Ukraine or just watch one of the many highlight programmes out there. There’s a lot to chose from. You’ll still be confused though. Enjoy

[@livedandletdie]

I hate it, but let's face it, Koza Mostra and Agathonas Iakovidis should've won in 2013 with Alcohol is Free.

[@1individeo]

Abba and Celine Dion. Even Sébastien Tellier participated

[@NoctLightCloud]

and Måneskin

[@MayYourGodGoWithYou]

Ignoring politics for the minute, the year Russia won with their three [I think it was] old grannies was hilarious.

[@NoctLightCloud]

@@MayYourGodGoWithYou I think politics should always be igored in sports and entertainment! Why does a musician or athlete have to be punished for their president's action? Where is the connection? As if Putin will stop just because Russia can't go to Eurovision or Olympics😅

[@blauerfisch]

More than 30 years ago the songs had to be in the national language. It used to be a nice little show where you got a feeling of the different cultures. Nothing like that any more… Greetings from Austria. 🍀🇦🇹

[@briciola.bixiofabrizio5935]

Hai Ragione !!! Meglio quando lo è in Lingua del Paese Poi certamente sembrerà strano a chi non Europeo che ad esempio la intera Platea Italiana senta come proprio e così Balli ed Applaudi un gruppo Moldavo che prettamente Folk L’Europa e’ fatta di paesi molto Piccoli e anche di Piccolissimi ma comunque che hanno GRANDI Storie e tradizioni.

[@victorfries8859]

7:04 Italy never sent people who suck on purpose, one might not like the song but since its return to the competition in 2011 they almost always sent singers who won the Festival of Sanremo ( Festival of the Italian song) which celebrates italian music. Logically. And to participate in Sanremo the artist must have a quality entry written in italian, and brand new, you know, inedit, especially made for Sanremo. (Winning Sanremo gives you the right to participate in Eurovision and you can decide to accept or refuse. If you accept you have to cut your song under three minutes time. Might as well decide to translate part the song in english. Someone did. But it's rare.) Last thing about the Sanremo Festival: it was created before Eurovision, thus inspiring it's creation in order to unite people and spread respect and unity through music. Sanremo is not the national selection for the ESC entry, Sanremo is Sanremo ;) and being the biggest and most famous Music Festival in Italy makes it a good source of entries for ESC.

[@DaniSpeh]

I almost always loved the italian participants. Also the rest of the big 5 don't have always bad songs. It's simply they don't have enough allies. Scandinavians have 3 + baltics and Denmark, South Slavs have 4-5. Greece has some. Eastern Slavs even more. The song has to be exceptionally good for them to win, but it happens.

[@nicoladc89]

@@DaniSpeh I think Germany and UK are wrong choosing their artist through a dedicated contest. Good artists aren't interested in a contest where they have nothing to win, so they don't participate. By choosing the winner of the most important national music festival, as well as the most important television event of the year, Italy attracts more talented artists. Although to be honest, the greatest Italian artists rarely participate and win - with their best songs - in Sanremo. To be honest very very very very very few real good artists won the ESC, from memory I would say only ABBA, Celine Dion and - time will tell us - Maneskin. Try to imagine 60s/70s ESCs with bands like Beatles, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Who, Queen etc... Or a 2000 ESC with Daft Punk.

[@ThisTrainIsLost]

I forget the year but one time Finland sent Lordi (the dudes in the monster costumes--well before Slipknot), the first hard rock band to participate. Lordi ended up winning by the biggest margin ever in the contest. It's surely on KZbin; try a search for "Lordi Eurovision winner" for a start. The win certainly gave their career a boost. The album that their written-for-Eurovision song was released on was actually pretty good. I suspect they're still working but can't say for sure.

[@martinkasper197]

Lordi is on tour in Europe this year with Babymetal and Headliner is Sabaton...

[@winterlinde5395]

It’s like the word cup- why don’t we participate? Because you make your own world competitions where you don’t invite us (the world) to.

[@emmal.kjelvik1821]

Actuallt Russia was banned from Eurovision after their invation of Ukrain and have been denied entry the last two years.

[@zo7034]

no offence americans, but if americans participated, i wouldnt watch for the first time in over 20 years

[@RaduRadonys]

And if Americans participated, I would have watched it for the first time in the last 20 years. I mean the freak show would be a bit more interesting so a few hours of my life could be wasted.

[@dyread]

I didn't watch for a couple of years after Australia joined. But then I started watched it again and they hadn't ruined it. The US would ruin it though. They don't even watch already, which Australians had done for years.

[@DaniSpeh]

Americans would take it to seriously :D

[@annedunne4526]

It's called EUROvision. I never thought Israel or Australia should be in it. If Americans werd allowed in it would no longer be European.

[@gas132]

@@annedunne4526 Israel and various islamic countries, I can actually understand. They're on the mediterranean, and we share a long history with them, so it makes sense, considering how similar we are, broadly speaking

[@vilena5308]

Keep in mind that he is an American, and his explanation of Eurovision is a bit tongue-in-cheek. Not a video I would recommend for anyone who wants to find out about it for the first time.

[@thecommenternobodycaresabout]

"Alcohol is free" is a Greek song that is literally about getting too drunk and you start a "voyage" inside your head, while you are driving, I should add, and you don't even come to your senses before the song ends. Also, Lordi (the heavy metal band with the monster costumes) actually earned their win. Their song was the best among the rest and even the rest of their discography is great, although there are a few... "too naughty" songs that makes one question the sanity of the composers for allowing such songs to be heard. I like them, personally. Finally, you should check the lyrics of the full song "Alcohol is free". I hope there is a good translation out there to help you. If not reply here and I will translate it for you.

[@livedandletdie]

I could put up the translations for Koza Mostra's song... and may Agathonas Iakovidis rest in peace. But it's just so easy to find on the internet. I also want a sea of alcohol, perhaps Agathonas found Η θάλασσα του αλκοόλ.

[@aragonia1]

Wasn't Alcohol is free an actual critic about the Greek economic crisis and the troika in disguise?

[@CatsLilaSalem]

Eurovision also has an KZbin channel "Eurovision Song Contest", which already started to upload videos of the songs from countries for 2024, the last and coming days Russia does not participate since 2022, there was some discussion at first, but they where not allowed in the end because of the invasion

[@sussie5463]

I think the ”trolling” contributions were just a rumor that got stuck. That said some just want to bring in the fun and that is the only reason Eurovision is a fun watch. Many also take it super serious. No one wants to come in last and coming in top 10 is desired. I also think that if you win and don’t want to host you won’t be forced. Overall it’s just a huge party. Euro-pop is the most popular genre as far as I’ve seen in the past. Sprinkled with various different cultural influences. Other genres are also represented, from metal to opera inspired or just instrumental. Anything goes as he said. Do check out the winner 2023 and tell us what you think.

[@cicitrek]

Btw, the german song he showed actually got a pretty good voting in the higher ranksIf youwant to look it up, it is called " Wadde hadde dudde da "😂. It is a lot of fun for many people but you have to be open for everything to enjoy it😊

[@simonbrunner3062]

Yep, that was a poor choice of examples for purposely bad entries. It was wacky, but one of the very few wacky entries from Germany that actually worked. It got P5, which is about 20 places higher than Germany's average of the last four years. Only two German entries of the 23 years since did better.

[@Justforvisit]

@@simonbrunner3062 Funnily enough, the artist was Stefan Raab, a VERY famous comedian here in Germany who back then claimed in his show "TV Total" that he will enter the song contest with his own written lyrics and everybody thought he's joking. When he actually managed to do so all of Germany was in awe. And then he even made 5th place! He did some comedic songs in his show before that happened and he's known for loving music, also plays a ton of instruments and in his youth worked for the german music tv broadcast station "Viva". But nobody would ever have thought he's THAT level of musical genious, until he proved it to the world and us germans. But even better, the story doesn't stop here: The second 1st place of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2010 by Lena Meyer-Landruth and her song "Satelite", Stefan Raab was the guy who discovered her again in his show "TV Total" and started her career and also wrote the song for her. By then Stefan Raab had entered the status of a living legend of music.

[@willewiking98]

i really think you should check some of the more up to dates and actually proper eurovison introductions by people who are actually massive fans of the competition. it would probably be more honest and give more insight :)

[@narratordru7188]

Abba won the Eurovision Song Contest with “Waterloo” in 1974. That's how they got their international start.

[@antonbystrom5667]

They kind of undersell how big and important it is for some people. Like here in Sweden they have countless of local competitions to decide the winner that will go to compete in the main thing. Because of the silly nature of it though, there are few well known artists that actually compete. It really cannot be compared with anything else.

[@dirkdemeirleir264]

Eurovision is not a Swiss broadcaster but the union of European public tv networks with headquarters un Switzerland. Queen Elizabeth II coronation was broadcast through Eurovision…

[@sp72929]

For some countries not wanting to win I don't think it's actually true except maybe - in the 90s Ireland won 4 times in 5 years (3 of them in a row) the show was nearly stationary held in Dublin for half a decade - everyone hopes for a good placement as hundreds of millions are watching the show literally all over the world. Ireland and Sweden are now both at 7 wins as Sweden (Loreen with the song Tattoo) won just a couple of weeks ago. Funny it just occurred to me that not only have these two countries the most wins but that only two singer won the show twice - Johnny Logan from Ireland and Loreen (this year) from Sweden. Eurovision is one great party where all of Europe comes together on the stage in the audience and in front of the TV screens - there are stunningly good performances, crazy ones and everything in between as different as the continent itself. I started to watch it because I was fascinated as a kid by the diversity - I mean where do you get to listen to songs in Finish or Latvian or Norwegian? - many chose English nowadays (or a combination of English and native language) but you still get a great variety every year.

[@junix7136]

Hey Ryan😃 First I'm really happy you found Eurovision, but this video doesn't show how the Contest really is. Every time I see a reaction to this it breaks my Eurovision-lovers heart. If you are still interested in the Eurovision world please watch "the ultimate guide to eurovision". This video gives you a better impression of the contest. For myself I love the ESC and its a traditon for me to watch it every single year since I remember. So I hope you give it a second chance. Greetings from Germany 🤗

[@idontsignin]

You've just missed as it was on last weekend. Won by Loreen from Sweden for the second time. I preferred her last winning song though, from 2012

[@zo7034]

Cha Cha Cha robbed

[@carked5707]

You should react to some of the finalists from this year to get a feel for it

[@JUMALATION1]

@@zo7034 I agree 💚

[@mellertid]

No no, all of the finalist, all years 😅

[@D0MiN0ChAn]

Yeah, Loreen's song this years was kinda too boring for me, personally. Didn't hook me one bit. Euphoria was 100% better.

[@notnaanton630]

As a European, Eurovision is the best week in the year after christmas😍

[@MusiacterJoe1188]

To answer the question you made at the end about how many rounds there are. First there are the National finals (which start around December of every year) Many countries have a separate show where a lot of the local singers perform and the public chooses who to send to the semi finals. A few countries choose their act internally meaning they make a panel of executives from record labels and tv to choose who to send without the involvement of the public. After that there are two semifinals (usually during the first week of May) where the audience from all countries chooses 20 songs out of however many participate that year ( usually over 40) and then those 20 together with the automatic qualifiers and the winner of the previous year compete in the final which is always on a Saturday.

[@j3mixa]

🤛🟢🟢🤑🟢🟢🤜 This year we had a green Eurovision party at my sister's place. Green lighting, green decorations, green dip for the snacks and green costumes made from plastic bags 🤪. I doubt that anyone can guess who was our favourite 🐛💚.

[@cecilialeitet2794]

Ireland, clearly!

[@Nickycan]

Cha cha cha ^^ :p

[@jenniferharrison8915]

Australia was invited to supply a contestant to Eurovision and we always send one each year now! We cannot win, because we are not strictly European, but we always come close! Singing the best is not the ultimate aim, it's entertainment and a popularity contest! It is very political and it is voted unfairly, but it's always entertaining and unique! Our most recent contestants, a band, has created a huge new fanbase in England, that's a bonus for them! Australia cannot vote! Ukraine won last year, politics, sympathy? 🤗🎉🤨

[@annemarienordby4326]

The rules say that should Australia win, they have to choose a European country to host it in, sort of like what Ukrain and the UK did this year. Danish media like to yell and scream about how it would be Denmark, since our crown princess is Australian❤ Love to Australia from Denmark❤

[@moondaughter1004]

You guys are also allowed to participate because you're members of the EBU

[@Certified_MoaiGaming]

You CAN win man! Send us S3rl PLEASE! 😆 🙏

[@jenniferharrison8915]

@@annemarienordby4326 Yeah Denmark, we would vote for Denmark too! 🫂👍🇦🇺 We still love our Mary from Hobart! 💓 Next year! 😁

[@a.n.6374]

You should just send Dead Kelly.

[@Martinus74]

The Eurovision is fun. It is epic! Back then you just had amazing artists and songs. Nowadays you have some trash music but also some great songs. I love when the artists sing in their language.

[@douglasmcclelland]

Liverpool in the UK just hosted this years competition. The competition went on for about a week as a whole as there are usually 2 semi finals where all of the countries, except those who automatically qualify, compete for places - usually about 26 countries in the final. Plus there has been a build up for a couple of weeks in the area. There was a real buzz in Liverpool and the north west of England as a whole for weeks in the build up, real fun and positivity, it was a great competition this year. Yeah some daft songs but some great ones too.

[@headphones1971]

Eurovision wasn’t Switzerland’s idea. It was Italy. Italy had the San Remo festival where people from around the different regions of Italy entered a song for the contest.

[@ShoreVietam]

Every year we sit together in Discord watching the ESC. Snacks for hours, everyone's different opinions, everyone happy or embarrassed for their countries entry and the question if Germany gets a single point this time. What a time. :D

[@LeksDee]

Same here

[@Tenkoman]

If Germany or UK are not in the bottom zone, something is wrong.

[@francescad8812]

​@@Tenkoman 😂😂

[@philippaufschnaiter7995]

I think the last time Germany didn't have a bottom spot was in 2018😂... i feel really sorry for them actually... they are trying so hard but nobody votes for them... i mean they are not even that bad, but they are in the big five and not outstandingly good, so yeah

[@HonorioNieva]

@@philippaufschnaiter7995 I'm spaniard and I've voted to Germany and UK many times. But I do believe that there are many political decisions too.

[@markeeecmarkoni2855]

The quality of the competition and the choice of songs has been much better in recent years..... Eurovision has become much more than just a competition on a Saturday in the new age of the Internet.

[@SneekySnixx]

There was an american version of eurovision in 2022, but it was ultimately NOT renewed for next season; supposedly it didn't give the same experience as eurovision. It was divided in 8 episodes (which feels odd to me as an european, because eurovision consists of nation specific competitions deciding who they'll send; qualifications, semifinals and lastly the final; there's no "episodes" to say so.) In the american version it was of course the different states competing.

[@astergios8659]

6:20 Russia doesn't participate anymore since obvious reasons. They got kicked out in 2022. Last performance was 2021 basically

[@Hosigie]

I waited for this reaction :D Thank you for filming a video! ^^ If you're interested, it would be cool if you checked out some of this year's performances like: - Finland's Kaarija with "Cha cha cha" (which won the public vote), - Sweden's Loreen with "Tattoo" (which won the jury vote and Eurovision overall), - Norway's Alessandra with "Queen of the Kings" (finished 5th), - Croatia's Let 3 with "Mama ŠČ" (looks like a troll parody, but is actually a critique of dictatorship, and a certain Russian president), - Israel's Noa with "Unicorn" (finished 3rd), - the UK's Mae Muller with "I wrote a song", - Australia's Voyager with "Promise", - Germany's Lord of the Lost with "Blood and glitter" and - Austrian Teya and Selena with "Who the hell is Edgar?" Out of these I'd recommend Finland, Norway, Sweden and Croatia the most. Also Australia is allowed to participate because their broadcasting network is a member of the European Broadcasting Union, which organizes Eurovision. Also Eurovision is pretty popular in Australia, but not that many Americans even know about it, and as Australia is a part of the Commonwealth, it makes sense to invite them to participate. They did well this year too ^^ Russia usually is allowed to participate but was kicked out when they started a war in Ukraine.

[@of3788]

Switzerland and France too, wildly underrated.

[@patrycja2666]

Tbh 2023 have a lot of great songs to react to! Slovenia, Czechia and a lot more~

[@roxylaz77]

How about Italy? Mengoni won the critics award and finished 4th...

[@Lalallwkskskdnskenwn]

People care more about the power of the unicorn instead of a really good singing voice apparently...

[@sephas79]

Welcome to the world of Eurovision! Please, more!!🎉

[@sophiamcl]

It's true that everyone hopes for some bonkers entries, they are what give eurovision it's charm in my view. It's a gamble that sometimes pays off, even if they don't walk away with the trophy. The clip you saw of "einz, zwei, drei" has become eurovision legend and many viewers favourite crazy entry.

[@beatriztrigo4731]

Lets see if I can explain the spirit of Eurovision. Imagine each country is a person and their terretory is their house. They all live in the Europe city (for the most part) and they have had hundreds of conflicts over all most every thing, but now they are trying to get along so they need something to get along with that isn't something they haven't fought about, something neutral, something they might have respected each other at some time. MUSIC and SINGING! So they decide to host an yearly singing get togther and make it a competition for some fun and porpose. But the most important thing for relations isn't winning, it's participating! So everyone keeps participating even if the hosting can be a bother, I mean who whats all these people in their house, having to provide snakcs, clearing a room for the event, paying for the equipment, setting it all up, cleaning afterwards etc But the show is important for relations and it fun for all, so at the end of the day winning might get a bit sidelined in favor of having fun and being fun. :)

[@squidcaps4308]

The fact that some want to lose is what brings so much humor and comedy to the competition, so it is not super serious but campy and.. fun.

[@aphextwin5712]

As alluded to, national preferences for specific countries do play somewhat of a role (though how much varies on what the current rules are). This was one reason why Ukraine won last year just a few month after the beginning of full scale Russian invasion. Voting for Ukraine was a bit of act of solidarity. And their song was actually quite good as well. Given the ongoing war, they couldn’t host it this year and the UK offered to do it for them.

[@stoferb876]

It's not a singing contest. It's not exactly about who is the best singer but which song is the best song, initially more emphasis was placed on the composer/producer than on the singer but lately it has switched pretty much completely away from that. And also about the best spectacle (costumes or weirdness on stage).

[@alvdansen7172]

It's not always about the best song either but only about the song/performance that appeal the most to the audience and jury.

[@charlievisiontops]

It is not true that bad songs are sent by some countries in order to lose. And it is also not true that the Big 5 always send freak entries. That guy just chose the freakiest entries, but that is not the usual. He is just making mock of what Eurovision is by deliberately chosing the worst entries and avoiding the good ones.

[@e.s.7272]

Many forget that the ESC is a music competition for composers, whose content is performed by singers

[@nik-roshansirak3398]

7:11 - The point is, as mentioned in the beginning of the video - european integration. It's not about winning. It's about getting to know eacht other and have a good time and a great party together, so when sh*t hits the fan, like in 1939 people will say, "wait a minute, aren't these guys I'm shooting at right now, the same guys with that musician I really liked last year? Maybe I don't want to shoot them anymore?"...

[@ESC_ChrisM]

Format of the actual Eurovision week: 2 Semi finals - this year 31 countries competing for 20 places in the Grand final Grand final - 20 qualifiers +6 (Big 5 + last year's winning country - Ukraine) Before that week in May, countries begin selections as early as October/November the previous year. Songs are chosen nationally according to the national broadcaster rules - e.g. Sweden has a huge festival called Melfest, Finland UMK, and Spain Benidormfest, and there is a combination of voters choosing who wins those. Italy does its own thing, sending the winner of the San Remo contest usually. UK and French entries are selected internally by the broadcaster. So yea, very different according to the country. But some corrections cause this explainer is old: 1. Russia and Belarus were kicked out after Russia invaded Ukraine so no, Russia ain't in it any more. 2. Much fewer joke entries now - due to the jury system and semi finals - countries actually want the exposure (mostly) from the Grand Final for their own culture so they try to avoid joke entries, but this year the voting system for the semi final changed back to televote only and Croatia, probably the most satirical entry of the year, got through and ended up finishing 11th in the Grand final. So next year we may see more joke entries (also cause this year UK and Germany, recently the least successful of all countries in the final, but particularly Germany, have thrown everything into putting good songs with established or up and coming artists forward, and they still always end up last or nearly last - for Germany this year that was completely undeserved). 3. Yes, it costs a lot to host, but that does not put countries off from wanting to win - UK hosted on behalf of Ukraine this year, I was in Liverpool and the amount of revenue from tourism and exposure of the city was pretty hefty. UK also hadn't hosted since 1998, so yea, it did it well. Italy last year however didn't really seem to put on such a good show, with very little in the city of Turin itself dedicated to Eurovision, whereas Liverpool was literally overrun. Sweden usually puts on a good show and next year is the 50th anniversary of Abba's win, so I'm sure it'll be great. 4. Latvia and Lithuania recently haven't been sending satirical or joke entries. In fact, this year Latvia just missed out on the final with an amazing Indie song called Aija by a band called Sudden Lights. It should have qualified, it was excellent. Lithuania had an amazing ballad called 'Stay' that ended up finishing 11th I think. By Monika Linkyte. And as you see, Sweden won controversially this year (very radio friendly pop edm techno ballad mix by a previous winner Loreen) and so now we'll likely see some changes to the voting system again because the jury landslided Sweden to victory and Finland (which was the public favourite) got the joint second highest ever televote (the highest was last year - Ukraine - for obvious reasons) and was about 135 points above Sweden in the Televote, but the juries screwed Finland over (it came 4th with them) cause it's a rap/metal/pop mess of a song that is incredible. Juries are not transparent or accountable so that should probably be changed - it's only 5 people per country, and they set their own rules. This year a few juries placed a country last in their list when their televoters from the same country had that same country 1st. So yea, that needs looking at for next year. But it's a lot of fun, lots of parties (basically between March and May every year the artists tour Europe doing pre-party concerts that are incredible and you get to meet and hang out with them - it's fun) and the Eurovision night is sacred in many a European household for either family, or drinking games/eurovision party nights :) It's lots of fun. Should Australia compete? Absolutely yes! Should the US? Absolutely not :)

[@vazus171]

> Russia and Belarus were kicked out after Russia invaded Ukraine so no, Russia ain't in it any more Belarus was rejected after 2020 events, not related to the invasion

[@vickynolan6449]

Also, I disagree with the idea that the big 5 never do well. Uk came 2nd last year, and Italy won with Maneskin recently. I believe that countries take it a lot more seriously now, the Spanish were convinced that they were going to win this year despite coming near the bottom. I think that Finland should have won this year but the juries voted for Sweden purposefully because of the whole ABBA and 50 year thing.

[@floraflowers]

The only thing I'd like to add here is that this is not the first time that a song that won the public vote hasn't won the contest. Songs that haven't won the public vote and/nor the jury vote (meaning they came in at least 2nd with both) but won the contest overall: Ukraine 2016 - Australia won the jury, Russia won the public. Ukraine came in 2nd with both Netherlands 2019 - North Macedonia won the jury, Norway won the public. the Netherlands actually came in 3rd with the jury and 2nd with the public Sweden 2015 - Sweden won the jury, Italy won the public If anything, the biggest surprise for me was 2015. When I saw the scoreboard, I thought the votes had been mixed up, I was *sure* the jury would eat Italy up since they had three freaking *opera* singers. I was expecting Sweden to win the public with their projection screen gimmick, I thought it would leave the jury completely uninterested.

[@user-vj4dp4xr8k]

Many great song have come out of Eurovision., songs like cha cha cha, tattoo, future lover, who the hell is edgar, queen of kings etc. Cha cha cha was a people's favorite this year (2023), you should check it out as those other songs as well.

[@victorfries8859]

Right here, opens a new world lol, you have so much to explore now 😂

[@ePilon100]

Heyo, Im an European, so I can comment on a few things. First of all, countries want to host the Eurovision, because that brings in profit even if you get big costs. Some countries build whole new stadiums just to be able to host it. No, countries do not purposefully send Trolls, in most countries their own citizens vote who they want to represent their country in the contest, and no, people don't want to look stupid. Most of those 'Troll' songs come with a message, usually political. And no, the most paying countries, that get straight to the final, do not purposefully send bad singers.

[@Songfugel]

A lot of what was said in the were either sarcastic jokes or he didn't quite understand what he was talking about. As stated by commentors, it is a song contest, not a singing contest, a big difference. And yes, the song has to be original song made for the Eurovision, and it has to be performed live (but backing tracks etc are allowed, but lipsync etc isn't)

[@anixsoka]

ABBA got famous because of Eurovision!

[@BiaZarr]

You should look up some of this year's contestants and react to them. This year has been a fantastic year for Eurovision. I'd suggest Austria, Australia, Finland, Croatia, Serbia, Germany.... Actually just have a look at all 26 participants of the final. It's really worth it, trust me.

[@perocigla4425]

This year Croatia is 🔥

[@pirimpallopirimpalli4932]

3:46 if you feel offended, how about we all feel offended that the US generally don't even know anything that's going on beyond their borders? A whole 96% of the world lives there. We do stuff. P.S. "What's the point?". The guy explained that the point is to chill out with songs as an alternative to world war. But you still can't see the point of participating not to win. That, pal, is what we think Americans are like. And that's why we're happy for the US to stay out of Eurovision.

[@Attirbful]

Eurovision technically speaking, is the European live TV cooperation, when shows are simultaneously shown in two or more countries. The Eurovision song contest came later… It is HUGE fun!

[@sussie5463]

Also, yes, songs are selected specially for Eurovision. Most countries have their own national competion first to select who will represent their country in Eurovision. Some might be selected by juries or televoters only, others have both Jury and televoters as well as an international jury to give points.

[@T0MT0Mmmmy]

First off all, it's not a singing contest, it's a song contest. So the best, most unique, fresh song will probably win, no matter if the presenter is the best singer. The presented songs must be new ones, published the first time only a few weeks before the competition. I think Germany once has to send their second choice, because the first was published to early and disqualified. "Eurovision" is actually a network of broadcasting companies to share shows, sports events etc. Most of them are European, but companies of other countries can join as well. One of them is an Australian broadcaster, so they can send a competitor to the "Eurovision Song Contest". And as the Australian public more and more loved the competition, they started to send their own a few years ago.

[@riccardocoletta2398]

Minute 6:51 - America Idol is only for amateur performers. In Eurovision also already famous professional singers can partecipate if they find a nation that accept to be represented

[@cooler_boi_patrick3989]

the voting if USA would join: Jury votes: Zéro point Public Votes: Zéro point xD

[@amyloriley]

How would everyone not vote 12 points to the Greatest Country on Earth‽ Do they actually want to be nuked by us? /s

[@Schattenkind.]

That’s Germany

[@Nabend1402]

Nobody loses on purpose. Wacky songs are usually chosen by televote by the public to represent the country. People like fun, weird songs and vote them in. The biggest mistake you can make with Eurovision is to take it too seriously. It's a huge weird, fun show and occasionally there are some genuinely good songs, which is a bonus, more than anything. And you should watch some compilations of a) winning songs and b) weirdest songs.

[@GdzieJestNemo]

look up mid show performances: "Love, Love, Peace, Peace" and "what is eurovision" ( Opening-Revue mit Måns Zelmerlöw & Petra Mede | Eurovision Song Contest ) by Måns and Petra - they will give you a good overview of the contest and they are hilarious

[@helenewei4232]

yeeess more eurovision reactions! I really need this in my post eurovision depression

[@stinjefunf5319]

This "explanation" is soo inaccurate! He even says it himself: He has no idea about the ESC and often just repeats what someone told him. What angers me the most is the rumour that there are a lot of troll acts and noone wants to win. Most of the so-called "troll" acts have a deeper meaning. For example an italian singer was once accompanied by a man dressed in gorilla costume. That was a reference to the chorus lyrics "the naked ape is dancing" which is a reference to a book titled "The naked ape". But because the song was in italian many did not get that. Just because one does not get it, doesn't mean it is a troll! I watched a lot of reaction videos to ESC and often Americans don't like songs that are not in english because they do not understand it. For me the many different languages, cultural influences in music and staging are the beauty of ESC: It is so diverse, yet through the music we can understand each others emotions even if we do not know their language.

[@Carter-ex1ip]

You should watch "The Ultimate guide to Eurovision 2023 Update" It's a good example for the diversity of Eurovision

[@lillaspastie]

This year the us started a kind of eurovision with a singer of each state was competing against each other. But eurovision this year had some changes in voting system and it's very cool to watch it anyway, I recommend 🎉❤

[@lolopiner8619]

The best way to understand Eurovision is by watching it ;)

[@dannymarc3438]

Eurovision is better than war 🤷 My favorite is Lordi with Hard Rock Halleluja 😁

[@oihanagallastegimusic]

Please please make more Eurovision reactions! This video focuses on troll entries but there are also a lot of quality entries! Btw, countries DO WANT to win in recent years, and you can see how much effort goes into the performances :D

[@NariaPanthar]

Please check more into eurovison ... maybe throughout the years or the winning songs or something :)

[@villytmd1154]

You will notice that this video will do extremely well and that's because eurovision fans are insane (in a good way)! You should make a video watching an entire show, just to feel the pulse. 2021's results' announcement was one of the most surprising so far.

[@gboriginals1740]

I recommend you watch a compilation of every Eurovision winner! Some songs suck, others are great. I might be biased, but my favourite was the winner of 2017 edition from Portugal. He went against the status quo and submited a song that wasn't flashy, pop, or just an over the top performance with fireworks etc... He wanted to bring music to Eurovision, and in that year he did it! Great reactions btw!

[@andybaker2456]

You're right, I loved that Portuguese song!

[@darrenlee77]

I might be biased, but my all time favourite has to be The Voice from 1996.

[@vanesag.9863]

Salvador had the swetter song ever ❤. Obrigado for that gem from your neighbourg

[@Solsortemor]

I've watched it since 1980 when I was 5.... and learned a lot about other countries and got friends from the whole world because of Eurovision song contest.

[@luv4solya]

Hope to see from you more reactions to Eurovision !! There are a lot of good performances and songs.

[@solaccursio]

It is madly funny. Song after song, costume after costume, I never even voted but I root for the songs (or band, or whatever happens on that stage) I like best, and it's fun to discuss between friends the day after every semifinal about who hopes to see who in the final... it's really good fun, you get to see performances of all kind, boring, daring, exaggerate, kitsch, elegant, classy, not classy at all... all on the same night, all on the same stage. And considering the costs of hosting the event, I can perfectly understand that some nations send singers or group that they think will never win... but sometimes they do! :D

[@kleinshui9082]

He f'ing doesn't know about Verka?!? My heart :'O It even said Ukraine in bottom left in the clip... You NEED to react to Eurovision Highlights, it's peak european culture, full of history, fun, trash and literal treasures :D Oh and US americans with their hyper patriotism are not welcome to fun competitions, so no US participation in our song contest. It's one of the few things not completely ruined by americanisation.

[@norma8686]

Yeah, we're allowed to have nice things too

[@merjakotisaari9046]

¨Look at this year's vision, you could have even voted

[@elinahamalainen5867]

I would love you to react to Käärijä's performance this year! He (from Finland) got second, should have won.

[@Ray_Vun]

a lot of the artists are already established in their country so they can just use one of their songs, or they can make a song just for it. the entry is different for every country. some countries just grab a performer and send them. others actually do their own mini eurovision where they have different performers go on tv to compete and the winner gets to go to eurovision

[@annemarienordby4326]

Just a few things that has happened since that video, and me just being an over the top Eurovision fan, that just can't shut up. It's a long one, so hold on tight: - Russia is no longer part of ESC. EBU told them pretty much to screw off, for good reason might I add. For a long time there had been booing whenever Russia went on stage, but after they went into Ukraine, they were told to just stay away. I always like to imagine Martin Österdahl swinging after a couple of Russian politicians with a mic stand, and hopefully landing a few. - At the moment there is a huge discussion about removing the jury again, because of how little the public and jury can agree on the songs. The public gave Finland 376 points, Sweden 243 points, Norway 216 points, Ukraine 189 points and Israel 185 points. At the same time the jury gave Sweden 340 points, Israel 177 points, Italy 176, Finland 150 points and Estonia 146 points. The Norwegian delegation has been out and said that they would the EBU to rethink the jury system. Greece has just announced that they will remove the jury from their national selection. EBU themselves has not yet said if they want to keep the jury system or not. - This year, the fan favorite, Finland's Käärijä came in second place with the second highest televote in ESC history with 376 televote points. The current televote record is being held by last years winner, Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra, with 439 televote points. - Sweden won this year with their 7th win. That means that both they and Ireland has 7 wins each. Ireland's Johnny Logan was the first person to win ESC twice. Sweden's Loreen is the second person to have won ESC twice. If EBU doesn't get ABBA to play next year, I would love to see these two battle it out. - Last year there was made an American version called; American Song Contest. It was hosted by Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg. It didn't go as well as was hoped, so it ended after one season. - Hosting Eurovision doesn't bring in as much money as the amount you have to spend. It only get's bigger and bigger every year, and you have to try to outdo everything that came before. As a Dane, I can tell you that the stage Conchita Wurst won on, no longer exist. We did not have a venue in Copenhagen big enough for Eurovision, so we had to build something from scratch. It went way over budget, and now, every time we sent someone to Eurovision, we have a slight fear that it will happen again.

[@norma8686]

I just want to add that there are people who do benefit from the Eurovision hosting. It's the businesses, the restaurants, hotels and shops because it brings a lot of tourists.

[@annemarienordby4326]

@@norma8686 agreed. In Denmark we just had a lot of trouble, because DR tv went way over budget and then managed to blame the contractors. It was seen as a scandal and wrong by many Danes. They also decided to host it in a area of Copenhagen, that back then wasn’t as developed as it is today. So even though our hotels earned a bit, we didn’t see a big income. Just like when we hosted Tour De French, it was seen more as a lose of money:/ But I do believe that there are countries that would benefit more from a win than Denmark did

[@annetteljungberg2912]

Well welcome Ryan to our Eurovision family ❤ hugs from 🇩🇰