Ok, so I really dropped the ball in batch reviewing this year's 37 songs as they were released. I have to say that I was not super interested (or involved) in this season of Eurovision for a couple of reasons.
Very few songs really stuck out for me. This year definitely was the year of the growers, which basically means that it took some time for me to warm up to a few most of this year's songs.
There's quite a bit of controversy over how the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is handling the Israel/Palestine conflict. The fandom is split because most feel that Israel should have been banned from/sat out this year's contest, and others think that it is ok for Israel to stay in the competition. Since the EBU banned Russia for its attacks on Ukraine, many thought that EBU would do the same for Israel. However, I guess the EBU felt it was fine to ban Russia because it was attacking another country that participates in the contest, whereas this is not the case in regards to Israel and Palestine. Also, I think there is the financial piece to this. It's no secret that the EBU is desperate to keep the remaining countries in the contest bc several countries have stop attending (i.e., less money collected from the participation fees). I guess many of us are not United in Music (ESC's slogan) for ESC 2024.
Kwame's Current Rankings:
The full list of songs and performers can be found at Eurovision World (link: ***).
The funny thing about my ranking: it can drastically change on a daily basis depending on my mood. I think this ranking is based on how I was feeling while running a half marathon in mid April. Pretty much any songs from my #15 to #34 spots can be placed anywhere within this #15-#34 group. I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing. BUT, I do know that Serbia, Ireland, and Latvia (#34-#37) will stay in my bottom three. Actually, Latvia might move up to #35 because I like the performer's social media personality.
Kwame's Top 10:
For the most part, I think most of the songs have stayed in my top 10 group throughout the ESC preseason. I'll say that Greece (Marina Satti, Zari, Music Video: ***) made the most drastic move by "sneaking" into this group. Earlier in the season, I think Greece was in the mid 20s because I was not too keen on the random, "chaotic" arrangement of the song. That said, NOW I love the song. Why? Because of it's random, "chaotic" arrangement. Also, Italy (Angelina Mango, La Noia, National Final Performance: ***) moved up from the teens into my top ten. Originally, I "hated" on Italy's song song because it seems that no matter what Italy sends to the contest, folks act like it's the best thing next to sliced bread. However, I think it's a great song . . . especially for running. ;) Songs from France (Slimane, Mon Amour, Music Video: ***) and Norway (Gåte, Ulveham, National Final Performance: ***) pretty much have stayed in my top two spots since they were released, which is interesting because the two songs are completely differed from each other. France's song is a nice (but generic) romantic ballad, and Norway's song is a progressive rock/folk metal/electronic song...extra points for Norway because it's in Norwegian.
Qualifiers and Non-Qualifiers:
This year, the EBU decided to do something cool regarding the semi-final rounds. In previous years, the performers from the Big Five (France, the UK, Italy, Spain, and Germany) and hosting (this year: Sweden) countries would introduce their songs in an interview during the semi-final rounds. However, this year (and hopefully in future years), these countries will perform their songs during these rounds. I think this is a great idea because the majority of folks who watch Eurovision do not listen to the songs until they watch semi-finals (or even the final). Allowing the Big Five and hosting countries to perform during the semi final rounds might help their performances grow on the majority of viewers.
In the first semifinal round, I really want six songs to qualify: Poland, Croatia, Slovenia, Moldova, Australia, and Luxembourg. Actually, Moldova's song has lost some power with me, so I would not be upset if they didn't qualify. Hand downs, I'm pretty sure that Croatia will be the winner of the first semi-final round since this song pretty much has gone viral within and beyond the fandom.
The second semi-final round definitely will be the "bloodbath" round because there the field of songs is so diverse AND good. I honestly have no idea of what's gonna happen in this semifinal. BUT, that's a good thing for me because this semi will keep us on our toes. From this semi-final round, my top three will have to be San Marino (which is actually a group from spain), Norway, Switzerland, Greece/Georgia (depending on my mood). Ok so, I lied and meant to say my Top Four. ;)
ESC 2024 versus Other Years:
At the beginning of the ESC year, like most folks, I had the opinion of last year's ESC had stronger songs. I guess that's more of an issue with recent bias because obviously, I've heard and seen songs/performances from the previous year(s) more times than the current year, making me more familiar with those year(s)' songs. So, let's put it to the test and compare ESC 2024 to ESC 2023.
Comparing ESC 2024 to ESC 2023, it looks like I had a clear preference for ESC 2023 (51.4%) over ESC 2024 (37.1%). However, it is not as significant as I would have thought.
I wasn't surprised that I prefered more songs from ESC 2021, but I assumed that there would have been a higher percentage for ESC 2021 (55.6%) compared to ESC 2024 (22.2%).
Eurovision Preparties:
One cool thing about the ESC season is that the preparties give many performers an opportunity to show the fandom a taste of what they can do before the actual contest. This is great for me because some countries do not have a national section for the songs, making it nearly impossible to hear live vocals until these preparties. This year has been a bit interesting because a few more preparties have been added to the list. This year's preparty list:
Madrid (March 28-30)
Barcelona (April 4-6)
London (April 7)
Amsterdam (April 13)
Stockholm (Apri 14)
Oslo (April 20)
Copenhagen (May 4)
For this year's contest, Stockholm, Oslo, and Copenhagen are new preparties. In "normal" years, Tel Aviv would have a preparty, but I think Israel is a bit busy with other things this year. While the performers do not have to participate in all of the preparties, I think this schedule is quite aggressive. I'll give props for the performers who will perform in all of these properties because of the gruelling schedule. That said, I think as the contest grows, which will make acquiring tickets to and accommodations for the actual contest more difficult, the number of preparties are going to increase. In my ripe old age, I would be more likely to attend a preparty than the main event for the following reasons:
I am NOT about to sit in front of a computer waiting hours for the POSSIBILITY of purchasing tickets. I've heard countless stories of folks making it through the virtual queue, selecting their tickets, and realized that the tickets have been sold out once their enter their payment information.
I'm "cheap". Obviously I'm at a slight geographical disadvantage traveling to the contest. Reading the experience of some American fans that went to last year's contest, it seems that the average cost was around $6,000 (my guestimation). That seems a bit pricey to me for a music contest that lasts a few days, especially when I could use that money to vacation in one of my bucket list countries. Not that there's anything wrong with this. I just do not see the point in spending this amount of money to attend a "concert" in person...a concert that is geared to be watch on television. If I was in my 20s, I probably would throw caution to the wind and put all of this crap on my credit card because YOLO. I guess it's a good thing that I did not know about ESC back in my early and mid 20s.
For now, the tickets for preparties are not super expensive, and the the preparties are not popular enough where businesses (e.g., hotels, restaurants, flights) will not price gouge. Perhaps, next year, the hubby and I can align our yearly trip to Spain with one of the preparties in Spain.
Concluding remarks:
As of April 14th, it looks like we have 23 days until ESC 2024 week. I'm am moderately excited for the contest, but I have to admit that I'm not as engaged with this year's contest (as I mentioned above) for a several reasons. 1) The conflict in the Middle East. 2) Life in general because I'm still trying to get back on track after starting a new career and moving to a new state. 3) Some of the drama within fandom is a bit annoying to deal with. Perhaps, it's a maturity thing, but some in the fandom take you not liking their favorite song(s) as a personal attack on them. 4) Lack of an in-person community. Back in my NYC days, EurovisioNYC (a group of NYC-based ESC fans) had several meetups during the year, which made it nice to interact with other fans in person. Since the US does not participate in the contest, these events were relatively drama-free because there was not too much nationalist pride within the group.
