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OLD DAYS OF EUROVISION ARE OVER AS DOðULU MAKES IT INTO TOP FIVE
Izzy Finkel Ýstanbul
Today's Zaman, Turkey
May 14 2007
Normally as predictable as the rhymes of its contestants' lyrics, the
voting in Saturday night's Eurovision Song Contest final in Helsinki
contained more than its share of surprises.
The biggest shock of the evening was not that hotly-tipped Sweden and
their transvestite lead singer failed to break into the top 10, or even
that the UK notched up 19 more than their customary "nul points." It
was that Europe's televoters -- as sure a political barometer as the
Dow Jones is for the markets -- seemed to have got their loyalties
confused. It wasn't just the sexual orientations of the singers which
remained ambiguous, it was that by Eurovision standards, the voting
public didn't quite know where to stand.
Greek Cyprus voted as suspected by giving Greece top marks, but
Estonia bucked recent diplomacy by doing the same for Russia, a
neighbor with whom tensions are rife. The question is were they back
on form, paying obeisance to their powerful neighbor, or were they
trying to make up ground in the conflict over the mothballing of a
Soviet war memorial statue? Add to that Turkey's votes for Armenia,
and results this year surprised the political pundits.
Is weird really in?
The success of last year's winners, the masked and scale-encrusted
rockers Lordi must have convinced this year's hopefuls that weird
is in. This was confirmed by the rapturous reception for Ukraine's
Verka Serduchka -- a comedian who came across like a transvestite
auditioning for the role of Tin Man in "The Wizard of Oz." He finished
second. Add to that a French man who ran in circles clutching a stuffed
cat to his neck, "Scooch," a saccharine UK foursome who dressed as air
stewards and hostesses -- and Switzerland's song "Vampires are Alive,"
which made a shock exit in the semi final. With a lead singer who
wields a chain-saw, Lordi and their "Hard Rock Hallelujah" were said
to herald a new dawn for Eurovision, which normally dishes up bland
servings of middle-of-the-road pop. But when the votes were in it was
a straightforward, if somewhat depressing, ballad from Serbia's Marija
Serifovic which brushed aside the freaks to claim this year's top spot.
Serbia's success was all the sweeter since this was its first outing
as an independent country on the Eurovision stage. The Balkans, as
a rule, vote en bloc, so cynics may complain that Serbia had more
than a head start. It borders eight countries and received the top
12 points from five of them. But then again it got top marks from
audiences from Finland and neutral Switzerland. Turkey on the other
hand was one of very few countries not to give Marija a single point.
While there's no accounting for musical correctness, at least Eastern
Europe's political integrity remained intact.
Pop culture reiteration
But neighbor doesn't always vote for neighbor. Turkey received high
points from the Netherlands, the UK and as usual, Germany, which
means that it is one of few countries not benefiting from regional
back-scratching. Last year when Turkey gave its second highest number
of votes to first-time entrants Armenia, the votes were returned
with not a point. This year, the Turkish public turned the other
cheek and gave them the full 12, with no points again coming back
across the (heavily guarded) border. It will be interesting to see
how the foreign ministries will interpret this. Were these votes an
olive branch; a pop culture reiteration of January's rallying cry,
"We are all Armenians"? It might be far-fetched to consider it an
attempt to thaw relations between Ankara and Yerevan, but the motives
must be reconciliatory since no one could claim it was based on the
quality of the song.
No help from neighbors
In the end, Kenan Doðulu managed all right without the help of his
neighbors to the east. "Shake it up Þekerim," which had him prancing
across the stage dressed like a mad cranberry leprechaun received
maximum points from a number of countries, but it wasn't enough to
shake up the top spots and Turkey ended the night a respectable fourth.
So what does this herald for Turkey's less spandex-driven European
project, their entry to the European Union? It was not only Angela
Merkel's Germany that gave Turkey full marks -- it also got the same
vigorous nod from the new Sarkozy-led France. His election had begun
a depressing week for Turkey's fading European hopes, worsened when
Blair, their strongest ally, announced his resignation. But Britain
too gave Turkey full marks, which will encourage those in Ankara who
stayed in on Saturday night to believe that Gordon Brown's stewardship
will mean continuity in foreign policy.
It is not so absurd to chart a nation's political fate against the
fate of its songstresses. In the song contest, a system which heavily
favors the big four of Germany, France, Spain and the UK (who are all
guaranteed automatic qualification because of the fees they pay the
European Broadcasting Corporation), the Old Europe finished very low
down on the table. Despite all this advantage, the old days of Sandy
Shaw and Buck's Fizz are over, just as in the real EU the balance of
power is shifting to New Europe. In years to come, when our European
grandchildren look back at this contest, will Sertab Erener and Kenan
Doðulu be hailed as true Eurovisionaries?
--Boundary_(ID_JoIbnSsG3CnXbpLAB ilVMQ)--
Izzy Finkel Ýstanbul
Today's Zaman, Turkey
May 14 2007
Normally as predictable as the rhymes of its contestants' lyrics, the
voting in Saturday night's Eurovision Song Contest final in Helsinki
contained more than its share of surprises.
The biggest shock of the evening was not that hotly-tipped Sweden and
their transvestite lead singer failed to break into the top 10, or even
that the UK notched up 19 more than their customary "nul points." It
was that Europe's televoters -- as sure a political barometer as the
Dow Jones is for the markets -- seemed to have got their loyalties
confused. It wasn't just the sexual orientations of the singers which
remained ambiguous, it was that by Eurovision standards, the voting
public didn't quite know where to stand.
Greek Cyprus voted as suspected by giving Greece top marks, but
Estonia bucked recent diplomacy by doing the same for Russia, a
neighbor with whom tensions are rife. The question is were they back
on form, paying obeisance to their powerful neighbor, or were they
trying to make up ground in the conflict over the mothballing of a
Soviet war memorial statue? Add to that Turkey's votes for Armenia,
and results this year surprised the political pundits.
Is weird really in?
The success of last year's winners, the masked and scale-encrusted
rockers Lordi must have convinced this year's hopefuls that weird
is in. This was confirmed by the rapturous reception for Ukraine's
Verka Serduchka -- a comedian who came across like a transvestite
auditioning for the role of Tin Man in "The Wizard of Oz." He finished
second. Add to that a French man who ran in circles clutching a stuffed
cat to his neck, "Scooch," a saccharine UK foursome who dressed as air
stewards and hostesses -- and Switzerland's song "Vampires are Alive,"
which made a shock exit in the semi final. With a lead singer who
wields a chain-saw, Lordi and their "Hard Rock Hallelujah" were said
to herald a new dawn for Eurovision, which normally dishes up bland
servings of middle-of-the-road pop. But when the votes were in it was
a straightforward, if somewhat depressing, ballad from Serbia's Marija
Serifovic which brushed aside the freaks to claim this year's top spot.
Serbia's success was all the sweeter since this was its first outing
as an independent country on the Eurovision stage. The Balkans, as
a rule, vote en bloc, so cynics may complain that Serbia had more
than a head start. It borders eight countries and received the top
12 points from five of them. But then again it got top marks from
audiences from Finland and neutral Switzerland. Turkey on the other
hand was one of very few countries not to give Marija a single point.
While there's no accounting for musical correctness, at least Eastern
Europe's political integrity remained intact.
Pop culture reiteration
But neighbor doesn't always vote for neighbor. Turkey received high
points from the Netherlands, the UK and as usual, Germany, which
means that it is one of few countries not benefiting from regional
back-scratching. Last year when Turkey gave its second highest number
of votes to first-time entrants Armenia, the votes were returned
with not a point. This year, the Turkish public turned the other
cheek and gave them the full 12, with no points again coming back
across the (heavily guarded) border. It will be interesting to see
how the foreign ministries will interpret this. Were these votes an
olive branch; a pop culture reiteration of January's rallying cry,
"We are all Armenians"? It might be far-fetched to consider it an
attempt to thaw relations between Ankara and Yerevan, but the motives
must be reconciliatory since no one could claim it was based on the
quality of the song.
No help from neighbors
In the end, Kenan Doðulu managed all right without the help of his
neighbors to the east. "Shake it up Þekerim," which had him prancing
across the stage dressed like a mad cranberry leprechaun received
maximum points from a number of countries, but it wasn't enough to
shake up the top spots and Turkey ended the night a respectable fourth.
So what does this herald for Turkey's less spandex-driven European
project, their entry to the European Union? It was not only Angela
Merkel's Germany that gave Turkey full marks -- it also got the same
vigorous nod from the new Sarkozy-led France. His election had begun
a depressing week for Turkey's fading European hopes, worsened when
Blair, their strongest ally, announced his resignation. But Britain
too gave Turkey full marks, which will encourage those in Ankara who
stayed in on Saturday night to believe that Gordon Brown's stewardship
will mean continuity in foreign policy.
It is not so absurd to chart a nation's political fate against the
fate of its songstresses. In the song contest, a system which heavily
favors the big four of Germany, France, Spain and the UK (who are all
guaranteed automatic qualification because of the fees they pay the
European Broadcasting Corporation), the Old Europe finished very low
down on the table. Despite all this advantage, the old days of Sandy
Shaw and Buck's Fizz are over, just as in the real EU the balance of
power is shifting to New Europe. In years to come, when our European
grandchildren look back at this contest, will Sertab Erener and Kenan
Doðulu be hailed as true Eurovisionaries?
--Boundary_(ID_JoIbnSsG3CnXbpLAB ilVMQ)--