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It looks like NWTJ is about to get overwhelmed with Warhammer content,
what with the Battle Royale and the various modelling/painting posts.
In order to maintain variety, it falls to me to throw in an item of more
general interest.
Now, as you all know, it is my yearly habit to write up, for the benefit
of my NWTJ brethren, the highlights of the Eurovision Song Contest. Goodness
knows that without my prompting, a great many of you might miss this
most excellent of events. I can't have that: as an European in good
standing, Eurovision
is in my blood. I feel it is my duty to edify you in this respect. There
are certainly very few yearly television events I enjoy
more, and together with the Viennese New Year's Concert, it is one of
only two musical occasions
on the yearly GrubLord calendar.
Imagine my horror, then, to find that this year I will be missing Eurovision!
Trapped deep within the bowels of Communist China, I shall most likely
be watching the regulated, state-approved equivalent, which I imagine
to be several elderly women in sequins emitting the cat-torture sound
of Chinese Opera as they pluck a seven-string lute with their incredibly
smooth, yet highly arthritic, rice-softened hands.
Worse still, this leaves Syfro in charge of making the traditional Eurovision
post, since China's banlisting of YouTube leaves me with not even the
inferior Internet-video alternative to work from.
What's a fancier of cheesy European song-and-dance numbers to do?
Why, find an alternative Eurovision to write about, of course!
No doubt the image below has already clued you in... to wit, it would
appear that Eurovision entertains a lesser-known opposite number, namely
the
Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Starring youngsters from all over Europe,
it is literally the whole festivity writ small.
Don't ask me who came up with this crazy idea - gathering children from
all manner of countries and turning them into Eurovision-style performers
for a smaller
version of the whole enterprise - but when I initially came across it
as I was looking up the Eurovision 2010 dates, I immediately thought
of it as a bad idea. Described in this way, it smacks of the peculiarly American
vice of holding Child Beauty Pageants, which - in my view - are rather
less a chance for youngsters to shine than a vehicle for overbearing
parents to rob them of their formative years.
Not so in this case, however. It is clear from just watching a lot of
these kids that they are definitely here by choice. In fact, the organisers
go so far as to send psychological experts to evaluate potential stars'
families and ensure that any children selected honestly enjoy and aspire
to a musical career, and aren't simply being manipulated into it by their
parents. I appreciate the care taken to safeguard the children's best
interests - in this, and other matters, such as controlling the presentation
to avoid, for instance, some of the more objectifying female outfits
one might find in Eurovision proper - and it is amazing to me that not
only are these children all aspiring artists in their own right, but
they are very, very good.
I should note also, before we get to the contestants, that even though
the performers all 10-15 years old, they also write their own lyrics.
As such, there is rather a feel of the youth zeitgeist about it all:
the children can and will choose to sing about anything they please,
and
this has led to all manner of cuteness (of course), but also explorations
of weightier
matters in the form of (literally) childrens' songs. Add in that contestants
must sing the majority of their entry in their native language, and the
fact that they have a lot of creative control over outfits, props and
the whole process, and you really do have the formula for something really
special (and incredibly fun for the kids!). There is energy, love and
youthful exuberance overflowing from this event, and it creates such
a beautiful blending of cultures and nations that I am not surprised
some people pin their hopes of future
generations' peaceful coexistence on collaborations like this one.
You don't have to take my word for all of this goodness, however: let's
take a look at some of the highlights together. I've tried to source
these from different parts of the YouTube, based on where the best sound
was to be found. In true Eurovision style,
the official voting process produces some remarkably skewed results,
so I will - as always - present my own favourites as I believe they ought
to be scored. Be sure to indicate your personal preferred order
in the comments, to make your own voice heard!
GrubLord's Top 13 Songs of JESC 2009
#13 - Belarus, "Volshebnyi
Krolik" -
It's absolutely a credit to the quality of this event that the
lowest-ranked thing in my list is nevertheless an amazing performance
that has pretty much put Belarus on the map. This kid not only shamelessly
hams it up for the crowd, but he and his ensemble go from rapping to
opera to acrobatics
within the space of a couple of minutes. This performance is 100% unbridled
emotion and energy, and definitely deserves your attention.
#12 - Malta, "Double
Trouble" - Francesca and Mikaela are charismatic, but I feel they
were let down by their material. This song didn't really work for me at
all, really, which is a pity because it seems to me like this duo could've
gone a lot further than they did.
#11 - Sweden, "Du" -
This felt a little formulaic to me, but that's not to say this isn't
some high-impact singing. Great performance overall, but the lack of a
strong chorus line made me less eager to rate it particularly high. Your
mileage may vary.
#10 - Cyprus, "Thalassa,
Helios, Aeras, Fotia" -
This performance was great, in that the lead singer has a beautiful
voice, and does a great job with the lyrics. I would've rated it a bit higher, perhaps,
but I don't know... looking at that audience, I feel like we're listening
to different songs. It didn't feel to me like there was quite as much energy
in the song as the crowd would have it appear. In a contest with so much
passion,
that leaves it at #11 in my book.
#9 - Armenia, "Barcelona" -
It takes a lot of courage to do what this girl is doing, and it's pretty
inspirational to watch her do it. One gets a real sense of her strength
of character, she has a great singing voice, and the whole thing reminded
me greatly of the rich European soccer culture I have unfortunately had
to trade for the boneheaded Australian equivalent as a consequence of moving
here - a loss I now feel all the more
keenly for the reminder. Perhaps I'll have to do a World Cup post, now,
having said that.
#8 - Russia, "Malenky
Prints" - This song weirds me out, but in a good way. Maybe
it's just that she's singing in Russian, but it takes a bit of getting
used to at first. Nevertheless, there's a lot about the song itsef that
I like, and the girl singing manages to convey a lot of character
and add extra dynamism to the song through her movements and use of props.
Overall, it's a clever bit of music, and Ash is bound to like those outfits
that look like school uniforms.
#7 - Macedonia, "For
Love" - Is it just me, or does this belong in Eurovision proper?
This girl is a rising star for sure, and the song and backup dancers
both do a great job. I can see me adding this to my music library as
a decent song in its own right, and despite how much junk I've got in
there that's a pretty high recommendation.
#6 - The
Netherlands, "Click Clack" - Of course, this little
dude has the previous beat by a long-shot. Combining a catchy song with
varied dance moves, tap dancing and a great deal of showmanship, Ralf shows
us pretty clearly why the judges chose him to win the competition... but
he didn't quite win my lineup, nevertheless.
#5 - Romania, "Ai
Puterea in mana ta" - What can I say? Romanian girls are the
cutest.  Besides that, though, I really like the song. Perhaps
it's unfair to judge lyrics given that I can't understand most of the
other songs, but the words of this song resonated with me, and frankly
I can't get past the awesomeness of those suit-outfits the girls are
wearing. Earnest, good music, great outfits, nice lyrics, plus I'm a
biased judge, and - bam! - you've got a worthy #5.
#4 - Georgia, "Blue
Bird" - Bias or no, though, I can't pass up this song for #4.
It's sung by an overly-cute band of little girls who call themselves
"Princesses" and seem to harmonise perfectly. This song is
so much fun, I can't help but feel like singing along.  Also,
like "Click
Clack",
it uses just the right amount of nonsense-syllables to make for an extremely
catchy chorus. That English bit in the middle kinda kills the pace, though,
I feel.
#3 - Ukraine, "Try
Topoli, Try Surmy" - I'm pretty sure that's a boy in the cart
there, and either way he puts together a fantastic bit of music. The
look and sound is traditional in a good way, blending in just enough
modern elements to keep it hip and current. Well judged and well executed,
in a way I certainly wouldn't have expected from such a young singer.
I very much liked this one, and I think it ought
to have done better in the official ranks.
#2 - Serbia, "Onaj
pravi" - If I thought the previous one was underrated, however,
I felt it much more so for this song. To be fair, it probably doesn't
deserve
a #2 spot, technically speaking. However, what this boils down to is
basically a little dude in a top-hat and a bunch
of tiny little girls with tutus and electric guitars rippin' it up on
the world stage. If there is anything that absolutely epitomises this
event,
it's that. Having become a rather more pedantic, critical type
of person as part of my reviewer/researcher job, I wanted to rate this
lower, really I did, for various reasons... but the song's been stuck
in my head all day, and they keep on creeping their way back up the list.
In the end, I couldn't help but put 'em at #2. If you click the link,
be prepared to be unable to stop humming that tune for a while. That
middle girl has a heck of a singing voice, to boot.
#1 - Belgium, "Zo
Verliefd" - Well, here it is. The best darn video you'll watch
all year. I can't express just how much I love this song. Just go watch
it and come back. This girl is only ten years old, and she is an absolutely
amazing singer, having mastered not only a beautifully rising voice that
tugs at the heartstrings, but even the difficult art of yodeling. Add
to that the inherent beauty of the language and the song, and just how
exceedingly fun it all is, and you've got yourself a winner by anyone's
standard. You may not enjoy the lyrics themselves as much as I, but if all the happy kids and
yodeling don't make you crack
a smile you oughta change your day-job.
And that's it for my Eurovision coverage this year. Catch you all for
the next one. I'll still try to do Eurovision 2010 if I can, but if
not there's always next year's. As for the Junior Eurovision, maybe some
time soon we'll get to see Connie
Talbot take one home. Until then, I hope I have exposed
you to some stuff you might never have seen otherwise, and that it's brought
a little extra happiness into your day. |
Time for some Yodeling!
Konrad:
Uhh.. a post with some international news! AT LAST! :D now to free my journalist spirit and flood you with personal opinions and spelling errors!
GrubLord: It's been a while, and only Konrad has taken the time to reply with his own ranking. This makes me a sad panda.
