oliviasprinkle

[oliviasprinkle]

So no Cha Cha Cha?

[oliviasprinkle]

it's not that we don't like her, we just don't like the way she won. what's the point of competition and people spending money to vote, if on the end public opinion will be ignored over jury's? dont make us fall fo whole thing and engage in it, if we are just to be spectators.

[oliviasprinkle]

Everything reminds me of him...

[oliviasprinkle]

Something important this year's Eurovision demonstrated was the disparity between the jury and the public. Not just in terms of eccentric/fun entries vs generic 'safe' pop, but also appreciation of language.

There were no jury votes in the semi finals and lo and behold we ended up with more non-english songs in the final than ever before. Käärijä won the popular vote by a landslide with a Finnish song.

It's clear that viewers are really open to (and excited about) songs in different languages. More than that: they embrace these songs with such enthusiasm. I've seen so many people learn to rap in Finnish so they can sing along with Käärijä. One of my friends fell in love with the Albanian language because she heard Duje and now wants to learn more of it. I could go on...

I'm not saying that the juries hate non-English songs, but the choice of such a 'safe' generic pop song in English when there were so many amazing songs in so many different languages rubs me the wrong way.

Eurovision is such a great celebration of different languages, cultures and lesser known musicians. That's why I watch it: to find great music that wouldnt be on my radar otherwise. This year showcased so much talent and that's worth celebrating.

I'm so disappointed that Sweden won but I'll still remember this as an amazing year. If nothing else, it's good to know that the public would rather cha cha cha in Finnish than sing along to another ordinary pop song.

[oliviasprinkle]

[oliviasprinkle]

can’t say i am all that surprised at loreen winning but i am extremely disappointed. just wanna say, that i don’t wanna be angry or upset at loreen—no one denies that she is an amazing singer/artist and she achieved an great feat w winning twice, good for her honestly—but the whole affair leaves an incredibly bitter taste.

While I personally didn’t enjoy tattoo all that much even when it came out, now it’s downright tainted. I enjoyed Euphoria so much back in 2012 and since. It felt special and fresh and drew you right in, it left a lasting impression. Tattoo… doesn’t. It doesn’t feel special, it doesn’t grab me, it’s a decent song but that’s really it. Whatever. Saw someone say that if it wasn’t sung by Loreen but an unknown young swedish singer europe’s people wouldn’t care about or for the song here and i gotta say I agree. Nostalgia, and Loreen being an established household name, her ESC fame and legacy, those seem rather to be the major reasons fuelling her win—and it now taints that exact legacy.

And I hate it. Even Euphoria now leaves a bad taste and I hate it. I am upset. It shouldn’t be this way. The consistent and great dichotomy between jury and public is just… ugh.

Look, I have historically always widely disagreed with all the jury votes and even lots of the public votes. A lot of my favourites this year, Czechia, Moldova, Slovenia, Austria, etc. placed low. Sucks.

But nothing hurts so viscerally as seeing a widely beloved act that was the CLEAR chosen one by the people shown in loud support and millions of votes—the absolutely smashed public vote—a song that represents so well of what we love about ESC, a truly unique, extraordinary standout song, an unusual genre, sung in a native language and bridging those barriers, some funky lil dude no one really has heard of before, a colourful show, and some deeper meaning if you look closer at it and just such a catchy and fun song—get absolutely FUCKED OVER by an elite chosen few (supposedly representing their country but how could they, they certainly didn’t ask us) in a system with VERY questionable origins.

So much unity in music and the europeans choosing for their favourite. The people have spoken. And they said Cha Cha Cha. Loudly.

And now Loreen bears the brunt of the mess, the people’s anger and her legacy stained and it’s not fucking fair, not for her, because the system DOESN‘T FUCKING WORK.

I am upset.

[oliviasprinkle]

I still can't believe they only let Go_A, Jamala, and Verka sing a very short part at the very beginning. And what we got for the final performance was a lame-ass Imagine.

Like, they don't even turn on the mic for the short part with Ruslana.

To top it all off, you don't even have a Ukrainian announcer with you on stage during the vote counting, arguably the most important part.

[oliviasprinkle]

The real loser is Graham Norton having to do Eurovision sober this year. Man suffered.

[oliviasprinkle]

the people's princess

[oliviasprinkle]

United by music? No, United by hatred for the juries.

[oliviasprinkle]

Convinced that Croatia, Slovenia, Germany and Austria got so few votes only because everyone was actively trying to make Cha Cha Cha beat whoever the jury would pick as favourite

[oliviasprinkle]

If nothing else, I hope that Käärijä's overwhelming televote victory will inspire more contestants in the future to not be afraid to break away from the old formula for eurovision

Eurovision is supposed to be fun and colorful, and it's so frustrating every year to watch decent pop songs take the victory thanks to the jury vote, while new and innovative performances are left in the dust

Käärijä won in the hearts of the people, and I just know that 2023 will be remembered as the year of Käärijä not Loreen

[oliviasprinkle]

The thing that makes me sad about the Eurovision results is that Loreen’s victory lacks everything that makes a Eurovision victory great:

A lesser known artist catapulted into stardom? She’s been internationally known for years.

Their country getting a chance to host after never/rarely doing so before? Sweden’s had it 6 times already.

An underdog taking the crown by being an audience pleaser? She was the bookies’ favourite from the start.

Eurovision being one of the biggest, most exciting things they’ve ever done? She’s done it all before.

None of these things are personally Loreen’s fault, and I actually feel bad for her that this win will be remembered as one that the public clearly wanted to give to someone else. But it does all feel extra slimy and calculated on Sweden’s part, especially given the 50th anniversary of ABBA’s Waterloo just happening to be next year. It all feels very hollow.

[oliviasprinkle]

Congratulations to Finland for winning 2023 Eurovision!!

And how nice of them to allow Sweden to host, cause it's cheaper that way

It's a fact

[oliviasprinkle]

I'm blocking IKEA

[oliviasprinkle]

so the juries are there to “prevent political votes” yet the entire jury is just one big popularity contest and i’m tired of these old fucks ruining the results of the public with their bland, completely out of touch opinions. why the hell are we even spending money on voting if we don’t even get what we asked for

[oliviasprinkle]

Honest thoughts about Sweden’s victory

Loreen is an excellent singer and managed to perform a very demanding song while either lying down or doing a complex dance choreography. Most other songs depended on backtrack singing, not her. So performance-wise, on a completely technical level, she did a very good job! It stood out from the rest of them, making most other ballads look near amateurish.

The problem we all have with her is that she already won in 2012, her song Euphoria was almost identical in tone to Tattoo and aside from the toaster grill setup her performance was very similar as well. Not just that, but Eurovision is also not just about technical performance and skill - it’s about the chaotic fun, surprising audiences and dazzling them with something new.

So in short: while Loreen is a stellar artist, her participation and entry in Eurovision 2023 was completely antithetical to what most people consider the heart of the competition. Jury was not wrong to give points for an impressive show, but they really should not be able to give points in such high numbers that it overrides the will of the public.

ESPECIALLY when the rest of us still have to pay to vote, while every member of the jury get practically tens of thousands of votes each while not paying a penny.