The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 takes place this year in a bit of controversy mainly due to this year’s entry from Finland which is the first ever time that a death metal band has represented a country in the competition.
Before we get into that, let me explain a bit about Eurovision… if you knew nothing about Euro-pop, Eurovision is the epitome of it. The entrants by and large are more concerned with looks, clothes and appearances than musical ability. Technically speaking, the countries entering aren’t all in Europe, and the most famous artist to come out of it are:
ABBA
Cliff Richard
Bucks Fizz
and… erm that Israeli artist who everyone thought was a woman but was actually a transexual man!
You can read more about it on Wikipedia’s entry on the Eurovision Contest
The UK, which probably has the best quality of music tends to pander to the competition’s style entering artists who are more likely to score well than those that will perform “good” music.
Which brings me onto the voting, a languishing affair broadcast in it’s entirety on tv and i’m convinced is fixed by the powers that be in that Russia always votes for the Slavic countries, Turkey and Greece never gave each other a vote until 2003 (because of Cyprus), Cyprus and Greece mostly give each other maximum points, Poland always gives the UK a point (because of World War 2), and all the Scandinavian countries vote for each other!
I kid you not, that is what happens
This year’s contest is taking place in Athens, Greece on 20th May
Which brings me back to the story that has filled the newspapers. Finnish Death Metal band Lordi spectacularly won the finals to represent Finland in the competition, fighting off competition from 11 other bands which included an opera singer.
This is Lordi:
And here’s a big picture of Lordi
Yes, they dress up in monster outfits and have released 4 albums
Of their 5 singles, it is their most recent 2006 hit Hard Rock Hallelujah that is their entry song in the competition
What spurred all this on then?
Lordi is a melodic theatrical heavy-rock band, mostly known for their unusual monster costumes and lyrical themes…The members have never shown in public without their masks. Lordi itself says the band doesn’t exist without the masks. The selection of such an unusual style of music and stage theatrics has caused a small controversy in Finland and there have been calls for a reconsideration of the choice.
Finland have never won the competition, and have scored the infamous “nul points” 3 times
The last two years they didn’t even qualify for the competition
So radical measures were called for – so Lordi it is then!
UK (available in London, Scotland and Manchester) rock radio station XFM thinks it’s about time that some rock/metal was played in the competition and has pledged to support Finland in the build up and has encouraged their listeners to email or mail the UK host for the contest, Sir Terry Wogan showing their appreciation for the band. The station has been playing clips of their track but has yet to play it in full.
Could this be the biggest revolution in Eurovision history or will it just end up being a bit of a stunt that nobody pays any attention to?
Here are a couple of links that are asking the people of Finland and Greece to stop Lordi from performing at the competition:
President of the Greek Consumers union , Mrs. Niki Kostantinidou’s public plea
Monster band has Finland fretting over face it shows
Greek religious fanaticism rears its ugly head once more – Lord Stay out of Hellas!
Make up your own mind – personally, i think they should play and the people should vote
