2019: An Overview
“DARE TO DREAM” IN TEL AVIV, ISRAEL
Through all the controversies that surround Israel, it’s always interesting to watch and talk about this show without getting into the politics surrounding the country.
About Hosts and First Semi Final. We begin with a dramatic retelling of Netta’s childhood beginning with her inspiration from the Eurovision 1998 winner Dana International before taking the stage to show us why she won with a rather militant version of her winning entry. Before the hosts are introduced she takes a moment to thank the Eurovision community for their support and welcomes the crowd to Israel. This year we have 4 hosts, two men and two women all with extremely impressive resumes. Most notably, we had our first openly gay host with <insert name>. Along side him are to humorly generalize - a nerdy looking man, a walking disco ball and our classic female host in a ball gown. The use of so many hosts seems to be a new tradition starting with our 3 hosts in Ukraine, and now upping things to 4 in Portugal. Maybe we’ll see 5 in the Netherlands (hint, we almost do!). As for the competition, we get a fairly straight forward (for Eurovision) mix of songs. It’s not the semi-final we’re all waiting for… but we get some great performances. It’s the interval acts that really shine in this semi-final. First Dana International reminds us why SHE won so many years ago - gracing us with a lovely perfomance of Bruno Mar’s “Just The Way You Are.” After an awkward moment with the hosts in Green Room and then a pretty cool Eurovision video supercut we’re introduced to 3 of the automatic qualifiers for the finals. We finally get some rather bizarre results and about two day’s wait for the next semi-final.
We begin the 2nd semi-final with, well… a recap of semi-final one. Nothing really too amazing or worth showing up to the contest for… they better have some amazing contestants and great interval act to make up for it. Luckily for us, they do - after a slow start the real big favorites of the contest begin lining up for the chances for the final. This gets tighter throughout the evening and it’s almost a relief to reach the end. All the semi-finalists have performed and we’ve most likely seen the winner. That excitement builds throughout the interval act which - I feel is better seen or heard or experienced however you can on it’s own right. Turn your VPNs on, refresh the browser and watch it below. After more recaps and more inane banter between the hosts and various persons including a mentalist, … groan. After more multimedia Eurovision mash-ups we finally reach a very dramatic qualifier reveal. At first - one by one, they make sense. However, with one spot left and many countries who seemingly always qualify (including Armenia and Romania) the tension builds to reveal a dark horse favorite qualifing. now the final is stacked with a wonderful mix of songs. Write a short note about the postcards here:
Now it’s the night of the final, and to make up for a lack of opening on the second semi-final they’ve decided to come in with a major production. Including giant planes, too many dancers, 4 former Israeli entrants including encumbent winner Netta and the legendary Dana International. They introduce each contestant in a gallant flag ceremony before the hosts, without too much banter, launch us into the last show of the 2010s. With the colorful bookends of Malta and Spain, the full competition had everything from Iceland’s industrial “Hate will Prevail” to Denmark’s overly sappy “Love is Forever.”
When it comes to Interval acts that celebrate the contest, it’s hard to top either of Sweden’s recent hostings. Hilarious and insightful, they set a new standard. The 2019 contest deigned to create a new standard - with their Switch-A-Long. One of the best since, well, Sweden - the domino affect of winners and runner-ups one after another, readapting each others songs and culminating in a shared performance with the 2nd winner for Israel - Milk and Honey’s “Hallelujah.” It’s one of those moments to reflect on how much the contest has changed since the 70s and Israel’s first set of wins - to what the contest is like now. Seeing the 60+ performer flanked by the likes of Conchita Wurst and Verka Serduchka is a striking scene - one that would never had made onto the air back then.
The tease of the season - one that felt supremely irrelevant to the contest itself was a rumor that Madonna would be one of the interval acts for the final. On and off confirmations, made it seem like it was certainly just a rumor. Days before the semi-finals, however, it was confirmed that she had arrived in Israel. After 2 weeks of teasing - Detroit’s own Madge makes her debut on the Eurovision stage. She speaks to the host Assi and the crowd but she’s not performing just yet. Luckily, it’s not just going to be about her… first we’re shown one of Israel’s most popular musical projects and Netta takes to the stage to perform her new single. Nana Banana shows that Netta has more musical potential than her winning entry and is set to become an icon in her own right.
Yet, before voting even ends. Here she comes in an overly produced but poorly vocalized perfomance that left the world scratching their heads and let it pass without too much controversy. She promoted her new album and that was that - still an hour till the show is over. So, we go to the most exciting part of the whole week. The jury voting may have less impact than it used to but it’s always an amazing highlight. From getting a quick look at the fashions of Europe from country to country, the countless mistakes, bizarre attempts at banter and more. For a majority of the voting North Macedonia held the top spot with the top 2-5 spots in constant flux between Italy, Sweden, The Netherlands and Azerbaijan. Switzerland held strong at the 6th spot. For jury votings, this one went by rather quickly. So much so it felt difficult to even pay attention to the other spots. However, the bottom of UK, Israel and Spain was not unpredictable… Israel mixed it all up in the very end with Sweden leading the jury board, The Netherlands and North Macedonia close behind. The public vote kept us on our toes just remembering how impactful it can be. Yet again, they went by so fast it was hard to absorb just how much the results were changing until we get to Norway. Norway spent most of the jury vote on the right side of the score board. Suddenly they leap to the lead. When Iceland, the next to get their votes also get a great leap to the top 5… they unfurl Palestinian flags and the crowd reacts with spattered applause and audible confusion. Russia finally takes the lead from Norway, Switzerland takes 2nd place. Then Italy takes the top place, then the Netherlands… til it’s down to just Sweden and The Netherlands. We know how this ends… it’s the Netherlands for the first time since 1975.
The Picks of 2019
2019: The Best (Norway)
2019: The Worst (Montenegro)
2019: The Guilty (Malta)
2019: The Weird (Iceland)
2019: The Hilarious (San Marino)
2019: The Honorable (Switzerland)
2019: The Runner-Up (Italy)
2019: The Winner (The Netherlands)
Semi-Final One Song Recap May 14, 2019:
Semi-Final Two Song Recap May 16, 2019:
Grand Final Song Highlights May 18, 2019: