I wouldn't consider myself a fan of the Eurovision Song Contest, but I'll use the excuse of not feeling particularly well, meaning I can't go out, and I've already watched everything on Sky+! So I ended up watching it last night. Wow, what an experience. I've missed out. Clearly.
Anyway, the UK entry came last. We've been pretty bad in the Eurovision over the last few years - our last win was in 1997, when Katrina and the Waves (an established group with a Canadian lead) won with a pretty Europe-friendly song - "Love Shine a Light". However the UK is a historically successful country - We've won 5 times, along with France and Luxembourg, with the only country to get more wins being Ireland with 7.
So what went wrong in 2010? Why have we dropped down the European peckking order over the last few years?
I think our problem is the way we appear to be going about our song and performer selection. Our 2010 song was a Stock / Waterman production, written for... a winner of a contest - Not written specifically for a named performer. So instantly there is a compromise in what is being produced. The song itself was reminicent of the late 80s mass manufactured pop that Stock / Aitken / Waterman pumped out for the likes of Jason, Kylie, Rick and Sonia, so was at best dated, and at worst a complete rehash of the Stock Aitken & Waterman sound that we oh so hated 20 years ago! Whilst not wishing for musicians to over-analyse things, did they actually look at what Europe might like? Did they actually look for anything unique? Or did they just churn out a rubbish generic song in 10 minutes and say "That'll do"? Whilst the German act may have been similarly "manufactured" through a talent show, at least the German song had a modern Lily Allen-like quirky quality!
You then have a televised contest of singers singing the song that has already been produced. They're having to compromise themselves, and then be voted on by a ficke public, who tend to vote for what looks good as much as what sounds good. They're having to perform in a way that perhaps they've never performed before, with people they haven't performed with. So it potentially makes for an uncomfortable mix. Then for the final performance add backing singers who seemingly can't sing in tune. Why?!
Why do we not have someone who can write and perform their own music, rather than having to rely on some tired old 80s generic rubbish rehash sung by some random face pulled out of a crowd. Surely we need something something unique and interesting?? Its not like we don't have the talent and ability available in the country - we are the center of the musical universe after all! Yet everything now seems to involve a TV-fronted talent show with premium rated vote-lines, where bands and acts who have worked hard for years to get success are being left behind in favour of one-dimensional fame-hungry wannabes who can rake in millions for the producers with very little in return for themselves, who can then be thrown away afterwards when the next winner comes along!
Whilst music talent is seen as a cash-cow for the producers, then we wont (and don't deserve) to win anything. because the music will simply be meaningless, and have no passion. Give the music back to the people for whom music has a meaning, and is a passion, and for whom that passion isn't just how much money they can make!
Oh, and whilst I like the German song, it has apparently been No1 across Europe? How come a song that has already been No1 can be in the Eurovision? Surely thats an unfair advantage and surely its supposed to be the other way around - played first time on Eurovision, THEN make No1? Think the rules need looking at...? Or perhaps we need to read the rules, and use them to OUR advantage?
No comments:
Post a Comment