Sunday, March 18, 2007

Why Britain will not win the Eurovision Song Contest 2007

'Our' entry

In Britain no body keeps track of the Eurovision and its entrants. It fits comfortably in the category of 'crap music,' which, by British standards, means 'worse than X-Factor,' and therefore attracts little attention. The one reason why a few people tune in on the night of the main contest is seasoned radio DJ, and comedy genius, Terry Wogan, who, as UK compare, is paid to make a mockery of the whole thing.

There was one thing that drew the interest of the press this year and that was the involvement of Morrisey, who wanted to write and perform a song at this years event (I'm told that he loves the Eurovision, and cites a past Swedish contest entry as his all time favourite song, despite being clueless as to the words).

Sweden's Entry

In Sweden, on the other hand, Eurovision, or Melodifestivalen as it's known there, is serious business. It's an event that makes headlines and is carefully constructed to extract revenue from the 12% (upwards) of the population who tune in through every week of the preliminary selections.

Not only that, but it attracts 'serious' artists, such as this years' winner The Ark, who have toured with the likes of UK favourites The Darkness. Carola, who has represented Sweden twice (and here in English) at the Eurovision, is one of the most famous people alive in Sweden today.

Swedes have a word for everything, and the style of music at The Contest is no exception. Swedish artists are proud to rise to the challenge of writing a piece of 'slager' for the event.