The FAT Website est. 1999
On Sunday morning, Jen and I had our annual Eurovision party and watched the 60th instalment of the iconic music contest which emanated from Vienna, Austria. It was a disappointingly low key affair this year with a near total lack of whimsy and eccentricity that the show is generally known for. The event was notable for being the first ever Eurovision event to include a non-European entry in the form of Guy Sebastian, representing Australia. Guy’s performance of Tonight Again was slick, polished and shockingly free of any kitsch value. It was a pretty representative of the contest as a whole. There was a nary a didgeridoo nor kangaroo in sight.
Anyway, watching the show on the weekend got me in the mood to revisit some of my favourite (and silliest) songs in recent history.
The Common Linnets – Calm After The Storm
[Netherlands, 2014] Dutch Garth Brooks! I love these guys and felt they totally deserved to win last year. Calm After The Storm is a sweetly sung tune and is easily one of the best Eurovision pop tunes of the past ten years.
Roman Lob – Standing Still
[Germany, 2013] German Ronan Keating! Roman smoulders and belts out a love ballad that sounds right out of the Boyzone alumni’s copybook.
Elina Born & Stig Rästa – Goodbye To Yesterday
[Estonia, 2015] My favourite song of Eurovision 2015. For me, it pretty much comes down to Elina’s delivery of the line “why didn’t you wake me up?!” which I find both hilarious and catchy. I have no idea what the song is about and I don’t care to know.
Soluna Samay – Should’ve Known Better
[Denmark, 2012] Another underrated song. Soluna was a finalist in 2012 but this song only registered a handful of votes. What gives? Maybe it was the outfit.
Ell and Nikki – Running Scared
[Azaerbaijan, 2011] Jen and I are forever indebted to Eurovision 2011. It was the first Eurovision show that we watched from start to finish and it got us hooked. The show had deserved winners with Ell and Nikki’s performance of Running Scared and the follow year’s show gave as an intriguing glimpse into picturesque Baku, Azerbaijan.
Jedward – Waterline
[Ireland, 2012] My guiltiest favourite of all. I’m not familiar with Jedward but I’m told they won an Irish X-Factor show when they first attained a measure of fame in their own country. I have no idea what to make of them. They’re twins with big spikey hair that pull off dance moves and sing nonsensical lyrics that wouldn’t feel out of place on a J-Pop album. They remind of one hit wonders you’d see on MTV in the Nineties. And I love them for it.
Loreen – Euphoria
[Sweden, 2012] Winner of the 2012 Eurovision contest. It’s doof-doof dance music of the best kind. And I love Loreen’s sideways shuffle crab walk she does during her performance.
Can Bonomo – Love Me Back
[Turkey, 2012] They turn into a boat midway through the song, I mean come on. What more could you ask for?
Koza Mostra – Alcohol Is Free
[Greece, 2013] At the height of Greece’s economic problems, they produced this glorious ska tune Alcohol Is Free. It deserved to do better.
Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät – Aina Mun Pitää
[Finland, 2015] The shortest song in Eurovision history. 85 seconds and performed by four dudes from Finland with Downs Syndrome singing a down and dirty punk song. In a year with plenty of ‘safe’ entries, these guys deserved to make the finals.
