As long time readers of Israellycool will know there is a bit of a tradition on the blog to cover the Eurovision Song Contest. This baffling throwback to a by-gone era (it started in 1956) is really the prototype show for a televised music competition. It may be the spiritual godfather of all the Pop Idol, Voice and other singing talent shows that fill our TVs today.
If you’re not interested in the songs, however, I can assure you that the entire presentation of the event will probably be amongst the most amazing you’ll ever see. The camera movements, lighting and production are nearly always top notch. This year it’s in Austria (after the bearded drag queen Conchita Wurst won last year).
So this year Israel’s entry is Nadav Guedj singing Golden Boy. Here’s the produced video for his song:
He will perform this in the second semi-final on Thursday night.
Quoting from a tremendous blog by Benny Royston on the UK’s Metro Newspaper:
So can Israel qualify?
Despite regular top five finishes and three wins culminating in Dana International’s victory in Birminham back in 1998, Israel has struggled to perform at the Eurovision Song Contest in recent years.
They scored 4th place in 2005 with the incredible Shiri Maimon but that was the last time they exceeded expectations.
Last year Israel were talked about as a potential dark horse to win. But they’ve finished 14th, 13th and 15th in the last three years of semi finals.
This year, they have a combination of middle eastern music with contemporary pop and it does work. They’ve turned away from songs about peace and have stripped their entry back to a show for a music competition. This might bring them back to the final.
They’ve got the vocals and the song to achieve Israel’s best result in a decade. The song is different enough from the others to give it a good shot.
If Israel fail to qualify for the Eurovision final for a fourth year in a row, we may see one of the most influential countries in the competition’s history bow out.
You can see a glimpse of his rehearsal here:
For years people have asked what is Israel doing in a competition for Europe. Hopefully that will now stop. Because as debatable as it seems to put Israel in Europe, it’s pretty clear that this year’s hardest to explain “European” nation is now Australia. Yes, that’s right, Australia has a shot at the crown.
What’s going to be so interesting this year is watching which European nations give Australia a large score (12 points is the maximum). Will this map out the presence of Australian backpackers across the continent of Europe? We Shall see!
Once again from Benny Royston:
The United Kingdom has a good record of awarding it’s 12 points to the eventual winner, so it will be interesting to see if Guy picks up our top mark on Saturday night.
There’s also a chance the United Kingdom will get to host Eurovision if Australia win as they’re not allowed to host the Contest in Australia – it will go to a venue and broadcaster in Europe.
Whether Australia can overcome the challenges of Sweden, Italy or Russia as one of the four favourites is hard to call until we know the running order of the final.
The voting public of Europe and Australia might still have a surprise in store.
Czech Republic, Latvia, Norway and maybe Iceland, France and Spain are in with a shout.
The 2015 Eurovision Song Contest is just a week away and the excitement is starting to build.
