Star Spangled Eurovision

Ireland has won Eurovision seven times, more than any other country, and won four times in five years from 1992-1996. They’re also the only country that has won three times in a row and the only country to have won twice with the same artist (Johnny Logan, 1980 and 1987). Even Riverdance first premiered at Eurovision as the interval act at the 1994 contest in Dublin! Yet, Ireland’s luck seems to have dried out. They haven’t reached the Top 5 since 1997, and have failed to qualify for the final seven times since the semifinals were introduced 14 years ago. Join Max, Alix, and our special guest, Liam Mullins, as they dissect why Ireland stopped being good at Eurovision, whether or not things might be looking up for the emerald isle after 2018, and why the hell they decided to send a turkey that one time.

Songs featured:

Donna and Joe – “Love?” (2005) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9CHcqe7xro

Dustin the Turkey – “Irlande Douze Pointe” (2008) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ps3kxGo_gro

Ryan O’Shaughnessy – “Together” (2018) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYBtf4ZMfjw

Mickey Joe Harte – “We’ve Got the World” (2003) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZ9jfwOcmro

Ever wonder what former Eurovision winners are up to? Well we wanted to find out too, but our research left us underwhelmed. So instead of catching up on what past victors have been doing since their big wins, Alix and Max discuss why winning the Eurovision Song Contest doesn’t necessarily lead to widespread international fame, why ABBA is the exception and not the rule, and why Netta might be the one to break the mold.*

*As of posting, “Toy” is #6 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart and #29 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. If you didn’t get a chance to see Netta perform on the Today show, you can watch it here: https://bit.ly/2MUyyBm

And as promised, here are some of our favorite new tracks from past Eurovision winners:

Dima Bilan (Russia, 2008) – “Derzhi” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_LrXZbOAWQ

Måns Zelmerlöw (Sweden 2015) – “Happyland” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SWYCBhj7sE

Jamala (Ukraine, 2016) – “Krila” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W3zXLpf09A

Alexander Rybak (Norway, 2009) – “Kotik” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxxEcOWdZsg

Loreen (Sweden 2012) – “Statements” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdil9UO80Yo

Salvador Sobral (Portugal 2017) – “Mano a Mano” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTyaEaFzL9U

Alix and Max are back this week to discuss some of the latest Eurovision news and our big topic of the week: languages! After a short history of languages at Eurovision, we try and figure out if not singing in English puts an entry at a disadvantage in the contest.

And in case you’re interested, here’s ABBA singing their Eurovision-winning “Waterloo” in their native Swedish: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUUhu6Fi9ds

This week, Max and Alix try to unpack the ever-changing, often controversial voting system and try and decide if bloc voting actually has an effect on who wins Eurovision every year. Also, we introduce a new segment where we bring you the latest news from the Eurovision world!

Further reading:

“Partisanship at Eurovision is becoming more Blatant,” The Economist – econ.st/2MT22jj

Alexander V. Mantzaris, Samuel R. Rein and Alexander D. Hopkins, “Examining Collusion and Voting Biases Between Countries During the Eurovision Song Contest Since 1957” – jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/21/1/1.html

Siobhan Palmer and Ashley Kirk, “A guide to political voting: Who votes for whom at Eurovision?” The Telegraph –bit.ly/2MUyyBm

Welcome to season 1.5 of Star Spangled Eurovision, where we’ll be digging deep into Eurovision-related topics while we wait for the 2019 song contest to kick into gear.

This week, Max is joined by special guests Brent McDonnell and Sarah Unbehaun to talk about Eurovision in the context of greater European History and how the song contest has reflected major events and shifts in Europe since its first edition in 1956. Listen in as we discuss Eurovision during the beginnings of European integration, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the migrant crisis, and everything in between!

Songs we talk about:

ABBA – “Waterloo” (Sweden) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FsVeMz1F5c

Paulo de Carvalho – “E Depois de Adeus” (Portugal) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=89LBNSX_vig

Gigliola Cinquetti – “Si” (Italy) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWrtN6LBJtk

Tuto Cutegno – “Insieme: 1992” (Italy) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b5whZydVZc

Ketil Stokkan – “Brandenburger Tor” (Norway) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IoRGn6rN40

Beat – “Fri?” (Finland) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMQxvqZWOn0

Jamala – 1944 (Ukraine) – “www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCG2rw4ZXTY”

Madame Monsieur – “Mercy” (France) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHb-gWC-WTc

Ermal Meta & Fabrizio Moro – “Non Mi Avete Fatto Niente” (Italy) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=zguJGdoPPnw

We’re back from our shenanigans in Lisbon with tons of juicy hot takes on this year’s Eurovision Song Contest! Find out who we were sad or glad didn’t make it into the grand final, who we thought should have won it all, and the story of one particularly distraught Belgian fan. Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for news on what’s next for Star Spangled Eurovision!

Here it is! Our last episode before we head to Lisbon! Join the gang as they give their takes on the automatic qualifiers for the final of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest. In this episode, Alix and Max fawn over Italy’s entry, Bart tries to explain why the UK isn’t as bad as the other two think, and Spain’s performance makes everyone uncomfortable.

Songs featured:

Madame Monsieur – “Mercy” (France) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHb-gWC-WTc

Michael Schulte – “You Let Me Walk Alone” (Germany)- www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evx0aAF79-E

Ermal Meta & Fabrizio Moro – “Non Mi Avete Fatto Niente” (Italy)- www.youtube.com/watch?v=zguJGdoPPnw

Claudia Pascoal – “O Jardim” (Portugal) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaVp4El9p3s

Amaia & Alfred – “Tu Cancion” (Spain) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDga57mNny4

SuRie – “Storm” (UK) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=K–kIdOpbJM

And here’s the multi-lingual version of “Monsters” as promised – www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9Y3AxgV1f4

Join Alix, Max, and Bart as they cover the second half of the second semifinal of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest. In this episode, Max tries to defend some of the more boring entries, Bart finds a jam he can relate to, and Alix really doesn’t get what Malta’s trying to say.

Songs Covered:

Iriao – “For You” (Georgia) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuCZMdfBqm4

Gromee feat. Lukas Meijer – “Light Me Up” (Poland)- www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxhC7onQkPI

Christabelle – “Taboo” (Malta)- www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyrC8jJ8eb8

AWS – “Viszlát Nyár” (Hungary) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=w00c8KbQIME

Laura Rizzotto – “Funny Girl” (Latvia)- www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBlZsGxeXk4

Benjamin Ingrosso – “Dance You Off” (Sweden)- www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2UmYBkszOA

Vanja Radovanović – “Inje” (Montenegro) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxJoxbo9lCQ

Lea Sirk – “Hvala, Ne!” (Slovenia) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiysnSG6a3I

Mélovin – “Under the Ladder” (Ukraine) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jbF7o8yqnc

Join Alix, Max, and Bart as they cover the first half of the second semifinal of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest. In this episode, Max can’t keep it together for San Marino, Bart and Alix have had enough of the Netherlands’ cultural appropriation, and everyone agrees Australia is better at Eurovision than actual European countries.

Correction: our Facebook is facebook.com/starspangledeurovision , not star spangled banner. Honest mistake, tbh.

Songs covered:

Alexander Rybak – “That’s How You Write a Song” (Norway) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=oicLsTZRp28

The Humans – “Goodbye” (Romania) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZp6QwWDQ4c

Sanja Ilic and Balkanika – “Nova Deca” (Serbia) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkOFnIjGrkw

Jessika feat. Jenifer Brening – “Who We Are” (San Marino) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNflc1Zcw2A

Rasmussen – “Higher Ground” (Denmark)- www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeraDSzu0nw

Julia Samoylova – “I Won’t Break” (Russia) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgBwbr_fUxA

DoReDos – “My Lucky Day” (Moldova) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg3ecHrFM_4

Waylon – “Outlaw In Em” (Netherlands) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TowcElmyek

Jessica Mauboy – “We Got Love” (Australia) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4XZxbrvepw

Join Alix, Max, and Bart as they cover the second half of the first semifinal of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest. In this episode, Max and Bart fawn over the diva from Cyprus, Alix falls in love with the social worker-turned-Eurovision contestant from Austria, and everyone agrees that some of the songs in this half might be a little too boring to make it through to the final.

Songs covered:

Eye Cue – “Lost and Found” (Macedonia) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJ8vStigz7k

Franka – “Crazy” (Croatia) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=19Yo86KCd0w

Cesar Sampson – “Nobody But You” (Austria) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8MyztgOTv8

Yianna Terzi – “Oniro Mou” (Greece) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6hvV9-Gi_w

Saara Aalto – “Monsters” (Finland) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEeIeQ-j2zk

Sevak Khanagyan – “Qami” (Armenia) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=olpi6UGmm_Y

ZiBBZ – “Stones” (Switzerland) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXOlPGnkZFY

Ryan O’Shaughnessy – “Together” (Ireland) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAEjQXzW4Uc

Eleni Foureira – “Fuego” (Cyprus) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDSgs6syrgg