140 Pivot === [00:00:00] Mike: Hello, and welcome to the Eurowhat episode 140 for the week of January 17th, 2022. I'm Mike McComb, and I'm not joined today by Ben Smith, but our special guest, Dave Steeves. How's it going, Dave? [00:00:37] Dave: It's going great. How are you? [00:00:38] Mike: Doing well, we are a pair of Americans trying to make sense of the Eurovision song contest. And this week we'll be talking about changing plans for Eurovision 2022. [00:00:48] Thank you for hopping in to sub in for Ben this week, Dave. [00:00:52] Dave: Always a pleasure. [00:00:54] Mike: Ben is, as we record this, doing mystery hunt, his team is hosting this year's [00:01:00] event, but he assured me that there is Eurovision content. So this is an excused absence. He will be presenting a what Eurovision means to me essay over on our Patreon later this month, it'll be one of our bonus episodes. [00:01:14] So you can check that out at Patreon.com/ Eurowhat. Uh, it should be fun. I've had a sneak peek at what that puzzle entails, and I think folks will get a kick out of. We're in the opening stretch of selection season. And we usually don't have guests at this point of the season. So It's fun to have somebody else here to tell us how things are going. [00:01:36] So how has your selection season 2022 been Dave? [00:01:40] Dave: It's been going fine. Usually I dip in and out of selection season. Up until this year I was working most Saturdays. So I haven't been able to be glued to the television for most of the shows. I've been doing a dive on the Norwegian entries this year. And I think I, that was a good choice. I like most of the field, or at least have opinions about most of the [00:02:00] field. [00:02:01] Yeah. In the past, I'd make a point of trying to follow France as closely as possible. Every year that I've followed the selection process France has had a really strong bench and usually two or three artists who I would have liked to have gotten through rather than the person that they actually picked. But the France selection process has usually been entertaining to me. [00:02:19] And even though I'm an Italy stan when it comes to Eurovision proper, Sanremo is, is a long, long event. [00:02:26] Mike: True. [00:02:28] Dave: I feel about Sanremo like I do about going to work a day after not getting nearly enough sleep where I'm fine for the first six hours of it. And then it's just, it just hits me all at once. [00:02:44] Mike: Yeah, we will talk about Norway a little later on in the show, but we have some stuff from the last week to get caught up on. [00:02:51] Last week: Malta Snippets, Finland Songs, Poland Process, Omicron Adjustments --- [00:02:51] Mike: Literally the second after we stopped recording our last episode, we recorded a little bit earlier than usual, Malta [00:03:00] dropped their snippets for all of the songs that are competing in their semifinal. [00:03:03] Like to the point where it was like, oh, should we go back and record? And Ben was just like, nah, well, we'll come back when we have something to say. So did you get a chance to listen to any of the Malta snippets? [00:03:13] Dave: I didn't and I usually stay away from the snippets because it's, it's so hard to judge the full song by them. I haven't. And also I would have to get on Instagram. So. [00:03:23] Mike: Oh, yeah. Yeah, that was interesting. Like they dropped all of the clips on their Instagram account. And when I checked this morning, they also had a clip saying that lyric videos are going to be coming soon. So we should have access to the full songs. With Finland and UMK, they announced their artists on Wednesday and they have started dropping the songs. [00:03:44] There are seven songs that are competing. Two of the songs dropped last week, and then the other five will be dropping this week. We're collecting those on our Spotify playlists. We have a link to our Spotify profile in our show notes. Check [00:04:00] all of the playlists out there. Oh my goodness. There's going to be so many playlists this year. I've lost count of the number of national finals that we will be compiling. It's it's a lot, Dave. [00:04:10] Dave: As And somebody who hasn't been able to watch the finals, like it's a really nice playlist to have where I can just dip in and just have it as background. And then every once in a while I'll hear something that I really like, and I'll Google them and find out, oh, what country are they from? Have they been, have they done this before? [00:04:30] Mike: Or sometimes what'll happen is, listening through it and be like, oh, I really liked this one. And then you check and be like, oh, they've already been eliminated. [00:04:35] Dave: Yeah. [00:04:37] Mike: thank you. [00:04:37] Dave: Yeah. [00:04:38] Mike: so [00:04:39] Dave: Pouring one out for "Alligator." [00:04:41] Mike: yeah. Adding to that long list of selections is Poland. Originally we thought that they were going to be announcing their artist over the weekend. [00:04:51] Instead they have decided that they are going to be doing a national final. They are bringing back, Krajowe Eliminacje I'm try this again. [00:05:00] Craiova laminates. [00:05:03] Dave: Can I try it? [00:05:04] Mike: for it? [00:05:05] Dave: Krajowe Eliminacje. [00:05:07] Mike: Yes. Okay. [00:05:10] Dave: East side of Cleveland, [00:05:11] Mike: Yeah. [00:05:13] Dave: Not my first Polish round up. [00:05:16] Mike: Nice. Yes. So they're going to be 10 artists competing in that, and that final is going to be happening next month, along with everything else. February 12th and February 19th are already completely full on the calendar and I have a feeling there's still going to be stuff added in And then there's been a lot of pivoting with, the current, pandemic situation, which I think is making people a little nervous, understandably. Sweden announced that Melfest is no longer doing the tour this year. Normally with Melfest, each heat takes place in a different city and it's a big arena event. [00:05:50] And then all of the finalists will gather in Stockholm for the grand final of that. They're going back to what they did last year, where it's all just going to [00:06:00] be in a studio. They may have a small audience this time around, but I have a feeling that's still TBD based on what the situation looks like a couple of weeks from now. [00:06:10] But, uh, yeah, it's probably going to look a little bit closer to last year's version of Melfest than the 2020 version. Iceland has delayed Songvakeppnin a little bit. They're still dropping the songs at the beginning of February, but the actual performance dates have all been pushed back a week. So the final of that is happening on March 12th instead of March 5th. [00:06:33] So it's feeling like we're in kind of the same spot we were last year at about this time where we're just kind of not sure what the scenario is looking like. [00:06:43] Dave: Yeah. I'm a little bit heartened by that because last year mostly was okay, but I'm hopeful that the wave will have crested by the end of the selection season. And by the time, certainly by the time Eurovision itself rolls around. [00:06:57] Mike: That is my hope as well. I think one of the things that I'm [00:07:00] finding interesting about this aspect of the process is we don't have any information about tickets yet, or what the actual Eurovision performance format is going to be, and if this were a normal year, I think people would be really freaking out about it right now. I have not heard one person being like "tickets when? Tickets when?", and it's just like, Nope, let us know when you're ready. And I kind of appreciate that. [00:07:23] Dave: Yeah, right. Have they officially said that they still have the same plan, a B, C, D that they did last year? Or are we just assuming that that's, that's gotta be the case. [00:07:31] Mike: I mean, I'm assuming that that's the case. [00:07:34] There have been a number of blogs that have been talking about the backup performances and kind of treating it as news. It'd be like, oh, that might be a thing this year. my understanding was that starting last year, like that was a permanent part of it just in case like any sort of disaster, not just for pandemic reasons. [00:07:51] Mike: We may be getting more information in the next week or two. Like around the semi-final allocation that's coming up. So [00:08:00] hopefully there'll be some logistics then, but no official word yet on what the scenario situation is. [00:08:06] Dave: It's going to be the host city selection all over again. It's just going to get drawn out and out at the last possible minute. [00:08:12] Eurovision scheduled for mid may. It's actually happening beginning of June. So nobody's going to update the calendar. They're just going to stretch and be like, oh no, we'll just have one more circus act, come out and perform and keep the audience busy until we're fully ready to get started. [00:08:27] Cosa sta facendo Maneskin: Coachella Edition --- [00:08:27] Mike: So speaking of Italy, I think it's time to check in on Maneskin. Dave, would you like to show off your Italian skills on this one? [00:08:37] Dave: Cosa sta facendo Maneskin. [00:08:39] Mike: Ah, thank you. Beggin has reentered the U S top 40. It was out for about [00:09:00] six weeks because the hot 100 was kind of a shambles due to the holidays, which I thought was really funny. Learning in our Hot 100 episode that songs that have been on the chart for more than 20 weeks will drop off if they slip below the top 50. That's really caused a lot of chaos on the hot 100 chart with all of the Christmas songs that rise up for three to four weeks and just kind of take over the top of the chart just because the way things are counted have completely changed. [00:09:33] And now that we are no longer in the holidays, all of those songs are gone. So that's like 25 slots opened up and [00:09:40] Dave: Yeah. And Maneskin played New Year's Rocking Eve, so some people might be discovering them for the first time [00:09:47] Mike: That's true. Yeah. Nice to see that they still have the staying power to get back up there. So congrats on that. And also congrats on being named as part of the Coachella lineup and [00:10:00] getting really good positioning on the poster. I don't know if you play this game, Dave, where a festival announces its lineup, and then you try to see, okay, who do I recognize and how small is the print? [00:10:10] Dave: Yeah, I would say, you know what I never really did before this year. I know there were some tweets about people scandalized by the font of certain artists. [00:10:21] Mike: Yeah, I saw one word. Somebody was complaining That Carly Rae Jepsen was at like 11 point. Yup. Yeah. [00:10:27] Dave: Yes. [00:10:30] Mike: Which that is a, that is a fair critique of the lineup, but Maneskin they were listed on the second line of the Sunday show. I want to say 18 point font, they were legible on the poster, which is pretty good placement [00:10:44] Dave: Yeah. That seems like prime location. [00:10:46] Mike: Yeah. So congrats on that. And probably the first of many such appearances coming up. [00:10:53] So, uh, we'll definitely keep an eye on that. [00:10:57] Norway's Melodi Grand Prix 2022 --- [00:10:57] Mike: We are recording this right after watching the [00:11:00] first heat of Norway's Melodi Grand Prix process. Dave, you mentioned that you had some thoughts about the Norwegian field as a whole. [00:11:10] Dave: Yeah. I found something to like about the majority of the songs in this one. And it's a pretty diverse group. There is the expected insurgence of rock, but there's no Maneskin knockoff. There's Lily Löwe really reminds me of Lita Ford. Like she's got this eighties hair metal thing going. [00:11:28] There is somebody who sounds kind of like Avril Lavigne. There's the TrollfesT guys who are no longer part of this process, but they kind of reminded me of System of a Down, in that if I listened to them enough, I think that I might come around to them and decide that they were so horrible that they were actually good and entertaining, [00:11:51] Mike: Uh, I don't know, like they, they are definitely the most aptly named act, I would [00:11:55] Dave: Yeah. I will not have the opportunity to come [00:12:00] around on them. [00:12:00] Mike: Uh, well, maybe there is a wild card round at the end of this process. So I guess just to kind of go over how Norway is structured this year, there are 21 songs that are in competition. Five of them are auto qualified. For the other 16 songs, they are broken up into groups of four, which will battle out in duels over the course of the next few weeks. [00:12:25] The winner of each duel will face the winner of the other duel in that same show, whoever wins that they get to go to the final. All of the non qualifiers will get voted on on a radio show during the fifth week of the competition and then the top four from that vote, will go through another heat of duels. [00:12:45] And the winner of that will be the last finalist in the show. I've had problems with Norway. I think I still have problems with Norway. What did you think about this first week of competition? [00:12:55] None of these four were among my favorites, although, Black Flowers was actually my favorite out of the [00:13:00] four, so I was pleasantly surprised that it was the one that won, considering it was fourth. among the odds maker. I liked, We Still Here in the studio. [00:13:09] Dave: Wasn't crazy about the live performance. I don't see any of these winning, but I like black flowers. It's a slightly angry sounding, kind of like political, but not really like taking any, any real radical stances. [00:13:29] Mike: a sternly worded letter to the editor. [00:13:31] Dave: Yeah. [00:13:33] Mike: It sounds so much to me like that one Muse song. [00:13:36] Dave: It does. Yeah, it does. Yeah. I had that same thought and I'm a big Muse fan. So I have mixed feelings about that. [00:13:42] Mike: Yeah. [00:13:43] When, he did, defeat TrollfesT in the duel, you did let out a little YAY, [00:13:47] Mike: uh, was that in favor of him or against TrollfesT? [00:13:52] Dave: That was, that was a vote for the lesser of two evils. I shouldn't say that. I, I genuinely do like the song black flowers, but, [00:14:00] I don't like it enough to really have that much of a feeling about it on its own. [00:14:05] Mike: Yeah. Yeah. Like TrollfesT like, it's my only note that I have is I hate this. I mean, cause it's just, it's, it's just doing so much of what I find so time-wasting about Norway's process. And it's just like, especially with this year with what is starting to shape it up to be like 30 national finals. [00:14:26] And that number is not an exaggeration. It's maybe an overestimation, there are more than 20 national finals that are happening this year. And it's no joke. The Saturdays in February are overstuffed. Norway, I do not have time for this. This is probably going to be the only time that I'm actively engaged with Norway this year. [00:14:42] And I am okay with that. [00:14:44] Dave: See, I will be back. I will be back next week because I genuinely like all four of the songs that are up. Plus I like the auto qualifier that's going to be showcased. Honestly, I'd be happy with any of those four. [00:14:56] Mike: Uh, now that's the trick. That's always the trick that Norway pulls is like, oh, [00:15:00] you hated it this week, but I've got just like a little breadcrumb or something that [00:15:03] Dave: Yeah. The two weeks after that, I may or may not be doing it. I'll probably been in my office. Uh, if you're watching it, I will just turn up the volume and I'll come out. If I hear something that I like, [00:15:13] Mike: Okay. Yeah. Yeah. [00:15:14] Dave: that's the other way that I experience, the selection season. [00:15:17] Mike: Yeah. I mean, I guess the only one that I'm truly curious about is Subwoolfer, just because I think everybody's curious about that one. It's bringing about our Monkey's Paw prediction from last week that the winner of Masked Singer Norway is going to be their representative. [00:15:37] Dave: Yeah, I haven't seen what they actually look like, but they have masks on in their promo photo. [00:15:42] Mike: As far as I know, they have not been identified. A number of people are suspecting that they may be, an iteration of Ylvis. [00:15:50] Dave: I was thinking that, yeah. I mean, maybe it's just because we watched Norwegian Taskmaster. And so Ylvis are in front of mind for me. I saw the title [00:16:00] and I saw the name of the band and I went into that preparing to hate it and I kind of loved it. [00:16:06] [00:16:06] Dave: I found the lyrics really charming. [00:16:09] Yeah. I want a Wolf named Keith and my only issue with it is that nothing new happens lyrically in the second half of the song. Like I like the instrumentation and I think it's well-produced enough that it made me think that the Ylvis guys might be behind it. [00:16:24] Mike: It is giving me a vibe of "What Does the Fox Say" though not as irritating. I think. It's also kind of reminding me of the songs that Netta has released since winning Eurovision. maybe that's just because one of her songs was called Nana banana, so, um, Yeah. [00:16:44] Uh, they're just drawing on all of the themes. [00:16:47] Like it feels like it is a possibly researched Eurovision entry. Like maybe trying to audition for a Netflix sequel to the movie or something. So it'll be [00:17:00] something to talk about, in a couple of weeks when we finally see that performance live, [00:17:04] Dave: Yeah, that's really gonna need something to punch up the visuals in the second half, I think. [00:17:09] Mike: If it is the Ylvis guys, I have a feeling they've got something up their sleeve. Like they do know how to put on a performance. So any other thoughts on Norway? [00:17:16] Dave: I think they made good choices on who is auto qualified with one exception. And that would be "Someone" by North Kid. I don't know why it's there or here at all, just because I feel like it's like that book Save the Cat that teaches you how to write a screenplay by the numbers. Like this feels like a song by the numbers. [00:17:38] I've heard this exact template a thousand times. [00:17:41] Mike: But Save the Cat works, that's why. [00:17:44] Dave: It does. Listening to it. The first time I thought I was going to like the song, because the lyrics start off very specific about this guy who was reconnecting with somebody who used to love him, [00:18:00] but now hates him. I love the specificity of did you ever make it to Berlin? [00:18:03] And, uh, how are things with your dad and all that? And then the other two minutes, 45 seconds is just so generic. I've said before that, the worst offense that a Eurovision song can commit is boring me. And this does it. [00:18:16] Mike: Yeah. I don't know. Maybe it's a contract thing or maybe they're too famous in Norway to go through the qualifying [00:18:21] Dave: could be, that could be. [00:18:22] We will see them in a few weeks and also at the Norwegian final, which is middle of February among everything else that's happening in February. So, [00:18:32] Dave: Okay. [00:18:34] Mike: But all of the songs are available now. That is the big new thing this year. You can listen to all 21 on Spotify. Yeah. It's, it's, uh, a lot. [00:18:43] This week: Portugal's Festival da Cancao songs and the Semi-Final Allocation --- [00:18:43] Mike: So, and adding to all of that will be Portugal, which will be dropping the songs for Festival da Cancao on Friday, which I'm very excited about. Portugal always brings something interesting to the table. [00:18:58] There may be songs that like individual [00:19:00] songs, that may be boring, but overall, there's usually something that'll catch my ear [00:19:05] Dave: Yeah. That's always something that I like to dip into and just like very selectively, while you're watching it, I will pop my head in and see how things are going. And so that's, those are some weird costumes. I kind of want to hear how this [00:19:17] Mike: Yes. And just get reacquainted with Portuguese. It's been a while since I've tapped into that in Duolingo, so [00:19:24] Dave: Yeah. Yeah. [00:19:25] Mike: understand any of this. The last thing that's coming up is the semi-final allocation, which I mentioned earlier. That is happening on Tuesday. So by the time our next episode drops, we should know which countries will be in which semi-final. [00:19:43] Do you have any particular bingo balls that you're rooting for Dave? [00:19:46] Dave: Yeah. I kind of don't since who knows if, and when we will ever have tickets. Uh, so, um, I don't have a, I hope for balance as I always do that. I don't want all the bangers to end [00:20:00] up in one semi-final, but, uh, yeah, I don't, I don't care if, whether or not Greece and Cyprus end up in the same one. [00:20:07] I don't have a dog in that fight. [00:20:08] Mike: Yeah, even though there's all these selections that are happening, we don't have enough sense of what the songs are that are going through. So it doesn't seem like there's any particular balance issues at this point in the process. Like if all of the songs that have been selected, go into the same semi-final I don't think that's going to be a problem. [00:20:26] Yeah. Anything else before we sign off, it's still early in the seasons. [00:20:29] Dave: Yeah, it feels like it's a nice manageable level right now. So I'm happy to have my Saturdays off and watch as much as I would like. [00:20:36] Mike: And then, and Yeah. just give it a couple of weeks and then there'll just be too much to choose from. So looking forward to that choice paralysis. All right. Well, that's going to do it for this episode of the Eurowhat. Thanks for listening. the Eurowhat podcast is hosted by Mike McComb. [00:20:53] That's me and Ben Smith. [00:20:55] Dave: that's not me. [00:20:56] Mike: Yeah. Dave, is there [00:21:00] anything that you would like to plug or point people to. [00:21:02] Dave: No, I'm @davidsteeves on Twitter. I almost never tweet, but I like things. If you want to see what I like, check it out. [00:21:10] Mike: Yes, lots of animal videos [00:21:12] Dave: Yes. [00:21:12] Mike: So yeah. And you can follow the Eurowhat on apple podcasts, Spotify, or the podcast app of your choice. If you'd like to support the show, we're on Patreon at Patreon.com/Eurowhat. Show notes are in the description of this episode and on our website at Eurowhat.Com. [00:21:30] If you'd like to contact us, we're also on Twitter at Eurowhat, or you can email Eurowhat podcast@gmail.com. Next time on the Eurowhat Ben should be back and ready to talk about what's new in Eurovision.