elizabeth's art: what makes a winner on Eurovision

Sunday, 30 May 2010

what makes a winner on Eurovision

Well, it’s all over for another year. I’m happy that all the songs that should have done well did well (except Ireland, that’s disappointing). But I’m also sad that it’s been building up for so long and now it’s finished. Yes I’ll watch it a couple more times on the internet and a few times through the year on DVD but still, there’s nothing like seeing the shows for the first time and not knowing the results.

I’m “Über” happy with the winner! So following the stellar win by the great little poppy song “Satellite” for Germany, I’ve decided to share with you my theory of why certain songs win the Eurovision, and others don’t.

It’s all a question of timing. Let’s take it as read that the singer of the song can sing, can dance if it’s appropriate, and has a nice costume. Here are the things that the songs which have won recently have in common.

1. First of all, the song must grab you in the first few seconds. It must say “here’s your winner, look at me”.
2. The first part of the song must build up to the first singing of the chorus at anywhere between 30 seconds and 1 minute, usually around 0:45.
3. The chorus must be snappy and memorable, so you’ll be humming it even when the song is finished. It must have a hook, a little quirk that anyone can understand and latch onto, even if it’s in another language.
4. The song has already won by 1:30.
5. At 2 minutes the song needs a flourish to say “there you go, we’ve really won”.
6. The song breezes to 3 minutes, not coasting but riding the wind to victory (ooo get me…).
7. At 3 minutes there should be a final “that’s the end now Vote!” moment.

Let’s look at this year’s winner, and some other prime examples of these basic rules. Take note of the times I’ve mentioned (0:45, 1:00, 1:30, 2:00, 3:00) and see what happens around those times on each song.

Year: 2010
Country: Germany
Artist: Lena Meyer-Landrut
Song: Satellite