EPISODE 267

This week is the biggest, longest running musical competition that too many Americans ignore: Eurovision. If you’re new to Eurovision, it is like the Olympics for music. European nations, as well as active members of the European Broadcasting Union like Israel and Australia, gather this year in Turin, Italy - the Italians won the 2021 competition. Each qualifying nation submits their top performers who will each perform a song. Viewers and judges from each nation then vote to determine the winning country. 

On the surface Eurovision is a celebration of pan-genre europop ornamented with folk instrumentation and plenty of kitsch. But this event is more than just a singing competition. The event has helped make global superstars out of past participants like ABBA, Celine Dion, Olivia Newton John and most recently, Måneskin. Even more importantly, this post-war institution was created to encourage international cooperation. Countries often vote in blocks that conform to their political alliances. And this supposedly apolitical event, is rife with musical subtext that reflects the international order. This year, Russia has been banned for participating because of its invasion of Ukraine.

This year six countries lead the pack of likely winners as tallied by bookmakers: Greece, Spain, U.K., Sweden, Italy, with a dominating lead by Ukraine who is estimated currently has an almost 50/50 chance of winning. Ukraine’s submission from the group Kalush Orchestra, Stefania, is sung in Ukrainian and is seemingly a song about a song reaching out to his mother: “Sing me a lullaby mum / I want to hear your native word.” Even though it was written before the invasion, the song has taken on a greater meaning as a symbol of national pride. The mother can obviously be interpreted as a motherland. And the son sings about traveling back to her through “fields blooms” (Ukraine is the breadbasket of Europe) and “by broken roads” (many roads have been bombed out during the invasion). The song peaks with an instrumental melody played on a traditional telenka flute. One of the members of the group was even joined the territorial defense forces in the capital of Kiev during the early stages of the invasion. 

With the vast majority of Europe vocalizing support for Ukraine against the war, eyes are on the Eurovision competition to see if they will win the highest musical honor and be invited to host next year’s event. Listen to Switched On Pop break down the top 6 entries, and explain the deeper culture in “Stefania.”

Songs Discussed

Amanda Tenfjord - Die Together

Chanel - SloMo

Britney Spears - Work Bitch

Sam Ryder - SPACE MAN

Elton John - Rocket Man

Cornelia Jakobs - Hold Me Closer

Zdob și Zdub - Trenulețul 

Citi Zēni - Give The Wolf A Banana

Mahmood, BLANCO - Brividi

Bad Bunny, Jhay Cortez - DÁKITI

Kalush Orchestra - Stefania

Stephane & 3G - We Don't Wanna Put In

Піккардійська Терція - Гей, пливе кача